Where Did the Time Go? Best of 2014

Another year has flown by! Every year I look at the “best of lists” and wonder, “where was I this year?” I feel like I miss a lot of books, songs, movies, podcasts and trends. This year, I know the answer to my question. I was here writing this blog, working, running and funning.  That said, here is a quick review of some “bests” or “most populars.” If you are like me, you can catch up on some of these in January and February when it is too cold outside to do anything else!

I did enjoy the 2014 “You Tube Rewind.” It, of course, highlights the year of the “selfie,” Happy, Frozen and the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge (and probably many other references I missed!)

In case you missed them, here are the Google Trends, too!

best of 14Best Books of 2014

This year, I am embarrassed to report that I read 0 of the New York Times Top 10 books of 2014. I do have Anthony Doerr’s book downloaded on my Kindle so that is something! And I read only 1 of 100 Notable Books. Whoa, this may be a record low for me (last year, I read 2.04). Yikes, only 2 from Amazon’s top 100 list, too. I did read and enjoy many books this year. What were your favorites?

Best Movies of 2014

I know I will fall short here. I saw just a few movies this year. I saw the Imitation Game last week and Boyhood. I saw 1 of Salon’s top 10 or 2014 (Boyhood) and none of Richard Brody from the New Yorker’s top picks. Sapna and I saw the preview of A Winter’s Tale. I would say that was the WORST movie of 2014. We laughed until our stomachs hurt. It was not a comedy. I digress. What were your favorites?

Best TV Shows of 2014

I pretty much never watch TV so I am happy to report I did see one of the top 10 TV shows of 2014 from Slate and the same one of 10 from the Huffington Post. We watched Orange is the New Black. We got True Detective for the holidays and I am looking forward to that. What were your favorites?

Best Podcasts of 2014

I do listen to TONS of podcasts on the run and commute so I am more attuned to the podcasts on Stitcher’s list.  I would say my favorites this year have mostly been from This American Life, The Moth and TED Radio Hour (especially Transformation and Simply Happy). Oh, and of course, SERIAL! Loved that so many friends were listening, too. The husband is almost caught up. Yay! What were your favorites?

Best Songs/Music of 2014

I am so out of touch with new music other than pop stuff that Richard plays in spin class. I don’t know how I wind up somewhere in 2005 listening to the Killers or 2009 listening to Adele or even further back. I did enjoy NPRs stories and articles on Best Music of the Year 2014 and I even have one of their top 10 of top 40 on my iTunes (All of Me by John Legend – so that is something!) What recommendations do you have for me in terms of new music?

Best in Travel 2014

I love to travel and we hit Seattle and the Domican Republic this year plus NYC, Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco and a bunch of other US destinations this year. We did not hit any of Lonely Planet’s top countries this year! None of National Geographic’s either. A few places we have been were on the 52 Places to Go in 2014 from the NY Times – the only ones I hit this year were Indianapolis and Los Angeles. Go figure. Where did you go? Where would you love to go in 2015?

Top Fitness Trends 2014

Well, everyone was doing HIIT and focusing more on nutrition. I did some of both, too!  I wrote a whole post on this one: Fitness Finds of 2014 + A Look Ahead to 2015. I tried everything and am sticking with running, body weight strength training, spinning and pilates. I am going to add a step tracker back in 2015. What was your favorite new fitness trend? What will you try for 2015?

New Category “Top 10 Things That Broke The Internet”

There were several lists of “Top 10 Things That Broke the Internet.” Here is one from Time. I occasionally keep up with the Kardashians on the treadmill, but honestly, I hope 2015 is a Kardashian free year. Is that too much to ask? I did think that the Ice Bucket Challenge raising a zillion dollars for ALS was brilliant. I bet many will try and fail to achieve such success in the years to come. Bravo! What was your favorite?

My Top Blog Posts of 2014 by Pageviews

Wow, you folks love giveaways! I do promote these the most heavily.

(A Few of) My Favorite Less Read Posts of 2014 (by me) I can’t pick favorites from all of the blogs I follow. It would take way too long!

Well, that’s all for me, for now. I wish you all a happy, healthy and safe new year!

Catch you in 2015!