It's gotten so cold in Florida that I've actually gone and emergency ordered Cupid a medium weight blanket from Amazon (thank you same-day shipping!!!). So, while I sit here and wait for it to be delivered I figured I'd write up my final Ulta haul from 2017. Thank you, platinum 20% off coupon! I got lucky and the box arrived on the 30th, but I had other posts planned for that timeframe. So the poor box has been sitting in my guest room/office, waiting to get unpacked and shared!

The first two items I received were the Clinique Quickliner for Eyes in Dark Chocolate and Really Black. Black and brown are the two eyeliner colors I typically wear during the week so to get these for 20% off was exciting!

The next two items I received were the Origins Checks & Balances Frothy Face Wash, and Origins Ginzing Energy-Boosting Gel Moisturizer. I had received these two items as travel sizes in one of my November orders and loved them. So when I received the 20% off coupon I knew that I wanted to get the full sizes of these products. The face wash really works at making your face feel clean, without feeling dry, and the moisturizer is perfect for the morning before you apply primer and makeup.

The freebies that I received in this box were a travel size of the Origins Drink Up-Intensive Overnight mask and the Clinique Pop lip color in Cherry Pop. Both of these are new items to me and I'm super excited to try them out!

Now, I've got to go dash out to the barn and throw Cupid's new medium weight blanket on her. Not entirely sure she'll appreciate it but I'll sleep well tonight knowing that she won't freeze. Florida ponies, can't stick them in the backyard, can't stand having them out of sight.

I was lucky enough to ring in this new year at Manager’s house again. It was fun ending 2017 the same way I welcomed it!

The following are my top three 2018 goals, for each focus. Some of these are going to require a lot of work, while others should be easily mastered.

Run

• Re-break 30 minutes for the 5k
• I majorly slacked on my speed work this year. As a result, my 5k time suffered. I know I have a consist sub-30 5k in me, I just need to put the training time in and actually focus on keeping that time consistent. 
• PR my 10k 
• My idea PR for the 10k is sub-60. During the Pancake 10k, I felt like I had the ability to complete that goal. But I didn't have the training behind me. 
• Maintain consistency
• As the two goals above reflect, my consistency with training this year was horrible. I skipped runs and didn't complete any speed work during the second half of the year. Both the above goals are completely possible if I maintain my training and actually work at improving. This year I need to focus on speed work and hill training to rebuild the endurance I was once capable of. 

Ride

• Attend a show
• After our barn switch, Cupid and I stopped attending shows and focused on going back to basics. My original hope had been to show her in the long stirrup or beginner hunter classes this year but after reflecting on everything I've decided to lower my expectations. As a coming 6-year old, who has finally started working correctly, I would rather take it slow and show in the pre-long stirrup classes.
• Master our simple changes
• Cupid has auto changed for me in the past but I want to really spend time this year and teach her the cues for simple changes. In order to step up into the long stirrup classes, we'll need to be prepared with a solid simple change. 
• Complete a dressage test
• I never imagined I would want to try a dressage test, but after working with our current trainer, I am chomping at the bit to attempt one. I've been working on a lot of into level dressage skills with Cupid and want feedback, outside of my trainer, on our progress. 

Read

• Clear my GoodReads Currently Reading list
• There are currently 24 books on my Currently Reading list and probably about 5 of them are on my Kindle or in my house. Some of these books have been sitting there for ages and it is probably time to finish them (or actually start reading them).
• Read 100+ books
• This is the same total goal that I had last year. If I don't set the bar high then I won't have the motivation to reach it. 
• Review at least 12 books 
• The point on this blog was to also review books I love or hate. I failed on this focus but hope to put at least one book review a month on this blog. I promise to keep them honest and as spoiler free as possible. 

Repeat

• Master my scales, on the flute, at quarter = 104
• I used to be the scale queen. I knew every minor and every major scale and could do them quickly and clearly. But it's been years since I took the time to actually play and work on improving my scales. A huge goal for 2018 would be to remaster the major scales, in eighth notes, at quarter note = 104. This includes two octaves for every scale, with each note sounding clear, and various articulations. 
• Become confident on the bari sax
• Basically, I'd love to be able to play the bari without feeling like I'm going to pass out from the amount of air required, or die because it's caused a killer migraine. I've debated about playing it for one of the choir orchestras but we'll have to see my confidence level!
• Feel confident with all the orchestra pieces
• This is a bit of a strange goal. I've been able to play all of the orchestra pieces from 2017, but I have not been 100% confident with several of them when concert time rolled around. This year I want to actually feel confident on all the selections and put extra work into the ones that require it. 

