2014 Rear View

Dearest 2014, where the heck did you vanish to? When did 2015 suddenly become mere hours away? The second half of December always whizzes by me, and suddenly I am scrambling to reflect on the last year and project my goals for the following year. This morning, I managed to tackle what I hope to achieve in 2015. With a little airport appreciation time in between flights, I’m hoping to be productive and piece together my fab year.

Y’all knew Barnie would be making an appearance!

One liner summaries of the last twelve months:

• January – Rang in the New Year in London, finally kept it weird in Portland, killed it at the WDW Half, and went on the best Disney cruise to date.
• February – Celebrated Gal-entine’s Day with a lesson in wine and my family got adopted by one of the best dogs EVER!
• March – Easing into spring time with a fab time with my Dapper Day Debut and a local Father Daughter date!
• April – Rather uneventful, but I thought about running a whole bunch.
• May – Firmly belonged to the geeks as I celebrated Star Wars Weekends and ascended to claim The Iron Throne.
• June –  Attempted to focus on some goal setting.
• July – Took the month off due to summer flying running me into the ground, but managed to meet one of the best guys on the planet!
• August – Fell in love with Madrid all over again thanks to some awesome ladies!
• September – Simply put: KarenFest 2014 culminating in a great date for The Dapper Day Fall Soiree.
• October – I rediscovered my girly side by Going Mad, Man, and a making my first welcome mat!
• November – Based in Orlando for the month so I could have a blast with the Avengers Half in Disneyland.
• December – I couldn’t be any more grateful thank to close out the year with special moments with my loved ones, and focusing how I can give back to local groups in Orlando.

So thankful for this chick, right here.

2014 Highlight Reel – Let’s start out with some of the best adventures I’ve had this year! Looking back, I have so much to be thankful for. Often, I find myself getting caught up on the mundane drill of daily routines, so I forget what wonderful adventures I’ve had! I know ever day can’t be a home run, for which my bank account and body profusely thank me.

One of the best photos of me all year!

• Best Race: Best Damn Race Orlando – As it would turn out, I never posted my BDR Orlando Review, but the bottom line is that I got to see my friends Meghan and Pat run and ran with the half with my sister to help her get her first PR!
• Most Memorable Party: The World Cup on Wall Street Viewing Parties
• Best International Layover Crew Adventures: Madrid, Spain & Venice, Italy
• Most Inspirational Layover: Boston
• Latest Passport Stamps: Zurich, Switzerland & Santiago, Chile

Venezia, I missed you!

• Best Yelp*ing Good-Time: King’s Bowl Orlando
• Geekiest Moments: The Iron Throne, Star Wars Weekend, & Arnold Day X
• Best Beverage Adventures: Wine & Chocolate Gal-entines & The Florida Beer Company Brewery Opening!
• Best Domestic Crew Adventure: Las Vegas, Baby!
• Favorite Foodie Events: Bite Night 30 & Magical Dining Month!
• Biggest Fear Tackled: Learning to handle some Fire Power
• Running-related Power Boosters: Fit2Run in Celebration and Girls’ Runcation to Cape Coral

Doc truly made the second half of 2014 incredible!

Biggest Personal Challenges – I may be a perfectionist, but I am by far not perfect. Several unscheduled visits from the Itty Bitty Sh*tty Committee cropped up throughout the year. Addressing them and asking for help was not easy, and those in my life by and large were supportive. Unfortunately, I discovered that not everyone was in my corner. When someone reaches out for help, advice, or guidance, the last thing anyone expects is to be called a crybaby or a self-proclaimed martyr. For all my readers who rallied behind me, thank you, truly. I sincerely appreciate it! Thankfully my list of gripes is short, and I am finally laying them to rest.

The Best Damn Sister a girl could ask for!

• Most Frustrating Race Moment: Missing a new PR at Best Damn Race Orlando by less than 50 seconds.
• Work Stress: My first fallen soldier Transport & The Disappearance of Malaysian Air 370
• Hardest Running Choice: Deferring the Star Wars Rebel Challenge to 2016
• Biggest Disappointment: getting ripped off by Run or Dye
• Toughest Decisions: cutting out toxic relationships by Admitting Humanity

 
Some amazingly fun gal pals!

There are so many people who contributed to making the last twelve months incredible, and there isn’t enough time or space in the world to truly express how grateful I am to everyone. I don’t want to name names because without fail I will forget someone. Please know that if you were around for any part either in person or vicariously as a reader, I am thankful you were willing to hop into my flight kit and travel along with me. I sincerely hope that you’ll continue joining me after the clock strikes 12 and 2015 officially begins. I can’t say it enough: Thank you.