2014’s Year in Review post was a perfect example of my overachieving self. It was a year in review post that I worked on throughout the year.
This year?
Welcome to the procrastinator edition!
Essentially I scrolled through my IG feed gallery + main photo gallery (that was culled through mid year to make room for vacation photos!) to remember what all went on this year and scrapped together a post + used Cymera to put together some collages from each month over the last two evenings. Its been that kind of year …
*Note: Back in early October I moved approximately a third of the posts from Route Bliss over to my other blog — thus, the posts I included that I felt were worth a second mention are those still on this site. Most everything that was not travel, photography, blogging, or budgeting related was moved over to this site.
Oh, and tomorrow on Twitter, I’ll share the top 10 posts (by visits) for the past year … keep an eye out starting at 9 am Central Standard Time!
January 2015
‘twas cold. Nothing exciting happened.
Posts worth another mention: Ask RB: Its Possible Your Blog Images Aren’t Showing Up | Ask RB: Quick Start Guide to Adobe Lightroom | Deep, Steep, and Narrow | RB Budgeting: Setting Monetary Goals | RB Roadtripping: 10 Steps to Vehicle Readiness | My Thoughts on the Evolution of Blogging | 7 Things You MUST Do In Ludington, Michigan (guest post by Jamie of Ink + Adventure)
February 2015
Snow/ice storms this month — closing down my office on a day that I was home sick anyway. My mom had knee surgery (the third on her left knee over the years). Snagged an adorable & in focus smartphone photo of my hyperactive pupster (which rarely happens!). Microadventured to Don’s Bug Barn.
Posts worth another mention: Three Reasons Why I’ve Switched to CoSchedule | 5 Cameras Worth Considering For Traveling | RB Microadventures: Gruene, Texas | I Don’t Always Agree With Popular Money Advice | RB Roadtripping: 3 Places I’d Love To Visit in 2015 | An Interview with Kirsty {the Bliss Seekers series} | Break the Blogging Rules
March 2015
Rainy all month except for that ice storm we were hit with early in the month that shut down the office again. Microadventured to West, Texas for kolaches!
Posts worth another mention: Things To Do/See {Travel Tuesday} | RB Microadventure Guides: Dublin Bottling Works | Progression of a Storm | RB Budgeting: Credit Card Rewards | So You Want To Be A Portrait Photographer {Part I} | Why We Don’t Travel More (or More Often) … | The End (+ a whole lot of thankfulness).
April 2015
Unexpected changes at work. Dinner at the country club thanks to my financial advisor. Microadventured to the Black Beauty Ranch (which I’ll get around to sharing this year!).
Posts worth another mention: Chihuly Art in Little Rock {Part 1} | The Route Bliss Guide For Budget Friendly Cameras – 2015 Edition | RB Microadventure Guide: Tyler Azalea Trail | More Blogging Rules That Annoy Me | RB Budgeting: How I Save For Traveling | RB Roadtripping: Affordable Stateside Accommodations | 10 Reasons to Visit Taiwan (guest post by Daisy of Simplicity Relished)
May 2015
Lots of rain all month long, including 10″ worth in one night. Plus a major tornado hit in a nearby town that same night, displacing a lot of the town’s struggling residents as it hit a poorer neighborhood. Said 10″ of rain in one night led to a road near my home that I take to work washing out on both ends (going south into town as well as northward to work), leading to lots of detouring for five weeks. Helped my parents get a smartphone (oh boy, that was so much fun! Not really.). Microadventured for a few hours to the Old Fiddlers Festival and carnival. And hit up the farmers’ market …
Posts worth another mention: So You Want To Be A Portrait Photographer {Part II} | 3 Tips To Making Travel Affordable | Planning For & Saving Money While On The Road | RB Microadventures: Scarborough Renaissance Festival
June 2015
Found out my BFF was expecting her first baby (Miss Hadley Ann is due to make an appearance any time now). Began prepping for my summer roadtrip. Trained a coworker that joined my unit at work. Explored some mural art in my hometown. Snagged a 50 cent text-only special Sonic ice cream cone to drown my sorrows in since Blue Bell was unavailable for a majority of the year …
Posts worth another mention: The Sinclair Dinosaur | Feel Free To Break The Blogging *Rules* | The Blackfeet Nation {and why you shouldn’t always listen to everyone’s travel ‘advice’} | So You Want To Be A Portrait Photographer {Part III} | Affordable Stateside Accommodations {Part 2} | RB Roadtripping: 5 Books That Will Make You Want To Travel To China (guest post by Christine of Christine Everyday) | RB Microadventures: Don’s Bug Barn
July 2015
Was off work for three weeks! Roadtripped out west for most of that time … for sneak peeks of what I haven’t blogged so far, pop over to Instagram and look up the hashtag #2015RBRoadtrip!
