JANUARY FRIDAY FRONT RUNNERS- A REVIEW OF WHAT I'VE BEEN LOVING LATELY

Since I last did a round-up like this, a lot has gone on. There was an insurrection at The Capitol, the President was impeached for a second time, Anthony and I took a quick trip to Moab and Glenwood Springs, and the Coronavirus daily numbers continue to rise above 300,000 cases.

New years eve felt different this year. Anthony and I sat in our AirBnB in Moab, a fresh blanket of snow covering the red rocks and Juniper bushes, eating pizza and watching True Crime shows. We were both asleep before midnight. There hadn't been much to look forward to in 2020, and the start of 2021 hasn't been a great endorsement for the rest of the year improving. That being said, just being able to spend some extended time outside was much needed and renewed a sense of creativity in me upon returning to Arvada.

1. Stephanie, a friend from my MFA program and I have finally taken the leap and decided to start a writing retreat program that we've been talking about for ages. Of course, we can't really host retreats at the moment, but we've got plans for some classes and excellent retreats when we can all be in close proximity again.

2. I made it to my 50 book goal for 2020, and am 3 books in to my 2021 goal. Here's a little roundup of what I loved, and didn't love so much from 2020.

So far, I've read:

The Book of Delights by Ross Gay which I absolutely adored. Review to come.

The Murmur of Bees by Sofia Segovia which I did not adore. Another book club pick that just wasn't my cup of tea.

The Scandinavian Guide to Happiness. A really lovely book about nordic wisdom with plenty of suggestions about how to bring more happiness into your life.

3. As I mentioned above, Anthony and I took a much, much needed trip to Moab. Despite getting unexpectedly stuck in Glenwood Springs for two days because of a winter storm, we still made it and got to see the Moab desert covered with snow. After getting back home, I felt so renewed and itching to get back to all things creative again.

4. I had an essay about the forest fires published in Unearthed Magazine. I also listened to an excellent This American Life podcast about what it was like fighting the fires this season in California. It's called Boulder v. Hill and is certainly worth a listen.

5. Last up, we've all been incredibly unsettled by the insurrection at The Capitol and what that means for our country moving forward. This essay by Rebecca Solnit, a favorite author of mine, is certainly worth a read. It helped me to process everything that happened on that awful day.