WORK

November is one of my busiest months all year when it comes to work. Besides the usual content that goes out on my blog, in my newsletters, on Instagram and Facebook and Pinterest, I had the most sponsored partnerships that I’ve ever had in one month. It was a GREAT thing but it made for a very busy month, especially since I was traveling the week before Thanksgiving for a wedding in Utah and then hosted Thanksgiving and family for a week right after I got back.

In addition to work, my pregnancy appointments started to get more frequent and more varied as various issues have popped up so in any given week, I’m going to the OB, pelvic floor PT and/or the chiropractor.

All that to say, by the time December 1 rolled around and Black Friday and Cyber Monday were behind me, I felt like I’d been sprinting for weeks. But I got it all done! (Big thanks to my content manager, Hannah, who helped make it happen too!) And thank YOU for supporting by business by shopping with my links and sharing your purchases in IG stories. It truly makes a difference and I’m so grateful.

PREGNANCY

The downside of pushing so hard with work is that I ran myself into the ground and have been sick for six weeks, no exaggeration. First it was an awful cold that lasted over two weeks where I lost my voice (again… that also happened in October with a bunch of work travel). Then I had a fever, body aches and a sore throat for a week. Then, I got the stomach bug. And I developed severe insomnia in the midst of all of it so most nights I don’t fall asleep until 2 or 3 am and there have been multiple nights where I didn’t sleep at all. Like, zero minutes of sleep.

It’s been rough, to say the least. I’m trying so hard to be grateful and soak in these last few weeks of pregnancy, but I’m worn out. I think my immune system is just shot and my pregnancy insomnia and restless legs have gotten worse as time as gone on. (And I’ve tried everything for it, including multiple types of magnesium, benadryl, unisom, tart cherry juice, epsom salt baths, and prescription sleep aids, to no avail. Gosh, I miss my CBD sleep gummies!)

I feel like I’ve been sick for a solid year since my fertility treatments made me sick for 5 months before I even got pregnant, and then I had nausea the entire first and second trimester since I was still on progesterone shots. Then, once I got into my third trimester, I got sick from all the seasonal stuff going around. And I’m just sick of being sick.

Our baby boy is currently breech and I’ve been seeing a chiropractor trained in Webster for months but no luck yet. I’m trying moxibustion with a acupuncturist on Thursday and then I have an ECV scheduled next week. I’m really hoping to avoid a c-section but if the baby wants to be breech, there must be a reason. (He’s been breech for months…)

Like I shared in this IG post, I’m SO grateful that I am pregnant after such a tough journey to get to this point, even though it’s not been nearly as easy of a pregnancy as my first. I feel like I’m complaining about this pregnancy, but I want to share the reality that it’s been HARD. So if you’re pregnant and it’s feeling rough on multiple levels, know that I understand and empathize. You can be grateful and struggling at the same time – two things can be true at once!

TRAVEL

Since I got back from Utah, the only travel I’ve had are trips to Boone for some family holiday things. Usually that’s very easy since we have our own place there, but my insomnia was worse when we were there so it wasn’t ideal.

Since I’m 36 weeks, I don’t have any other travel scheduled but gosh, I could really go for a beach trip. Maybe I’ll be brave and take a newborn on a warm-weather getaway in February. It hasn’t been too cold here (thankfully) but the last few years, Tommy and I have booked warm trips in January (we went Dominica last year) and I’m bummed we can’t make a warm-weather trip happen this year. And we didn’t get a babymoon in either. I’m glad I’m having the baby after the holidays, but it makes it easy to lose track of time.

Case in point: I still don’t have my hospital bag packed and I thought I was going into labor last week and starting putting things in a bag at midnight one night. Thankfully the contractions stopped, but I HAVE to get my bag packed this week (here’s what I’m packing in my hospital bag) and figure out where our diapers and newborn clothes are. Oh, and figure out how to use the Halo bassinet (a hand me down from a friend).

It’s a very different experience with a second child and also when it’s not 2020. With Thomas, not much was happening given the dumb C*vid crap that shut everything down, and I had more time to prep and plan since I didn’t have a toddler. It’s so different this time but hopefully that means the newborn phase will feel a little easier and more laid back, like the prepping (or lack thereof) has been.

LIFE

We have been working to furnish and decorate our house with Roux MacNeill Studios for about six months and a lot of new furniture arrived in the last two months so that’s been fun! We also got some window treatments that I was really hesitant about but I love them now. And we’re ordering some things for the nursery too. It’s nice for our house to finally start to feel put together.

Now that the house is coming together, I really want to work on getting some landscaping done since the exterior of our house could really use some work, but maybe tackling that right when we have a newborn isn’t the smartest time. We’ll see.

Our church recently moved into a new building that’s much bigger and it’s a bit surreal to see how quickly it’s grown, but I’m so grateful to finally have a church in Winston-Salem I love. The community there has become a large part of our life and I never saw myself as being a community group leader and hosting a group each week, but I’m so grateful for that group of people.

Alright, I’m off to go on a walk! I’m trying to get outside and walk more often (and hoping it helps my little babe flip from his breech position!).

The post Letter from TeriLyn – December 2023 appeared first on TeriLyn Adams.

LIFE

October was a month of celebrations! Right after I got home from Dallas for LTK Con, we celebrated our wedding anniversary… but we were both so sick we didn’t do anything! (You can see our wedding video in this blog post if you’re interested! Or a condensed version here.) We did get to have a date night a few weeks later, so that was nice!

A few days later, we celebrated Thomas’ 3rd birthday with a lowkey pizza party with family and friends! And then we also took him for his first haircut. And it’s nuts, but he seems like he already needs another haircut!!

Mid-month, Hannah came into town to take our maternity photos/family photos and I can’t wait to see more of them! (You can see a sneak peek here.) Thomas was NOT in the mood and he refused to release his vise grip on his Nerf gun, so the photos definitely captured this current stage of life.

Then, at the end of the month, we went to Boone for Tommy’s 20th high school reunion. I knew some people there and met lots of other really love people so that was fun. We had a super short trip, but packed in a lot in less than 48 hours. I shared in August that we are no longer looking at moving to Boone (after working towards that goal for over a year) and I was really content with being in Winston once we made the decision to be HERE and was enjoying it more.

But… everytime I go back to Boone, I want to live there. We looked at a lot and a house and loved both, so maybe if the Lord opens the door on either one (both of which would be long shots), we’ll reconsider. We really do feel like the Lord has repeatedly closed the door to moving there and brought things into our life in Winston to help us enjoy it more here, so if that ever changes, I think we’ll know. And, in the meantime, I’ll enjoy the warmer weather in Winston! (It’s in the 20s in Boone today vs 50s here!)

