Let’s BEE Friends with Sarah Kate!

Posted on January 12, 2012 by Bruna

Guess who’s hanging out with me today? It’s Friday and that means time for Let’s BEE Friends!

You’re going to want to be friends with my guest today!

It’s Sarah Kate from Nothing But Blue Skies.

She’s a …
“momma to one princess.
And wife to her best friend.
lives on a mini-farm in Tennessee.
All of her chickens have names.
She loves to run”.

I’m telling you, you’re going to love her. She’s beautiful, young, energetic and ray of sunshine.

Check it out for yourself!

Hi there!!

I’m Sarah Kate.

I have a happy little blog over at Nothing But Blue Skies.

I’ve been writing there for almost a year now.

Mostly I write about my family (we’re lots of fun, I promise!) and our mini-farm.

So far, all we have is chickens.

But one day there’ll be horses, and cows, and goats.

And maybe even a llama (if I play my cards right with the husband).

I’m a stay at home mom.

I haven’t always been.

In fact, it’s still pretty new to me.

For the past decade, I’ve either been a full time student or working.

I love both of those things. A lot.

But I’ve never been any good at balancing.

Not on a balance beam. Or with the aspects of my life.

When I do something, I throw myself into it whole-heartedly.

Full steam ahead with tunnel vision.

It always comes at the expense of something else in my life.

This time it was my daughter drawing the short straw.

She never complained, not once.

But I could see it.

A change was what I needed.

I needed to get out of the city, and out of the constant pressure.

Pressure to be good at my job, to make money, to own nice things.

Because it didn’t take very long for me to figure out those things don’t matter.

Not one bit.

What really matters is a little girl who adores her mother.

She deserved more. More of me.

So I traded in the high heels for rubber boots.

And the expensive hair cuts for a ponytail.

The chickens don’t care if I’m wearing Jimmy Choos, they just want that cup of scratch.

Lexie doesn’t care that I don’t get a paycheck. She’ll gladly give up new toys for more time with me.

No one thinks of me differently because I’m at home.

And if they do, that’s fine. They can keep their opinions to themselves.

Because all that pressure I felt before, it’s completely gone.

And that little girl who wanted her mommy to play with her?

She’s really happy.

And so is her mother.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Thanks for reading!
1. Now feel free to link-up a post from your own blog. Grab the code for my button and add it to your post.
2. Use the linky below. (No giveaways please)
3. Hop around and read as many or as little of the other posts as you like. Be sure to leave them a little or a lot comment love. ♥
4. Oh and don’t forget to tweet the word that it’s Friday and time for #Let’s BEE Friends! The linky will remain open all weekend

mom bloggers extraordinaire

Posted on October 6, 2011 by Bruna

Do you like candy?

I do.

I especially love Life Candy, a blog I read regularly because the girl behind the scenes is fabulous, fun, witty, charming, brilliant, an entertaining writer and, simply put, the sweet “girl next door”.

Her name is Nenette and I absolutely adore her.

The more I read her, the more I laugh and the more I want to fly across Canada to hang out with her. She’s really that cool.

Today, she’s asking us all a question.

Let’s find out what it is.
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Are You A Mommy Blogger?

Oh wise and all-knowing Nenette, am I? Am I that brilliant and awesomely gorgeous creature called “Mommy Blogger”?

Well, sweet reader, I may not be the best person to answer that question. You see, not too long ago, I didn’t think I was one myself.

When I started my current blog 4 years ago today, I didn’t want to write about my kids. At all. Life Candy was supposed to be my more-than-a-mom blog, the one place in my life where my very young kids had no control, where I didn’t have to think of potty-training and pickyeaters, where I could talk about my other interests like healthy eating, the perfect red lipstick, and my pretend boyfriend Gerard Butler, and where I could swear like a sailor have meaningful adult conversation for a change.

I was strictly a girl with a blog about her life. A “lifestyle blogger”. Period.

I was happily living under this misconception until, at one Christmas party, my friend Casey uttered those life-changing words: “You’re a mommy blogger.”

Me: “No, I’m not.”

Casey: “Yes, you are.”

Me: “Nuh-uh.”

Casey: “Yah-huh.”

