Busy Bee Mama

It's all right- this isn't the end of it. Endings and beginnings are as different than exits and entrances. Today is the last day of the year 2017. It's a time to reflect. In my own life, there has been so much change in my life. The person I started the year as has metamorphosed into a new person. At the beginning of this year, I began a blog. I have posted over 80 blog posts since then. This started as a way to talk about television shows and express my inner thoughts. It was supposed to be more focused than a diary or a journal. It was going to be about criminal justice research too. This changed over the year, as have I. Today's task: Start a journal or a blog. Write about your day. Write about your thoughts. Just write. A word. A sentence. A paragraph. A novel. Just write. Start it for 2018. Save it and hold it to look back on. Continue it for years to come. It's a release.

It was December 30th, 2012. It was a snowy winter in Connecticut. There were two travelers. Both were young. Both had a damaged past, but both had bright eyes that looked forward to the future. There was a blank page ahead of them, ready to be written. But, why is this date the turning point in their story? The point the acts like a catalyst... the point that is the motivation behind the writer's hand, the carpenter's hammer, the chef's spoon... the point that is the driving force for the rest of their story. This was the day the travelers communicated a simple message to each other that would change their path forever.  This was the day that they each said, "I love you".  I love you, Caleb. Here's to five more years of I love yous. Even when you get mad at me for waking you up early. Even when you drive me absolutely bonkers. Even when love is the farthest thing from my mind because we are so angry. The paths we have traveled have been long and wi

Today is December 30th. The day after tomorrow is 2018. Isn't that nuts? I feel like we just started this year and we're already saying goodbye. The days go by like hours. The months go by like days. Our lifetime passes so quickly that we miss out on simple things. Do you feel like electronics are taking away the way we communicate and express thoughts? When is the last time you have talked on the phone? When is the last time you have written a letter by hand? There is a little joy that a person feels when they receive mail (that is not a bill). It is becoming slightly archaic due to the rapid changes in technology. Today's task: Post on social media. Ask for addresses. Write pen pal letters. Talk about your day. Talk about your favorite books. Your favorite quotes. A story.  Write it and mail it. Stick that stamp on it and let it go. Extra : I have been doing these tasks alongside you guys (minus maybe one or two because I'm human and get busy too). This one

Today is December 29th. There's only a few days left until 2018. How will you be spending your last days of 2017? I'll be catching up on Doctor Who, blogging a lot, and other miscellaneous things. I watch a lot of television. If that's one thing you can gather from my social media accounts and my blog, it's that I watch way too much television. I have a long list of television shows that I follow. I watch most of this on Hulu or other apps. I do have to record some shows on my DVR. Some people may not even have cable, especially with most people streaming nowadays. Today's task: Clean out your DVR. Whether that means removing shows you haven't seen or removing shows that you don't want to see (but for some reason recorded), remove them. Narrow it down. Watch the ones that are waiting to be watched. Don't have a DVR? Do you have a list of shows that you've been putting off watching? Or a list of movies? Cross them off! Spend a day and just catc

Today is December 28th. There are 4 days until 2018. FOUR! Less than a handful. Crazy. I have so many goals that I didn't accomplish this year. Sometimes things don't go as planned. It's unfortunate, but I try to be the best person I can be and do what I set my mind out to do. A lot of people have this happen every year. We will set out a long (or even short) list of resolutions or goals to complete throughout the year, but some/most are not accomplished. It's hard to discipline yourself sometimes. I know it is. I find myself having issues completing simple goals, mostly because of money or some other reason. I tried to complete as many as I could this year (and I'll make a separate post about which ones I did accomplish). There are a lot of things I want to do next year. I think I want to do more and learn more. I want to become less of a homebody and more of a person who grabs life by the balls. I get one life to live and I want to live it to the fullest. The

Today is December 27th. I'm so happy that Christmas is over. My Christmas tree and decorations are already down. The only thing left is to wash my Christmas hand towels and table cloth. Then it'll be over! Speaking of over, the year will be over in only a handful of days. I'm going to be planning out my last few things to do before the end of the year. I'm a planner. I plan everything. I plan what I'll do each day. I plan out my plan of action in a store. I plan out my blog series and blog posts. I plan everything. I also love making lists. One thing I don't plan out is my meals. I'll decide what I make for dinner exactly thirty minutes before I start cooking. When I go grocery shopping, I buy a little of everything because I never know what I'm going to make. I think, in 2018, I'm going to start planning out my meals better. This means I'll cut down on costs. The reason I'm posting this before 2018 is so you have time to plan and real

