how i really felt

Posted: September 30, 2010 at 5:39 pm

Today started off like any ordinary day. I woke up and got the morning’s 30 Days post written. Then I spent the morning with Makenzie and preparing breakfast. We had one of the standard fall breakfasts I have enjoyed recently – some waffles with a pumpkin + maple almond butter topping.

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We then headed off to playgroup, where I spent time in the company of good friends. And where Makenzie pursued her little love interest.

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After that, we came home to eat lunch then get her settled for nap time. Nap time = my time to get blog posts done and catch up on other things. Nap time today = hit a mental wall time for me.

It’s not often that I can’t come up with some sort of topic to share. Normally, so much rumbling goes on in my mind that the words just flow when my fingers hit the keys. I could only think about one thing today though. I feel a bit hesitant to share. It may even fall under the description of a confession. Since that is all that I can think to write…and I don’t sugar coat my thoughts, feelings, etc…I will share this confession. Here goes….deep breath…I am happy that the 30 Days of Self-Love is over. Really happy.

Please do not take that the wrong way. I stand behind the topics and the purpose for starting it in the first place. I believe in everything I shared. My sincerity and care filled each post written. Beyond all that, however, part of me felt that the 30 Days didn’t mesh quite as well as I hoped with my blog as a whole, with my personality, and also with many of you all.

As much as I loved writing each post, I think thirty days straight of such serious topics was a lot to swallow. I realized I much prefer sharing such messages and encouragement in smaller daily snippets through my regular posting. I don’t enjoy feeling like I overwhelm my readers and I know I felt overwhelmed at times with the day in and day out heavy topics. I do believe they played an essential role in helping us grow and reflect on important messages, but I would be lying if I said I wasn’t happy to move on to a more laid-back approach again.

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So, where does Faith Fitness Fun go from here? I plan for Faith Fitness Fun to continue to be a blog sharing positive messages through my daily life, regular experiences, and the thoughts or lessons I garner from them. The same mindset behind the start of the 30 Days will still show because it is an essential part of who I am. I believe everyday moments can carry great inspiration and I hope to express that here.

I desire to continue a community of support, friendship, and fun revolving around many different areas of life. In light of how much I loved learning about you all and my appreciation for everything each of you gives to me, I want to share some blogger love. Each morning I will post a special, fun question so I can learn more about you. Then, the following day I will share a random selection of a few of the comments with fun blogs to check out. I know I always love finding other bloggers! After the 30 days I don’t want to tie myself to anything, but I figured this would be fun to try out and a way for all of us to discover new friends. I really feel like doing something light and fun after the past month. Are you with me?

  • What pros/cons did you feel during the 30 Days of Self Love?
  • Do you have any constructive criticism you want to share? Things you would like to see more or less of on Faith Fitness Fun?

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58 Comments to “how i really felt”
  1. I always tell people that when you read a heavy literary work like Kafka or even Toni Morrison that you need to follow it up with something light. I think that’s probably true for blogging, as well. It can be intensely emotional to engage in something like this. Also therapeutic, I’m sure.

    I’m looking forward to seeing what “light” things you come up with. xo

  2. Rachel says:

    Great! I’m looking forward to your posts. All my suggestions I would have written you already said, so I have nothing more to add!

  3. Lisa says:

    I that that is a great idea to find out more about your readers and fun blogs! I love that your blog really makes me think introspectively. A lot of blogs are more focused on the food aspect, which is great, but I love how yours is a combination of both, defnitely more well rounded, which makes it one of my favs! =)

    • Tina says:

      Thanks! I could never just talk about food. I love reading about it but couldn’t write all about it myself. I like to have a mix of things.

    • Yuyun says:

      So gorgeous! This is just my style, over the top glraumoos! I love the art! I actually found a great fur throw at Homegoods of all places, it was only about $30 and was one of the nicest I’ve seen!

  4. Ela says:

    My heartfelt appreciations to you once again for doing the 30days. And no need to feel bashful about saying you’re glad it’s over! It was an intense ride for all of us, and you were in the driver’s seat (just like your daughter in the photo!)

