For me, the Holidays are the time I start to feel most nostalgic. I say it every year and it is so true, the years keep going by quicker and quicker!
I love this time of year because I feel like I have grown a great deal as a person. Looking back at last December, from the surface, it may seem not much has changed, but I know quite a bit has. This is also so evident through my blog posts!
So, I figured I’d do a small recap of 2016 through blog posts! (And some pictures too!!)
January:
The month of January was a turning point for me as a teacher. I was finally getting the hang of things and feeling healthier. It’s amazing how sick I was the first four months of my first year of teaching! (So many new bugs) January was a month of feeling much more confident in the classroom and able to really be creative in my teaching. I also started off my New Year with a few new goals, one of them to listen to Christian Music for the first 30 days, and I can’t recommend this enough! Other top posts from January: New Year & January Memories
February:
February was an interesting month. I really hit the post-college blues and was missing friends more than I ever thought I could. After a truly stellar college experience, I don’t think anything could quite prepare me for the true sadness I felt after leaving college. For some reason I felt this acutely during February and was actually the reason why I started my 101 in 1001 list. This seemed to give me hope and spur me on to do more and start to really appreciate being back home.
Other top posts for February: Mid-Week Runs, Garden of the Gods, February Re-Cap.
March:
March arrived with a great deal of snow and trips to visit friends! March passed by quickly as school kept me pretty busy. To be honest, I don’t remember too much from March except for Spring Break! (Thank goodness for these blog posts) In March I also devoted a great deal of time to WordPress.com’s classes to help spark your imagination on blogposts and this really helped me to gain readership on my .com domain. This series included: Relative Size, Connect, Solitude, Home, Bliss, The Simple Truth, Directionally Challenged.
Popular posts from March: Weekends in the Mountains, Handling What is Beyond Our Control.
April:
April was full of planning for summer, and especially training for my upcoming Half Marathon. I was stoked and the Colorado sunshine really helped to fuel my enthusiasm for running. I was constantly running and making time to work out. Looking back, I think my running really helped me to feel more at peace more often. I also started blogging about the funny things my fourth graders would say in class.
Other Popular Posts from April: Morning Truth, Seeing the Big Picture, Summer Goals, Simplicity, Fall in Love, We Have to be Sad?!
May:
May marked the end of my first year of teaching! This was quite a bittersweet moment; saying goodbye to the students for summer break and realizing I had just accomplished my first year full time teaching. I was amazed looking back to see how far I had come as a person and a teacher that month.
Other Popular Posts from May: That One Beauty Post, Prone to Travel, Faith Alone, Spring in the Rockies.
June:
June was marked by a great deal of traveling. Trips I had been planning for months finally came to fruition. I was able to spend multiple weeks in the Midwest and ran my half marathon!! With a new PR of a sub 2-hour time! I also started my own separate Instagram for Rocky Mountain Collection, a collection of pictures from across the Rockies depicting an appreciation for time spent in the mountains.
Other Popular Posts from June: Who do you want to be?, Gooseberry Falls, Happy Summer!, Antiquing, Split Rock Lighthouse, Duluth.
July:
July was a dreamy month of travel. I finished up my Midwest travels and headed up to the mountains and to Cape Cod. I still dream about Cape Cod. Has anyone else been? I absolutely fell in love with Massachusetts and the Cape. Ready to head back!
Other Popular Posts: The Things We Leave Behind (<– STILL one of my all time favorite posts), Change, Seeing the Good, National Ice Cream Day, Feeling Small in a Big World, Developing Your Eye, No Man is an Island,
August:
August was a HUGE month for my blog. I finally got up the courage to buy my domain and start the switch to self-hosting. This was something I had been debating for months on how and when to do this. In August I started branching out on Social Media and realized what a huge impact that had on my blog. I should have started earlier! I even changed the name of my blog from Joy-Full Happenings to LemonadePress and thus the new blog was born. Even though I had my blog for about four years, August was when LemonadePress was born. Yay for Blog-a-versaries! During August I had a few wonderful weddings in between watching the Olympics! It was certainly an eventful month!
Popular Posts from August: Recaps from Cape Cod:( Whale Watching, Cape Cod Life, Martha’s Vineyard); Benefits of BlogLovin and How to Start Using It, Summer in an Ice Cream Cone, A Walk Down Memory Lane, Field of Dreams, Mountain Love.
September:
Compared to August, September was relaxed and laid back. We headed in to the new school year and there were some quick little trips. I was able to re-design my blog and re-brand. It was rather a refreshing month!
Popular Posts from September: Finding Balance-The Rule of Hand, Authenticity Even in the Busy Season , Ways to Help you Dress Professional and Cool in the Heat.
October:
October I encountered some bumps with my blog’s domain. I couldn’t switch over to my new self-hosted site because my domain was non-transferable to my new site. However, those challenges only fueled me on to figure out how to best blog. Other events in October, my favorite person moved from Iowa to Colorado and what a relief that was! We got to spend time with my brother who flew home for a surprise weekend and spend some time in the mountains! The leaves were absolutely gorgeous. I cannot say enough about the beauty of the Colorado Rockies in the Fall! Also, the second blog I’ve been fortunate enough to work with, Tribe21, started it’s blog!
Other Popular Posts from October: Fall Leaf Peeping, October Road, Bopping Around Boulder + The Weekender Outfit, Meet Caitlin, & The Ability to Stand Out.
November:
As if October went by quickly, it was nothing compared to November. School kept on trucking on and every weekend was busy. We made a quick trip to North Dakota to visit my brother and spent some time exploring the city around us. I felt like I spent the end of November and Thanksgiving reflecting on this year! And getting overly excited for Christmas. November was an interesting month with the election in which I reflected on as well.
Popular Posts from November: Gifts that Give Back Gift Guide, 3 Ways to Stay Fit This Holiday Season, Sweater Weather + Leopard Print, Establishing an Instagram Theme, Fashion on a Budget.
December:
This month I started the Seasons of Joy series, and it has been wonderful to collaborate and host guest bloggers. I introduced the series in post one, Erin followed up with finding Joy each day, Morgan talked about Joy being a choice, and Lauren talked about how Joy could be found in friendships.
December has been such a gift to reflect upon this year and appreciate time with friends and family!
2016 has been quite a year. My blog has pushed me to find new outlets for my creativity and has pushed me to learn more about photography, social media, and marketing. I’ve grown in my confidence in writing and blogging and have developed friendships through the blogging community.
If you’ve stayed tuned for the past few months, or the year, I want to say Thank you. Thank you so much for your support and encouragement as I’ve gone through this journey.
I am definitely looking forward to 2017 and all it will bring!
What are some blog posts that highlight your year? I’d love to see them! Feel free to leave links in the comments below or use #2016inblogposts on Instagram and Twitter! If you don’t blog, I’d still love to know some of your highlights from 2016! Feel free to leave a comment below!
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