Thank you thank you thank you to all your kind words yesterday! You guys are the best! I hope to catch up on blogging at lunch today so we can chat then ;)
So I just decided to join HRG in her NO Sugar for 21 days attempt. This could alternatively be named, “Stay away from Amy for 21 days.” I’ll let you pick ;)
By this I mean, no processed and added sugars (natural sugars in fruits, veggies, etc. don’t count obviously). I have noticed that I have become addicted to sugary things. I’m an “everything in moderation girl” BUT lately I have noticed I seriously crave something sweet late at night (Oh and I’m 80 so by “late at night” I meant 8 PM). I never eat anything big, usually a single piece of candy (if anything), but I don’t like the fact that my body screams, “I NEED IT!”
So who is with me?? This is going to be so hard because I have several parties coming up…but let’s do this! I even created a countdown in my sidebar because I’m that addicted weird (note that I did not start this today).
Anyways…
Recently I was invited to join the Writing Process Tour by a few of my favorite ladies:
Lauren @ NY Life Supply
Lauren/Salt @ Run Salt Run
Jenna @ Little Green Running Shoes
Thank you so much ladies! It means a lot when blogs that I love to read actually like to (occasionally) listen to my rambling face. When I started blogging, I expected 2 people to read my blog. The only 2 that “had” to read it- my boyfriend, Kyle, and my mom. So to be asked to join this writing tour is quite an honor. All of these ladies have amazing blogs so please check them out!
The idea of this Writing Process Tour is to connect blog readers, writers, and the blog writers’ processes. I picked 3 other blogs to connect with, who will then repeat the process!
- Anne @ Candy Crazed Run
I’ve been following Anne for quite some time now. I think I fell in love with her blog for the obvious reason- we are both obsessed with sweets. We also share the same views on frozen yogurt (although she calls it froyo which I. just. can’t. It’s okay. I forgive her ;) )- and that view is that if you aren’t getting judgy looks from other people in the line, you don’t have enough frozen yogurt. She posts the most amazing recipes/food pics, and her blog just always makes me smile. Anne is an amazing and super speedy runner. She truly loves to just run- no pressure, no training plans, just run. Oh and she can “just run” a 1:39 half marathon NBD.
- Karen @ The Mile Report
Karen is my curly-haired sista (because all people with curly hair are related FYI). She is HILARIOUS, sarcastic, and super smart, all qualities I require out of my friends ;) I can’t remember how I started reading her blog, but all I know is that I’m hooked because every time I read it, I LOL at least once. Karen is another super speedy and amazing runner. She’s BQ’ed (Boston Qualified) ya know (ran a 3:34 marathon)!! She’s adorable and I love that she trains with her dad all the time. As much as I love her/her blog, I don’t think I would ever want to explore foreign territory with JUST her. We are both navigationally incompetent and require a tour guide.
- Scott @ Pirate Bobcat
Scott is my hilarious, super runner friend. He is sarcastic and gives me a hard time, which is important in all my friendships ha! I’ve been following his blog for most of my blog-life existence and he cracks me up every day. His picture captions (and I’m fairly certain I’m the only one who reads them) are the best and he’s always off doing awesome stuff like meeting famous people. I like that he tries to eat healthfully and naturally (but of course everything in moderation). He is a superstar runner and yogaman (new name?). Did you know he did the Dopey Challenge? For those of you unfamiliar, that’s a 5K, 10K, Half Marathon and Marathon in 4 days. Whattttt? Yeah. He’s either very awesome or incredibly crazy. I’ll let you decide.
Now on to the boring part: my blogging secrets (aka my blogging “process,” if you could really call it a process)
Here are the 4 questions to answer:
1. What am I working on?
Right now I am getting ready to move to a new house that my boyfriend (of >5.5 years) and myself just purchased! So I am packing, packing, packing, stressing, and Oooo something shiny.
I also just got into graduate school, so I am busy registering for classes, filling out forms for financial aid, stressing about money, etc. Through all this, I try to keep my healthy lifestyle by continuing to run and workout. Unfortunately some of this gets pushed aside, but I do my best. I guess you could say life is a little hectic right now, but definitely in a good way.
2. How does my work differ from others of its type/genre?
Hmmm I don’t know that I would say my work is different, but I’d like to think that I give you guys a sense of my personality through my blog, and everyone’s personality IS different! I’m just an average runner, I love to bake/cook, I love to workout, and I love nutrition. I have a B.S. in physiology and metabolism, so sometimes when I feel like y’all need something to put you to sleep, I share some of that information. Other than that, I just share my story.
3. Why do I write what I do?
I started my blog a little after I started training for my first half marathon. Most of you probably know this, but back in 2010 I was in a car accident and injured my back. Prior to this event, I was starting to train for a half marathon. Post-accident, I was told that I probably couldn’t run again. I was sad/angry, had a pity party, and then started reading running blogs (my favorite was Skinny Runner who doesn’t blog anymore). All these amazing runners (some had overcome major injuries) inspired me to start running again. I trained and ran differently and realized I COULD do it!
I decided to start blogging about my journey. I wanted to keep myself accountable for those workouts. If I had to run x miles, I was more likely to do it if I shared it with the world. More importantly, I wanted to inspire at least 1 person to go for their goals! It’s okay if you hit road blocks! Find a detour and move on :)
4. How does your writing process work?
Haha I don’t know if you could call what I do a “process.” There really is no organization to it and I rarely plan posts days in advance. (This actually surprised me because I’m a very organized person outside of this blog. I guess this is my “be free” time?) I almost always write a post the night before it is published. Occasionally I’ll have a topic that I want to write about, and then I will start a draft in my posts folder to remind me later and to get my thoughts out.
Typically, I sit down and just start writing. I’ll include any workouts and then some random life stuff and just hope it turns out somewhat interesting. If I have an event I am going to, I try to take photos and mentally note things that I want to write about. However, I also believe it is important to live in the moment and I don’t want to be worrying about my blog instead of having fun!
I love that some blogs have organized daily posts (“Marvelous Monday,” “What I Ate Wednesday,” “Friday Faves,” etc.) but that’s just not my style to participate in that every single week. I like to participate in these posts occasionally, but sometimes I have nothing interesting to say! I don’t want to crank out a post just because it is “Friday Faves” day and then bore you to death. And lesbihonest, some Mondays are not marvelous ;)
I’m no blogging expert so please don’t see this as a “how to” guide. I just do what I want and do what works for me. It’s a lot of hit or miss, but I think it’s important to just have fun with it. Remember, readers aren’t stupid and we all know when people are just posting to get something out for that day and to get followers.
Again, a huge thank you to Lauren, Lauren, and Jenna! I hope y’all check out all these amazing bloggers :)
Will you join me for 21 days of no sugar?
How long do you think I can last?
Are you an organized blogger?
