Fitness Friday no. 11

April 8, 2016 | The Bee Life

Okay, so I must admit, since the last Fitness Friday – when I was sharing my ongoing struggle of balancing, life, work and workout life, and my new goal of trying to focus a week at a time, I have come back with a vengeance!

Focusing one week at a time has been SO helpful. The weekend before March 28th, I told myself that Monday, March 28th I was going to start my super expensive, boot camp classes that I got for Christmas. Here is the kicker – the class times are a bit tricky for me, I either have to wake up early, leave work a bit early, or go super late and I can only go Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. Not to mention, I had everything packed and ready for my first class… except my sneakers. I was so mad, but also determined that it wouldn’t let that stop me! In a panic and on a limb I reached out to my girlfriends at work, luckily one had a pair in her car and was my size. (Thanks, A!) Fitness Friday 11 - the bee life So after overcoming my first day obstacles, and making it to the class (and nearly throwing up) I looked at my scheduled and made it happen the rest of the week, whether it was after work or before I actually got my butt out of bed! Woo-hoo! So needless to say, the classes have been kicking my butt – but it feels great to be in a routine again and really working at it… I just need to start adding in a little more cardio to supplement.

Although my classes are strength, circuit training, they do include some cardio, however not as much as a full 40-minutes on the elliptical or a long run. Adding in some extra days of sweat and burned calories is what I need to start doing in order to crank everything into gear. Now that I’ve got 2-solid weeks under my belt, I am going to try and start adding in a little extra in my in between days, but still focus one-week at a time.

Here are some suggestions on finding focus and balance in your workout routine:

Pick Strength Days: Don’t try and fit everything into one day, you’ll get burned out and the workouts won’t be as strong or impactful. I am considering my boot camp days my strength days, Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturdays. Planning and focusing on my strength time in my 1-hour classes allows me to help focus and dominate the workouts while not getting overly fatigued.

Pick Cardio Days: Find days to contribute to cardio, I am a firm believer in ‘rest days’ so I don’t need to workout 7-days a week, but adding in two-days of cardio for at least 30-minutes will help me pick up and get to my goals. It’ll also add to the current workouts I’m accomplishing in my strength days.

Plan Ahead, Make It Happen: It gets as granular as setting out your work-outs clothes the night before. Having these ready to go in the morning eliminates slacking, and putting off getting ready and out the door. I’ve also been blocking my calendar to accommodate for my workouts and planning to see when I can make the next one happen. If you don’t make it happen, be sure to have a Plan B – but also remember that your Plan B is your last chance, there is no skipping that!

Feed the Addiction: After you’ve gotten into a routine, whether it be two weeks or ten, you are going to start loving how you feel (because I sure do). So feed into it, and keep going, don’t stop even if obstacles come!! I look forward to getting to my workout and challenging myself and I want more, and I want to see more results.

Happy Friday!! Have any of you focused one-week at a time?

Spring Projects

April 1, 2016April 1, 2016 | The Bee Life

It’s April 1st! Can we officially think spring, yet?

I’m going too, and to help think spring here is an oh so exciting list of some projects at and around the house that I want to accomplish this spring.

Install new doors: We purchased new doors for our back and side, that are a little more hearty and will hopefully keep some drafts out. Installing these will give a bit of a face-lift, boring project but a nice upgrade.
Window tables: We had glass block installed over the winter in our basement and have these awesome 100-year old windows that were taken out, I want to clean up at least one or two and create a little coffee table for our sun-room. Whether it be simple, or have an extra shelf for space.

http://www.702parkproject.com/2015/05/13/diy-window-coffee-table/
Paint the Exterior of our house: As much as we would love to get new vinyl siding, that just isn’t in the budget for us right now. So I’m starting to look for some estimates to see how much a fresh paint job on the house would be, would give it the face lift it needs, as much as I’d like to think B and I could do this – I don’t even want to try.
New lattice in the front: The current lattice is attached to the support underneath the front porch, and it’s so heavy that it’s causing everything to sag. So we need to clean this up a bit and secure it in another way. I’ve also been thinking about some different options other that your standard diamond lattice pattern… like these below.
Landscape the front: Once we get the lattice complete, I would love to get our front professionally landscaped, mainly because I have no clue where to start and trust me I’ve tried. But we have a blank canvas that is just dying for some life and a little extra privacy for our front porch, although I am scared to see how much this might cost.
Scrapbook! Although this isn’t a “house” project, I am in desperate need to catch-up with my scrapbooking, I am over a year behind and have plenty of photos to start posting into a page. This is the perfect rainy day project on the weekends.
Wallpaper Built-In’s: With the left over wallpaper from the stairs going up into our master, I’d like to wallpaper the insides of our built-in’s in our living room, we did this in the dining room and it makes an understated pop to the room and brightens it up!

