It can be overwhelming and frustrating when life seems un-controllable. When we lose control of daily situations, it can feel like we are being pulled in different directions. Life simply becomes stressful!

No matter how stressed out we can get, know though that keeping our life balanced is not that difficult. There is no need to leave our job and our family or even run away and hide in a far away place just to feel at peace and in control. The truth is, life balance begins within us first and foremost – regardless of what is happening around us.

Here are three simple ways to help start us in our journey to finding inner peace, harmony and life balance:

1) Find some quiet time. Personal time is one of the things that get sacrificed when people get busy. We tend to focus all our energy to helping others, trying to accomplish more than one thing at one time, meeting goals, crossing off to-do lists and just trying to accomplish everything we possibly can.

To enjoy a balanced life, we need to remember that quiet time for ourselves is extremely necessary. It is easy to say that we do not have enough time for ourselves. It’s funny though that when a situation comes up where we need to allocate some time, we are able to make time for that project. Situations like this actually make us more focused, more energetic and more productive which in turn makes us happier. It is not impossible to find some quiet time for ourselves. When we do, we should enjoy and appreciate the silence; certain activities like meditation or reading can surely turn stress into peace and ultimately happiness.

2) Take time for self-care. We must take some time to do the things we enjoy so we can love ourselves everyday. Some things we can do to nurture ourselves are: making sure we get a full 8 hours of sleep, eating a balanced diet, getting a good amount of exercise and also positive self-talk.

When we are tired or stressed out, even the littlest problem can become a nightmare. But, when we are rested and relaxed, we are able to see things in a different light – we tend to see the positive in most situations. When we take the time to take care of ourselves, we are able to replace our burnt out energy quickly. It is easier for us to handle difficult situations and easier for us to find joy and peace in our everyday lives.

3) Learn to be flexible. The biggest cause of stress in most people is high expectations. We are all guilty of this at one point of time. We have a certain expectation on how our lives must be and we get irritated when things do not fall into place. Relax! Let’s take a deep breath and try our best to have a flexible state of mind.

We must try to remove ourselves from the stressful situation and look at it from a different angle. Why not try to go with the flow? When we allow ourselves to do this, we may find that our creativity in solving problems may come out. Imagine being like a tree bending with the breeze. We can move through challenging situations with no drama or frustrations.

These three simple steps can dramatically change our state of well-being. However, we may also want to examine our outer life circumstances. Pay attention to other menial changes we can make to help support our inner work.

One example that comes to mind is letting go of obligations that may no longer be enjoyable and meaningful to us. Agreeing to perform weekly tasks does not mean we need to do it forever especially if it starts to drain our time and energy. It is all right to let go of activities that no longer complement the lifestyle we want so we can have the time to commit to other things. By doing this, we can start to create a peaceful, joyful and a more balanced life.

Next Step:

For more help, instantly access your instantly access your Journey To Joy tools for a happier and more fulfilled you. This inspiring eBook with accompanying audio recordings, worksheets and easy-to-apply action steps shows you how to eliminate stress and lead a productive and satisfying life.

What You Need:

Enough egg substitute to equal 1 egg
1/3 C seasoned bread crumbs
¼ C parmesan cheese
4 small zucchini, cut lengthwise
Non stick canola cooking spray

How to Make It:

Line a cookie sheet with foil and spray the foil with the cooking spray.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Place the egg substitute into a bowl.
Combine the bread crumbs and parmesan cheese together in a separate bowl.
Place each zucchini finger into the egg mixture and coat completely.
Place the coated zucchini into the bread crumb mixture.
Place on the prepared baking sheet.
Bake 20 minutes or until a light brown and the zucchini is tender.

Try these with a little ranch dressing on the side for dipping.

How to Clean a Mattress

Carole Pagan © 2007

The question of how to clean a mattress comes up fairly often, especially when you’re expecting out of town visitors.

Remember that a mattress is a piece of upholstery – except that it catches and holds unpleasant things like dust mites, dead skin, and odors.

If you’ve never had a Kirby demonstration in your home, have one. It’s a real eye-opener! When they do the mattress with the attachment that allows you to see how much stuff they are pulling out, it is horrifying.

So the first step in cleaning your mattress will be to vacuum, and vacuum, and vacuum some more. Flip the mattress and repeat. Do your pillows while you’re at it.

If the mattress truly needs cleaning, use an upholstery cleaner, and be careful not to soak it. A foam cleaner, or a dry cleaner would be best. You don’t need mold on top of it!

To eliminate odors and allergens, spray it down with FeBreeze allergy formula. You can do this every time you change the sheets.

