2015: A Look Back

Happy New Year's Eve! I hope you all have a wonderful time tonight, but please, stay safe and make good decisions. Don't get behind the wheel if you plan on having some adult beverages. For me, I'll be enjoying a quiet evening at the Florida house with my dad and step mom. They're cooking an amazing meal while I sit here typing... (They know if it will be delicious, I should stick to clean up crew ;))
In lieu of a Thursday's Threads this week, I'll be taking a look back at the past year. Sit back and get comfy... I imagine this could take awhile!
January:

January can be summed up in one word. Snow. It snowed pretty much every weekend, and occasionally during the week as well. It was bitterly cold. The only real event of note was attending the CHJA banquet where I picked up Jamp and my Adult Equitation Championship as well as the High Point Adult Equitation award. Thankfully, it didn't snow that night!

February:

February brought... more snow. Lots more snow. But the horses and I tried to make the best of it by building a snow man. I attempted to get back on the fitness wagon by purchasing a treadmill (and successfully assembling it!). A few more year end awards arrived in the mail too!

March:

March was quite a month! There was of course... more snow. But it did start to melt finally! My great friend let me visit her farm and ride one of her boarder's horses a few times.  I attended the CHSA banquet to pick up the last of Jampy and my awards for the past year. But the most exciting part of March was that I FINALLY had my chance to show at Wellington Equestrian Festival. I've wanted to compete there since I can remember, and my very generous trainer loaned me a horse to show in the jumpers. We had a little mistake in each class to finish outside of the ribbons, but I had the BEST experience! What a pretty mare Candy is too!

April:

April is always my favorite month. Rio and I have birthdays, the snow is usually gone (or close to it at least), and the ponies get back to work! This year I also made a decent effort to get running, and even met up with Vanessa and Pepper for some morning group runs. It was a great month!

May:

Whoa. May was so busy! I started the month by running a 5K, and finishing 3rd in my age group! Woohoo! Nice work self! The middle of the month included a ton of running to prepare for my half marathon, lots of trying to get the ponies fit, some outside fun with the pugs, and a trip to Yankee Stadium. So much fun! The month ended with the Outrun 38 Half Marathon. My best friend ran the entire thing by my side. It was one of the hardest and slowest half marathons I've run, but having my best friend support me the whole way made it one for the memory books.

June:

June was a great month! The ponies were doing great! I got to take Jampy to Saratoga, and had such a fantastic time! We even brought home a bunch of ribbons. Good boy Jampy! I attempted to keep up with running and completed a virtual 10K. The puggers got to go on a bunch of walks too!

July:

July was full of fun things! The local carnival, Fourth of July with my bestie, horse showing with Jampy, and even a new roof on my house! It also brought some stress with Rio's hurt foot. That issue would continue right through August.

August:

August was packed full! Our plans were altered by Rio's foot problem, so we had to skip Vermont. But Jampy and I were able to show twice at Mystic, and at medal finals in Fairfield. We had great shows and thankfully great weather for all of them too! Rio's foot turned the corner towards healing, phew! The pugs enjoyed some time pool side, as well as walks by the lake (they love those!). And I attended lobster fest at my dad's beach house. Yuummmmm!

September:

September is the time to really start prepping for New England finals! So I got some new flowers for the jumps, and spent some time riding my neighbor's horse as a possible back up horse. Jampy and I went to Westbrook, where we had an ok show. We got some free passes for the sunflower maze by my work, so I had to check that out. And probably the best part was attending another Yankee game!

October:

October was a little insane... The first half was spent prepping for finals, with lots of riding! Of course with my luck, my truck broke down the day before I was supposed to leave. But it was fixed and we made it in time for warm ups! Finals went well, though we didn't make the second round. I ran a couple of 5K's which were super fun, and decent considering my lack of running previously. I double dipped with those races to complete some virtual runs too. And the most exciting part of October? I bought Romey!

November:

Things slowed down a little in November. But emotions certainly ran high! Ducky moved out to Wisconsin with some family. But Romey arrived not long after! I ran a 5K which went great, had some fun at a late Halloween party, and even snuck in one last horse show for the season. I also had a tooth pulled... that wasn't super fun.

December:

December has been FULL of fun and exciting things! I got to visit Florida, not once, but TWICE! Unfortunately, I didn't get to show either time, but I did get to ride, so that's something for sure! I watched the boat parade, donated a whole car load of toys to toys for tots, went to two cookie swaps, a company holiday party, and all kinds of gift exchanging with the family! I went on the Santa train with my niece, bought a gorgeous pair of brown boots, and even got to ride Romey! The crazy weather let me have the doors open in the barn quite a bit, and even let me give the horses showers! Best December ever!

Wow! What a year! If you're still reading, kudos to you! That was a ridiculously long post. I can't wait to see what's ahead for 2016. I hope your year was full of great things too! Tell me your favorite thing about 2015 in the comments!

And lastly, I just want to take a moment to say thank you to all of you who stop by regularly to see what I'm up to. I love the community I've found through blogging, and appreciate all of you who continue to follow along! Happy New Year everyone! See you next year!