Happy Friday!

First off no I haven’t had the baby and second if you didn’t know we are expecting baby #2 anytime now (currently 38 weeks).

I know I haven’t been blogging as consistently as I once was/would like to and the reality is life is just a bit chaotic right now. Neil started a new job in June which has left him commuting anywhere from 1.5-2.5 hours per day depending on traffic or if he takes public transit. This has been a bit of transition for us all since Neil is now leaving earlier in the morning and arriving home later in the evening. We have settled into a routine but I’ll be glad when we move to our new place and the commute is only 30-60 minutes per day.

That takes me to our next thing we are moving AGAIN. Once again just across town but moving nonetheless which has really taken over most of my days lately. We are trying to get as much as we can packed up before #2 arrives because we both know there will be little time to pack once they do.  This process is also taking a whole lot longer because third trimester + toddler + heat + commuting husband + packing = slow process.  I have a goal to pack 1-5 boxes per day and I’d say at this point we are 80-89% packed right now. If you stopped by you might not think that’s the case but our cupboards and closets are mostly filled with packed boxes and the items that we do have out are things we use on an almost daily basis.

We decided to get a storage unit this week so that we can move out the boxes so that (fingers crossed) our place rents more quickly without the box clutter so that we are not have to deal with too many viewings. Oh the joys of renting. Neil has been bringing boxes out with him every morning and dropping them off on the way to work. This also will help a little bit when it comes to moving in and hopefully not living in a land of boxes for too long. I am hoping to move a number of boxes in and then move less important/used items into the house overtime so that we can hopefully just get all moved and settled in <– our biggest moving problem. Seriously we never seem to get ourselves settled into a home and live out of boxes for months.

What’s next? Oh yeah, I’m 38 weeks pregnant this week and well I’m just ready. Ready for this baby to arrive and to start our life as a family of four. I won’t lie I’m pretty anxious for this baby to come and would like them to come ASAP so that we aren’t moving with a two week old. Alas babies come when they are ready and I don’t think this baby is ready to come yet. I have been getting out for walks, doing lots of squats and lunges, cat/cow, eating spicy food (umm I’m always eating spicy food), drinking raspberry leaf tea and today I’m getting a prenatal massage! I also want to get acupuncture but unfortunately with Neil’s work schedule it’s really hard (rather impossible) to find an appointment time that works, oh well.

Lastly, We have been spending a lot of time doing things as a family of three. Just trying to get out and enjoy the summer and as much time together as we can. We also have been trying to get together with friends because with baby #2 arriving, moving and my parents coming we know that it could be awhile before we are able to make time to get together.

So that’s life right now. What’s been going on in your life lately? 

I am slacking on this hugely! Nicole invited me to participate in this tour and while I agreed I dropped the ball and forgot to post last week. So here I am posting a week late but better late than never?

Total eclipse of the sausage feet. 35w4d prego and still growing.

1. What am I working on?

I am working on growing a baby but that’s not what this post is about. Lately I have been working on getting my affairs in order in preparation for the birth of baby #2. I have a few fun sponsored posts coming up, some products that I’m looking to forward to sharing with you and also a few surprises in between. I have also been working on doing the same thing over on Naturally Family. I feel like I have so much to share and yet life has been really taking over or should I say a toddler + exhaustion has been dominating my life. I feel a big surge of nesting coming on and with that lots of planning and prepping for everything.

2. How does my work differ from others of its genre?

I am not really sure how to answer this question. I think that being an active mom and a health coach gives me a different perspective on life. My blog has certainly changed and evolved over the years from being a specifically vegan recipe blog, to being a vegan food and lifestyle blog, to being a plant-based fitness and healthy living lifestyle blog. While I did blog and still do a bit about pregnancy and family I have chosen to keep that a little more separate and started a second blog before Edith was born called Naturally Family. Now I don’t know if that really answers the question but that’s my story.

3. Why do I write what I do?

I write what I do because I love to. I love writing about health, fitness and food. I love creating recipes and sharing them with others. I also write what I do to keep myself inspired, motivated and on track with my own personal health and fitness goals. I write to (hopefully) inspire. I write to share my life and my favorite things. I write because I need to have an outlet that is specific to my passions and time to myself. I write to connect with others.

4. How does my writing process work?

I have an editorial calendar that I try and keep up with for sponsored posts and time sensitive posts. Otherwise I just write based on what is currently going on in my life. I try to plan as much as I can to keep myself on track but honestly the best posts I write are ones that are not so planned. As for writing I tend to hand write an outline/first draft of my posts and then I type them, work on photographs, edit the posts and photos, schedule social media and then finally schedule posts.

I know it may seem a little strange that I handwrite my blog posts first but honestly it’s the best way for me to organize my thoughts. I have always done this whether for a paper for school or a blog post for me. While you will find me just typing things up (like this current posts) usually my best posts are the ones that I write out by hand first.

So that is a little bit about why I write and my writing style and now is when I am to pass this on to a few other bloggers. Well again I dropped the ball on recruiting and since I am not positive as to who has participated in this tour I am going to switch things up and ask that if you are reading this that you take a moment to answer these four questions on your blog and then come back here and leave a link to your post in the comments. I look forward to reading your answers and learning more about you!