Life Lately (Mom Identity, Intuitive Business Owning, The Nourish Lab, + 3 Lunches)
Doing some "casual" Friday sharing today...just about life! I feel like my recent blog posts have felt a bit formal. I hope they're useful for you and educational, but I want this space to also be fun.
MOM IDENTITY
I was out on a walk the other day and it hit me that I've been a mom for 6 months. In some ways, it feels like I've been a mom forever because I can hardly remember not having Graham in our lives. But also I catch myself still in awe of wait..what, I'm a mom?To be honest I don't feel like a mom most days. I'm not really sure what I expected to feel when I became a mom, but it's a weird feeling. Any other moms have or had a similar feeling? I've been getting more involved in mom Facebook groups, mom business platforms, etc. And actually I was writing for a motherhood community/blog recently and was struggling so much to write to moms because I struggle resonating as a mom right now. I love everything about being a mom so far. I love being home with Graham every day. I love the simplicity of my days these days... wake up, feed Graham, make us breakfast, play with him down on the floor, sing to him as he gets ready for a nap, and repeating this cycle a few times each day. I think I may have thought something like this would get boring in the past, but it doesn't. I try to have some variety in my day each day still, whether it's going for a walk in the morning together or doing a Barre3 class or skipping a workout and baking something fun.But this gets me thinking about our identities. I think sometimes we label ourselves with certain words, certain identities...like the "fit girl", the "healthy girl", the "nurse", the "teacher", the "mom". And though these things may describe a part of us, I think it can get risky to label ourselves with these identities. Oftentimes, what we do is we tie our worth to our identities. And none of these identities are lasting or describe all that we are.So I'm wondering if I had this past idea of what the label "mom" would look like and feel like. But because I'm so much more than just a mom (as are you if you're also a mom), this label feels a little wrong. Honestly, I'm not entirely sure but I thought I'd share because it's something I'm figuring out right now and just enjoying the process.Also, along the lines of mom identity, I think something so common is the pressure we put on ourselves to do everything perfectly as moms. But being a mom has quickly taught me that perfection is far from achievable and to embrace the imperfection. So I've been embracing laundry piling up, toys always on our living room floor, dishes not getting done right away, and that's life.
RUNNING MY BUSINESS INTUITIVELY
I've talked about it before, but learning the principles of intuitive eating really transformed so much more than just eating for me, as it does a lot of people. Lessons I've learned about giving myself grace with eating, giving up perfection, having a mindset of curiosity are all foundational principles that I apply every time that I eat. But they're also principles I now find myself applying to my home, relationships, being a mom, and running my business.Learning how to run a business is definitely not something we learned in nursing school. So to say I floundered around for a while might be an understatement. But my health coaching business has been feeling so good in the last yearr. Ahh, my heart just gets so full hearing the women I coach take big steps towards transforming their relationship with food. I love creating in this space, educating, and empowering. I hope you feel that vibe :) . Recently I had a thought about how I feel good in this space because I've been taking a more intuitive approach to running my business. Instead of getting caught up in comparison, I've been focusing more on just being me. Instead of feeling like a failure if something didn't work as well as I thought it would, I use it as an opportunity to grow and learn.I truly believe learning to eat intuitively will change your whole life. I am so grateful every single day for the work I did to heal my relationship with food because it's brought so much more joy to my life and taught me so many life lessons.This mindset has also been so helpful with balancing work + motherhood. I really do want to be equally good at being a mom and a coach and I've realized in order to do that boundaries are really important. I've been experimenting with a new schedule the last month or so that helps me to be more "on" as mom with Graham when he's awake and more "on" with my business when he's napping. This has looked like not doing much work on Mondays and Fridays and also not working while he's awake (only working when he's napping). I think we think we're really good at multitasking, but for a while I was finding myself feeling so guilty for working while he was awake. I believe it's good for him, more so as he gets older, to see his mom working at a job she loves. But I don't want him to ever feel like he's second. So these boundaries with time and work have been so helpful! I know that not everyone has the same opportunities to be home and work during naps like this, and I feel so blessed for what I do, but just sharing what's been working for us and our current life situation right now.
MY MEMBERSHIP SITE, "THE NOURISH LAB", OPENS IT'S DOORS ON MONDAY!
I'm so excited the day is almost here to open doors to The Nourish Lab for you! Ahh, I've been putting everything together to make this happen since May. And now it's almost here! I love the work that I get to do with my 1:1 clients, but I began to realize that I can only do so much with 1:1 clients. Especially now as a mom, I only have a couple spots open for 1:1 clients in my 6 month program. I know, also, that not everyone can afford 1:1 support but still are looking for support. And then there are others who want something more self-paced, driven by self-motivation. That's why The Nourish Lab was born. It's affordable with both a monthly option as well as a yearly option and has everything you need to get support in your journey towards food freedom including a self-paced course called "How to Eat 101", live workshops, Q&A, a book club, and our private community on Facebook. If this sounds like something you'd enjoy we'd love to have you inside! You can find more info at nourishlabsite.com.
THREE LUNCHES I'VE BEEN LOVING LATELY!
Lunch has always been the hardest meal for me. I never know what to make, planning for lunch feels exhausting after putting so much energy into dinners. I get sick of the same thing all the time. I know I've talked with some of you who feel the same way. So I thought I'd share some lunches I've been really loving lately!I've found that, for me, the easiest way for me to feel good and satisfied by lunch is to 1) have some lunch ideas in my head or written down for the week (just like I do for dinner) and then 2) prepping a big batch of whatever it is to last at least a couple days.This week's lunches were:1. Tuna salad sandwiches with baby lettuce, alfalfa sprouts, and homemade sourdough! I don't have a recipe for this one...just kinda threw things together...but it was just 2 tins of tuna fish, mayonnaise, diced pickles, parsley, spring onion, salt, and pepper. I layered everything and on some homemade sourdough bread (something else I've been really loving lately--both the eating & the making parts).2. Lemon Herb Pasta Salad with Marinated Chickpeas. Yum! I loved how fresh and light yet satisfying this dish was! I also added some Trader Joes pre-cooked chicken breast ("Just the Chicken") for some added protein. One batch lasted at least 3 lunches...we still have some in our fridge right now actually!3. Instant Pot Red Curry Lentils. I'd heard such great things about this recipe and have been wanting to try it for so long! But it's always a challenge for me to find red curry paste. But if you have red curry paste or see it next time you're at the store, just get it! You won't be sorry. These are so flavorful! I served these over rice and topped with parsley and tzatziki sauce. 10/10 recommend! I think these will be extra good too as we get into fall weather!*sorry I don't have pictures! I've been bad about getting pictures lately because I've been trying to be on my phone less...which is good, actually! Well, that's life right now! I hope to share more posts like this and have a few in mind. If you want to stay up to date on blog posts, the best way to do that is through subscribing to my email list...love my email community!