Hey!  I’m Wendy and I’m thrilled that you’re taking a minute to check out the new blog.  If you would have asked me five years ago if I would have envisioned blogging in my life—well, I would have laughed under my breath all while thinking, “who has time for that”!  Funny how sometimes we manage to end up eating our own words (or thoughts in my case), but here I am putting myself out there.

For anyone who knows me, you may find this hard to believe, but this is a bit out of my comfort zone.  Yes, I’ve done some writing in my day, but it was different than the type of writing a blog demands.  Good blogs are the ones that provide useful information but also don’t shy away from being “real”.  I consider myself real, but I’m a bit more of the “private real”.

Back when I started DavieLiFE magazine, I failed to realize that my life which at the time was pretty private, would immediately become much more public.  No, I’m not a celebrity by any stretch of the means, but when you’re in the business of publishing, especially in a small community—privacy kind of goes right out the window.  For some folks, the thought of that may be very appealing.  For me, not so much.  Trust me, I’m grateful more than anyone will ever know for the opportunities my business has provided but when you’re a person who is most happy being at home with your family, in shorts and a t-shirt with no make-up, well it can cause a little mental whiplash.  (Oh, and to expand on that, I go against the grain and still rock my shorts, t-shirt and no make-up 75% of the time–for anyone who’s run into me at the grocery store, at school, etc…..I know you’ll vouch for me on that one.)

So, I’ve decided to open myself up a bit more. Some folks may find that funny to hear, but I’m doing it because I see other people showing their more vulnerable sides, and you know what, I want to do that too. No, I need to do that.  I don’t intend to share my most private moments but I want to put some of my thoughts, feelings and experiences into words that are less “AP style approved”.  I think it’s totally natural to wonder if you really have a story to share, but every single one of us do.  I also think it’s natural to wonder why anyone would want to read or hear what you have to share.  Think about it like this…..have you ever had that conversation with someone and it leads to “their story” and you find yourself thinking, “I had no idea”.  Those are the stories that change our perspectives, begin to tear down the walls and ultimately allow us to realize that “until you’ve walked in someone’s shoes” is a whole lot more than a southern saying.

An example of when I really started seeing how true all of this was, was back in November when I had a bit of a freak accident.  Long story short, I fell down the stairs in our house while sleepwalking, was knocked unconscious for over two hours (thanks to having on my handy dandy Fitbit, I realized this the next day after leaving the hospital), and suffered a major concussion that handed me a lengthy recovery period.  One day I’ll share more of this page of my life, but that incident was an eye-opener for me.  I wasn’t used to having to rely on other people to drive me around since I was prohibited from driving for over a month, and honestly, I always thought a concussion was “not that big of a deal”.  Honestly, I didn’t have much sympathy for folks who said “they had suffered a concussion”.  Well, my opinion on that has done a 180 and my lack of empathy kind of bit me in the butt.  Anyhow, that “episode” taught me a lot and one day, I’ll share how I consider that accident God’s way of putting me in my place.

But, what other kinds of stuff do I have up my sleeve?  Well, my list of topics to blog about is quickly growing, but in the beginning, you can expect to hear my experiences with FINALLY figuring out how to eat clean and reduce my sugar intake drastically (also, why I decided I HAD to do it).  I’m also hoping to share a little about what it’s been like to be an entrepreneur, start my own business (with no background in business ownership), along with some things I wish I had known nine years ago when I started my business.  The very human side of being a mom and wife and how sometimes all you can do is  depend on your faith and God when your mental energy stores are on empty.

I’m sure there will be more, but lucky for you I have some incredible contributors who will be joining me for this journey!  In the next few days, be on the look-out for our next introduction as we welcome Molly Ridenhour.  Molly has so much to share, from her keen sense of fashion to her skills in the kitchen and creating delicious meals that are allergy approved!  I know Molly will give you all the background on how and why she learned to deal with food allergies in her own family, but trust me, she has knowledge to share that takes valuable to a whole new level.

We’re still in the early stages of this blog so we would be most appreciative if you’d leave a comment about what you’ve read so far and even some feedback on what you’d like to hear more about.  Questions and comments are awesome and they really help us learn more about you and what you’re interested in!

And before I forget, I would LOVE for you to join our private Facebook Group where we hope to have some conversations online in the near future!