Balancing Career and Family

Tips to Help Balance Career and Family by: Megan Hazel

Whether you are male or female, a mom or a dad, balancing career and family can be really difficult. When you're a woman, though, the choices you have to make seem especially difficult and the responsibilities all the more great. For some reason, women are guilt-ridden with their career decisions and the choices they make about working while trying to raise their children, providing nutritious meals for their family, keeping a respectable house and keeping their husbands happy. Last on the list, of course, is finding some time for themselves. So how does a woman find time to actually feel happy with her daily activities while keeping up with all of the responsibility?

First, take time to smell the roses! Literally, you can take time to smell the roses but you can actually do this with no flowers in sight. Every day, try to look around and appreciate what you have, taking in the sounds of your child's laughter, the wag of your dog's tail, the special glance of your husband as you tell a funny joke. Sometimes, the knowledge of what you have on your plate for the day will feel overwhelming, but a little perspective goes a long way. It may be a cliché and a very tired phrase, but it truly does work. People tend to get lost in the mundane, day-to-day "functioning" instead of really living their lives. For example, next time you are worried about fitting in your exercise with your child's play date at Little Gym, forego the Little Gym and head out with your son or daughter for a run. Strap the little one in the jog stroller or if he or she is old enough, ask them to put on the running shoes with Mommy and head outside! Once outside, you can literally stop to smell the roses. Just a few minutes of gratitude a day will work wonders for your soul and automatically make your life feel more balanced.

Along these same lines, try and give yourself some "me" time once a week. Once a week may not seem like much, but if you really allow yourself to soak it in and enjoy the time spent, it will make the stress of all of the rest of the hectic days melt away. Take a good block of time on a Saturday or Sunday - 2 hours, maybe - and mark this time in your calendar in pen, not pencil. Keep a standing appointment with yourself, and honor it as you would any other. Think you are too busy on a weekend to do this? You will feel much more productive the rest of the weekend allowing yourself this little ‘refresher', rather than trying to cram some time in on a random Tuesday or other weeknight. For this special time, you can book a massage or a facial at your favorite spa. Take a couple of hours to go window shopping at your favorites stores, by yourself or with a friend. Take in a matinee with a couple of girlfriends. If your husband is willing to fly solo on a Saturday night, you can even book a girls' night out once in a while and truly let loose! Even if your budget doesn't allow for these activities once a week, you can lock yourself in the bathroom with a good book, a bubble bath and a nice glass of wine and feel good about your time alone - you deserve some!

Probably the most obvious way to balance career and family is to incorporate your family into what would otherwise be "work time". If you have a short commute to work, for example, perhaps you can drive your kids to school each morning instead of having them take the bus. In the alternative, you could have your morning cup of coffee at the bus stop with them and spend a few minutes chatting about their day and what they plan to learn in school as you sip your cup of Joe and breathe in the morning air to mentally prepare for your own day ahead. If you normally exercise in the morning and leave the house very early, switch your workout time to lunch and leave the office to go to the gym, eating at your desk when you get back. You will have more time with your family each day and get a healthy break from your pile of papers to boot.

You may need to get a little creative with your schedule, but there are definitely ways to help balance career and family. Sometimes an extra few minutes each day or a once-weekly good block of time can go a long way in helping restore your peace of mind and help you feel less harried.

About The Author:
Megan Hazel is a freelance writer who writes about women's health and career topics, similar to what consumers read in http://www.magazines.com/ncom/mag?mid=7765 Women's Health

Honeymoon In Belize

Honeymoon In Belize At An Ambergris Caye Resort by: Gordon Steven

A Honeymoon in Belize is becoming a popular option, and the hard part then is putting together a honeymoon package, after deciding where to stay. A good choice would be the Xanadu Island resort on Ambergris Caye.

A Honeymoon resort benefits from being small, and Xanadu Island resort has only eighteen rooms, right on the beachfront within ten minutes walk of San Pedro on Ambergris Caye. The kind of accommodation you might decide to take on your honeymoon package could well be Suite number two which is an oceanfront loft with views to die for. Get up early, about half past six, make a cup of coffee in the kitchen, go outside onto the deck, and watch the sunrise, and if you do this once, you’ll do it everyday.

Ambergris Caye is a real island getaway, and Xanadu Island resort even more so. It is hidden on a beach lined with palm trees, and what you see from your dawn and daily outlook is the turquoise Caribbean, and the white line of the reef.

The breakdown of the accommodations is a Studio, Loft, or 1,2,or3 bedrooms. Each suite is airconditioned, plus ceiling fans, cable Television, unlimited internet access, as if you’d want that on your Belize honeymoon!!

Added to that hairdryers, safe, beach towels, and not forgetting your own private deck which is shaded from the sun. There is a long pier with a thatched shade at the end and a swimming platform, so you can snorkel over the hotel’s own man made reef. There is a lovely pool, and loads of hammocks and sunbeds around the pool and on the beach.