Today is December 26th. It's a Tuesday! Christmas is over. Back to your normal lives (unfortunately). Today is a new day and, in 6 days, it'll be a new year! That means you'll say goodbye to the things that are over in 2017. One thing that I do several times a year is check expiration dates and clean out my freezer/fridge/cabinets. It's easy not to notice when your mayonnaise expires. I don't want to be that person who accidentally ingests something expired or rotten. It's something that I've always been weary of. If your trash pick-up is on Mondays, your trash will be picked up Tuesday probably. And hey, guess what? It's Tuesday. Perhaps I should have posted this yesterday... Today's task : Clean out your fridge, your freezer, your cabinets, etc. Check expiration dates. Check for mold or mildew. See if it's frostbitten. Throw it away!

It's Christmas! It's Christmas! It's Christmas! Less than a week until 2018, but who cares because it's Christmas! It's Christmas! It's Christmas! You're possibly going to get presents today. You may get a lot. You may get a little. You may get that 60" television you've been wanting. Or you may get something that you may need or already have. Regardless, someone took time out of their life to think of you. They thought you deserved something . It's important to remain grateful and humble during this day. It is easy to get lost in the greed of the season. Let's take today to revisit some manners. Today's challenge: Say thank you. Don't forget to tell everyone who got you a present today those two simple words. Thank you! Thank you for reading this blog. Thank you for buying me a present. Thank you for spending time with me today. Thank you for being you. Don't forget to say thank you! Today's task: Make a list. You

Today is Christmas Eve (!!!!!!). Tomorrow is Christmas! Ah! Don't forget to put out your milk and cookies. I make my son write a thank you note with his milk and cookies. I try to keep him grounded and not greedy. I TRY. I know the holidays can be extra stressful. You have to deal with family members, even ones you may not like or who may judge you. You have to deal with rotten kids. You have to spend more money than normal for presents that people may or may not like. You have to do this and do that. You feel exhausted or fatigued. You need a break. Unfortunately, Christmas hasn't even happened yet. There's more to handle! It's important to stay level-headed throughout the holidays. Today's task: Go on a walk. It can be a walk around the neighborhood or around a park. Just go for a walk and enjoy yourself. Get lost in your thoughts or listen to your favorite artist with headphones on. Try to lower your stress level. Just take some time for you. If you'

Today is December 23rd. Two days! Two! I am so excited for Christmas. What else am I excited for? 2018! Only 9 days! Lots of exclamation marks to note my excitement! What are you guys doing on Christmas? I'm going to wake my family up way too early (because I always do) and then I'll watch everyone open their presents (because it makes me happy). Then, Jude will play for a little while and I'll make a Christmas lunch. Finally, we will go to my sister-in-law's house to have dinner and spend time with Caleb's side of the family. I have no idea what I'm making for Christmas lunch? I have a bunch of cookbooks (I'm talking 20+ probably). I have never opened them or really cooked from them. I think I will this year. I have no idea what I'm going to make, but hopefully, these will give me an idea! Do you have cookbooks that collect dust too? Why do we collect them and never use them? Today's task: Crack open a cookbook (or a website dedicated to re

Today is December 22nd. It's 3 days until Christmas! It's crunchtime, baby! Oh and it's only 10 days until 2018. You can count down to 2018 on both of your hands. You don't even need to include toes now! The word of the day is: RECOVERY. Recovery is a return to a normal state of health, mind, or strength. Recovery is important because sometimes we get very busy and slack of maintaining our normal state of health, mind, and strength. There are many ways to do this. It may require forgiveness, love, or therapy of some sort. Today's task: Recover. Focus on a certain aspect of your life and fix it. Make it well again and return to your normal state. There are many aspects you can fix: a friendship, a relationship, stress level, health, etc. Pick one and focus on your recovery today.

