This is not an easy blog post to write. I’ve been holding off for quite some time, months in fact, because I didn’t know how to handle what it was I wanted to say. I wasn’t even entirely sure that I knew what I wanted to say. Because of that, I needed to let it all sit for a while.

Some time ago, I started wondering what I really had to offer all of you. There are so many Paleo blogs out there with better photography, inventive recipes, and more relevant and informative things to say. I started to get insecure and feel really uncertain about continuing on.

One of the things that got in the way was time. I am not always inspired to slow down my cooking in order to do measurements, repeat and refine the recipe, and find the perfect setting and lighting to make it look appetizing. Instead I’m a mom and wife and trainer who is trying to hold it all together and look like I know what I’m doing. Most days go pretty well and I am very excited about the direction I think my life is headed, but sometimes I’m just breathing.

Another thing that got in the way was intent. Since I started this blog on the basis of Paleo cooking and eating, I got a little stuck in that idea and thought that if I wasn’t posting recipes, I shouldn’t be posting at all. You want recipes, right? But then I realized that maybe I have something else to offer – and occasionally a recipe to support that.

That led me to the most fundamental reason my blogging stopped. Vulnerability. To write about things that are more personal is tough. And what if it doesn’t resonate with anyone? What if it doesn’t always make sense? What if I don’t have the answer? What if I can only talk about the process, the journey, without some big revelation for you? Where is the value?

Here’s where I am with all of this right now: I’m just going to move forward AS IF you love me just as I am. I’m going to work very hard to believe that and I’m going to write from the heart. If what I say doesn’t resonate with you, then please feel free to check out the many fantastic blogs out there. But if sometimes I say something that helps you along your journey, fuels you as you strive to reach your goals, or inspires you in any way, then please stay around awhile and maybe even drop me a comment. It lets me know you’re out there and helps me know what you might need to hear.

Some of the things I imagine talking about: Food – in all it’s amazingness as well as some of the struggles it brings, Paleo, Keto, Weight loss, Motivation, Exercise, Challenges, Successes, and most importantly, learning how to love ourselves just as we are so that our very own beautiful lives can evolve and grow so that we may Shine Bright! (My mantra for 2017.)