2015 - A belated wrap-up

So, I'd like to apologize for how long it's been since I last posted. Since this past November, I've gotten sick twice, had computer issues, fixed other's computer issues, had holidays to deal with, had family visit, got engaged, broke a tooth, and then got too burnt out to do anything beyond watching YouTube for hours at a time. I finally feel like I'm ready to jump back into it, and oh the content I have prepped for you guys!

2015 was one hell of a ride. It had some really low moments, but it also had some pretty high ones, too.

January - Fairly quiet as I began prepping for the launch of my store, October Rose Boutique. Had a debut event to shoot this month. Not featured, and I'm not sure why I never posted about it, is the weekend trip Mike and I took with my parents for their 31st anniversary. It was pretty fun and we got to see a Circ de Sole performance at Treasure Island. We lost all our money 🙁 This was a bit of a rough month as Mike's dad initially went into the hospital and we were a bit worried about leaving just in case anything happened.

February - I got to take the engagement photos for my soon-to-be sister-in-law Megan and her then fiancee Brian, and it was so much fun to. It's also a good thing we did it when we did because that location is no longer in business, unfortunately. We celebrated Michael's birthday in true style: being as lazy as possible and only going out to get food!

March - This was a very emotional month for everyone. We celebrated as best as we all could to help Megan have the best bridal shower we could all give her. Unfortunately, that happiness was diminished quickly with the past of their father later that month. He fought hard, but ultimately God needed him more than we all did. I'm very fortunate that I was able to meet him when I did, and though its heartbreaking that he's gone and left when he did, I'm glad he's no longer suffering as he did.

April - My month started out with watching Mike's family lay his dad to rest. It was a beautiful service. A week later, I stood by Megan in her bridal party and watched as she married the love of her life. It was beautiful and there were tears, but I think this wonderful occasion was much needed. They had beautiful weather, and you could feel Warren smiling down upon the family through it all. The month started to normalize back out with my FIRST EVER LEGO SET given to me by Mike. I ended the month finishing the edits for Sarah and her family's portraits in a beautiful location. I love this little family so much! Damn, that kid is adorable!

May - May seemed to come and go with a quick blur. My mom got us into the Waterfront Hotel's Mother's Day brunch and I was finally able to give her the (still unfinished) scrapbook from our time in the Philippines. She cried, I almost cried, and my dad smile on. We took some photos on the lawn and it was pretty rad. The food was great! Later that month, Mike and I joined his family down in Disneyland for a few days for the Disney 60th Diamond Celebration 24-Hour Day. It was INSANE. SO MANY PEOPLE. Such fun, much crowd.

June - The end of the first half of the year had me in my first pair of glasses and my first super successful growing of a plant in my life. We did a quick trip to Old Sac to celebrate my mom's birthday. We did my dad's birthday a little more low-key this year. And we all celebrated the quickly approaching birth of Mike's second niece at Rachel's baby shower.

July - I didn't do a whole lot, but I did make a cake for Harry Potter's birthday, which I was proud of, even if it did taste like crap!

August - I celebrated a birthday! And I scored some sweet Razer equipment for my computer from my wonderful parents and my awesome boyfriend. I also went to a family friend's child's 18th debut in the Bay which was legit. AND I was featured in a blog! I was also one of the last round of bloggers to be featured in that segment also because they don't produce that segment any more, so that's a thing.

September - In September I went to a bunch of parties and a wedding for one of Mike's cousins. It was such a pretty front yard country style wedding. And then, I chilled.

October - I started a craft project for me and some of my friends creating a Harry Potter inspired quilt. Unfortunately, my sewing machine stopped working properly and I couldn't figure out why the tension was off and the thread was catching so the projects went on hiatus. I also attended the Our Lady of Fatima event in Thorton and that was a rad experience I hadn't had since I was little.

November - Sarah and her little family asked me to take a mini photo session with them for her family's reunion and got some wonderful shots. It took me a while to post them, but I finally got them done! Thank goodness for California not understanding what seasons are!

December - December was one of the craziest months of all. Honestly, I kinda wish I was doing the December Daily scrapbook in this event, but I might do it for next year because I GOT ENGAGED, MOFOS. YEA. GET IT. I GOT ONE. Haha! On a side note, because I'll talk more about my engagement in another post, I had the opportunity to attend the Charles Dicken's festival with my mom in the Bay and it was SO much fun! Definitely doing it again this year and in costume! On a sad note, my mom's oldest brother passed away after struggling for months to get his diabetes under control. God decided he needed him more than we did and, for the second time that year, I had to watch a family suffer from the loss of a family member. This time, in my own family. He's not suffer, though, and our families were able to cover the costs with no problem. For that, I'm really grateful. Lastly, I began the process of piecing together my new gaming rig. Unfortunately, this build is on a temporary hold due to the wedding as they cost a lot of money and I have to have priorities.

 

And there you have it, folks! My very-much-delayed recap of 2015! It was one hell of a year and, to be honest, I'm really glad it's over. For every bit of sadness this year, a large helping of happiness was passed around, too. I've stopped going into new year's saying things like, "Give me what you got, new year! I can take it." Because, as it turns out, I actually can't fully take it. Life can be a bit of a bitch sometimes, so it's nice when the Universe throws out something wonderful at us to remind us not all things are terrible. I'm excited for this new year and some of the events coming around, and I hope deeply that I will have the strength to stand strong when I will need to. And even more so, I hope that I will not be required to test that hope this year.

I hope you all had at the most a wonderful and at the least a decent beginning to 2016. If you did a 2015 recap in a video or blog, link me down below! I'd love to see how your life went last year!