It’s hard to believe it’s September. Last year, I realized that I dislike Winston-Salem the most during the summer, so I’m not sorry to say goodbye to the heat! Here’s what’s been happening in the last month.

LIFE

Things have just felt hard lately, to be honest. Thomas must be going through something developmental because, wow, he’s had some big, big, big emotions lately. But the fun side of that development is that his imagination is incredible, and he is so fun. He’s very into Ghostbusters and wore his Ghostbuster shirt nonstop for almost a week straight (even sleeping in it). I was finally able to sneak it away to put it in the wash last night, and of course, he asked about it 10 minutes into the cycle.

Charles continues to be the happiest little thing. He is such a joy, and I love how much joy he brings to others since he smiles at everyone. He rarely cries unless he’s hungry or tired, and I do not take that for granted since Thomas was NOT an easy baby. Charles started solids last month, and it’s funny how nervous I am about it. I wasn’t really nervous with Thomas, and we did Baby Led Weaning. With Charles, I’m much more comfortable with purees, so that’s mainly what we’re sticking with so far. I would have expected the opposite with a first vs. second kid.

At the end of the month, our basement flooded. We had the plumber out, and they thought the water line from the washing machine was clogged, so they flushed it, and we thought it was resolved. Then, we did laundry again, and it flooded- but even worse. It turns out the sump pump had failed, and we had standing water everywhere- including under the floors- so we had to get all the floors ripped up. While I hate that the real issue wasn’t identified the first time, it’s also partly a blessing because I’m not sure we would have realized there was water underneath the floors if it hadn’t flooded a second time. There was definitely water under the floors the first time, but the second flood made it evident since even more water had pooled, and when you stood on the floors, water came up between the cracks. I’m so thankful it was the basement, not the main or upper level, which would have been worse.

It’s a pain to deal with (especially since the playroom and my workout room are now out of commission), but I’m incredibly grateful for our contractor, who came out the very next day (before a long weekend, no less) to rip out the floors to make sure we avoided mold issues. I’m telling ya, if you are in Winston-Salem, you can do NO better than using QFC for home renovations. Since they did our renovation, we now have access to them for all maintenance-type work, and it’s such a blessing.

TRAVEL

The big thing we did in August was travel to Utah to see my family! After we went to Utah for Memorial Day last year, I realized it was the BEST visit for two reasons: first, we weren’t in Salt Lake City, and second, everyone was together. When I visit my hometown, all my family is working, so we’re trying to fit in quality time around their work schedules, and it can be challenging. And my hometown is now SO big and so crowded that it doesn’t really feel like home.

Plus, I love it when my entire family is together. We’re so blessed that everyone gets along—all the siblings, in-laws, nieces, and nephews not only get along, but we like each other. And it’s just so fun and special to be with everyone, where we have lots of time doing things away from the day-to-day grind of life.

My favorite memories growing up are with my family over Memorial Day Weekend and our family campouts, and I hope Thomas and Charles get to make those same memories. So, my plan going forward is to schedule my Utah trip around those two things. It’s a lot more work than just flying into SLC since we have to drive 2-3 hours after flying to get to where my family spends time for MDW and camping, but it’s well worth it. (Remind me of that on the day we’re traveling. Woof, it’s a long day.)

Thomas had an absolute blast and is still talking about his cousins and asking when they’re coming to visit. I need to work on the Chatbook from our trip since we look at those at bedtime every night, and he loves them. He calls them “Thomas books,” lol—main character syndrome, much? But I really do think that helps him remember the names of my Utah family since we talk about them every night! (Hot tip if you use Chatbooks – email yourself funny things your kids say and then print them in the book. I have a quote page at the end of every book since I started doing it, and I love it so much. Use the code TERILYN when you order Chatbooks.)

WORK

I only had a few sponsored campaigns in August, so it wasn’t too crazy, which was nice after the madness of the Nordstrom sale! In August, here’s what went up:

Colleen Rothschild – I had a few IG stories go up about CR, which is always easy since I use their products daily and love them! I’ve worked with them for over a year now, and they are one of the kindest brands I’ve ever worked with. If you haven’t tried their cleansing balm, tinted eye cream or hair mask, you must! (Full Colleen Rothschild review here!)

