MOH Duties – Let the Countdown Begin

| The Bee Life

A little over a year ago I was thrilled to be asked by my high school best friend to be her Maid of Honor (MOH)!  I was also a bit worried and nervous that being a few states apart would hinder my MOH game and participation with planning things.  It’s hard enough for me to find my own ME time, that adding in extra planning that’re hours away would be just as hard. Well it’s almost go time, so no more excuses. We are 4-months out from Kates & Travis’ big day, which means there is a whole lot of bachelorette and bridal shower planning to do!

First batter up: The Bridal Shower
The bridal shower is in March, and I am helping her mom with as much as I can (mostly decorations) and hopefully ordering some custom cookies from Snicklefritz Bakeshop. Here are a few of the  decoration ideas I’ve found that I’m going to adapt for Kates’ shower.

Main items needed: Centerpieces | Cute signage for gift table | Signage for desserts, mimosas bar, food | banners | balloons

Of course I am going to adapt and make a lot of these pieces myself – I always love a good DIY.  I’ll also be in charge of wrangling the other bridesmaids to make game prize gift baskets, luckily we will be splitting this up, so it shouldn’t be too painful *famous last words*

Next batter up: The Bachelorette Party
Now I am not one for all of the typical bridal fo-pah stuff, so luckily it’s not me getting married :-)… yet… luckily Kates isn’t really either, so planning a fun weekend getaway for her is more like hosting a party than buying penis straws, cramming into a tight short skirt and going out solely to get drunk.

Originally Kates wanted to keep this SUPER low-key and have a ‘girls night in’ at her own house, I pushed her to explore at least a mini weekend getaway in wine country – it looks like that might be the winner.  Now all we have to figure out is how many people, the house, the limo bus, invitations, the food, the cost, and the rest of the 500 other logistical things I am probably forgetting 🙂   Planning is kind of on hold until I get more deets from my girl, and then it’ll be full swing – this will be in early May so still coming up in the very near future…. as long as winter usually feels, I have a feeling this is going to go by quick!  Until then, I am doing my research and vetting out options along with gaining inspiration to make this a fun and memorable weekend for Kates.

Thank goodness for Pinterest and all the inspiration and great ideas I’ve been getting – it also helps me think of creative, low cost ideas to adapt to make these events super special for Kates!

Let the planning begin!

 

Fitness Friday no. 5

| The Bee Life

Happy Friday! How is everyone doing with their 2016 fitness goals?

I’ve been making slow progress. I signed up for Barre3 – which offers a plethora of online videos at a low monthly cost, and right now that’s exactly what I need. I’m enjoying the challenge and core building exercises, and I’m excited to keep it up once I start training for my 10-miler.

So this week I want to focus on the “little” things that are just as important to your health and fitness, as the actual physical work.  What’s that? Maintaining your stress and positive energy.

Fitness Friday 05 - the bee life - emilyboylan.com

1. Confront It. If something or someone is bothering you, confront the situation. I think the word confront often has a negative connotation – but the way you approach the situation is key and doesn’t have to be negative or defensive. Clear your chest and speak your peace, the rest is out of your hands…

2. Lose Control. Speaking of out of your hands, you can only control yourself, aka you cannot control others. So if you’ve spoken your peace, knowing you’ve tried, work on letting go of the rest.  You’ll thank yourself later!
*Disclaimer: I know it’s easier said than done.

3. Release The Stress. With exercise! Not food! Personally, I often crave some bad eatings when I am stressed or had a bad day at work – I find I have a small window to get motivated to exercise, but when I do pick exercise over the burger and fries I feel 10x better AND not fat!  Challenging your mind to pick fitness over food in those situations is half the battle.

4. Stretch! I’ve mentioned this before; but since I’ve been stretching more I can’t get over how much I can feel it in my muscles and body and how much it helps.  It helps release all those stresses that get stored in our body from long days of sitting at a desk or standing on our feet. Try 10-minutes a day, I bet you’ll feel a difference.