Today is December 21st. There are four days until Christmas and eleven days until 2018. What are you guys doing for Christmas weekend? (Write in the comments below). Have you ever watched Parks and Recreation? The show with Amy Poehler and Nick Offerman (and countless other wonderful actors)? It's about Pawnee and the Parks & Recreation office. I loved that show so much. Unfortunately, it ended in 2015, but you can still catch re-runs on television and on streaming networks. I highly recommend it! In season 4, there's an episode called "Pawnee Rangers". In this episode, Tom, Donna, and Ben have a "Treat Yo Self Day". It is technically celebrated on October 13th. On Treat Yo Self Day, you spend the day treating yourself to things you probably wouldn't buy on an ordinary day. Things worth buying on Treat Yo Self day, according to Donna: clothes, fragrances, massages, mimosas, and fine leather goods. Today obviously is not October 13th, but

Today is December 20th. FIVE DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS! We are down to counting with one hand. And 12 days until 2018. So much left to do until both! I try to make homemade presents every year. This year, I decided to just buy presents because I have been busy and stressed out. Normally, we send out Christmas cards as well. This year, I haven't been as on top of everything (maybe next year!). Today's task: Make a few handwritten cards for your loved ones. Or at least buy cards with very sweet messages inside. Brighten up their day and wish them a happy holidays. Stamps don't cost all that much! You can do this. Extra: Make a post on social media and ask who wants a card. Send one to everyone who comments! Some ideas on Pinterest

Today is December 19th. There are 6 days until Christmas and 13 days until 2018! Less than a week until Christmas! Less than two weeks until 2018! Blows. My. Mind. It's been a rough couple of months. I think I have forgotten how to sleep well. A lot of people have crazy sleep cycles. For example, my husband works 4 days a week (10 hour shifts) overnights. When he is off of work, he has to switch to daytime for being awake. It really affects how he functions. If you have a similar problem with your sleep schedule, you need to work on fixing it. How long should you be sleeping? Newborns (0-3 months): Sleep range narrowed to 14-17 hours each day (previously it was 12-18) Infants (4-11 months): Sleep range widened two hours to 12-15 hours (previously it was 14-15) Toddlers (1-2 years): Sleep range widened by one hour to 11-14 hours (previously it was 12-14) Preschoolers (3-5): Sleep range widened by one hour to 10-13 hours (previously it was 11-13) School age children (6

Today is December 18th. There is ONE WEEK (!!!!) until Christmas and TWO WEEKS until 2018. Holy cannoli! Can we just take a moment to... I'm just going to start having miniature sing-a-long blog posts. Maybe I should get better at singing or writing. These are skills I have, but they're not very great. I could probably improve on a few different skills of mine. Why is it important to improve on skills?  Certain skills can help brighten up your resume Knowledge and skills are things you should always improve Reap personal rewards To get a certain job  To be a better person Because you're bored and want to be the very best like no one ever was ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Today's task: Pick a skill (or two) and improve them! Or pick a new skill (or two) and gain them in general. You can always improve! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Some Skills (or Talents) to Improve on (or Gain) Communication skills

I want to take a moment to really appreciate the humans in this photograph. Oh, and Bandit, who is like a human but is clearly a dog.  On December 9th, I threw a Christmas party! I was really excited about it. Obviously because I love party planning and human contact (sometimes). I really like holidays, even though the days surrounding them seem to be questionable. Regardless, I figured a party would cheer me (and everyone else!) up. I invited a butt ton of people, but only these (+ my mom) came. And that was okay with me! I made some new friends and it was rad!  The Ugly Sweaters were bomb. I was actually incredibly impressed by the variety of ugly sweaterness that entered my home. A few were really really ugly (Looking at you, Syd & Brandon). Asia won the Ugly Sweater contest though! I wish I would have gotten a picture of it because she definitely deserved to win.  We did Secret Santa as well. It was hard because most people didn't know each other or only kn

Today is December 17th. There are only 8 days until Christmas and 15 days until 2018. What even! I am stunned. Can you believe it? What are your plans for Christmas? Comment below, I really want to hear them! Do you ever feel like you need a break? Do you feel like you need to get away? Do you want to travel somewhere new but don't want to break the bank? The title of this post is "baecation". Part "bae", part "vacation". What is a baecation? It's the term I'm using to label taking a vacation, having a little "me" time, and/or spending time with the people you love the most. Sometimes you need to take a little break. Sometimes you need a mental health day. Today's task: Plan a baecation. Plan a mental health day. Take one full day to do things to make you happy. Get your nails done. Go visit a beautiful place, like a waterfall. Go see a movie. Read a book in the park. Plan a day. Do it. Turn your phone off. Relax. Be you.

