Saturday, June 8, 2013

Brief Hiatus...

First of all....GO BRUINS!! 

Okay now thats out of the way...
I can't begin to recall all the times I've sat in front of this screen with the intention of blogging and just didn't feel it. This past month or so I've been very...uninspired, to say the least. Just now, I started writing then walked away & made coffee, tried on clothes, scheduled some bills & browsed some blogs, even though I sat down with the goal of writing a coherent blog post. 
I feel like I became wrapped up in finding the latest duds and making them my own, instead of seeing them on someone else and then wanting it, even though these beautiful things were not always in the budget. So then this happened:

I had to dive into work for a bit and forget about my feelings towards blogging and my literal addiction to shopping. And then this:

and this:

And that is when I kind of gave up. Then one day my mom said "let's go check out the new gym near the mall" and I said 'yes' because I wanted to spend time with her. I had no intention of working out or anything like that. I was too depressed.  (side note: Anyone ever play the Sims? Remember when you'd neglect your little guy or gal and they'd be too in the red to do anything productive- thats exactly how I felt. Like there was a flashing red diamond of doom above my head at all times. strange but true.)
Well she convinced me to be her bud at the gym and because she's been doing so well on her health journey lately I could not say no. 
I've never been a fan of a treadmill or elliptical but this is where the magic happened. We were in the middle of catching up on TV show season finale gossip (we share a penchant for Scandal and Nashville) and I got this urge to run. I've never in my life ran on a treadmill because I'm too afraid of this:

Now clearly, all of these people are going faster than I would ever dare but still, I'm scarred just watching this. So I broke into a jog and I didn't.fall.down. Imagine my surprise. 
And I've been running ever since. I downloaded a couch to 5k app on my phone, even though I've ran in a 5K before, I never really trained. And I didn't run the whole time. I sorta fudged my way to completion in under a hour. I'm in no way saying I want to run a 5k anytime soon, but I like being able to measure my improvements through the app however tiny they may be. 
A friend of mine uses the app too and our goal is to participate in the Tinkerbell 5k...someday. Cause who doesn't want to go to Disney and run in a tutu??

Now that things have settled down and I've found an outlet and have started doing better things for myself, I've worked up the courage to go shopping again...in moderation of course. I pulled out all of my summer clothes....and some of them don't fit as well as I remember. When I put them in the vacuum packs for the winter I must have sucked out some of the material and threading....right?
Either way, when I go shopping I'm making a conscious effort to add versatile pieces to my wardrobe that I am purging weekly, much to the delight of SJL. I don't have an iPhone (for Poshmark) so be on the lookout for some items I'll post on Instagram and Twitter
Nothing fancy, just be trying to stick to a budget. 
All things in moderation. 

So ladies, tell me how you balance it all-- Friends, family, fiances/bfs/hubs, work, budgeting, home, health and blogging. How do you stay grounded with so much influence around you?

4 comments :

  1. First off, congrats on your commitment to run the 5K! It definitely helps to have some accountability. Sounds like the app is helping with that. My key to keeping it all together is balance. If I feel like anything is getting out of balance in any area, that's a red flag. Whether it's blogging too much, spending too little quality time with the family, eating or spending too much or not working out enough, I have to stop and ask myself what needs some balance. That always seems to work!

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    1. Thank you Alison for taking the time to respond =]

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  2. Oh my word, there is a Tinkerbell 5K? That sounds so fun. :) Very insightful post and so much that I could relate too. Blogging can sometimes become too much of a competition and my biggest pity party moment is wondering why I can't "style" things as well as others. I always feel like I lack in that area. But then you just have to shake that off and be supportive of them and realize what you are good at, and then WORK IT. For me, I love mixing modern and vintage, and I love being able to show that on my blog. I get asked by people around town all the time where I got something and it makes me happy to say, "it's vintage." You just gotta find your voice and then talk loudly! :)

    Balance-wise, I just always try to fit things into a schedule. It's too difficult for me to blog and catch up during the day because I watch my 3 year old son. So night time becomes my "work time". I get my posts ready for the next day, organize photos, and catch up on blogs. And then my toolbar on my web browser has all of the shortcut links to my social media channels where I post that day's blog post. I just go down the line posting and posting, until it is done. Then I will update my Twitter and Instagram frequently throughout the day because it's quick and easy. Maybe I'll show an accessory shot or I will repost the link to my blog post on Twitter for the people in the afternoon. I always try to be aware of time zones.

    Anyway, it definitely is a job and you want to want to do it. It can get time consuming and crazy and you always feel like you're playing catch up. But you just have to do what's important to you and forget the rest. I probably shouldn't say this, but it's the truth: if someone comments on my blog and it's some one liner comment like "Nice blog" or "Cool top", I won't respond or visit their blog. I get those comments a lot and I would rather spend my time answering and visiting the blogs where I know I can develop relationships with them. Because what are the chance that one liner person will be back to visit? They won't. So I don't waste my time on them. As mean as that sounds. LOL.

    Okay, this comment is long enough and I've ranted for too long. Just know that you're not alone when it comes to feelings about blogging. Hope you had a great weekend and thank you so much for stopping by my blog! :D <3

    toni

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    1. Wow Toni thank you so much for your kind words! It helps knowing that I am not alone in this struggle. It seems as though a lot of my favorite bloggers have had the same struggle and have overcome. I can't wait to get to know each and every one a little bit better now!

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