I am looking for a sponsor for my BlogHer ’09 experience. In return, I will promote you, your company, and your products to the fullest extent possible. I can wear your products, pass them out, add your URL to my business cards, run sponsor ads on my blog, highlight you in blog posts, and more.

When you sponsor me, you will also gain the priceless value of having me be your eyes and ears at the BlogHer ’09 conference. I’ll be bringing my sponsor-only notebook and will provide you with juicy trends, themes, and insights.

Why Sponsor My Blog?  CreateaBalance.com is the life balance blog for moms.  My posts help moms move from mommy survival to mommy revival. I blog about wanting to live a more authentic, happy, energized, and balanced life (while also raising children).  Moms read CreateaBalance.com to reconnect with their authentic sense of self.

My readers are looking to…

• Find moments of silence each day
• Find time to get and stay focused on their passions
• Take action on their dreams
• Connect with other moms
• Connect with their evolving and growing authentic sense of self
• Pay it forward and get involved
• Focus on their fitness goals, and
• Find time and activities to escape the daily grind.

Email me at Stacey [AT] CreateaBalance [DOT] com so we can work out the details.

I guarantee to get your company and your products noticed!

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It’s Time to Celebrate Inspiring Moms!

It is my honor to introduce you to the Inspiring Moms Club. The Inspiring Moms Club is a space to celebrate and learn from amazing moms who are practicing the art of life balance. Click here to join the inspiring moms club or to nominate an inspiring mom.

Our first inspiring mom is Jane Elia Schwartz, who is the founder and creative director behind JelliBee Baby, a fresh line of sophisticated yet practical baby accessories. She believes every woman deserves to enjoy intricately beautiful and practical design, and is dedicated to infusing all she does with a healthy dollop of ‘aahhh!’ Jane lives in southern California with her husband and two children, and is tickled and humbled by the richness that is motherhood.

JelliBee Baby Giveaway

Jane is giving away a pair of delightful petite clothing hangers. These delicious hangers, fit for a prince or princess, are both beautiful and functional. They are so adorable, you’ll want them for yourself.

What You Win
(1) pair of petite hangers from JelliBee Baby

How to Enter
Share one quality of what makes an inspiring mom in the comments section below.

Extra Entries
1. Twitter about the inspiring moms club.
Copy and paste the text Check out the Inspiring Moms Club @CreateaBalance  http://bit.ly/W9hjI to Twitter.
Be sure to leave a link to your Twitter status in the comments section.

2. Blog about the Inspiring Moms Club and leave link in the comments section.

3. Subscribe to my Create a Balance for Moms Newsletter.

Other Details
- Winner will be contacted via email.
- If no response in 48 hours, another winner will be drawn.
- Contest ends on June 27, 2009 at 11:59 pm Central Time.

And Now a Word from Our Inspiring Mom - Jane Elia Schwartz from JelliBee Baby

Jane’s View of Life Balance - Like most women, I think we try to make it mean, how can I fit “doing it all” into 24 hours, 52 weeks a year?” But to be serious, for me, it means managing the ho-hum obligations of life while tackling all of the fun and rewarding goals my family and I want to accomplish over the course of our lifetime.

How Jane Practices the Art of Life Balance - I try to approach everything I do with a positive outlook and strong work ethic- both work and play, and my kids see that. I realized recently that by being a mompreneur, my kids are getting to see what ‘work’ looks like, up close and personal, and that’s a good thing.

This eye-witness account of life-lesson-learning is so different than my own memories of my father ‘going off to work’ for 9 hours a day somewhere, and then reappearing at dinner, for 20 years in a row. Work is not compartmentalized to me or to them. I think their observations of what grown up ‘work’ is, is so much more tangible, and I hope, in it being so real, they develop a healthy respect and appreciation for it, in its many forms. By approaching work and play with the same attitude, holding myself accountable, I think I am able to pull into balance both of these aspects of my life.