The complimentary bikes and kayaks allow you to explore Ambergris Caye, and the bicycles are especially useful to take you into San Pedro to the great restaurants there. If your honeymoon in Belize isn’t to be just relaxing at the Xanadu, but you wish to be more energetic, then why not try Scuba Diving, sailing, fishing or take a guided eco tour to the rainforest.. In addition tours to Mayan ruins can easily be arranged.

Whilst there is no restaurant at the resort, this won’t detract from your honeymoon vacation at all, after all who needs boring hotel restaurant food anyway. There are two local markets close by, so snack meals can easily be organised in the kitchen which is very well equipped. Some suggestions for feeding yourself are George’s for breakfast, Casa Picasso for dinner, Crazy Canuck’s Bar on the beach, and Monkey Bites for breakfast or lunch.

The management team at the Xanadu Island Resort go out of their way from even before you arrive for your honeymoon in Belize to ensure you have an enjoyable and stress free time. From the immaculately maintained property, well looked after rooms, nothing is left to chance, even ensuring flights and taxis are all there when you need them. Xanadu Island Resort on Ambergris Caye could give you the perfect honeymoon in Belize, and research shows that most people who have gone there for their Belize Honeymoon would return.

Family Budget Cutting When On Vacation

How to Cut Down on Your Budget When You Go on VacationBy Susan Hutson

Are you planning for your next travel vacation? Well, everybody in your family would long for a vacation after a long period of hard work at school and office. But, with travel and vacation becoming more and more expensive by the day, it creates the need for travelers to cut down on their budget whilst on vacation. Explained below are 10 common (easy) tips that would help save those travel money.

1. Take your own food and drinks: This would seem a little ridiculous; however, the amount you can save could be huge. For instance, a burger prepared at home could be much tastier and cheaper compared to those offered for sale at restaurants and hotels. Likewise, a bottle or can of soft drinks would be more expensive in hotels, whereas it would be cheaper to buy it from a supermarket. This would help you avoid instances of premium pricing.

2. If the first tip seems impractical, try this one. Have breakfast where kids could eat free or split meals. Since small children eat too little but at regular intervals, going to children-friendly restaurants that accommodate special requests for extra plates could help save you a lot of money, especially if your family has over two kids.

3. Take your own refillable water bottles: A typical family spends over $20 a day buying mineral water and by taking your own water bottles, you could save on this money, especially on long-trips. Get them refilled at your hotel or water fountains at no extra cost.

4. Make use of any offers and coupons be it for food, lodging, traveling or attractions, just simply make use of them. The amount you save could be enormous. You could find offers and coupons in local newspapers, stores, motels, hotels and even online.

5. Always rent a car: This would be much cheaper compared to the (airport) shuttle service. Likewise, it would be more flexible and convenient. If you are planning to drive to your destination, rent a car because it would save those potential expenditures and costs of wear and tear (repairs).

6. Bring your own stroller since you could simply save $8 to $10 a day at some of the attractions in your visit.

7. Make use of multi-day passes at the attractions. This is very useful since those could be used at anytime of the day.

8. Enjoy the day away from the major attractions: It would be much cheaper to spend your day at the beach or at a local playground and would be as much fun as visiting those attractions. Make use of every opportunity that is provided for free, such as the hotel's swimming pool and sports facilities.

9. Make your own reservations: By doing so, it is guaranteed that your particular needs are satisfied. Online reservations would earn you additional discounts that would help save you more.

10. Give your children a set amount to spend. This would limit unnecessary expenditures, and the children knowing about this restriction would put the money to better use.
You could save huge amounts of money by simply following the above tips, and it would give you and your family a chance to spend an additional night or two at the holidaying destination. Good luck with your journey!

Bizymoms.com has been dedicated to helping moms work at home for over 10 years. Now Bizymoms helps moms find solutions to all their daily needs like planning a Vacations And Travel. Visit Bizymoms.com today!

Weddingmoon Blog

Why Destination Weddings?
Are they only for the wealthy? Not really…..

Destination weddings are a spin on the old tradition of eloping. Elopements were done in secret and didn't include guests or traditional rituals. However, destination weddings are planned events, often including family and guests and may even involve wedding traditions that are native to the location.



Why a destination wedding? The primary reasons couples choose a destination wedding are to save money, avoid the major hassles of family squabbles and planning details, and of course to have a memorable and unique wedding. Besides a beautiful location, you can mix in local cultural traditions with your own ceremony to give some excitement and uniqueness to your special day. And best of all many destination weddings are a bargain compared to the cost of hosting a big expensive event back home. Your family may be spread out all over the U.S. but your life and friends are in one place. This is becoming a more and more common scenario for couples, making it difficult to gather everyone together for a large and meaningful celebration. Because of this, destination weddings will keep increasing in popularity!


