reflections

Travel: Why We Vacay in Myrtle Beach

| The Bee Life

So the reason we visit Myrtle Beach is a little different that I am sure 80% of the people heading down there.  The beach and other extra curricular activities are always secondary to the reason we “vacation” there.  I’ve mentioned in previous MB recaps, that we go to visit my grandma who lives down there in a nursing home and that is 100% why we go down to Myrtle Beach, to see her.
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The goal generally when we go down and visit with my parents is to get my grandma out of that nursing home for a few days whether it’s a trip to the beach, shopping, dinner, or hanging out at the pool/condo.  But this trip wasn’t so much the case. Earlier in August she had an unexpected trip to the hospital that ended with her needing surgery which then led to longer hospital visit.  Luckily things went better than anticipated given she is 86 years old, but she was still recovering and more fragile from the surgery and her stay in the hospital when we went down there.  SO, we couldn’t take her out, meaning it was a lot of visits at the nursing home this time.

Our days at the nursing home consisted of making sure Grandma ate her lunch and dinner, occasional visits out to the patio area, cards (which she did not play), coloring (which she did not want to do either) and a few chats about the past.  She even had some photos from her wedding in 1956 – her wedding dress was amazing so I asked her what she ended up doing with her.  Her response; “I burned it.” … Yup! She burned her wedding dress when she was 24.
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The reality of our trip down to the beach destination with 80-degree weather all week was that we only made it to the beach once and only went swimming once at the condo (and at 9 o’clock at night). Friday we went to lunch and did the Conway Riverwalk in between visits at the nursing home.  Saturday was all day at the nursing home with a quick shopping trip to the Tanger Outlets before dinner with the extended family.

We also got to visit with my cousin and her three boys, who are an absolute treat and love B – they were super fun to see how much they’ve grown up, their personalities and sheer sweetness they give us for only seeing them every so often! We soaked up as much time with them from jokes, to hugs, hide and seek, giggles and cuddles on top of being able to see my cousin and aunt and uncle who live down there too.
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So although Myrtle Beach is often a beach retreat for many others, we go to see family who can’t travel to see us and hope to offer a little ray of sunlight to her probably lonely and long days at the nursing home.

Do you have a ‘vacation’ destination like this? Comment below!

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Fitness Friday 08.19

| The Bee Life

Hi beeutiful people! I’ve got a confession to make. And… I tend to keep the confessions somewhat limited on here, but I also feel that sharing and being honest with my bee readers may help one of you as I often find for myself.  SO! Here it goes… I’m scared… I’m scared to workout again, and I’m scared to go back to my bootcamp classes. I am scared I’m going to mess my back up again. So, I haven’t gone. I’ve continued to make excuses and let my busy August get in the way of pushing back my start date another month.
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But I have also know that if I don’t face my fears and do things that may be a little scary I won’t grow, I won’t try and I won’t succeed. So I need to face my fears, stick those excuses in a box and say good-bye.  I’m a bit mad that I’ve continued to let this back problem persist longer, but also trying to understand that some things take time.  I did get past some of the workout fears by running a bit, but I need more structure to get back into something and I love my bootcamp classes.

To further the motivation of facing my fears, I stepped on a scale yesterday *screams* … I know it’s not always about numbers. But I also know what numbers are not good for me and I know where I need to be.  It’s been a struggle and rollercoaster this year, coming off a few strong years cranking into wedding mode, it seems about fitting.

And I’m ready to get back into beast mode and I’ve set the goal to keep running for the rest of the month and come September 2, I’m going to demolish those fears.

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Life Lately – Living in Color

| The Bee Life

Three months ago I shared a Life Lately & Bee update and how I was dealing with some major seasonal depression. And I’m happy to report that life lately has been so much better – even dealing with back pain and not being able to workout.  Life lately has been so pretty with the spring time, flowers blooming, fresh grilled dinners, bright pops of color and lots of sunshine.
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We’ve had a good mix of busy weekends and weekends when we haven’t had anything on the calendar – but somehow we’ve filled up our empty calendar days with projects around the house, walks with Moz, patio meals and naps on the back patio.  We’ve been getting the house ready for the summertime, with deep spring cleans, planting flowers and watching our peonies grow and bloom.

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Weekend Recap – Flowers & Family

| The Bee Life

We got lucky this past weekend with an extra day making it a long weekend visiting the family back home.  The weekends are already jam packed, so the extra day was much needed and allowed a bit more time to relax and do some normal running around with the parents.

