Small Wins - January

I've certainly turned a corner on the whole getting back to feeling good path, but January had a couple of major personal developments and resulting setbacks. I have to admit a lot of January was simply an exercise in putting one foot in front of the other. I feel a bit lost, but I have started to make some small plans for the future and so it seems I am slowly finding a path forward I want to take.

And so, my small wins for the last month are smaller than ever, but I feel like the effort put in to achieve them was substantial and therefore I will be proud of them :)

My small wins for January include:

- Signing up for a clinic. I knew this would force me to stay consistent in my riding and Bridget's fitness.

B's getting chunky again.

- Renewed all my equestrian memberships. Keeps me involved and encourages me to participate in horsey events.

- 30 days of yoga challenge. I stuck with it, even on the days I really didn't want to. And I'm definitely less stiff and sore and a little bit stronger too. It was tempting to take a break Feb 1st, but I started a new one and I'm going to keep the momentum going for another month - I really do think it's helping my riding and general wellbeing.

- Pitchfork repair. LOL, duct tape actually worked!

Bonus style points for purple owl tape?

- Sophie. I had plans, and I let them slide. So, she got a good grooming, a short walk around the property, and lots of treats a couple of times a week and beyond that has just been running around growing up. She was also SUPER for the farrier on her last appointment. That's all a win, because truly, as a two year old, growing up and being reasonably good to handle is all she really needs to be doing right now.

Loves ear scratches

- Bridget. Has been getting out riding 3-4 times a week, and is feeling pretty good. My distraction with other things is actually making our rides really quite positive and good. I'm less apt to be so focused on trying to make everything 'correct' and I'm learning that might actually be a good thing!

B's friends are adorable.

- My fitness/health. In addition to yoga, I've been hiking 3 days a week, usually for a couple of hours at a time. Sometimes with my husband, sometimes with a pony, sometimes we all go together. I'm also back to counting calories and restricting the eating out to once a week.

Sophie always comes running, so there are no long pasture walks for exercise for me.

- Financial planning. I got a small raise Jan 1st and took inspiration from other bloggers (most recently, Cob Jockey) and sat down and used that raise to create savings accounts with auto deposits for some of the big expenditures I'd like to make. I've now got a savings account accruing a bit of money every paycheque for tack and training for Sophie, and a further separate one for a trailer. After a lot of back and forth, I've simply decided to buy a new trailer because they hold their values so well around here. And so, I'm saving pennies. It's not much, but every bit that I can save and pay cash for helps and I feel a lot more positive about making all the things happen in a reasonable time frame.