Happy Monday!! This is actually a Monday I am excited about, because it is the start of our vacation weeks. We leave early early early on Thursday morning to drive up to Indiana for the weekend so we can visit some of our wonderful friends. I simply cannot wait! The only sad thing about it though, is after tomorrow’s post it is the kick-off of lots of absenteeism on my part. 🙁

I’ll be posting tonight (obviously as you are reading it now), tomorrow, and then Monday – Wednesday next week…and that’s it until the last two days of June. It’s really going to be July in the blink of an eye for me. I’m cool with that because I know time flies when you’re having fun and that is what I fully plan on doing on both my vacations. Plus, I have some awesome guest posts lined up for you during my long hiatus. The break is going to do me some good because it has admittedly been hard cranking posts out for me anyways during the first trimester. I seem to be getting headaches really easily and being in front of the computer seems to be a trigger. That is why I took a full blogging break over the weekend. I just couldn’t manage! I feel like such a poo-poo blogger lately. Not cool. BUT another good thing is I will be basically finito with the first trimester after my vacations and saying sionara to the crazy hormone surges, so I will feel a million times better and back to the normal goings on that typically make up Faith, Fitness, Fun. I hope you all can be patient with me. I know the genuine readers and followers will be and I thank you immensely for that. 🙂

Since we got that out of the way and I rambled on for way too long, I guess I should finally get to my weekend. It consisted of many things in “twos”.

Saturday morning I went to the gym with Peter because I promised him I would go to spot him for benching two 100 lb dumbbells. I wasn’t feeling up for much of a workout, so I told myself I would walk on the treadmill at an incline for 20 minutes with my book. I ended up going two times as long and felt great afterwards. I even finished book number two of the week.

Savor the Moment by Nora Roberts. I don’t typically care for Nora Roberts’ books, but the Bride Quartet series is actually reasonably entertaining. They are just super chicky, lighthearted, feel-good reads and I enjoy them well enough. Definitely not the best out there or even something I would highly recommend, but good for a fast and girly book.

After the gym, I showered and got ready quickly to head out for the two hour drive to meet Lindsey at a good halfway point for our last lunch get-together for awhile. We got a table for two at a Mexican restaurant called El Sombrero. I indulged in chips + salsa and ordered a combo that came with two enchiladas (one chicken + one bean), a beef hard taco, and rice.

The taco was a little dry and the chicken in the enchilada stopped appealing to me halfway through, but that bean enchilada was great. I left the meal quite content in the tummy. It was great to see Lindsey again for another two hour visit and to chat with such an awesome lady. I’ll miss seeing her regularly, but I’m so happy for her to be moving back to a place she loves.

When I got home Saturday afternoon I took two hours to unwind before heading over to my bro & sis in laws place for dinner. They invited us and I’m not about to give up a night of no cooking! Unfortunately, very little of what she made agreed with me and my crazy food aversions. I ended up eating two small smoked pork sandwiches and that’s it.

I was ready to call it an early night afterwards, so I headed home and went right to bed. Yes, it was only 9:00 on a Saturday, but I was craving sleep. I apparently needed it, because I slept in for two hours, getting a grand total of 11 hours of sleep. It was very refreshing. I even skipped Sunday school (since I have this month off from teaching the class) and just went to the worship service.

Yesterday’s service was about a table for two as well and focused on two things we should always do before taking the communion (eating the bread and drinking the grape juice wine that represents Jesus’ sacrifice). 1 = Remember his death. Remember that it was grueling, agonizing, torturous, and horrible…but He still did it for us. Always remember.And 2 = examine yourself before participating. Consider things in your life that you may need to work on, things you may need to confess and ask God for His help, things that God has blessed you with. Examine yourself so you can approach the table for two (you & Jesus) so he can use the experience to work in your life and continue changing it for the better. It was a very moving service. I may have shed a tear or two. I can’t help but for emotions to overwhelm me when hormonal considering what God has done for me.

This has gone on long enough so I will wrap it up. The rest of Sunday was a two hour nap (yes even after sleeping 11 hours), two wonderful meals (a sandwich + soup lunch and some pizza for dinner), a two hour episode of  So You Think You Can Dance, and enjoying two amazing flavors in a small Strawberry Golden Oreo blizzard. Oh yes…I went there!