Then, before the conversation could spiral into a discussion that could only end in a slap fight, he asked me why I didn’t think I was a Mommy Blogger.

Well…

I don’t do reviews or giveaways.

Okay, I do some reviews, but they’ve been for local restaurants. And the one giveaway I did was for a copy of one of my favourite smutty erotic novels. Very un-baby. Although reading it could possible lead to one. Ahem.

But then I had to concede that not all Mommy Bloggers do PR stuff. I couldn’t be the only one turning down generous offers from marketers for the latest gadget or product that promised to make my and my readers’ kids less Chucky and more Children of the Corn.

I often write about non-parenting topics like my annual freebie list and the fabled rectum cloth. Plus, many of my comments sound like this one from Paul, a frequent male reader: “And yes, the interviewer told me that I was being hired based on the quality of my nipples. Not sure what he meant, but now I have a great job with a bright future. Thanks LifeCandy!”

“And other Mommy Bloggers don’t write about hot celebrity crushes and strange conversations they’ve had?” was Casey’s response. Okay, maybe no rectum cloths, but he had a great point there.

Life is full of funny — funny that I myself have enjoyed reading on many Mommy Blogs I frequently visit.

I haven’t written about breastfeeding, co-sleeping, friend conflicts, and other issues that my children and I have been exposed to, all of which seem to be the cornerstone of the typical Mommy Blog.

The deep, heavy, and serious aspects of parenting that I’ve experienced I consider far too personal to share online. Instead, I prefer to focus on the unique, unusual, and funny aspects of my family. Their quirky sense of humour. The countless odd ideas they come up with. The myriad things that make them special.

But when all is said and done, I do write about my life as mommy to two very original, very brilliant children. A lot.

Moreover, I had to admit that those were the posts that resonated with my readers the most and kept them coming back again and again. And again.

Me: “Casey?”

Casey: “Yeah.”

Me: “I’m a Mommy Blogger.

Casey: “Shut up — no, you’re not!” Then we erupted in hysterical laughter.

In accepting the title of Mommy Blogger, I realized that I’m not really being pigeon-holed. There are many unique and interesting women out there who write under the umbrella term “Mommy Blogger” — the lifestyle mom, the simple-living mom, the designing mom, the reviewing mom, the fashion mom, the frugal mom, the primal mom, and so many, many more.

And this diversity is one of the many things that make us such a powerful — as well as brilliant and awesomely gorgeous — group of people.

always trying to find the balance …

Posted on August 2, 2011 by Bruna

Since the kids got out from school at the end of June and summer vacation began, my family and I have been going full force. We’ve been keeping ourselves so busy that I can’t remember being at home one weekend in the month of July. During the weekdays, the girls have been going to daycare part-time but enjoyed a week-long summer camp at Little B’s old preschool. On days when the girls have been home, we have been out and about trying to find things to entertain us.

A week or so ago, I had to stop the go, go, go and take a breather. I was literally exhausted. At this point, I realized I was trying to do too much. Between trying to keep my teen’s daily schedule full doing things with her friends so she’s not lying around watching TV and socializing on the computer all summer, I was trying to find activities and outings that would keep the little ones from going stir-crazy. On top of all this, I was trying to squeeze some blogging time into my schedule. My bloggy friends were asking me to guest post for them and as excited as I was to do a few here and there, I literally had to say no to a few friends because I started getting in a little over my head. Between trying to keep the hubs happy with fun weekend adventures, the teen happy with a busy friend schedule and the little ones happy with daily activities, I was completely burning out without even knowing it.

Needless to say, all the above is my own fault.

I get in way over my head very easily and in many areas of my life. I find something I love and I put all my energy and time into it without thinking about overdoing it until I crash.

Take blogging for example. I love it so much I want to do it every day. Impossible! I have three kids, a husband, a home to clean and soon a part-time job again once September begins. There is no way I can blog every day and keep everything and everyone in my life happy, including myself. And by blogging every day, I mean writing for my own blog, reading other blogs I like, commenting on them and doing the Twitter thing to socialize with my bloggy friends. It’s. Just. Too. Much. I honestly don’t know how other Mom bloggers do it all, keep their family happy and work outside of the home.

So what’s this Mom to do?

I have come up with a plan. Not surprised are you? Plans are my forte.

