2015 Year In Review

Well, it was a nice, normal year. The best kind of year. I tried to do a lot of noticing the little things, so if you noticed the 52-week photo challenge I did (and if you are reading this, surely you did, as it was the only thing I blogged this year) that was the catalyst I used to help me! I managed to follow through on all 52 weeks, so there was one goal accomplished!

The next 2015 goal: to see 100 different birds in one year. It's no "Big Year" of 300 or more, but I tell you what, it was HARD! With three weeks left in the year, and a cold snap nowhere to be found, I thought I was up a creek when I had five birds left. Luckily, a road trip to Oklahoma knocked out a few more birds at the border, then a trip down south with my dad knocked out the last two.

The Bunting. It looks like a cartoon with its colors!

My personal favorite birds that I saw were the Painted Bunting (my first ever!), the Scissortail Flycatcher (one of my favorite birds in general), the Pileated Woodpecker (you can hear him knocking across a lake), the Golden Crowned Kinglet (it's a hummingbird-sized cutie), and the Black and White Warbler. Honestly, I could name about 20 more birds that I thought were fantastic. Now, I plan on continuing the list into a life list by adding more and more birds to it!

Caleb and I celebrated our one-year anniversary. He took me to the Butterfly Palace in Branson, where I've wanted to go for years! A few butterflies even landed on me. It was beautiful and magical.

It was also the year of new furniture. We got rid of our old love seat and chair and end and coffee tables, and bought a new couch and built a new coffee and end table!

As far as other goals we set last year that we accomplished:
We sold Caleb's old truck and got a new vehicle!
Worked out 3 times a week (sometimes we even worked out 5 times a week!)
We each read over 20 books.
I shot my first wedding, and did some prep for starting my business!
Made my first quilt.
Finished a 5K in under 30 minutes (I am a sprinter. Caleb is an endurance runner. Training was fun.)
Picked a favorite weather man on a local news program.

Okay, that last one wasn't really a goal but it did happen and we are VERY biased toward him.

But yeah, other than that, a timid year overall. Just like I like it. Here are a few more shots from the year that I love.

Me and homegirl.