Tips to Stay Afloat When You Are Overwhelmed

Source: adoseofgumption.tumblr.com via Allison @ on Pinterest

I really wanted to name this post, "What do to When you Feel like you are About to Lose your Sh*t" but I thought that might elicit the wrong response. Without going into too much detail I will say that I am very busy (in a good way) at work, dealing with family issues and trying to adjust to new financial realities and have been feeling overwhelmed with life.

Whenever I am stressed my patterns of self-destructive behavior start to kick-in and for now they are manifesting themselves in the form of extreme hunger that results in over-eating (usually fast-food) and an extreme desire to hit the mall (or the internet) and do some impulse shopping. 

Indulging these behaviors is fun but then the hangover ie-guilt that comes after is too much to bear. Therefore I have decided that it is time for some new ways to manage stress, here's what I have so far: 

1) Do Things for Others: My friend ran the L.A Marathon on Sunday and my other friend and I decided to go cheer her on. The day before I did something completely out of character and offered to make some encouraging posters for my friend (the runner). Normally, I would not have offered to do this because of my lackluster artistic abilities but I was so stressed that coloring seemed like a great escape. I found myself enjoying the task and it felt great to cheer on my friend while she accomplished such a feat. The old adage "tis better to give than to receive" has some truth to it. 

Source: etsy.com via Delmy on Pinterest

2) This is Not the Time to Feel Guilty for What You Aren't Doing: We all have those things we have on the back burner, you know doing our taxes, cleaning our attic etc. For me, it's starting an exercise plan. Every week/day that I don't do it, I feel guilty over it. I decided that with all of the million things I need to do. I need to be ok with not being able to accomplish all of my goals and being proud of myself for keeping up with other things like blogging etc. 

Source: alreadypretty.com via Christine on Pinterest

3) No Matter How Crazy Life Gets, Leave Some Time for Yourself: It's easy to forget about ourselves when we are taking care of everything and everyone else, but you will not last very long if you don't take some time to decompress. I take a few minutes every night to read a book, a magazine or watch re-runs on TV Land or find pretty pictures on Pinterest for my blog posts. This also helps me sleep as I clear my mind of all the craziness from the day. Do whatever you enjoy. Another friend told me that her exercise time is precious because it allows her to unplug and not be bothered by anyone. Also this is probably not the best time to forget to go to therapy. :)

4) Keep Calm: Don't lose your sh*t, because if you do then you will spend all of next cleaning up the mess you made this week because you pissed everyone off. Just keep calm and be like Kate Middleton: classy, poised and of course, well dressed.

Source: definingclassy.tumblr.com via Grace on Pinterest

I am still working on this list, but  I want to know, how do you deal with stress? How do you keep it together during stressful times? 

Eastside Career Chic in The Daily Muse: How to Be a Great Intern Boss

Source: writeclickscrapbook.com via Kathy on Pinterest

Hello Everyone,
I wanted to share with you my newest post for The Daily Muse a publication for smart young professional women. I began my career as an intern so I know first hand how these experiences can make or break the first stages of our professional lives. In this article I share what I have learned about being a good intern manager, it hasn't always been smooth sailing but it has definitely been one of the most rewarding things I have done thus far... 

Looking back on my early career, I realize that many of the skills that have helped me stay employed in the “real world” didn’t come from what I learned in lectures, but from the internships I pursued while I was a student. I was lucky to have great intern supervisors that allowed me to learn (sometimes through trial and error), believed in my potential, and gave me hands-on experience that’s helped me succeed.
So, now that I have my own interns to manage, I try to provide them with an experience that’s just as great as the ones I had. And I appreciate now more than ever that a great experience doesn’t just happen. If you’re a first-time intern manager, read on for tips on how you can help your interns be successful (and develop your own leadership skills at the same time!).

1. Prepare

Before your intern sets foot in the door, think through what, exactly, her job will entail, and what duties you’ll have her take on. Create a job description and develop a work plan that outlines her responsibilities and goals for the duration of the internship. Sure, it might be more convenient to just have her do whatever comes up (or start cleaning up that spreadsheet you’ve been avoiding), but creating a structured plan is important for several reasons. You’ll make sure that you’re providing your intern with work experience that’s actually valuable, you’ll make sure you’re using her time well, and you’ll give her a guide to reference through the internship—plus you’ll have a clear set of standards for evaluating her performance.

