Welp, I think it’s safe to say that it’s been a while since I’ve found myself here… but tonight it feels good to be back in my little corner of the internet where I can write about whatever strikes my fancy, and tonight, I’m just gonna keep shit real and explain where I’ve been.
The truth is, I haven’t really felt like writing. While there are a million things I have plans to write about (I literally have a list), I simply haven’t had the desire to actually sit down and do it. I’ve been so busy with other exciting things in my life that have taken president over blogging, and you know what, that’s OK…
First and foremost, I decided to step way back from accepting product reviews. For a long time I thought it was something I wanted, but you know what, it’s not all what it’s cracked up to be. And if I’m being honest, I hated doing reviews. The more of them I accepted the more I started to dislike blogging. Whether I loved the product or not, it just felt forced and unnatural to sit down and write an entire post about it. So email after email, request after request, I turned hundreds of product reviews down this year. Some with big price tags, some with small ones and some with none.
With stepping away from reviews also means doing away with the whole “holiday gift/ fit guide” that I post in December. Ugh, the mere thought of coming up with a list and writing about each and every bike, bar and board makes my stomach turn. I’m just keeping shit real here people, but it’s pretty obvious what products and brand I like, and what I’m into, you just have to follow me on social media for a hot minute and you’ll get me and what I’m about. It feels like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders knowing I don’t need to spend hours writing a guide this year.
This leads me to brand partnerships, because with many reviews comes a partnership, and who doesn’t love being partnered with the best of the best?! While I continue to still work with some of my favorite brands and companies, I’ve also turned several partnerships down this year. Because here’s the thing, just because someone thinks I would be a great ambassador doesn’t actually make it a good fit. Here’s an example… without dropping names, I had a brand reach out to me several times via Instagram regarding a partnership this year. They finally sent me a pair of their leggings and despite looking beautiful out of the package, they were the most unflattering, nonfunctional pair of leggings I have ever squeezed my ass into. Just because a company wants to work with you and just because they’re willing to send you free stuff doesn’t mean it’s a good fit. I refuse to represent something that doesn’t help accentuate who I am. Does that make sense?
And that brings me to me and my life. Which has been busy… like really busy in a really good way. In a nutshell my days are pretty jam packed between teaching, hosting events, personal training, running, coaching and oh yea… motherhood and being a wifey. This has hands down been my best most successful and profitable year yet in my fitness career. Balancing everything can be tough and it’s a constant juggle, but as I wrote in a post last year I try to tilt my focus in different directions daily based on where I need to be. Every day is a little a different but at the end of the week I’ve created a balance that just works for me and my family.
So what’s next for 2018? Regarding blogging I plan on writing more again, but solely for me. This year has been a nice and much needed breakaway from the fake fluff that was cluttering my space and wasn’t making me happy. Essentially if it wasn’t serving me well then I let it go and I’m not taking it with me in the new year. That goes for blogging, among other things.
Regarding fitness, teaching and hosting events is really what sets my heart and soul on fire these days. I remember when I was planning my wedding I told my husband that one day I really wanted to host big events of some sort; I just loved planning and creating a vision and then watching it all come to life. After doing a few fitness events in athletic stores I finally started putting together my own events, and I’ve been incredibly humbled at how successful they’ve been and the demand around them. My wheels have been turning and I have been jotting down ideas for bigger and better things. I have dreams, schemes, plans and partnerships that I’m excited to start putting into place over the course of this next year to continue growing my fitness events.
I think every year I learn something new about myself, and this year I learned that it’s OK to take a step back from something you love to reevaluate what you’re doing. #LiveAuthentic is a hashtag I’ve been using foreverrrr, and I don’t just say it, I live by it. My blog, this site, this space… this represents me. I’ve tried some things here that I thought I wanted, things I thought I was going to love, but what I learned in the process is that I’d really just rather have a blog where I can write for me on my own terms and on my own schedule. I don’t want writing deadlines and forced product reviews. I want to share the raw, honest to goodness shit that people can relate to and identify me with.
In 2018 you can expect more of my raw honest, heartfelt posts that are sprinkled with the shit that makes you laugh and cry and feel. I’ll write about motherhood and running and marriage and fitness and whatever other shit I feel like putting out there. But what won’t you find is a review on some product that I may or may not give a shit about.
So cheers to always keeping shit real and stepping into 2018 with a renewed sense of what I want my blog and online presence to look and feel like. Each year I continue to evolve as a person, and I will continue be brave and go my own way, to follow my heart, pursue my passion, do what I love and stay true to myself. #LiveAuthentic and #BeUniquelyYou and you will never go wrong. Oh yea, and #BeKind… because that shit doesn’t cost a thing!