The list could go on… I am sure there are a handful of other projects we will come up with, I know B has his own little list of things he is already planning in his head, like doing some updates to the laundry area in the basement and organizing that! The projects are endless, and I knew after the attic was finished it wouldn’t be long before he started itching for a new one! Come on warm weather, we’ve got some things to do!!

DIY: Bridal Shower Decor

March 30, 2016March 30, 2016 | The Bee Life

The fun thing for every party or event, at least in my opinion, is in the details! It’s the little things that make an impact and can really elevate the look and feel, every little thing, from the signage to the centerpieces to the activities and photos. You may remember a few of my inspiration ideas for Katie’s Bridal Shower from THIS POST, back in January… well now you get to see the spin I took on them and even how to make these yourself!

Photo-Booth Ribbon Wall

You will need…
1) About 5-6 different types of ribbon (different thickness, patterns, colors) and about 2-spools of each type (total of 12 spools; try and go when it’s on-sale or you have a coupon!)
2) Rope or cord long enough for 6-ft length (can vary based on your need)
3) Hot glue gun and glue sticks
4) Measuring Tape
5) Scissors

I cut my ribbon pretty much at the same length and did a little over 4-ft, again you can customize as you please but this may affect how much ribbon you buy. I did a little over 4-ft to accommodate for a fold-over in the next step. So, the purpose for my ribbon wall backdrop, was to simply serve as that, a back drop for a make-shift photo booth that the shower (not intended for full body picture taking!)

Once I had all of my ribbon cut I began to start a pattern of how the ribbons would be organized, I did a little mix-matching too because I wanted to make it look more organic. I tied the ends of my rope, so that it would be even, and then I started gluing the ribbon by folding over the edges and gluing these tight. I would suggest doing this on a surface you don’t mind getting sticky and hot glue residue everywhere.
CAUTION: You will burn your fingers, it might be smart to use a utensil of some sort to push down the folded ribbon, unless you don’t mind burning your fingers (like me).
CAUTION #2: Be careful where you put your hot glue gun down, and to not rest your hand on it and burn your pinky (like me).

So hopefully you can finish this with only minor or no burns, and have a beautiful backdrop for your special day!

A few other tips: knowing where you’re going to hang this banner ahead of time (and the color of the walls) may be helpful, as I mentioned in the post about Katie’s shower I had never been to the venue, so I was hoping and praying it would all workout. Luckily the venue didn’t mind tacking things to the wall (but other venues might not!) and the tacks were a bit tricky with the thickness of the rope.

Mimosas & Bride-to-Be Banners

So you can buy these on Etsy for $18-20 each or you could make these for a grand total of $6-8 each and a little bit of your time!

You will need…
1) Scrapbook paper sheets (you should be able to get 4-letters out of one 12×12 sheet – buy a few extra is you think you might mess up! I would also recommend the heavier card-stock pieces too, usually solid colors.
2) Roll of ribbon of your choice (at least a half-inch thick)
3) Paint/stencils or markers
4) Hole punch and scissors

I fold the scrapbook paper in half, and cut and then cut halves of the half’s, to get four squares. For the mimosas banner, I used different patterned paper and for the Bride-to-Be banner I used a darker, burlap like color to mimic the inspiration I found on Pinterest, aka Etsy. You can then start lettering on the squares, again for these two banners I did a mix of markers and then paint with stencils to do a more rustic look. Once everything is dry, I use the hole punch to cut two holes at the top corners of each square and then I thread my ribbon through and cut appropriately for length. These both worked out perfectly for a little something extra at the shower!

A few other pieces that help top everything off where mason jar centerpieces with ribbon glued around the center, with baby’s breath and carnations filling the jars! Adding something fresh to the tables, definitely made an impact. I also had mini-chalk boards that were signs for a table with goodies and even for the photo-booth.

The cost to make these vs. buying them definitely saved money and I was able to create completely custom pieces that fit a theme to have everything match, while incorporating her bridal colors when and where I could.