Posts worth another mention: Wildlife Viewing In Alaska (guest post by Mar of TO & fro) | The Longest Serving Glacier NP Ranger | Six Must Stops on Oklahoma’s Route 66 | 10 Words of Wisdom to My Pre-Expat Self (guest post by Micah of Passports and Paintbrushes) | That time my mom almost got ran over by a deer | So You Want To Be A Portrait Photographer {Part IV} | Get Outdoors With These Colorado Musts (guest post by Brittany of In Some Places) | Turquoise Waters
August 2015
Back to work for me (very very sadly), where we were buried alive for a few weeks. Daily naps immediate after arriving home from work became the preferred activity of choice. Adopted two kittens (Sherlock & Watson) that proceeded to take over my life and instagram feed. My birthday. Attempted to do some reading and #wejournallove writing before my blog vacation ended.
Posts worth another mention: The American ‘Matterhorn’ | 5 of the Most Visually Stunning Spots in the World (guest post by Casey of Land of Marvels) | Four Tips for Successful Travels With Friends (guest post by Brittany of The Lady Lawyer) | RB Microadventures: Old Fiddlers Reunion | The Prince of Wales Hotel | So You Want To Be A Portrait Photographer {Part V}
September 2015
Back to the orthopedic doc about the issues I was having with my foot/calf at the beginning of the month. MRI ordered → led to surgery on the 25th. Postcards for the 2015 Roadtrip arrived days before surgery. Briefly explored the local arboretum before having surgery. Shift in blogging took place …
Posts worth another mention: State of the Blog Address – Fall 2015 | Ask RB: Why So Many Cameras? | UNESCO World Heritage Sites I’ve Visited in North America | So You Want To Be A Portrait Photographer {Part VI} | An Interview with Jackie {the Bliss Seekers series}
October 2015
Recovering from surgery. Returned to work on the 9th. On crutches/couldn’t drive all month. Clunky, heavy boot was an everpresent pain in the rear. Dad was hospitalized twice, had emergency gall bladder surgery at the end of the month. Many cell phone photos of my feet (especially when the right one swelled to ‘hobbit’ levels — what my BFF’s husband dubbed said foot) and the kittens were taken.
PS … my foot wasn’t as huge as it looks above. Right foot was closer to the phone camera than the left one!
Posts worth another mention: Where I roadtripped to in 2015 … and why | An Interview with Annie {Bliss Seekers Series} | Slug Bug Ranch: Thoughts From Two Visits | Ask RB: Getting Started As A Hobbyist Photographer | RB Microadventures: West, Texas
November 2015
Finally able to walk crutch-free around mid-month and was allowed to begin driving solo again the following week. Swamped at work all month long, massive quantities of caffeine (in the form of carbonated beverages) were consumed. Ventured out to a sample sale for We Are In Bloom. More rain. Mom’s health issues began getting worse (extremely low iron levels/anemia that cannot be explained after several invasive tests + severe back pain).
Posts worth another mention: Hello Arizona | when you’ve had enough of the new ‘normal’ | A Letter To Humanity | The Painted Desert | RB Microadventures: Georgetown, Texas
December 2015
Employee of the month at work. Mom got some answers regarding some of her health issues (the back pain was due to adult onset scoliosis; still no answers regarding the anemia issues). Finally got around to highlighting my hair to camo all the grays that are popping up. Did a little local exploring for a IG photo series I did with Christmas decor (especially wreaths!). Played Santa along with the rest of our department for a coworker & her family that were going through some difficult matters/financial issues; the gold flower ornament by the print on the upper right was the thank you she made each of us that I absolutely love.
Off work the week of Christmas, spent most of it sick (still have a bit of a cold going on 10 days later!). Microadventured to the Gaylord Texan to see the ICE! exhibit — my family was supposed to go to see ICE! as part of an extended family gathering the Saturday prior to Christmas, but due to mom’s health issues, had to cancel that day, I went that Wednesday instead with the bro. Frozen yogurt was a must since it was way too warm outside; I never can pick just one flavor, thus the two completely opposite choices I got more than once this month.
And, to wrap up the month/year, Texas had another one of its ‘bipolar weather attacks’ the day after Christmas — blizzards in the western half, flash flooding and tornadoes here in the eastern half. Thankfully the river I have to cross daily for work gradually receded from its way too close to the highway levels over the course of this week … meanwhile, we got twice as much rain this year than the annual average, which apparently is equal to the total rain deficit this area suffered since 2011. Oh Pacific Northwest, you can have your rain back now …
Posts worth another mention: So You Want To Be A Portrait Photographer {Part VII} | A Tour of The Painted Desert Inn | Time to Plan (Financially) for 2016 | RB Microadventures: Luckenbach, Texas | A Gift Guide For … Myself | A Tail of Two Kitties (yes, I meant to spell it as tail instead of tale) | Self Portrait: December 2015 {+ a Stitch Fix review}
How was your 2015? Did you blog about it? If so, share the link in the comments below so I’ll have some weekend reading <img src="http://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/72x72/1f609.png" alt="