Hello and welcome to Wednesday! We are halfway through the week and I wish it would slow down just a teeny bit. We have commencement on Tuesday and I feel like I need a little more time.
It's the second Wednesday of the month so I am linking up with Shay and Erika for Workin' It Wednesday. This month's topic is planning/prepping your summer vacation.
Phillip and I don't have kids so we don't usually plan specifically for a summer vacation. With that said, here are my ideas on planning and prepping.
Sunset in Waikiki...[/caption] I'm a planner by nature, and while I can be flexible and adaptable I am more comfortable with a plan. I went to Hawaii in October 2014 and I started planning a year in advance. I was traveling alone so the first thing I did was research what the very busy times were as I was not interested in being caught in mobs of people. And also, airfares would be cheaper. That led me to mid-October. This worked out for me workwise as well because when I do take a full-on vacation, I turn off the work email. That means it needed to be a time when I could be certain that my office would be okay with me not being able to respond to things until I got back.
Hiking at Enchanted Rock, Texas[/caption] The next thing we do is take a good look at how long we are going to be there and what are our "must-sees and must-dos". When we did a weekend in Fredricksburg, TX, we knew we wanted to spend the Saturday morning at Enchanted Rock. We built the rest of our schedule around that.
Hoover Dam[/caption] What are the big attractions and what are the best ways to see them?
Grand Canyon[/caption] When we went to Las Vegas in December 2015, one of our must-sees/must-dos was Hoover Dam and the Grand Canyon. We knew we weren't planning on renting a car so Phillip scoured TripAdvisor to find out which tour companies were the best. It was so helpful to be able to read reviews and ask questions and we made a great choice when we picked our tour company.
At New York New York, Las Vegas[/caption] When building our trip schedule we also leave free time. This allows us time to wander - we walked miles and miles of the Vegas strip exploring all the casinos, shops, and restaurants.
The Breakers, Newport, RI[/caption] When Phillip visited New England with me for the first time we had a whole Sunday with no plans so we spent the day in Newport just the two of us. We had spent much of the previous two days with My Big Fat Italian Family and it was nice for just the two of us to go off and explore for a bit. Even though I'd been to Newport many times it was fun to show it to Phillip. We had no set agenda and no time constraints so we took our time and toured a mansion, walked the Cliff Walk, and wandered the piers.
waiting in line at Disney[/caption] I would say Disney requires a little more planning than other trips, especially if you're traveling with a group. And that group includes kids. Disney can get crowded so the first thing we did as a group was decide which meals we were all going to eat together. We made a list of the restaurants we wanted to eat at when and then worked backwards from there. Depending on where we wanted to eat and when would help us plan which park to tackle which day.
enjoying the Magic Kingdom[/caption] Traveling with a smaller child meant that most days we'd head back to the hotel for a bit so she could nap. There were also times where we would plan to split up so the little one could meet some characters and others could ride roller coasters.
Enjoying Epcot[/caption] Don't be afraid of going off in different groups. One night my sister, niece, Phillip, and I headed to Epcot a little early. Auntie Nichole was buying the little miss a souvenir. My brother and sister in law met us a little later and my parents were having dinner on their own that night.
Dinnertime in Epcot[/caption] We had just as much fun that night as the nights Philip and I dined on our own or the meals we all ate together.
NYC in 17 Days![/caption] Phillip and I have one trip planned for Summer. We're heading to NYC for my birthday. We've done just about all of the planning: hotel and airline tickets are booked; broadway show for Saturday night booked; reservations for dinner before the show are taken care of. We have vague plans for Friday and Saturday. Friday after we land and drop off our stuff at the hotel our plan is to:
Saturday during the day we plan to explore Central Park and the surrounding area. Maybe have breakfast out, we're not sure. We're leaving the first part of Saturday pretty open.
What's left to do here? Make packing lists. Because we're only going for the weekend, the plan is to carry-on only which means we need to pack smart. That means a list. If there's no list I'll forget something very important or overpack.
And those are my vacation prepping/planning tips! How do you all pack and prepare for vacation? Sound off in the comments below.
xoxoxoxo
Hello and happy Wednesday! Is this week almost done? I don't know about you but it's been a doozy. I am looking forward to this weekend. Other than Easter Sunday we don't have much planned.
