What a fantastic day in Des Moines!  A beautiful Tuesday morning kicked off as radio guests with Mac and Rooster at Macsworldlive.com.  We had the opportunity and pleasure of introducing our latest and greatest partner Ms. Elisabeth Ballstadt.  She has joined the BE team as the Chief Operating officer, but is known for her great smile, calming spirit and passion for service. 

We are excited to announce that in addition to our BE newsletter and blog, we will also be hosting an internet radio show called "BE Inspired" on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 6 to 7 a.m.!  Yes, this means we will all be rising with the roosters and won't promise to not show up with bed head and housecoats!  We will do our best to always try to offer tid bits of information, in addition to a touch of inspiration, so that everyone can go away feeling empowered to impact the lives of those around them!  Stay posted for our mid October start date......

I have to admit, I'm new to blogging and am finding myself a little nervous about posting my first entry! So, please bare with me as I enter this new realm! Just as long as you are not sitting on the edge of your seat waiting for something completely thought provoking or side achingly funny to come out of my mouth I should be just fine!! (stay tuned, though, that'll come with my second entry!)
 
One year ago today, I was 9.5 months pregnant and having contractions. Although they weren't close together, they were hard enough that I shoed my husband and son out of the house, so I could have some peace and quiet. The boys took off outside to embark on an 'adventure', so I laid on the couch with my head phones on and closed my eyes. I knew full well I wouldn't be able to sleep, and probably wouldn't sleep well again for another 18 years. My baby girl was coming! By the time the boys got back the contractions were coming closer and closer together and I knew it was time. My husband later said I looked like a deer caught in headlights, my hair was all over the place, I could barely walk, I wasn't making any sense, I couldn't find our bags, and I looked scared to death :) I remember it differently, of course. After I gracefully rolled off the couch, I calmly walked (ok maybe waddled) out to meet them with bags in hand and said, 'alright everyone, it's time to go!'....The one thing we both agree on, though, is what it felt like when we dropped off our son at my brother's house. I cried hysterically the whole way to the hospital. We felt every emotion under the sun, from fear and anxiety, to overwhelming love and excitement . We were fearful from our first birthing experience and overly anxious at how our little prince would adjust to sharing his castle, but at the same time more in love than we'd ever been and beyond excited to meet our little baby girl.

Fast forward one year....I'm listening to my daughter's quiet breath through the baby monitor and my son in wedged in bed between my husband and I (I know, I know, and if my mom is reading this I’m in BIG trouble....) When I reflect over this past year, there are so many bittersweet memories. Maybe that’s how most memories are…but SO many things have happened over the course of this one specific year. Many things have been wonderful, but we have also had our fair share of heartache. I read a blog a few days ago entitled 'Why I Live Every Day Like It's My Last' (www.marcandangel.com) and it really struck home. I haven't been able to stop thinking about the words he ended with; 'Because a world with no guarantees requires us to live every day…As if it were our last.' There ARE no guarantees in life, so what a wonderful way to go into each day; being thankful for the blessings, but also for the hardships. Life may stink sometimes, but at the end of the day that is what also makes it so precious and so joyful. As we embark on this BE journey, I hope we can come together during these hardships and help one another look at them from a different perspective. Every day is a new chapter (or blog entry!) and for that we need to BE THANKFUL!

Happy Birthday baby girl..... 

So·cial- living or disposed to live in companionship with others or in a community, rather than in isolation.

Humans in general are social beings.  Even though our levels of interaction may vary greatly, the person to person contact seems essential to our existence.  Be is working to create yet another way we can come together in community to connect, engage, inspire and give.  Myself, Teresa and Jessica have taken on the task of hosting one Be Social a month until we have chosen our 6 Des Moines Queen Be's to lead the community in coming together.

So you might ask, "What is a Be Social?"  A Be Social can be any one of numerous ways to creatively and actively work to bring women together on a consistent basis to connect with one another, and walk away feeling empowered to make a difference in the lives of those around them.  This could be as simple as meeting for coffee, holding a potluck in the park,small women owned business luncheon, or anything else you can imagine.  That's right, these socials could look like anything from a house full of mothers exchanging potty training horror stories, to top level executives sharing trade secrets.  Although we all come from different backgrounds and all have different stories, the one thing we have in common is we are all  WOMEN!  We share an unspoken common bond, a sisterhood, that exists across all boundaries and borders.  I like to call this the super cape connection! We have an almost superhuman ability at times, to passionately join together and impact lives in so many unique ways! It is in these situations that we feel  compassion, hope and love, which in turn drive us to give more of ourselves!

We hope that over the next several months you will take the time to attend one of our Be Social's.  You never know who you will impact, or who might unexpectedly impact you!  "One of the hardest things to realize, is that our someday is now."  ~leigh

Watch for information about these upcoming Be Socials:

October:  Saturday, October 3rd, 4:00-7:30 p.m.  Topic:  Women's Health and Wellness

November:  Donate your hair for Locks of Love or simply come out in support of anyone you know that is or has been affected by cancer. Date, time and location to be determined

Welcome!  We are so excited you have decided to visit our blog!! We hope this will be a place where you can laugh hysterically, cry occasionally and find lots of good information! We plan to have pieces of the website up and operational over the next several weeks, and our intentions are to launch Be in early 2010!! We are sad that the Be Inspired event has been postponed until the spring of 2010, but feel strongly about using this time to build the company's foundation, which ultimately will allow us to impact more lives!

We know many of you are still asking, "What is Be?"  The thirty second elevator explanation is,  Be is a women's community dedicated to providing a platform and global resource center where all women can come together on line, but more importantly face to face, to give what they have and get what they need! 

Some have liked to refer to Be as a one stop shop, a clearing house, an umbrella for much of what already exists, a resource center and many other things.  Simply stated, Be is a company that will strive to help combine women's "natural" ability to create community, with the technological capabilities of today, and create a new kind of village.  This 21st century village will focus on impacting the lives of many and leaving a strong legacy for future generations.

The name Be was chosen because of its simplicity and deep meaning!  We truly believe that women can be anything and everything they want to Be, and with the support of many can impact more lives.  Women together can accomplish amazing feats, and we want so many of the incredible resources that already exist to be more easily accessible.

The intention for Be over the next several months is to get all the pieces into place to launch the company.  This will consist of a very robust website, with profile pages and a variety of fantastic tools that would allow you to search and connect both personally or professionally.  We will have stage one of the web site up in the next couple of weeks, and will continue to add to this monthly until the launch.  

The largest and most important component we feel is the community piece.  It is the face to face interaction between people that helps establish the unbreakable bonds between women that drive them to create communities wherever they go, and form simple, yet necessary support systems for every stage of life.  We will be searching for six women over the course of the next couple of months to fill the role of "Queen Be." The Queen Be's will act as the leaders in the community, and will work to bring all women together, pool their resources and make a difference.

It's now well past midnight and my pillow is calling!  There will be many more entries to give more details about Be, and what's to come!  

Now is the time to make a difference in the lives around you. What if every human being woke up everyday and did one thing to make a difference in someone's life.  Think how different the world would Be!  Our vision is that each of you together can Be the difference!  Until tomorrow...

There is nothing more Powerful, than a women with an open Heart. ~leigh

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