It's hard to believe that we're at the end of the year already. It seems like just yesterday I was at Manager's New Year's Eve party wondering who would attend with me after Vegas moved. This past year has been full of so many changes, yet so many other things have stayed the same. In staying with the general theme (give me credit, I like to believe that this site has a direction. lol) here are the major items that happened to me in my running, riding, reading, and repeating!

Running
This year started slowly in terms of running. I did the bare minimum in mileage and ran races that I was a bit underprepared for. But I quickly turned it around and joined the Disney Springs Fit2Run Galloway Training Group which helped me jump start my running program into something more productive than it had been. While I'm only a casual member the group at the moment, because of the early darkness, I am looking forward to continuing my running journey with them. I was able to PR my 10k and place in my age group for a 5k because of them.

On the topic of my 10k PR at the Celebration Pancake Run 10k, it was a bit disappointing but it is a huge milestone for me. If you check out my races tab you'll see that my PRs haven't really changed in a few years. This is entirely my fault because I am the least consistent runner I know. I had hoped to PR in the 5k at the Jingle Jolly Jog, but my mental game wasn't there. I am so proud of my first age group award. I have lusted after them for, what feels like, ages so it is extremely exciting to finally have one on my wall! Ok, it's actually in a shoebox under my guest bed because I have yet to find a medal holder that I love, but that isn't the point!

Riding
Easily, the biggest thing that happened to my riding career, this year, was purchasing Cupid. I spent weeks last year debating about purchasing her, and I officially made the plunge on January 11th. I never imagined that my horse would be a little Welsh pony cross, who was green broke with a major attitude. But here I am, with my little Welshie who still has a major attitude, and is slightly better than green broke. Honestly, I wouldn't trade in our partnership for anything. Owning a green pony has taught me so much about riding, patience, and myself. For every step forward there are two steps back, but once we make a leap forward the landing is extremely rewarding.

In addition to purchasing Cue, I also uprooted her and moved to a new barn. Shortly after purchasing Cupid I realized that our current situation was not working out. The care wasn't what I wanted for my horse, I felt cheated out of my lesson package, and I was extremely nervous having my partner in a barn with minimal supervision. It took me until May to find a stable that met my standards. The major sign that this was the place for us was when we ran into our new trainer at a show before I had even told our old trainer we were leaving. The new trainer made several observations about Cupid and I, then commented that she would love to take us back to the basics because "she's a baby and there's no need to rush her". Hearing this proved to me that she would have Cupid's best interests at heart which is all I wanted in a boarding situation.

Moving Cupid was the best choice I could make for her. She's happy at our current barn, has put on much-needed weight, and is slowly becoming a solid partner for me. We still have a long way to go, and I miss jumping, but watching her move properly and understand what I'm asking has been worth everything we have been through.

Reading
According to GoodReads, I've read 112 books this year. My goal for the year was 100 so I am officially putting this in the win category for the year! A few of those books were the Saddle Club series because I started walking down memory lane and couldn't put the books down. What was really nice was that I'm able to get them from the Orange County Library Media Mall which means no awkwardly walking into the children section of the library or putting them on hold.

Two other series that I have really gotten into this year are the Finishing School series by Gail Carriger and the Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas. Hopefully I'll be able to finish the Finishing School series this weekend, so expect that review to come up in the near future!

Repeat
If you've been around for awhile you'll notice that I fashioned this blog after my running, riding, and reading life. So you might be questioning what this whole "repeat" business is. I decided the other day that I needed a header for my twitter account and my facebook page. The plan was to do a running, riding, and reading silhouette on a glitter background. While putting this together it dawned on me to do a repeat sign so the entire blog title was represented. I looked up repeat signs to get an idea and had an "I'm an idiot" moment. In music, there is a sign that informs the musician to repeat a section, this is called a repeat. Because music is such a big part of my life and I've openly discussed it on here it only made sense to take the Repeat part of my title and have it represent the music portion of my life.

I now present to you the newest "official" section of the blog. My Repeat section, or music discussion.

With that little intro out of the way, it's time to discuss my year in music!
In January I located a local orchestra that seemed like it would be at my skill level and was actively recruiting members, the Central Florida Community Orchestra. I signed up and attended my first rehearsal. It was terrifying and I almost walked away before entering the building, but I participated in that first rehearsal and loved it! The CFCArts #FluteNation welcomed me and has pushed me to want to become a better musician.

This year I participated in four different concerts with CFCArts; Jazz, Joel and John in March, American Roadtrip in June, Fiesta in November, and Once Upon a December in December. Once Upon a December was the first time, since college, where I've accompanied a choir. This pushed me to not only be aware of the rest of the orchestra but to also work on matching the choir without becoming the main focus.

Without the Orchestra, I don't think I would have found a group that feels like home or had the drive to pick up the saxophone again!

Overall, this is a quick review of my 2017. It was fun, it was great, but I can't wait to see what 2018 has in store for me!