We wrapped up the month with trick-or-treating and it was seriously the cutest thing. I wasn’t sure Thomas would really get it but he did 100% and had the time of his life. And we love our neighborhood – it was just the sweetest, most perfect night.

Pregnancy

I cannot believe I’m over 6 months along! I entered my 3rd trimester this week and am currently 27 weeks along. I have dealt with crushing fatigue the entire pregnancy, which was made worse by being on progesterone shots the entire time.

Every time they’ve tried to take me off PIO, my levels dropped so I’ve had to go back on it. I’ve been off it for two weeks and it’s crazy how much more energy I have. I’m so thankful. But, as soon as I went off it, my all-day nausea returned and I was throwing up daily for two weeks. So… I traded fatigue for nausea. But I think I’d still choose the nausea over the fatigue.

I got bloodwork done again on Monday so I’m anxiously waiting to see if I get to stay off the PIO shots or if I’ll need to resume them.

I finally found the newborn diapers I had purchased for the Target nursery campaign earlier in the summer and Bree has been helping me dig the newborn clothes out of our storage bins. So now I just need to get a bassinet. I would like to have the nursery cleaned out (it’s currently a dumping ground for art we haven’t hung and items I need to consign) and I’d like to have a new glider but we’ll be fine if that’s not all done by the time the baby comes.

Yes, I have three more months but I have travel in November and then am hosting family for a week… and then December is always craziness, as we all know. Then, the baby could actually come early in January. So I’m trying to knock out little things each week. I definitely have had spurts of nesting where I’ve been organizing like crazy (I started an Amazon list all my favorites for cleaning and organizing!).

WORK

The first week of October wrapped up two weeks of work travel and the first four days of October, I was in Dallas for LTK Con. This year I actually knew some people going into it (last year, I knew NO ONE) and it was fun to see friends and talk business with people who understand my job. Unfortunately, I was sick the whole time I was traveling (or maybe allergies or pregnancy congestion? I don’t know) but when I came home, Thomas gave me whatever sickness HE had and I had an awful cough for another week and a half. But, I’m finally on the mend!

October is typically one of my busiest month’s work-wise, but this year, it seems like September and November are busier, at least in terms of sponsored content. But the fun part about that is that I was finally able to work on a project I’d wanted to for a long time – teaching people how to grow and monetize their online presence.

At least 3-4 times a month for the last 10 years, I get asked if I can meet someone (sometimes a friend, sometimes a random stranger) so they could “pick my brain” about blogging/influencing/making money online. While it’s flattering that people want to learn from me, I simply don’t have enough time or bandwidth in my week to meet everyone who asks for an hour or two to share what I’ve learned over the last two decades.

And I’ve always felt like I could provide more value in a conversation vs. a course that’s recorded in advance since things change rapidly in the online world and everyone’s situation is different. So, I decided to host live zoom calls and I’ve LOVED it. I’ve done two of the three calls and based on the post-call surveys, 100% of participants are learning and finding value in what I’m sharing, which is fantastic.

I’ve learned over the last couple of years that I do my business differently from almost any other influencer you follow; attending the Amazon Creator Summit and LTK Con and talking with dozens of women about how they monetize their business confirmed that. My approach to making money is more sustainable for the long-term and more passive.

I’ve been blogging and an influencer for almost 20 years, which is so hard to believe. I also managed social media strategy for two of the largest banks in the country (including Wells Fargo) for over a decade. I know how to build a strategy vs. getting lucky and blowing up on tiktok. My approach is something you can learn and implement and that’s what I’ve been sharing in the live classes. I may do another round of classes before the baby comes if there is enough interest, so get on the waitlist if you’d like me to host these again.

—

Alright, I’ve got to run to relieve our babysitter! I hired someone to come on an afternoon that our nanny doesn’t work so I could get a little caught up on work. So naturally, I ignored all my emails and worked on this instead.

The post Letter from TeriLyn – October 2023 appeared first on TeriLyn Adams.

FAMILY

I celebrated my birthday in September with a surprise party! I honestly had no idea. We had made plans to hang out with our good friends that night but when we showed up at The Mulberry Table and I saw one of our go-to babysitters, I knew something was going on. Then, I saw my brother’s family and all my church friends and all their kids and was so happy!! I had joked that I was secretly hoping Greg would cook dinner when we hung out that night and he did cook dinner – for EVERYONE. And Morgan is the ultimate party planner so it was pure perfection. I felt so loved and so grateful.

On a not so happy note, my brother was in an accident at a rodeo in Utah last month, which was really scary. He’ll need pretty extensive knee surgery but, all things considered, it could have been a LOT worse. But, thankfully I got to see him at the end of the month when I visited Utah in between my time in San Diego and Dallas. And he’s really the most positive, upbeat person I know and, per usual, he had a smile on his face when I saw him.

WORK

I went to San Diego at the end of September for the Amazon Creator Summit and then stopped in Utah for a few days to see my family before heading to Dallas for the LTK conference. It just made more sense to do that than to fly all the way back to NC for just a couple days, and it’s always nice to see my family since I don’t get to often. I was also invited to attend a Beautycounter trip in Banff, Canada, which would have been incredible, but to get from San Diego to Banff was a major haul and just didn’t make sense to do that for 2 days (especially pregnant!).

I was honestly shocked I got invited to the Amazon Creator Summit since I hadn’t really done much with Amazon influencer program until the last 6-8 months. But I’ve really enjoyed creating Amazon content since I shop so often there myself. (Here’s my Amazon Storefront.) And it’s something that has resonated with my followers too as I’ve shared weekly Amazon finds, and I am always really happy when my content helps others!

LTK Con was also a great experience, especially since I had friends this year. I didn’t know anyone last year and this year, I had a great group of friends and also knew people from the brands who were there. I actually met the Victoria Emerson team and Colleen Rothschild team at LTK Con last year and they became great partners to work with over the last year. I’d used both brands before then, but having that in-person interaction makes such a difference in working with companies.

It’s cliche and perhaps cheesy, but I have these opportunities because of YOU. Both conferences are invitation-only and they really do help my business in so many ways, and I get invited because you support by business by shopping through my links. I’m truly so grateful so thank you for reading my blog, for opening my newsletters, for following me on Instagram, for shopping in the LTK app, and for using my Amazon Storefront. It makes such a difference and there isn’t a day that goes by that I take it for granted that this is my job. I love it!

(All my outfits are linked in the LTK app!)

PREGNANCY

I’m 23 weeks along now, which is crazy. I told Tommy last night that we really need to start to get the nursery pulled together. The baby will sleep in our room for a while, but I know I’ll use the nursery for breastfeeding, changing diapers, and all the other things I’ve forgotten go along with the newborn phase so I want to have it at least cleared out of all the stuff that’s in there now. We haven’t bought a single thing but I at least have a registry for our second baby started. And I HAVE picked out the glider I want!