Weekend Recap: Easter Showers

March 28, 2016March 28, 2016 | The Bee Life

This past weekend we headed north to my parents again for the weekend since it was Katie’s shower and a bonus of Easter!

Katie’s shower was Saturday morning, a brunch at a local country club. I got there early to help decorate with her mom, and having never been to the venue I was a little nervous about how some of my decorations (future post coming with some of the fun DIY’s I did for her day) would work in the space. Luckily everything worked out perfectly and looked great! Katie was so happy with everything, woo, success! It was fun celebrating Kates with the official countdown starting towards her big day. Having been friends for over a decade, it’s crazy that we’re at this stage in our lives! I can’t wait for her bachelorette party and the big day!!

It has been a few years since I’ve been home for Easter, and the first time since B and I have been together, I am usually dog sitting! My brother and sister-in-law came over Saturday and stayed over so my mom had a full house, she was beyond happy. Sunday morning, the six of us headed to church, which was full of Alleluia’s! After church we snapped some pictures at the house and then mom and dad got cooking brunch! Yes, two back-to-back days of brunch, it was terrible. =) They made their signature waffles, bacon and an egg souffle all to end with a triple layer carrot cake! #foodcomma

To top off the weekend, we found Hank a home! Our close friend’s parents ended up taking him, they came up Thursday night to see him with their dog and ended up taking him home- for a test run, and ended up falling in love with him! We’re so happy he is in a (permanent) loving home and is going to be so spoiled. That was a big relief, this past week was very stressful for B and I trying to figure out what we were going to do with Hank!

I’m looking forward to getting back into our routine and starting some workout classes! Here’s to a great week!

Fitness Friday no. 10

March 25, 2016May 12, 2016 | The Bee Life

It’s a Good Friday!

I feel like a broken record, but want to be honest with all of you – in hopes that maybe you’re experiencing the same struggles and that maybe we can help each other. My fitness life has been less than exciting, my struggle with the life –> work –> workout balance is tough, mainly because of life! So I have not been as nearly successful as I would’ve hoped coming to an end of March, and nearing close to month four, April. It’s frustrating because things aren’t getting less-busy and time isn’t slowing down waiting for me to catch-up. So I’m going to have to figure it out quickly.

Fitness Friday 10 - the bee life

Taking my own advice, I wanted to reset and focus on short-term goals, but instead of going 30-days out focusing a week at a time and PLAN AHEAD. Asking myself, what can I accomplish this week? If you’re like me, try doing this too to see if the immediate focus helps allow success. So to not bore all of you with my schedule, I am going to map this out and add reminders in my calendar phone and at work to make sure I am reminded and make the time to get the workouts in. I am also hoping to start going to boot camp in the early morning, trying to be a little ambitious with my goals!

It all comes down to mind over matter, taking the extra time and making a <small> sacrifice to make a huge improvement that will benefit your mental and physical health. My motto lately when I am fighting that battle, is something is better than nothing (I just need to do a little more something!)

Hank.

March 21, 2016 | The Bee Life

So this weekend started out relatively uneventful and turned into one to remember. Saturday morning I treated myself to a spa day for my birthday, and it was literally just about half the day (much longer than I had anticipated) – I got a facial, massage, mani/pedi, and my make-up done! Relaxed as much as I could after I got home before we had to head out for B’s brother’s surprise party (nearly an hour away).

We get to the party, caught-up with family and friends, who hadn’t seen us since the engagement and the surprise was definitely a success. But all night, a few of us were constantly fixated on this dog that was outside barking – a few people had tried to call him over, but to no success, he was scared with his tail between his legs would run off and keep barking. As the night went on, he was still hanging around – just barking the whole time! Finally, it became my mission to see if he would warm up to me, it probably took a good 30-40 minutes of me sitting out there coaxing him with hamburger buns. FINALLY he came up and smelled my shoe and licked my hand, then he stuck around a little more and eventually ate out of my hand. I got to the point where I could pet him and stand up and move around him without him flinching or running away, yes! He was sweet, and was just hungry and wanted some belly scratches.

The bartender at the event was going to take him home, so I felt like I had helped to ‘break’ him a little for whenever it came the time for her. Although I wanted to double check before we left – she had called her dad and couldn’t bring him home. I immediately became (even more) heart broken, as he was laying next to me outside in the cold, shivering but just loving his belly rubs.