How Jane Takes Action Towards Living Her Dreams - I am an extremely optimistic person who believes that through hard work, anything is possible. The word ‘dream’ is a little intimidating to me- it sounds out of reach, existing only in our wildest fantasies. I prefer ‘goal:’ sounds so much more grounded and attainable, doesn’t it? Working towards a goal, one with milestones, anything is possible. And realizing that the journey in attainment of that goal, with its nuts and bolts elements, although not as glamorous as we imagined, is true to life. As a society, we only hear about the overnight successes, the plucked-from-obscurity-success-stories; reality is that hard work and years of sacrifice make dreams come true. Setting your sights on a goal is the first active step in living your dream. I try to have one ‘reach’ goal a year; in 2008 my goal was to sell my designs, and I met it, when I launched JelliBee Baby in November of last year.

Jane’s View On…

The Importance of Connecting with Other Women. With everyone rushing around, everyone so busy, I miss the sense of community that used to just happen when life was a little less hectic; these days, I make it happen, by connecting with people, strangers, even, that I come in contact with, throughout my day. It is nice to acknowledge (out loud) that we are not alone on this journey! I’ve met some of my best friends just by starting with hello, when we both found ourselves in new situations.

The Importance of Connecting with Your Authentic Self and Authentic Voice - For me this means shunning time-sucking obligations when and where I can. Do my young kids really need to attend so and so’s 2^nd birthday party all day Saturday? Do we need to watch TV 2 hours every night to ‘relax’? It sounds dramatic, but our time is limited on this earth; make sure you are spending it with those you love, doing what matters to you and them. And I don’t mean that you skip all birthday parties or cancel cable (although we did), just figure out what is authentic and meaningful to you and your family, then actively spend your time and attention there. 

Honoring Your Body by Moving and Being Active - I grew up with very physically active parents- not athletes, but regular exercisers who ate healthfully, so it is just part of how we live now. I have a very supportive husband in this regard, too- he is an avid cyclist; I understand that his time spent riding is time for him to get away, challenge himself, and set goals. He watches the kids while I go to ballet classes at least 2-3 times a week. His reward is a fit, refreshed, wife. We also do activities outdoors with the kids. The idea is to get moving and have fun while clearing your head.

Getting Energized - Something my father always says: ’success breeds interest.’ My husband and I are in the habit of spending our free time, our down time, pursuing activities we love. I hope I don’t sound like a broken record, but reviewing our accomplishments, as well as looking forward to future goals (”within 5 years I want to have done X”) is exciting to us. Then we talk about what we need to do to make those things happen, both in work and play. That is energizing.

Jane’s Advice on Balancing Personal Needs and Dreams with the Needs of All the Other Things that Demand Our Time, Attention, and Energy.

1. Allow yourself to admit when you need help. I know it is hard for overachievers! After my second child was born, my husband asked repeatedly if I was overwhelmed. I kept saying no, thinking saying yes meant I was admitting failure. Guess what? I couldn’t do it all. Once I admitted I needed help, and I allowed others to help me, I loosened up on myself and everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief.

2. Accept that you might want to be more than the Mother of your Children (if you do). And that that is ok. I still wrestle with this one as a hybrid stay at home mom and entrepreneur- as much as I want to remain the center of my kids and my husbands’ universe, sometimes I just want to chuck my Hello-my-name-is Mommy-badge and get on a jet plane as Just Jane and fly far, far away where the baby monitor/cell phone/PTA can’t find me. Acknowledge these feelings. They are normal. And then go find an outlet- cooking, dancing, yoga, scrap-booking, whatever- to do just for yourself, at least once a week.

Final Words from Jane -  One more thing, make it a habit to borrow from others’ life lessons. If there is something you want, talk to those who have it, or those who have done it. Research it. Join groups who do it. If there is something you like already out there, see if you can find out who did it, and how they did it. Ask questions. Take note of the lessons that those you admire have already learned. You’ll still make mistakes, but you might avoid a few.

