Life Less Ordinary: Currently: December

Currently living/working in: Still property caretaking of Fenton Ranch in the Jemez Mountains of New Mexico … and now I have my husband here full time too!!!

Currently excited about: 2017! We can all admit 2016 was a train wreck of tragedy and political upheavals. For us personally, it was quite bipolar with a few awesome moments coupled with speed bumps. I am hopeful for 2017. You know us, always something up our sleeves!!

Currently not excited about: Snowblowing, shoveling, chopping wood, repeat. For at least three more months. We asked for pioneer living and we got it!

Currently amazed by: People who live in the woods and are self sufficient! This is our dream—living in a cabin in the snowy mountains—so I cannot complain. But damn! It is hard work and I severely underestimated it. We have a snowblower and that helps with snow removal, but it is still work. As for wood splitting and stocking, it is a constant chore. When we managed Bears Den Hostel and Trail Center in Virginia, we were spoiled by a chainsaw and hydraulic wood splitter! In any case, Justin is here and wants to help with all tasks, but I promised his mom not to let him chop wood (so hopefully she doesn't notice the picture below).

Currently worried about: Justin is certainly on the road to recovery (and I know we owe you all a full post on everything medical-related), but Crohn’s is a lifelong condition to battle.

Currently thankful for: Having a human companion in the New Mexico cabin! I really did love my 6 weeks of solo cabin time (plus 3 cats) and I certainly used it wisely. And the truth is, we have wonderful “neighbors” up here at Fenton (they may be 1-3 miles away and not up here full time, but neighbors nonetheless). Still, nothing beats having my honey by my side.

Currently proud of: Writing a 65,000-word book in less than a year. I officially started writing on Feb. 9, 2016, and finished on Nov. 20, 2016 (although writers are forever editors, so it will never really be done). 2016 was the year I dedicated myself to writing, and I feel very accomplished. I’ve only sent it off to one publisher, but I have lofty goals of sending it to 25 other publishers. Maybe 2017 will be the year I score a publisher!

Current confession: We have a love-hate relationship with these kittens. The mama is fine and will stay as the Fenton Ranch cat, but the kittens are troublemakers and having 2 humans and 3 cats in a 250-square-foot cabin is a little too tight! If you are interested in adopting the cutest kittens eva, let us know!

Current guilty pleasure: Omaha Steaks! My parents had given us an order for our 10-year anniversary, then J’s dad gave us an order for Christmas. Nom nom nom.

Currently reading: I made the rare switch to fiction this month!!! My friend Lindsay Harrel just published her first novel, One More Song To Sing. It was fantastic and I’m very proud of her. It is a cute story about a young country star singer who moves to Nashville to try to make it big, but there is a small twist as she is also trying to track down her long lost mother. Alongside it, I finished Stephen King’s memoir On Writing. I’ve actually only read one of Stephen King’s books (11-22-63, which still stands in my top 5 fiction books), but I’ve seen a lot of his movies. In any case, it was fun to read his take on the writing process and how he grew from a dreamer to a best-selling novelist.

Currently watching on Netflix: While we were in Denver for Christmas, we started streaming the second season of “The Man in the High Castle” (actually, this is on Amazon Prime, not Netflix), but now that we are back to life with limited Internet, we are back on the Netflix DVD program. If you want a good thriller, rent, “Don’t Breathe.” Creepy!!!!