    I’ll ponder your request for suggestions and get back to you if I have any – just now starting to work on my today’s post.
    But my first impression is just that I’m super-grateful that you did it at all, and appreciated that your style is so different from mine because I felt like it meant I learned more from you.

    The fun facts follow-up sounds like a good idea too.

    This has been really really good for me.

    I’ll post soon with a link to my blog.
    love
    Ela

    • Tina says:

      Yea I’m definitely still happy I did it because it did bring a lot of positive to many of us. But I will be happier to keep things lighter for awhile.

  5. I would think you were crazy if there wasn’t a part of you “glad” that the 30 days are over. It’s intense stuff babycakes! 🙂 And it’s hard to start each day, one after another on such an emotional level.

    I think your message, your heartfelt thoughts and your influence was huge Tina! For me, you opened my eyes each day to something new!

    And the best part? I know you will continue to do so just being you! Because the past 30 days were you only focused on things that might come on a more spread out time frame in the future 🙂

    Now go relax, take a load off and enjoy!

  6. Great post girl – I bet you are glad to be done (in good ways!). 🙂 Those were great topics, but heavy yes. For me I just knew I needed to devote more time to read and comment – does that sound bad? you know what I mean – when they’re more ‘snippets’ I can check it out and leave a comment. During this I felt more like I needed to give a really good comment – I hope this is making sense! Love your blog – you know that, and I enjoyed the messages you’ve been sharing but am happy about the direction you’re going in too!!

    • Tina says:

      I completely understand! And that’s how I felt too. I loved it, but it was a lot day after day after day. I like to keep things more upbeat as a whole, but still share things we can all reflect on and help us in the midst. Thanks for understanding! 🙂

  7. Sounds like a great idea for the blog, Tina. Plus, I think you should totally make like that polar bear and chillax. 😉

  8. I LOVE this idea!

    no matter what you post, your blog is so positive and unique from other bloggies. Can’t wait for your upcoming posts about this!

    Have a wonderful weekend Tina!

  9. RhodeyGirl says:

    I love your straight forward honesty.

    • Tina says:

      Thanks! I always believe its important to keep it real. I don’t think my brain functions otherwise. Actually when pregnant with M, my two friends found out before my family because they asked me if Peter & I would be trying soon and I could NOT keep a straight face. I’m terrible at keeping things in. LOL

  10. Meg says:

    I loved reading such positive messages everyday. It really got me thinking and I definitely admitted to myself some of the bad habits I had myself. I can imagine it was quite the process to have a new topic everyday!

    Really, I have no cons about your 30 days. The only thing I can think of is I didn’t have time to comment everyday, but I still read and reflected upon each day. Great job! 🙂

  11. No need to apologize. It’s MUCH more difficult/time consuming to write on REAL topics than just posting what you eat, how much you exercised, etc.

    What you did was GREAT. And I loved reading each day of it <3

  12. Kat says:

    BABIES!! So adorable 🙂 I think what you did for the past 30 days was fabulous. I love that it opened up the mind of others to what REALLY matters, and to some tough issues as well! I look forward to WHATEVER you choose to share with us!!

  13. Overall, 30 Days was a wonderful experience for me. I still think back to posts that stood out to me – especially ones that talk about positivity about your body. But I feel that overall, it depended on the day. Somedays I wanted to discuss “heavy” topics and some days I did not. Again, it really depended on the mood I was in for that day. But yes, overall, – what a great effort and you should be very proud!

    • Tina says:

      I certainly don’t regret a single second of it and really loved what it offered us. 🙂 Its more about just being ready to move on I guess. LOL

  14. […] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Tina Reale, Tina Reale. Tina Reale said: how i really felt: Today started off like any ordinary day. I woke up and got the morning’s 30 Days post written. … http://bit.ly/bQv1xM […]

  15. Okay, M and her little love interest look like they could be twins! Double the adorable blondeness, which is ALMOST too much CUTE to handle!

    I think you should keep your blog just the way it has always been. Blogs are basically public diaries and diaries are where you write absolutely whatever YOU want. 🙂
    Your blog rocks!