5. Reflect on the Good. It’s easy to fixate on the bad, how we didn’t work out, how we ate bad, the jerk at work… and it’s easy to overlook the good. Try writing down on a post-it at least one good thing that happened during your day and tuck it away in a jar, by the end of the year you’ll have a jar full of happy memories, that hopefully also helped you in the current moment – focus on the good. You can also bring this up with a roommate, spouse, or best friend at the end of the day and both share your “goods” of the day.

Keep focusing on your 30-days there is still time to work towards your goals and build good habits!

Wednesday Reminders – Growing Up

| The Bee Life

I’ve been recently reminded that I can still figure out what I want to do with my life.  At a young age and verging legal adulthood we’re pressured to decide what we want to do with THE REST OF OUR LIVES,  what we want to study at college and where we want to go. It’s scary and intimidating! And from college we’re challenged with figuring it out once the 4-years (or more) are nearly over and… actually do it.

I was lucky. I knew the general field I wanted to study, which was good and when I did any tweaking it wasn’t major, I didn’t need to start over, like some people do, let alone go back to school after you’ve graduated. That always sounded like a nightmare, and had a stigma of a failure.

But now I am realizing that we can still figure out what we want to do with our lives, even after college, even after we’ve been in the ‘real world’ for a brief or long period of time.  We can still go back to school and learn something new, pursue a passion and make it more than just a hobby.  It’s OK to change paths if it’s something that makes sense for you and makes you happy. it takes courageto grow up and become whoyou really are.I often joke with my bestie, that it sucks being a grown-up, having student loans to pay, a full time job, a mortgage/rent, car payment, insurance… shall I continue? All those things we don’t like, but have to do.  We then joke and say; “And we wanted all of this?!” – a lot of it is inevitable, but we can at least be happy while we’re grown-ups and if that means pursuing a different path or figuring out what we want to do with our lives, it’s OK.

I believe being happy in all aspects of your life (as much as possible) is important to your success. I think that if we’re not happy or still figuring out what we want to do in our lives its OK to take time each week and focus and figure out what that is and the steps you need to take to reach your goals.

Goals for 2016

| The Bee Life

Okay, okay, I know I said I wasn’t going to share my goals for 2016, I sort of changed my mind… I’m going to share a few, the rest are just for me!2016 Goals - the bee life - emilyboylan.comHow am I going to accomplish each of these goals?  Well, it’s not going to be easy… but here are a few ideas:

  1. I am already signed up for one race, and about to sign-up for my second.  Then I’ll just need to find two more for the summer/fall seasons.
  2. I’ve got something up my sleeve, and I’m excited to share this will all of you, but not yet!
  3. In July we have a wedding in Denver to go to, so that’ll check off one new place – B and I always have the travel bug, so I hope we will figure out another fun trip!
  4. This is something I’ve been working on, but haven’t made a focus; and I want that to change.  There are many aspects of this, less Starbucks, less eating out, less house projects!, etc… so I’m going to learn to say “No” a little more, even if that means saying “No” to me.
  5. I’ve made many excuses this past year and I’m over it – so I’m hoping that better 30-day focus and my Friday Fitness blogs will help some of you, as well as me!
  6. Without technology!  It’s a bad habit, and I do love my social media, but I find us too often browsing when we could be talking or paying more attention to each other. That’s one example of how to accomplish this.

Another goal is to focus on these goals (I know that sounds silly, right?) and modify them and re-evaluate these when needed, if needed.  Goals are meant to be reflected on, and worked towards gradually and if they aren’t reviewed regularly, chances of success are few.

So remember to focus on your goals and have check-in’s so that you can have 2016 success!

