Lifestyle

2019 IN REVIEW

I’m sorry, what? It’s 2020?

Think back to what you were doing this time last year; what were you hopeful for? What goals or resolutions did you write down with total hope and promise that they would be fulfilled? Personally, I have had a slow decline of those feelings through the years. My early 20’s I was all into the resolutions, knew I would feel differently in the coming year and knew that things would change in a matter of months. Then my mid-20’s hit and while I still made those lists, I had a vague hint of optimism but slightly diminished. Now, at 30 years old and having had a tough few years, I’ve decided I need to reassess my entire outlook on the matter.

Everyone thinks over things over the holidays. Whether it’s the constant barrage of social media posts about it, or the questions from family over the festivities, we start to think over what we’ve actually done with our last 12 months. To be totally honest, I’m not entirely sure. I don’t have the traditional life that I can measure “success”: promotions, projects at work, a raise, a growing family. Now while that is only one definition and way of looking at success, it is a fairly traditional way. And because I don’t have a job, it’s harder for me to have a feeling of success which has been one of the biggest downfalls of 2019 for me. In 2018 I had a sense of purpose in the fitness studio’s that I worked at and felt like a human again. This year I was not so lucky.

But I do have to remind myself every now and then of just how much I have done this year, and how much has changed. Which, as always in my life, is a lot…

  • traveled to CA, DC, MD, FL, UT, SC, NY, OH, VA, GA (yes, I had to go back through my Instagram feed to remind myself)

  • Moved out of Michigan 🙁

  • redesigned the blog and done more brand collaborations than ever before.

  • Turned 30… ugh

Sure I can keep busy, but for me that isn’t enough. I want to feel that I’m working towards something and giving something to the world, even a small corner of it, and that’s what I’ve been working towards for years. I’m not sure I will find that answer in 2020, but I do know that I’m going to keep working towards it.

But to be totally honest, I’m kind of nervous about 2020. Every year for us has brought change: a new city, a new house, etc. Change has always been our “normal”, but this year’s change is a big one, and one that I have a hard time wrapping my head around. I always pride myself on being open about myself and my life, but I am also only comfortable giving certain details and sharing certain things. But this year could mean a lot of time away from my husband and a lot of big decisions to be made. At this point, my husband is my home, so to think of having to be away from him for months at a time isn’t something I’d choose.

So all in all I am not sure what 2020 will bring. Most people don’t! I have no idea how I will feel this time next year, and I actually have no idea where I will be this time of year. So while I wish I could fill your feed and this post with inspirational lines like “new year, new me!” or “this is gonna be the best year yet” or “this is THE year”… that’s just not where my mind is, and I’d rather be honest than popular. But if you are like me and you are feeling uncertain, unsettled, and just overall unsure as to how this next year is going to go, you are not alone. Sometimes not knowing what comes next can bring some pretty amazing things, so when the inspiration strikes, try and turn that fear/uncertainty into excitement/anticipation. Sometimes there is a fine line between those two emotions, but the latter is so much more fun 😀

Lifestyle

2018 IN REVIEW

Yes, we’re here again. Another Christmas has passed, another New Years Eve is approaching, and I’m in disbelief. How did we get here so quickly?! What have I been doing for the past 12 months!?

Does anyone else look up and feel like they haven’t done half the things that they wanted to? The reality of it is, you have done a bajillion things this year, so don’t minimize any one of them. Me? I tend to blackout… no, seriously. Because we move so much, my year tends to be a blur, and I can’t remember what I did and when.

For example, this winter/spring were as follows:

February – I returned to MN and started to train as a Solidcore Coach

March – closed on our new house in Minneapolis

April/May – I (by myself!!!) moved from our old house in MN to that house we closed on in March

But when I try to recall all of this? It’s like my brain doesn’t want me to remember the moving experience, so I legit forget that I did all of this just a few short months ago. Add that on top of my husband and my first full year of marriage, well, woof! I am shocked we made it. Sorry, correction, that “I made it”.

THE DISRUPTION OF MOVING…

Something that many people forget about when it comes to families in sports is the disruptive lifestyle. Now, I don’t get to go “home home” in the offseason since I’m not from Minnesota, so I’m in foreign territory pretty much 24-7. The biggest hurtle for me since the beginning of this journey with my husband is the working situation. Now, this winter/spring/summer I was SOOOO lucky to be able to jump into the Solidcore team and coach there all off-season along with a spin studio. And to say that this was a good offseason for me is an understatement! I have never felt more like myself, creating my own network, getting back to work.

