Remnants of NYE the first day of 2015, in Madrid
Another year has come and gone! 2015 started out rough, and there were definitely some rocky bits throughout, but overall it was a good year. Last year I spent New Year's Eve in Spain, ringing in the new year with my family and counting down to midnight in Puerta del Sol with thousands of other people before heading out to clubs with my brother. This year I organized a bar crawl/scavenger hunt for my friends in downtown Corpus Christi where we successfully got a stranger to buy us all Whataburger at the end of a drunken journey from bar to bar. My life is definitely not uninteresting, I'll tell you that for free!
January
wrecked my car :(
bought a new (to me) car all by myself, haggled to death with loans involved (my very first). I named him Unicorn
started my 365 project
trained some cute creatures and took a bunch of pictures
February
went to the IAATE conference! It was AMAZING; I got to reunite with ACNW peeps, make new connections, learn a TON, and party HARDY (they go HAM at conferences)
locked my keys in my car for the FIRST TIME EVER and caused utmost tragedy. When I do something, I go big (no matter what it is, apparently)
went hawking with Keith and got to see his peregrine go after some ducks; we also saw a gyr and a merlin
Maeby laid her first egg
discovered my love for succulents and cacti
March
started getting into embroidery
went to the St. Patties Day block party
Cleo came to visit and it was SO FUN! We did all the whimsical things: embroidered on the beach, ate rice bowls on the beach, went camping on the beach…notice a theme?
went beach camping for the first time
saw a baby parrot
Wendell left us to go make tons of baby tamanduas at his new facility
celebrated my one year anniversary at the aquarium
April
spent Easter playing Pokemon Snap
visited Utah for my Opa's retirement party! I love my family
went to San Antonio with Erin
the devastating fish kill occurred, almost 80% of the collection perished due to a mixup from a chemical company. It was horrific
May
petsat for Andie and trained her rat
we made a team for the new annual mini-golf fundraiser and won best-dressed
made a Texas scrapbook to remind me of all the great times I've had in Texas
introduced new segments that I helped train into the show
saw Lauren from REGI! We met up at Fuzzy's and ate queso
had an EXTREME grackle problem where they were constantly mobbing our hawks
June
got a new golden eagle
went to the Spazmatics, so fun!
found baby possums in Sonora's heat box and it was MAGICAL
went to an epic birthday party for the five people who have the same birthday in the animal care department
MY MAM VISITED! We had so much fun!
visited Austin for the first time - fell in LOVE
watched the FIFA world cup final - go USA
went dancing
July
got strep throat, ugh WHY summer illness??
went to Austin again, this time with Elise!
visited Hamilton Pools, which has been on my wishlist for AWHILE!
had a going away party for Elise at the beach
worked the 4th of July and then went out to some bars I had never been to before
moved into an apartment with Drea
enjoyed the new beautiful bayside pool at the new apartment
carried 100+ lb furniture up 3 flights of stairs, it was HELL
August
went to Kendra's bridal shower
had an awesome dinosaur birthday photoshoot
we lost Coco :( So hard. Be in peace, handsome boy. We will always love you
still had a great 25th birthday complete with a Jurassic Park/dinosaur themed party
visited Austin for a 3rd time to float the river
started preparing for Burning Man!
tie-dyed!
September
got a new BAEA named Sam that I was lead trainer for!
went to BURNING MAN! Literally one of the most amazing times of my life
traveled to Utah after the Man for Kristen's wedding
had a (very early) pumpkin carving party
got BB CHICKS for our show!
Andie got a baby African Grey! She and Geoff surprised me by asking if I wanted to see photos of Andie's wedding dress and instead they had the baby grey (named Echo) in the office. I love him
October
almost participated in a Flash Mob
went to the first annual Surftoberfest, it was super fun!
had bonfires on the beach
got to go aboard and tour the Ocearch vessel
hosted a Nightmare Before Christmas viewing party
WE GOT A SLOTH!
participated in Big Day again, our team got 76 species despite the pouring rain
Megan visited me! I was SO HAPPY, I haven't seen my BFFL in 2 years! We sailed at sunset, went dancing, made Halloween costumes, toured the aquarium, and stayed up till 2 AM each night talking
went to an EPIC HALLOWEEN PARTY! Drea and I were both killer unicorns and Megan was Lana from Archer!
November
Sean had a beer he made on tap at a local brewery so we all went to taste it
Lisa visited! We went to the aquarium, played Mario Kart, ate funeral potatoes, and went out one night so I could show her a Texas bar
had our annual Friendsgiving at Kyle's house; we had TWO turkeys, played Cards Against Humanity, and picked fruit in his backyard beneath a full moon
experienced some hard emotional times; I haven't had to deal with something like this in a long while. I'm still trying to deal with it
took lots of pictures of us at work
Sam, my beautiful eagle, died in a freak accident. Rest in Peace, Sammy. You were becoming such a good eagle
December
practiced slow shutter speed photos
started having weekly Star Wars parties in preparation for the new Star Wars
DAD VISITED! We went on photography adventures and headed to Port A for some birding
Laura found a Christmas tortoise! She was found on Candy Cane Lane, and now all 55 lbs of her lives in Kyle's backyard
visited Candy Cane Lane with Chunk and Laura to see all the lights!
made sure I had a great Christmas eve/Christmas despite being on my own. Made homemade mac 'n cheese, listened to my Chrimbo playlist, watched my favorite movies, and indulged in peach bellinis
had a good Friendmas where I got bananas as a white elephant gift, played lots of games, drank Shiner Cheer, and tried to play Extreme Spoons in the park at 9:00 PM
organized a fantastic bar crawl/scavenger hunt for New Year's Eve
So laying it all out before me, I see the good and the bad of this year. What was bad turned out pretty bad, but there was always something golden and glittery there, too. It helps to maintain that positive attitude I have had instilled in my since my Minnesota days, PMA! Towards the end of the year it became clear that I was trying to gain happiness through other people, waiting for them to say the right things that would make me feel validated or calm. I need to be able to provide that for myself. So this year, the name of the game is SELF CONFIDENCE. I started to try loving myself last year and I only halfway succeeded, so this year that's what I'm about. I need to treat myself better: think lovely thoughts about myself, dress myself lovingly, take care of my skin and my body, give it wholesome, healing, nutritious food. I will not get caught up in the weight loss fads of the new year, I want this to be a lifestyle change that will help me feel good about myself. As Demi Lovato says, "what's wrong with being confident?"
I have to start out the new year with a good song!
Here's to 2015 - you were filled with lots of tears, laughter, sunrises, hazy golden light on the road, singing at the top of my lungs, heartbreak, ocean water, friendships, and fantastic memories. 2016, I hope you are ten times better.
[x]
I have done yearly wrap-ups in this format for the past couple of years here, here, and here.
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