And Don’t Forget to Register for Jane’s Giveaway

1. Share one quality of what makes an inspiring mom in the comments section below.

2. Twitter about the inspiring moms club.
Copy and paste the text Check out the Inspiring Moms Club @CreateaBalance http://bit.ly/W9hjI to Twitter. Be sure to leave a link to your Twitter status in the comments section.

3. Blog about the Inspiring Moms Club and leave link in the comments section.

4. Subscribe to my Create a Balance for Moms Newsletter.

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photo credit: Sakurako Kitsa

This weekend, as I was packing up my cookbooks, I rediscovered a hidden book that I received from a dear friend when I moved away from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in 2003.

The book is called 50 Simple Ways to Pamper Yourself by Stephanie Tourles. The author encourages you not to feel guilty for wanting to spend quality time dedicated to boosting your own well-being. She welcomes you to think of pampering as a way to preserve your sanity in an insanely paced world. She asks us to think about how busy we are every day. She sees us “buzzing around like worker bees, tending to everyone else’s needs and ignoring our own”.

50 Simple Ways to Pamper Yourself is written for women who need a break. The techniques Tourles shares help us “to catch our breath, to regain our health, to restore our natural rhythms, to enjoy the meaningful moments in life that have gone by the wayside because we’re so busy”. Although the book is titled 50 Simple Ways to Pamper Yourself, the book actually includes over 300 ways to pamper yourself.

Today I give you permission to pamper yourself.

Here are a few pampering ideas that jumped out at me as I read this book.

1. Use lavender essential oils to relax.
2. Drink a cup of herbal tea.
3. Get an herbal facial steam.
4. Give your skin a drink with natural skin toners.
5. Dry brush your skin.
6. Get a foot massage.
7. Soak your feet.
8. Eat beans (they are high in vitamin B)
9. Exercise outside in the fresh air.
10. Get more sleep.
11. Drink more water.
12. Take a milk bath.
13. Brush your teeth with fresh mashed strawberries.
14. Put a few drops of lavender or Roman chamomile on your pillow.
15. Brighten your home with flowers and/or flowering plants.
16. Mist your face with water to refresh and hydrate your skin.
17. Use natural odor fighting mouthwash.
18. Walk barefoot on the grass.
19. Play in warm summer rain.
20. Let yourself be playful.
21. Try yoga.
22. Turn your bedroom into a private retreat.
23. Listen to music.
24. Spray your feet with chilled peppermint for a cooling energy boost.
25. Trust your natural inner wisdom.

What will you do this week to pamper yourself?
Inspire others by letting us know in the comments section.

Disclaimer -I am not a health practitioner and nothing written in this post qualifies as medical or heath advice. These pampering suggestions are not meant to provide health advice and are for general information only. Seek advice of a qualified health professional. Only use essential oils with knowledge and caution. Learn about warnings for using essential oils (pregnancy, amount, frequency, and application, etc) before using. Do not take essential oils internally. If you are receiving treatment for any condition, check with your healthcare professional before attempting to self-treat with essential oils. Should you have any questions or concerns, please consult with a trusted healthcare professional before taking or using any essential oils. Each person is different, and the way you react to a particular product may be significantly different from other people.

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So many of us move through life helping others, giving to others, and being there for others. These are all beautiful things that bring out our generosity, our free giving spirit, our goodness, our kindness, and our big hearts.

The power of giving is strong. Giving makes the world a better place. It feels good to give to others. It is a huge part of my personal live and you see it everywhere in the blogosphere. People are helping people and I believe the more you give the more the universe will give back to you.

I get this.
I believe this.
Giving is part of my inner workings.

And still, I’m concerned.

I’m concerned that we may be missing something (or someone). I’m concerned we may be giving so much to others that we don’t have enough to give to ourselves.

I believe there must be a balance {a balance between giving to others and self nurturing}.

Do you give yourself permission everyday to take care of yourself?

