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Guest Post - Beauty in Blogging

While I'm in Long Beach with my sister and bestie, I decided that it might be a nice time to do something different - a guest post. I wasn't sure what our internet access situation might be, or if I'd even have much time to long onto the computer. And let's face it, I should be relaxing right?

So, I asked one of my dear friends, Jessica, to do a blog post. I immediately thought of her (and one other friend you'll hear from on Wednesday) when I decided to do guest posts. I know some people do them often, others never, some people won't read them. I've shied away from them before, but I know so many of you know these two ladies who will be posting, so I hoped that mean you'd all be more inclined to read their words.

Jessica was one of the first people to comment on my blog. In fact, we started blogging within a week of each other. Never in a million years would I have imagined how much our friendship would grow and how much she'd mean to me. So, without further ado (aka rambling), here is Jessica from EatDrinkBreatheSweat.

Feb 2012 at Zin Wine Bar (hence the gigantic looking glasses o' wine)

Beauty in Blogging 
I almost hesitated to take Heather up on the invite to guest blog for her while she’s off enjoying some fab fun in Cali this week (where she’ll get to meet up with my sis who also happens to be out there this week – totally jealous!). You see, I’ve been in this weird blogging ‘funk’ for lack of a better word. I was getting all down on myself for not having much to blog about lately – I’m one of those bloggers who tends to blog with intent and tries not to blog just for the sake of blogging, keeping up a certain publishing schedule, etc. So the fact that the pace of my blog posts has withered lately had me wondering how valuable a guest post would be to Heather (i.e. would I bore her readers to death??).

And then it dawned on me (with a little prodding from Heather of course, man do I love her!) – this is just another blogging ‘cycle’ for me. Just like fitness has ‘cycles’ to it, so does blogging. And that’s where the beauty in blogging comes in – at least *my* version of blogging does.

 If I were to sum up my blog in cycles, it might look like this:

  • Fall 2010 – newbie blogger sorta finding her way in bloggy land, chit-chatting about her favorite workouts and her newfound joy for running; it was during this time that I documented my first half marathon, actually. It’s also when I first give fitness instruction a shot with my first fitness certification (Group Kick) under my belt.
  • First half 2011 – bouncing around to various workouts, strength training on my own for a bit after doing a slew of Cathe-inspired workouts (she still rocks big time in my mind, lemme tell ya!) and yup, still running.
  • Second half 2011 – this is where the barre first comes into my life and I discover a love for it. Shortly thereafter, I start the barre n9ne 60-day challenge and the studio, and this style of workout, becomes a permanent fixture in my life.

  • And now 2013 – my pace of blogging has definitely slowed down, but I’ve been ok with that. I don’t have any big races to train for (yet…!) and I’m quite literally just loving teaching at the studio as much as I can, learning more and more about my own strengths and chasing that never-ending dream towards a happy, centered and present life.

Like I said, I tend to blog out of intention – with words of wisdom I spy on a Dove promises wrapper, or from one of my boards on Pinterest, or even something I heard on the radio. And I usually always find my best sources of inspiration while running – when my mind is at its most free, wandering to and fro.

I also find TONS of inspiration from bloggers I follow – whose posts always have this crazy way of speaking to me at just the right time. The blogging community is beautiful in and of itself – an amazing example of that is the #BostonSrong movement that PavementRunner started after the Boston Marathon bombings. To me, that truly signifies the real beauty in blogging – the shared passion and commitment to goals, dreams, aspirations – of the running variety, the fitness variety, the LIFE variety. And truly, blogging is beautiful because it allows ME to sort out my thoughts and feelings, and all the ‘things’ rolling around in my brain on a given day. The sheer fact that I have a ‘home’ to jot these thoughts down is kind of awesome – and the continued support I get from fabulous ‘blends’ like Heather, makes me love it all the more.

So I guess the point of this very rambly (sorry Heather!) guest post is to remind all of you that there is most definitely beauty in blogging, *and* that blogging takes lots of different shapes, forms and sizes and that’s what makes it so beautiful and rewarding. No two bloggers are alike…or at least not totally alike in blogging style, but in personality and friendship? I tend to find lots of similarities among blogging besties that’s for sure (for example: becoming rather ‘vampire-ish’ when hungry…I do believe Heather shares this trait with me!). Beautiful, indeed.

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