I’m still doing PIO shots, twice a week, which I don’t love but it’s better than the daily shots I did for the first 16 weeks. And we have another ultrasound on Monday which I’m excited about. At the first ultrasound, everything looked fine but they couldn’t get a shot of the spine, so they’re doing another one.

I keep getting asked if I plan to share the gender, and honestly, I don’t know. For so long, I was so nervous that something would go wrong (something I think is common with moms who have struggled with infertility), and even though things are looking good, I still just hesitate to share. But, if at some point that feeling goes away and I’m excited to share the gender, I will!

The post Letter from TeriLyn – September 2023 appeared first on TeriLyn Adams.

FAMILY

On August 1, our dear friend Andy Jump passed away suddenly while on a run. He was 38 years old. Andy meant so much to both Tommy and me. He was our Community Group leader, along with his awesome wife Kathryn. I don’t have an easy time sharing my faith or sharing some hard things I’ve been through in life, but I always felt safe sharing anything under their leadership.

I was on a work call when I saw I had a missed call from my friend Margy, who is also in our community group. Margy doesn’t call me often so I called her back as soon as I could, since I was worried something may have happened with Tommy. (Margy’s husband and Tommy get lunch together somewhat often.) When I called her, she told me that Andy had collapsed while running and the paramedics were there and that we needed to pray. My first thought was, “It’s going to be okay. Things like this always are.”

But the more people I talked to in our community group and the more updates we got, the more I realized that it wasn’t going to be okay. I was at the tire shop picking up my car when I got the call that Andy hadn’t made it. It’s been a month and I still feel the gut punch I felt when I first got the news and I’m crying while writing this. It’s hard for me to believe that someone so vibrant and just so full of life that I looked up to so much was suddenly gone. It feels so unfair, for so many reasons.

I know everyone says, “He was one of the best people I ever knew” after losing someone close to them, but it’s the honest truth with Andy and I know everyone who met him would say the same thing. I have never met anyone who so fully integrated his faith and love of the gospel into everything he did and made me want to do the same. I want the kind of faith he had – so bold, so confident and so SURE.

The impact he had on me and Tommy in such a short period is profound. While we were the same age, I looked up to him in so many ways. The way he stood up for and shared what he believed, no matter the impact, even in a work setting. I admired the way his brain worked – he was brilliant, yes, but also incredibly thoughtful. He was so passionate, joyful and truly excited about the things he loved – the Lord, his family, his hobbies.

I will miss his questions. I will miss him yelling “ADAMS!!!” every time he saw our little family. I will miss him asking me about being an influencer and the type of data I provide to brands. I will miss our shared love of spreadsheets. I will miss his lattes and that he’d help me practice making my own every time I was at this house, even if I was terrified I’d break his machine. I will miss the way he led Bold Prayer nights, even if they made me so uncomfortable at first. I will miss his reaction to any good news — whether small or significant: “LET’S GO!!”

Andy is missed so so much. Our pastor Kyle said it best at our first group meeting the day after he passed: “I pray I can be the person Andy thought I was.”

I think the one blessing I felt from his passing is that it made it crystal clear to both Tommy and me that we need to stay in Winston. We’re not looking at moving to Boone anymore because we want to be with our church family. We are so incredibly blessed to be part of a group that’s so close and leaving them was one of our biggest hesitations leaving Winston and now we know for sure that we need to be here.

(I’m so thankful for SO many of you who donated to his GoFundMe page to help with his boy’s education. I recognized a lot of your names… thank you so much. It means a lot to me and I know his wife Kathryn has been overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and support from complete strangers.)

At the end of August, I got a text from my mom that my brother, Tony, had been in an accident while volunteering at a Bulls Only rodeo event. He was working the gate and a bull got away from where he was being corralled at the other end of the arena and charged at Tony. He tried to get up the gate and out of the way, but wasn’t fast enough and the bull smashed into him and then threw him in the air. It’s an absolutely miracle that he seems to only have damage done in his knee, which should heal just fine.

Needless to say, it’s been a month full of prayers.

WORK

August was a bit of a blur with work, honestly. I was supposed to be in Charlotte Wednesday through Sunday for a Beautycounter leadership conference, but I obviously cancelled so I could be with my church family, help with some funeral luncheon things and attend the funeral on Friday, but cancelling that trip had its own logistics to work through. I ended up driving down and back on Saturday since I wanted to see so many women on my Beautycounter team who had flown in for the conference and because I was being recognized for a couple awards. It was good for my heart to see friends but I just wasn’t in the mindset for work mode.

Then, the second week of August, our nanny was in Brazil for a mission trip so we went up to Boone, but we ended up driving back to Winston for a couple days so we could be with our Community Group. And then we all got sick.

Then next week, I started to play catch-up with work, but our nanny started back with school so her work scheduled changed. So I’ve been adjusting to that new routine and then next week Thomas starts preschool, which will be another adjustment. I’ve been trying to soak up extra time with him before that starts too!

I’ll have some work travel in September and October. I got invited to the Amazon Creator Summit, which I was honestly shocked by! And I got invited to LTK Con again and I got nominated for an award again, which I was also shocked by!!!! Both of these invitations are because YOU shop through my links so thank you thank you thank you! These conferences will be so helpful for my business so I’m really thankful for your support that gives me these opportunities.

I also earned a trip to Banff with Beautycounter, but I won’t be able to attend that given the timing of the Amazon Summit and LTK Con. All three trips are work related and all three are amazing opportunities, but the Beautycounter trip is more play (which is amazing) and the other two feel more important from a strategic perspective. I’m SO BUMMED I can’t go to Banff!! Just an excuse to have my travel agent plan a trip for me another time.

PREGNANCY

I’m almost 18 weeks along at the time of drafting this! The nausea has pretty much subsided, thankfully. And I’m able to eat a little more variety (except still NO CHICKEN). And I definitely have a little bump showing which is cute! I was getting nervous I wasn’t showing yet since everyone said I’d start to show sooner with a second but I didn’t. And I swear my core is just so much stronger this go around since I started Pilates that my core held things tighter for a while.

I switched OBs for this pregnancy and have been SO happy with a smaller practice. I loved my primary OB at my last clinic, but I didn’t like rotating through so many doctors, which they have you do during pregnancy. This new practice feels so personal and every doctor and nurse I’ve met with has been fantastic and thorough. Given my history with infertility, they’ve been monitoring my hormones closely and decided to put me back on PIO injections (progesterone in oil). I was doing 1/2 mL everyday when I was under the care of my reproductive endocrinologist and now I’m doing 2 mL twice a week.

