Happy Tuesday! I am taking a look back at 2025. I love looking at numbers and statistics to learn more about things. WordPress does a great job collecting data for the year so I’m sharing some of that. I am also sharing some other things that stood out in 2025 in my world. While I am writing this for me, I hope you enjoy it too.
Sunshine & Books stats:
I had over 118,000 views from 38,000+ visitors. Wow! Thank you readers!!!
The United States is my top viewing country, but I had readers from 120 countries. Don’t worry readers, I will be cheering for all of your countries in the Olympics!
My most viewed months in 2025 were July, January, and August. I think that makes a good bit of sense because I had the most time to write and respond in those months.
Top five posts: 1-Summer Beach Reads 2025, 2-Key Lime Crush (6/18/20 – it keeps holding strong), 3-Summer Beach Reads 2024, 4-Christmas Books 2025, 5-Summer Beach Reads 2023. The readers love book lists and a very tasty drink. I do, too!
I wrote 148 posts using 104,674 words in 2025. That is 24 less posts than in 2024. I am not surprised because 2025 was pretty busy and I found there were quite a few weeks that I only wrote my Hello Monday post. I am not sure what 2026 will bring, but I know I will still be posting/hosting Hello Monday with Holly this year.
Reading/Book stats:
I read 100 books! I’ve never read 100 books in one year. I am very proud of that number, but I am not guarenteeing that it will happen this year.
I read 34 middle grade books. That’s a lot more than I thought I did, but Luke and I listened to quite a few books on our drives to and from soccer practices and doctor’s appointments. In those 34 books, 11 were graphic novels and 23 were novels.
I read 10 nonfiction books, 11 graphic novels, and 79 fiction books.
I listened to 18 books. I use Audible and Hoopla through my library to listen to books.
I met or remet six authors: Gordon Korman, Elana K. Arnold, Mary Alice Monroe, Kristy Woodson Harvey, Jamie Brenner, and Alison Hammer of Ali Brady.
Family:
2025 was a year of big changes for our family. I know change is good, but it can be tricky. The first half of 2025 had a good bit of uncertainty. We started the year knowing Luke needed surgery, but we weren’t exactly sure when and we were unsure of how intense the recovery would be. Thankfully surgery was successful and so was his recovery. My county proposed a major change to the media program and staffing in February. They ended up not making any changes, but it was months of uncertainty. Luke then injured his knee and was in physical therapy and light activity for about 3 months. Jack was learning to drive and did well, but I was on high alert every time he got behind the wheel.
Navigating a lot of new was a big theme of our second half of 2025. Jeff officially started a new job at a new school on July 1st. He went from working regular school hours back to athletic director hours keeping him at work until at least 6 pm every night. I worked in the summer for the first time in 14 years. Luke started high school. Jack and Luke started a new school in August that is about 20 minutes away and I had to pick Jack and/or Luke up most days after school until Jack started driving. Jack started driving in October. When I put it all together in one paragraph, no wonder the fall felt a little stressful.
Even with all that, when I look back it was a good year. We had more family dinners this fall than we have in years. We all bonded over our summer swim team in 2025. We ended the year healthy. We laugh a lot together. We enjoy the time we spend together. We are looking forward to 2026!
Friends:
I got to see some of my college roommates twice this year. That was so fun and I am hoping to see them at least once this year! I have no idea how many times I walked with friends, but I tried to do it once a week. There were weighted vest walks, dog walks (not mine), walks around my high school with high school friends, a 5K walk/run, and after school walks. I love a walk and talk because it is a healthy way to catch up or keep in touch.
That was fun to look back. 2025 was a good year on the blog and in the real world. I am looking forward to having fun with family and friends, making a lot of memories, and reading great books. Thank you for being here for all of it! Thank you 2025 for all of it! Cheers to 2026! Have a great day full of sunshine and books!
