I'm at the 18 month mark as well, and these are all really good tips. I think the main lesson that you learned is that as a beginner (and by "beginner" I mean someone who has been keeping bees for only a few years or less) you really need to keep tabs on what is going on in your hives. When you are new, you don't know the point at which issues become major problems until it's too late, unless you are checking on your bees regularly to see problems progressing. Also as a beginner, you don't have loads of hives and resources (drawn comb, brood, extra bees, queens, equipment, etc.) to support a hive with a problem. Sorry that the year hasn't quite gone as planned for you, but as long as you are learning from your experiences and the experiences of others, no experience is a truly bad one.