Good morning. I so appreciate all of your insightful and kind comments on yesterday’s post. I guess what I want to say in return is that I have been through an incredible amount of change in my professional and personal life over the past two years. Literally everything has changed. I have experienced a broad range of emotions as I have worked my way through it all. I can honestly say that right now I am not sad or depressed. I am finally feeling really hopeful and positive about whatever the future may bring.
I wish more than anything that I could just be okay and move on but it’s not that easy. If I did that it would be completely inauthentic and I would be doing a disservice to myself in not feeling the things I have been feeling and working through them. The tricky part is having a blog and a passion to write, teach and talk about personal exploration and growth. It’s hard to know how much to share and where to draw the line but I trust that when I do open up that it’s for a reason and it will help someone else who may be in a similar situation.
To wrap all of that up…thank you for your support and please know that it’s part of being human to experience up time and down times and that it’s okay to talk about all of it. I’m here if anyone ever does need to talk. <3
Okay, okay, okay. Enough serious stuff. Let me show you a look at life over the past few days.
I met one of my best friends for dinner at Good Food on Montford on Monday night. I LOVE this restaurant and it was such a nice Monday night treat. I never go out on Mondays and the girl time with one of my favorite people was a bonus!
We split a lot of small plates starting with this arugula salad with strawberries, bacon, ricotta salata and balsamic.
This was supposed to be a sweet pea risotto but it was corn instead. Still delicious and we topped it with sauteed mushrooms. The wine we drank was noteworthy…Tacora Pinot Noir from Chile. It was my first time trying it and I really enjoyed it. We also had some amazing green curry, coconut milk and cilantro mussels that went unpictured. Quite a lot of bread was dipped in the broth (best part of ordering mussels!).
Dessert was peach upside down cake with blackberry ice cream. I was so engrossed in conversation that I didn’t even notice until dessert that Claire Danes was sitting at the table right in front of me!
Fast forward to Tuesday lunch. I had a turkey sandwich with herb mayo, avocado, heirloom tomatoes and muenster cheese on wheat. The rest of my Tuesday was a DISASTER of home related stuff that I will update y’all on later but I’m not even going to think about it right now (ommmmmmm….).
Yesterday afternoon got so out of control that I never had time to workout so after I taught yoga at Metro I went for a late run. It was a great way to decompress from the day. Dinner after was a salmon burger with peas, eggplant and peppers from the farmers market on the side.
I’ll leave you with two pretty pictures. First, I have butterfly bushes in my front yard and this year I have had so many beautiful butterflies. I managed to capture this shot yesterday. They don’t stay still for long!
And Sullie wants me to tell you she’s been loving peanut butter and banana Kongs this week! 🙂
Have a good day!
I didn’t get a chance to comment yesterday but I wanted to make sure I did today- it is so hard to go through all of life’s ups and downs and changes that we really never see coming. I actually posted a bit on this topic today over on my blog. It is so true what you said today regarding the importance of feeling the feelings – that is key to getting stronger and moving forward. Keep up the good work.
One of the things I love about your blog is your willingness to be open and honest. Life isn’t perfect and we grow and become who we are by being true to ourselves. Your blog does so much for your readers, probably more than you know.
Love Good Food on Montford! I had that desert last time we went with friends as well as another desert that came with a tiramisu ice cream….OMG!!! Both of those ice creams, both made in house, were incredible!
Oh, and such a small world! I know Joe, Suzanne’s husband! We work out with the same personal trainer. I’m definitely going to have to try her class!
Hi Jen, this is off topic but I was wondering how many times a week you do Crossfit and yoga? I am looking to incorporate Crossfit into my routine but I’m not sure how many times/week I should do it to really see results. I already do yoga 2 times a week and run, so I feel like I am running out of days to do Crossfit!
I completely agree that it is normal (and healthy) to experience ups and downs. I think you do a great job of being real and showing insight into your life while still maintaining the privacy you need! That food looks delicious :).
i thank you for sharing your post yesterday. sometimes people just wont “get it” and that’s ok. we all struggle with this. especially you who are willing to be so open and honest. i admire your guts to put it all out there. you ARE helping people. please know that. i think (just my opinion) that sometimes very strict religious people might not understand “yoga speak” at times. you can be into yoga and the spirituality of it and still be a christian or not. i absolutely love the spirituatlity of yoga. sometimes it feeds me like nothing else. in reality who cares what god you are praying to or how you choose to show it or not. spirituality is quite personal and your needs/desires change over time. you know what’s in your heat and i firmly believe you know what your soul needs. for others to try to push anything on you is inappropriate. i’m all for people sharing what works for them (that’s what you are doing !) but there is a respectful way to do it and a not so respectful way. NO ONE has all the answers and none of of will know “the truth” until its far to late. there is so much beauty in the world in the fact that we are all so different and that there is no right way. i am sending a big fat namaste your way ! : )
I second this, well said. Just like there is no one size fits all exercise or diet prescription, spirituality is highly personal.
Jen- I find it helpful to remind myself that, no matter what emotions I feel or what my circumstances may be, I am exactly where I am supposed to be. You seem at peace to me, I really don’t know why people feel the need to weigh in otherwise.
Hi! There’s a really great TED talk by Brene Brown on vulnerability, and I recently got her book Daring Greatly. It’s slamming me with truth – as ridiculous as that sounds. But she talks about how vulnerability is in fact emotion, how when we let ourselves be vulnerable we’re letting ourselves experience. I’ve read section after section to my yoga students (we’ve been doing a lot of heart openers lately) and I just think it’s so prescient. You should check it out. I’ve appreciated the Danielle LaPorte rec from you, so hopefully Daring Greatly will also deliver.
I LOVE that TED Talk! Haven’t read the book though so I will definitely add that to my Audible list!!!
I just discovered Brene Brown and watched both of her Ted talks! Wow, what an impact. I can’t wait to read the book!
Nom Nom…I love salmon burgers! Let it all out woman, we are here for you whenever you need us…And if you need to vent via e-mail, well you have my address. Just saying…I hope your house issues are not related to your air conditioner again. 🙁
I want a dog so badly! Sullie is so cute!
That picture of the butterfly puts a smile on my face. I also ready your post yesterday, and it was so inspiring. You really piece together words in such a way that is so perfectly stated and inspiring, so thank you! Also, I love your necklace and it’s meaning! So cool.
Hugs to you and Sullie!! The pictures from Good Food look so yummy…and I love the butterfly! You should crop and print that one..nice job!