Monday, December 29, 2014

A Review of 2014: The Year of Adventure

I hope those of you who celebrate Christmas had a wonderful and peaceful holiday! Larry and I had a quiet but very enjoyable time.
It’s hard for me to believe that this is the last post I will write in 2014. The years go by so quickly now!
Before the start of 2014, I chose a word to guide me through the year: Adventure. I did have some adventures during the year, some fun and exciting, some not-so-fun but life-changing, some big, some small.
Here are some of my adventures in 2014:


January: I opened a freelance editing business.

February: I started thinking about and making notes to write a mystery novel. I went sledding for the first time in years and had a blast!

One of my favorite photos from 2014. It was taken by Larry.


March: I covered the Group 1A boys basketball finals in Richmond and wrote a story about it—me, a non-sportswriter.

April: Larry and I started our first garden in the raised bed.

The raised bed garden in June.


June: Relationships with family members changed forever.

July: I started to knit. I went on a ride-along with a deputy with the county sheriff’s office.

Chase Bird doesn't seem to think too highly of my knitting.


September: I made an adjustment in my medications that made a big, positive difference in my depression. I didn't start talk therapy as I planned. I put that off until 2015 because of scheduling problems.

October-November: I started and finished physical therapy for a problem that remains to be diagnosed for sure: Neck? Shoulder? Both?

November: Larry and I tried authentic Japanese food for the first time. We found snow at the Peaks of Otter on Thanksgiving Day.

One adventure I worked on the whole year was reading. Yes, reading is always an adventure for me. I set a goal to read 24 books. I thought that was manageable and not so high that I would set myself up for failure.
I actually went over my goal and read 27 books. That might end up being 28 for 2014 since I’m currently reading one of my Christmas books.
I read a lot of articles and essays, too.
All but three of the books I read fall into the mystery/thriller category. I’m not sure what that says about me. Yes, I love mysteries. But maybe I needed some escape time, too.
Of the mysteries, 15 of them were by John Sandford. I discovered him last Christmas, and as you can guess, I found his stories captivating.
Here are the three nonfiction books I read:

The Center Cannot Hold: My Journey Through Madness. By Elyn R. Saks.

Let Your Life Speak: Listening for the Voice of Vocation. By Palmer J. Parker.

Blush: A Mennonite Girl Meets the Glittering World. By Shirley Hershey Showalter.

I’m not sure yet what number of books I will set as a goal for 2015, but it will be higher than 24 or even 27. And I hope to include more nonfiction books.

So there’s a quick overview of 2014, one that in no way reflects the complexity of life. I am glad to put 2014 behind me.
On Thursday, let’s talk about 2015.


Readers, what one word sums up your 2014?

14 comments:

  1. Great reading goal! I love mysteries, too. And I'd say you have had more than a full year of adventure! Isn't it amazing how we continue to grow, no matter how old we grow along with it? This is a post that makes me happy to read, Tina. Happy New Year!

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  2. Love the sledding picture! How fun.

    I read a lot this year. More than in years past. Not sure how it all came together that way, but I have been a frequent library visitor!

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  3. What an impressive year you've had Tina and I thank you for sharing a lot of it with us. I think Chase Bird might be wondering if it would be worth his while to learn to knit as well :-) Best Wishes for a wonderful 2015.

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  4. That sledding picture is awesome! Happy 2015!

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  5. I think it sounds like you had a very good year in general! Woohoo for the 27 books! I am a great lover of mystery books but have never read John Sandford. One more to put on my list! I guess if I had to come up with one word for my 2014 it would be OKAY. But I've never been good at holding things to one word. Happy New Year!

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  6. What a year you had; lots of good stuff going on. I love that picture of you sledding....so darn cute. I hope your new year is filled with many adventures and blessings....

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  7. i hope 2015 will bring new good adventures and experiences for you. :)

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  8. Oh Tina for the most part it was a wonderful wonderful year for you and I enjoyed seeing you go through the good stuff. I also went through the bad stuff with you and I know in time the good always wins. I love love tat photo of you tobogganing it has to be the best. Knitting you forgot to say a whole lot more about your knitting :0. I do think that helped both of us through some of that bad stuff. Here is to a Incredible 2015. Tina HUGS HUGS B

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  9. Love the sledding photo! The new adventures also showed up in your blog...it was already good, but you added some new dimensions to it. Congrats on all your hard work! Hope 2015 is even better.

    2014 wasn't one of my better years. I'm taking steps to help ensure 2015 is better, but some of it (such as aging parents), is out of my hands. Maybe my theme for 2015 will be "surrender."

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  10. Wow! A year of adventure indeed!

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  11. Neat to look back on your year of adventure like that. It's been quite a year for me, as well.

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  12. There's good and bad in every year, because that's life, right? I'm happy to report that the good happenings outweighed the bad for me in 2014. Hope that's true for us all in 2015!

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  13. I think your adventures would be far more than most people. The sledding looks like a blast and I can see why it would be your favorite photo. Japanese food? I love it.

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  14. Awesome, it was awesome!! And I remember all of these milestones!!

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