Do you give yourself permission everyday to enjoy “Me Time”?

I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments section.

photo credit: James Jordan

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“Only as high as I reach can I grow,
only as far as I seek can I go,
only as deep as I look can I see,
only as much as I dream can I be.”
~ Karen Ravn ~

Welcome to the last segment of my Authentic Happiness Series. Be sure to read part one (self care), part two (home environment), and part three (community) and part four (career) if you missed them.

Design Your Life

photo credit: amypalko

For the past 10 weeks we have been thinking about different aspects of ideal lifestyles. Today I’m going to encourage you to start pulling the different aspects of your ideal life together to create one holistic, integrated, and balanced lifestyle.

If it helps, refer back to the different questions within this series to guide you through this process. I know it may be hard, but assume money is not an issue. You can worry about how you are going to afford the picture of your ideal lifestyle after you create the vision.

Together we discussed…

• Self Care
• Home Environment
• Community
• Career

Other aspects for your ideal lifestyle can include…

• Health
• Family
• Relationships
• Enjoyment/Fun
• Life Purpose/Life Calling
• Stillness/Peace/Me Time
• Connection with Your Authentic Self
• Paying it forward (a cause or purpose)
• Other  ______________

Are You Dreaming Big Enough?

photo credit: h.koppdelaney

Once you have created the vision of your ideal lifestyle, I want you to ask yourself the following questions…

• Where have you not dreamed big enough?
• Where have you not been honest?
• Are you holding back?
• Which are the crucial elements for your life?
• Which elements are aligned with your values?
• Did you include what you want out of life or what other people want from you?

Reflect on these questions, highlight the things that are really important to you, and adjust your vision accordingly. Remember to dream authentically and to dream big!

Believe in Your Vision

photo credit: spitfirelas

My hope is that you leave this post today with a sense of confidence that you can create your ideal lifestyle. It may take baby steps, but if you can believe in your vision, it can become your reality. Trusting your vision will empower you to take action towards your dreams.

• Do you believe it is possible for you to have your ideal lifestyle?
• Do you believe you deserve it?
• Are you willing to make this dream really happen?

Determine Where to Start and Take Action

photo credit: lyrabellacqua

Based on all the aspects of your ideal lifestyle, choose the area that is most important to you. Next, write down ten actions that need to be done to create your ideal lifestyle in that area. Make sure two things on your list can get done this week.

Create a Support System

photo credit: rogiro

Find someone who you can talk to about this process. Have someone hold you accountable for your actions. I strongly recommend getting a life coach to keep you on track during this process.

Let me be your life coach. I promise to hold you accountable for your actions.

Email me at stacey AT createabalance DOT com to sign up for a free life coaching session. Make sure that you put FREE LIFE COACHING SESSION in the subject line.

Have Fun

photo credit: Aaron Michael Brown

This is the game of life. Have fun, enjoy the process, and celebrate your life!

Any SARK Fans Out There?

SARK now offers Living Juicy Couching Sessions! Her couching sessions provide encouragement, solution-finding, and positive challenges with SARK (Susan Ariel Rainbow Kennedy). Couching contains elements of coaching, therapy and mentoring, and is designed to support and accelerate change. It is customized to each individual, and takes place on the telephone. You will love these sessions if you are committed to personal growth and transformation and if you willing and able to do the work necessary for change/growth to occur.

START NOW!

In the comments section, list the two things you are going to get done this week to begin building the lifestyle of your dreams.

This series has been inspired by the ICA design your life program.

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photo credit: Tony the Misfit

Have you heard of HelpersMarket.com? This website believes in people helping people. They have an online listings (similar to eBay or the yellow pages) and you can earn money if you connect buyers and sellers. Basically, the site relies on social media and helpers benefit financially by finding as many buyers for as many sellers as they want — earning money for each sale completed.

It provides you with an opportunity to market products and services to sell, buy, rent, and hire.

