A City for a Boss

I am in NYC this week attending the ATD (formally ASTD) Master Trainer program. I am so, so, so excited because it's just another thing to add to my resume.

Being a working sponsored trip means that I need to continue to do work-work while I am here. As I'm sitting here in my hotel room working on some prep material for the training, I started to feel like a real boss lady. I think it has something to do with the city of NY and but mostly to do with the fact that I am here, by myself.

There is something strangely empowering of being able to experience new things because of your job. I love the fact that I can travel and that I can do it alone if I want to. There is no one holding me back.

It's a very bad ass boss lady feeling....

Five on Friday: Travel Items That are Easy to Forget

Traveling in the near future? I'm heading to the big city this weekend and I'm including some things I always try to pack but are also easy to forget.

Q-Tips
Clear your ears, fix your make-up. Multipurpose beauty tool. Just pack them.

Band-aids
Blisters....nuff said.

Extra Hair Elastics
I always wear a hair elastic on my wrist to put my hair up whenever it's driving my nuts. The worst day of your life is when it snaps and you don't have a back up. I always try to pack one or two extra in with some bobby pins as a just in case.

Tweezers
That pesky eyebrow hair that stares you right in the eye every time you look in the mirror will drive you nuts during your vacation. Pack some tweezers so that you can pluck anything that decides to show itself.

Nail File
Hang nails, broken nails, whatever it may be that is bothering the shit out of you. File it down. I keep one of these handy in my purse so I'm pretty good at not being without.

Do you have any "must haves" when you're packing for a trip? Share below!

Humble Abode Series

Now that I am bordering on middle age, I've begun to feel like now is the time in my life to pursue homeownership. I thought it might be fun/interesting or potentially boring to chronicle the process for others that may be interested in finding out some information. Today starts the first post of the Humble Abode Series.

The first thing I did was ask around on what the first step would actually be because I wasn't quite sure where to start. Many suggested that I reach out to a mortgage broker to get an idea of what I would be pre-approved for meaning how much I would have to save and how much I could realistically shop for.

I found this gentlemen through someone I worked with and reached out via telephone. It was quick. He asked for my social, income and address. He took a couple of days and got back to me with a figure that I would be "prequalified" for with a FHA loan. He offered to provide me with a pre qualification letter which I guess would be important support when I go to actually look at houses.

To be honest, I was disappointed with the number he gave me. I asked him to explore some other loan options but I think it made me realize that I really need to get my debt under control and save, save, save.

I'm proud of myself taking this first step and getting an idea of what I can afford. I will keep you all posted on the next phase of the Humble Abode Series!

Five on Friday: Loving Lady Bloggers

An inspiration for starting the blog was all the blogs that I've come to love over the last few years and I thought it was important to share them with you! Each has their own special thing that I love!

Can You Stay for Dinner?
This was all over Pinterest a few years ago so you may have seen it already. Andie Mitchell lost over 100 pounds and wrote about her journey all while being a food blogger. Her site is beautiful and the images are delicious looking. She recently published her first book as well!

MamaLaughlin
I am sure you will get the sense that I love weight loss blogs and Mamalaughlin is another great one! She's got a great sense of humor and shares the struggles and triumphs in her life. Her newest adventure is the competition world and she looks AH-MAZ-ING.

Skinny Meg
I found Skinny Meg's blog through MamaLaughlin's blog since they are both from Texas. This mommy of two talks all about her parenting and weight loss fun and struggles. She posts a lot of videos and workouts on Instagram which is great inspiration.

Cupcakes and Cashmere
Home, life, love, baking, babies...Emily shares it all. She's had her blog for years so there's a lot of wonderful posts to read through.

Essie Button
Essie Button is basically my blog girl crush. She's a Canadian native who fell in love and moved to London with her boyfriend Aslan. They have a adorable greyhound Reggie and she blogs all about make-up and skincare. She's all over YouTube too so you can double Essie Button!

