Did you know…
… it’s incredibly difficult to get back into ‘blog mode’ after being away for three.point.five weeks? I can’t even tell you guys how many times I’ve attempted to get a post up in the past couple of days only to admit defeat and walk away because I got so overwhelmed by everything I felt I had to explain. But I’ve missed you guys, and things have finally settled down enough for me to get back to blogging on a regular basis, so I guess I should start by filling you in on what’s been going on around these parts since my last real post from waaaaay back in the beginning of July. Eeeep.
Okay. Remember all of those cryptic hints concerning big upcoming changes that I kept dropping in the month or so before I left? I know it was kind of annoying, but I kept things vague because I didn’t want to jump ahead of myself and share too much info before anything had a chance to actually materialize. Well, after waiting for what felt like forever, things are finally solid enough for me to let the cat out of the bag.
First, I have to apologize for committing one of the biggest cardinal sins of friendship – I abandoned you guys for a boy. I know, I know, shame on me… but I had a good reason! See, I had someone special come visit me for two weeks in the beginning of July, and spending time on the computer when I had a pretty limited amount of time to spend with him felt like a bit of a waste.
So who is this mystery guy? Well, he’s my new guy (squee!!) – we’ll call him J for now. Our story? A little complicated… We’ve known each other for a little over eight years now, and we’ve always been close and had great chemistry, but the timing/situation was always off, which is why we never hooked up in the past. Heck, the timing/situation still isn’t ideal… and by “isn’t ideal” I mean he’s currently serving in the military and we’re attempting to make this work despite the distance and the fact that we have no idea what the future will look like. Foolhardy? Maybe a little, but I’m tired of playing it safe and living a lackluster life as a result. Taking chances is the only way to experience greatness, and while yes – I may crash and burn big time- I’m choosing to stay positive and holding out for the best. The two weeks I got to spend with J were amazing, and that’s definitely something worth fighting for, no? Just try not to get too upset with me if I feel the need to mope every once in a while – I’ll do my best to keep the “woe is me” at a minimum. Deal? Deal.
So that was the first two weeks of my absence – a lot of nights out, a lot of long talks, and a lovely weekend in the Canadian Rockies…
After that, it was off to Vegas for a few (5-ish) days…
And before you jump to any conclusions, no, I didn’t run off to elope – J and I went to the airport together, but we left on separate flights [sad face]. I won’t say too much about Vegas for now because I’ll probably go into a little more detail in tomorrow’s post, but I will say that it definitely helped me deal with the fact that my two weeks with J had come to an end. Boo.
Let’s see. I got back from Vegas on… I want to say it was Monday night (early Tuesday morning)? of last week… and I’ve been scrambling around playing catch up ever since. I kind of put “real life” on hold for the past three weeks, so I’ve been catching up on work, catching up on menial errands/tasks, and catching up on school. What? Yep, school… in a sense, anyways.
Back at the end of May, I signed up with the Institute of Integrative Nutrition to start working on becoming a certified health coach. After wrestling with the idea for months, researching tonnes of different education options, and talking to plenty of graduates and health coaches, I decided IIN would be a good fit for me. It definitely won’t be the only schooling that I do in the area (there are a couple more programs that I’m really interested in as well), but it seemed like a good place to start. My classes opened up a couple of weeks ago, and I’m really enjoying the material so far. Health and nutrition are some of my biggest passions, and being able to help people become healthier and happier would be a dream come true. I already do that to a certain extent through blogging, but I figure that getting more education and direction can never be a bad thing.
So that’s life as I currently know it… A new relationship and a new journey towards what may end up being a new career. I’d be lying if I said that I wasn’t super happy with the way things are going right now, and I can’t wait to see where they go from here…
Happy Monday, friends! 😀
Awesome news! I think living life as much as possible and having good times is the way to go, so lovely to be all loved up! And of course you know how I feel about the whole IIN thing, enjoy it!
Glad you are back! I love reading your blog and have been checking and checking for your return! Congratulations on all the exciting life changes 🙂
Oh AND I made your chunky homemade applesauce for the first time today. It’s delicious!
Congrats!!! Love & school are basically my two most favorite things in this world 😉 SOOO glad you took a little blog break and really enjoyed your time. We missed you!
Congratulations!
I had this *feeling* it was either boy-related or career/school-related–little did I know it was both!
We all missed your witty, insightful posts, but of course we’re incredibly happy for you. You’ve got to live your life–and it sounds like you’re doing exactly that! Glad to see you back, and congratulations again!
