go where you'd like to go

Those are the infamous words I hear nearly everyday in yoga... code for: try to take your pose to the next level. If your arms are "twisted like ropes" for eagle, "going where you'd like to go" can mean bringing your leg up and over the other leg and wrapping your toes around your calf. If you are in tree, "going where you'd like to go" can mean raising your arms to the sky instead of leaving them at heart-center. Of course, nobody around you is judging whether or not you go for it but you know whether you've pushed yourself or not.

When I started this blog, it was a way to showcase my creative talent. I had two months to myself without worrying about grading papers or lesson planning. I could paint, craft, bake and blog as much as I wanted. However, as you've noticed, the end of July came and I gave up. Sure, I've painted occasionally and baked hundreds of cupcakes since that time. But, taking pictures of the crafts and posting to the blog just took a backseat to everything else I had going on.

You see, in May & June of 2011 I started feeling super sick all the time and found out that I had pretty severe acid reflux {gross, sorry}. I guess eating buttercream icing with a spoon everyday finally caught up to me. I went on medicine for it for about a month but in an effort to get off the meds, I started changing my diet. I also knew I needed to get in shape.

I went to Pure Barre- a hybrid of ballet/pilates/yoga- the end of June thanks to a LivingSocial coupon and became slightly obsessed. I started going to class nearly six times per week. In addition to not eating chocolate or tomatoes {due to acidity}, I was on a roll with getting myself healthy and back to normal.

August came and school started back. I worked out, went to work, and then coached cheerleading afterwards. At the end of the month, I started going to hot yoga in the evenings.

I am proud to say that six months later, I am still working out twice per day most days, teaching, and coaching. But, now I want to add the blog back into my schedule. However, I'm going to be utilizing it in a different way.

"Going where I'd like to go" with the blog means writing about what I'm most passionate about. I don't have time to do crafts everyday or even every weekend. Yes, I still bake cupcakes for those of you who are concerned. Yes, I will still post pictures of those things that I do create, but I will also post about topics that I hope inspire you and teach you something new. I plan to do a lot more DIY posts so you can channel your inner craftiness but also post about the things that inspire me in an effort to hopefully encourage you to go out and reach your goals.

I hope you'll join me in this new journey. I leave you with a painting that I did over Christmas to hang above our stove. It serves as a great reminder to me of the character traits that I am able to {and called to} show others daily because of Jesus being in my heart.

2012 is already off to a great start. I look forward to sharing the year with you. Happy MLK Jr. Day!