Once More, With Feeling!

Hello 2017, Good Riddance 2016!
Hello 2017, Good Riddance 2016!

2016 has been a weird sort of year. On the one hand, nothing much has happened in my small portion of the universe, but looking outside that bubble you can see the hurricane of events. There’s some breaks in the clouds, but there was a lot of darkness invading the lives of folks I love and it’s not a fun sight.

Thankfully this post is focusing on my bubble, even if it seems very small and very unimportant in the face of the storm. *rolls up sleeves*

I actually thought I wasn’t going to have anything for these lists at first look, but after a trip down memory lane with the Archives and Google Photos… and I did a lot more than I thought. So welcome to my little corner of sunshine! πŸ™‚

(Actually I’m pretty sure no one reads these posts but me, but I love looking back on them over the years!)

2016 Highlights Reel

  • I wrote stories, made art, hung out with friends and family, and tried to bring a little Assassin’ing into my life.

And lo, So Did 2016 Go…

Real Life Stuffs

  • I turned 40! How the heck did that happen??
  • I finished rebuilding the new version of my treadmill gaming system
  • 14 Year Wedding Anniversary, WOOT! πŸ˜€
  • I competed in almost every Nerd Fitness 4 week challenge and kicked some serious tush in some of them!
  • Went to my hubby’s first graduation! (This year for the bachelors, next year for the masters)
Down To The Studs
Down To The Studs
  • Two years in the current position, four years in IT department, and seven years at the current company. *happy dance*
  • Learned basic knife skills and how to cook a bunch of new recipes thanks to a Nerd Fitness Assassin‘s Mini Challenge
  • I had a lot of fun playing on Habitica… I need to start that up again! πŸ™‚
  • Took Rocko to the vet for eye surgery
  • I hit level 4 in Virgin Pulse all four times and got max payout (Ca-ching!)
Crazy Morning Breakfasts
I can cook! Maybe!
  • I can cook! Maybe!I started playing Pokemon Go and I’m looking forward to warmer weather to try out the new changes. (Go Team Instinct!)
  • I started playing WoW again… but only for a short while.
  • Started playing Final Fantasy again with my coworkers and have almost gotten my White Mage up to max level so I can tank or heal as needed. Now I just need to grind all the other classes… bleh. :p
  • Helped build the box for the blueberries at the new house and setup the mini orchard (6′ fruit trees are a thing!)
  • Finally settled on a name for the cat: President Taft
Final Fantasy How Do I Heal Again
Healing has to be easier than tanking… right?
  • Volunteered at my company’s first ever Hackathon
  • Dealt with a not-a-hurricane that flooded out our basement (just a bit) and then dealing with that repair
  • Had the toilet flood down a wall in the basement (just a bit) and dealt with the cleanup from that
  • Volunteered in a avery sideways manner at Katuscon, but signed on to volunteer for real next year.
  • Our housemate/boarder finished college and is out and about in the world! πŸ˜€
  • We’re soooo close to getting the old house fixed up to rent out! *crosses fingers*

Writing and Art Related

NaNoWriMo Daily Wordcounts 2016 Placeholder
Christmas Fat Animal Magnets
Fat Animal Magnets!
Portrait Horse: Queen Esther - Custom Breyer Traditional Adios Model Horse in Red Chestnut
Portrait Horse: Queen Esther
  • I tried relaunching my webcomic Camera Angles, but got sidetracked (whoops!)
  • Started my adventures in learning how to bind books
  • Did a post on How to Prep a Breyer Mini Whinnie since I couldn’t find any when I needed one
  • I started reposting all of my old fan fiction to the archives here and organizing it on Google Docs
  • I started being very careful about what paint colors and brands I am using for each piece of art so folks can play along at home if they like
  • I started the Wordwar Z! writing thread over on NerdFitness and made badges!
  • Gave in and started paying for a proper Google Docs/Photos account so I could back up ALL the things!

Blog Related

  • Had 22,277+ visits in 2016 (vs 15,469 in 2015, up 44.01%) ((vs 831 in 2010!))
  • The Molds and Casting posts are still dominating the leaderboards, but the Saturday Story Prompts aren’t far behind
  • I added AdSense adds in March… and have been making roughly $3 a month since.
  • I changed templates from Twenty Fourteen to Iconic One
  • There were 246 posts this year… but really at least another hundred more when you count all of the fan fiction that was backdated.

And on that note, it’s time to put 2016 to bed and start looking forward to what I’m going to accomplish next year! πŸ˜€

Goodbye 2016, Hello 2017!

Failure is the New Breakfast

Martha Bechtel

My name is Martha Bechtel and I write fantasy and science fiction stories, paint small model horses silly colors, cast resin and plaster magnets, code random code (and Wordpress plugins)... Come on in and join in the fun!

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