So you may be wondering what this site possibly has to do with life balance? For now, maybe nothing, but I see a great potential for life coaches, mompreneurs, and personal development entrepreneurs to use this site as a great social media online marketing tool.

I am going to upload my Hungry for Balance t-shirts and magnets onto the site as well as my life balance coaching services. If you are looking for a fresh online marketing idea for your products and services, be sure to check out HelpersMarket.com.

Comments are Closed.

photo credit: euart

Haider Al-Mosawi from Personal Growth Map recently wrote a guest post over at Zen Habits. He first explains why you need to have balance in your life and then shares how a personal growth map can help you achieve your life balance goals.

Why Do You Need Balance In Your Life?

Here is what I’m taking away from Haider Al-Mosawi’s case for practicing the art of life balance…

• All areas of your life are important and none of them should be neglected.

Haider Al-Mosawi’ writes: “Imagine neglecting your health for one year while you focus on your work.”

• Each of us lives a holistic integrated life. Your body, mind, and spirit are connected. Different areas in your life are intertwined and neglecting one area can disable other areas in your life.

Haider Al-Mosawi’ writes: “You can advance your career by having good social connections and you can enhance your family life by having good health and vitality.”

Your family life can also suffer if you are neglecting your health and live in a state of exhaustion.

• If you are not paying attention to certain areas in your life, you will feel out of control. This happens to me all of the time. If I lose sight of eating healthy, chips and ice cream are somehow consumed. If I’m not focusing on my fitness goals, I sit on the couch instead of moving my body. If I’m not making an effort to spend time with friends and family, I don’t get out and socialize.

Haider Al-Mosawi’ writes: “One of the main reasons why we experience stress in life is because we feel we don’t have control over our lives.”

• Practicing the art of life balance can bring more happiness into your life. It is not about reaching some end of the rainbow state of balance, it is about experiencing the life balance journey.

Haider Al-Mosawi’ writes: “No matter how minor the activity is, as long as you are advancing each life area, you are making progress and experiencing a degree of balance in your life.”

Although there are many components to focus on (body, mind, spirit, social, etc) I think there is one component of the life balance journey that we cannot afford to forget.

And that is…

STILLNESS.

photo credit: Baloulumix

Share your thoughts in the comments section….

Why do you need balance in your life and what action steps are you taking to advance in different areas of your life?

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“Choose a job you love and you will
never have to work a day in your life.”
~ Confucius ~

Welcome to part three of my Authentic Happiness Series. Be sure to read part one (self care), part two (home environment), and part three (community) if you missed them.

Do What Your Love

photo credit: bobtravis

For those of us who have to work to support ourselves and our families, we spend too many hours working to not enjoy what we do. For this exercise, you may have to stretch your imagination. To get to your authentic truth, I don’t want you to focus on money when you think about your ideal career. I want you to think about what you would enjoy doing 30-40 hours a week for 50+ weeks a year.

Some Questions to Ponder

• What job you would enjoy?
• What would you create or make?
• What service would you provide?
• What kinds of things have you enjoyed in past careers?
• What do you think you would be good at?
• What kind of people would you work with?
• What hours would you work?
• Would you work from home if you could?
• Would you like to work in a really funky office building?

photo credit: icadrews

What can you do today to incorporate aspects of your ideal career into your current job?

What actions are you taking to have your ideal career?

What would your work look like if you didn’t need the money?

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As a mommy, blogger, life coach, change management consultant, daughter, student, and friend (I’ll stop here but my list can go on and on) it is difficult to find that essential quality time to spend with my husband. I guarantee that I am not alone.

I am a strong believer in having my marriage be part of my practice of life balance. Because our lives are so busy and because we have two children under the age of six, it is probably the area within my practice of life balance where I struggle the most.

Fortunately my awareness of this imbalance has transformed into action. My husband and I are mindful that at the end of the day it is very easy to be too tired for quality time. Our quality time comes in bursts of seconds and minutes instead of hours and days, but we are mindful and appreciate that our quality time is growing day by day and week by week.