Do you have any bloggers that you love to follow? Let me know in the comments, I am always looking for a new read!

Training with Mickey Mouse

This past February, I was fortunate to attend the Disney Institute's Approach to Recruitment, Training and Engagement course in Orlando, Florida. It was an amazing four days of training where I was able to learn the Disney way of finding the best talent, training those new cast members and then keeping them through engagement. I've added a few fun photos from my trip!

The first night the whole group dined at Sanaa in the Animal Kingdom and it was so interesting. They served our table family style with traditional African food. It was all so delicious and a great networking opportunity for the group. The restaurant jets right up against the savannah in the Animal Kingdom which has a fire pit and night vision googles to find the animals at night!

The training was held at Coronado Spring Resorts so my hotel room was there as well. This place was HUGE and by HUGE I mean it was a half mile to walk from my hotel room to the gym.

We were so lucky to be able to enter the Magic Kingdom before it even opened! Main Street with no guests was amazing.

Disney's custodial staff do an amazing trick called Water Mickey. We met with a gentleman named Chris who showed us what it was all about. He was amazing!

Graduation day! It was an inspiring training and a lot of fun! I highly recommend investing in the opportunity.

Five on Friday: Employer Benefits You NEED

Working in Human Resources, I've come to realize that many employees know little if anything about the benefits their employers offer. It's so important for us to have a solid understanding of the options that we can elect. Below is a brief run down of five benefits you need!

401K
I've had more than one person tell me that one of their biggest regrets is not saving for their retirement. If you employers offers a 401K, ENROLL! Especially if they offer matching. You know what that means? Free money. You don't need to be a stock market genius in order to see your money grow. If you start early enough in your career, you will be able to save up plenty.

Life Insurance
Life insurance is generally pretty affordable and if you employers offers it with the option of having the costs taken out via payroll deduction, that's event better. We would all like to live forever but honestly, you never know. Make sure that you designate a beneficiary.

EAP
EAP stands for Employee Assistance Program and is probably one of the most under utilized benefit I've seen offered. EAPs are normally free for employees and can offer mental health and financial counseling, referrals for doctors, elder care assistance and even legal counseling at a discounted rate.

HSA
Health Savings Accounts allow pre-tax deductions to be distributed into an account to use for either qualified medical expenses or qualified health care expenses. It's a helpful way to prepare to expenses that you will have over the course of the year. You just need to be careful but they are often "use it or loose it" plans.

Wellness Plans
Look into your health insurance plan because you can often find hidden benefits in the form of gym discounts, gift cards for participating in wellness surveys and weight loss programs. Also, don't forget that as part of Obamacare, us ladies get our annual lady bit exams and physicals with NO copay.

SAD

Most days I love living in a place where we get to experience all four seasons. We get the long warm (sometimes too hot) days of summer and then the crisp air with the first snow of the winter. Especially living near the water, the seasons tend to be more vibrant than in other places.

Although I enjoy seeing all four of the seasons, the winter can feel particularly long and dark. I definitely get a little bit of Seasonal Affective Disorder in the winter when the days are short and it feels like the snow just won't back off. I get fatigued and lethargic and can sense my motivation lacking more than other times of the year.

I am sure there are other women who experience some of the symptoms of SAD. Luckily, I have found a few tips that make it a little easier for me to make it through the long winter.

• It can be tough to motivate myself during the winter to exercise but it always feels better after.   Getting in a  good daily sweat not only makes me feel better physically but it helps mentally as well.
• I always up my supplements in the winter knowing that the shorter days are coming. B12 and Vitamin C & D are my three must have in my vitamin regiment for the summer.
• Light therapy is one of the most common forms of treatment for SAD. I like to call them happy lights and they really can work! You can get ones for your desk or even an at home alarm clock. (I've used this the Philips Hf3470 Wake-up Light, White)

Do you have any tips to make it through the short days of the winter?

