Life

Weekend Update – Engaged!

| The Bee Life

This past weekend was an exciting one, definitely one that won’t be forgotten as it was full of celebrating B and I’s engagement! He popped the question on Thursday and caught me completely off guard – which was his main goal, success!!

Engaged! - the bee life

Of course I’ve always imagined getting proposed to by B and being engaged, but at the same time it always seemed so far away! So until it happened, I was totally caught off guard not only when and how, but for all the follow-up afterwards…. here are some things I learned from my experience;

1. It’s not official until it’s Facebook official (we waited a few days before “officially” posting)
2. Everyone loves a good engagement story (and everyone wants to hear how it happened)
3. Everyone wants to tell everyone else
4. I couldn’t sleep worth a damn for 2 nights, I like to compare it to the Christmas morning jitters! (drafted this at 3am on one of the said nights)
5. Everyone has an opinion (about all the wedding planning you haven’t done yet)
6. I wish I would’ve printed a story of the engagement to hand out to people – it was fun telling the first 10 times…
7. It’s officially acceptable to starting looking at wedding stuff (unhide the Pinterest board) !!!!
8. I didn’t realize how much I didn’t like attention (especially at work) until I received it – yes I am beyond excited about it but there doesn’t need to be a million announcements about it! Although it’s nice that everyone is so excited for us (thank you everyone!)

For the record, we don’t have a date, we aren’t starting to plan at least for 3… 4 months? I just want to enjoy this time with B!  Oh, and we aren’t having babies anytime soon.

XO

Wednesday Reminders – Firsts

| The Bee Life

There are definitely times when I am especially reflective and thoughtful on specific moments in time or memories and in this instance, some firsts with B.  Four years ago marked our first weekend getaway together and our first Valentines Day.  I don’t know why this year I am so gooey over V-Day, it seems to vary year-to-year and for no particular reason… although in college my girlfriends and I threw a V-Day Sucks Party. *smiles*

Anyways… as I was saying, four years ago was our first weekend getaway to the cabin, which had gotten bombarded with snow, so much that it was up to my knees! There isn’t a whole lot to do in the middle of no-where, so we played a lot of scrabble and ate pizza and even took a stroll out in the snow.  It was a fun weekend away doing a whole lot of nothing, which makes it feel like you have all the time in the world.
Our first Weekend Getaway 2012 - the bee lifeOur first weekend getaway - the bee life (1)Our first weekend getaway - the bee life (2)I love looking back at this first trip to the cabin, because it’s become a tradition and our getaway, a place to get away from all of the daily noise. I also love looking back, because I’m thankful (and sometimes in shock) for the journey that’s gotten B and I nearly to five this year. I think that’s why I am especially reflective this year since we’re hitting a small milestone, yet still a milestone in my book!

 

Fitness Friday no. 6

| The Bee Life

We are 29 days into the new year and if you’ve joined along, 29 days into our first 30-day focus.  My focus items included, limit times we eat out, do barre 5-days a week, walk Moz on the weekends, no sweets, and limit alcohol intake.

So how did I do? You’ll have to wait and see… Monday I will give my full 30-day run down, but until then, we still have a few days to finish strong and start looking ahead at the upcoming 30-days and some more fitness tips to help you (and me) succeed!

Fitness Friday 06 - the bee life - emilyboylan.com

    1. Treat Yourself – Regardless of how ‘successful’ you consider yourself to be these last 29 days, the fact that you tried and accomplished feats is something to be proud of! It’s OK to treat yourself, whether that’s having some of your favorite ice cream, buying a venti at Starbucks, or splurging on some wine and chocolate. If we deprive ourselves too much for too long, we might end up over indulging in a moment of weakness.  It’s easy to focus on the negative, we need to reflect and acknowledge more of the positive!
    2. Pump Up the Volume – With music! Take some time to make sure you have an awesome playlist for your workouts, this will keep you motivated from the start of your workout to the finish, not to mention a few dance moves in between sets or while you’re on a run.
    3. Prioritize Goals –  One of the perks of focusing on 30-days, is the focus! It’s also a time to prioritize your goals.  Is one of your goals, to be consistent with workouts, week after week? And another to loose weight? And another eat better?  If you’re like me and have endless amounts of goals, start small and prioritize – in order to accomplish X I need to do Y first… aka in order to loose weight, I need to maintain working out week after week, so that is my first focus goal. The rest will fall into place.
    4. Be Practical – Just like prioritizing goals, be practical in what you’re asking yourself to accomplish.  Are you jamming too much in and it’s resulting you to not succeed? It’s OK if you can only workout 2-nights a week and the rest has to wait for the weekend. I am realizing that right now, running has to wait for the weekends and I can focus on Barre and strength during the week given the time I have.  I’ve even come to realize that 30 or 40-minutes is better than nothing – so although it isn’t to the standards I’d prefer or would like, I need to make strides in the right direction.