  16. I’m pretty new to your blog, so I don’t have a knowledgeable opinion to share, but I really liked your honesty in this post. It’s most to write about what you want to write about. It’s your blog after all 🙂 I love the new idea of questions and posting answers – what a good way for people to get to know each other.

    • Tina says:

      Thanks, Megan! I know I will always write in MY style. Which is why I think by the end of the 30 days I was ready to move on a bit. Still keep the positive atmosphere and messages, but not so structured. I’m much more of a laid back, free will type of person when it comes to things like this. 🙂

  17. Melodie says:

    I loved the 30 days. The only thing I thought was hard for me is it was so much so fast. Which is why I said I wanted to go through them again. There were quite a few that I could spend a week on before moving on to the next one!! That is just me though, I need a lot of work 😉 I am looking forward to all of your posts though. I love the fact that you are a Christian and share that in your blog!

    • Tina says:

      Oh, definitely! I think thats what bogged me down too. Is it was just go go go with heavy heavy heavy. Agreed that some of them could have taken longer to sink in. And I have heard quite a few people express that to me as well.

  18. What a great idea to learn more about your readers and their blogs! Love it!! And I think you did a great job meshing the 30 days of self love into your blog. Just my perspective 🙂

  19. Lori Lynn says:

    I became a follower of your blog in the middle of when you had already started, but I have enjoyed reading your blog. Your messages were really encouraging for me, and I appreciated your insight.

  20. Tina I loved the 30 days, but I agree that it was overwhelming — but to me that was a good thing. I think it was important to take the time every day to really reflect. Sometimes I would read, comment and later on reflect on what was written. I sometimes need to digest info and questions that way.

    I do like that you don’t just post your breakfast lunch and dinner. That works for some bloggers but it makes for some boring posts if that were what everyone did. I like that you write about your life! I look forward to your lighter posts, but throw in some heavy stuff once in a while! 🙂

    • Tina says:

      Haha! Heavy stuff will still show up because I like to talk about everything under the sun. 😉 It will just be nice to write things as they come to me and I feel compelled to share on such topics. Instead of each day having one. I think that was what got overwhelming. I think every bit was worthwhile, just a LOT to take in day after day. Sounds like you understand. 🙂

  21. Lee says:

    I can imagine that trying to write a serious post every day is difficult. I also wonder if you felt a sort of pressure to keep it going?

  22. I think you should do what feels right to you! It is nice to try new things because you can learn from these experiences!

    • Tina says:

      I definitely learned from the 30 days! It was a period of growth for me as well. I learned a lot reflecting back on things and even more about myself just in the process.

  23. Natalie says:

    Mmmm, breakfast looked great! It seems like sometimes when we are forced to do something that we know is good for us (mediation/prayer, journaling, etc) it becomes less enjoyable than if we do it on our own. At least that’s how it is for me at times.

  24. Sarah says:

    THANK YOU SO MUCH for the past thirty days 🙂 I appreciate all the effort and energy that you exerted to post all thirty days. I can only imagine how exhausting it must have been to cover such meaningful topics every single day (and be pregnant and take care of an adorable toddler). Your posts have been the highlights of my day especially after a long work day when I’m exhausted and feeling down. You are one amazing woman, mom, and blogger. I can’t wait to see where Faith, Fitness, Fun goes!

  25. Thanks for sharing your 30 days posts with us, Tina! I always found them inspirational, and appreciated your daily words of wisdom (and often much-needed reminders!).

    Have a great weekend 🙂

  26. 30 days was amazing, and you did such asn amazing job….but I can totally understand your relief…I would feel the same having to come up with topics on such a deep subject each day….you did it beautifully though!!!

    Thank you for the kind words and excitement…I will def be hitting you up for wisdom and advice 🙂

    xxoo

  27. katie says:

    I seriously love you and think you are such an incredible woman of the Lord.. seriously.. I really do look up to you. you are awesome girl!!! thanks for being such a great example!

  28. I think you hit the nail on the head (again). This was an excellent series, for sure, but it got to be too much … at least for me. You’ve probably noticed I’ve been slacking with my 30 Days posts — not because I haven’t wanted to write them (I have several ideas jotted down), but because writing such introspective posts is a lot harder than what I normally write. It’s draining!