We took him home.
I immediately said to B, what did we get ourselves into? He kindly reminded me that this was all me. So we are trying to find his home (if he has one).

He is breaking my heart though, because I know he is just so happy to be warm, fed, have water and have some love -but he is so skinny. I seriously just cry whenever I see how much love and support people have been sharing the posts and trying to find his home. And I cry when I just realize he is happy but then look and see how skinny he is.

I hope his owners turn up! He is a sweet boy, appears to be house trained and seems to have energy and still pretty young. This being the first time I’ve ever done this, I’m not sure what to do! But I knew we couldn’t leave him outside again.

Please send positive thoughts this week that we get Hank back home.

DIY – Reading Side Table

March 18, 2016 | The Bee Life

As I have mentioned in a few previous posts, I was on a little mission to try and find some “trash treasures” on garbage day, older pieces that just needed some TLC – well I found one that I picked up back in October and finally finished this piece up. It was a side table with no drawers, a few torn spots but relatively in good shape. See for yourself. . .

I had initially wanted to spray paint it a bright color and find some baskets to go in the inside (but didn’t really have a complete game plan for the inside). I’m glad we waited a bit for a few of the other pieces in our master suite to wrap up, because I ended up sanding this down and just re-staining it to match the tops of our night stands (plus I like staining pieces WAYY more than painting or spray painting). So I sanded this bad boy down, because we had gotten the top a little messier than we we had found it (oops!) and gave it a few coats of stain. I found my inside solution one day at Target near the front $1 bins – I grabbed some adhesive paper for $3 a roll – and gave it a shot. Well I scored, two rolls later this baby was brought back to life.

The basket was a gift from Kates (filled with wine) that I happen to try in one of the openings and it worked out perfectly! We did have to buy some thin plywood that we ended up cutting and gluing on the top and bottom shelf’s to make them level, since there was a dip down. So other than the nominal cost of that, the only other expense was the $6 for the adhesive paper, since we already had the stain and poly. I love the way it came out, especially with the subtle pattern and pop of color!

Happy Friday!

Wednesday Reminders – Birthdays

March 16, 2016March 15, 2016 | The Bee Life

Happy birthday, to me!

Wednesday Reminders - Birthdays
The day has come, the day I love-hate. I love it because, well I just love birthday’s plus I have an excuse to eat cake (I’m probably sounding like a broken record). It’s also a fun excuse to get a little more expensive dinner, order an extra dirty martini (or a few) and throw on some heels. But I hate it because I keep getting older, I definitely have the case of the Peter Pan syndrome.

As I am getting older, I am realizing that some things won’t change by themselves, I’m really hoping I find some of my inner strength and motivation back this year that I’ve lost. It’s continuous work, and recognizing goals and working towards them is the first step.

So for this year I hope to get back on the path of the best me, physically, mentally, and emotionally. Oh and have a hell of a great time doing it.

Cheers!

Weekend Recap

March 14, 2016March 19, 2016 | The Bee Life

Let the busy and booked weekends commence! This past weekend was the start of a series of busy weekends, because you can only be busy if you’re consistently busy week after week, right? Apparently…

We had a fun weekend visiting my parents, they had a little engagement party for us with everyone back home. It was great visiting, and seeing everyone because it’s always so piece-mailed throughout the year – or jammed into holiday celebrations with the masses.

Friday night we got into my parents a little after 7 – and enjoyed a haddock fish fry. My parent’s local fish fry’s is seriously ~~one of~~ THE BEST I’ve ever had. I still haven’t found anything comparable around us.

Saturday AM we woke up and enjoyed coffee and banana bread. B and I then hit the country roads and clocked 5-miles. We haven’t gone on a run together in a long time, and it was nice having him by my side again, we both pushed each other, having started off with the intent of running at least 4. It was nice running back where I grew up, and where I first started running – and it’s all viewed with a little different perspective now.

Saturday night was the engagement party! We had a taco bar and endless drinks. Kates and Travis were among the many guests, and it was great seeing and spending time with them! Although it’s never long enough. My brother and sister-in-law, aunt, cousins, Katie’s parents, and my second sister also came to celebrate. We luckily only told the engagement story ONCE, because we made everyone gather around, before we had to open presents in front of everyone – practice for what’s to come I supposed (although, if I have it my way I won’t be doing that at any of my showers!!) The gifts were awesome, and unexpected it was so sweet to have extra love from everyone.