The good news is that the shots are less often, but the bad news is that I’m ABSOLUTELY exhausted since going back on PIO. I was really looking forward to a burst of energy in the second trimester but that hasn’t happened. Probably because I have a toddler. Probably because I’m almost 39 and pregnant. Probably because of the PIO. Probably all of it. But that’s okay… it’ll all be worth it!

Alright, I’ll wrap it up!! This letter felt a little bit of a downer, but I’m feeling hopeful about the future and grateful for the many blessings in my life because there truly is so much to be grateful for – an awesome family, an amazing church, close friends and an incredible career and team.

The post Letter from TeriLyn – August 2023 appeared first on TeriLyn Adams.

FAMILY

The biggest news on the family front is that I’m pregnant! I first shared the news on Instagram and I wanted to share a few more details here. I’ll also write a detailed post like I’ve done for the last few months about my fertility treatments and how we got to this point in case you are are walking through similar shoes. It’s been such a journey to get here and honestly, I have a hard time believing I am actually pregnant. While I hate that I’ve been sicker this pregnancy, it is somewhat reassuring.

We did an embryo transfer the week of May 15 and then had two sets of bloodwork the following week. For the second test, I was in Utah so I had to go to the local hospital for the test and they sent the results to my doctor. After we got a second test, showing that my HCG had more than doubled, I actually believed I was pregnant. Before that, I was convinced it hadn’t worked and cried everyday. It was such a huge relief that day and a few days later, I shared with my family that I was pregnant.

I knew it was early to share but it’s so rare that I’m together with my entire family (it’d been two years since I’d been home before this trip) and I really wanted to tell them in person. And, if something does go wrong with this pregnancy, I wouldn’t keep that a secret since I’ll want love and support.

I started to write some details on my pregnancy — how I’m feeling physically and emotionally — but it was getting long so I’ll put that in a separate post. Also, I know that reading about other women’s pregnancies when you are trying to conceive can be really hard, so I want to separate those details out for anyone who doesn’t want to read them.

WORK

June was relatively mundane on the work front, mostly because I was traveling so much and couldn’t really make big progress on anything! But it’s nice to have my business in a place that I can step away and things still run – in HUGE part, thanks to Hannah. (Now, on the other hand, when she is out of town, things fall through the cracks. But I’m doing my best while she is in Mexico on a well-deserved vacation!)

I did get a last-minute partnership with Walmart in June and that was exciting! They have such great fashion finds (if you can snag them before they sell out) and it was fun to find some pieces for the 4th of July. I’m actually wearing this top from Walmart as I type this. So many of their pieces become some of my favorites since I don’t stress as much if a $22 top gets stained vs. one of my more splurge-worthy tops from Tuckernuck.

I also got invited back to the LTK Conference which was so fun last year and truly helpful for my business. I made so many amazing contacts. I also got nominated for an LTK award again, which I was so shocked by and so excited!! Last year, I was a “Rising Star” in the Family category and this year I’m nominated as an “All Star”.

I am SO thankful for all of you who follow me on LTK and use my links to shop since that is what they look at for this recognition, which helps me get new brand partnerships and honestly, just feels so good to be recognized for our work. Hannah does SO MUCH WORK on LTK and I so wish she could go to the conference with me! She also deserves an award, but like everyday, because she is the true all star behind the blog!

TRAVEL

I traveled home from Utah after a 10 day trip over Memorial Day weekend and into early June. Then a week later, we went to Boone for Father’s Day weekend. Then, the next weekend, I went to the beach to meet a friend and her family who were visiting from Utah. And then, we were back in Boone for the 4th of July weekend. I used to travel regularly and cross-country for work and now after a month of four trips (with only one involving flying), I’m wiped. I’m excited for a full month at home before I head to Charlotte for a leadership conference as part of my work as a Beautycounter consultant.

Utah was seriously my favorite trip that I’ve had in years. Memorial Day is a big deal in my family and I hadn’t been home for Memorial Day in five years. Every year growing up, I went to Vernal and Neola with my family (which is 3 hours from Salt Lake City and pretty darn remote). We visited the cemeteries where my dad’s family is buried and, for 50+ years, the honor guard has done a short service. It’s incredibly moving to see these men — some who move very slowly as they’ve aged — wake up early to come honor those who served our country. It’s a good reminder about what the holiday is all about and to not take our freedoms for granted.

I’m excited for Thomas to make memories with his cousins in a place that is so special to me and where I also made great memories with extended family. My plan is to try to go every year on Memorial Day weekend now.

Alright, that’s probably enough for today! I hope you have a great weekend ahead!

The post Letter from TeriLyn: June 2023 appeared first on TeriLyn Adams.

I didn’t get to writing the April letter and we’re halfway through May, so I figured I would just combine April and May into one letter!  (If you’re new here, I do monthly Letters from TeriLyn with a little bit of personal updates and some behind-the-scenes work talk. It’s what I’d tell a friend if we sat down to get coffee and catch up.)

Letter from TeriLyn: April/May 2023

Work 

I’m currently sitting at the fertility clinic and typing away on my Bluetooth keyboard which has been a game changer for working when I don’t want to lug my laptop around. I keep it in my favorite Amazon tote – it’s lightweight and not too big and so convenient for working, writing, replying to texts and DMs. 

One thing we’ve noticed since my blog rebrand is that my newsletter list size is declining. It was growing rapidly before and now it’s not. What Hannah and I both think is that the previous email pop-up forms were so hard to close that people just signed up to get the dang things to go away! So maybe we’re getting fewer people joining the email list, but I’m guessing it’s people that are truly interested and not just dropping their email address (or a fake one) to get past that. 

On the Instagram front

They announced that they recently changed the algorithm to not push reels so hard. It’s refreshing since reels are a LOT of work, and sometimes a photo conveys what I want to show better, AND it was annoying to feel like I “should” do a reel. I think reels are usually best for makeup, but sometimes a photo is sufficient for an outfit. Other times a reel is good to really show and explain a top or dress. But I really love having photos with Thomas. So, it’s nice to just be able to think through what format will provide the most value or convey my point the best, rather than forcing an idea into a reel.

I’ve also started using ManyChat, which is what allows you to comment a specific word on my Instagram posts, and then you automatically get a DM with the link to whatever I’m sharing. I’m still figuring it out, and I hope it’s been helpful for you and made it easier to shop! If you run into any bugs, let me know! You can comment the word “DRESS” on this Instagram post to see how it works.

On the sponsored content front

I got to work with a new brand that I’ve loved for a while — Mejuri— on some sponsored Instagram content so that was really exciting! If you read My Everyday Jewelry blog post, you may recognize the brand name. Or maybe you’re already a Mejuri fan!

And I was recently invited to speak at a Beautycounter HQ virtual event about how I got started as a Beautycounter Consultant and what contributed to my success with the company. It was fun to think back about my journey since it impacted so much of my personal and professional life! I’ll share the recording with my email list when I get it.