Adidas – I’ve worked with Adidas a few times over the years, and while this campaign wasn’t as smooth as I would have liked (we had some issues with the shipments), I thankfully LOVED the featured product – the Dropset 3 training shoes. I’d needed to buy better shoes for lifting since I’m spending more time in the gym and this campaign came at the perfect time. I did CrossFit for years, and these are by far the best shoes I’ve used for lifting and plyometrics. See the Adidas reel from that campaign here.

Target – The 3rd round of content for my partnership with Huggies through Target went up in August. I’d used Coterie diapers for years; I found them when Thomas was six months old, and it was the only brand that didn’t give him a rash. They’re super pricey but very soft and didn’t irritate his skin, so I just stuck with them. But when this campaign came up, I tried the diapers out and was elated that the new Skin Essentials diapers are almost as soft as Coterie, a lot cheaper, don’t irritate Charles’s skin, and are much easier to get since they’re at Target. I canceled my Coteirie subscription and have been so happy! The Huggies Skin Essentials wipes are great, too (also better than Coterie!). I do miss the convenience of a subscription, but it’s easy enough to add the Huggies to my Target orders. You can see the August Huggies content I published here.

Mejuri – I’m always beyond flattered when Mejuri reaches out since it’s a brand I LOVE and I wear almost daily. They make the most beautiful jewelry (I have a full Mejuri review here) and for this campaign, I got to review a variety of pieces (earrings and rings). They requested a YouTube video which is always a bit out of my comfort zone, but I do think video is a great platform for that type of content to really show the quality and what makes it different! You can see the August Mejuri video I did here.

These weren’t sponsored, but you can see the two most popular IG post from August here and here and my personal favorite IG post here. My favorite blog post that went up was the Oliveda Internals blog post because those products have really helped my joint pain, and I’m so grateful.

As always, I’m so thankful when you engage with my content since it’s a major way that brands evaluate my campaign performance, and if I get to work with them again. On Instagram, comments and shares (simply sending my post to a friend!) are especially helpful!

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Alright, I need to get out of bed and go help Tommy with the boys! I’ve been up since 5 since Charles ate then, but thankfully he went back to sleep, and I’ve gotten some time to write!

The post Letter from TeriLyn – August 2024 appeared first on TeriLyn Adams.

We are back from Utah after a week with my family! The logistics were intense, as were the travel days, but it was well worth it. Here’s what else I’ve been up to over the last month!

Letter from TeriLyn – July 2024

Travel

Before I had kids and after I left Corporate America, I traveled to Utah to see family multiple times a year. Now it’s a lot harder to make it home, but I make it a point to go once a year with everyone and then one more time by myself. I’ve lived in North Carolina for 16 years, and my hometown has changed so much in that time, that in many ways, it doesn’t feel like home. And I realized during last year’s Utah trip over Memorial Day weekend that I prefer to travel for big family events since everyone is together and off work vs. trying to see people in town around their work schedules and fighting traffic. 

Memorial Day weekend in the Uintah basin and the annual Hutcheon Campout have been family traditions for decades and my fondest childhood memories are during those two things. So my plan now is to make our Utah trip during one of those two events (or maybe both if I’m feeling particularly brave… and feeling rich… flights + car rental + VRBO gets SO expensive haha). 

We don’t have any concrete travel plans for the rest of the year as a family. Tommy has a golf trip to Oregon in October and I have a wedding to attend that same week (yikes, childcare will be hard) and we’re hoping to plan a fall beach trip with my in-laws but nothing is on the books. (Maybe Kiawah?)

We’re also still trying to figure out a trip for my 40th birthday (working with Heather Christopher Travel) but we haven’t finalized anything yet. We’re considering Turks & Caicos. Oh, and we’re trying to decide whether or not to go on a trip to Greece next summer. It’s a trip retracing some of the Apostle Paul’s journeys, and I know it’d be incredible, but I just can’t wrap my head around leaving Charles when he’ll only be 16 months old (especially since I breastfed Thomas for 2 years). Anyway, lots of travel thoughts but nothing planned since it’s all kind of overwhelming me – I’m accepting advice! 

Family

Like I mentioned above, we had GREAT time in Utah with my family! Thomas was obsessed with the cousins and kept asking to see the cousins as soon as he woke up each day. (“I see my cousins! Where the cousins? The cousins come over? I play with cousins all day.” ) And he’s still asking now that we are home. It’s seriously so sweet. He has cousins in NC, but we’ve never told him they’re his cousins so I need to start emphasizing that. 

