Life Lately

I feel like it’s been awhile since we have gotten to catch up. There isn’t anything urgent or pressing going on–just regular life stuff. I’m kinda thinking I prefer it this way. 🙂 Life has been so different since Bode was born. I seriously wonder what I use to do with my time. Days fly by and I often feel pretty accomplished when I can manage to keep up with laundry, take a shower, and put dinner on the table. It’s the little things, right?

I don’t want to say my priorities have totally changed but they definitely have changed. I use to put a lot of stock into crossing things off of my to-do list and filling every minute of the day with something. Honestly, I think I derived a lot of my worth from that. It has been a little bit of a rude awakening to realize that doing everything I use to do and taking care of baby is just not possible. Well, I suppose it is possible but it wouldn’t lead to much peace in my life. It has been interesting to reprioritize my time, tasks, and energy. I have found myself feeling much more relaxed and have enjoyed stepping away from “life on the hamster wheel.” There is no longer a need to achieve, achieve, achieve. There is no longer a to-do list a mile long. There is no longer an incessant need to add more and more to my plate. It is actually refreshing. I still enjoy things I use to do pre-baby but they no longer define who I am or where I derive my worth.

My word for 2017 is “trust.” For me, that means trusting God to put my next steps in front of me. Trusting that His plan is bigger than my own. Trusting that I am continually being prepared for what He has in store for me. Trusting that I am spending my time appropriately. Trusting that He will show me how to prioritize. Trusting that I will be close enough to Him that I can hear his voice daily. It is exciting to let go of feeling like I need to be in control and trusting Him to be in control.

“Enjoy the small moments” is another saying I have for 2017. I have really been trying to live in the moment day-to-day. I have been enjoying early morning snuggles with Bode. Enjoying time with friends. Enjoying a cup of coffee. Enjoying podcasts. Enjoying my husband. Enjoying being present. Enjoying just “being.” My good friend Tammy always says, “We are human beings, not human doings.” She is right, so why do we always feel the need to “do” vs. the need to “be?” This is the year of “being” for me.

In other “Life Lately” news, I have been obsessed with the Elevation Church podcast. If you are looking for an inspiring, relatable, faith-based podcast, this is THE ONE! It’s amazing and never ceases to leave me feeling closer to God and inspired to take positive action in my life. I also have been digging Dr. Hyman’s House Call podcast. Dr. Hyman is a functional medicine doctor and his podcasts are informative, short, sweet, and to the point. He breaks health down into small, digestable chunks of information that is easy to understand. I often send my clients links to his podcast episodes. Do you have any favorite podcasts? Leave them in the comments below. I would love to add more to my list.

I went back to work at the beginning of the year. I am focusing a lot of my time on group programs and am also seeing a limited number of private clients. After living in yoga pants (that never saw a day of yoga in their life) for a few months there is something empowering about a curling iron and a spot-on color of lipstick. Holla.

I just finished up a 21 Day Transformation group program this past Monday. The 21DT is my favorite group program to run. I love, love, love helping people make positive changes to their food lifestyle. The group members had so much success they asked if I would run another round of the program right away. I can’t say no to that. I am starting another group this Monday, January 30th. If you aren’t familiar with the program, you can read more about it here or follow me on Facebook to periodically see challenger testimonials and before and after photos. There is still room for you in the group if you want to join. Register here. Email me at gina@bpresentstudio.com with questions.

I have been playing a lot in the kitchen. After having Bode, I really didn’t make cooking a priority. Surviving was my priority, ya feel me? It was hard–I totally understand why my clients with kids say there isn’t a lot of time to cook! I GET IT NOW! Now that life is feeling more settled and the holidays are behind us, I have reconnected with my love of creating recipes. As a child, I loved to color, paint, and draw–it was my creative outlet. Now, my creative outlet is cooking. There is nothing like cooking (with a glass of wine in-hand) a delicious meal to share with your family around the table–myyy happyyyy place!

I am a part of a small group that meets on Tuesday evenings. We study and discuss faith-based books. We read a few chapters each week. I love “doing life” with these women. This group really helped me when I was going through my infertility struggles. I also like the accountability to be studying our book each week. I could totally be a student for life. I love to learn.

I am trying to read one book per month. One thing I have noticed about myself is that I waste a lot of time on social media. I figure reading a book is a more efficient way to spend my time. Any good book recommendations? I am currently reading Uninvited by Lisa Terkeurst. I am also trying to not look at my phone immediately in the morning or right before bed. Ugh, I am ashamed that I do this. Does anyone else?

Cody and I went on a trip to Bloomington with friends last weekend. Safe to say that I am not 21 anymore. I am just going to leave it at that. 🙂 We rode down there in a 12-passenger van (this was a highlight–lots of laughs), went on a self-guided pub crawl, ate a few fabulous meals, shopped, went to the IU-Michigan State basketball game, and popped champagne. It was so fun but I did miss my little buddy while I was gone.

Today was Bode’s first music class. He LOVED it! We are doing it through Goshen College’s Music Together program. He was cooing, smiling, and waving his arms and legs to the music. After we got home, he had his bottle and fell asleep instantly. I think he was all tuckered out from it. It gave me a little quiet time to write this post.

I get to go out with two of my best friends tomorrow night. Meghan is in town from Chicago and Kelly just moved back to South Bend from Indianapolis. I am getting giddy just thinking about spending time with those two lovelies.

Well shoot, I think I just talked your ear off. I would say, that about sums up life. Can you tell I don’t get out as much anymore? Lol. I would love to hear from you. Drop a note in the comments to say hi or leave book or podcast recommendation. Talk soon! Xo