Family 

Thomas got pretty sick last week with a 102.4 degree fever. It was pitiful. He was taking 3+ hours naps and going to bed early and waking up late, but he’s back on the mend. 

In the last month, he must have had a major development leap because he is talking so much more and stringing words together into sentences rather than just saying one word. It’s so sweet and so funny. He’s also been incredibly stubborn and defiant… doing things he knows he shouldn’t and then smiling at me. Oh toddlers…

Travel 

I finally booked my trip to Utah and we fly out next week. We’ll land in Utah and then the next day, drive 3 hours to Vernal, Utah, which is where my brother lives and where my dad and his family is from. My brother has cattle and horses and tons of tractors, so I know Thomas will be in heaven. 

I’m staying a few days longer than Tommy so I have extra time with friends and family (much needed since I haven’t been home in 2 years) and my nanny, Bree, is going to fly out to meet me for a few days… mostly so I have someone to fly back with me. We’ll also be able to take some photos and film a bit (she does most of my photography and filming for YouTube and @therookierunner).

We also spent the last two weekends in Boone, which was really nice. I ran my favorite trails in Blowing Rock a few times and also relaxed a lot. We got together with friends and family, and even ran into a few friends who were up in the mountains looking for vacation houses so that was fun. I still feel strongly that we’ll eventually move to Boone, and it’s hard to be patient in the meantime, waiting for God’s timing. But I just have to lean into all the things I love about Winston-Salem – my brother’s family, my friends, our church, and easy access to running. (I can run right from my house vs. in Boone, I always have to drive somewhere to start a run.)

Fertility 

After my last update where we’d tried Gonal F for my latest FET protocol and wanted an appointment with the doctor but couldn’t get one, I was encouraged by so many people who said to absolutely call the doctor after hours. Someone suggested texting him to schedule a call so that’s what I did. I texted him on a Friday night and we planned to talk on Saturday around 11.

We had a great conversation and we even changed our plan based on what we discussed. I asked about going off medication for a bit to see what my baseline looks like (rather than going right into another round of medication and doing PRP), which was — again — another recommendation from a blog reader. My doctor was very supportive of that. I’m back on medication now, but it was so nice to have a break from meds. I felt so much more normal, emotionally, and my body felt so much better, physically. 

My doctor also asked if I am perimenopausal, which I’ve suspected for a long time and is part of the reason I wanted to do a natural cycle. I’m currently sitting at the doctor right now to determine next steps. I’ve heard two different couples say that they drove two hours to get here, and I’m so thankful that we have access to a top notch clinic 10 minutes from our house. So, even if I get annoyed with the way things are run from time to time, I still believe this practice where we are supposed to be. 

I’m so grateful that I have this job that I do…

Blogging has helped me build the biggest group of supportive girlfriends online (some whom I’ve never met and likely won’t ever get to), and it’s amazing to me how many women have reached out and offered suggestions, told me they’re praying for me and offered encouragement and thanking me for sharing about fertility challenges.

I feel like I have access to so much first-hand experience and a huge combined wealth of knowledge. I don’t take that for granted, so I’m truly grateful you are here, reading. And I don’t know how to repay the love for all the support I get, but I really hope my blog is a bright spot in your day and somewhere you can go for a little mid-day pickup.

The post Letter from TeriLyn: April/May 2023 appeared first on TeriLyn Adams.

It’s kind of fitting that the first new blog post to hit the brand new blog is a Letter since that’s really how my blogging journey started almost years ago — by writing about my life and everything that I was going through…family, work, school, fitness, hardships and more. I’ll wax nostalgic in an upcoming post, but for now, let me just say thank you. Thank you so much for being here and especially thank you to those who have been here for so long. It means more than you know.

Letter from TeriLyn – March 2023

March was a weird and hard month. We got more bad news on the fertility front, Thomas got sick, I started new meds that have made sleep really difficult, and then the one thing I was looking forward to all month turned into a disaster. I kept putting off this letter because I didn’t really want to be a downer (since I’ve felt like I have been the last few months), but it’s just a hard period of life right now. But, there were a few exciting things that happened too so I have to celebrate wins when I can. 

I asked Bree (who is our nanny and who also manages my YouTube and Rookie Runner instagram account) what to write about when I feel like I’m in a bit of a funk and she suggested focusing less on specific updates, but more about what I’m learning right now and I loved that idea. So, there’s a little section about that too.

Family 

Tommy’s birthday is in March, as is his brother’s and his dad’s. It was a milestone birthday for my father-in-law so my sister-in-law planned a big party to celebrate him in Pinehurst at the end of March and I looked forward to it all month. I love Pinehurst — the running and the golf are both awesome — and I love my in-laws so it was a perfect combo.

But it turned into a disaster… Thomas got sick and started steroids the day we left for Pinehurst and he wouldn’t sleep or nap.

I was at the house alone the first day while everyone golfed and Thomas was being so so so hard. (And then my brother-in-law’s 13 year old dog got out — Thomas opened the front door while I was in the bathroom — and Luna ran away and I was hysterically sobbing, thinking she was gone forever… I did find her but then she came inside and promptly peed on the floor while I had a screaming, overtired toddler on hand.)

So I decided I didn’t want to have another night where he was up until midnight and back up at 6am like the first night (and I didn’t fall asleep until around 2 that night) so I took Thomas home. I had plans to come back the next day but he was still not feeling well, so I stayed in Winston with him rather than going back. 

I was honestly so sad and felt really lonely to miss out on things but I knew he needed to rest to get better.

And I was not doing well myself. The new fertility meds I’m on make me very anxious and depressed and are triggering some of the same symptoms I struggled with when I had severe postpartum anxiety and depression. So to miss out on something I was excited about and then to be alone while everyone else was on vacation just felt like a punch in the gut. But, that’s motherhood I suppose. 

Fertility

I’ll share a quick update today since I’ll write a detailed blog post soon, but in short, the previous medication I was on wasn’t working so we started a new one this month. And I found out last week that the new one isn’t working either, even after increasing my dose. (We tested after the first few days on the new meds and it was having no impact.) As I’m writing this, I’m still waiting for the nurses to call with an update on my bloodwork to help us decide the next steps for the next few days.

I still have appointments every few days which makes it hard to make any plans and to take any sort of vacation or just regular life and honestly I just need a break. If the new medication isn’t working and we need to change courses, I’m planning to take a month off so I can go home to see my family in Utah and maybe take a beach trip. I’m just fried, frustrated and sad and a month of freedom from it all would be very welcome. 

Work 

March was a BIG month because we got ready to launch my new website on which you are now reading this! I had wanted to rebrand for years (more details in an upcoming post about why) but it seemed so overwhelming to not only find a designer, but a developer who could bring to life what I was envisioning and handle the migration of 14 years of content and over 1400 posts. I interviewed a few different companies and when I met with Studio 9 and Made to Thrive, I knew I’d found my team.