    That being said, I’m glad you did them, because I probably wouldn’t have found your blog otherwise — and I really love reading your posts, serious or not.

    • Tina says:

      Thanks! For both understanding, your continued support, and for sticking around. 🙂 I greatly appreciate it Arlene. You’re awesome!

  29. Felicia says:

    At one point I did think to myself how hard it must have been to come up with something different every day. It did help me on days I was feeling crappy if that makes you feel any better 🙂 But I found your blog in the midst of the 30day process, so I am excited to see where it goes from here!

  30. Emily says:

    Hi Tina! I just wanted to say that I think the 30 Days of Self Love was awesome. I know that I didn’t always comment but I truly found it to be inspiring and helped to get my mind in the right place for the day. I think that what keeps everyone coming back to your blog is your honesty and your wonderful personality. As long as that’s there, I’m happy. 🙂

  31. Shannon says:

    I think that you should do whatever feels right to you with your blog. You want to be true to yourself and it is your blog. I love your faith and optimism. And I love reading aboout your life as a mother 🙂

  32. Sava says:

    I will admit that I tended to kind of glaze over the 30 days’ posts because they were a bit too hardcore for me, but I always came back for the posts in between! 😀

  33. Therese says:

    You put so much hard work into the 30 days posts and it really showed. I found several of them verrrry inspiring and I thank you for that! I totally understand what you mean though…I can imagine its hard to feel and write about such deep emotional topics day in and day out.

    Time for some light hearted posts! Something about poop maybe? 😉

    • Tina says:

      Haha!! I’m sure there will be some poop talk after baby boy is born. Sad, but true. Baby butt explosions are inevitable. 😉

    • Tina says:

      Nooo!! I just tried commenting on your blog at how happy I am you’re back and it wouldn’t let me. I usually can only comment on blogger blogs that allow the Name/URL comment option. Poo.

  34. Your posts were really thoughtful and it was a interesting 30 days. I totally understand the need for something a little more light though. Looking forward to seeing what is coming!

  35. I can see how that was really overwhelming for you – such an undertaking. I was soooo impressed and inspired though. I think one of the cons would be that it makes you think soooo much that you start to feel overwhelmed, like there is no way you will be able to get past some of the negative talk, the self-doubt, etc. I think I started noticing it even more and then almost obsessing about it then getting more upset with myself b/c I couldn’t stop. Now, that doesn’t mean I am not extremely appreciative of those posts. Because I am. I can’t describe what it means to read your words, to know that I am not alone. I think you helped sooo many people with your openness, your honesty, your genuineness.

  36. […] morning my friends! Happy Friday and Happy October! I want to wrap-up last night’s post. I truly loved all the growth and support it provided us and still believe it did great things. At […]

  37. 30 Days was awesome! However I can see how it could be overwhelming at times. I was so impressed with how you turned out a high quality post every single day!

  38. i know what you mean about being glad that 30 days is over…not that I’M glad about that, but when i did my Joyful Kitchen series there were times that i just didn’t want to write and i felt like i had other things to share. but we live and learn and i think you probably have a more clear direction for what you want on the blog now! see, it turned out even better in the end 🙂

    • Tina says:

      Yep. I even in prayer was saying to God how I can see that He not only pulled me to do that to help others, but mostly to help me learn some things about myself. It was certainly a grounding and learning experience!

  39. Holly says:

    Tina, I loved reading through your thoughts on the past 30 days. I must say, I struggle with finding just one or TWO thoughtful posts a week….I don’t know how you did it daily! If there is ANYone who is/was capable, though, it is you. I could sense your dedication in every.single.post. And though I didn’t comment every single day, I loved and learned JUST as much reading through others’ comments as I did writing my own. I don’t blame you at all for being relieved that it is over….I’m sure it was overwhelming thinking of the topics to post, responding to others, etc. But I am REALLY, really glad you did it, Tina! 🙂

  40. Jaclyn says:

    I love that you do 30 days of self love – i think it is important and so necessary for us each to do that, everyday!!

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