This has been one hell of a year for us; big decisions, scary moments, exciting changes; and I will be forever grateful that I started this blog so that I have a record of it all. I have captured the good bits, the bad bits and all the ordinary and extraordinary moments in between.
I was in the middle of looking back on all that has happened this year in a Reflections on 2014 post when the lovely Nikki from Keep Strong and Moving Forward tagged me in this meme! So, here goes with my slightly reworked Reflections post :)
Highlights of 2014
At the start of the year we decided to stay in the US for longer, and to sell our home in Edinburgh. We bought a new house, and sold two! We packed, and unpacked, many boxes! Our whole year has been influenced and effected by this major decision.
While all these big changes were happening the months passed, as they do, with a mix of the fun and the mundane. Looking back over the year, it is one that will be remembered for, at times, being stressful and difficult, but more for being one of laughter, pride, friendship and family.
I began the year by going self-hosted and I haven’t looked back. I was thrilled to see that the step-by-step guide I wrote after doing so is still being used and recommended, as recently as the last few days! I also kicked off my linky The Prompt, and this has been one of the most inspiring and rewarding things I have done this year.
It snowed, a lot, the polar vortex taking its toll. But, I began to make peace with living with harsh winters, and even began to embrace the snow. The children loved it!
We took a trip back to the UK in February and had a wonderful, if whirlwind, time seeing as many family and friends as we could! We then celebrated the wee girl’s second birthday in March with a small party and then a shared Team Umizoomi themed party with her brother, who turned five in April.
May saw the weather finally improve after a very long winter! The water table made a return and we joined in our communities Memorial Day Parade for the first time. In June our eldest turned eight and I attended BritMums Live. This was an amazing experience and I’m so glad I went. I met so many wonderful people; it was truly inspiring, and the best fun!
July saw us move into our new house and welcome friends and family for an epic two weeks with a houseful of guests (fourteen at once was our record I think). We took lots of lovely trips, including two visits to Storyland! August continued in much the same vein as July, enjoying the summer and then getting ready for the 5yo to start Kindergarten. The highlight for me though was my first trip to New York City :)
September was all about settling back into routine with school and activities, and my husband and I marked ten years of marriage. I also attended my very first US blogger event with a lovely evening creating with Play Doh! October of course means Halloween and November saw us enjoy Thanksgiving and play in the snow, while I took a trip back to the UK to celebrate my grandmother’s 100th birthday.
December has been a whirlwind of Christmas preparations, or lack thereof, and after a particularly stressful couple of weeks I took a step back and realised all I had to be grateful for and binned the to-do list. As a result, Christmas has been wonderful and a fabulous end to a rather remarkable year.
Excited for in 2015
2015 will see our exciting family journey continue with Project House and Garden. And while I fully expect this to have its stressful moments, I hope for a liberal sprinkling of fun to go with the plastering and painting and digging… I’m looking forward to planning and decorating and making this house our home.
As is generally the case, we don’t have any specific plans for the year, we are terribly last minute about most things! We will visit the UK and Ireland in April and I hope to go to BritMums again in June; but there are no holidays booked, events planned or tickets bought.
But, last night while talking to the boys about New Year’s resolutions, we agreed that as a family we would visit three US states (that we haven’t visited before). That seems like a fun, and exciting, plan to have!
New Year’s Resolutions
I don’t do specific resolutions. I never stick to them and they just end up making me feel bad! But, I do have goals. I want to focus more on my writing; in fact today sees the start of a 100k in 100 days challenge… think I’ll be doing a bit of catching up once the boys go back to school! I want to enjoy my children. I want to grow my blog. I want to run a 10k. I want to travel more in the US. I want to continue to make and capture memories. I want to run a 5k with my 8yo. I want to read more. I want to sleep more! I want to be happy.
Blogging High
My blog turned two a couple of weeks ago, and my blog birthday post covered my highs of the year. It’s been an amazing year; with BritMums, The Prompt, making it into the Tots100 Top 100 (for a month!), increasing readership and engagement and the development of my writing, with fiction and poetry featuring more often.