Make sure you’re changing your sheets and washing them in hot water once a week. Wash or clean your blankets or comforters as needed. It’s nice to have washable ones so you can do them once a month. If you have dry clean bedding, I would suggest removing it at night when you’re going to sleep. But I guess that’s a personal choice. I’m all about avoiding extra housework!

If you have stains, Pet stain remover works great. Honest! I use Oxy Solution by Simple Solution.

How Will You Spend Next Weekend? Having fun? Or Cleaning House?
Find the Secrets to having a cleaner home with a lot less effort by clicking here.

Today’s Mama Hack isn’t something I can actually take credit for myself, but it’s a pretty good one, so I thought I’d pass it along. I’d give credit to whomever gave me the idea, but I think it happened at Bunco Night, and I’m not allowed to divulge what happens at Bunco Night. Actually, I just don’t remember who shared the idea.

So, I remember how before BabyHacks was on the scene, I’d always hear parents say, “They grow so fast!” In my mind, I knew that this made sense. Babies do grow at a pretty good rate. Even as a casual bystander, I could tell that much.

Now that I’m in charge of procuring clothing for an actual growing infant, I understand so much more what they meant. It’s not just a wistful nostalgic moment. It’s a warning.

My kiddo has literally grown into and out of clothing before I ever even got it onto her little squirmy body. I’ve been disappointed on more than one occasion when I’ve gone to dress her in some adorable outfit that should finally fit, only to discover I’ve missed my window of opportunity, and it no one else will ever get the chance to ooh and ah over it.

It turns out, though, that pajamas are one area where you can get a little extra life out of a garment. I still squeal with delight at the complete adorableness that is BabyHacks in little “footy” pajamas. Now I can sigh with relief, too, as I learned that simply cutting off the feet can extend the jammies’ shelf life by quite a bit. Depending on the rate of growth of your little one, you might end up having one pair last longer than two or three would have previously. Just stick some socks on those toesies and put ‘em to bed!

Bonus Hack: If you really like an outfit, go ahead and buy it in a couple of sizes. Just as Junior outgrows one, he’ll be ready to fit into the next one, and you won’t have to give up the Cute.

(Mama Hack: n. A tip or technique that reduces the chaos in a mama’s life and makes it easier to manage or more convenient. Because no one looks back and says, “Baby clothes are so affordable!”)

What You Need:

¾ C all purpose flour
1 ½ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. nutmeg
¼ tsp. paprika
2 large eggs, slightly beaten
1 C cottage cheese
2 C fresh peas or 1 (10 oz) pkg. frozen peas, thawed
¼ C heavy cream
8 C canola oil
Salt to taste

How to Make It:

In a large mixing bowl sift together the flour, baking powder, nutmeg and paprika.
Slowly add the eggs to the mixture.
Whisk until the eggs are completely blended in.
Fold in the cottage cheese with a wooden spoon.
Add the peas and stir to combine.
In a separate bowl whisk the heavy cream until peaks form.
Once you have soft peaks add the cream to the pea mixture.
Place the oil in a large pan and heat to 360 degrees.
When oil is hot drop spoonful size dollops of the pea mixture into the oil.
Fry 2 minutes turning as necessary until all sides are a golden brown.
Drain on paper towel.
Sprinkle with the salt and allow to cool slightly before serving.

If you are using fresh peas it is best to blanch them in boiling water for at least 1 minute. Be sure to drain the well before adding them to the mixture.

NKOTB–New Kids On The Block

My friend, Jessica, recently told me that she had purchased a NKOTB tour ticket for $65! Really?!!? That is a lot of money to walk down memory lane. Now I wasn’t a fan of NKOTB when they WERE popular, much less now that they are all older and gosh I guess that means I’m older too now and why would I want to listen to a bunch of songs about teenage angst anymore…but I digress.

I’ve noticed a trend lately of has-beens, never-should-have-been’s, etc. popping back into the limelight (or attempting to) to tug at our memory heart strings and get us to loosen our death grip on the pocket book. My husband thinks it’ is because they’ve all gone broke – well, maybe.

I mean why else would you expose yourself to the criticism of the world and have a grueling practicing and traveling schedule, etc. unless you needed the money? When they say things like “we have a lot of fans out there”…who are they talking about?

Is it the soccer moms of today who are chasing around a few kids that are going to stop and go to a concert? And if so, are they going to pay $65 to do it? I think not. I am curious to know if anyone else has fallen for this or plans to go…I’m cheap, so I won’t be going.

Cut Your Housecleaning Time in Half With This Easy Routine

Carole Pagan © 2007

How long does it take you to clean your kitchen? How about your bathroom?

What would it be worth to you if I gave you a simple routine that would make it so you hardly ever have to spend any real time cleaning those 2 rooms?