This Wednesday is a Workin' It Wednesday and this month's topic is Spring Cleaning. Do you Spring Clean? When I lived in the Northeast it was very popular because houses were old, closets were small, and people would swap out their heavy fall and winter clothes for spring and summer. They would take the opportunity at that time to do a deep cleaning of the house. Open all the windows, clean windows, yards, stairwells and put winter stuff in the garage or away: boots, shovels, etc.
Here in Texas, I find that we don't really do that. I do like to do a good deep cleaning of everything and throw open all the windows as wide as I can and let the house air out after being sealed up all winter. I do this before I have to seal it all up again to keep out the oppressive summer temps.
I don't have a Winter/Summer wardrobe swap either. I'm pretty good about weeding out my closet though. In January, at the start of the new year, I turn all my hangers backwards (yes, like that Pinterest hack) and when I wear something, I turn the hanger right side out. After a season, if there is something that is still backwards, I know I haven't worn it. That pile then gets donated or put up for sale on Poshmark (I'll get to that in a minute).
I also will go through and find stuff that I maybe have collected a few too many of (plaid button down shirts come to mind). Stuff I may have worn but am only so-so about, I'll add that to the pile too.
And then I put it up for sale.
Have you used Poshmark yet? It's so easy.
It's easy to see (and buy). To sell, just take pictures of your clothes, and upload them to the site. You have to fill in details like brand, size, etc. You then list what you want to sell it for. People can buy it outright or you may get an alert saying someone offered you a different amount. When an item is sold, you get a notification with a printable pre-paid mailing label. I then put the item(s) in a priority mail box (free at your local post office), tape the label on, and drop it at the post office. Once the buyer accepts your item, your money is deposited in your account which you can then transfer to your personal bank account.
Easy peasy lemon squeezy and a quick and easy way to make a few extra dollars.
You can check out my closet here.
And that's how I Spring Clean. Any spring cleaning tips? What do you all do? Sound off in the comments below!
xoxoxoxo
Hello! And we're already at Wednesday. Is this week flying by for you? It sure is for me. We are halfway to the weekend folks! It is time for Workin' It Wednesday! This month's topic is work/life balance. I don't know about you all, but I struggle in this area sometimes. I have multiple balls in the air and sometimes it's hard to stay present in the moment when so much is going on. I know you're question already - how do you do it?
1. I work out in the morning. If I happen to have extra time at the end of the day, I'll take a walk, but my full on work out happens at 5am. There are too many opportunities for it not to happen if I don't do it then. I also like working out in the morning because it gets it done and it's a good way for me to start the day with a clear mind.
2. I try to leave home stuff at home and work stuff at work. It's hard. Sometimes there is cross over. Especially when planning a wedding. Do these vendors not understand that brides can have full time jobs? If I had a nickel for every time someone said they were available from 2-4 M, W, and F I'd have the wedding all paid for. So yes, there are times when I have to do personal things at work and there are times when I have to do work things at home. I try to keep them as separate as possible though.
3. Spend time with family. I met up with my cousin and her kids over Spring Break to see Beauty and the Beast (go see it!!!). I try to spend time with them as often as I can, but it never seems often enough. Having lived all over, it is a luxury to have family this close. Making time for them keeps me grounded.
With all of the technology available it would be very easy to work from home on the weekends. I do that rarely. Weekends are time for me to recharge. I still facetime with this little miss almost every Sunday. I could just as easily spend that time catching up on emails or paperwork. I don't.
4. Put in 100% while you are there. I get to work a little before 8 and leave at 5. I cram as much as I can into that timeframe and be as productive as possible. And then there are days that require 150%, such as Commencement. Loving what you do helps in this area. I give it my all and then some when it's called for. Doing that means I don't feel guilty for not working from home. And don't get me wrong, it's never been an expectation from my boss that I do, but I could easily get swept up in a culture of busy-ness and I refuse to do it.
5. Quality time with Phillip. If we're watching something random on tv, yes I will scroll through Instagram or Facebook. However, if we are out on date night, at a Mavericks game, or just eating dinner at home, we stay off the phone and concentrate on each other. There are times on the weekend when he has work to do and I take that opportunity to blog, do homework, or bake, so that when we're sitting down to dinner to watch Game of Thrones, we are 100% in the moment.
