Learning to Embrace the "B" Word . . . Balance!

This past Monday was the first time I've finished a new cake creation since November. At that point two months ago I was on the verge of burn out. I knew I needed to step back and take a breather and that's exactly what I did. I completed my last custom orders, put my Etsy shop on vacation and closed the door to my craft room.

I couldn't have imagined how much FavorCakes would take off in 2010 but it did and it's been great. Orders were coming in left and right and my creative juices were flowing with new cake designs. My biggest struggle however was balancing my time between family and a growing business. During the day I was taking care of my two girls, ages four and one, and at night I was working on orders. I discovered what an amazing support system I have with my husband, my mother, and good friends who willingly stepped in to help when I needed it. I also learned to function on very few hours of sleep for about a year before it started catching up with me.

After a while, I felt like I was living in my craft room and spending less time with my family. At one point my four year old said to me, "Mom, you need to start having fun." I guess that was her way of saying I was working an awful lot. Of course that was no one's fault but my own. I just wasn't maintaining a balance between work and family. I mean, how exactly do you do that? I haven't figured out the answer yet but I have learned that if I want balance I have to set boundaries, for myself, for my family, and for my business.

I'm still a work in progress but I'm working on getting more organized, saying no to rush orders, even setting an earlier bedtime for my girls and for myself. As for having more fun, we just bought tickets to go see that big purple dinosaur that my girls love so much.

Oh and lastly, here's a picture of the latest FavorCake I made for a boy's baby shower. Ahh, it feels good to create again.

Happy New Year!