Read the rest of this article at The Daily Muse.

CGBT-Out of Town!

I told you that I identified my style formula as CGBT! Classic, Girly, Bold, Trendy.
This month I will be making several day trips for business and thus I need to put my style skills to good use and avoid the impulse to throw on the first thing I see when I get up at 5am to catch a 7am flight! A lot of these trips are only for the day so I will be up very early to catch a flight and then come home in the evening after meetings etc.. These are super long days but it doesn't mean a gal should throw style out the window. I will be participating in meetings that require a more conservative look than what I wear day-to-day and I am planning accordingly. Here's what I am coveting for my upcoming travels and some things I have already purchased. I mean when you are buying things you "need" for work it's okay to splurge right?

If you're reading this you should really be subscribed to my blog (via email on the sidebar) or follow me on Blog Lovin .

Classic:

My BFF got me into Kate Spade back in that day and one of my first major purchases was a Kate Spade wallet. It cost me 125.00 (which in hindsight was way TOO much for a working class college student to pay for a wallet) it was bright red and even back then I loved the timeless look of Kate Spade's items. I recently re-discovered my love for Kate Spade and just made a new addition to my collection. I got mine on Super, Duper Non-Refundable sale, but here's a similar one. 

Girly:

How cute are these shoes! When im doing all day meetings and traveling through airports most of my regular heels just won't do! I need something to get me through the day comfortable and stylish. I think these may do the trick and are still fun and interesting. Get them HERE! 

Bold: 

The color and knotted bow makes this classic silhouette fresh. Also reminds me a little of my favorite princess, Kate Middleton. 

Celeb Boutique. Get it HERE!

Trendy:

Remember I told you I wanted House Harlow cat eye sunglasses? Well after purchasing my lovely purse I decided that getting the glasses was just no longer an option if I wanted to stay within budget. Thus, I settled for these copy cats I found on Amazon.  These will be in my new purse when I travel  and will serve me well when i'm walking through airports before applying concealer. 

How do you travel in style? Leave me a comment and let me know. 

xoxo,

Betsy Aimee 

Happy Weekend!

                                                           Source: anamublog.wordpress.com via Jeanne / Shop Sweet Things on Pinterest

I am spending more time on Pinterest lately and i'm sure they rest of you are too. I find that this is a place I can go to on rough days and look at beautiful things. It has also become a place where I encounter cool photos for blog posts like the one above and I also find it a great source for outfit inspiration. It's like scrap booking for the 21t Century!

Be my buddy on Pinterest, by clicking HERE

I hope you are enjoying the weekend and that you are making all of your ideas happen :)

xoxo
Betsy Aimee

Challenges for Millennial Women

This is a special post in honor of the Third Annual Blog for International Women’s Day, a day where bloggers, writers, and humanitarian organizations are asked to write about issues facing women and girls. 

International Women’s Day provides us with a great opportunity to celebrate the many things the women who came before us accomplished. But it is also a time to ponder on the many things we have yet to do..  Our world has seen very dramatic changes in the past 50 years and millennial women have reaped the benefits of the revolutions that occurred in the 60’s and 70’s. Yet we don’t have to go very far but to see that millennial women still have much ground to cover on the domestic and international fronts:

A Fair Work Place

·     I’m sure you know that the United States is one of the few industrialized nations that doesn’t provide Universal Paid Maternity Leave. This is only one of the many issues that affect women’s role in the workplace and is indicative of pay inequities that still exist in our country.  Clearly we are still struggling to integrate women with children into the workforce in an equitable way. Meanwhile, the stay-at home mommies and the work mommies are still struggling to find common ground. I hope millennial women figure out how we can all join forces so that women stop feeling like they have to choose one path over the other.

