I traditionally blog about a single topic, but I thought I’d shake it up and just do a “this is everything going on in my life” type of post.  Also, because I’ve been a little scatter-brained lately it seemed easier to just list it all out.  Maybe it’s because there’s too many things on my list?  Who knows?  In any case, here’s the latest and greatest happenings, in no particular order . . .

Travel:  As you know, Chris and I continue our “visit all 50 states adventures.”  I’d say we’re up to somewhere around 27 or 28 states by now — I’d have to reference the official map we use to track our adventures.  Next up on our list of new stops for the rest of this year include:  a ten-year anniversary trip to Traverse City, Michigan, a work trip to Virginia for me, a two-week hunting trip in Idaho for Chris, and while worth mentioning that I’ll be heading to Vegas again — I think you all know that’s not a new stop for me.  If you have favorite go-to’s in Michigan, give us a shout.

Photography:  I am obsessed with my new camera and I am overly excited about all the possibilities of what I can do with it.  I have wanted a nice camera for YEARS and I am excited every time I get it out and take photos.  I am currently committing to learning one new thing a day on the camera (I watch YouTube videos while on the treadmill), and I’m looking forward to a four-week photography class I’ve signed up for that starts in September.  Other than family pics, I’m keeping an eye out for any opportunity that allows me to practice taking candid photos of people (I prefer to take photos of people vs. things).  If you have an informal event and wish you had a photographer, and you’re willing to take on a novice, let me know!

Blog:  I love blogging.  I try to stick to my schedule of posting a new blog at least once a week and am giving myself grace if some of my other interests and things on this list cause a hiccup in that plan.  I plan to incorporate more photos in my posts (excluding this one, I guess), similar to my last post on “The Stories Behind My Rings.”  It takes a little longer to do the post, but it’s worth it.

Online Magazine:  Little Red Bird Press Online Magazine is still rollin’!  I put a new issue out every other Tuesday and am still speechless at the stories that land in my inbox.  Next week’s issue (Issue 9!) will mark the 50th story that has been published.  I’m thankful people trust me with their stories.  I wish I had more time to promote it, but again, balancing the other things on this list — I’m pretty proud of it and am happy the momentum has continued even without regular social media updates.  I wish I had an intern that required no payment and would create all the social media images and promotions for it and could just go into my brain and create what I always envision.  But until then, I am loving running the little magical thing it has become.

Family:  Chris turned 36 yesterday.  My sister is back at college.  We went kayaking with my Dad last weekend.  My mom and I continue our regular mother-daughter nights a couple times a week.  Life is good.

Book:  I am still working on my second book.  I have to pre-plan my writing times so I can mentally get myself in the right zone.  It’s probably time to do another dedicated writing weekend.  I plan to release book #2 in 2019 and am not pressuring myself to do it by a certain date.  I have a number of chapters written, and while I have longer breaks between working on it than I’d like . . . you know, because work and stuff, I feel excited about it when I revisit what is written!

Fitness:  I’ve gone to the gym every morning for the last 25 days, and have also done another workout in the evenings here and there.  I didn’t make a public service announcement on this, didn’t say I’d do it for X number of days, didn’t commit to one specific program.  I simply knew for my mental health (and obviously, physical) that it would be nothing but helpful to get at least 30 minutes in at the gym every morning.  It’s working.  I don’t feel like going half the time, but I do it.

Now, I’m off to juggle the abovementioned list.  What’s the latest happenings in your life?