Letting go of 2019

Here I am. On the eve of 2020 watching movies and drinking cider. Non-alcoholic cider. I switched from wine to cider after my bestie rang in the New Year London time.

Not that I’m opposed to drinking, but I’m no champagne enthusiast. So I’ll sip on my non-alcoholic bubbly and reminisce on the years end.

January 2019:

January brings a new year and Hazel Nut’s birthday. This year Hazel Nut turned 8. A great age, but an emotional one for me. I’ve lost most of my pets around this age so I’ll be grateful when she long outgrows this age.

None the less, she was celebrated the best we could in the New England winter. This weekend brings her birthday again. I’m looking forward to her birthday and another year of her birth. 🙂

February 2019:

February brought adventures of snow and snowshoeing. I had decided that if I was to stay in the northeast I would explore my new found habitat! And explore we have.

We headed to Stowe, VT for a getaway weekend. It was meant to be a girls weekend, but turned into a Nattie, Hazel Nut & MP weekend. So still a girls weekend, but different than the original plan. I enjoyed that AirB&B and the snow. . . Just not driving in it.

I also thoroughly enjoyed the coffee shop in town. That was the best part of my trip. I loved enjoying a new coffee shop and trying out the different flair of a new neighborhood. This shop actually gave me inspiration for my own coffee shop one day. 🙂

March 2019:

March definitely brought an amazing opportunity and a once in a lifetime journey.

I flew to visit bestie down under – feel free to read all about my travels here. Melbourne spoke to my soul in ways that New England never could. I’d move there in a heartbeat… that is, if I didn’t have my pets. I couldn’t put them through that move. But I can enjoy my trips abroad just the same.

April 2019:

April also brought me the once in a lifetime experience to hold a Koala! O.M.G.

Holding my first ever Koala was something I will never forget. I mean, I’ll be there “tree” anytime. So A-Mazing!

I also got to snorkel with juvenile sea turtles and my Bestie. All in all it was a great trip. When I returned to America I was able to enjoy some time with my Cali friends.

May 2019:

May brought more adventures! This time to Maine. We (Hazel Nut & I) road tripped to Acadia National Park. You can learn all about my trip to Maine here.

While the trip was rain soaked, covered several miles, crossed through several states, paid out more than my fair share of tolls, and ended with Urgent Care it was still a weekend to remember.

It – like so many of my adventures lately – seemed to bring a storm to “make things interesting”. That storm has also left a lasting impression – more like semipermanent nerve pain to especially make sure I didn’t forget my trip.

June 2019:

June brings my birthday month and the end of my time working in Massachusetts. It also brought lots and lots of moving boxes.

I packed up the majority of my life into these boxes to be able to store my items while I drove home for my study break. Given my love of cappuccinos I opted to keep my espresso maker out of the boxes to take home. 🙂

July 2019:

July. What a month. July brought so many changes. I once again failed to comprehend the mistake I was making by ordering PODS containers for my items. Headache and full explosion of my brain cells.

I also did my seventh ever cross country road trip. Hazel has also been apart of those 7 cross country road trips. This was Fi’s second ever trip.

August 2019:

August brought studying. So much studying. And so much chaos, drama, and meltdowns.

August also brought heartache. This year was the second anniversary of Sophie’s passing. I find myself in a massive funk as the weekend surrounding her death comes… Because it’s also the weekend I lost my first dog. It’s a weekend, week and a month that hurts without warning. It’s almost like it sneaks up on you.

But Hazel & I celebrated their lives with a puppacino and some park time. I cried over old wounds, apologized into the sunset to the dogs I lost, and loved on the dog I still have.

The rest of August brought concerts, nights out, and studying for the big exam.

September 2019:

September brought so much. I flew to DC to sit my board examinations, hang out with friends at the conference, celebrate my mom’s 60th birthday, and drove back across the country.

While exams were brutal, spending time in DC and exploring it once again was amazing. I have a new found love for scooters! Exploring DC with my friend on the scooters was A-MAZ-ING. Definitely recommend it. And don’t forget to check out my blog on DC adventures. 🙂

When I came back from boards I put together my mom’s birthday party. It was crazy, amazing, and stressful. But I hope she enjoyed it all the same.

By summers end I was so ready to GTFO that I all but ruined my relationship with my mom and her husband. I was soooo ready to leave and so in need of space between me and family.

Hazel, Fi, & I started our 8th trek across the country. As I often like to do, I made sure to add viewpoints into the drive to make the time go by faster and break up the drive.

Seeing the Horseshoe Bend was one adventure I couldn’t pass up. Even though the heat was a bit excessive, and the tourist count was high. But Hazel & I still made it to the viewpoint and got a few shots of the view before moving on.

October 2019:

This October brought a new housing lease, new job, and a new set of challenges.

Within my first 2 weeks here I was robbed. Yep. You read that right. I was robbed. Thank you New England. Not.

It was definitely not my finest memories of 2019. And ones that made me start regretting my trip back out here.

November 2019:

November brought Thanksgiving and my first time post vet school not being home for the holidays. But I was burnt out on family drama. Granted by the time Thanksgiving came I regretted not going home.

But thankfully my Madre came out to visit for Thanksgiving:P

We continued our Thanksgiving tradition of a 5k before the feasting began. And the girls were grateful for the company.

December 2019:

December brought the first snow storm of my time in Connecticut. It also brought the ONLY snow storm I’ve actually experienced since coming here.

We also started meeting up with Em since coming back. Coffee & Puppacino dates to help make this new place less daunting and more friendly.

With December comes the wintery cold. And, well, more rain. Less snow. And more reasons to hate New England. I fell on the black ice that is my driveway during/after icy rain storms… which happen a lot.

I’m beyond ready to put this year in the past and move into the new year with 2019 left behind.

Happy New Year!

Nattie & Hazel Nut