The Plan…

I love my Lets BEE Friends Feature on Fridays. I’m not changing anything about it. Just keeping it the same because it’s fun to find and feature existing and new friends. I love the link-up and getting to read everyone’s blog posts. This will stay the same!

I love my Mama Teach Us on Mondays. I’m going to change something about it though. So far, I’ve been consistently posting every Monday. From now on, I may or may not have a new post up for this meme. When I’m finding myself in a crazy busy time with work and family, I may skip a post one Monday here or there. So don’t be surprised if you visit one Monday and I don’t have something new for you.

Everything else on Bees With Honey will remain the same. I may not have a post for you every day, but when I do, I will continue to rant and rave about my life like I usually do. Heck, how else do you think I maintain my sanity?

Thanks for understanding

nobody gets it

Posted on June 20, 2011 by Bruna

Nobody gets why I blog.

Let me correct myself. My friends, who also blog, totally get why I blog. Those who I tweet with get why I blog. Everyone in the blog universe gets why I blog.

Remove myself from the blogosphere and I am a lost soul.

No one gets it. Some people think what I do is pointless or a waste of time. Other people just humour me by pretending to listen to me when I discuss blogging but don’t really listen to me when I discuss blogging.

They ask questions like, “Do you get paid to blog? I say, “NO”.
Do you sell something?” I say, “NO”.
I tell them I do it for fun.
That’s when they give me that look. ( The “Oh, okay. Whatever look.) You know the look. The look that says they truly and honestly haven’t a clue what blogging is all about nor do they understand the purpose of it. To non-bloggers, blogging is like a foreign language and world.

And at one time, it was for me too.

My sisters read me occasionally. One more so than the other. My parents know I have a blog but have never read it. My cousin Nadia from ncries.blogspot.com who also blogs, reads me from time to time. (I featured her once for my Lets BEE Friends Friday Feature. She’s awesome:) ) My eldest daughter, Big B, will read me occasionally when she’s bored of Facebook. My hubby says he reads me but when asked what I blogged about today, he’ll say he didn’t get a chance to read me today because work was too busy. *Sigh*

As for my friends, maybe a few read me. My BFF nominated me for the Top 30 Mom Blogger competition here in Vancouver, BC where I live. I ended up placing 2nd runner up. I definitely know that she reads me because she leaves me comment love. I love her for that. As for other friends, they might read me but I would never know because they never comment on any of my posts or talk to me about it. *Sigh*

Truth is, sometimes I wonder why I blog myself because there are times, let me tell you, when I think I could be doing so many other things instead of sitting at a computer writing during free time. I could be cleaning, organizing, exercising, reading books, shopping or cooking. Honestly though, I do all that stuff anyways … maybe just not as often or as regularly as I could. In the end, it all gets done and that’s what matters most. My house remains in tact and that’s good enough for me.

When I’m not mothering or house cleaning or being a wife or doing the career thing away from the home, blogging is what I do. I don’t have a ton of time to blog so I do it in bits and pieces when I get the chance. I love to read other blogs but that often poses challenges because I don’t always have the time. That’s when I end up feeling bad. Just like I end up feeling bad when I don’t have time to write for my own blog. This has been and always will be a struggle for me.

No matter the struggle. No matter the lack of time. No matter the funny looks I get from people who know that I blog and don’t get why, I continue to write and post because it makes me happy. I like to write about Motherhood, kids, school, friends, health and life with all of it’s ups and downs because it’s therapeutic for me. Blogging is a vehicle for self expression and when you’re surrounded by little people most of the time, it’s so nice to be able to connect with other grown-ups who are going through life at the same speed and experiencing life in about the same way.

Blogging is like a support group outside of normal life.

Plus, it’s fun and I’ve met so many fabulous guys and gals through the blogging community.

So I guess as long as I get why I blog … it doesn’t really matter what anyone else thinks!

joining in on the ultimate blog party!

Posted on April 3, 2011 by Bruna

I’m jumping onto the band wagon and joining in on the party. Who doesn’t like a great party after all?

So here we go …

When I’m not Mama B from Bees With Honey, I’m a wife to my husband J, a Mom to my three girls Big B, Little B and Little H, a sister, a friend and a First Grade Teacher to the sweetest little kids.

