Hey hey hey! Those of you who follow me on Instagram know that last week I was in sunny Palm Springs, CA with Vitamix at the Altitude Summit! This was the first blogger’s conference I have attended since I began JoyFoodSunshine one year ago, and I have so much to share with all of you lovely ladies and gents.

First, I’ll give you a recap of the blending workshop hosted by Vitamix, then I will share some seriously important personal reflections from this trip {don’t worry it’s not techy bloggy stuff}!

Vitamix Blending Workshop

Meeting the Vitamix team was definitely the highlight of my trip! You all know my love for my blender runs deep {like so deep}, and getting to partner with Vitamix has been a dream come true! They invited me, along with two other bloggers Nicki @ From Scratch Fast and Kristen @ The Broken Bread to help facilitate their “Girl’s Night In” blending workshop.

This absolutely was my favorite part of the week. I got to sit in a room full of women, most of whom had never touched a Vitamix, and tell them all about how amazing it is!  I mean really, when else is it socially acceptable to wax on about how much you love your blender for 2 hours straight?! It was so much fun and I loved getting to share the many ways my Vitamix helps me raise a healthy happy family!  And of course, we made some delicious treats!

Check out this post: Girls Night in Vitamix Style, for some of the recipes we used during the workshop! Participants had to create their own smoothie bowl and then they could enter their photos by using #Vitamix on Instagram to win a free A3500 Blender! There were 4 lucky winners, and this wonderful creation was one of them!

Personal Reflections 

I learned SO much this week that I want to share with all of you. Of course I learned some tips and tricks about the technical side of blogging, which I am SO grateful for!  But my real takeaways {the ones that you care about} are so much more important than how to increase my SEO or grow my Instagram.

#1: Priorities

My priorities in life have always been clear to me, but I was never sure where blogging fit into all of it once JoyFoodSunshine became it’s own business. It’s simple really, I am first a Christian, second a wife, third a homeschooling mom to our ever-growing family, fourth a friend, sister, daughter, etc. and somewhere after all of these comes blogging. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE blogging. It has been such a joyful experience! Through JoyFoodSunshine I have met some amazing women and have had the privilege of connecting with so many of you. But I have a higher calling than being a blogger, and I was reminded of that at every turn this week.

I love being a mom. I am not lacking any sort of joy or fulfillment. I am not desperate for week long getaways without my babies {in fact, I changed my flight so I could get home 6 hours earlier on Friday than I had originally planned because I missed my family so much}! I adore my husband. Seriously we could spend every waking moment together for a month and I would still be craving more time with him. There’s no one I’d rather spend time with, and nowhere else I’d rather be. I didn’t start blogging as a “getaway” from the most fulfilling part of my life. Instead…

#2 Purpose 

JoyFoodSunshine was born to help women, especially moms. To create a community of ladies all trying to keep healthy-living & eating while raising kids attainable and fun! This is why I blog…to create a space where us mommas can commiserate and collaborate on the best ways to take care of our families {and ourselves}.

I have experienced the ups and downs of raising a young family {and still have SO much more to learn}! But I want to share my {limited} experience with all of you! We have stricken a balance in our family between eating paleo muffins and hot dogs wrapped in pretzel dough. Between watching movies and taking the kids on day-long hikes in the mountains. I truly believe that a healthy family is a happy family, but the key to healthy is  balance. 

I am crazy passionate about pouring my heart and soul into raising my family without losing myself or my relationship with my husband….and I want to help women who are trying to do the same! I make time to read, run, and invest in meaningful friendships {even if it means waking up at 5 am}! Ritch and I still sneak away at least once a month to go on a date….without the kids. 

I am a mom but I am not just a mom, and so are most of you reading this right now. So what I’m trying to say is, my purpose is to use our experience to encourage other women who are in the same place {or a little ahead or a little behind}. I am not trying to sound boastful in the slightest, but we have an amazing family dynamic and have so much fun together, and I so desperately want that for every momma that I know!

Here’s what JoyFoodSunshine’s Purpose Isn’t:  

To make money, build an empire, or reach some sort of online status of fame and fortune. I don’t care about any of that. I care about you, and about reaching women in the most important areas of their lives {while having fun along the way}!

So what’s the point? 

{via}

Authenticity is of the highest importance to me. My little corner of the internet has been fruitful not because of anything I have done or a special formula I followed, but because of loyal readers like you. Of course making some ca$h money is a fun side effect, but it was not the reason I started JoyFoodSunshine. I truly believe that blogging has made me a better mom. It’s has given me outlet to express my creativity and passion for healthy living and eating…which has given me great joy! I won’t reach everyone, but I’ll reach some. And that’s all I can ask for!

I feel like my identity as a blogger was solidified on this trip…something so invaluable in the early stages of this journey that I will be forever grateful for it! So I say, bring it on! I’m totally ready to tackle whatever the next season of life brings! 😉

If you want to stay connected or you make something from JoyFoodSunshine I would love to see your creations! #joyfoodsunshine

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