Oh man, you guys. The end of the year was a whirlwind. November was a pedal to the metal, non stop month and December was even crazier if that’s even possible. I didn’t blog at all in November because I took on NaNoWriMo (which went amazingly! I want to do a recap of my Nano experience at some point!) and that took up literally every free moment I had. I went on a short trip to see my sister in CA and I visited my in laws for Thanksgiving. I never even did a recap for November and now we’re on the last weekend of the year! Of the decade!
December was jam packed as well and then I was hit with another cold (I’ve gotten sick so many times this year, it’s ridiculous). I was juggling events, get togethers, work, Christmas shopping, holiday planning and honestly, I could not be happier for a low key weekend to gather myself. I’m an extroverted introvert and my introvert side needs this me time! It should be no surprise given all the craziness that I’ve barely been reading. I’m so far off my GR goal it’s quite sad and it’s actually the least I’ve read in years! I’m trying not to be too upset about it and telling myself I still have read so much considering everything else that I do as well.
I don’t have time to put together any of the beautifully done end of decade or top books lists I see so many others making but I did want to feature some highlights from the last two months! And who knows, maybe I will find time to put together some posts about my 2019 reading stats and favorites! (I really hope so!)
Favorite Things In November & December:
CALIFORNIA: I visited my sister and her family in California and had a great time hanging out with my nieces and nephew! My husband and I also took a quick day trip up to San Francisco and got to do lots of eating and some sightseeing!
NaNoWriMo! I managed to write every single day which is such a big achievement for me. I’m really excited how much writing I got done and am eager to continue despite not doing any writing in December. It was a crazy month, like I said, but am determined to keep up the writing habits I did in November. Hopefully more about Nano to come in a future post! 🙂
Thanksgiving with family was a wonderful and relaxing time away with lots of good food! Even got to do a quick run after needing some time off due to injury in a chilly but pretty route!
Month In Review:
- [5 Dec] An Alaskan Christmas by Jennifer Snow ★★★½
- [9 Dec] The Lady Rogue by Jenn Bennett ★★★★½
- [31 Dec] Holiday Round Up Mini Reviews: A Cowboy For Christmas, Christmas From The Heart
- [31 Dec] Christmas from the Heart by Sheila Roberts ★★★
- [31 Dec] A Cowboy for Christmas by Sara Richardson ★★★★
Books Read in November & December: 3
Books Listened to in November & December: 6
Favorite read of November & December: The Flatshare was so adorable and totally held up to all the hype! I’ve also been loving the Stormlight Archives – really embracing the long epic fantasies this year! (Not counting rereads because The Scorpio Races is a forever favorite and annual reread!)
Challenges Progress:
Goal: “Grand Slam” 21+
This month (nov & dec): 5
Progress so far: 24/21 – yay, goal met!!
A book you think should be turned into a movie: √ (Stormlight Archives – think of what an epic movie on par with LOTR that would be!)
Well, I missed completing all the prompts but I’m looking forward to tackling the popsugar challenge for 2020!
Fitness Front:
I ended up taking most of November off of running and after a lot of mobility work, core work, chiro visits, stretching and foam rolling, I was able to start running again! It’s tough because I had to build up mileage all over again. You just lose things so quickly. Running the Seattle Half Marathon felt ROUGH. I wasn’t used to the mileage, I wasn’t trained for it, but hey, it was still fun to be out there for the 50th anniversary of the race!
The 12Ks of Christmas with the Snohomish Running Company is a yearly favorite of mine! It’s so much holiday fun and just a great overall atmosphere! This year the theme was Christmas Vacation and it truly was the hap hap happiest Christmas run, as advertised. 😉 If you are local to the Seattle area, check out their races! Distances ranging from 5Ks to full marathons with the best swag! As one of their race ambassadors, you can also get a discount using my code: WendyH20!
Congrats on managing to write every day during NaNo! That’s a great accomplishment!! And also congrats on your runs!!
Thanks! I was really proud that I managed to write every day even if I didn’t hit that 50K word goal!
Yeah, honestly writing consistently is more important than the word goal. 🙂
The high tea you attended in SF looks so cute! I love high tea!