What’s my “S”? December 8, 2015
Posted by jeneypeney in a little help from my friends, all growed up, in it to gym it, life, return to athleticism, tattoos-day, Uncategorized.add a comment
I have this great idea for a new tattoo. I want to get the outlines of all the states I have lived in together as they are on a map across my thigh; Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, North Dakota, and Minnesota. I also want to put a star on the spot of each town I have called home; Park Forest, Oak Creek, South Bend, Fargo, and Hewitt.
In my mind, this tattoo is badass and would echo those big changes in my life that always seem to be marked by a move.
But in reality, it will show so much more.
It will show the fact I never really found a place to truly call my home. It will show the sad truth that I’ve moved so much that I failed to keep in touch with SO many friends. This tattoo will show the matter of how I’ve never really found my footing in my professional career; I’ve never found my true passion. It will show that I have simply felt lost and alone for well over a decade.
All of this instability and uncertainty came to an epic climax when my mother died and no more than 3 months later my husband and I moved to a town with a population smaller than my high school graduating class. I was truly on the edge of a very long, very destructive downward spiral.
Alas, in the infamous words of my late grandfather, “Things work out.” And work out, things did.
You see, my mother’s passing kick-started a sort of obsession – not so much with health – but with not kicking the bucket. The last thing I wanted was to pass away from a heart attack that I could have prevented before I even turned 55. So when a good friend of mine entered me into a contest for a month of free personal training, I took her up on it. That is when 3S Fitness came into my life and I couldn’t be more grateful.
The 3 “S”s of 3S Fitness are strength, sweat, and soul. There is also an unofficial, invisible “S” – support. But in reality, the “S” that this company provides for ME that is most important is STABILITY. And I’m not just talking the kind that you get from the million and a half minutes of planks my trainer has assigned to me since starting my training program.
I have incredible workouts that I can count on to make me sore everyday (never has peeing or washing my hair been such a challenge) – and a trainer that I know will be with me every step of the way.
After years of depriving myself of foods and obsessing over calories, I have finally developed a healthy and satisfying relationship with food.
I now have a job that I adore. I work from home. I have been granted the opportunity to help women – and men! – grow with fitness and healthy relationships with food. I am ACTUALLY using both of my degrees. I couldn’t have asked for a more rewarding and fulfilling career.
I finally have an incredible group of friends that transcend distance and location. The 3SFitFam is an incredible group of women who will lift you up when you are failing, congratulate your accomplishments, and tell you it’s okay when you really just don’t feel like being a human that day.
So what’s your “S”? I suggest you begin with START.
Sour Milk February 28, 2013
Posted by jeneypeney in bloggers do it best, life.5 comments
“I have tried to do this blogging thing many times before… probably too many times to be proud of. I never fail to sort of putter out and the blog dies with all the honor and bravado of a raccoon attempting to cross the expressway.” – JeneyPeney, January 29th, 2009
Remember when I wrote that in my inaugural post? And included it in my About Me section?
Aaaaaand…. remember when I allowed this blog to do just what I hoped it never would?
Yea. About that.
If I am being honest here, I must say I truly miss blogging. I miss having a creative outlet to exercise my writing skills. Or lack thereof. Whatever.
I miss the all those wonderful connections I made with blogger friends around the world. I miss going about my everyday life and having those, “This is TOTALLY blog-able!” moments.
I miss it.
Although to be fair, I have had plenty of those “Ah-HA!” moments when something so incredible or giggle-worthy or just plain ridiculous happens and the wheels begin to turn. I start to compose the draft in my head and mentally note the quirky and humorous descriptions I could use. Typically, though, these grand ideas end up on Tumblr or abbreviated in a Facebook status update. I have begun to cop-out and sell myself short in the social media world. I actually actively avoid pulling together a blog post and settle for the easy way out.
I hate that I do this.
I want to blog again. I want to write about my life’s shenanigans and my husband’s great one-liners. I want to tell you all about EVERYTHING! Just like I used to do on my little corner of the internet I liked to call my Fish Bowl.
But lately… I found I couldn’t do it.
You see, two years ago I received some serious backlash from a former friend of mine in real life resulting from a post I wrote. The post was just a reflection on some current happenings – much like 99% of my posts. And I wasn’t picking on anyone in particular nor was I trying to start any kind of fight – much like 99% of my posts. The content hit a nerve with this individual, though. And rather than confronting me about it in a mature manner and asking what I meant exactly, they completely flew off the handle, sent me a very passive-aggressive text message, and decided I was personally attacking them in my blog.
This exact moment began the downturn of our relationship as well as the start of my reluctance to blog anymore. That whole scenario left me with this terrible, awful bad taste in my mouth. Much like inadvertently chugging down sour milk without hesitating at the weird smell when you opened the carton.
And now, every time I open up WordPress to blog again, I panic about what I am writing, who is reading it, and how they will perceive the words on their screen. Basically, I take one look at the milk jug, gag, and shut the fridge.
(Not to mention a slew of people at work discovered my blog and I acquired in-laws and this blog isn’t quite as anonymous as it used to be.)
I’ll bet you are beginning to wonder what the point of this post is? Well, I had been thinking about scrapping this blog entirely and starting over. Gutting the whole thing. Completely starting fresh and forgetting this blog ever happened.
Then I read this post by Renee and I realized that was a bit of an overreaction. It’s not like I’m the first blogger in the universe to have a bridge burned because of a post they probably shouldn’t have published. It’s not like I will be the last. After all, the internet is a public domain and you are putting yourself at risk for issues like mine to arise when you display yourself for all to see.
So instead, I have decided to re-vamp my Fish Bowl. I cleaned out the gravel, replaced the filter, and put in fresh water.
I may not blog as often as I used to. My content may not be as ridiculous as it used to be. But I am reclaiming my ground here. This is MY blog and it is MY corner of the interwebs. No more being scared of sour milk and backlash.
“Hello, everyone! My name is Jeney. That’s pronounced more like “Jenny” as in Forrest Gump and less like “Genie” as in Aladdin. Heritage wise, it’s supposed to be pronounced like “Ya-nay” due to being 25% Slovak. However, you can just call me Jen. But please don’t call me Jennifer. (Speaking of… if any of you know Jennifer Lawrence personally, hook a sister up!)
It is very nice to meet you. I hope you enjoy my blog!”