Monthly Reflections | February

Happy International Women’s Day my fellow strong, fierce, real, beautiful, amazing women!!!

Secondly, how is it March 8th already?? This month’s reflections are coming a bit late, but I thought on this special day for us ladies, sharing a post that is a bit real and open, rather than just “pretty” was the perfect way to celebrate and support my kick a** females…..And just like January, February ended just as crazy. Anyone else feel great and at ease at the start of the month and then by the end you’re like “wow did I even stop to breathe??”

I’ve been going and going and going since early September, and to be honest I have been running on empty, and have been seriously feeling it. I’ve had so much going on, so much pretty projects, wonderful clients and plenty of potential clients looking to work with me on top of all the daily tasks we need to do. There have also been some amazing things happening at The Refined Woman that I’m so excited to be a part of. We have some inspiring stories for this Women’s Month that I highly suggest you head on over and read them…

I’ll also be lying if I didn’t admit that February felt like it was just all too much. But I do this time and time again, although I’m working really hard this year to change this, I just put too much on my plate and then end up forgetting about myself, allowing myself no time for true rest. Then I reach a day, most often the day after an event, where I physically can’t do anything but more importantly am so mentally drained, that I can’t even manage the energy to do anything, including making something to eat. And that’s exactly what happened this past Monday. The good thing is I can’t ever lay low for too long because by Tuesday I was practically feeling 100%, with most of my energy back, feeling good, motivated and confident once again.

Owning your own business is not easy whatsoever. And although many people say “Oh how great would it be to just work for myself, I can totally run my own business” only to realize it entails way more work and effort than they had anticipated. My fellow entrepreneurs, especially women, know that when you work for yourself you are constantly “on” and often times working 24 hours a day. As much as you try to stop your work day, your brain simply goes into work mode the second you wake up, to the minute your eyes shut on your pillow. And in most cases I know most event planners, and other entrepreneurs, can relate to even working in their sleep!!

I know whenever I’m feeling overwhelmed, I start dreaming about work and clients or can’t sleep because I’m thinking about pointless things, like how a venue with high ceilings can manage to get balloons down {like why am I thinking about this!}….my work life balance is out of whack.

This is just the physical work you have to worry about doing, what most don’t factor in is the emotional work that goes into owning a small business and running it on your own; it’s your job to market yourself, your job to boost your self-confidence and morale when you just don’t feel proud of you work or are stressed with vendors. It’s your job to make deadlines, to check off all those to do’s, your job to hold the only person accountable for any mistake, yourself! I struggled with this a bit this month, as I think most female entrepreneurs do, which is why rest and “me” days are totally necessary. To fuel our hearts with the things we love, to simply recharge our metal batteries.

Then there’s the dreaded “NO” I can’t get myself to say as much as I should. Mostly because I just can’t find it in my heart to say no to someone who needs my help. It’s not even about being a people pleaser, it’s actually the fact that I am so grateful and thankful for everything in my life, that I have this immense need to put my skills, efforts, drive, passion and love into helping others that need it more. Whether it’s babysitting, to taking on an event, to simply finding something for someone because they don’t have the means for it and when it comes to helping the world, God I wish I could just help everyone!!

I wish I could ease the pain of everyone affected by gun violence, could foster every child in the system, I wish I could rebuild all the homes and farms that were burned in Portugal, and I wish we could fix this circus of a government. Because ladies, it totally dawned on me this year while doing my taxes, that we pay so much to handle our monthly menstrual cycle {yes, I totally went there} yet all that money spent can’t be considered because tampons fall into the same “personal care” category as toothpaste…Umm??? I’m pretty sure you can handle my bad breath over blood on your office chair HAH!

So because I am so thankful, I have to give back to others even if I’m probably losing my sh** feeling overwhelmed and stressed. Yet, I’ll never let you see it. I’ll work past it, I’ll get over that hurdle and look forward to the future. It’s quite clear, I’m in desperate need of a vacation, even just a day where I’m not thinking about work, things I have to do or things I would like to do because even on Monday, when I didn’t have the energy, I still managed to get a bit of work done, even if it was just a little. Why, why can’t I stop?! You know that Rihanna song. “work work work work work…” I don’t know the rest, and that’s basically become my life. I’ve actually become so consumed with work this past month, that I actually forgot to live my life, and we’re heading towards the middle of March already?!?

But Spring is coming!!! Spring is coming, and I can feel myself coming alive again. There are so many wonderful things happening — I just had an amazing and pretty pink birthday with teepees and dream catchers and macarons galore, a vintage romantic wedding at the end of April and then a boho garden wedding at the end of May. And then I will finally be able to relax and go on vacation, or more like head home to Portugal, where I’m counting the seconds to relax among nature, spend time with my family and to have an amazing adventure again.

So yeah, February you were pretty much just work. Yet, looking back at my goals for this month, it’s as if I already knew not to overload myself. Health-wise, I cut back all the bad stuff, losing my sweet cravings and returned back to my natural clean eating ways. And although, I didn’t exercise as much as I would’ve liked, I made those workouts count and never pushed my body when it was too tired to move, and you know what? I ended the month, feeling physically great! Even if I was a ball of self-doubt and frustration I never let it show, because the one thing I wanted to make sure I accomplished this month was to spread love as much as I possibly could.

As much as I felt overwhelmed or annoyed, I never put that on other people. Regardless of how I was feeling, I made to sure what I was emitting to others was kindness. Too often when we’re feeling stressed or upset, we lash out and take it out on everyone who comes in our path. I too am guilty of doing this in the past, and I wanted to really change that this month. Meditation helped a lot, but it was more the reminder that “we are all simply trying to do the best with what we have, each fighting our own battles” that kept me in check.

An Elegant & Modern French Macaron Inspired Valentine's Day Styling At Home | Dreamery Events

Since we have already said adieu to February and are looking forward to Spring, I’ll leave you with my quote about self-love featured on Darling Magazine for Valentine’s day because I think it’s a reminder us ladies need to tell ourselves everyday….

Self-love is….Acceptance. It’s about embracing your best self, inside and out – the beautiful and the ugly. It’s about showing yourself the same kind of love and affection you show others, because you wouldn’t judge or put down someone you care about. So, don’t do it to the most important person; YOURSELF.

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Monthly Reflections | February

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