Now, come October I had to put all of that on hold and move back to Michigan. Not that I don’t love Michigan… but to get in a flow, build a tribe, and then you wake up one day and have to leave? Ya, that’s an adjustment. This is where I have to take a page out of my husband’s book, however I am still learning, so it’s not so much of a ‘page’ as it is tearing out a little corner. But he is SO good to only worry about the things that he can control, and soldiering through the other parts with a smile on his face. But… I never said I could do it quietly :-/

THE LIFE OF A BLOGGER

I wish I had made the decision to do this earlier. Seriously. Because with only a year and a half under my belt of full-time blogging and social media work, I have had some amazing experiences.

Now, I jumped in with both feet, and a bit of my bum too, because I feel more like I did a cannonball into blogging. I have learned the importance of networking in this world and have met some amazing people in this journey. If I hadn’t made the decision to just say “yes”, and put myself out there, then I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to work with all of the dozens of companies that I have created relationships with! And I am so thankful for that and SO excited for what’s to come.

But… you know there’s always a but 🙂 it comes with its downfalls too! Because I’m not the type that “lives for likes”, I take this all very seriously! When you treat this like a business, it does take a lot of work! When it is just you behind the scenes, that means; researching, planning, networking, strategizing, producing, editing, drafting, and, of course, posting! So when I put all of that work into this, sometimes it is hard to see others getting more engagement. I admit it! Social media practically encourages you to compare yourself to others!! So I get discouraged sometimes… okay, a lot of times.

So my resolution in 2019? Continue to focus on the positives of this journey, and ignore the things that could make me feel down about it. Just be myself and keep doing the work.

FIRST FULL YEAR OF MARRIAGE

Everybody says that the first year of marriage is the hardest. So, I was mentally preparing myself for it, but to be honest, this was one of our best years yet. Now, that doesn’t mean that we didn’t have our speed bumps, which at the moment felt huge. My husband had two surgeries in a matter of 6 months, one of which required me to drop everything on a Tuesday afternoon then hop on a 6 AM flight the next day. So, it’s not like we haven’t gone through a lot this year, because, well, we have!

But think what has helped us is that we had also gone through a lot together before we got married. Moving together (a bunch) really shows someone true colors 🙂 On top of that and the regular ups and downs of relationships, we have learned how to communicate and get through things better. Now, ‘better’ still has a ways to go. We both do. But my biggest responsibility that I have learned in this relationship is not making him feel guilty for how I might be handling things or how I might be feeling about things. That doesn’t mean that I shouldn’t tell him how I feel, but to maybe do so in a rational manner before everything boils over? That might help.

on to 2019…

Do I make resolutions? I do. But it isn’t in the traditional way.

I’m a huge list-maker and planner, so I use that skill to my advantage here. Instead of just a few goals or a list of 2-3 things that I want to work on, I make three bubbles: personal, health, and professional. I then make a list within each of those categories of things that I want to improve, or a question that i want to answer for the year.

I’m not done yet!

After that I take each of those bubbles, and make individual notes on each category as to how I am going to complete each of those goals. I’m talking legit, tangible, actionable items to get me there.

I’m getting there…

After that I take it one month at a time. For example, right now I looked at the month of January, and wrote out and planned a few of those action items and planned them out. Literally! If one of my goals was to do yoga 3x a week? I will literally sign up for those yoga classes for the month of January.

After that, it’s one month at a time! I have the groundwork down, I have the big picture written out, I know the end goal, but I take it by chapters/months, instead of thinking I have to get it all done in the month of January. Because that is where people start to get overwhelmed, and by Jan. 31st they forget that had even made resolutions. But not here! I am going to do a “Resolutions Check-In” post at the end of every month. At least, until you all tell me to stop 🙂 I want to use it, not only as motivation and accountability for myself, but a forum for anyone who wants to share their progress as well! So with that…

Write 1-2 things that you want to complete through the ENTIRE year of 2019 in the comments below. I would love to share in this journey with anyone and everyone. Use this tribe to your advantage! You shouldn’t have to do all of this alone.

Health & Fitness

ANOTHER YEAR

Remember the days when you would round up so that you felt older? Yeah, not really a problem anymore… 

But coming one year closer to 30 doesn’t really bother me, anymore! When I was in my early 20’s I used to think it was a huge deal. But that’s before I realized how little I knew. About… like, everything. 