**I am not a doctor. You should consult your doctor if you feel as though you suffer from SAD.

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Five on Friday: Beauty Things I'm All About

Benefit Cosmetics "Puff Off!"

This is one of those products that you think could be a gimmick but it's definitely not. It's almost like a concealer mixed with a tingly eye cream and it works wonders for mild under eye circles. Plus the packaging is wicked cute.

First Aid Beauty "Ulta Repair Hydra-Firm Sleeping Cream"

My skin gets super dry in the winter and this night cream is great. It's thick but doesn't feel heavy when you put it on. It's also essentially scent free which for a night cream is a must have.

Cuticle Trimmer

I often don't have time to make it for a manicure after work and this helps my nails to feel trimmed and fresh and makes for an easy manicure at home. It seems like some type of waterboarding tactics but I promise it's painless. You simply run the trimmer along your cuticle and it takes care of any excess.

Eye cream

I have an intense fear of aging and when I turned twenty five I decided that I an eye cream was a necessity to add to my skin care routine. I'm not quite sure what it's doing other than giving me peace of mind that I am halting the aging process. Right now my go to is Philosophy "Hope in a Tube"

Urban Decay De Slick

I have been cursed with oily skin and any trick that will help my make-up stay on and keep the oil in check is my new friend. A girlfriend got me hooked on Urban Decays "De-Slick Make-Up Setting Spray." It this magic juice that you spray on your face to set your make-up. Not only is it refreshing but it doesn't a nice job keeping the make-up in place.

All Mighty Dollah

"I love tax season!" Said no one ever...

Just kidding, I happen to enjoy tax season. Not only because I used to work in a tax office but because I love getting a big fat refund. 

I read somewhere that if you do it right, you really shouldn't be getting a tax refund at all. This means that your weekly tax deductions match up with you tax liability when you file your taxes. Quite honestly, I'm not about that shit. Taxes are like a savings plan that you don't even have to think about.

My lovely tax accountant called me today to let me know what my refund amounts would be. I feel like when you get that call, it's like an STD test results call.

Positive: You Owe

Negative: Refund city

Lucky for me, I tested negative. 

Then I was tasked with the biggest decision of my week, what the hell am I going to do with all this extra (not really) money. I decided that I am going to spend a little, save a little and pay down a lot! My man turns 30 this year so some of it will be used to help celebrate, save a little for my future and then use the rest to pay down some of my credit cards/student loans/other life shit.

It had me wondering what the trend is amongst ladies and their tax refunds. What do you gals do with that pretty penny? Do you treat yourself to something special, save it for a rainy day or deal with real life and pay down some debt?

Disconnecting

I have always had an unhealthy relationship with my career. E-mail on my phone, long hours and late nights and taking things to personally have always been part of my work life but at the same time I think they have also led to my great success.

I think there's a part of me that believes that in order to be successful, I need to devote so much of myself to my work which is why I've allowed the lines to blur significantly.

This weekend though, I took the first step towards establishing the boundaries between work and personal life.

I removed work e-mail from my phone.

Now this is a BIG, BIG deal. I always like to be accessible and in the "know" with what was going on at work. But this weekend, I realized the impact it was having on my peace of mind.

I was sitting in the parking lot of Whole Foods with my boyfriend and literally had to ask him "for a minute" because an e-mail I had just received had be fired up. I put my fingers to the bridge of my nose, hung my head and had to take a couple deep, deep breathes.

Nothing was on fire, nothing was time sensitive, but I allowed that e-mail to control that moment for me. And in that moment, my chest was tight and I was anxious and annoyed. I decided I needed a boundary.

I still have my work e-mail on my iPad and can connect remotely via my computer but it requires the conscious choice to look at it. It's no longer connected to my cell phone that I carry with me everywhere. And I can tell you that it feels REALLY, REALLY good.

Do you allow yourself to disconnect or do you find yourself being devoted to your work e-mail?