Would you like more quality time for your marriage?

This week I decided to sit down with relationship coach Corey Allan from Simple Marriage. It turns out that we approach life balance and marriage with similar philosophies. As you probably know, I believe putting yourself first is the key ingredient for practicing the art of live balance. Corey believes “learning to take care of yourself more allows for more passion and adventure in marriage.” He goes on to say “when this is done by both members of the relationship, you experience the best in both of you.”

Do I dare state that practicing the art of life balance will improve your marriage? This is very exciting news!

Read the following interview with Corey Allan to learn more…

Hi Corey, thank you for allowing me to interview you.  Can you tell me a little more about yourself, how you got interested in relationship/marriage coaching, and why you created SimpleMarriage.net?

I’ve been married to my wife Pam for 16 years this May and we have 2 children ages 2 and 4. My formal training is as a marriage and family therapist and I have worked with a lot of couples in crisis throughout the past 8 years. While I enjoy helping people in crisis, many couples wait too long to seek professional help so by the time they get to my office one or both of them have already given up on the marriage. I ventured into the marriage coaching world in order to assist people in experiencing more in marriage. That’s where SimpleMarriage.net comes in. I believe everyone can get more out of life and marriage. So at my blog you’ll find articles about marriage, relationships, communication, sex, fun, etc.

You write about simplifying marriage. Can you help us understand what it means to have a simple marriage?

The intent of Simple Marriage is to help you keep the important things in focus. We live in a world where the important things can be easily replaced by the immediate. By keeping a focus on what’s important in life, everything seems to fall into place. I believe life is a choice, so is marriage. I can choose what happens in my life and my marriage. That’s the key to experiencing more.

Can you share one tip on how to create a simple marriage?

It all boils down to how you view what goes on in marriage - marriage is designed to help us grow up as people. When you have the right view of things it helps a lot.

For me, life balance means balancing the needs of my inner authentic self with the needs of all of the other things that demand my time, attention, and energy. How do you suggest I balance the needs of my marriage with all of the other things that demand my time, attention, and energy?

If you don’t take care of yourself, you have very little to give to others. The most common thing I see is people who forget to take care of themselves. As for balancing the things in our life, the best thing I can say is to learn the valuable art of saying no. It’s a way to claim things for yourself, your marriage, and your family.

We talk about “putting yourself first”. Would you suggest putting your marriage second? Even before your children?

There are times when you should be first and everything else second. I believe that one of the best things you can do for your children is model a great marriage. They benefit more from this than the focus being on them all the time.

How do you find time to build a passionate and adventurous marriage?

First, it begins with each of us working to build a passionate and adventurous life, both apart and together. By doing this, we have discussed more about each other’s dreams and passions, especially where they align. We believe we are on this journey together and we seek to enjoy the ride along the way.

We’ve also been blessed to have people who love our kids and every so often will take them for a weekend which allows us to have a couple of days together. We also work to be together almost every evening as a family first, then once the kids go to bed, we hang out just the two of us. We also email or talk briefly throughout the day as well as have lunch together at least once during the week. It’s work to make schedules connect but since it’s important to us, we make it happen.

I am a busy mom. Can you suggest ways for busy parents to incorporate passion and adventure into their marriage?

Planning things to do together that you both enjoy provides a couple of things. One it’s a great adventure or activity to enjoy together and second, it gives you both something to look forward to and work towards. The other thing is to find little moments to steal together. Sit at the kitchen table and talk, share a glass of wine, sit outside, take a walk. All of these help you slow down a bit which increases the possibility for more passion.

What other information would you like to tell Create a Balance readers?

Shameless plug warning - I’m releasing a marriage book today designed to assist you in creating and experiencing more in marriage and life. For more information, head over to Simple Marriage. Thanks.

Thank you, Corey, for sharing your thoughts on marriage, passion, and balance. For more tips on experiencing a simple marriage, go to SimpleMarriage.net.

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