Today is December 16th. There are 9 days until Christmas and 15 days left until 2018. The days are ticking by like the seconds on a clock. I feel like I barely get to enjoy the day because I wake up and it's time for bed merely minutes later (or so it feels). Do you ever have a stressful or bad day? Do you feel like crap emotionally some days? Sometimes you just feel like you need a good shoulder to lean on or someone to lend a ear? I have had a crap week. It's been emotionally taxing. A friend of mine (Hey Kacie!) messaged me and said something nice and it completely pulled me out of an emotional slump! Today's task: Tell someone something nice today! Make their day. If you know someone is going through an emotional slump, tell them a joke or compliment them. Here's some ideas: Your smile is contagious. You look great today. You're a smart cookie. I bet you make babies smile. You have impeccable manners. I like your style. You have the best laug

Today is December 15th. There are only 10 days until Christmas (!!!). There are only 16 days until the end of the year. 2018 is SO close! Do you feel like 2018 will be your year? That just reminded me of lyrics from "Weightless" from All Time Low. That's a bit of a throwback if you listened to All Time Low at all. If not, sorry. Have you seen this feature from Facebook? You can go live! You can talk to your friends almost in real time (there is a slight lag). You can chat and catchup with a bunch of people at once. I know a lot of people are weary about using this feature because they do not like public speaking (or whatever). Get out of your comfort zone today. Reach out to people. Today's task: GO LIVE ON FACEBOOK! Get out there. Go play. Ask your friends questions. Talk about your day. Be friendly. Even if it's for 5 minutes, you'll be able to connect to people and see who pays attention to what you say on the internet (though that is not impor

I have a lot of crazy stuff happen this last week and it has completely drained me. I didn't touch my computer for a whole five days and then it took two days to sit down and decide how to write all of this out. That was an incredibly long sentence. This is going to be a very long blog post.

It has been a rough few days in my household and elsewhere. It feels like my life is continuously being bombarded with bad news with only a piece of good news every now and then. I'm praying this changes, especially with Christmas around the corner. I feel like this year has been my lowest point. I keep telling myself that it can only go up from here. If you pray, please pray for me and my entire family. My husband's grandfather is currently in the hospital and it's a very scary situation. He is probably one of my favorite old people alive and I will be very sad if something happens to him. My mother also received questionable news that we will not know further details of until a later date (but please pray for her anyways). Finally, my Aunt Si Si died. She is my mother's Great Aunt, but she will always be Aunt Si Si to me and many others. My Aunt Jackie was very close with her and the rest of my family is definitely feeling this loss very heavily. So please please pl

I'm not a big movie buff. I have never really been. I prefer watching television shows or books because you get really attached to characters over a period of time. Movies do not have the same affect. I'm trying to change how I feel about movies. I bought a subscription called MoviePass. I pay $10/month and can see a movie in theaters every day. So I've been paying attention more to movies being released in theaters. Here is a list of movies coming out that I'm excited for: The Disaster Artist, December 8th    Star Wars: The Last Jedi, December 15th Ferdinand, December 15th The Greatest Showman, December 20 Downsizing, December 22nd Pitch Perfect 3, December 22nd I'm excited for Ferdinand because I think Jude will really love it. Otherwise, I'm not as excited about this new Star Wars as I was for the 7th one. Mostly, I'm excited for the Greatest Showman. It has a bunch of big names, which makes me wonder if

Today is December 6th. There are 19 days until Christmas and 25 days left in the year. This month is flying by. There are so many things for you to accomplish. At the beginning of the year, you probably thought about some of the things you would have liked to accomplish this year. Some people want to remodel a room in their home. Some people want to refinish a dresser. Some people want to carpet clean their entire house so their carpets will be clean and free of allergens. I have a few unfinished projects. I am only human. Life gets in the way or money just isn't there. I understand that. I started fixing my dresser drawers when we first moved into our house in November 2016. Unfortunately, we never finished gluing the bottom drawer. Today's Task: Look at the list of projects you wanted to complete in 2017. What projects did you not start? What projects did you leave half-finished? Pick a project and complete it. I think I'm going to finish my dresser drawers! &q

