Hi Everyone! I thought I’d pop in for a quick update on life lately & what’s been going on over here. I haven’t been super inspired to write recently and I realized it’s because a lot of the things I usually write about aren’t relevant in my life right now. And hey, that’s okay. Life is changing. Two of the major things I am usually inspired to write about are fitness and travel. I’m writing this post at 39 weeks pregnant so travel has been off the table for a while now. And as for fitness, it’s majorly slowed down. As in it includes walking around the block and bouncing on an exercise ball. Not all that exciting!
I think it’s important to acknowledge that it’s okay if what inspires you totally changes. These last nine months have been a big mix of things–moving, job searching, freelancing, being pregnant and preparing for a baby. So of course with all of that, what I’m doing and what is on my mind is changing. I definitely miss working out and exploring the fitness scene and I really miss traveling (last year I visited 18 countries! This year…just America!) and look forward to that eventually being a part of my life. Though of course in a different way. But for now, here’s a little look at what’s going on.
Life Lately…
Freelance Writing
I was very excited to recently start writing for a site I love, The Everymom! It’s by the same folks behind The Everygirl and I find their pieces to be so relatable and informative. So far I’ve written three pieces for The Everymom, with a couple more on the way. You can read them here: As a Serial Dieter, Pregnancy Finally Taught me to Listen to My Body, My Experience Job Hunting While Pregnant, 7 Tips for Planning the Perfect Babymoon. Even though I’ve always been a writer, I rarely get super personal. The first two stories on The Everymom (focused on body image during pregnancy and my struggles job hunting while pregnant) were super personal and made me dig deep during the writing process. It was a challenge for me and though way harder than writing a fluff story, I’m really enjoying this new challenge.
Expanding My Fitness Knowledge
Working out while pregnant has really opened my eyes. I assumed I’d keep up with my group fitness classes and workouts all the way through my 40 weeks. That has not been the case. I did keep up with classes for a while, but found that I left many of them feeling annoyed and frustrated instead of strong and powerful. So many moves in group fitness classes are not safe during pregnancy (and I also have been erring on the side of caution). Somewhere in my second trimester I stopped going. I’d been doing a lot of research on working out while pregnant and decided to make my learning official. I’m doing an online course, Pronatal Fitness, that will certify me to teach pre and postnatal students (the certification counts towards my NASM certification renewal). It’s super important to workout and stay strong during pregnancy and I’d love to work with pregnant clients in the future. I also am really interested in postpartum recovery and how to ease back into fitness safely. I’m about halfway through my certification and will keep you all posted on this!
Job Hunting
Ugh, I’ll just touch on this quickly (because you can read way more about it HERE). When we first got to Portland I was job hunting hard. I’m probably not the best at networking but I was doing my best. Nothing came together and I’ve now given myself a break (because I could go into labor at any moment! probs not the best time for an interview). It’s been a frustrating situation. Admittedly, I’ve been pretty bored and would love to be working. I don’t mean to complain because it has given me lots of time to rest and prepare for baby, but sitting around waiting for the next thing to happen is not my style. I absolutely know I’ll be exhausted and going through a major life change in the coming days/weeks. I’m not allowing myself to stress about the job situation for the time being. But let’s just say it hasn’t been my favorite part of our move back to the US!
Making Friends
In the last three years we’ve lived in three different cities with few or no friends (San Francisco->Barcelona->Portland). It’s not easy. Before SF we lived in NYC for 9 years, with more friends than I could list. Now I can easily list my local friends…on one hand (sad, I know). Making friends is a lot of work and takes real effort (especially since I’m not working and don’t have the option of making friends at work). I think I’m making some good headway in meeting new people around Portland, but I could stand to put myself out there more. Making friends in your 30s is serious work!
& Getting Ready for Baby!
And finally, at the tail end of pregnancy, I’m getting ready for this baby to get here! I’ve been feeling mostly good throughout these nine months and am feeling ready (or as ready as one can be) for the big arrival. I’ll share more on this later, so for now, we’ll leave it at that!