My Top Five posts of the year are an interesting collection…
Welcome to Sticker Club… which I’m slightly embarrassed to say is a bit of a rant, the only truly ranty post I’ve ever written in fact! Accidentally getting my SEO spot on, it is now almost at the top of Google search results for Sticker Club… it is viewed virtually every day!
Bake: Lego Head marshmallow pops which is one of my most pinned posts and is also viewed almost every day.
Bake: Skylanders Portal of Power Cake is another tutorial post and comes second on my Pinterest traffic!
The Truth About: Santa and the elf talked about our decision to tell our 8yo the truth about Santa and how we chose to handle this milestone.
The Truth About: Christmas as an expat seems to have struck a chord with other expats.
I’m very much looking forward to the next year and seeing where it takes me, and the blog!
Photo of the Year
This has been virtually impossible! Having completed a Project 365 this year, I have taken a lot of photos, and a lot of photos that I am quite proud of. But, after some deliberation, this is the one I’ve chosen. It makes me smile and reminds me of a very special fifteen minutes with my little girl, where I chose to stop and watch, not rush on to the next thing.
So, there we have it. A busy, eventful, exciting year! I can only hope that 2015 is as much fun, though I do hope it is slightly less busy…
Thanks again to Nikki for the New Year’s tag :)
Wow what a year you packed in lol. Im delighted to have found your blog as i really enjoy reading it. Im attending britmumslive this year for the first time. Im nervous but excited lol. I so hope you come as it would be great to meet you :-)
Thank you! It’s so lovely to hear that you enjoy reading, looking forward to getting to know you better :) And, you never know, we might meet at BritMums!
Wow what a busy year! It sounds like you’re settling in to your new home though, I’m glad for you as it must’ve been such a big transition. Happy New Year! x
It’s been a big year, but the last few years all seem to have been, hoping for a slightly more settled one this year!
You packed an awful lot into last year lovely. I’m really excited to hear more about your 100k words in 100 days challenge. Also looking forward to seeing the transformation of your house and garden! Happy new year xxx
Thank you Renee, last year was a bit nuts, really hoping for a quieter time this year, but not holding my breath…
Sounds like an incredibly busy year for all of you. Here’s hoping 2015 is fabulous. Happy New Year Sara x
It was…! But I have high hopes for 2015 :)
Wow – What a year you had last year! And it sounds like 2015 will be another great one too! Good luck with the 100k challenge (I’ve currently wound down so much over Christmas I can barely string ten written words together let alone that many). Happy New Year – looking forward to joining you on your journey. xxx
It was a busy year, looking forward to 2015, but hoping it’s a little quieter…
Currently failing to write… Not a great start!
wow what a busy year and I’m glad I caught you before you posted and that you had time to rework it. I hope you enjoyed taking part x
Thank you! I enjoyed the added dimension to what I had planned to write, thank you for tagging me x
I love the new years tag. While I am still not blogging until Monday! I promised myself a solid two weeks off of blogging. It’s been the hardest thing I have ever done to set away and reflect. I definitely want to do this tag though. The photo you have choosen I think is magazine worthy. it’s stunning! Its one of my huge passions photography and I wish I could get better at it. It’s frustrating. But a journey I am pushing more and more this year. Glad you had such an amazing year. I have enjoyed reading your blog hun and getting to meet you! :) Happy New Year! #sharewithme
Thank you Jenny, a very Happy New Year to you too x
You’ve had a busy year!
Such a beautiful picture of your daughter to finish it off with too – I think it’s when the picture captures a memory that it stands out the most.
Wishing you a wonderful 2015 full of adventure.
Thank you Steph x
I’ve just discovered you through BritMums–I’m an American mom now living in the UK. (In the southeast, in Kent, to be more exact.) One of my sister’s lives north of Boston, in Gloucester–I HIGHLY recommend taking a trip up to Gloucester & Rockport in the summer if you haven’t. It’s one of my favorite places in the world.
I’ll be a BritMums in June–maybe we’ll meet!
Oh, we haven’t been to Rockport yet, but I have heard it mentioned, I will add it to our must-do list :) And, maybe we will get to meet at BritMums!