When I stop to think about it, the internet is an amazing place. For me, it's a great source of creative inspiration with so many wonderful blogs and sites like Pinterest . Sites like Facebook provide me with a sense of community and a simple way to stay in touch with friends. While I strive to get fit, I have found motivation and support from friends on Facebook, posters on Pinterest , and tools from Weight Watchers . It's been a true blessing. But sometimes it can be a source of insecurity. Sometimes you can't help but compare yourself to what you see out there. I've caught myself wondering how other bloggers balance the pressures of life, especially motherhood, with building a creative business. How do they find the time to come up with so many projects and blog posts, and take care of their family and home? Or I sometimes wonder why can't I run that fast? Or why is it so much harder for me to lose weight? Etcetera, etcetera, etcetera... If I'm not careful...

This past weekend marked the one year anniversary of running my first 5K . And that first 5K was a wonderful and challenging experience. I had never quite run 3.1 miles before the race, but I had been building myself up using the C25K app . I was fairly confident I could run the full distance, but I still was unsure about how it would go. Based on my training runs, I told my family to watch for me at about 45 minutes. And then I surprised myself and set a personal record (PR) running the entire race in 39:44 minutes (a 12:49 min/mile). And as I wrote about it last year , it was pretty magical. So to mark the anniversary, I ran a 5K in the Whole Foods Running School Family Fun Run . And it was just as wonderful and challenging as my first. As usual, I was fortunate to have my incredibly supportive family with me, but I also had two friends running the 5K with me, as well as others running the 10K and the half marathon. But, for me, Sunday's race was about celebrating my 5K. As my f...

For many years I've struggled with my weight, especially after having my two daughters. I tried countless times to lose weight, using various diets or exercise regimens, but never successfully. Often, I'd find it difficult to maintain changes long enough to see results, so I'd get discouraged and return to my old, bad habits. My emotional eating, my sweet tooth, and my fairly sedentary lifestyle would always get the best of me. But last year, things finally started to shift and change. It happened little by little, but it started happening. For instance, I increased my physical activity last year, first using our elliptical machine while watching television and then switching to running using the Couch to 5K program in May 2011. Being more active didn't come naturally, especially the running, but I did it because I knew something had to change. I needed to get healthy for myself, but also for my girls. I wanted to be an example of how to live life, not an example...

Today was one my first mornings of "freedom" since both my daughters are now in school and it's one of my days off. I can't tell you how excited and anxious I was to have time to get things done without carting a little one around with me. But it was almost too much pressure. I wanted to get so much done that I felt frantic. I felt a bit like our dog Sprinkles racing around the house in excitement with too much energy to contain. I'll admitt, I almost feel the same way as I return to my blog. I have so much I want to share, so much I want to write. In fact, I feel overwhelmed and unsure where to begin. I know the beginning is often a very good place to start, but the beginning is not so easy to pinpoint in life. And life is what I'm looking to share here. I hope to share stories about my life and lessons I'm learning, art and projects that inspire me, adventures I take with and without my family, and my running and weight loss journey. I may not know exac...

I've been absent from the blogging world for a while now. Life has been busy as usual, as I balance work and family and running, etc.. So rather than stress about packing more stuff in and blogging about it, I took a break. I stopped fretting over which way to go in my life (and with my blog) and just enjoyed living my life. I've been trusting myself and the path that I'm on. And an amazing journey it has been. And now I feel refreshed and inspired to write and share. First thing to share is that I'm retuning to my home on the web at By Jen . Earlier this year I moved myself to Simple Reminders because I felt it was a better fit for me, my artwork, and my message. But as much as I still love and believe in the message, I feel my journey has brought me back to me. And nothing is more "me" than By Jen. So it is here at By Jen that I hope to share stories about life, my family, and my new found love of running, as well as my artwork and creative adventures. Bas...