2021 Quarterly Update #3

  A bit late, but here we are with a recap of the final quarter of 2021. Definitely not too sad to be putting this year behind me, and thankfully December was a good, hard rest and reset in a lot of ways - but I'm getting ahead of myself...

WRITING

  My fall writing may not have been quite as hectic and productive as spring, but I did manage to win #NaNoWriMo by reaching 50,000 words with my YA sci-fi novel, Quarter Past Midnight! That was pretty exciting and a really enjoyable NaNo month (unlike last year *cries*). I also finished writing The Promise, which is the third book in my medieval fantasy series, The War of the Three Crowns, and now that the New Year is fully upon me, I'll be working on drafting and then beginning book four, The Revenge. 

  Other than that, I took time off of all my projects in December after wrapping up NaNo, as per usual, and enjoyed some time off to reflect, reset, and prep for 2022!

MEDIA

  I finished my reading challenge this year at 32/25 books, ending 2021 with The Lord of the Rings (highly recommend). I read a lot of great stuff this year, and I got a TON of new books for Christmas, so I'll have even more to read in the New Year as well. 

  We watched s2 of The Witcher, saw Hawkeye, and began the millionth rewatch of LotR during the holiday season. Still haven't seen Spiderman to my great dismay, but I've seen just about every spoiler there could be, so I guess that's almost as good *eye roll*

LIFE

  Fall was fairly crazy but thankfully December slowed RIGHT down, which was much needed after the wild year I endured. 

WORK. I worked A LOT in the fall. I had camp horses to attend to, fields to farm, horses to work with and sell, photo shoots, and more and more. Much of it was good, and I enjoyed being outside to soak up the beautiful fall we had, but it was definitely exhausting, and I'm feeling more than a little burned out after the whole of 2021. 

Tractor video calls

HIKING. We got out on two real hikes, one rainy and one snowy, and I went exploring out west another time with SIL and friend. All beautiful days and great memory making!

PHOTOSHOOTS. I did quite a few fall shoots, lots of family photos (including ours), a grad session, and a special shoot for a friend and her horse in the weeks before he was to be humanely euthanized. Special sessions all around, and I'm kind of proud of how my photography is growing and improving. I didn't get as many chances for fun, personal pleasure shoots this year, but definitely lots of client ones, which was awesome!

CHRISTMAS. The Christmas season was so, so welcome this year, and I was so happy to get to put stuff on pause and slow down for a few weeks. It has been bitterly cold since mid-December here as well (anywhere between -25 to -50 with windchill) so I've been on a bit of a forced vacation from work as well. Spending time with family was really nice, as well as getting to read and paint a TON. I am always so thankful for Christmas.

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE:

Quarterly Update #1

Quarterly Update #2

LET'S TALK.

How was the last bit of 2021 for you? And how was your holiday? Were you able to get relaxed and refreshed for a New Year? Let me know in the comments below!