My 2015

Here we are, on the last days of the year. Were we not just waving hello to 2015? Scribbling down new goals and anticipating a fresh canvas, full of unknown adventures? Now we’re saying goodbye, laughing at all the goals we failed to keep past the first week of the year, and hoping for better this coming year.
Perhaps I didn’t quite do everything I had hoped to this year, but it’s been an amazing (if not a little wild) ride anyway. I think this year was something like riding in the back of a pickup truck. Where you hope each bump doesn’t send you flying out onto the rocky road, but the exhilaration of the ride and wind makes the uncomfortable bits worth it all the same.

JANUARY: Opened up the new year with some lazy days enjoying the last days of Christmas break, then went into a whirl of a weekend trip out of town immediately followed by another trip to my bestie’s house for a week. Then it was back to life and catching up on the normal things that got forgotten in the midst of the Christmas season and trips. At this point I was planning on rewriting Fallen Matter for my big writing project of the year but. . .plans changed.
FEBRUARY: The first day of February brought on some disappointment but also a strange sense of peace and new, exciting plans. Rooglewood Press announced the winners for their Five Enchanted Roses novella contest and my entry, Burning Thorns, was not amidst the winners. Oddly, I was okay with that. I realized I didn’t want BT to be a little novella. It could be so much more. So Fallen Matter got forgotten when it was clear BT wanted to be a novel. It just felt right. I got to work almost immediately planning out the novel. February was the month of plotting.
MARCH: In the midst of some busyness and fun, I officially started writing the Burning Thorns novel. Due to quite a few events though, not much got written.
APRIL: On the first of April I did something a little crazy. . . I, um, got braces on my teeth. Yeah, I’m in my 20s and am a brace face. And no, it was not an April Fool’s joke. They’re for real and look rather ridiculous. But it was something I’ve wanted to do for a long time and the orthodontist said I could really use them, so I thought, “Hey, two years of braces for a lifetime of healthy teeth? I could do that.” (I hate them, but I’m gritting my teeth and dealing with it. See what I did there?)
April brought in Easter which I always love! We still dye Easter eggs even though we’re basically a houseful of adults.
I did some more writing on Burning Thorns throughout the month, but not nearly as much as I should have. I couldn’t seem to quite get back into that writing groove.
Near the end of the month, we had a huge scare when one of my dearest friends was unexpectedly hospitalized with some serious health issues. She has always been one of the healthiest people I know, so it was a shock. Thankfully, she pulled through and is fine now. I cannot be more grateful to God for taking care of her.
MAY: The warm days of May spurred on a good deal of watching ABCs Once Upon a Time, reading, and general laziness. I was writing, but still just bits here and there. It was progress, but not much.
Avengers 2: Age of Ultron came out and a good friend and I went to see it. Obviously squealing ensued.
Much of the last bit of the month was spent getting my grandmother moved and settled from one apartment to another.
By the month’s end, I realized I wasn’t going to get much written unless I had something pushing me to it. So I had a plan. . .
JUNE: On June 1st I started a 30k goal for the month, my own little Camp NaNoWriMo. A few others I knew were also doing a Camp NaNo during June so it was the perfect time to really get those words in. Needless to say, much writing was spent in the month of June. (And there may also have been more Once Upon a Time marathoning between writing.)
Halfway through the month, I learned one of my friends was pregnant with her and her husband’s second child. Such joyful news!
Some family I had only ever met once before visited during the month and we had too much fun seeing them.
By the end of the month, I had a whole new 30k words on Burning Thorns and well on my way to the ending.
JULY: July exploded into a whirlwind of busyness. My main goal was to finish BT and catch up on the many, many things I had abandoned for writing in June. Instead my grandmother had surgery and came to our house to recover while I spent much time at her apartment dogsitting and keeping things in order there. Things quieted by the last half of the month and, on July 31st, I wrote “The End” to the first draft of the Burning Thorns novel.