It's December 5th. There are 20 days until Christmas (less than 3 weeks!). Sadly, there are only 26 days left of the year. Deep cleaning is something people should do multiple times a year. If you're like me, you only do it about four times a year. You're supposed to clean most household appliances and rooms every week. Isn't that crazy? As the new year approaches, you should deep clean your home. Out with the old, in with the new. Get rid of that scum, that dust, that dirt, that trash. Don't just spray some lysol and call it a day. Today's Challenge: Start deep cleaning. You could do a room per day if that would help (I know we all get busy) or you can knock it out all in one evening. Rent a carpet cleaner, go to the local Dollar Tree for cleaning supplies, and ask a family member or friend for help. If you like to make lists, plan out what rooms/things you'll do in order or which day (Example: Clean toilets on Thursday). Great articles for you

This is a personal post. I am going to share with you all how I've been feeling the last few months. It will be unfiltered, possibly bad grammar, and raw. It will really be a lot of TMI. I feel like I am screaming without any words coming out or maybe no one is listening. I feel like I'm using all of my energy to keep myself from passing out. I feel like I have zero energy all the time. Doing simple tasks takes all energy that I have. I can't fall asleep. When I can finally fall asleep, it's impossible to wake up. I hit snooze more times than I'd like to admit. My head feels like I have the world's worst sinus infection that never will go away. My anxiety is higher than normal. These feelings have been happening since August/September. I can't pinpoint exactly when it started, though it was after the Eclipse in August. There has been so much happening in the last few months. I do not want to completely bitch about the stressors in my life as everyone has

It's a play on words. It's December 4th. This one is going to be late (and quick!). There is 21 days until Christmas and 27 days until 2018. What do you think about 2018? Is it going to be your year? Do you think you'll change jobs? Do you think you'll be more productive? Do you think that you'll do something new? Everyone should always have an updated resume. You never know when you may need one. For all you know, a meteorite can hit your place of employment and they do not have meteorite insurance. You're out of a job. You're on the job hunt out of the blue. Wouldn't it be nice if you resume was already updated and you didn't have *another* thing to stress about? Yes, that is 99.99% never going to happen (the meteorite example), but there might be something similar. On a local level, our mall is closing stores left and right (or they are just not renewing their contracts, but still). A lot of people are stuck looking for jobs. A resume i

Today is December 3. There are 22 days until Christmas and 28 days left in 2017. Each day seems to be going by so quickly. I feel like 2018 will be here before we know it. It's Sunday. It's a lazy day. Do you have a computer? A laptop or a desktop? I have a laptop. I use it frequently (like right now). It's important in my life since I am in graduate school and teach and blog and other things that require a computer. The one thing I hate about computers (and any electronic) is that memory is limited. Today's Task : Clean out your folders on your computer. Erase/trash any files or items that you no longer need. Organize your files into folders for easy organization. Don't forget to empty your trash can afterward. My download folder is horrible about getting overloaded. I usually do this two or three times a year. I'll show you an example of what I'm talking about as far as today's task. Before: After: Doesn't that look so mu

Today is December 2nd. We have 23 days until Christmas and 29 days left of 2017. We are going to try to accomplish something different every day this month. It's the first Saturday of December. Happy Saturday! I want you to get some relaxing in today, but first: I have a task for you! Today's Task: Clean out your closets! I want you to gather all clothes you do not wear, shoes you do not wear, anything with unintentional holes in it, anything ripped, anything too small or too big, and grab all miscellaneous items that you no longer use/need. Throw away all the ripped and the like! They belong in the trash, not your closet!  Anything that is in decent condition: donate it! Donate it to your local women's shelter (or just a shelter or good cause in general). Ask friends if they'd like to look through your stuff. De-clutter your closet! If you declutter your closet, you declutter your life. - Dori McDonough Obviously, I don't know if anyone else has said t

I am the worst when it comes to Christmas movies. I've seen a handful of the ones playing this 25 Days. I have not seen a large portion of these. I haven't seen A Christmas Carol, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, Jack Frost (1979), Richie Rich anything, anything Dennis the Menace, and more. This Christmas season, I'm going to try to watch more movies. You should too! I hear some of these are great. Here's what Freeform is playing every day until Christmas.  Friday, December 1 7:30 am: Eloise at Christmastime 11 am: Richie Rich's Christmas Wish 1 pm: Jack Frost (1979) 2 pm: The Nightmare Before Christmas 3:35 pm: The Year Without a Santa Claus 4:35 pm: Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory 7:05 pm: National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation 9:15 pm:  Elf 11:25 pm: Disney's A Christmas Carol 1:30 am:  Frosty's Winter Wonderland Saturday, December 2 7 am: Richie Rich's Christmas Wish 9 am: Mickey's Christmas Carol 9: