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Well it’s been a minute, wouldn’t you say? Aside from Crunchy Vegan’s activity on Instagram, it’s been a whole lot of silence over here. Without warning, I took a little hiatus.

Let’s Get Personal

Typically, I don’t include much about my personal life. But that’s about to change. Life has been a whirlwind to say the least; but it’s absolutely propelled me forward—in a good way. There have been some low-points . . . actually, some seriously significant low-points. After 12 years together, I divorced my ex. Yea, that wasn’t the greatest. Then, I learned my mom is fighting an aggressive form of brain cancer.

Heavy.

Just a few years back, huge events like these would have derailed me completely. At this point in my life, however, I feel so fortunate that I had already begun the work to be a stronger, more confident and assured person before the first domino fell. It wasn’t by much, but it was just enough to keep me going.

2018 Was a Hell of a Year!

Enter: 2018, the wildest ride yet. I was still resolving the divorce. I was watching my mom endure her treatment. I sold my home. I moved into an apartment with some strangers when I probably should have opted to live alone. I experienced some incredible thrills while traveling to three separate destinations (or maybe it was four?) in fewer months—which were all wonderful opportunities, but they set me back a bit at work.

With all the distractions in my life, the good habits that I had cultivated through the years—habits which helped me restrain my ADHD tendencies and push myself forward—began to dissolve. I was absentminded at work. I was procrastinating at home. And I went far too long without speaking to friends or family. I just wasn’t here.

It Wasn’t All Bad

Yet, despite the challenges, I have nevertheless been loving my life. I have been putting myself first. Yea, I’ve been a little selfish; but that’s what I needed at this point in my life. I’m making time for yoga, for AntiGravity. I’m eating well (…ish). I’m forcing myself to look at life from new and unfamiliar perspectives. Despite some long gaps in communication, I’ve shared some amazing experiences with my friends and family recently. And I mustn’t forget, I find myself enjoying year two of an absolutely rewarding and loving relationship.

It’s such a drastic change from where I was in my life shortly before the figurative sh*t in the fan.

I’m a Bit Surprised I Survived December

My 2018 was a wild ride, indeed—and December 2018 was probably the wildest yet. My boyfriend and I had talked a bit about moving in together. He wasn’t tied to any lease, but the agreement for my apartment continues until March 31st. But when we found the cutest little apartment, we knew we couldn’t pass up the opportunity. We toured the apartment and got the least the next day. We called a moving company on Monday and the truck was unloading boxes just three days later—all of this during the week before Christmas! And mind you, I had been helping my boyfriend out with his chocolate business which (as you might imagine) gets pretty busy around that time of year!

Yah. Free time? What’s that?

December was absurd.

Fast-Forward: It’s 2019!

Well, it’s now the end of February. Two months after move-in day and I’ve only just finished retrieving boxes from my old apartment. I’ve barely had a moment to think about all my general life responsibilities, let alone Crunchy Vegan. But I finally made the time and, acknowledging what I’ve accomplished these past few months, I’d say my little hiatus has been a truly valuable experience!

During my hiatus, I started going back to Movement Lab (my second home!) more regularly. I’ve been hanging out with friends and family more often. I’ve begun to grow an all-vegan women’s networking collective (check out Vegan Boss Babes). And I’ve been continuing to help my boyfriend with his business—but with a plan now, affording me the structure to assist without losing myself…after all, I have my own business I’m trying to cultivate!

Crunchy Vegan & the Gig Economy

Yep, you read that right! I’m finally thinking about Crunchy Vegan like the business opportunity I’ve always imagined. To be clear, I am utterly in love with my full-time job. I went to school for urban design and planning and I find this line of work so rewarding. And there are few moments in my life when I’ve been prouder than when I had a job offer lined up at one of the best (and my favorite) design firms before graduation day. I love my work family, and can certainly see myself with this company for a lifetime.

That said, I also see the potential to merge the fulfilling work I do in spatial community planning with a gig that let’s me empower individuals and be a bridge for business and organizations to reach their communities through the more social aspect of community planning.

So I spent a little time this February setting my resolutions (who says it has to happen on New Year’s Day!?). And I now have an action plan for turning my dreams into a reality. Beyond goal-setting, I used my hiatus to work on time management and task management; I’ve focused on budgeting (there are so many expenses ahead of me!); and I’ve been a purging-demon getting rid of all the extra junk I own (minimalism, here I come)! I feel very accomplished.

What’s Next for Crunchy Vegan?

I’m cultivating Crunchy Vegan into an honest-to-goodness, bills-paying side hustle! I have a flood of ideas in mind which I know you will find useful—whether you’re an individual trying to get things in your life on track or a business trying to grow.

I’ll be starting by sharing some of my own goal-setting and task management strategies. These have been crucial in getting prepped for my ambitious plans for growing this business, setting my personal budget and savings plan, and just killin’ it at life, generally.

I’ll be creating my own content and products which will be a much needed creative outlet for me. Think along the lines of my Vegan Starter Kit! I’m thrilled and I am SO eager to share new resources! But this dish has to cook just a bit longer, so to speak!

We’re Through with Being ‘Busy’

If you’re wondering what to expect from the growing Crunchy Vegan platform, expect to see some tools and quick-reference guides that will make your life easier. I’m busy. You’re busy. We’re all suffering in a busy epidemic. But that doesn’t mean we have to be busy. And regardless, we should be living our lives with intention and order.

We need to SHOW. UP.

I’m still learning how, myself. So you can expect some more content where I talk about my life in ways that demonstrate how I’ve been effective (or not!) at achieving my goals.

You’ll want to stay in the loop. So I highly suggest signing up for my email list. Join my community and be the first to receive my favorite tools, contents, and insights—landing right in your inbox as soon as they’re available!

And as I work on creating goals-setting and goals-achieving tools, I’d love for you to tell me about your own experiences! In the comments below, tell me what goals you’re working toward and where you’re running into roadblocks. Let’s brainstorm! Won’t it be rewarding to craft a strategy for tackling our goals together?


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