My name is Nina. I’m a wife, mother, teacher and writer.
This is my “Are you there God it’s me Margaret” moment. A space where it feels like you’ve just dug through your sister’s sock drawer and found the diary that contains her deepest thoughts and observations.
So… yeah. If you dig real deep. It could get pretty awkward.
This blog started out as a weight loss blog that turned into an accidental success. Through my self-deprecating humor I won awards, I had expectant readers, and an inbox full of sponsors reaching out to me… and that’s when it stopped feeling authentic.
At the beginning of these archives was a woman going through her second postpartum season and dealing with the subsequent identity crisis that comes with life change. During this time, I was on a journey to find the healthiest me. Through that season of my life I automatically thought health equated to losing baby weight.
I was wrong.
Through my musings over the years I discovered a lot of things…
1. I actually kind of like myself just as I am.
2. Mental health leads to physical health.
3. It’s through your vulnerability that you find your strength.
I wasn’t really looking for attention when I started this blog. I was just a stay at home mom simply looking for a creative outlet. Nobody was supposed to read it in the first place, and I was surprised when it kind of blew up. So, naturally, I quit. I quit writing on my blog and started writing a book instead. To my surprise I found success in that too.
Now, I’m officially an author, and with that comes the terrifying concept of becoming a public figure. Because of this, I was tempted to delete all of the dredges from this dusty old blog of mine. I have an agent and an editor and a marketing team that will help me sell my book. And through that is the pressure to create an image. There’s a lot of pressure in that.
But the more I thought of it, the more I realized that there is no image. No illusion… just truth. That’s how I write. I speak the truth. Because of this, I have ultimately decided to keep this little space of mine. Not really for you, but for me… so I can see where I’ve been because it is the catalyst for where I’m going.
If you plan on reading along, brace yourself. You’re gonna find an embarrassingly honest portrayal of the past and the present as I navigate my way through the different seasons of my life. You see the lows and the highs, the misconceptions and the new perspectives as I explore and process it all.
In other words… you will be watching a never ending coming of age.
Nina in the Now 
Nina, I nominated you today for the Interesting Blog Award. Your story is inspirational. Congrats on the nomination!
The rules for the award include:
1. Thank the person who nominated you.
2. List 5 random facts about yourself.
3. Nominate a minimum of 5 blogs for the award.
4. Answer the 5 questions and Ask the nominees 5 questions of your choice.
5. And finally, let them know you have nominated them.
My questions for you include:
1. How do you handle transitions in life?
2. Do you ever want to retreat into your own world?
3. What do you want to be when you grow up?
4. What is the funniest thing that has ever happened to you?
5. How do you see us ending the horrible suffering in this world?
Congratulations on your journey and positive attitude Nina! I love your story and so happy to see you are making it fun with barefoot bike riding (love the thong joke!) and camp-outs with pizza. It took me 10 years to lose 10 pounds (and I actually gained more in the process) because I never made if fun like you are. But finally, through trial and error I found 10 simple things that made losing weight easy and I’ve been the weight I always wanted to be for more than 15 years now. I’ve set up a weekly lesson to share what I learned and it is FREE because I don’t want anybody to go through what I went through. I’d love it if you had a look at my site: http://www.the10principles.com Thanks so much for putting your story out there! 🙂 Kelly
Hi! I have enjoyed reading your blog and nominated you for the Shine On Award!
http://fitjourney50.wordpress.com/2013/10/06/double-the-fun/
First off, I just want to say I am so happy I stumbled on to your blog. Love the simple design, wonderful writing and of course your humor! I was curious what weight loss blogs you read? I am always on the hunt for inspiration! Thanks so much!
I’m happy you stumbled upon my blog too! It’s funny but the blogs that I mainly follow are centered around food. I tend to gravitate toward blogs where the writers have achieved that balance I’m always striving for. I also love healthy food blogs because I feel like the more I inundate myself with images of healthy whole foods the more likely I am to crave them. A few of my favorite blogs are iowagirleats.com, http://www.skinnytaste.com, pinchofyum.com, and Katheats.com to name a few. Hope that helps with your quest to find inspiration 🙂
Hi Nina, I enjoyed your funny blog!
Reading through your blog was the perfect pick-me-up I needed while feeling lousy about myself for unnecessarily eating my leftover calories last night via mulitgrain tostito rounds, hummus, two dark chocolate covered salted caramels and half of my boyfriend’s icecream sandwich … sigh, I feel gross typing it out. The weight loss journey is such a precarious one; one day you are feeling on top of the world and the next you could be considering cozying up on the floor, next to your pooch because you are convinced he’s the only one who loves you for who you are INSIDE. The trek is relentless as you feel as though you are constantly reaching for the destination yet know you are really never going to get there – but it IS worth it; I think I am having a dog day. If I heard any of my own grade ten English students on a likewise discouraged and melodramatic rant I would look them in the eye and say, get a grip and get to work – you’re not going to be any worse off tomorrow if you try and fail than if you sit around and do nothing. So, I guess that is what I have to do, too. No icecream sandwiches tonight (I will try the apples and greek yogurt instead and probably do 20 extra minutes on the ellipitcal trainer). Thank you for sharing your experience in such an honest and genuine way – it was a refreshing way to enjoy my tea this morning and get some motivation for the rest of my week/month/eternity 🙂 Cheers!
I can’t tell you how much I love this comment… Hopefully you’ll stick around and we can be awesome together!