So nice to see you again… I missed you Amanda! I’ve been eating cereal + yogurt + fruit+ nut butter bowls for breakfast thinking that something’s missing cos your blog isn’t in my updated feed.
BUT that’s exciting news – I hope everything goes well for you both. Also, IIN sounds like an amazing venture for you! The world needs more health coaches who have your mindset. Sometimes it feels like you played a huuuuggggeee role in my recovery <3
Awwr girlie! My heart = melted. Thanks so much for the sweet comment <3
I’m so excited for you love!!!! Eeeeep! I have been tossing around the idea of IIN also. I would love to hear your thoughts. We need to email!
We do! Write me any time with any questions <3
WOW! Those are two huge – and great – announcements! Good for you. 🙂 I hope everything goes super well on the relationship front…I can imagine knowing each other for that long will really help things out. And as far as the schooling goes, I think it’s so cool that you’re doing something you love. In my opinion, if you love the classes and schoolwork, it’s a good fit. 🙂
Glad to have you back!
this made me swoon. a guy in the military. It’s hard… but so worth it because the time you do have together is that much more precious. It’s def hard for a new relationship but Skype isn’t awful 😉
Love that you’re back to posting!
Lol no… Skype isn’t -too- bad… and neither is hearing about others who are happy in their relationships <3 🙂
Sometimes we need to stop second guessing ourselves and take the leap into the unknown. Congratulations on these two new beginnings for you- its tough making the first step but it sure does get easier and the choices are warranted 🙂
Also you’ve inspired me to have a cereal, yogurt and almond butter for breakfast now! :p
Congrats on your guy! Your story is absolutely adorable 😉 I’ve missed your posts but I totally understand how hard is to get back in the blogging groove after you’ve been away from it for so long.
Wow Amanda, that’s a lot of exciting stuff! So happy for you and can’t wait to hear more updates. And oh goodness, that place is goorrrrrgeous!!!
Welcome back to blogland girly! First of all, I am squeeling in excitement over your new guy, I am just going to go ahead and live vicariously through you, mmkay? Military can be tough, I know a lot of friends who have (successfully) gone through it, but it always seems to be well worth it in the end. 🙂
I am so happy you decided to do IIN (for some reason I just had a feeling you were looking to do some sort of program, call me a mind reader) and I can’t wait to hear how it is going!
Congrats and Soooo glad you are back! That is super exciting about IIN, I had thought seriously about signing up in May for classes, but didn’t 🙁 but leaving it open as a possibility for the near future maybe.
It took me a pretty long time to finally commit and sign up as well… I kept going back and forth on the idea before just deciding to go for it. I’ll be posting my thoughts about it every once in a while, so maybe that’ll help you decide 🙂
Thanks! I would love to hear about your experience as you go through the class! 🙂
so happy for you Amanda 🙂 I hope things work out between you and Mr. J. you are right situation is never ideal and sometimes you have got to take chances..Cant wait to hear about Vegas and yay for figuring out the career path. So many exciting things. Sending you lots of hugs <3 <3
Welcome back! Long distance is definitely not easy, but I think it’s worth it if you’re with the right person 🙂 I’m looking forward to hearing more!
So glad to hear your brief departure was for something positive!! While the distance will stink, I feel if you have that connection, its all worth it and don’t let it go! 🙂
And congrats on moving forward and making decisions into your future in nutrition! I know you’ll kick butt! Glad to have you back in the blogosphere!
Welcome to the long distance relationship club 😛 haha. My BF is in Hawaii for school (I live in Cali). It’s definitely hard but CAN be done!
Well, it sounds like the first part of your summer has been amazing! I’m so excited to hear more about IIN, your Vegas trip & adventures with the new boy!
So glad everything’s okay! Me you’re right..if you never take chances and play it safe you’re not living!
I was so excited to see your post!!!!! Congrats on all your pieces of news — this is great! 🙂 So happy for you!
So, so, so glad you’re back! You’ve been greatly missed! Congrats on all of your new adventures…can’t wait to hear more!
I wish I was able to form more words besides “ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!” but that’s ALL that is going through my head right now.
SO SO SO SO happy for you!!
So much good news in one post!
I know LDRs are hard enough and military ones have extra hardships… but GOOD FOR YOU to be brave enough to follow your heart.
(I guess that last part applies to choosing a career path to!)