6. End the day with a clear mind. This was a goal of mine for 2017 to read more. And it's working. I think I've read more books so far in 2017 than I did in all of 2016. Yay! And I do it at night. I take 20-30 minutes before bed and read. It helps clear my mind and I am chipping away at my goal of 50 books this year. This allows me to not go to bed with all of the work things running through my head.
That's how I try to manage work/life balance. What works for you? Sound off in the comments!
Come back Friday for Friday Favorites!
xoxoxoxo
Technically this month's topic is Keeping Your Marriage Strong. Phillip and I aren't married yet, (262 days!) but we've been together two and a half years. Here's some thoughts on what works for us.
We are both introverts, so that helps. Neither one of us feel the need to be immersed in crowds for extended periods. It means that we like similar environments and like to spend our free time in similar ways. We are never going to be the neighbors that host a huge Super Bowl party. This works well for us because that means one of us is never begging the other to go some place the other really doesn't want to go.
We are both morning people. Early morning people. During the week we are up at 4:40am. Seriously. This carries over to the weekend too. The latest we sleep on the weekend is 6/6:30. Yes, that means we go to bed relatively early, but it works for us. It also helps that one of us isn't waiting for the other to be up and ready to go on the weekend. You can't help but be annoyed when you are up and ready to go and the other is still snoozing at lunch time. Half the day is wasted!
We're active together. Fitness and nutrition are important to us and we are both supportive of each others goals in this area. We run 5K's together and we are super competitive. We try to run together three times a week, sometimes outside, sometimes at the gym. We try to eat healthy and we're good about not bringing things into the house that will sabotage our goals. It would be very hard to focus on my nutrition if he wanted to eat out every night or get fast food. We cook at home almost every night.
We talk. We talk about everything really. But more importantly, we talk when something is bothering us. It is very important to both of us that we don't hold stuff in when we are angry, or upset, or our feelings are hurt. If one of us is feeling something, we speak up. It's vital to us that we say what we need to in order to address it and learn from it and move on. That adage about not going to bed angry? So true. At least for us.
We go out on dates still. To be fair, we went out on dates when we were, well, dating. Now that we're engaged and almost married, we want to make sure that we still make that time for each other. We're both busy career wise. I've got school too, and blogging on top of it. He has a couple of side projects as well. Saturday night is a time for us to disconnect from everything else and just spend time with each other. We try new restaurants or go to the movies or just pick one of our favorite places. My goal is that years from now we're still doing date night.
That's how we make it work! We work at it every day. I never take for granted what we have and our life together. Working at it makes it all that much sweeter.
Thanks for joining me for Workin' It! I'll be back on Friday with Friday Favorites...
xoxoxoxo
Hello Wednesday, how are you? Shay and Erika have started a new monthly link-up. Last year it was the Stranded! series. This year it's Workin' It Wednesdays. The theme for January is New Year's Goals. I went in depth about my goals last Wednesday. If I had known about the link-up then, I would have waited a week, but that's ok. I'll just do a one week follow-up about how I'm doing.
Hmmm, it might be a little early for this one, ha! I am feeling better at work though, I have fewer appointments and more time to devote to projects, which has been good. It's a crazy time of year though so I have some things that I have to prioritize right now.
I am!
Taking a page from my friend's book, I have started using my monthly pages as a meal planner/tracker. I also have gone through and updated some wedding related things to remind me to get stuff done. I really need to move on a florist. Sigh. I don't know why I'm dragging my feet about that one thing.
With the exception of last Thursday, I worked out every day. Woohoo!
Hmm, it's a little early for that one, but I am staying on top of my homework. This current module is about technology and higher education.
Still laughing! We have a great time together. Every Saturday night is date night. We play Mario Kart or cards. We can be competitive, but we have fun. At the end of the day, there is no one I would rather come home to. Some fun wedding things coming up: cake testing in 2 weeks!
Nothing there yet....sorry! But we are definitely going to a Maverick's game at some point in the near future.
Working on this one! I finished Daughter of Empire and just started At the Water's Edge by Sara Gruen. If I want to reach my goal of 50 books this year, I'll need to read about a book a week!
How are your 2017 goals going? Come back Friday for Friday Favorites!
xoxoxoxo