I started my blog Bees With Honey in October of 2010 because I love to write and I love to share stories about my family with others. More than anything else though, I enjoy having an outlet that allows me to document the chaos I call my life. It’s not easy trying to balance mothering and a career, let alone trying to be just YOU at the same time. Motherhood, marriage, work and life, in general, come with many challenges. They all have their up and down moments and it’s in sharing these moments with others that allows me to learn and grow from my experiences. Blogging has absolutely nothing to do with seeking attention and enjoying being in the spotlight. <insert wink> That’s just an added bonus!

You can find me on-line in numerous places. I stay connected with friends and family on Facebook. You can follow Bees With Honey there via Networkedblogs or join my fan page.

You can also find me on Twitter as @beeswithhoney . I can be found chatting it up with an array of fabulous Mom and Dad bloggers who have become some pretty special friends.

I always love finding and reading new blogs which makes joining the The Ultimate Blog Party all the more fun!

Looking forward to meeting you!

Happy Reading!

self evaluation

Posted on February 25, 2011 by Bruna

Not including yesterday’s post, I was MIA for about a week. Writing report cards trump blogging and since it’s that time of year again, I took a blog break.

Believe it or not, the blog break made me feel a little weird. Not a bad weird, a good weird. I have to admit that I think I was almost a little happier when I didn’t have to think about the blog or brainstorm possible topics for it. I cut myself off from Twitter and Facebook and that felt really good too.

You have no idea how much more I got accomplished around the house. My cleaning and laundry and cooking duties all stayed up to par and didn’t fall behind at all. Normally, I can’t keep up with everything. Once the weekend came, I actually had more time to just lay low and do nothing. How often do I get to do nothing? Never. Nada. Wish away!

Interesting. * This is when my revelation kicks in. *

When I decided to get into blogging, it was suppose to be just for fun. A way I could entertain myself, write because I love to and do something that would make me feel valuable when at home with the kids and away from the classroom. That’s not to say that I don’t feel valued as a Mom, however sometimes it is the case, it’s different from knowing your students rely on you and your readers look forward to seeing what you have to say today. Does that make sense? Those of you who blog, will say yes.

So I started to think about my little revelation and it became obvious to me that perhaps I’ve lost my focus since starting to blog and taking a break from it allowed me to see just that. What started out as fun, slowly became more tedious as I began placing way too much emphasis on posting every day rather than maybe only once or twice a week. Do I really need to post something daily? Definitely not. Why was I doing it? Pressure on myself to maybe keep up with other Mommy bloggers who do. What I quickly had to remind myself of is that I don’t stay home full-time. I work half the week away from home and then care for my kids the other half of the week from home.

I. Don’t. Have. A. Lot. Of. Time.

The time I do have when I’m home is limited to when the kids are either napping, in preschool or gone to bed for the night. That’s not a lot of time. Since I don’t want to be writing away on a computer when my kids are awake, I blog during those times I mentioned above. Things changed for me when blogging started to take up most of my *ME* time. What about time to read because I love to? What about time to watch my latest Netflix show obsession, Being Erica? What about spending time with my husband? My blogging started to interfere with other things I love and need to do. I was beginning to not cope well with limited time nor was I happy about any of it. Taking a break from blogging to write report cards last week was the best thing I could have done.

Kate, from Mommy Monologues posted something today that really hit home for me and reading it made me realize that maybe all bloggers eventually have to stop and refocus themselves every once in a while. If you’re interested in knowing more, you should go on over and read her post!

I’ve now decided, my dear readers, that I will not post every day any longer. So if you come to visit me, don’t be alarmed to see nothing new. It’s all good. I’m good. What you can do, instead, is subscribe to my blog. See the link on my home page? You can get notifications via email saving you the time of having to check my blog daily. You can also subscribe to me on Facebook under Networkedblogs or join my fan page Bees With Honey. If you’re on Twitter, I tweet any new blog posts there on a regular basis as well. Either way you connect with me, you’re sure to never miss a post.

I really want to thank all of you who come and visit me here and who read me daily or weekly. I know most of you are family and friends but it really doesn’t matter to me. I am grateful for your love and support. Blogging makes me happy but knowing that someone out there is reading me occasionally, makes me even happier. I’m no big shot and have no intentions of wanting to be one. I blog simply because I love to.