Hannah, per usual, has been truly incredible. So much of the dirty work falls to her to get the site ready — checking a million links, manually updating hundreds of photos, adding products and categories to the Shop page, setting up our email list, and countless other things. I honestly can’t imagine my business without her and I’m beyond blessed to have her on my team.

Travel

I’m trying to figure out when to go to Utah since I haven’t been home in two years. Bree is off from May 3-10 so it kind of makes sense to go then, but Memorial Day weekend is also an important holiday in my family and everyone is together in the Vernal area and visits multiple family graveyards. I love the idea of being there for that, since I haven’t been home for Memorial Day in 6 years, but I also know Thomas won’t remember it. So maybe it’s better to wait until he’s a little older. It’s not easy to get to Vernal and Neola (it’s 3 hours from my parents house) so it’d be a LOT to fly out there and then drive out to the Uintas.

I need to decide soon though.

I could fly into Vernal (but that requires a layover), and then I’d have to figure out car seats and baby gear in a really remote area unless my mom was able to meet us out there early to get us from that airport. (In the past, I’ve rented items from BabyQuip and there are a million options to rent in SLC and I really don’t want to fly with my own stuff.) Or, I could fly back to NC from Vernal, but the thought of flying alone back with a toddler and a layover terrifies me. (I already have flight anxiety as it is and I don’t take my medication when I’m flying with Thomas and Tommy can’t stay in Utah for the whole trip so I’ll be flying solo at least one way.)

As I’m writing this, it’s probably simplest to not attempt Memorial Day this year and go for the easier Utah option of just going for a regular week and spending time in SLC, but I know Thomas would LOVE my brother’s house in Vernal (he’s a literal cowboy).

There are so many variables and I’m paralyzed by options. You can probably gather my brain is just spinning on the topic while writing. Eek.

Okay, enough about all that, let’s get into some things I’m learning!

What I’m learning

Patience and Letting Go

Well, I wouldn’t exactly say I’m learning these, but I’m being reminded of their importance. I have very little control over how my body responds to the fertility medication and since I really like knowing every if/then what scenario, the unknown with treatments is really hard for me. I also feel like I’m failing in some way, and I know that’s unfair and untrue, so I have to try to let go of that emotion too.

Gutenberg

My blog has been on WordPress from the very beginning but I only switched to Gutenberg (which is the most recent editing platform) and while it’s more visually appealing, it’s very different from the HTML editor I used in the past. This old school blogger has to learn new tricks right now, but it’s been nice since this business can feel a bit like a hamster wheel for doing it for well over a decade.

SEO

I also really want to learn more about SEO. There is so much opportunity there and while I have a great team I’ve hired for that, I’d like to be more self sufficient so I can go down some deep rabbit holes since I find it very interesting. But SEO is a huge beast to learn and I know just enough to be dangerous but not enough to be truly effective. I’m looking into taking Hashtag Jeff’s course (again).

YouTube

This is also a whole new world for me. I’m so thankful that Bree has a pretty good sense for YouTube and had her own channel in the past since she does everything on my channel – editing, descriptions, covers, uploading, etc. There is so much to learn about growing there, but it’s a been a fun new avenue to explore even if it’s definitely not contributing any revenue right now.

Alright, I’ll wrap it up for now! I’d love to hear what you’re learning lately! Or, if you have advice about my Utah trip paralysis, please share. As always, I’m so thankful for all of you and for all your love and support in so many areas of my life. I don’t take it for granted that I seem to have the kindest readers of any of my fellow blogging friends.

The post Letter from TeriLyn – March 2023 appeared first on TeriLyn Adams.

March snuck up on me. I usually draft this monthly letter around the 25th of the month but I honestly had just lost track of the date. Ever since I left Corporate America, I never know the day of the week (well, except Friday, Saturday and Sunday) and I never know the actual date. It’s a blessing, honestly. I used to plan my life around the calendar — endless meetings, counting down until the next day off and planning the year in advance to plan vacation and time to visit family.  Now I absolutely love my work and I never wake up dreading the day or counting down the days until my next day off.  Granted, I don’t really ever get days off unless I’m very intentional, but it’s very, very worth it.

Anyway, let’s get into this month’s letter!

Letter from TeriLyn, February 2023

Family & Friends

February was filled with lots of family planning stuff. I started a lot of fertility medications in February for the mock cycle I explained last month. The injections were uncomfortable but honestly I have found the side effects of estrogen and trental much more unpleasant.

We talk a lot about baby #2 as if it’s already a done deal, but I have to remind myself that anything can happen — including things that we don’t want to happen. It’s a fine line between being realistic and having faith, and that’s honestly something I’ve struggled with for my entire life. I think that’s just how I’m wired.

On a lighter note, Tommy and I are both loving the warmer weather and the longer days. And we ARE counting down the days until the Daylight Savings switch. We both love being outside and both of our biggest hobbies (running for me, golf for him) involve being outside. And with Thomas, it’s just honestly so much easier to parent when it’s warm and light outside beyond 5:30.

This past weekend we met up with our best friends at Reynolda Village and watching our toddlers run around together made my heart SO full. We’ve been friends with the Raaks for years and seeing our kids run towards each other in excitement was honestly just the best. Now that it’s warmer out, I’m hoping we can do more with friends!

We are going to Pinehurst at the end of March for my father-in-law’s birthday and we are trying to figure out when to visit my family in Utah.

I’d like to go in April, but we already have two weekends with plans. (I GET TO GO TO THE MASTERS THIS YEAR!!!!!) So, then I was looking at early May and then I thought, well maybe I’ll just wait for Memorial Day, when my family does a big get together. But this line of thinking (“I’ll just wait until…”) is how it’s now been two years since I have been home.

Who knows, maybe I’ll just get brave and book a flight in March and go. After I left Wells Fargo and before I had Thomas, I went home every couple of months, which was awesome after a decade of only seeing my family a few times a year. Now it just feels SO HARD to travel with Thomas, since it’s such a long day of flying from North carolina to Utah, but I know I just need to get used to it since we’re not leaving NC and my family isn’t leaving Utah. Plenty of people travel with toddlers and I have the means and flexibility to do it, so I just need to do it. Someone give me a pep talk to fly home in March, k?

Faith

Gosh, this is still just such a hard topic for me to write about. I’m still doing The Bible Recap and love it, for various reasons. I have it on my to-do’s to write a blog post about why I’m doing it rather than daily devotionals and why I think my religious upbringing (LDS) impacts how much I like The Bible Recap.