Target Love

| The Bee Life

As I have been price shopping around for the perfect pieces for our master bedroom, I keep coming back to one place over and over again – Target. Their prices, convenience and in my opinion quality (for the price) can’t be beat.  I am always down for a bargain – even though as much as I would love to shop at some of the higher end spots regularly like Crate & Barrel, Pottery Barn or Anthropologie – there are many other things I like to enjoy with my money!  See if you can guess which of these is from Pottery Barn and which is from Target (don’t cheat!) – you might be surprised by a few…
Target vs. Pottery Barn
01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08

How did you do?  These pieces are pretty similar and nearly identical, but the difference between price point is not even on the same level! Target is the clear winner when it comes to price, but I still love and dream about you Pottery Barn (and Crate & Barrel and Antrhopologie).  I also like to decorate or re-accessorize somewhat frequently, so spending more than I need to on pieces isn’t ideal – I am just lucky I have more rooms to move the ‘retirees’ to!

What’re your favorite ‘bargain’ spots?

Fitness Friday – New Year Edition

| The Bee Life

Happy New Year!! I usually share with everyone my resolutions or goals for the new year – but I am going to switch it up this year and continue with more focused tips so that we’re all successful with our healthy goals always, but especially as we enter 2016.

Fitness Friday - New Year Edition - emilyboylan.com
Fitness Friday – New Year Edition – emilyboylan.com
  1. No More Fad Diets – Why?  Because you won’t last.  Let’s face it, we’ve all been there before.  There is a difference between a lifestyle change and a fad diet, know what is good for you and what works with your eating habits, lifestyle and health.  For example, I need to make a more conscious effort of cutting dairy out since I’m lactose intolerant- lifestyle change, not a fad diet.
  2. Post-It On The Wall (Or Refrigerator); If you see your goals everyday, and what you’re striving to accomplish, you’ll be more likely to have success.  In college I used to have little signs posted on my wall that read, “No eating after 9pm” – “No soda!” – “Work Out!” – “One Sweet a Week” … etc. It really helped me get those notions and habits in my head and I actually followed my own rules.
  3. Focus on 30-Days; This was  a suggestion by the famous Biggest Loser trainer, Bob Harper, and I think it’s so smart and simple.  Instead of having grandiose plans for the entire year, focus on one month at a time. I received fitness classes for Christmas – but instead of using that up, I want to get into a rhythm before, since I’ll only have the fitness classes for 2-months – I want my healthy workout routine to last more than just 2-months out of the entire year!
  4. Cut Out The Sugar; Sugar drinks, coffees, soda, and sweets!  Once we have these sugars in our bodies, we only crave them more – so let’s start cutting them out!  This is going to be one of my 30-day focus items that I plan to in-bark on.

So now what? Pick a date to start your 30-day focus, I am thinking about starting January 4th or 9th. Next, pick out your items you want to focus on for those 30-days, start small if you’re starting from square one. For example; Exercise 2-3 days a week, no sweets during the week, no soda or eating after 9pm. Then, write your items and post them up where you’ll see them EVERY DAY; and begin.  I also found that writing my progress on a calendar helped me see my progress – where I struggled and where I had a really kicked ass. It might help you too!

Here’s to you and a healthy and happy new year!

Bye 2015!

| The Bee Life

We are less than 24 hours away from welcoming in the new year, so let’s take a look back through pictures at my 2015 to get ready to say good-bye.

January 2015 – Puppy fever
February 2015 – Katie & Travis visit
March 2015 – My Birthday
April 2015 – Celebrating my Promotion
May 2015 – Mother’s Day
June 2015 – Dress shopping for Kates
July 2015 – #emnbtostbc
August 2015 – Celebrating G&P
September 2015 – Fin & Moz
October 2015 – Sunday House Tailgate
November 2015 – Winterfest
December 2015 – Moz

I didn’t do very well with a lot of my 2015 goals, honestly I didn’t focus on them as much as I should have, so I’m not totally surprised.

