How is 2024 almost over? It feels like this year has flown by as much as it dragged in a few spots. Not counting this post, I have published 53 entries this year, which is down from last year but not my slowest year by any means. This year I've 445,000 page views and 44 comments. The comment count would have been higher had I not disabled comments on a post that blew up and turned into a battleground that I got tired of mediating.

I feel like I've used TAPP, the alternate teacher certification course I went through last year, as an excuse for a lot of things over the last year-and-a-half, but unless you've gone through the program or something like it, you just can't understand how time-consuming it is. Not to mention the fact that I was still working full-time and am a parent. So the first half of the year was pretty much dedicated to getting through all of that. I am happy to report that I passed and am now fully certified to teach grades 6-12.

That time drain may be over and done with, but I was asked to get gifted endorsed, as well, which means another year of taking a time-intensive course. I started this particular course in September. There's quite a bit that goes into this program, so much in fact that it is divided into three parts. I finished and passed the first section just before Thanksgiving and am not in the thick of section two. This gifted course is a lot more time consuming than TAPP, if you can believe it. There are a lot of assignments - one to two per week! And the required reading is insane.

In addition to these two courses, I've had some personal issues pop up throughout the year, as well. Not to mention I moved to a new grade level and have a new content focus, which means I'm pulling mostly new material and having to redo most of my lesson plans. So I feel like saying this year has been busy might be an understatement.

Anyway, as with every year I like to look back at all how y'all responded to my content. Last year's top ten posts covered a variety of topics including product reviews, book lists, and outfit posts. This year, book-related posts took five of the top ten spots. I'll be counting these down from 10 to 1. Let's dive in!

10. Fall Inspiration from Old Navy - Kicking off this year's countdown is this post from September. It's exactly what the title suggests. I updated my closet to be ready for fall with five purchases from Old Navy.

9. What's New on my TBR - In February, I shared more than 20 books I had added to my TBR list. Sadly, looking back over this list, I realize I've only read six of the books I shared. Two of those six made it onto my best books of 2024 list, though.

8. Best of 2023: 10 Most Popular Blog Posts - This post being on this list surprises me. I would not have expected it to be so popular, but I guess you guys like looking back on successes just as much as I do.

7. My Goals for 2024 - Taking the number seven spot this year is another surprising post. It is a good reminder that I need to start thinking about goals for 2025.

6. 10 Teacher Outfits to Copy - This was a good outfit roundup post, so I don't blame y'all one bit for liking it as much as you did.

5. 10 Books to Read This Summer - In a secondary attempt to get my TBR list under control, I decided to create a summer reading list for myself. Honestly, this was such a great way for me to focus my reading for the months I was out of school, and I'm pleased to report that of the 10 books on the list, I read six, and I've included two in my upcoming 2025 One Woman Book Club (check back January 1st for that!).

4. Photo Dump: Life Lately (or Why I Haven't Been Posting) - I decided to do a life update in early November after only publishing five total posts in September and October. It was very picture heavy, and you guys loved it.

3. What I Read January 2024 - January 2024 was not a great month of reading for me, but apparently you guys needed ideas for your own book lists because this post claims the number 3 spot.

2. What I Read February 2024 - February wasn't much better on the volume of books I read, but it does feature one of my favorite series for the year as well as another book that made my half-yearly best books post.

1. 2024 One Woman Book Club - And claiming the number one spot on this year's top blog posts is the 2024 One Woman Book Club, which I am pleased to announce I read all of and mostly enjoyed them all.