2016 in da house!

Oh is it 3/4 of the way through January already? I didn't notice. …


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.

2015 Halloweek Wrap-Up

So it was just Christmas. And I LOVE Christmas!

BUT I might love Halloween even more (by a small amount). So I wanted to do a Halloween wrap-up of 2015 before it becomes Halloween of 2016 (my one possibly feasible goal).

I've documented my past Halloweeks for the past several years, some more successfully than others, so this year I will just do a general photo list of all the fun things I participated in!

• participated in another Big Day! It poured the entire day so we got less numbers than last year, but it was still fun and I saw a couple of lifers
• drank a lot of pumpkin spice lattes
• made Dia de los Muertos skulls at lunch





• had a Nightmare Before Christmas viewing party at the apartment complete with NBC cake pops (that were SO ANNOYING to make, candy melts are the literal worst)
• made roomie dates to look at halloween decorations
• the halloween fairy visited and decorated our house!
• gave pumpkins to animals for playtime





• Kogi went trick-or-treating
• carved pumpkins: one super sad pumpkin and a death star pumpkin
• watched spooky movies





• went to Surftoberfest and drank some delicious beer!
• loved taking photos of halloweeny things for my 365 project
• visited the Ocearch vessel





• got bb chickens and a sloth!
• celebrated kitty's bday
• megan visited!
• went sailing at sunset
• went dancing at Roper's, got drunk





• went to the beach where it was LITERALLY RAINING SPIDERS, but we read Cosmo out loud to one another and that made it okay
• stayed up way too late each night and slept with the door open



• made my own Halloween costume, as per usual. Drea and I were KILLER unicorns, so we went for the glittery, beautiful aspect but drenched in fake blood. Our stories were that we seduce men, much like sirens, and then kill them and take whatever money, jewels, etc. they had. My personal thought was my necklace was a gift for the man I killed's wife >:)





• went to a BOMB Halloween party! Drea and I were killer unicorns and Megan was LANA from Archer! We played drinking games, created an "air form" of bobbing for apples that were hanging from a hula hoop (that Holly promptly broke), and watched horror movies. It was awesome.




I love Halloween

365: days 221-240

221/365
A sunset on the water; I must remember to be thankful for what I have :)



222/365
Sean came over and we listed to ska music and danced in the kitchen and played the guitar. It made me feel better.



223/365
I prepared a LOT of things for this dinosaur-themed birthday party of mine...



224/365
Happy National Elephant Day! This is my roommate's car buddy, she loves elephants!



225/365
I got a lot of mileage out of these lil guys. Also ignore my animal care dry/cracked/perma-dirty hands.



226/365
I really wanted to do a dinosaur-themed photo shoot for my birthday to make myself feel better and because why not? Drea and I went to the beach and took photos with Tarantino, the triceratops piñata, and it made my life infinitely better.



227/365
Went out for snow cones with Drea and Andrea. This spot is one of the most popular in the city, and with good reason: ICE CREAM IN THEIR SNOW CONES!



228/365
We finally got to have my party! My Jurassic Park/dinosaur themed party was a hit. We had an outdoor party people showed up as the margarita man from the new film AKA Jimmy Buffet, Robert Muldoon, a pair of brachiosaurus, scientists, and I was Dr. Ellie Sattler. It was awesome; we took some photoshoots toward the end of the night that really turned out…beautifully. The only unfortunately thing was my iPod was lost, but I suppose the universe demands sacrifice...



229/365
Some of my wonderful presents and cards! I have such good friends.



230/365
Roadtrippin' to Austin for a float trip with Erin! I love sunset photos and review mirrors, they are so indicative of road trips for me - hazy light, The Beatles, and powdered donuts as the sky melts into night.



231/365
We floated the river and it was SO. MUCH. FUN. I never knew what I was missing until now; beer, sun, watermelon and grapes, music, cold chicken strips, even colder water…I can't WAIT to go again!!! What a great way to make my August :)



232/365
My (third) Austin experience! We floated the river, I filled up an entire disposable camera, Erin had her fairy penguins paint me a picture for my birthday, we went to Sixth Street (where I found an unplugged photobooth, plugged it back in, and was rewarded with a free photo strip), and ate Mexican food.



233/365
Immediately upon arriving home from Austin, I agreed to dog-sit for our friend. This is Mia, who is still a puppy and since this was her second time away from home, she was fairly anxious (and whined all. the. time). Lucky she's cute.



234/365
There's this abandoned building next to the aquarium that has this interesting mural on the side; we call it, originally, "the butterfly building". During our search for Coco, I found a small forest behind it containing orb-weavers, rabbits, and baby shrikes. A tiny ecosystem in the middle of a dilapidated tourist area.



235/365
I found this cute little feather outside; I think it might belong to a woodpecker. Mia was semi-interested in it.



236/365
Xander has never been featured in my 365, before! He is a little nervous of the camera, not as bold as Miss Jackie, but he is my favorite Harris Hawk so he gets a spot looking sort of freaked out by this mechanical machine clicking at him.



237/365
We gave up the search for Coco long ago at this point, and our broken hearts have started to mend. We got a new photo machine at the aquarium so I printed this photo of us to commemorate his memory. I will miss you, Coco.



238/365
I started preparing for Burning Man by tie-dying ALL THE THINGS! Tie-dying is a messy business, but it sure is fun! I hadn't done this since Minnesota, and I still have enough left to do a package of socks! There's nothing quite like dyeing on your porch during sunset while watching Steven Universe.



239/365
The charms I created to give out as gifts at Burning Man. I later painted them different colors with silver accents and called them "cosmic canaries".



240/365
I worked two night events before I left for Burning Man, burning the midnight oil after each event trying to get ready for the biggest event of my year. This sight, once again, reminds me to take a breather every once and awhile to appreciate things.


And thus the summer portion of my 365 project ends. It's strange, but fun, to be reminded of these memories from three to four months ago. This year really has been so wonderful; my summer was filled with road-trips, friends, and new adventures (all of my favorite things), this fall was filled with visits from BFFLs, an epic Halloween party, pumpkin carving, and lots of iced coffees, and of course the spring was full of flowing creative juices, fun training projects at work, and girls' nights out.

It's weird that it's December now; November really flew by at a record pace. It doesn't feel like December at all, considering that it's a crisp 60 outside with sunshine pouring from the cloudless sky. I am on my way to a baking party filled with Christmas music and decorations, so that should put me into the right state of mind. Here's to making the rest of 2015 count.