My 2015 goals:

  1. Get back into a workout routine – failed miserably, again.
  2. Start the 5:2 Diet – nope, hardly tried.
  3. Travel outside of the country (Dublin 2015?) – not this year
  4. Get a promotion at work – yes!
  5. Run a half marathon – at least 3 other races – ran 2 races, but no half
  6. Read more books – a little success
  7. Don’t sweat the small stuff – maybe?
  8. Live in the moment – maybe

I’ve been thinking about my 2016 goals, I’ve had a lot of time to reflect in the last few months about successes, failures, hopes and wishes, and am truly working on a plan and change. I feel like I’ve made strides within the last few months in comparison to a majority of last year and early this year.  So I’m excited about my new focus and motivation for a positive change.

Cheers to another blessed year and cheers to another year of opportunities!

Christmas Hangover.

| The Bee Life

Am I the only one with a Christmas hangover?  Somehow, I don’t think that I am. I hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas, full of love, laughter, sweet moments… and not too much drama (let’s face it, families are the best at drama).

This Christmas was one of new traditions and changes. I spent Christmas for the first time ever away from “home” – and at our home with B, our first Christmas in five years that we’ve spent together!

The weather has been a bit amazing too – mid to high 50’s in the midwest, is NOT common especially for this time of the year.  Being able to take Moz on a walk on Christmas Eve in yoga pants and a sweatshirt was amazing. In fact we’d joked about a month previous that it’d be cool to do the exact thing.

Our Christmas Eve was nice and busy – we did a lot of prep around the house, I did a lot of baking and Christmas dinner prep, and of course a few last minute gifts with B.  We went to church and then came home snapped a few pictures and made some pizza’s and flipped the TV between It’s a Wonderful Life and Elf!  We also toasted with Manhattan’s in honor of my Grandma’s birthday and to new traditions.

Christmas morning we woke up and opened our stockings and presents – we had a great Christmas and both spoiled each other.  We relaxed a bit and then got ready and headed to B’s grandma Dee’s house for breakfast. We then headed over to his parent’s for presents and a movie for most of the afternoon! We finally headed back up to our place just in time to prep and cook dinner while my parents made it into town!  My aunts came over too – and we had a nice dinner around the table talking and enjoying each-others company.  More presents ensured after dinner from my parents!  It was then almost time to call it a night.

The mayhem continued on Saturday – after relaxing a bit in the morning we headed down the road to my aunts house for Hampel Christmas. Snacking and drinking, playing a new pickle game, laughing, dancing and catching up was the next few hours until dinner.  Pork, sauerkraut, gravy and dumplings are the main dinner items – presents and white elephant followed after dinner and then the games commenced.  We always play Pass the Trash and this year played a few fun games of LRC.

Finally, Sunday was B’s birthday – so we headed to church with our parents and then out to brunch right after.  It wasn’t until almost 3 o’clock we finally had the house back to ourselves and were able to crash for a nice nap!

It was four days of non-stop family, drinking, eating, and a lot of fun.  I’ve enjoyed taking some down time today to continue to relax and recover and get the house back in order.

Merry Christmas!

 

Monday Challenge

| The Bee Life

After some last minute shopping this past weekend, one thing became VERY evident. There were very few happy or friendly people shopping… yes stores were packed and it was hard to maneuver, many people wouldn’t even look at you or say “excuse me” – no eye contact just moving around and pushing past one another, looking exhausted in line or annoyed with the rest of the world.  That isn’t very holly or jolly is it? Hardly.

Luckily I encountered two friendly folks over my weekend shopping, but only because I wasn’t afraid to make conversation or acknowledge them – it was refreshing to exchange kind words with a send off of “Merry Christmas!”
Merry Christmas - The Bee Life - emilyboylan.comI was reminded early in the Christmas season, that we are often discouraged to say ‘Merry Christmas’ in fear of offending someone or political affiliations.  But when you listen to any classic song Christmas and Christ are all over them .  So I have made it a point to say Merry Christmas as much as possible.

So here is my challenge to all of you, over the next four days; say Merry Christmas to as many people as you can, in passing, at the store, over social media – share the love! Even easier yet, just look at a stranger smile and say hello.

Hello and Merry Christmas!