Meet Holly Homer: Author, Blogger & Coach

We had the good fortune of connecting with Holly Homer and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Holly, how has your work-life balance changed over time?
I used to think that balance nirvana was possible if I just did everything right. It was incredibly stressful chasing this incredibly elusive state! It might even seem possible for a few hours early in the morning and then life would happen. You know, like everyday life. Kids, dogs, cats, husband, work, house, travel, extended family, friends…on and on. There was no way of compartmentalizing each of them into a 24 hour schedule where they didn’t crash into each other in an unmanageable way. When I started looking at things through a filter of “seasons” everything changed for the better. For instance, when the kids are little (I had 3 boys under the age of 5 at one point), it is a season of survival. Just making it to bedtime with everyone alive and fed is a victory. There is not time for extra stuff or creativity…all that energy needs to be channeled for survival and sleep! There is literally NO balance. But don’t worry because a new season is just around the corner. Now that my boys are all teenagers, my time is my own with a few exceptions. I have plenty of time for extra stuff and creativity. But the funny thing is that any given day, week, month or year still doesn’t look “balanced”. But it looks like what is important to me during that season. 

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I started a blog 15 years ago by accident. I had never read a blog or even knew what they were! While the beginning of the blog was accidental, every day I make intentional business decisions that has lead to building KidsActivities.com which receives 2-10 million visitors a month, the Quirky Momma FB page with 3.5 million fans, 3 published books with over 215K copies sold (4th book to be announced soon!), coaching program teaching bloggers and the life of my dreams. Leveraging accidents, failures and “I haven’t a clue what I am doing” has worked incredibly well for me! I am not in this position because I knew I what I was doing when I did it. I am in this position because I did something despite not knowing exactly what would happen next.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
We need several days because there is so much to see! A day in Dallas would start at the Dallas Arboretum, run by Fearings for lunch and then move on to the Dallas Museum of Art or the Perot Museum. For dinner, we would need reservations because we are headed to Town Hearth. A day in Fort Worth would start with breakfast at Ol’ South Pancake House and order the lemon crepes. Next, let’s go to Log Cabin Village for about an hour and then on to Botanic Garden. If we had kids with us, then stopping for a quick ride on the Forest Park Miniature Railroad is a must (and you HAVE to get the popcorn at the 1/2 way point). Let’s go on to downtown Fort Worth and walk around. I doubt we are hungry, but when we are we will go to Reata Restaraunt and while walking we don’t want to miss seeing the Water Gardens. For a day closer to my home in Flower Mound, you will need to bring a swimsuit and shorts. We will start with a bike ride or hike on the Northshore Trail and then grab breakfast/brunch at Egg Farm Cafe. We will throw the paddleboards into the back of the Sequoia and drive the 10 minutes to Twin Coves Park or the 1 minute to Rockledge Park and enjoy Grapevine Lake. We will take in a matinee at the Moviehouse & Eatery, but try and not eat too much food because we are going to enjoy patio seating and live music at 1845 for dinner. Some of my favorite day trips from DFW: With kids — Let’s go to the Frank Buck Zoo in Gainesville which is the perfect zoo for families and has the Frankie Schmitz Express Train in the park in front of the zoo. Without kids — Let’s go to Choctaw Casino. I love their poker room and the hotel is better than most Vegas hotels. Great for overnight or a long weekend.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My blogging mentor, Laurie Turk who writes the blog, Tip Junkie has helped me in a kajillion ways. She was the one that first identified that I could build a profitable business online. And she was the first one to call me out when I didn’t believe it possible.

Website: https://kidsactivitiesblog.com
Instagram: https://instagram.com/kidsactivitiesblog
Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/hollyhomer
Twitter: https://twitter.com/4kidsactivities
Facebook: https://facebook.com/quirkymomma
Youtube: https://youtube.com/kidsactivitiesblog