Another whirlwind couple of weeks included the last of my Christmas ordering (I have one or two more items left to buy in person), my niece taking tentative steps on her own, wrestling with a photo-editing program, cracking up at my extended family attempting to play virtual reality games, a delicious Thanksgiving, some very light Christmas decorating, and a gender-reveal party for my cousin’s baby.

In other words, things have been busy around here.

I hadn’t gotten as far as I’d hoped to in my backstory build-up (it keeps growing!) before the holiday festivities started, so it doesn’t look like I’ll hit that beta reading milestone by the end of the year like I’d been hoping to (most of my beta readers would probably prefer to start at a different time of year, anyway). I’m still taking the writing “break/slow-down” in mid-December I’d had in mind with that plan, though, so I can enjoy the holidays and start up recharged in the new year. I’m especially looking forward to experiencing Christmas through my niece’s eyes this year, and seeing all her reactions to the “firsts” she’ll be having. What could be more fun?