All of the cousins are older than Thomas (they range from age 8 to 24) and they were all so sweet with him. I can’t even explain how much it meant to me that they all gave him so much attention, and that I trusted them completely to take care of him. My sister-in-laws all wanted to snuggle Charles too, and my tough-as-nails brother, Roger, probably gave my boys the most attention of all (which you wouldn’t expect but he’s a major softie with kids). I just felt so blessed by family the whole time, and I’m hoping some Utah cousins can come out to NC to visit soon. My dad stayed at the cabin with us and it was sweet to see him with the boys in the morning too. He LOVES being a grandpa. And it’s hilarious that the boys are almost as big as my tiny mom!

Work 

Now that the Nordstrom Sale and Prime Day are behind us, we’re shifting into transitional fashion that will work from summer to fall and have already planned out most of Q3 blog content that has a heavy emphasis on wedding guest dresses, jeans and booties!

It felt great to take a true vacation from work after the insane month of July. I only opened my laptop ONCE while I was in Utah, and that’s only because I felt like it, not because I had to do anything. I love working for myself, but it’s almost impossible to take time off (especially since Instagram can quickly become a major time suck with DMs). So, to help, I turned off email on my phone, turned off Voxer notifications, turned off story DMs on Instagram and stayed out of Asana. (More on all my work apps are in this post.) 

I don’t have a lot of sponsored content right now, but usually it starts to pick up in September and October (or at least I’m hoping it does!). This month, I have campaigns with Target, Colleen Rothschild and Adidas so when you see those go live, leaving a comment or sharing with a friend helps so much! Instagram values “shares” these days and brands value engagement. And, of course, purchases so if you use my links to shop, it helps me get future campaigns (and supports my business, which employs multiple women).

Since I have a slower month with sponsored content, I’m considering doing another live round of Let Me Pick Your Brain. I’m going to gauge interest soon so keep an eye out for that! You can always buy the recorded version at any time for a discount, but I think the live versions are the most fun and helpful since I can answer questions in real time about your business.

Another amazing work thing is how fun Oliveda has been. I keep hearing from so many poeople that their skin looks better since switching to Oliveda from Beautycounter and I’ve had the same experience (you can see my skin before and afters in my Oliveda review). I sold more in my first full month with Oliveda than I did in my best month with Beautycounter in 2023 (and that’s including Black Friday with a promo). Crazy! And I’m so grateful – thank you so much for shopping with me!!

Alright, I need to go eat something so I’ll wrap this up! The boys are sleeping in like CRAZY (it’s 9am and they’re both still snoozing) and I know I should wake them (especially Charles) to get on a better routine and adjust to the East Coast time but I just can’t haha. It’s been too nice sitting in bed, working and watching the crazy storm (Hurricane Debby is DUMPING rain on us). Storms are my favorite and working in bed is my favorite so I’m kind of in heaven.

Shop The Post

The post Letter from TeriLyn – July 2024 appeared first on TeriLyn Adams.

I’m sitting in bed at 6:30 a.m. after only getting about 4.5 hours of sleep. I have a hard time falling back to sleep if Charles wakes up around 5:30 a.m. even if he goes back down easily. And that’s where I am today. But, I love sitting in bed working and drinking coffee before everyone else is up.

Life

June was a hard month. My postpartum depression and anxiety has started flaring pretty badly. I think it kicked off when we started sleep training Charles, even though “training” ended up being mostly timing tweaks and not a lot of crying. Given what happened after my birth and then being separated from Charles a lot the first two days after he was born, I have a very hard time when he is upset so I think just the idea of sleep training stressed me out. But, not sleeping also makes my PPDA worse and Charles was definitely going through the 4 month sleep regression in a major way.

So, I reached out to Molly from Sleep Shore and we we did gentle training through June and his overnights are MUCH better now. We’re still working on his naps but she suspected he might do better around 5 months with those and that is turning out to be the case. It always amazes me what small tweaks Molly makes that make such a big difference.

On top of that, we were just VERY busy in June. We went to Boone two weekends to escape the heat and while it was lovely, it also felt hard since we were in the middle of figuring out timing for naps and I constantly felt rushed wherever I was. Then we had a super busy last weekend of June – all good things but I really need down time lately and I didn’t feel like I was getting any. And July is one of my busiest work months all year, so I’m a little nervous about my anxiety getting worse in the next month.

