Thank you all for the birthday wishes! You really know how to make a gal feel loved. 🙂 I’m going to save more of a recap of my birthday along with my special eats for tomorrow morning’s post. I have a delicious quinoa concoction and frozen yogurt visit to share. I also have the BEST blog gift to tell you about. I frickin’ love my husband!! Tonight, however, I feel like doing a bit of reflecting. On the radio the other day, the hosts had people call in to share what 3 things they would tell themselves 10 years ago. Boy do I have some things I would tell myself!

The perfect man will come along. Don’t waste so much energy fretting over that 8 year on-again-off-again relationship.

I cannot believe how much drama occupied my love life for so long. I can only describe the intensity of it as unhealthy. We basically acted like addicts of each other and I never thought things could be different than the up/down/high/low I experienced with the ex. I would have saved myself a lot of strife knowing someone so loving, caring, and devoted would come into my life. And help me see a better version of myself.

My dad is who he is and I am who I am. I don’t need to try to change him or depend on him for self-fulfillment.

It’s no secret that my dad and I have clashed in the past and was much of what led to my depression, and also my binging past. We get along much better now and much of it relates to the understanding that I can’t try to win him over. I just have to be me and accept him for who he is. Forgiveness goes a long way.

Begin a blog sooner! I love love love love love love love blogging! I wish I had heard about it sooner and gotten involved sooner. Perhaps I would have had a healthier relationship with food sooner and even more amazing friends through blogging. I cannot get enough of this community. And psst…check out www.healthylivingblogs.com to join a new site devoted to fabulous blogs!

Sex doesn’t make you beautiful or worthy. My senior year of college was quite the promiscuous one. If there is one thing in life I could say I regret, it would be this. I struggled a lot with my image and a need to be cared for. In the end, it just left me feeling used and abused.

Don’t be afraid to go back to church. By choosing to return to such a welcoming church full of God’s love, I never felt judged. Others embraced me with open arms and uplifted me in many ways. They motivated me to grow more and gave me the type of relationships I always longed for. I will forever be grateful to my church friends and family for bringing me to a happier place in life than I ever imagined possible.

As much as I know these lessons would have been helpful I can’t say I would change anything about my experiences. I learned about love and the qualities I truly needed in a man through that ridiculous relationship growing up. I went through huge trials with the depression and binging but came out a stronger person with a story to share and a way to relate to others. I more fully value my faith now that I had to grow back into it. And so much more learned through every moment. I honestly wouldn’t change a thing.

• What’s something you wish you could tell yourself 10 years ago? I know you all got some after reading some of your crazy bday stories. 😉
• Any guesses on my special present? 😀

Last night, Julie from Savvy Eats posted about finding her blogging voice. The post resonated to my core. For the past 7 months I have involved myself in this world of blogging. I knew what I wanted my blog to express. Positivity. Living life to the fullest. Good health. Support for others, and myself. In the most basic sense, I wanted it to express me and my passions.

Even knowing all these things, I feel only recently I have fully come to find my voice in the blogging world. Before, I would have the occasional honest post that I knew I had to share from my heart, but I would also include things I felt a blog was supposed to have. I would compare myself to other blogs. I would over-think and over-analyze everything.

That all changed when I unlocked myself from trying to fit some mold of healthy living blogger that doesn’t even exist. I broke out and gave up all my expectations. I started experimenting to find what works for me with a posting schedule. Now I know two shorter posts – one around 11 am and one around 7 pm – work best. I stopped planning out blog entries and simply went with what came to me. I devoted my heart to trusting God to take this blog where He wants it to go, instead of fretting on why I wasn’t getting more readers. Then, I blossomed.

Now my posts more truly reflect my style. Me sense of humor. My interests. My tastes. My hopes. My passions. From simply revealing little nuggets of information about myself, to tips on living, to frustrations, to going for a dream, and all that falls on the spectrum of my jumbled mind in between. Finding my blogging voice has helped me to achieve so much. And not in the traditional sense of more money, more exposure, or more popularity. It’s helped me achieve confidence. It has brought me to the crossroads of refusing to give into fear to share a positive message.

Finding my blogging voice provided a large motivation to finally dive in head first with the 30 Days of Self-Love Reflections. That movement is the essence of Faith, Fitness, Fun. I know I have shared it a lot, but I don’t want it to be forgotten. I want the energy for its start to remain. Which is why now, I must once again thank the fabulous women who support this cause by sharing the 30 Days Button. I also thank each of you who anxiously await the movement as I do.

• Caitlin – She had me write my Healthy Tipping Point story for her a few weeks ago. Now she will be waiting to publish it on her blog until Sep 1st and share about the 30 Days with the story. Love her!
• Lauren – Jammin In The Kitchen
• Lauren – Fit, Fun, and Fabulous
• Em – HomeCookedEm
• Lisa – I’m An Okie
• Katy – Monster Proof
• Kara – My Wellnest
• Julie – Adventure Is Out There
• Talia – Texas Gunslinger
• Mackenzie – My Food Events
• Maria – Oh Healthy Day
• Mindy – Just A One Girl Revolution
• Maura – The MOH Diaries
• Rachel – Fit, Fun, and Fabulous
• Melissa – Live, Love, and Run
• Cynthia – Cook and Eat: Adventures of a Pretend Cook
• Marcia – Healthy Living Adventures
• Kathleen – Journey to Loving Me
• Laury – The Fitness Dish
• Andi – Andi on the Go
• Lindsay – Learning to Cook, Eat, and Enjoy Delicious Food
• Elizabeth – Eat Clean Fun
• Melinda – Strength for my Journey
• Holly – Couch Potato Athlete
• Holly – The Balance Broad
• Jess – Eat Drink Breathe Sweat
• Leah – Running to a Healthy Life
• Erin – The Healthy Apron
• Katie – Legally Fit
• Morgan – Live, Love, Eat, and Play
• Arlene – Adventures in Weight Loss, Cooking, & Life
• Shayna – Zucchini Bikini Martini
• Monique – Finding the Courage to Change
• Michelle – Chasing Ambulances
• Renee – Sweaty, Salty, Sweet

There you have it. My blog is ME. It is REAL. I give of myself in every single post because I have so much love for what I share here and each of you. Thank you for reading. Thank you for your comments. Thank you for your support. Thank you for being YOU.

• Check out the blogs listed above. They are awesome!!! And let me know if you add the button to your site or post about the 30 Days. Find the "sign up" post here.
• Do you feel you have a blogging voice? How did you find it?
• What about blogging fulfills you?