 

 


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I remember a few interviews I saw on TV with actresses where they are asked about turning a certain age. I didn’t really understand what they were saying at the time, but now, a few years later I’ve grown to appreciate it. They said they aren’t upset about getting older because they have a new-found confidence. They’ve experienced so much in their lives that as they have gotten older, they know who they are as a person: as a wife, daughter, mother, actress, etc. And with that they are immensely confident in their everyday life as well as any obstacles they may face. 

And now, I totally get it. 

There is so much you don’t know that you don’t know, when you’re younger. Yes, read it again. I promise it makes sense. Coming out of college and entering the real world we think we’ve got it figured out. Excited to conquer the new challenges. When we have no idea what those challenges will be, or how we will get through them! Coming one year closer to 30 I feel so much better about who I am as an adult and I know that I can overcome so much, because I already have!

You know the saying ‘make plans, God laughs’? It’s true! When we’re younger people tend to make plans, or expectations for their lives. “I’ll totally be married by (enter age)”, “I’ll have my dream career by (enter age)”. I have heard friends say these things all the time! For some reason I was never really a “life-planner”. Yes, I’m type A and I plan out my day, and have color coded planners… but let’s not dwell, shall we? For some reason, I never really felt the need to make those bigger life-plans. I always felt like there was going to be some level of uncertainty there, and I was okay with it. In fact, I preferred it that way! Sure, there were times when I wondered where I would be, who I would be with, and that can be agonizing, having zero clue. But as I have gotten older, I really don’t mind not knowing. I actually enjoy it! 

And a huge part of that are my supportive friends and family. I wouldn’t be able to go through those unknowns without my husband, or that daily call with my sister venting about who-knows-what! 

So, whatever stage of life you’re in. Appreciate it! Whether you’re in college, out of college, or approaching a new decade :-O there is a purpose for every stage of life, there are lessons to learn in each of them. Some of them suck! You won’t understand why it is happening to you, at the time. But know that for every one of those sucky lessons, there is a moment 5+ years later where you’ll be thinking about it and laughing. Yes, even that crappy boyfriend had a purpose 😛 I know, shocking! 

There’s also a respect for the process. I now know what my sister (5 years older than me) has meant all this time when she said I “just didn’t get it”. And I didn’t! Why, in my early 20’s would I? You really don’t even know who you are as an adult yet at that point. But now, I’ve reached that point 5+ years later, where I am sitting on my front porch (no really, I am) thinking about those moments in my early 20’s, laughing. Laughing to think that I had any clue as to what I was doing, what would happen in life, or that I would know how to handle it. Odds are, we don’t know how, but you can figure it out. And maybe in another 5 years, I’ll be sitting on the front porch (in what state, TBD) laughing at my 29-year-old self… odds are pretty good. 

 

 


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Lifestyle

BE A GOAL GETTER

So many goals, so little time 

In the spirit of my last post, where I have to tell myself, ‘I am capable’ and to get up and go! It’s easy to feel overwhelmed. Social media can make you feel like you’re never doing enough, and when you do, you’re not doing it right. So you think that your goals might never be realistic. But maybe it’s just the way you set your goals! 

Let’s review. Does this sound familiar? 

“I’m going to start exercising every day!”

“I’m going to be more organized in 2017”

“I’m going to go after what I really want this year” 

All sound great, but pretty vague, huh? People don’t realize that sometimes when they make their goals, that they’re not doing enough work on them before they actually start to work on them. That sentence made more sense in my head 🙂 

 


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I have been through a lot of ups and downs these past few years, but one thing that I have always found to be true, is that unless I have thought out ways to accomplish certain things in my life, they often go untouched. Sure I might want to lose 10 pounds, but I need to figure out how I’m going to do that, and how long it will take to realistically accomplish it! No, not a week! I said realistic! 

Here are my top 4 tips to making your goals a reality 

 

Make them attainable! 

Don’t set yourself up to fail by jumping in too deep in the beginning. Make your goals realistic and attainable. If need be, make them incremental goals. Start out with losing 5 pounds, then maybe another 5 after that, instead of the ominous number that might be your end goal. 

 

Make them time-sensitive 

Just by saying that you’re going to do something doesn’t mean it’s going to happen! That’s why people usually accomplish things when their backs are against the wall :-/ whether that be a wedding, or vacation. Those types of timeframes give you a schedule that you feel you have to follow. So if you want to accomplish something in the New Year, think about your current schedule and workload, and think about a timeframe that will set you up for success! 

