Can you believe there are only a couple of days left of 2022? I can’t. It’s been such a wild year for me, and I can’t believe how much my life has changed (for the better!).
Here are just a few highlights!
Winning Buckmaster for the first time
It was such an honor to finally take my turn as the Buckmaster in the family competition. I am so proud to be a part of this tradition and thankful for such supportive family members! It will be a treat to crown the next Buckmaster this year!
Taking on a bigger role with ReelCamo Girl
Being able to put my marketing skills to work for a group of women that I admire and a cause that means so much to me has been so rewarding this year! I am so blessed to work with women from across North America who work everyday to make the outdoors industry more inclusive.
Being chosen as a Prostaffer for DSG Fish
Being a Prostaffer with ReelCamo Girl has been such a treat, and to add a company like DSG to that list was such an honor. The gear that they make for outdoorswomen is so thoughtfully made, and I couldn’t be more proud to represent them alongside anglers that I respect and admire so much. I hope to get the opportunity again this summer!
Catching my first oversized redfish
I’ve been after an oversized redfish for a few years now, and it finally happened this summer! After countless casts, hundreds of hooks, and disappointing defeat, I finally caught one. He was 28 1/4″, so I’ve the bar pretty low as far as personal best oversized reds, but I look forward to the challenge!
Click on the picture to read more about that experience and how we caught him!
Cooking new recipes
Since starting my own business and working from home, I’ve had a lot more time to cook; before this year, though, I really wasn’t the best cook… Taking time to learn has built my confidence and helped me remember what it’s all really about; meat for the freezer!
This was some osso buco that I made earlier this week from a venison shank! Who knew one of the toughest cuts could fall off the bone when cooked properly.
Harvesting my doe
I know, I talk a big game about being very conservation minded and trying to look beyond the length of the fish or the size of the antlers, and I feel like I was reminded of what that really feels like this year when I harvested a doe. It’s the first one I’ve taken since 2017, and I’m so thankful to have had the opportunity at all. I try to live what I believe, and I feel that I did it this year during deer season.
Click on the picture to read about her harvest a few weeks ago!
There are so many more amazing things that happened this year, and I can’t believe how lucky I am to have experienced these things.
I’m not here to brag, though. Like I said, these are highlights.
They don’t include the toll on my mental health from starting a new business and struggling. Or the frustrations of dealing with multiple injuries throughout the summer and fall. Or the overcooked venison, missing ingredients, and fudged instructions. Or the burnout from trying to maintain a YouTube channel, blog, and multiple social media outlets.
This year had plenty of challenges, and I’ve got a few to overcome at the start of 2023.
But life is short; so why focus on the negative? Even as I’m writing this, I’ve had a frustrating morning full of setbacks. Instead of wallowing in my regrets and disappointments, though, I’m choosing to dwell on the good things from this year and use the rest as lessons to carry me into the new one.
So cheers to the all of the happy highlights of 2022, and all of the better things to come in 2023!
Jess and the Outdoors 