Happy 2019 everyone!
I took a long, and much needed, break from blogging.
Since November, it’s been kind of an emotional and physical roller-coaster. It spans across settling into my new position at work, family, holiday events, travelling, and assessing my future goals and plans. I will do a quick recap below, and also highlight a few places/items I’ve come across in the past month!
Hoof-prints On My Heart
It’s been one year since we lost Savannah, a beautiful and amazing mare that I loved for eight years as her “second mom”. I haven’t been able to find another connection to a horse since her passing, and I know it will take time. I’ve been riding a bit here and there, but not regularly like with Savannah. I hope to get back into regular riding this year. I miss her so much, and she is truly irreplaceable.
I wanted to highlight my favorite away-from-home farm that gives me a riding fix, Big Red Stables in Harrodsburg, KY. 
Any time I am in Kentucky, I NEED to stop here. I’ve been there three times now, and the family that owns the farm, Emily & Drew Dennis, have essentially seen me grow up there over seven years and feel like family! I went there with my one of my best girlfriends for her FIRST horseback ride as part of our girl’s road-trip to Indy and Lexington. They have a herd of beautiful, well-trained, and loved Tennessee Walking Horses. If you’ve never ridden one, you’ve got to at least once. The TWH is known for their smooth and even gaits (like riding a cart!) and all of their horses were so sweet. They own over 200 acres of gorgeous rolling bluegrass fields that you can walk, trot, and even canter up the hills. NOT your typical trail ride at ALL. My friend was cantering on her FIRST ride, and she did amazing! Emily and Drew are so patient and absolutely know how to make the first time rider feel comfortable and confident.
Here are some photos from our road-trip. We also stayed at an AirBnB in Indy, and love that family and their furbabies as well.
A Bit of Sun in the Winter
Brett and I were able to get out to Scottsdale, AZ one more time before the year was over! We celebrated my birthday there, which has come to be a yearly tradition (plus, it helps the airfare is pretty low that week!) Some of the new food places we tried were Hash Kitchen (a Bloody Mary Bar, GIANT avocado toast, delicious everything!), Thai On Demand (very unassuming, delicious, authentic, and affordable!), and Naked BBQ (some mouthwatering good BBQ closest to the house). ALL delicious and perfect additions to our list of go-to places. Check out the photos below:
“Conservation”
My Sseko Sisters asked us what our one word for 2019 was, and I picked “Conservation.”
Why “conservation”?
I took a break from daily social media posts across three accounts, and it felt really good. I want to continue to conserve my energy and time spent on social media, in order to be more present. Not to say I will not be posting for my followers, but it shouldn’t be something that I have to stress over posting up in time.
My trusty Acura TSX is now 15 years old, about 194,500 miles, and in great condition with minimal work done, but it’s time to plan for a new one. I want to conserve the amount of money spent on excess things I just “want” versus “need.” My goal is to get a new car this year! Hopefully, my tax return will go in my favor, but I am saving up for some new wheels. My retail therapy (okay, let’s be real, “shopaholic-ism”) desperately needs to be in check, and I am actually setting aside more money in my savings account. I get in these shopping droughts though, after a few months of splurging. It’s mainly the guilt and wanting to make more closet space, which leads to my next conservation…
“Where is the floor under all that? What’s in this box?”
Yes, the last part is conserving the space ruled by the clutter in my house. Especially as the new year starts, de-cluttering is on the brain, and I just want to get rid of all the stuff I really don’t need. Most of it is clothing/apparel, random boxes of stuff I’ve collected over the years from my old room, and receipts. I’ve done some new storage ideas in the second bedroom, AKA the “LuLa-Room”/second closet/Woman-cave, to organize my LuLaRoe inventory, and put out my winter sweaters and coats. Also, I’ve reorganized my Sseko stash, and I’m actually quite proud of how the space looks and feel now. I can actually lounge on my foam-bag and watch a Netflix show or movie while Brett games downstairs.
Lip it Good
Can someone help me find where to buy this lip balm in bulk!? LypSyl Intense Lip Protection with SPF 15 is the only lip balm that’s perfect for my needs.Everything about it is perfect for me: the feel of it on my lips, length of time it lasts, application style, and the results. All my lip balm people, you know what I mean when I say that once the hunt for the perfect lip balm is over, you want to hang onto it as long as you can! I stocked up the last time on these, and now I’m running out and have only one more left. I’m afraid they discontinued this exact formula and packaging.. and I don’t want to start over with the search. The ones I see online are without SPF 15, and I’m adamant that I have the SPF for my lips! I’m literally scraping it out with my nails to put on my lips right now…
Lead the Way
I am also in search for a good book on leadership/influence, particularly with different personality styles. As I develop in my position at work, I am expected to step it up and be more of a leader/coach to my team, and it freaks me out a little bit. I’ve been a youth counselor before, but that’s different than a workplace team. Coaching kids on life skills versus work peers on best work practices are so different to me. Also, learning how much I have a say in how things are done will be important. I can be the boss of everything, where I have full say in how things are run, and obedient worker, where I know and follow the rules… but in between? I want to and have to learn this.
As always, thank you so much for reading!
I’ll be traveling for the next week to see family. It will be bittersweet, but long over-due, and a great time to reconnect. We are all so busy and spread out that it makes it hard to keep up and in touch with family. Life is way too short to be fully absorbed into your own life. Take a step back sometimes. Reconnect, revive, renew, and remember that there are a lot of people and things out there that are just going to pass you by if you ignore it.
HW Life & Style 