February has been a monster of a month! Not in a bad way, just very, very FULL. I had weeks where there were literally events or appointments going on daily, some of them taking up 16 hours a day! When I wasn’t running around the city, I was mostly on my computer, editing the many, many photoshoots I did this month. I had to cancel several things on my list purely due to exhaustion, including some hikes I’d really wanted to attend and the original date Jason and I planned for Valentine’s. All the busyness and running around led to two massive flares of my autoimmune disorder, and I had my first experience since August of full-on collapse with every bone and joint in my body enflamed. Oy. But honestly, it was worth it. February was a very fulfilling month as well as a full-filled month (ha!). I spent a lot of time with friends both new and old, explored new-to-me places, brought home new foster kittens, and got out of my comfort zone a lot to take the photos I wanted to take this month.

Reading and Watching
My reading was not as impressive or as extensive as in January. I’ve been up and about a lot of the time, so I’m more drawn to audio than print atm. My library has several e-audiobooks available for my BotM books (the physical ones sitting on my TBR shelf) but I’m currently stuck on hold lists, and that limited my reads in Feb. I ended up finishing four books, and unlike January (where I still haven’t picked a fave), there was a clear winner here: City of Nightmares.

Then there were those moments that I was down with a flare. My fingers and wrists hurt so badly that I couldn’t hold a book! While I didn’t watch much of anything in January, there were two big binge-watches in Feb. The first was the new Lockwood & Co series on Netflix. Great adaptation, as I’ve already written about. The second was the episodes-so-far in the newest Murdoch Mysteries season, which I finally have access to. I’ve been dying to get to these since they released starting back in September! One of these days, I need to sit down and watch the movies on my longtime to-watch list, but somehow a two-hour commitment feels far more tedious than watching a 45 min show…even if I watch four of those shows back to back…

Goals
I can’t say I’ve made much progress on non-photography goals this month, except for the ones that are continuous or month-to-month goals. And that’s okay. My photography goals are going well and I’m progressing in a way I truly love, unhindered by anything holding me back, so all is well.

Health/Fitness
As I’ve said, I had two massive flares this month, and a flare involves a spike in inflammation and a drop in mobility. It also messes with sleep, appetite, mood, and general ability to function. I was far more prepared to deal with these flares this time, and I was able to rest up and then resume life as planned for the most part. To me, that’s a win, even if it meant less overall movement/fitness.

Favorite Photos
Once again, these are excluding photoshoot-specific shots! There were quite a number of great shots this month.

Left to right, top row to bottom row: nectarine blossoms encased in ice; hikers gathered under an old, sprawling live oak tree; spiral downwards; Unicorn relaxing in our yard; the foster kitten life; a little boy peeking out from a playground tunnel

Clockwise from top left: America in 2023 – A Portrait of Decay; Marlie and her honorary grandmother; pond through grass; the newest parts of our family; Angus in his blanket-cave

Highlights of February
“Quite busy but also nice” – February, definitely

• beautiful photos from the early ice storm, and thankfully none of our trees lost branches
• meeting up with an aspiring model to collaborate on photo shoots; later doing our first collaboration together!
• discovering (and binge-watching) the Lockwood & Co series; also finally getting to watch Murdoch
• Petunia got adopted after only two days!
• a day out at Mildfire, Knight Watch, and the Sanctuary with my friend Sisa
• Tyler’s graduation, spending time with their family, and especially how welcome and inviting they’ve all been re: Ember
• Lord Grey and Unicorn slowly getting to know each other and get comfortable around each other
• exploring beautiful new-to-me trails!
• watching the Superbowl with Jason, my kiddos all on text, my siblings also on a group chat because the Chief’s win all came down to the last seconds and to my brother’s former student (Harrison Butker)!
• Morrigan and Katy became officially engaged!
• kittens kittens kittens: triangle tails and screamy tabbies and tiny uncoordinated pounces
• spending time out with Kristina, Melanie, and Marlie, including a toddler photoshoot in the park
• playing velcro ax throwing with friends after a night off for a trash-TV party (ha!)
• Nowhere Bookshop! It was my first visit to this local independent bookstore and I’m already hooked.
• strawberry-picking with friends – my first time at a strawberry farm!

Coming up in March
I’ve said it before but I’ll say it again, March is birthday central! Today is my birthday, and soon we’ll celebrate birthdays for my stepmom, youngest child, mother-in-law, future brother-in-law, father-in-law, a sister-in-law, and another brother-in-law. Hopefully I’ve remembered everyone! Three of those birthdays are all on the same day! Three more are back-to-back, three days in a row. Crazy month, yeah?