OK, here goes…

After dinner, scrape and rinse all of the dishes. Put in hot soapy water, or into the dishwasher.

Empty all pans and put hot soapy water in the bottoms (unless your dishwasher happens to do a good job on pans).

If you’re using the dishwasher – turn it on.

Go do something. Take a walk. Read. Exercise.

When you come back, the dishes will wash up quickly.

Before you let the water out, wipe down the counters, stove and range-hood. Takes 2 minutes.

Rotate wiping down the microwave, fridge, cabinets, and garbage can, hitting each one once a week. Use Murphy’s Oil Soap on wood cabinets. Don’t worry about scrubbing, just a quick wipe down for this routine.

If you do these things all of the time, you won’t have hard to clean build up – it’s just a simple wipe up.

OK, on to the bathroom.

Keep a squeegee in the shower. Squeegee the walls when you’re done showering.

When you’re done with your personal care, take a bath wipe, or a paper towel and glass cleaner (keep them handy in the bathroom) and wipe down the sink and toilet. Just a quick wipe down. Throw away the wipe and go to bed!

Once a week – wipe down the walls and tub with a bath cleaner, clean the toilet, and clean the floor. Shine things up with some glass cleaner to give it a pro-cleaned look. It still shouldn’t take you more than 10 minutes.

A lot of people insist on making this a major project. If you do that, you’re missing the whole point. Quick wipe ups – don’t waste time – wipe, wipe, wipe, and get outta there!

Remember, little actions done consistently make a big difference!

How Will You Spend Next Weekend? Having fun? Or Cleaning House?
Find the Secrets to having a cleaner home with a lot less effort by clicking here.

This animated Star Wars flick has caused quite a divide amongst Star Wars fans with reviews ranging from “It totally sucked” to “Best movie ever.”

The movie has the Jedi Knights working to restore order in the galaxy being assaulted by the, you guessed it, Clone Wars. Anakin Skywalker (Matt Lanter) and Ashako Pedawan, a Padawan Learner, are the stars of the show and face of against Jabba the Hutt (Kevin Michael Richardson), Count Dooku and more (Christopher Lee).

That’s about all I can tell you about it because I barely paid attention. Not because it was boring (well, not totally), but because I’d just given birth a week earlier and was simply enjoying the air conditioning , occupied older children and sleeping baby. I zoned out.

But the boys and Daddy quite enjoyed it. My husband said it was enjoyable because it was the kind of movie Dads (or Moms if they’re Star Wars fans) can enjoy with their young kids (but warning, the movie is rated PG for violence). But he figured that older generation Star Wars fans without kids wouldn’t get the same enjoyment out of it and that may be the reason for the wide ranging opinions on the movie.

Read more about: Clone Wars

What You Need:

5 sweet potatoes
¼ C brown sugar
2 TBSP cinnamon
2 TBSP canola oil
2/3 C maple syrup
2/3 C orange juice
4 C oats, quick cooking

How to Make It:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Lightly grease a large baking dish with a non stick cooking spray.
Clean the sweet potatoes and pierce them with a fork.
Place on a microwave safe dish and cook on high 7 minutes or until soft.
Remove and cut the potatoes in half long ways.
Scoop out the pulp.
In a large mixing bowl mix together the pulp, brown sugar and cinnamon.
Add the oil, maple syrup and orange juice.
Mix together well.
Fold in the oats.
Pour mixture into prepared pan and bake 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Cool before cutting into squares.

These oat squares are moist and delicious. Use a brown sugar substitute to make them even healthier for your children.

Recently, while watching t.v., Pamela Anderson was nominated as the pinhead of the week for her nasty comments about Governor Sarah Palin (for those that live under a rock, this is John McCain’s running mate for the 2008 Presidential Election AND the first female to run for vice-president on the GOP ticket).

In short, when asked by the media what Pamela Anderson’s feelings for Gov. Palin were, she said “Oh I can’t stand her! She can suck it! Quote me!”

Let’s dissect this quote…”Oh I can’t stand her”…have you met her? Are you familiar at all with her stances on…Anything?

“She can suck it!” ….wow, that is like, so mature Pamela! I found this comment ironic coming from someone who’s pretty much become famous by living her quote of “suck it” among other things.

“Quote me!” ….they did, and while I’m still a fan of Gov. Palin, you are still on my list of B-list celebrities to avoid.

The bigger question is why anybody cares what Pamela Anderson’s thoughts or opinions are about people with real intelligence…now if you wanted to ask what her opinion is/was for things like cosmetic surgery, how to maintain multiple sexual partners or stay committed to appearing in all the tabloids, then Pam’s your girl, but politics? Give me a break…SHE can suck it!…you can quote me.