Mom and I went to the local nursery where she picked out some flowers to plant around the house, which I was able to get for her as a belated Mother’s Day present! Growing up, we always went this local farm to pick out flowers to plant around the house, so it was nostalgic while also realizing some things never change – like this little local green house, the owners, the flowers and the fact that my mom can’t make a decision even when she’s shopping for flowers! But it’s all those little things that never change that made the trip with Mom a memorable one.
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With the extra day, beyond the flower shopping, I was able to help mom with some decorating around the house (which she never lets me do!) we shopped a yard sale and we were even able to get all her new flowers planted and ready for spring! B and my dad went golfing, to a golf demo day and up to the local brewery – so they definitely stayed busy, while Mom and I got extra one on one time in.

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Weekend Recap – Easter Things

| The Bee Life

Easter fell super late this year, so it’s crazy that April is nearly over – eeek! But the Easter weekend flew by just like the rest of this month has been. Not to mention the weather was gross and rainy (but those May flowers are coming!!) it made you just want to lay around and not do much besides watch some playoff basketball – which we did!

All of last week, I was prepping to host my first Easter brunch, even though it wasn’t going to be for the masses – I wanted to make sure I had a nice well-rounded meal planned.  I knew I wanted to make this Overnight French Coast Casserole recipe, so that was a definite (recipe coming later this week!), bacon is always a brunch staple in our household, and then I made a batch of scrambled eggs and had blueberries and raspberries too! The guys made up bloodies, while mom and I stuck with coffee. It was so all so delicious and so filling, yum!
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We wrapped up our Easter weekend with B’s family with a tasty ham, mashed potatoes, baked carrots and salad – we definitely ate well this weekend, that is for sure.  We even helped our nieces with an Easter egg hunt! They were so cute and excited to open their plastic eggs filled with coins and candy and find their Easter baskets – it was super fun to see them so excited about the holiday fun!

Beyond all the Easter festivities, we enjoyed some local eats at some of our favorite spots and even a few new ones – we had a lot of good catching up and laughs, not to mention a house full of pups that kept us busy! How was your weekend?

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Latest Obsessions 03.19 – March Roundup

| The Bee Life

To close out one of my favorite month’s of the year – my latest obsessions are honestly a bit of a roundup of some of this past month’s adventures, happenings and behind the scenes planning. Ironically we’re closing out the month with a fresh coat of snow after having a lovely day in the 50’s just yesterday. #Spring

Our Chicago Trip:  Our weekend getaway to Chicago was just what the doctor ordered and was a much needed escape from reality – not the mention B and I got to explore another city together and do as much city touristy things as possible while also trying to eat as much Chicago food as we could! This little trip as spurred our other 2019 trips into booking mode instead of just planning mode!

Bathroom Finishes & Accessories: With our bathroom remodel project well underway, we’re finally getting to a point where finishes are right around the corner and we have a defined space! … Although this just means my wheels have been spinning a bit more than usual with all the possibilities.  I still have yet to find some towel holders, soap tray, bath towels and other bath accessories that I love (well that aren’t $100 each) … so I think I’ll actually have to shop in a store vs. browsing online.
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Getting Back Into My Fitness Routine: I’ve been working to make this more intentional into my day to day and trying to prioritize around all of the other things that are such as life. It hasn’t been easy, I’ve had good streaks and I’ve had bad streaks but the most important part is that it’s a priority and change is slowly happening – which is better than none at all!

Inspirational Books: I’ve been reading a lot lately which unfortunately isn’t usual for me! I’m more of a vacation/travel reader – but I’ve found some books lately that have been what I’ve needed, they’re educational, inspirational and motivational. I’m looking forward to sharing a few with you as I finish them up!

March was a bit of a rollercoaster of fun, emotions, change and everything in between so I’m happy to see it go and looking ahead to warm months with lots of possibilities, more obsessions and a whole lot more fun!

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Weekend Recap – Bday & Bubbles

| The Bee Life

This past weekend was a mix of fun and relaxation – which is just what I needed after being a bit under the weather all of last week and even still into the weekend.  But I’m finally feeling like this cold is winding down and about to hightail out of here!

Friday I was fortunate to take a half day from work and grab lunch with an old coworker – we kicked off our birthday weekend with some much needed catching up! I was able to get a decent nap in before our neighbors going away party that night which lasted right up until midnight to welcome my official birthday!  Our old neighbors were in town visiting for the party as well, so it was great catching up and having almost the whole crew together under one roof again.
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Birthday Saturday was a busy, yet relaxing day.  B and I kicked off the morning with an unofficial, official birthday workout – from there I got my birthday drink from Starbucks and made my way to the spa for a facial and mani/pedi appointment. It was a nice way to kickoff the day, self care at it’s finest.  While I was at the spa, B and his dad were making some good progress on the bathroom remodel and wrapped up just as I got home – it was perfect timing, plus a BIG item crossed off the to-do list.