·      I’m also still alarmed at the pay inequities that exist among men and women and how this recession has disproportionately affected women. While it is great that more of us are taking on Graduate and Professional degrees during times of economic uncertainty it is unfair that we will be compensated differently once we enter the workforce. We have heard the numbers: 

• Women earn 77-85 (studies take into account certain factors to come up with the higher number) cents to every dollar a Man makes. If you are a woman of color this number is lower (Yay, for me). As if we needed more proof the most recent census revealed that women earn less per month than men at EVERY degree level.  We could go into details as to the why’s and the hows of this but either way it is something we need to examine further in the next few decades.

Slut Shaming (See next point)

Access to Basic Health Care
If you haven’t noticed it seems that health services that have played a big role in women’s lives, such as birth control, are still considered quite controversial. Just last week Rush Limbaugh caused an up roar when he declared that the Georgetown Student that testified in Congress about the importance of having access to birth control, was a “slut” and that her and all of the other Feminazi’s that want to government to pay for birth control should have to upload videos of the themselves having sex. Then a few weeks back Mr. Foster Friess (sp?) explained to renowned journalist Andrea Mitchell that in his day women would “put a Bayer aspiring between their legs for birth control” aka- Close your legs! Mr. Freeze was on television discussing his support for Presidential nominee, Rick Santoroum who was quoted as saying that “birth control is harmful to society.” Geez.

This is a challenge for millennial women because the way these things play out in our country is very indicative or where women stand in contemporary society. I know our mom’s and grandmothers tell us that “we just don’t know what it was like in the old days” and you know what? Thanks to all of their efforts we don’t, but we still have our own battles to fight. I can’t help but wonder if these political discussions would play out differently if Congress was 83% female, instead 83% male. Hmmm…This reminds me of my next point

Breaking the Glass Ceiling/s and/or denying there is still a Glass Ceiling to Break

Source: janluijk.nl via Catherine on Pinterest

Sometimes I feel like I’m living in parallel universes, on the one hand there is world declaring “the end of men” and telling me how men are falling behind on educational attainment. Yet on the other hand I see a world where I can only think a few female CEO’s and I see that many of the organizations that hold the power in our society are still very male dominated. This brings us into a larger discussion about whether or not women are failing to achieve seats of power because they don’t really want to be there, what Sheryl Sandberg called “the ambition gap” in her now famous (well famous among my colleagues) TED Talk. Others may argue that there are indeed true barriers to access. If such barriers exist are they institutional barriers? Or is it that women were not raised to have the characteristics needed to succeed in high level positions? I wish I had the answer to these questions. If I did there wouldn’t have been a need to list it as a challenge for millennial women. I will probably be wondering about this one for the rest of my life. This brings me to my next thought…

First World Problems

 I use the phrase “first world problems” when I am discussing a problem that can only happen in the life of someone who has their basic needs fully met. It’s also a reminder to myself that for a majority of women around the world, not having been selected to serve on a Board of Directors is a superfluous issue that does not compare to losing a child because you are unable to provide food or shelter, or because you are living in a place being ravaged by a war that was most likely started by men. (Sorry sometimes I make generalizations)
How will we continue to advance the rights of women and girls around the world to ensure that they are no longer casualties of famine, war and of the decisions made by those around them? Michelle Bachelet is one example of a bad-ass woman who is working to ensure that the next generation of women has a better chance at life. While it is important to work to advance ourselves, we must also remember our sisters around the world who could use our help and deserve a chance to pursue their own dreams and aspirations.


Ok so now that you are riled up let’s look at some organizations that are already working hard to solve these issues:    

• To Get HER There- Learn more about the issues affecting women and girls affect all of us and how we can develop the next generation of women leaders! 
• Women’s Media Center- Changing the public discourse on issues pertaining to women and girls 
• United Nations for Women- Learn more about how to help women around the world 
• 20 20 Campaign- Wrote about them before. Great organization working to increase diversity in our country’s board rooms. 
• Planned Parenthood Action Center- Don’t just get angry at Rush Limbaugh, Get Involved!

What do you think are the biggest challenges for Millennial women? 


Together we can make a difference!
Happy Women’s Day!
xoxo
Betsy Aimee