    Here’s to finishing the first 30-days strong!

    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.

    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!

    Balancing Life

    | The Bee Life

    Work: “activity involving mental or physical effort done in order to achieve a purpose or result.”

    Life(style): “the way in which a person or group lives.”

    Balance: “an even distribution of weight enabling someone or something to remain upright and steady.”

    Work - Life
    With no major vacation this year, I am having some serious struggles with my work-life balance, not to mention my workout routine has been nonexistent, and I hate it.

    Being able to workout and maintain a healthy lifestyle is something that is important to me, although it mostly annoys me that cost and work get in the way of a large portion of things that make me happy and used to be a huge aspect of my day-to-day routine. Knowing that I am essentially gym-less and on my own to get some motivation (and have to work) I decided to put together a list of items to be more cognizant of starting ASAP at home and at work (because complaining gets you nowhere).

    Life

    • Morning workouts & weekend runs: Waking up an hour earlier to do a set of exercises for 30-40 minutes in the morning is more than I am currently doing – taking advantage of free time on the weekends will balance out anything missed during the week
    • Breakfast & Coffee at home: Waking up earlier will allow time to prep a breakfast and make coffee, so that I won’t be tempted by Starbucks which is in the lobby of my office building
    • Walks with Moz: A quick walk at the end of the day allows for the extra motivation and fresh air – maybe even a quick walk in the morning
    • Yoga before bed: I have a 10-minute yoga routine I do occasionally before bed, it needs to happen more often
    • Weekly scrap-booking: It’s something I love to do and don’t do enough up, I have a lot of catching up to do!  Even if it’s 30-minutes a week

    Work

    • Afternoon fresh air: A quick walk around the block to break up the afternoon and recharge will take 5-10minutes out of the day but have a lasting effect
    • Packing a lunch & snacks: Will allow for me to save money and not be tempted by a quick sub or the leftovers in the cafe
    • Stay above the crap: It’s so easy to get sucked in or be the hitting board for someone’s bad day – remembering to stay above that and not sweating the small stuff
    • Drinking more water: No explanation needed

    I want to start with little items that can be accomplished in order to stay focused and not get overwhelmed, creating good habits is half the battle – so starting small makes sense.  How do you maintain a good balance between life and work?

    Ten Things

    | The Bee Life

    Here are ten senseless distractions; and a quick read to get to know a little more about me!  I saw this idea in another blog I like to read; Centsational Girl and loved this idea and thought it would be the perfect distraction for my afternoon. It was hard just picking one answer for each, but I tried my best.

    1. If money was no object, what’s something you’d buy right now.  My own personal gym.

    2. Spring vs. Fall ? Fall – clam bakes, sweaters, pumpkins, coffee, jeans, scarfs, cool runs… shall I continue?
    3. What’s on your nightstand?      Pictures of me and B and my glasses.

    4. What’s your favorite room in your house?  Our sunroom! 5. If you could have lunch with anyone in the world, who would it be?  Too many choices…. it’s a toss up between Derek Jeter and Katy Perry

    6. Name one thing on your bucket list.  Sky dive with B

    7. What’s the best vacation you’ve taken?  Jackson Hole w/ B and my parents! The company makes all the difference.
    8. Congratulations, you just won an all expenses paid trip to     Ireland and Germany!

    9. Backyard BBQ or Formal Dinner?  Formal dinner – I love getting dressed up, and sitting around the table sharing stories, good laughs and a bottle of wine.
    10. What advice would you give your teen self?       There is a much bigger world out there; explore it as much as possible, and even if you break away – there is still a bigger world beyond that.

    Wednesday Reminders – Patience

    | The Bee Life

    Patience is something we can always work on.  I do find lately that I notice I have better tolerance for certain things compared to a year or two ago.  For example: this past Sunday in church a family with 3-small children was sitting in front of us.  Before the mass even started the 4-year oldish boy was having a melt down and getting dragged out of church… During the second reading; the same thing happened, making the reader at the alter look as though she was lip reading. The whole time it was impossible to focus and they were directly in front of us.  Normally I would grab B’s arm and give a tight squeeze, squirm around, roll my eyes and maybe even clear my throat loudly… a few times.  But I was surprised at how tolerant (yet still extremely annoyed) I was with this for an hours straight. Of course, as soon as we got in the car we both let out a sigh of relief. Still, I realized I had learned patience.

    On the flip side of that, I notice that with other things patience is completely out the window. I think it’s because I have high expectations/standards for the people on the receiving end. I need to do a better job at reminding myself that I can only control myself in turn, my actions. How I react could be just as bad as the trigger, creating a ripple effect and ultimately affecting the future – whether it be long or short term.

    Will we ever completely learn patience for everything? I don’t think so, but I know we will learn and adapt in situations only to discover other areas to work on – knowing we can always affect the way we react.