Can you believe that the end of June is just a couple of days away? That means we’re already halfway through the year and it also means that it’s time for another speedlink here on Beyond the Rhetoric.

Kicking things off, we have Ava to Zoe’s Janette Shearer with her special feature on Yummy Mummy Club explaining that you are not a bad mama. Despite what you might see on social media, the perfect parent doesn’t actually exist in the real world. We all have our struggles, because we’re all doing it wrong, and that’s alright.

One thing that you’ll learn about happiness and attaining a better sense of inner peace, as Jamie Dunlop Khau asserts, is that small changes in simplifying your life make all the difference.. When you have less chaos, less clutter, you have more room for more happiness. You don’t have to be a minimalist or an essentialist, per se. Just focus on what matters most to you.

Just because you want to treat yourself doesn’t mean you need to compromise on all of your dietary decisions. If you’re vegan, you may be interested in what Rebecca Coleman has to offer with her coconut lime donuts recipes. Yes, it’s totally vegan and, if the photos are to be believed, undeniably delicious. Who needs Tim Hortons?

Where do you find your inspiration? Many of us look to our online compatriots and Genevieve Claire is no different. She lists some of her favorite inspirational people online, including blogs, Instagram feeds and Tumblr profiles. Zen Habits is a good place to start for many. And then there’s Owlturd and Heart and Brain, of course, even if they don’t offer any real advice.

Now that he’s gotten himself a travel gig on the side, Christopher Golden has shifted some renewed focus back to his travel blog. A short while back, he offered his top travel tips as they relate to traveling with technology. Should you bring a laptop or a tablet with you? How can you protect yourself when using public WiFi access points? What do I really need to bring with me?

And finally, we conclude our journey around the blogosphere (do people still use that term?) with some sound advice from Jennifer Mattern. Freelance writers oftentimes complain about not having paid sick days or paid vacation time, but they can and they should… in effect, anyway. Writers need to take time off too, so this just means the “paid time off” needs to be factored into their rates.