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By some miracle, I actually hit my goal of reading 20 books this year. Admittedly, 20 is not a very large number for me, but considering the fact that I had a baby in August, I'm very okay with it. My final two reads of 2015 were rereads! I am all about rereading my favorite books, and I definitely ended the year on a high note after more than a few duds (find me on Goodreads to read my reviews).
The last two books I read were rereads, but everything else was new.
Of the 18 books I read this year for the first time, here are my two favorites:
All the Light We Cannot See. A-mazing. I know some people who didn't like this one, and while normally I'm all about personal preference, I just don't get how anyone could read this and not love it. It's so good.
The Husband's Secret. This one is a good travel book for reading on a plane (which is exactly where I read it). It was interesting but not super intense, so it didn't need a lot of concentration.
Here were my top two duds:
The Girl on the Train. I'm sorry, but I could not handle this one. I know it was all the rage, but just no. I literally wanted the main character to get HIT BY THE TRAIN so the book would end and I could move on with my life.
Faithful Place. This is one of Tana French's murder/mystery books, and it was by far my least favorite of the four I've read. I found the story pointless and just kind of wished I hadn't wasted my time.
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Last year I logged every single mile I ran in Daily Mile. This year I didn't do nearly as well logging miles, and I ran a ton without my Garmin watch, so it's hard to say exactly how far I ran this year. I logged officially over 200 miles, and then there's a bunch that weren't logged, so maybe 250 miles this year, I'm guessing. Not too bad! I ran consistently until 24 weeks pregnant (and ran 2 half marathons at 10 and 18 weeks!), and then I took a break until 6 weeks post baby. I've blogged about post-partem running here and also some here if you're interested.
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In 2016, I have one race lined up so far: the 2016 Oklahoma City Half Marathon in April. This will be my 10th half marathon! I also would really like to run a few local 5ks, and there is a 10k in early April that I might do as well. I hope to find a way to fit running into my schedule but also be realistic about it, and I plan on keeping you updated on any progress!
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Blog posts written: 129
That's the lowest of any year since I started blogging in 2010.
Here are a few favorites:
Why We Tithe
An Elbow to the Face
Then the Cops Showed Up
He Saw Us
5 Things I'm Obsessed With
The Fear
R's Birth Story
That's the lowest of any year since I started blogging in 2010.
Here are a few favorites:
Why We Tithe
An Elbow to the Face
Then the Cops Showed Up
He Saw Us
5 Things I'm Obsessed With
The Fear
R's Birth Story
Tweets: 1,867
Fun fact: that's about 1,000 tweets less than each of the previous two years!
Fun fact: that's about 1,000 tweets less than each of the previous two years!
Instagram photos posted: 300
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US States visited: 3 (5 if you count layovers)
Atlanta (on a layover), California (on a layover), Illinois, Texas, Utah
Trips to Texas: 8 (same as last year!)
Stamps in my passport: 1 (Bahamas)
Jordan got 2! He went to Nicaragua on a missions trip and the Bahamas
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So, I actually totally forgot about our Bahamas trip until I was putting this recap together.
How could I forget this happening?!
You can also see more pics and read about our Atlantis adventures here.
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Spent on gas: $1,070.45
Spent on clothes (just for me): $222.63
Average monthly spent on groceries: $275
Average monthly spent on groceries: $275
Average monthly savings: $1,113.21*
*Our monthly savings is a bit lower than last year, but we did have a baby, so there's that. Our savings will be even lower next year now that we have to start paying for daycare, so we will see what happens!
compare to 2014
*Our monthly savings is a bit lower than last year, but we did have a baby, so there's that. Our savings will be even lower next year now that we have to start paying for daycare, so we will see what happens!
compare to 2014
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30x30 list items completed: 3
I am really excited about this!
I didn't think I crossed anything off this year until I was looking at my list.
Here's what I did:
-Buy a bedroom dresser
-Organize my recipes
And the big kahuna:
-BUY A HOUSE. That happened.
Also....
I am really excited about this!
I didn't think I crossed anything off this year until I was looking at my list.
Here's what I did:
-Buy a bedroom dresser
-Organize my recipes
And the big kahuna:
-BUY A HOUSE. That happened.
Also....
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I cannot forget to mention the fact that I spent the majority of this year pregnant. From announcing Baby Bum on the blog to sharing a few baby bump updates to writing out her birth story, it's been a heck of a ride. Everyone talks about it, and I've discovered for myself that it's cliche but true: you just cannot imagine the love you feel for your baby. I look at her and cry because she's so beautiful and she's for me to keep! I still can't believe it.
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I'm looking forward to settling in a bit, both with our baby and in our new house and in our new routine with me back at work. I have been so incredibly blessed, and I am so thankful for all God has entrusted to me.
Thanks for sticking with me this month as I took some time off from the blog. I hope to get back to posting 2x a week in 2016. I realize that I can't expect you to keep coming here with such sporadic posting, and I definitely do not want to just pop in once a month with an R update. My plan is to try and post every Tuesday and Friday, just so you will have some idea of when to check back for new material. Of course, my time with R will become even more precious once I'm not hanging out with her all day every day, so blogging will not be my main priority. However, I do love it and want to continue to share pictures and happenings. It's fun to look back on for me, and I hope it is fun for you to read!
Thanks for sticking with me this month as I took some time off from the blog. I hope to get back to posting 2x a week in 2016. I realize that I can't expect you to keep coming here with such sporadic posting, and I definitely do not want to just pop in once a month with an R update. My plan is to try and post every Tuesday and Friday, just so you will have some idea of when to check back for new material. Of course, my time with R will become even more precious once I'm not hanging out with her all day every day, so blogging will not be my main priority. However, I do love it and want to continue to share pictures and happenings. It's fun to look back on for me, and I hope it is fun for you to read!
Here's to 2016! I hope you have a safe and fun New Year's.