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Nearly 5 years of blogging + a new look

blogging, popular posts, vegan/health, best of recipes, blog

(A BIG thanks to Stephanie Lonas, of Wanderlively for an awesome job on my site’s redesign!)

I’m having one of those sappy, look-back-at-the-good-ol’-days, days. You know?

This blog is almost 5 years old.

And in that time, I’ve had 2 pregnancies, put a husband through law school, and finally graduated to the adult world of–we now have a “real” job, a big family, and we’re no longer students.

This summer, during my 3 month blogging/tech sabbatical, I had a lot of time & separation to really think long & hard about my priorities, my personal goals, my responsibilities, & what I want for my kids, for me, for my family, for my marriage.

During that time, I went back & forth between extremes–“I’m never blogging again–I love this!” to, “I think I need to continue with blog, but not sure...

do not read this post.

books, the good life

What are you doing this weekend?

Joseph & I are going to a Disney Pops concert played by the San Antonio Symphony.

We’re excited. It’s been far too long since we’ve been to anything high-class, like the symphony.

Also, as busy as I know the weekend will be, I’m going to do a little of this:

Reading is something I do all day long, but the kind of reading I really crave is sinking into a good print novel. I do lots of online reading, but my brain is indeed in need of a little print pick-me-up.

So this weekend, I’m reserving some time . (Maybe with a cup of rooibos tea, if I’m lucky.) I’m shooting for two hours.

Not sure what I’m going to read yet, but I have a few ideas:

101 books to read instead of “50 Shades of Grey”

♥

{Still don’t know what to read?

some of my fave reads,

getting real about body image

personal, body image

A reader, Tanya, made a comment a few weeks ago about how she noticed my perspective on food & body image has made a subtle shift over the years.

It has.

I think personal evolution is inevitable, & hopefully, for the better.

Personally, I’ve always I had a feeling of deep inadequacy which has caused me to be the one in my family who is easily offended (having 3 older brothers who loved to tease doesn’t help). This inadquecy, similar to a short-man’s complex, has caused me to work hard. Because I know I’m not naturally gifted/talented in so many areas of life, I work hard. That’s one thing I know how to do. I don’t give up, & I keep on truckin’, even when by most people’s standards I’d be considered crazy.

This sense of inadequacy I don’t think has been a bad thing, entirely. I feel I...