One thing I’ve noticed about myself is when I’m feeling stressed and overwhelmed, I tend to retreat. I don’t text friends as much. I don’t make as many plans. And now it seems, I also retreat from those I do share faith with. February was so hectic with work and fertility stuff and I found myself sharing less about my faith online and also not sharing as much with my Community Group and also sometimes not even wanting to go to our weekly meet-ups.

I’m not sure why that is…

I think perhaps I’m so used to figuring things out myself that it’s hard for me to share with others when I am struggling. If someone I love is going through a hard time, I am grateful they tell me so I can pray for them and don’t mind asking others to pray for them. But if I am the one who needs prayers? I tend to keep it private. I think what comes to my mind is, “Well it could be so much worse. And I have so much to be grateful for…” And those things are absolutely true. I have friends coping with the loss of loved ones, people I love dealing with debilitating diseases and so many people I don’t know struggle with simply having enough food to eat or feeling safe at home.

But I wouldn’t tell a friend to hole up and hide her struggles — no matter how small they feel by comparison — so I’m not sure why my tendency is to prefer pushing through and acting like I’m okay when sometimes I’m just not. I think I always want to see the good in every situation and be grateful for my blessings (because they are truly so many) that I don’t often give myself permission to struggle.

I drafted those four paragraphs last Tuesday and then Tuesday night, we had our Community Group.

We had a full evening of prayer (you can watch this video about our group’s Bold Prayer nights) and one of the women asked if she could pray for me about our fertility struggles. She prayed, and then another women came and sat behind us and prayed for me. Then, another, and another. By the end, I was sobbing into their arms. I was literally surrounded by women who care about me and are praying for me and I don’t think it’s a coinidence that the experience happened just a few hours after I’d written that it’s hard for me to share my struggles. The Lord put these women in my life and I could not be more grateful.

And, of course, I was embarrassed the next day that I let myself cry like that over “nothing.” So I guess I’ve still got some work to do on the vulnerability front.

Work

Work has honestly felt so hard for me. I’m still dealing with nausea and fatigue from the medication, which makes it hard to focus at work and especially makes it hard to film videos and be “on” for Instagram. I have so many things I WANT to do with my blog, Instagram, my Beautycounter team and “influencer” coaching of some sort (I’m getting asked a lot lately how I’ve monetized my business online). And right now, I’m just doing my best to stay on top of the basics. I also just want to spend lots of time with Thomas right now (he’s at such a fun age and this time is so fleeting) so I end up hanging out a lot with him and my nanny.

I did get my YouTube channel launched, thanks to my nanny who also works for my business (primarily editing YouTube videos and managing my Rookie Runner Instagram account). So that’s progress on two things I’ve wanted to do for a long time. I need to celebrate the little wins more often! And my new website is almost ready to launch, which has been a year in the making. And that is definitely a BIG WIN. I can’t wait for y’all to see it… it’s beautiful and so much more user friendly.

I have to remind myself that my business is NOT falling apart and I’m not missing deadlines, so everything is fine (thanks, in HUGE part, to my team…Hannah, Mom, Bree and Elle – THANK YOU), but it’s hard to not be making progress towards my work goals as quickly as I’d like.

Health

My running has been a LOT better since I started going to a new pelvic floor PT who is also doing dry needling. I’m also trying to strength train 2 days a week, which has been nice variety. I’m staying on top of all my fertility medication and I’m getting enough sleep most nights. The hardest health challenge lately has been food aversions. It like I’m having pregnancy symptoms without actually being pregnant. I can hardly stomach anything except smoothies and bread.

I have another fertility appointment on Wednesday to recheck some things that weren’t where we need them last week so I’m hopeful we have a clear direction forward after that.

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Alright, I’ll wrap it up since I have a work call to hop on in 10 minutes. As always, thank you so much for following along and being so supportive.

The post Letter from TeriLyn, February 2023 appeared first on TeriLyn Adams.

After my last letter, so many of you reached out via Instagram and email asking how to support my business with declining blog traffic. I cannot tell you how much that means to me, especially since I employ multiple people and if my revenue decreases, it makes me nervous about long-term stability and growth for my team, which is hugely important to me and not something I take lightly.

Here are ways to support bloggers and influencers:

And I promise you, they truly help and mean so much.

Visit my blog and spend 60+ seconds on a page before clicking to another page.

Every page load counts and time spent matters, both for ad revenue and for telling google that the content is good (vs. a high bounce rate where someone closes right away without consuming or clicking to another page)

Engage on Instagram.

Comments with 4+ words, tagging a friend or sharing a post with a friend, or saving a post. Those all help a LOT. Tagging a friend or sharing a post or reel in your stories especially helps my account since it exposes me to new audiences. Saving posts and leaving comments tells Instagram that it’s “good” content and the algorithm shows it more often.

Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, LTK, Pinterest and subscribe to my YouTube channel.

Even if you don’t regularly engage on a platform, one metric that brands look at is the sheer number of followers. In my experience, follower counts matter more when booking partnership and engagement matters more when rebooking brand partnerships. But follow counts definitely help open the door in the first place.

Use my links to shop!

I’m ALWAYS happy to send you a link to a site you’re shopping! It doesn’t cost you more (in fact, sometimes I have promo codes you can use!) but I get a small commission when you shop (usually around $2-$5) and they add up! It’s can be significant if it’s a larger purchase like a sofa or bed, so if you are buying any home decor, please let me know!

Buy influencers’ books and products.

I only have one product right now (The Rookie Runner) but if any of your favorite influencers have a cookbook or an ebook or sell jewelry or whatever, buy it! They’re usually around $20 or less so it won’t impact your budget too much, but every purchase makes a big difference.

Alright, let’s get into this month’s letter! If you need more context on any of the topics below, you can probably find it in last month’s letter. If not, feel free to leave a comment and ask anything!

Letter from TeriLyn, January 2023

Family

Tommy and I got away for a few days for our first vacation with just the two of us since having Thomas. We spent 4 days in Dominica at Secret Bay resort and it was exactly what we needed. I’m planning to do a blog post with more details and pictures from our trip (you can also see more on Instagram over the last few weeks), but in short, we had such a relaxing time. We sat on the beach, we got massages everyday, we kayaked and that was about it. It was heaven. It was also good to to relax before coming back to some more stressful stuff at home: namely, fertility treatments.

This month we had our first appointment to start the process of using a frozen embryo. I knew that I needed to have some initial testing done before they could transfer the embryo but given our situation, they want to do a “mock” month with medication to see how my body responds. That allows them to make sure the timing of the transfer is as precise as possible since I don’t have a bunch of embryos hanging out in the freezer. (Most people get 10-20 eggs when they freeze eggs, but given my premature ovarian failure, that’s not what we’re working with.)

All that means that we have to wait at least two cycles now before we can implant.

