Monday was absolutely gross, it was cold and rainy, and I had been out super late the night before at Manager's New Year's Eve party. Because of this, I spent the day cleaning my house, reorganizing my closet, and preparing my planner for the year. I did briefly leave to run to the barn, pay Cupid's board, and make sure she had her rain sheet on. Aside from this, it was a Netflix and snack type of day.

Tuesday I did my first run of 2018, a slow 3 miler through my neighborhood, without a watch to encourage myself to enjoy the run and not think about time. Currently, the Bluetooth on my phone is broken which means I have to plug my Garmin into my computer to sync it with Garmin Connect. Because of this, I've been extremely lazy about actually using my Garmin to track my runs because syncing the data is a bit of a pain.

Wednesday I dashed out of the barn after work. The temperature really plummeted and I may have panicked and bought Cupid a medium weight blanket. Thankfully I have Amazon Prime and was able to get same-day delivery. The blanket didn't arrive at my house until 8:00 so I had to go find her in her paddock in the dark. I'm lucky that Cupid is super nosey and wandered up to me to investigate what I was doing out in the dark. It was slightly creepy being at the barn in the dark, but it was also extremely peaceful just listening to the horses and seeing them relaxed.

Thursday I went back out to the barn after work, then headed home. I felt absolutely awful and just wanted to sleep.

Friday I made up for missing my runs earlier in the week and did a solid 45-minute training run. I went about 3.5 miles and felt really good after it. I thought about pushing the pace but because of the cold, I decided to take it slow.

Saturday I dashed out to the barn to hack Cupid and spend time with her. We worked through the intro dressage movements and on her simple changes through the center of the ring. One major item that we're having issues with is performing the changes on a diagonal as opposed to a straight line. After we finished our ride we ended up standing and talking to our trainer while she warmed up the kids. It amazes me that a year ago Cupid couldn't stand still but now she'll willingly stand for several minutes while I talk. My little pony is growing up!

After I got home from the barn I went for a quick run of 3 miles then came home to practice for orchestra. I ran my scales on both the flute and bari, then ran New World Symphony on the flute. It makes me so happy to finally play the entire New World Symphony, especially because it's one of my favorite pieces!

Sunday I accidentally overslept and ended up getting to the barn extremely late. By the time I got out there most of the usual Sunday crowd had finished and was heading home. Cupid and I just worked on our walk to trot transitions and trot to halt. She's gotten so much better at halting squarely when asked, so long as my cue is clear and consistent.

Later Sunday evening I had the first orchestra rehearsal of 2018. We ran the 1st and 4th movements of New World Symphony and received two new pieces for the summer concert. It's so nice to be back with the orchestra and finally get the chance to start putting the spring concert together. I'm super excited for this coming year with the orchestra, and can't wait to see if I get selected for any of the choir shows.

Total books completed this week: 3
Waistcoats & Weaponry by Gail Carriger, The Stone Girl by Alyssa B. Sheinmel, Red Heart Tattoo by Lurlene McDaniel.

Hopefully doing by doing weekly recaps I'll be able to stay on top of this and actually publish valuable content. So, for the first official 2017 post, here's my weekly recap.

Sunday - 1/1/2017
I started my new year by ringing it in with some of the most amazing people possible. My friend from New York thew a party at his new house which meant that we didn't have to brave the Disney crowds. I would have thrown the party but I had family in town and they're notorious for going to bed early. One huge perk of this party was that the Jedi got to meet New York and Vegas. It also, unfortunately, meant this is the last New Years I'll get to spend with Vegas. In February, he'll sadly be moving to Las Vegas for his job.

Outfit for the night! Naturally all White House Black Market

Three Mouseketeers and Jedi!

Three Mouseketeers?

The lovely host of the evening

The rest of day was spent saying goodbye to my family, as they had to drive back to Illinois. and cleaning the house. I also received a request from my mom to go look at a house for her. She had been considering this house for awhile but there are some architectural quirks that have turned her off. My realtor was, thankfully, available to go view the house the next day.

Monday - 1/2/2017
I was able to get a quick 2 mile run in the morning and some stretching. Lately I've been neglecting any form of yoga so my legs and back have been extremely tight.

Jedi was willing to go check out the house for my mom with me, so we went to meet with my realtor. The house was surprisingly beautiful. It has an amazing view, beautiful land, and a nice structure. My poor mom received the report that she might want to fly down to check it out.

Jedi and I got back to my house and hung out watching Netflix for a bit. While we did that I attempted to finish my tree skirt that was supposed to be finished by Christmas. Obviously, I haven't finished it yet.

Tuesday - 1/3/2017
On Tuesday I had to go back to work. As expected it was an extremely slow day because everyone was getting back into the swing of things. Unfortunately for me I was still feeling the effects of my lack of sleep over the weekend so I dragged all day. When I got home I may or may not have fallen asleep on the couch.

Yes I have a cow calendar at my desk....

Wednesday - 1/4/2017
Wednesday at work was fairly slow, but thankfully picked up as the day went on. I skipped out on my lunch break to go visit Cupid and apologize for only making it out to her once over the weekend. While she may not be my lease right now I do feel a personal responsibility to make sure she stays happy and socialized.

Thursday - 1/5/2017
While at work we had a quick meeting regarding dress code. During this meeting skinny jeans, work appropriate tops, and sandals were discussed. I personally can't stand conversations about dress code. It forces people to get defensive and puts a spotlight on those who have accidentally violated the dress code.

That afternoon I received a quick text from Jedi "What's realtor's contact information? I need to get out of my rental property." This was a nice start to my day because I've become pretty fond of searching for houses. We made plans to hang out after I got off work but that didn't happen because he got off work late and just wanted to go to bed.

Friday - 1/6/2017
Friday, I got to stand through a meeting discussing how bad of a storm the southern states are getting. I also had a jeans day option, but because of the meeting the previous day I elected not to participate. I only buy my jeans from White House Black Market and have a pair dedicated to work dress down days. But because of the meeting the day before I decided it wasn't worth the hassle.

After work Jedi and I were finally able to hang out and look at the houses he was interested in. He had contacted my realtor and was sent a whole list of houses in our area for his consideration.

Saturday - 1/7/2017
Which finally brings us to today. My car was sorely overdue for an oil change so that was in order. While there they naturally were able to find something wrong with my car and recommended I get the tires aligned. This would be a nice thing to do but it'll have to wait a few weeks until after a few changes have taken place.

Because the Goodyear is by Dover I naturally had to make a stop. While there I was there I was able to find the set of reins that my trainer suggested I buy. At 25 I'm now officially living my pony kid dreams. I have a 14.1 hand, grey pony mare, and now I have a set of pastel rainbow reins. I wish I could say I was embarrassed to buy them but it was super exciting to pick them out. I plan on trying them on Cupid tomorrow to make sure I bought the right size. If not, I'll have to run to Dover after my lesson to make an exchange.

Hello Goodyear, we meet again

Hummingbird feeder that I totally should have gotten

Rainbow reins and Wonder Dust #GreenBeanProblems

While my week wasn't too exciting it was certainly eventful in terms of amusement.

*If anyone has a suggestion for a Valentine's day costume for a horse let me know! With a pony named Cupid I definitely have to play up the Valentine's day cheesiness.