Yay I’m so glad you’re back! I’ve missed your posts so much. And congrats on the new guy AND school. Exciting stuff 🙂
Amanda- congrats on enrolling at IIN!!! I just did as well and love it so far! Are you in the July class? Good lucky your new journey !
That’s so exciting, Wendy! Yup – July classes for me. Third week in and I’m definitely enjoying it so far 🙂
Wow look at you with all of these big events! So happy for you! I’m looking forward to reading about your nutrition school. Glad to have ya back!
Soooo excited for you, for both things!!! My ex boyfriend was in the Navy, so I know how that long distance thing goes. It’s not really ideal for anyone, but it totally can work! So don’t worry! 🙂 Congrats on IIN as well, that’s awesome! You will be amazing at that 🙂
yay! so happy for you. my sister met her hubs in Vegas while she was in college & he was on leave from being stationed in Iraq. they dated online for 4 years & have been happily married for 3- so you have all kinds of good relationship karma headed your way 🙂 and congrats on the school decision- you are going to be awesome! i would totally hire you to plan my foodie life
Seeing a new post from you on Twitter made me smile..and it only got bigger as I read your post :)! I couldn’t be happier about the new man in your life (lucky guy I might add) and career path! As I’ve told you countlessly before, I have no doubt you will be a smashing success as a health coach. It’s way too early for champagne so let’s virtually clink our coffee mugs to starting new chapters :)!
Thanks so much, girlie! I honestly couldn’t have done it without your support and encouragement <3
How exciting! I can’t wait to hear where all of this goes 🙂
Welcome back! I have missed your posts but am so happy to hear it sounds like you have been havin a great past few weeks. My boyfriend and I are long distance at the moment, about an hour and a half drive, it can be hard at times but it means lots of long weeknight talks.
Happy to hear all the good news for you! I agree, the best things in life often come from taking chances. I hope you and J work out and that you really enjoy your new schooling adventure. I am sure your personal background will make you a much more relatable and trustworthy health coach.
I’d say that’s a pretty good excuse for leaving us! I hope you and J are able to get some more quality time in soon. I don’t think you’re a fool at all, I think it’s romantic that you are making it work long distance.
That’s awesome that you are becoming a certified health coach too! That is something I would love to learn more about so I’m looking forward to reading about your experiences with it!
Congrats on everything, girl! I’ve missed hearing about your life but it sounds like you have so many exciting things going on in your real life that you haven’t had much time for blogging and that’s okay! I’ve been doing some thinking about my own blog and I may abandon it for awhile as the next few weeks will be crazy with wrapping up my internship, a vacation and settling back in at school AND it’s going to be my last semester of college so I just want to enjoy it to the fullest.
I’ve been really interested in IIN and similar programs and I think I may give it a shot if I’m in my first job and I don’t have too much on my plate then. Let me know what you think of IIN and I might consider it for myself!
You sure were missed lady, I mean radioactive came on every single freaking morning when I ran. I can’t say more of a weird coincidence like that. I am happy to hear you did what felt right, two weeks together, amazing. I will always try and pry for details… be prepared.
Been listening to Pentatonix over here <3 And you're more than welcome to pry... I miss our e-mail chats!
Awwww, YEA! Welcome Back & with such AWESOME news to share! I’ve missed you! Sounds like you’ve got some exciting developments happening & I couldn’t be happier for you! Can’t wait to hear more about the Vegas trip…& J when you’re ready 🙂
Long distance stinks…but it will work if you make it work! The BF and I just moved in together after TWO YEARS of that and it was so worth the wait! <3
And good for you for pursuing your passions!!
Holy Moly, so many congrats are in order! I don’t think you should apologize for taking time away from blogging for a couple of weeks to spend time with your love. Time is precious and totally priceless. Good for you! Congrats on the first step to becoming a certified health coach, something tells me you will be a great one 🙂
Sounds like you had a good reason to be away for a few weeks 🙂 Beautiful pictures from Canada.
I can’t wait to read more about your time away from blogging and I’m glad you’re back! I’m so excited for you in starting a new relationship AND career. I’m glad you decided to take the plunge for yourself because, as a I told you, I believe your experience with the highs and lows will make you even BETTER at what you’re doing with your life. I had a whole e-mail typed up to you and in my “draft” box but I want to scrap it and start over. There’s so much more I’d rather say than what’s in the e-mail! EEP! I’m just so happy for you!
I was starting to think you forgot about me! Definitely miss hearing from you girlie <3
I would never forget about you!!! I’ve been waiting for you to post for three and a half weeks #creeper I just sent it to you now 😀