In the grand scheme of things, waiting two months isn’t that long, I know. But if you’ve tried to start a family or grow your family, you know that once you decide it’s time, it’s all you can think about and it’s just HARD. The waiting is the hardest part of the infertility process. And the unknown. And the fear. I don’t love the shots, but it’s certainly not the hardest part.

I started the medication for the “mock” month last Friday and I’ve not felt great since. I’m nauseous throughout most of the day, very dizzy when I stand up and I’m just EXHAUSTED as the day goes on. The best I’ve felt was the day I didn’t work out, so I’m going to pay close attention to the days I work out and don’t and the different types of workouts I do to see if that can help me manage the fatigue.

I’m trying not to get too far ahead of myself and I KNOW that God is in control but it doesn’t remove the fear and anxiety that I have of all the things that could happen. I already have so much to be thankful for and I love love love being a mom.

Work

I’ve been frustrated with decreasing blog traffic and the finicky beast that Instagram is and in my last update, I was frustrated with the performance of Pinterest. Well, I turned down the ads on my blog (which decreases my ad revenue) but it’s helped my traffic rebound. My SEO team suggested that and sure enough, traffic started slowly increasing. I hope that trend stays and I hope you enjoy fewer ads on the site! (My new website is in development and I’m hoping it will launch in March – it is beautiful.)

I chatted with my Pinterest team and we’re changing our strategy over there (and the designs of my pins) and I’m feeling really hopeful about the changes.

I’m also interviewing a few copywriters to bring onto my team to help with content since we have a lot that goes out! I’m so grateful I have such a great team and it’s always exciting to bring on someone new. There is always so much that happens behind the scenes, which is probably why I get questions like this not infrequently.

I can’t do much about Instagram other than to keep trying new things and trying to keep it helpful and fun.

But I realized I hadn’t post on my Facebook page in YEARS. I personally use Facebook for groups and to follow my favorite blogs (rather than going directly to their site) so I have leaned into those platforms for my own business. I hosted January challenges in my Online Friends group and my Beauty group and my Rookie Runner group (only for paid members) and it was so fun to connect with people in a different way! I’m also really enjoying sharing blog posts on my Facebook page and seeing that people are clicking through to read. So, if you don’t follow all or any of those, I’d love to have you!

I’m still really enjoying creating YouTube content, which is very new to me! It’s a totally different strategy and different group of people (or so it seems) and I’m enjoying the change. I’m no pro but it’s been really fun and I hope it gives people a bit more behind the scenes into my work and life, as well as provides more useful content that needs longer form video content (vs. super short reels).

I also hosted my annual Beautycounter team get together in January.

I have quite a few team members in Winston-Salem, and I even had a few women drive down from Virginia to join us! It was so fun to see people in person and it inspired me to start doing get togethers more regularly. I’m going to meet with my local leaders once a month to strategize the best way to help our team. We’re also going to invite others to come and work with us from time to time! When you work for yourself, it can be easy to get in a rut and/or get lonely so I know that will help me. I also hope it helps other consultants who are new or overwhelmed and don’t know where to start to sit and work with others to learn and get inspired.

I’ve been a bit frustrated with Beautycounter for the past few years and I’m finally feeling excited and hopeful again. Leadership has not been strong the last few years but we have a new CEO who is so dramatically different — in a good way — and it feels like we have forward momentum and the drama is gone. He also is going to help fill in the gaps in the product line.

While I still use a lot of Beautycounter skincare, I stopped using their makeup when they discontinued all their powders because I didn’t like how their cream products performed. I don’t know when but we are going to get powders back – hallelujah! He also promised that we’ll be getting new products regularly, which hasn’t been the norm for a while. New products is fun and helps the business, especially when you’ve been a consultant for 8 years like I have!

I also learned that Beautycounter’s annual leadership conference will be in Charlotte, NC this year!!!!

Almost every single event since I’ve been a consultant has been on the West Coast which is so hard to get to for us East Coasters, especially those of us with kids, so I’m thrilled and so is my local team! I can’t wait to see so many of my friends that I haven’t seen in years. So many of my closest friends are women that I never would have met without Beautycounter and I haven’t seen them in person since 2019. I’m so excited to see them again soon!

I guess the moral of the story with work is that I’d been in a rut and I needed to add new things to my routine to mix it up and get different results. And I’m having more fun too.

Faith

A couple of women in my community group at church invited me to join a DNA group. “Community Group” and “DNA Group” are new terms to me since those aren’t things the LDS church does but I’m really enjoying both. The DNA group is just a smaller group who gets together to go deeper into scripture and better support each other in life and faith.

I’m still doing The Bible Recap study program which goes through the bible chronologically. It’s not always realistic for me to read every single day (or listen to the corresponding podcast every single day) but at our last DNA group, one of my friends reminded me that it’s okay to not do it EVERY day. The goal is to create a regular rhythm of scripture study. So now I’m doing 2-3 “days” worth of reading each time I sit down to study, knowing that there will inevitably be days that I skip entirely. It balances out to keep me “on track.”

Bible | Study Guide | PJs | Heated mug | Bedding

I’m still loving our church and a sermon a few weeks ago was so powerful. I am NOT a cryer, but woah, I was sobbing by the end. Tommy knows I’m not a cryer and he kept asking me if I was okay, and I couldn’t even put into words exactly what hit me other than the need to hand fears over to God. Fears about infertility, work, family health issues… it can all feel overwhelming and what I bottle up all came out. If you want to listen the sermon, whether you’re a Christian or not, I HIGHLY recommend it. You can access it here.

Health

Running is still meh, but I do think the pelvic floor specialist I saw this month is going to get to the root of some issues. I did go back to the gym for the first time in almost three years and ran on the treadmill for the first time in 4 years. And I REALLY enjoyed it, even if I could barely sit down for the next 3 days after doing 65# back squats. I used to back squat 150-185# in my CrossFit days, but since 2020, I’ve only lifted at home and the heaviest weights I have are 20 lbs. It was such a nice change and I sort of enjoy being sore.

I’ve always loved the treadmill, but I really wished I had music. Airpods don’t stay in my ears when I run and while I had brought my Shokz, they weren’t working. They have a great warranty so I just need to look into that or buy new ones. Anyway, I’m already excited to hit the treadmill again! It’s so interesting because I LOVE running outside, but I guess it had started to feel like a chore, especially since hills aggravate my hamstring and hills are all we have around our house. The treadmill gives me a flat terrain and the option to cut my run short (vs. getting 3 miles out and needing to get back home!).

I’m still doing pilates and the megaformer and love those! I also love buying and wearing matching workout sets, which is not something I’ve ever done with running. I just bought these leggings and this top in navy blue.

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Alright, that’s probably enough for today. Thank you, as always, for being here. I am truly so thankful for you.

The post Letter from TeriLyn, January 2023 appeared first on TeriLyn Adams.