AUGUST: With BT finished, I finally had more time for other things. I pored myself into catching up on emails and things the first couple weeks of August. By the second half of August, I was blissfully free and spent much time reading and watching Doctor Who, as one does. By the end of the month, I realized I rather missed writing and tried my hand at my first piece of flash fiction. I’ve been meaning to try more, it seems rather addicting.
SEPTEMBER: Since I had finished BT, I had no intentions of doing anything writerly until October when NaNoWriMo plotting began. As a result, September was spent with the family, fun romps through town, meeting with friends a time or two, and just general living. Then, on September 30th, I got a call from the owner of my favorite secondhand bookstore. Next thing I knew, I was going to my first job interview.
OCTOBER: On October 5th, I got another call and officially had my first job. (Let’s just say there was much squealing and jumping up and down.) My excitement dampened a little when I had my first car accident. Nothing major, just a blown out tire. Still, it was a little unnerving, especially since I started my new job the very next day. Not exactly what I wanted to happen before beginning a new job. But God took care of me and I made it to my first day of work on October 9th and had the best time. From there I was whisked into work and plotting More Black than Night for NaNoWriMo. I discovered working in your favorite bookstore is the best thing in the world (and getting a paycheck ain’t bad either). NaNo planning was rather slow and being stubborn, but by the end of the month I had a full outline and was ready for the insanity that is NaNo. I just. . .didn’t know how much insanity.
NOVEMBER: The first week of NaNo started out great and I was feeling optimistic. Then life exploded and, honestly, I think I’m still recovering from that second week of NaNo. Between work, sleeping away from home, health problems in the family, and trying to keep up with my wordcount, I was kind of ready to collapse. Things got 100x better in the third week and I fell back in love with my NaNo. On November 23rd, I shockingly fully finished More Black than Night at 76,700 words, my shortest novel to date.
The rest of the month was spent rejuvenating, nearly exploding from too much food on Thanksgiving, etc. etc. Went to see The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 and cried my eyes out. Ya know, things.
DECEMBER: Suddenly it was December! Which meant CHRISTMAS and fun December things! The month started out great when on the 1st my new laptop I had ordered came in. Yep, Larry, my first and only laptop I’ve had for over 8 years, was ready to retire. Now I have Lois, a small laptop that has a touchscreen and whose screen flips over and is shiiiiny. I loveth her! (What? You don’t name and love your laptops? Well, why not?)
The rest of the months was spent decorating for Christmas, falling in love with my job at the bookstore more and more, and general busyness. My plan for December was to watch movies and read for most of the month, instead I’ve spent it barely home. But that’s okay. I enjoy busy days, too. (Lets just not talk about how little I’ve read this year, okay? It’s embarrassing.) There has been a Christmas family gathering, much Christmas shopping, having a fantastic Christmas, all the Christmas things. And now. . .now saying goodbye to 2015.
Whew! It’s been an interesting year for sure. Getting braces, having car trouble, spontaneously landing my first job, the craziest NaNo of my life, writing two full novels—it’s been something! There were definitely things I wanted to do that didn’t get done (and things I didn’t that did. . .), but, overall, I’d say 2015 has been a wonderful year.
If you read all that nonsense, you deserve a cookie (or 12)! This probably bored you to tears. This post was more for me, a log if you will, to remember this year by. Of course, this only scratched the surface. Life really isn’t about the highlights, but those in between moments that can’t be put into words, but are so important. Some have been good, some have been pretty awful, but it’s my life and I’m so grateful to God for blessing me with it.
What’s in store for 2016? Well, that’s yet to be seen. But for now, I’ll be enjoying these last days of 2015.
What about you? What was some of your biggest 2015 highlights? Do tell! How was your year in general? I hope you had a beautiful one and the next will be even better. I’ll see you all in 2016!!