The rest of the day was low key until we headed to one of our favorite spots for drinks and dinner. Bubbles for me, dirty martini for B, pear salad – with no cheese for me, meatball plate for B and then we both got personal pizza’s – mushroom and prosciutto pizza, with no cheese, for me and a classic pepperoni with banana peppers for B. We grabbed some bubbles and cake before heading home for the rest of the night!
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With a birthday the day before St. Patrick’s Day, partaking in festivities usually happens by default!  We popped up to our favorite little coffee shop for their festive Pot O’Gold latte and a quiet regroup before the day got started.  The shop was glowing in green for the holiday with clovers and all things lucky – which made it another perfect reason to pop in to kickoff the Irish holiday.

From there we headed to brunch with some family before they headed to the big parade downtown.  We got more coffee, caught up with some of our favorites and ate some more delicious food.  After two jam packed days and nights, B and I were down for a relaxing afternoon.  Weekend Recao - the bee life (3)
I think one of the best parts of the weekend was that the sun was shining ALL weekend. It was amazing – not to mention I woke up to birds chirping both days.  Saturday morning, I literally did a double take and checked my phone to make sure the birds were real and not my phone alarm! It was beautiful and also meant that Moz got a walk, which always makes for a great weekend.

Cheers!

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Fitness Friday 03.19

| The Bee Life

If you read my post about Life Lately & Bee or keep up with my Fitness Friday posts – you know my fitness routine and goals have been struggling a bit! But as I’m working to pull myself out of my winter slump – I’ve made an intentional change to my fitness routine within the last week. Woo! Fitness Friday 03.19 - the bee life
In the last week and a day, I’ve already worked out more than I did in the entire month of February! EEK! But it’s all positive now – I’m back on track, I’m making strides to fit ME TIME into my days and making my health a priority.  Not to mention with a birthday (tomorrow) – I want to continue to stay in my best health, and keep getting better after all the progress I made the last two years.

Looking forward and into the rest of the year – we have a 10-miler race (that we’ve run the last 4-years) at the end of April so I have to get my butt in gear so that I can have a successful run!  From there we need to sign up for another half or two, this year still and continue the running game while sticking to my cross-training.

Here’s to making more intentional changes, for good!

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Catch-up on other Fitness Friday’s: Eliminate Excuses | 2019 Fitness Goals

29 Birthday Reflections

| The Bee Life

For all my Bee readers, and even close friends that may be reading along – you know I hate getting older (sorry too all my friends who are older than me, ilu!) – but I’m working on that imperfection and fear of getting older each year by trying to embrace my birthday!  Ha! So in honor of the start of the last year in my twenties *starts sobbing* … here are 29 birthday reflections/hopes/dreams or just things about me.
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Thinking of 29 things – was actually pretty hard, so here we go!

  1. Still love birthday cake.
  2. I was blonde when I was little
  3. I was named after a man, my great grandpa, Emil
  4. I hated having my picture taken from the ages 2-5 (& have pictures to prove it)
  5. Within the last 3-years I’ve had to figure out a lot of my dietary issues & have a random list of cannot eat items; like cauliflower to spicy foods to Chinese food
  6. I’m also lactose intolerant
  7. As much as I loved Barbie’s I also loved to play with Legos & Matchbox Cars as a kid
  8. Jasmine was my favorite Disney princess
  9. I love hosting parties and entertaining at our home
  10. I was a cat lady before I was a dog lady
  11. I love taking pictures and a lot of my friend’s favorite wedding pictures are candids I took ❤
  12. This will be my first birthday with my new last name
  13. I want to go on 5-trips before my next birthday
  14. I love being on a board as part of a local nonprofit that helps people who are fighting breast cancer in our community
  15. My goal is to read more books – I’ve already started!
  16. I want to take more time to talk and listen to my friends
  17. I love organizing and making things look pretty
  18. I want to run 3-half marathons before my next birthday
  19. I want to play more golf
  20. My high school year book prediction was that I’d be the Queen of England. lol #TheCrown
  21. Note to self: Take more walks… with Moz & B
  22. I love decorating and designing spaces, even if it’s just setting the dining room table
  23. I have yet to travel outside of the country!
  24. I’ll gladly admit I’m wrong… any day… but I rarely am *tongue face*
  25. My parents never had cable and still don’t have cable
  26. As much as I have expensive taste, I love a good bargain
  27. Cookie Dough is my favorite ice cream (if I could eat it)
  28. Remember to slow down and soak in the little things
  29. I want to continue to face my fears

Did I miss something? I’m sure I did – leave a comment below!

xo
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