Boyd Meets Girl

Have you ever had a horrible, horrible day that just keeps on getting worse? On the flip side, have you ever had a great day where everything just falls into place? I am a firm believer that it happens like this because of your attitude towards things. 1. Smile! Say hi to people. Depending on your geographic location, people will either happily say hello back, or look at you like you are crazy. In most situations, you will never get cussed out or otherwise for smiling at someone. I love saying Hi to people. I say Hi to everyone! Even if they don't say hi back, it makes me feel good. 2. Compliment others (including yourself). This would be the opposite of talking crap about people. But it feels good, y'all! Tell the lady next to you in line at Subway that you love her necklace. Compliment a co-worker on her work ethic. Not only will people appreciate you, but it will make you feel good to make others feel good. Positivity is as contagious as the negativity is! This al

I have been seeing a lot of social media memes or someecards lately talking about "kids these days" and all the technology that they are inundated with. (That statement just made me feel super old, for some reason.) Anyway, this is a real issue, people! Our kids are learning how to play with a tablet before they learn how to stack blocks. Some kiddos spend so much time in front of a screen of some sort that they don't know how to play and, more disturbingly so, don't want to. Being told to go play outside is viewed as some sort of punishment or an unwelcome interlude to whatever technology gadgets they have tempting them to be immobile inside the comfort of their own home.  But, this technology thing.... it's complex. It's not just the kids that are inundated with technology, it's EVERYONE. I know this comes to no shock to you, as you read this from your computer, iPad, or iPhone. I have spent the better part of today looking at my phone or a compu

So, many of you know that in just two short days I will be traveling solo to Santa Fe, NM, from our home in Chicago. And with me, I am bringing my little bambina Beulah, all of her stuff, and a lot of prayers. Packing for this trip is like packing Madonna up for the zombie apocalypse. Beulah has A LOT OF STUFF. We have done two big trips with her over the last almost 7  months. The first was a plane ride to Texas in October, when she was about 4 months old. I was with my husband. She promptly had blow-out diapers as soon as the plane took off both there and back. But, overall, it wasn't bad. We were headed to Texas (the best place EVER); we could have arrived covered head to toe in Beulah spit-up/poop/pee/whatever, and I wouldn't have cared!!!!! But I still packed a bunch of crap that I really didn't need for the plane ride. The second trip was a cross-country 15-ish hour drive from Chicago to Pennsylvania to see her big brother. Frequent stops for coffee and bottle wat

Let me just start this by telling you that I started  writing this blog post when Beulah was 6 weeks old... yea, she's almost 7 months now if that is any indication of the whirlwind that is new mommyhood. But it's been wonderful. Woohoo :) Photo by Andrea Pascalau Eighty7 Photography the P-word Where to begin? First, I'll share that I was NOT one of those women who loved being pregnant. Sure, I love the end result (the bebe) but I did not have a glow other than perspiration secondary to puking my brains out over the toilet 10 times a day. Lovely it was not. An additional thing I will share is that I NEVER thought I would be able to function properly again. A seemingly easy task, such as putting laundry in the dryer from the washer, or paying a bill online, was a daunting task that would take HOURS to complete. Even thinking about doing things would be enough to lay on the couch and watch HGTV for the rest of the afternoon. I'm not kidding. My husband probably wa

  Today, I made some mashed garlic cauliflower to go with our steak dinner. What goes awesome with steak? Obviously the all-American answer is potatoes, but what if you can't even look at a carb without blowing up (like me)? Or maybe you are looking for a more paleo-friendly option? Look no further!! I have made mashed cauliflower several times, and I *think* I might have finally perfected it. And to make it even better, this recipe is also dairy-free and gluten-free.  For this recipe, you will need the following:  - a head of cauliflower - several cloves of garlic ( I used 4-5 cloves) - 1/2 cup of unsweetened coconut milk (or almond milk, also unsweetened) - salt and pepper to taste - food processor  - steamer 1) Start by chopping up the head of cauliflower and rinsing. Also, peel several cloves of garlic. I like garlic a lot, not to mention it is GOOD for you, so I peeled this many, but as you can see, three of them were little! 2) Shove it a

This week, we started sleep training with our 6-month-old baby girl. Sleeping through the night has allowed both her and me to be on a more predictable schedule, which makes my Type-A-self flap with excitement. Before I get any hate mail (wait, I don't have that many readers), yes we are sleep training our daughter, and no I don't care your personal opinion on that. We do what works for our family. She is actually doing amazing at sleeping through the night and is the happiest little camper. (Now that I say that she is probably planning her first wakeup mid-baby dream). Anywho, now that I am getting more than 3 hours of consecutive sleep, I feel like more than a shadow of my formal self. I am starting to think about getting back into a workout plan. But, let's be honest: even before I had a baby I wasn't great at working out. So, let's just get that straight. I cannot fall on the excuse that I have a baby, so it's hard for me to work out, because even

Boyd Meets Girl presents Better Homemade, a mini-series of recipes/DIY instructions I will be sharing of things that are just that - better homemade than buying at the store. It might be better because it's healthier, cheaper, or easier. But it's just better, ok?!?! Tonight, I'm sharing with you one of my favorite new recipes. My husband and I are going on this journey together of  eating better. We are eating food that is better for us and less processed. We found the inspirational recipe from one of my favorite paleo blogs,  PaleOMG . Seriously, if you guys are in need of some SCRUMPTIOUS recipes that are paleo-friendly, this is an awesome resource for you.  We used her recipe for  Sweet Potato Chips , but made a couple of tweaks to make it our own. (When I say "we" what I really mean is my husband.) Anyway, "we" grabbed the following ingredients: - 2 sweet potatoes  - 2 T coconut oil  ** melted down - sea salt and seasoned pe

If you are looking for a list of general must-haves for your babe, then this list is not for you. I was very relieved to find out that both registries I used for Beulah (Target and Amazon) had a checklist for the general things, so I was fairly certain that I wouldn't forget anything major, like a crib. All joking aside, there are SO MANY baby things out there. An overwhelming amount, I would say (and all pregnant gals and new moms would probably agree with).  This is a compilation of 10 lesser-known, must-have items for your 0-6 month old little cherub, and to make the list even better, all of these items are under $20. STEAL! PAID ENDORSEMENT DISCLOSURE: In order for me to support my blogging activities, I may receive monetary compensation or other types of remuneration for my endorsement, recommendation, testimonial and/or link to any products or services from this blog. ADDITIONAL DISCLAIMER: Use your noggin with all of these products. This is a list of recommend

One thing that blew me away (and continues to blow me away) is the amount of unsolicited advice given to me starting the nanosecond I announced my pregnancy this time last year in January 2013. Now, I'm by no means an expert on parenting. In fact, I would venture to say that there have been more days in the last 6 months and 9 days where I am convinced that I know absolutely nothing about anything  than there have been in my entire life. So, there's that. I'm not trying to be a know-it-all.  Just wanted to share with you guys my little bambino of inspiration for this post, Beulah (whom we affectionately call Boo, Bizzou, Shmaroo, B, etc.) I love her so much, we are so lucky to be her parents. Yes, she is making a silly face in this picture, and that is ok because she is silly just like her mama.  Anyway, back to all the advice I got. Some of it made me roll my eyes, some of it made me grateful for not being the first of my friends to have a kid (because not all