Monday, December 30, 2013

Good Riddence 2013

Well, I must say I am not going to be sad to see 2013 in the rear view mirror. It has been a trying year for the champs, however, there were some good things splattered in there.

We welcomed 2013 with open arms, I was focused on studying for my CFA level 1 and doing Ironman Coeur D'alene. However, I quickly realized that I may have spread myself too thin, and spent the next 6 months tirelessly studying and training. Luckily Ben was totally supportive, and helped helped me through my darkest moments of self doubt. We decided in March to take a break, and last minute we booked a wonderful vacation to Puerto Vallarta to relax and reconnect, which was well deserved and wonderful. The weather was perfect, we fell in love with Puerto Vallarta, and we found the most amazing resort.



A few weeks after returning form our trip, our klutzy dog impaled himself at the dog park. He was rushed into emergency surgery as the wood went about 6 inches into his thigh. We then learned that our dog is a houdini, he managed to escape his cone, pull out all of his stitches and the drainage tube. Back to the emergency vet. He was stitched up, the pieces of drainage tube removed, and was on the road to recovery.



Then we hit the CFA. It was a pretty grueling exam. 6 hours plus another 2 hours between the breaks and waiting time. I left the exam feeling pretty confident, but I had to wait 6 weeks to find out if I passed.



However, I didn't have long to dwell on the exam because 2 weeks later we were hitting the road to Couer D'alene. It was at this time that Calgary was hit with the devastating floods. On the day that we were supposed to leave after work, the news started flowing in about the flooding. We rushed home at noon, and packed up hoping to get out of town and make the race. It took 5 hours more than usual and an overnight stop at the Kalispell travel lodge, but we made it safe and sound to Coeur D'alene.



(That's the highway)



Ironman was amazing as per usual. Ben became an Ironman finisher, and I completed my second one. However, my day did not go quite as planned. It was a rough one, but I perservered... kind of like this entire year.



July, I found out I passed the CFA, breathed a huge sigh of relief.

August. Well, that was a good month. We headed to Goodsoil with my family and had a great time. We went backpacking with my brother and his girlfriend. And we welcomed the birth of 2 new nieces.


Then came the dreaded fall. The last quarter of the year has been challenging. Not paying attention I slammed the car door on Rudy's tail. Just the very tip of his tail, but it exposed a piece of bone. 6 weeks, 4 surgeries, and a serious infection, Rudy pulled through although with a very short tail.



In the middle of that, I crashed Ben's car driving to work. It was written off, but this turned out to be a blessing in disguise because the insurance payment covered the remaining car loan, and was enough for a down payment on our new car, VW Golf Wagon TDI.

Then October 6, I went for a trail run after a fantastic weekend at my mom's cabin and I fell. I tore a bunch of ligaments in my ankle. I knew it was bad when I did it, but I did not expect to ringing in the new year still on crutches, but that's a story for a whole other post.

Later in October we celebrated my cousin's wedding in Kelowna. We had the greatest time, meeting up with relatives, and exploring Kelowna.



Then my Cousin, and one of my best friends gave birth to a beautiful baby girl.



We also lost 3 wonderful people this year, one tragically a week before christams. This year has definitely made me appreciate the people that are in my life. I am so blessed with all the love and people in my life. This year there has been highs, and there has been a lot of lows. My personal goal for 2013 was to pass my CFA level 1 and finish Ironman and I did both of those things which was a triumph, but the year was not without struggles.

For 2014, we're starting it right by heading back to Puerto Vallarta with my mom and step dad. Then, unfortuneately, 2014 is still up in the air. I dont feel very focused and quite frankly I feel a little burnt from our 2013. My ankle is still pretty messed up which is very frustrating, and I just can't think about cracking those books for CFA level 2 yet. So we'll just see what next year brings. The biggest thing will be what happens with my ankle. I am signed up for CFA level 2, so when we get back from mexico it will be time to start studying, and hopefully I'll be training for Ironman by march... that is if I can walk by then.

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