And I love all of you too!
xoxoxox

Linking up with Java from Never Growing Old for Follow Friday!

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twitter gals

Posted on February 9, 2011 by Bruna

After starting my own blog, my husband encouraged me to set up a Twitter account so I could connect with other mommy and teacher bloggers.

I did.

At first, I didn’t really get how Twitter worked. I was so use to the Facebook world, that to me, Twitter just seemed like a bunch of random status updates. It was confusing. I watched other people tweet for a really long time before I even dared to send out a tweet myself. As a beginner, I felt a bit overwhelmed.

Before long, I started to jump right in with my own tweets. I had a few people I personally knew and that I tweeted with regularly but, besides that, I was like a fish in new water! No one knew I even existed. So, I spent most of my time clicking on people’s profiles and reading their blogs. I found numerous blogs that I enjoyed reading and before long, I started to follow them.

In the process, I’ve met some pretty fabulous Twitter ladies. Funny ones, sweet ones, sarcastic ones and down right really friendly ones.

One lady, I especially *love* because it’s as if she saw me drowning in Twitter world so she swooped on down to save me. She’s been taking care of me ever since, teaching me what I need to know about Twitter and #wineparty and introducing me to other great bloggy friends. On Twitter, everyone knows her as @TruthfulMommy and she has the most entertaining blog, The Truth About Motherhood, where she writes about life and her journey through the madness we all call motherhood! What I love most about her is how she threads nothing but the truth through her writing. She just tells it like it is and doesn’t sugar coat a thing. Her honesty is truly refreshing and she definitely holds a special place in my heart.

It’s funny how things can change and how quickly we can become addicted to something new. I use to spend my time staying connected with friends and family on Facebook but once I got the hang of Twitter and made friends with so many nice people, my interest in Facebook has dwindled. Right now, Twitter is where it’s at for me and I can be found there as @beeswithhoney !

These are the ladies I tweet with regularly…

@TruthfulMommy
@VicariousChels
@MTDLBlog
@momgoessomething
@thepurseblogger
@NenetteM
@SarahinVictoria
@CarriBrown
@Laura_Willard
@MomInManagement
@BBandABlog
@RachelsRantings
@RChirico
@blogdangerously
@snackygirl
@n_cries
@mycrazybusylife

and they rock!

Thank you Twitter for introducing me to such great Twitter gals!

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my fav blogs

Posted on November 24, 2010 by Bruna

Since starting up blogging again, I’ve also been exploring the numerous other blogs out there in cyberspace. It’s absolutely AMAZING just how many people and their dogs have a blog. Some people use a blog to post pics about their family, others use a blog to advertise for a business they run, some use a blog to try to make money by doing product reviews and seeking advertisers and then you have your bloggers who just do it for fun. I’m sure I’m missing many other reasons for why people blog. I’ve only touched upon the icing of the cake so to speak.

I blog because it’s fun, I like the attention and because it’s a great way to combat boredom. I really don’t care how many people follow me or visit my site every day as much as I care about whether or not I’m writing stuff people enjoy reading, can relate to or find funny. My inspiration for my posts come solely from life as I live it. As exciting as it may or may not be sometimes, I try to portray it as honestly as I can with a touch of humour on the side. Those of you, my friends, who are in the same boat as me being a Mom and all, will appreciate my posts about motherhood and kids. After all, us Moms are all on the same journey are we not?

I have a handful of blogs I follow daily that I enjoy and am inspired by. I like these blogs for various reasons, some being different than others. I thought I would share a few with you because I believe in sharing a good thing.

Mama Kat’s Losin It!
http://www.mamakatslosinit.com

Scary Mommy
http://scarymommy.com

My Crazy Busy Life!
http://www.mycrazybusylife.com

Truthful Mommy
http://motherhoodthetruth.blogspot.com

N Cries Life
http://www.ncries.blogspot.com/

Telling Dad
http://www.tellingdad.com/

Life Candy
http://www.lifecandy.net/

Hurry and check them out! Hope you enjoy them as much as I do!
Let me know which one is your favourite:)

Happy Reading!

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