2017 - A Year in Review

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!

NYX Lippie Countdown Days Fifteen through Twenty-Four

I was doing so good, then suddenly I wasn't! I honestly did try to get all 24 days posted as I opened and used the colors. But life got in the way and suddenly I found myself with less and less time to write as Christmas got closer. In an effort to make it up to you, dear reader, here are days 16 through 24 from the NYX 2017 Calendar.

Day 15
The fifteenth color was a purple from the Butter Gloss collection.

The shade is called Raspberry Tart which made me smile.

Overall, I didn't hate this shade but I didn't love it. Because the Butter Gloss collection is simply a tinted lipgloss it wears off quickly. After a few reapplications, I found that I didn't want to keep trying to wear this shade. It's pretty, but the dark shade combined with the gloss feature was a turnoff for me.

Day 16
Color sixteen is from the NYX Lingerie collection (yay!), and it's a purple (not yay).

This shade is called Embellishment and it is not one that was included in the 2016 calendar, unlike the other Lingerie shades.

Embellishment applies nicely and looks a lot nicer out of the tube than in it. The shade is a purple-tinted nude that isn't too bold yet isn't too pale. There's more of a red undertone than blue which made this color a shade I can actually pull off! Like all Lingerie shades, this one does settle into lines but does last long with an application necessary after a meal. While I probably won't buy Embellishment again, I probably will continue to wear this shade until it runs out.

Day 17
Color seventeen is a red (yay!) from the SimplyRed line (double yay!).

The shade is Russian Roulette, which matches my initial impression. In the tube, this seems like a nice sassy red shade.

This color applies smoothly, yet is easy to color outside the lines with. Despite that, it cleans up nicely and feels almost invisible on your lips. It does wear off on various glasses and snacks but lasts long enough to only reapply every few hours. This color very well might appear on my favorites list from this calendar.

Day 18
Eighteen is a blue..... It's from the Liquid Suede collection which has been a success in the past, but it's a blue....

The shade is Stone Fox which seems appropriate for the color.

I'll be completely honest, I applied this shade then wiped it off 30 seconds later. It is far too dark and bold for my personality. The color did apply patchily but that could have been because my heart wasn't really into sampling this. I can guarantee that this shade will end up in the bottom of my lip color bag only to reemerge when it's time to purge the collection.

Days 13 through 18 Summary
Overall, my favorite shade from this section was color thirteen, Vintage. It has a long wearing power and a nice unique color.

My least favorite shade was easily Stone Fox. Worst color ever, for my skin tone and personality.

Day 19
Nineteen was from the NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream line which I have recently become obsessed with!

The shade is called Copenhagen and it's a deep plum shade.

I'm not in love with the shade and it isn't the best color for me, but with the right eye and contour it could actually be a fun party look! This is a long wear lip color and did need reapplication during the day. With the dark shade, it did require two coats for the initial application but it built nicely and did not appear cakey.

Day 20
Color twenty was from the NYX Matte Lipstick collection.

This is a fun blue-toned pink, named Shocking Pink.

I love this color. This is a shade for my personality and skin tone. It is a nice bold pink without being too shocking or overbearing. The application is nice, but the shade does require several reapplications during the day. Honestly, I am seriously considering wearing this color for New Year's Eve.

Day 21
The twenty-first color is from the Lingerie collection (which they must have really been trying to get rid of this year!).

The shade is Exotic and it was also one of the 2016 colors.

I loved this color last year and it was the first shade that I ran out of. Unfortunately, this year I either got a bad tube or the formula changed. It was oily and took more work to apply than I remember.

Day 22
Twenty-one is from the Butter Gloss collection so I instantly disliked it.

The shade is a pale pink/nude and called Tres Leches.

Despite my aversion to Butter Gloss I actually really liked this shade. It is extremely pigmented and applied really well. It lasted like a typical gloss but I didn't mind reapplying it because I was that in love with the shade. This might actually be a color I consider repurchasing!

Day 23
Another Butter Gloss for number twenty-three....

I had high hopes for this one because it's a hot pink titled Sugar Cookie.

Unfortunately, Sugar Cookie isn't as sweet as a cookie. The color was too bold and the gloss was too hard to apply evenly. This is another color I honestly didn't wear. I couldn't get it to apply and look good because the color kept running thin in spots or gathering in others. This was a big nope for me.

Day 24
Day twenty-four was another selection from the Butter Lipstick collection.

It's a mauve shade called Ripe Berry.

This applied nicely and actually looked good on me! It is not a long wear and did require several reapplications throughout the day, but it was worth it. This isn't a color I would normally wear but after trying it out I think it'll make a reemergence in my routine!

Days 19 through 24 Summary
I loved the shade from day twenty. This is hands down my favorite shade from this section, if not my favorite shade from the entire calendar. This color screamed my name and looked great on me!

My least favorite shade was day twenty-three. Between the gloss factor and the pigmentation, this was a horrible color. If it was a cream, then I would have probably loved it.

Overall
I love these Advent Calendars but did get a bit sick of having 24 different lip colors to try. The Butter Gloss was my least favorite collection and the Soft Matte Creams were my favorite. It was a fun experience and I look forward to using most of these colors in the coming year!

3 Things I've Learned During The First Month of Bari Sax and NYX Lippie Countdown Day Fourteen

So, I have officially been playing the Baritone Saxophone for approximately a full month. It is a lot harder than I expected, yet easier than anticipated. I am so thankful that the flute has extremely similar fingerings which have saved me a lot of work. But the following are the top three lessons I've learned from playing this monster saxophone.

1) I am a weakling. 

For an instrument that basically dangles from a tiny little strap on your neck, that sucker is heavy. After only 30 minutes of practice, my shoulders hurt, my neck is sweaty, and I start wondering if my thumb is going to break from the thumb rest. Clearly, I'm either doing something wrong or need to start a workout program.  

2) My breath control is not what I thought it was.

I can play the top register of the flute and piccolo for several measures without getting out of breath. Two measures of the bari and I'm dying. Clearly, I need to work on increasing my lung capacity or risk passing out and dying after that lead weight falls on me. 

3) I'm not a complete failure.

Sitting there and running scales on the bari is not as hard as I initially expected. Sure, I'm extremely weak and dying because I can't breathe. But I'm running scales with almost 100% success on the notes and my tuner recognizes that I'm actually playing the correct note, in tune! Despite all my reservations about this, I think I might actually be able to pull off playing the bari in a concert one day!

So, today is day fourteen of the NYX Lippie Countdown and if we're being honest I completely forgot to pop today's color out until I got home from work. The preview for this color showed a nice pink toned shade that looked like something I would typically wear.

Upon opening the tab, I was disappointed to see that this was a Butter Lipstick shade. The Butter collection has not been kind to me in this calendar. Despite that, I was excited to see today's shade was a mauve/pink tone that seemed like something I would typically buy. 

This color was called Root Beer Float, which is cute and reminds me of summer. 

Root Beer Float applies nicely but has the lipgloss shine that the other Butter collection colors have. Despite this, I actually really like this shade on me. It's a bit different from my typical pinks but it is fun and appropriate for work and play! I'm not sure if I would buy this again but I do plan on wearing this shade until the little tube runs out!