 

Add Tangible Action Items 

Like I mentioned above, I need to come up with ways to accomplish my goals before anything! So instead of just telling yourself, “I want to start a blog”, come up with things that you can do in order to do that! There are always a few small steps before a giant leap. If you plan out those steps in the beginning, not only will you be more prepared when that larger goal comes, but you’ll end up being much more successful at that goal as well. 

 

Write Everything Down! 

And no, typing will not do! Physically write it all out. Studies show that by writing something down not only are you more likely to remember it, but you’re forced to think about it more. The action of writing something down these days is lost, so instead of mindlessly typing away a few hundred words a minute, take the time to put everything on pen and paper. 

You know you have a bunch of adorable planners! Open them up and put these tips in action! Shop some of my favorites below. 

 


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How do I use my planner? Well, how much time do you have. Ask anyone in my family and they will tell you that I don’t go anywhere without my planner(s). Yes, sometimes plural! 

I use it for marking down my work outs, that are already signed up for via Mind Body. It adds a level of accountability, plus you don’t want to lose the money from missing a class that you’ve already paid for. But most of all I use it for my day’s to do list. My favorite planners are the ones that have the whole week within view so I can plan out what I need to do on what day. Prioritizing what needs to be done sooner rather than later! 

But most of all, the most important tip out of any that I will ever give, or you will ever see online about setting goals is…. go easy on yourself!! Odds are, you have a lot going on! So maybe those extra 5 pounds isn’t the end of the world. I bet you’re still beautiful. Do what you love and love the goals that you set. And make those goals to better yourself! Not to post it online and feel better about getting likes on the internet :-/ 

 

Lifestyle

DEAR 2018,

You’ve got some big shoes to fill. 

2017 was quite a year. And as I sit and reflect on the last 12 months, I can’t help but think what a few years I’ve had. But why do I still feel as if I haven’t done enough? Feel as if I’m not successful enough and I don’t do enough with my time. 

Do you ever feel like that? In all honesty, most people do. But why? And what are we using as our reference? The people we see on Instagram? Or maybe the coworker who always seems to have their life in order? And sometimes it’s just your own self-criticism. We focus on what we haven’t done, what we should, or what we think we should do.

Why do we do that to ourselves? No, seriously! It can’t just be social media, right? Is it programmed in our brains to be negative or more critical of ourselves than anyone else? Or have we been taught somewhere down the line that we need to do as much as we possibly can? I don’t have the answers, I’m not sure why, but I know it isn’t healthy. And I’m positive that it doesn’t make us happy. Right now is a time of setting resolutions, goals, doing as much as we can around the holidays, being torn in so many different directions, I mean, come on! 

Someone once told me that moving and job changes are some of the largest life changes that people go through, and some of the hardest to handle. So when I feel like I don’t do enough, and I talk to family or friends about it, they are the ones who have to remind me that I have moved four times in the past few years. They are the ones who have to remind me that life changes aren’t easy, and to give myself a break. Why couldn’t I figure that out on my own? Why was it that I have to hear it from other people before realizing it myself? 

I read an article once on how to deal with major life changes and things that you should remember when trying to process it all. But I realized after I read the article (cough cough maybe a dozen times) that it isn’t just life changes that these tips apply to, but really every day endeavors and guilt. See for yourself: The first tip was that it is okay to be emotional, which was the hardest for me to come to terms with. Not just because I used to never cry… like, ever, but because I don’t like to appear vulnerable, or appear like I can’t handle something on my own. Oddly enough the next tip was that it’s okay to be vulnerable. I probably should have read that one first. 

The other two tips that I walked away with are the two that I remind myself of on a daily basis. The first is that you can adapt to anything, and the second is that you have to ask for help. The second is also hard for me. My parents like to call it my ‘independence’, which really is just a parent’s euphemism for “hard-headed”. They think i can’t translate their lingo. 

How many times in a week do you feel like there should be three of you? How many times a week do you feel like you just won’t be able to get through it all? Enter tips three and four.  

I have my ups and downs. Days where I run all of my errands, clean every corner of the house, have an amazing work out, and the creativity is flowing. Then I’ll wake up the next day and barely have it in me to wash the dishes or work out at all. I’ve struggled with this my entire adulthood, and it can make lofty goals seem even less possible to attain. Has it gotten better as I’ve gotten older? A bit, but it is still a constant struggle. So if I HAD to name a resolution? Just go! Get up, handle your (stuff) 🙂 and go. Like the article said, you are more adaptable and capable than you think you are. 

Maybe 2018 we’ll all finally realize how capable we really are.