• What was the highlight of your weekend? Mine is a tie between lunch with Lindsey and that Blizzard treat. I do have a post coming tomorrow to show you that I am eating reasonably healthy things a fair amount of the time and not JUST going out to eat. Although I do know this past week had a LOT of going out in it.
• Do you ever feel weird/bad for not blogging per your regular blogging schedule? I don’t really feel bad and I don’t believe I’m so important that people miss hearing from me for a few days, but I do know it is going to be odd to not be blogging like normal for such a long period of time.
• Are you a napper? I am NOT a napper…except when pregnant. Then I could easily nap my day away.

I loved reading all of your comments about blogger meet-ups. I would love to be one of the few of you who had the chance to go to different blogger events and meet quite a few friendly faces. And I have to say, I love the idea of an Atlanta blogger meetup. We need to start planning that! I wouldn't mind organizing it for sometime in the next couple of months, if anyone who would be interested in going can email me ideas or suggestions on where to meet, etc. Lastly, those of you who haven't met someone yet, I'm sure you will soon. And thankfully we have the blogs to connect even across many, many miles of distance. 🙂

This brings me to today's post. Don't you just love when the reality of something far exceeds your expectations? That is what this blog is becoming for me. I first started this blog as a place to get my thoughts out on the numerous things that run through my mind. I had no expectations except to write and express myself since it is something I have always loved to do...and also to keep Peter from going crazy having to listen to all of my ramblings in detail over and over and over again. There is something about writing that brings clarity, perspective, and a release.

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In January of this year I began posting regularly, and more than just my sporadic posts on my competition prep diet + workouts I had previously done. Since then, I have seen numerous benefits to the world of blogging and even my humble blog that is in the mix. It has far exceeded any expectation that I ever had when starting this thing out.

Without a doubt, the biggest blessing I have experienced is the relationships. Being able to connect with like minded people that I don't come into contact with often in my everyday life is amazing. I can share things here that I would never share elsewhere. You all know my deepest feelings of my relationship with my father, things only a handful of other people know about. You knew first that Peter & I were trying to conceive and the emotional battles that has brought me as well as the growth.  I can share my passion for random things like a new workout and know that you all will be just as nerdy  excited about it as I am. Being able to have so many virtual cheerleaders cheers me up every single day.

Meetup with Em

Meetup with Lindsey

Meetup with Mandy (who I met from the Oxygen forum & is now a best friend)

Meetup with 2 Other Awesome Ladies (no longer blog/journal)

And there are other things I never knew would come from blogging and pouring my heart out to anyone who stumbles across Faith, Fitness, & Fun. Things like helping people to change their lives for the better. Even in the last week, I have had a good handful of emails from people with such moving comments or questions reaching out for my support. I don't know why they choose to reach out to me, as I don't consider myself anything special, but I do know that I am thrilled to support anyone who needs it and help them to reach their full potential as the amazing women they are. From faith to fitness to emotional struggles to pregnancy and beyond, people are relating to me and I am proud to lift them up, in the same way they are lifting me up as well. I thrive on taking the time to reach out to them and give them the advice and care they are looking for. It blesses me more than anything.

Keep Each Other Strong

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Even better? I am learning a ton from your blogs as well! Amazing recipes, workout ideas, experiences on things like becoming a personal trainer, confidence boosters, etc, etc, etc. The list is never ending. I cannot rave enough about all that your blogs have taught me. Thank you for sharing all of your wonderful insights and helping me to grow and accomplish new things. Thank you!

learning through the computer & your blogs

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And lastly, something else that is beyond my expectations are the new goals I have. I want to share my Triple F Philosophy with as many people as I can. Knowing that the blog can be a platform to do so excites me to no end. I think how I would love to do things across the spectrum from big to small. Write a book, contribute articles to magazines, speak in my community or church about these topics I am passionate about, start up programs at local gyms for young girls and/or women to promote self respect and love, etc. The notion that my blog will just help me develop to possibly pursue these goals in the future astounds me.

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I know those ideas are lofty ones and I'm not assuming I will do any of them. I know my blog isn't anything spectacular or as well read as some others. BUT...Who knows where the future will take me. Who knows where this blog will take me. I have no set expectations, but I know the reality will be better than I could imagine. After all, it already is. And I have YOU to thank for that.