Traditionally this is how you would plan your own destination wedding:

Chose your location…and to do this, you have to do a little research.
The web is always a great resource for research of any kind.

Most wedding magazines feature destination wedding information in the back pages.

Travel sections in bookstores are another great place to research a location.

Check with your travel agent who can recommend a few good choices based on your budget and travel date. Having a wedding during the slow season can save you and your guests a small bundle on travel!

But most importantly research the legal requirements. You may need to bring specific paperwork, there may be have a waiting period or other requirements that may change your plans.

The popularity of Destination Weddings has increased tremendously and it is now estimated that over 100,000 couples a year will have one!

In the United States, Las Vegas and Disney World are two very popular locations, and both have a seemingly unlimited supply of resources and ideas.

European weddings are also becoming popular. There you can marry in an old castle, at a vineyard in France, or on a cliff in Ireland with bagpipes sounding in the background.

Tropical islands are the most popular location for a destination wedding, and Maui is currently the number one island of choice. Other very popular locations are Jamaica, St. Lucia, as well as other Hawaiian islands (Big Island and Oahu mostly). Due to years of such popularity, there are a lot of resources on these islands for you.

Available resources are important to keep in mind when picking a location. If you want to have a ceremony performed in a certain religion, or you feel strong that you must have a great photographer that specializes in black and white, or a musician that plays a particular instrument, be sure the location can accommodate your needs. Often couples choose locations where they will also have their honeymoon, or be a short flight away from their honeymoon location; hence the term "Weddingmoons."

How can MarLee Travel get you started? Easy as 1-2-3

MarLee Travel, your travel and entertainment concierge service, will allow you to research and choose your wedding or honeymoon location all at the touch of one button. Visit our honeymoon registry for the first and last stop in planning your destination “weddingmoon.”

Our honeymoon registry have done the research on the honeymoon resorts for you, so there is no need for you to go hopping on different internet sites to choose the perfect wedding and/or honeymoon location.

Reason to Choose this Registry

Find Wedding & Honeymoon Resorts

Here’s a step-by-step account of how to use our registry.

The bride and groom (B&G) choose destination from a list of prime wedding and honeymoon resort locations

B&G create registry list from items listed for that destination or use the “create your own” wizard to list ideas of their own

B&G create their wedding website and upload their photos

B&G download and print announcement cards directing guests to your site provided by MarLee Travel: Announcement Cards & Games

Friends and Family go to http://www.yoursite.com/ to read your wedding website and purchase something for the wedding couple from their registry list. Here’s an example of a wedding website: Wedding Website

Friends and Family receive receipt and gift card to fill in, send via email and print out

B&G are notified of purchase and sent gift cards via email

B&G can check account anytime to view gift details and read cards

B&G withdraw money from honeymoon registry upon request and funds are sent to them either through check or PayPal

Registry Support for technical issues or Bride and Grooms questions: 858-433-1506
Hours are 6am to 6pm Mon – Sat PST

Here are some pictures of how the registry works: How the Registry Works

Here’s an example of one of our honeymoon registry sites created by a bride and groom: Sample Honeymoon Registry

Here’s an example of a bride and groom’s wedding website: Sample Bride and Groom Website

For more information about our honeymoon registry or destination wedding email us at marjoy88@aol.com or visit MarLee Travel’s honeymoon registry at http://www.marleetravel.honeymoonwishes.com/ and start your registry for the perfect honeymoon. Or sign up for your honeymoon registry here.

Travel Blog

Travel to Jamaica

Travel to Jamaica has become much easier as many major airlines and airports now offer flights to either Kingston or Montego Bay. However there are certainly times of year when it better to travel to Jamaica than others and this is especially true if you are on a limited budget. From the UK the main airlines which offer flights to the island are British Airways, Virgin and Air Jamaica. Plus a quick search of the internet and you may find other airlines that offer flights to Jamaica as well.

The high tourist season occurs from the middle of December until the end of April and you can expect to pay 20 to 40% more on flights at accommodation at these times. Certainly it is far better to travel to Jamaica between May and November when costs are much more reasonable, yet the weather is still good.

Also you need to be aware that at certain times of the year the island will become extremely busy. In January Montego Bay becomes full of visitors who come to enjoy the Jazz & Blues Festival organized by Air Jamaica. This between the end of July and the beginning of August the Reggae Sumfest takes place. Then finally in October Port Antonio comes alive and full of anglers who are entering the International Marlin Tournament.

But apart from this the island is a place to be enjoyed and the atmosphere is warm and friendly. Plus it is here that there are plenty of all inclusive resorts which one can enjoy and which are situated on the islands many beautiful beaches.

Before you visit Jamaica check out our Travel to Jamaica tips and also our Hotels in Montego Bay
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kevin_P_McNally