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Tracey Dyck
December 29, 2015 1:56 AM

What a fun idea, logging the highlights of every month! (I do something similar on my birthday each year–I read over the last year's worth of journal entries and then write a new one reflecting on that and looking ahead into the next year.)

And it sounds like you've had quite the eventful 365 days! All the awesmazing writerly things, the fun friends/family times, getting a job (it's so good to hear that you're loving it that much!), etc. 😀 I didn't know you got braces, by the way! I had braces for two years (up until I was 16)… Yeah. Not the funnest thing ever, that's for sure. But definitely worth it. How are yours treating you?

What a beautiful way of saying it: "Life really isn’t about the highlights, but those in between moments that can’t be put into words, but are so important." So true. We tend to be on the lookout for those big life events, when really our lives are defined much more by how we live those little moments, day to day. And those pile up into something special.

Happy last few days of 2015! May 2016 be your brightest year yet! ^_^

Tracey Dyck
December 29, 2015 3:42 AM
Reply to  Tracey Dyck

Oh, right! Katie's comment reminds me that YOU NAMED YOUR NEW COMPUTER LOIS. And you had Larry before. 😀 😀 😀 Let me hug you! Bryan Davis fans FTW!

Katie Grace
December 29, 2015 3:23 AM

You had your computer for EIGHT years?! Whoah. I'm not sure how yours last that long. 😛 Mine last three to four at the most… And then crash. And die. It's bothersome. -.-

I think my greatest highlight was going to a writing conference. That was soooo much fun. ^.^

Mary Horton
December 29, 2015 4:02 AM

Wait a minute. Is it already almost 2016?? *darts to look at calendar* IT IS THERE ARE SERIOUSLY ONLY THREE MORE DAYS WHAT IS HAPPENING?!

Ahem.

Yeaaah, it's kinda impossible for me to grasp that 2016 is just around the corner. (Three more days, people!) This year has been so…difficult. In fact, it's probably the most difficult year I've ever had. It's been full of car crashes (two within the same month), trips to the hospital (including my very first trip in an ambulance and my first surgery), and lots and LOTS of heartache and distress. I was seriously DONE with 2015 by the time July rolled around. But, despite all the trials, 2015 has been a huge learning experience. I've really learned to appreciate the little things and treasure all the AMAZING gifts that God has placed in my life. So yes, it was a tough journey, but I'm trusting in my Savior for lots of wonderful adventures in 2016!

Annnyway, that's my year in a nutshell. We're seriously in the same boat as far as braces go. I got mine on St. Patrick's Day and will be wearing them for about the same length of time as you. (Kudos to you for getting them when you're an adult, by the way!) I'm so grateful to have come to known YOU and all my wonderful blogging buddies this year <333 One of my plans for the next year is to…drumroll…start my own blog!! So we'll see how that goes 🙂

Enjoy the rest of 2015, Christine!!!

Skye Hoffert
December 29, 2015 4:04 AM

Seems like you did a lot of awesome things this year, and the fact that you remember most of them is impressive. I am trying to think of the things I did this year but it's a blank 😀

Anonymous
Anonymous
December 29, 2015 4:48 PM

This didn't bore me one bit, I read the whole thing :D.
You work at a bookstore?! That's SO cool! That's the perfect place for any bookworm to work *nods*.
Lois sounds like quite a cute little laptop, you should post a picture of her! Sadly, I haven't named my laptop yet … and I've had it for four months … my poor laptop :(.
My biggest highlight of 2015 … hmm … well, I'm cheating and giving you one that happened three months before January 2015: my little sister, Elaina, was born. And I love 'er to bits :D.

~Savannah Perran

Savannah Perran
January 3, 2016 2:54 PM
Reply to  Anonymous

Ooo, your job sounds SO awesome!
My laptop is red with the letters HP on it, so my little sister told me to name it Harry Potter. I turned that name down :D.
Aww, I'm glad you like Elaina's name! I'll have to tell her that :).

Hannah V
December 29, 2015 6:35 PM

I think the craziest thing that happened this year, is that my brother got married, and he's the first of the family, so it was really strange to us. But we have an awesome sister in law and they're expecting! It will be so weird yet awesome to be an Aunt! 😀

And then during Spring, I attended Master's School of Art, where I met tons of awesome people and learned so much! Not to mention some friends that we hadn't seen for three years came and stayed with us for a time. That was truly special.

We've been so blessed this year, I really should make an account in my journal, similar to what you did, which I loved by the way. I didn't get bored at all. It's so cool to see what can happen in just one year!

I named my laptop Stella. 😀 She's pretty awesome.

Sky
Sky
December 31, 2015 7:07 AM

I loved reading about your year! As an ex-brace-face myself, I can tell you that you made the right decision! I know it's a lot of pain and irritation for a while, but it'll be more than worth it in the end. Let me know if you have any questions or problems!

I'm really glad to hear that your friend was okay. I'm also glad to hear that you got a lot of writing done, despite the fact that things didn't exactly go according to plan. 😉 And YESSS. Working at your favorite bookstore must be AWESOME. Dream job right there!

I can't wait to see what 2016 brings us both! ♥

Deborah O'Carroll
January 2, 2016 8:52 PM

I love seeing your whole year laid out like this! 🙂 AND YOU WROTE 2 NOVELS YOU'RE AMAZIIIING! I hope your new year will be a lovely and fantastic and marvelous and blessed and wordish and bookish next chapter of your life! Love you! ^_^ <3

Victoria Grace Howell
January 12, 2016 8:34 PM

Wow you had a big year! So much happened! Congrats on all of your accomplishments. I'm lucky enough to not have to have braces. Yay. XD I hope 2016 is even better!

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