I’m not quite sure how many times you have to tell yourself that you’re back to your old self before you’re actually back to your old self, but I’m determined to continue on that path until I am, in fact, back to my old self.  Back to my blogging self, baking self, yoga self, creative self, call my gramma often self, on-top-of-my-game at work self, giggly friend self, super dank waffle self.

I hopped on a plane to Minneapolis for the Healthy Living Summit and had a hard hope that leaving someone behind that I wasn’t ready to leave was exactly what I needed to get back to that self.  Perhaps a better version of that self.

And although I thought I was getting what I needed out of the weekend, I kept myself too busy to know for sure.  A little too busy to think, but also a little too busy to be social.  I stuck mostly with my roommates, Jessica and Molly, and the rest of the HLS planning team.  I live tweeted sessions that I hadn’t signed up to live tweet.  And I live blogged a session, that I had signed up for, with all my might.  I handed out Just Good Chocolate brownies like nobody’s business (it was easy peasy, they were well received!).  And I topped the weekend off with one of the best dinners I’ve ever attended: 112 Eatery with my very good, but also Just Good Chocolate good, friend Justin and five chocolate loving bloggers (Jessica, Mindy, Alicia, Laura, and Stina).  And before I knew it, it was time to head back to Austin.  Was I ready?

If ready meant exhausted, then yep! I was ready.  I came home and made some mac n cheese, Molly brought over a freshly blended juice concoction, and we watched Stories We Tell (which I LOVED).

Monday was a Monday.

And then the cloud of exhaustion lifted and all of the goodness that happened throughout HLS weekend sunk in.  Big time.

–  Diana’s session “Ride a Bike!” was my absolute favorite.  Even though I was initially interested in this session because I’d like to ride my bike more, especially to/from work, it inspired me in a gazillion other ways, all unexpected.  Diana’s energy and enthusiasm towards the simplest yet biggest things (like life, both simple and big, right?) was empowering.  Her “A Year of Minneapolis Nice” project was too great to be kept only in Minneapolis.  And to over-simplify what happened next, I felt the need to make this happen in Austin.  And I felt the need to convince bloggers in other cities to do the same.  Keep a look out for “A Year of XYZ Nice” projects popping up over the next month or so.  And if you want to be involved, let’s do it!  Email me at ATXnice365 at gmail dot com to get started.

– Jessica & Co.’s session “Self Care” also shifted my mindset.  Everyone knows you should focus on the positive, be the most awesome you that you can be and believe it, and make time to keep your whole self healthy, but we rarely put it into practice.  These girls provided life-changing suggestions at a time I was ready to life-change.  Like… a social media cleanse?  But I need social media to promote the blog I’ve so embarrassingly neglected for months!  I figured that it would be impossible and hobby-destructive to go cold turkey, so I decided to eliminate the avenue I felt was most toxic, Kristin Vrana Facebook.  We’ll see how long that lasts, but it feels pretty darn good at the present time.  I’ve also noticed a difference already in how I treat the previously weak FoodFash Facebook page and how I’d like to utilize this space for sharing music, quotes, and any other things I see fit on a more frequent basis.

– The People!  After three years of HLS-ing, I know that large groups and small talk still make me want to hide behind… anything.  So coming home with a hundred new business cards and new blogger friends like whoa was never on my agenda.  But what was on my agenda was catching up with virtual friends turned real life friends, in real life.  And also stumbling upon a few new faces that I hope to keep in touch with from this point forward.  At the end of the day, these girls wholeheartedly get a piece of me that is seemingly unexplainable to non-blogging folk.  And there’s a sense of cozy that is inherent when in their company.

Post HLS, I (enthusiastically) have a lot on my plate.  I spent the evening buying domain names, re-arranging web hosting, doing laundry, scrubbing the apartment, slurping down lots of green smoothie (spinach, cucumber, peach, ginger), and writing this novel of a post.  And post this HLS post, I’m welcoming the feeling of putting my energy towards the stuff that’s pulling towards me rather than pushing away.