I talked to my counselor at my last appointment about upping my Zoloft medication which I really don’t want to do (but I’m also trying to figure out why I’m so opposed to it if it’d help me feel better… classic sign of anxiety, ha). So I’m going to take a week or two and see if the things she suggested help and if not, I’ll call my doctor. But by then, I’ll be knee deep into the July craziness. Ugh I don’t know what to do. But I bet you can sense my anxiety in this post, right? Sheesh, I can.

Okay, let’s move on to a different category. This started off kind of heavy. Thanks for letting me process on the page.

Work

In June, I made the decision to no longer show the boys faces online and shared that on Instagram. Or to at least do it a LOT less. I already had really been minimizing Thomas on Instagram, and I kept telling myself it was okay with Charles since he was so young, but I just couldn’t get comfortable with that rationale. I fully realize that this decision came up during a PPDA flare, but it’s also something that had been on my mind pretty constantly the last few months. And I am at such peace about it.

I didn’t realize that sometimes I felt like I had to post them just to prove that they were a big part of my life and that I was an involved mom. When I have my busy work months, I hate that I get to spend less time with the boys but showing them online is really not the answer. Thank you so much for all the supportive comments and messages. It’s always scary to talk about parenting decisions online because people can be pretty harsh, but y’all showed up with kindness (per usual!).

July is an insane work month but it’s also SO fun. I honestly LOVE the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale and all the prep that leads up to it and the work that goes into it during the sale. (Btw, don’t miss this giveaway I’m doing before the Nordstrom sale!) Prime Day is also happening mid-July, which is another big sale I promote. I don’t run marathons anymore so all these sales are my new marathons.

There’s also the Target Circle Deals and Walmart sale but I don’t plan to focus on those since Nordstrom and Prime Day are much more my focus. And there is one other brand having a sale that IS my focus that I can’t share yet but you will want to shop it, so make sure you’re on my email list. I’ll post on IG for sure, and maybe the blog but it’s hard to make sure you see those vs. an email goes right to your inbox. (It’s a huge reason why I focus so much on newsletters in my making-money-online course. Speaking of… I miiiight have a sale on that in July too.)

Another fun thing with work is that I’ve been getting partnerships with very cool brands through ShopMy. I shared here about branching into that affiliate program vs. LTK alone and it’s been a good decision. While none of the partnerships have been paid, it’s always good to be on the radar of brands I like since that can lead to conversations down the road (and the affiliate income is good too.) And to actually get gifted products from companies I regularly shop with anyway, like Tuckernuck, is just plain fun. And I discovered some GOOD jeans that Pistola gifted me.

Another big work change was Oliveda. I shared why I switched in the last letter and I’m continually blown away by how good my skin looks and feels. It feels firmer, looks better and it’s just so soft! And from a business perspective, it’s been just as good. It was scary to lose the Beautycounter income, but Oliveda has been selling even better, which blows my mind. And rightfully so – the products are better. It’s weird to say that since I used and loved Beautycounter for years, but my skin is noticeably different since switching. And I’m hearing the same thing from friends and previous BC clients.

And, in June — when most Oliveda products were out of stock — I sold more Oliveda than I did during my biggest month with Beautycounter in 2023 (which was during Black Friday with a promo). It’s been shocking but so fun. So thank you.

And the company just feels different… I didn’t realize the pressure I often felt with Beautycounter that I don’t feel with Oliveda at all. I think there are a few reasons for that (how the company started, the people involved, the fact that it truly can be affiliate so it feels like the rest of my income streams), but whatever it is, it’s nice.

Health

I touched upon my mental health at the beginning of the most, but physically I’m doing a lot better. I no longer have pelvic floor PT every week but have spread my visits out to every 3 weeks. We did some pretty intense scar massage at my last appointment and it has made a HUGE difference.

I also have figured out that a lot of my joint pain was inflammation related and I’ve been taking this and this which really help. (I didn’t take them to Boone for either trips in June and my joint pain came back within a couple days so I know it was that). I’ve turned into the person who takes inflammation supplements… this is what being almost 40 with an infant is I suppose.

I’m still not running a ton but maybe I’ll want to when it cools down. But I’m loving pilates, both at the studio and on the mat at home with these classes, strength training and the occasional peloton ride.

Okay, that’s probably enough for today! I hope you have a lovely 4th of July and I’m so thankful you’re here.

Favorite Links in June

The post Letter from TeriLyn – June 2024 appeared first on TeriLyn Adams.

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.

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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.