Friday’s are just so absolutely fabulous…Why you may ask?…because it is time to enjoy another amazing week of #AskAwayFriday!
Now to welcome our wonderful #AskAwayFriday hosts…
Tiffany from Mrs. Tee Love Life Laughter,
Christy from Uplifting Families,
Stacey from This Momma’s Ramblings
and
Amber from Bold Fit Mom
So…grab our brand, new button, follow our amazing hosts and co-host, hop through the great link ups and make some amazing new friends!
Today I’m swapping with a blogger it seems everyone knows. She’s a little infamous for getting The Dose Girls to participate in an #AskAwayFriday – maybe her infamy is only in my mind but I love that she was able to convince them to swap with her. And then there was me…I’ve spent a good deal of time stalking NJ’s blog, A Cookie Before Dinner, and I’m going to recommend you do the same. Fun, friendly and really funny – who wouldn’t enjoy a little of that in their lives. Below are the hard-hitting (no joke) questions NJ asked me, once you’ve read my answers – hop over to visit with NJ and read her answers to the incredibly well-thought-out and provocative questions I asked her.
You were at BlogU last weekend, what is the biggest thing you took away and how are you going to turn that into action for your blog?
The biggest thing I took away: if you want to make any money from your blog you have to treat it like a business. A real business. I work in marketing and it’s a little crazy how much overlap their is between my personal endeavor with the blog and the professional skills I use daily. After listening to one of the presentations I was wondering how I hadn’t seen it so clearly before. Because, duh!
So that. And this:
I have a similar pull towards my hometown that you do in your post titled Home. When are you headed there this year? What do you think pulls you there? Why doesn’t it pull your husband the same way?
Because I’m immature and dwell in the past. He lives in the present.
I’m kidding. I think. I love going to catch up with friends and to see my parents. I always try to see my nieces and nephews, my brother and sister. It’s easy, my family and Greg’s family all live close so there’s a lot of family to visit and hang out with. I honestly don’t know why Greg doesn’t have that pull. He’s always busy and always working… it probably drives him crazy to be doing nothing there when there is so much to do here.
Where is “So, I’ve Been Thinking…” headed for the second half of 2014? Do you have any bigger projects or goals you’re working towards?
I’ve been thinking a lot since BlogU and trying to figure out what my commitment is…and can be. I’ve rearranged some personal things for the summer which should ultimately allow me to blog more. I think the best goal I could set for every aspect of my life (not just the blog) would be time management. I’m working on it.
You and Michelle (A Dish of Daily Life) were friends before you were blog friends. How did you guys meet?
I met Michelle 10 years ago on the first day of pre-school for her youngest and my oldest. It is a moment I will never forget…but I’m swapping #AskAwayFriday questions with her next week so I’ll spill “all of the beans” then. Stay tuned…
If you had 4 hours of free time (no demands from your family, the house is clean, the bills are paid, and dinner is taken care of), what would you do with yourself?
Only 4 hours? It probably depends on these variables:
– if I’m alone and it’s sunny…I’m going to the beach or sitting in my back yard to lay in the sun, read and listen to music
– if I’m alone and it’s raining…I’m messing around with my pictures, editing, making photo gifts, organizing. Or I’d nap. That’s highly likely.
– if I’m with my family…we’d probably go to the beach and I would take pictures, lay in the sun and listen to music.
I am in the middle of raising tiny humans. Your tiny humans are now midsize humans. What tiny human traits do they still have now that they’re older. Do you feel these to be a character flaw that they’ll need to overcome to be successful grownups or do they add to their personality?
I think they are all very similar to how they were as babies and tiny humans. Tris has always liked your full, undivided attention. She loves to talk, tell you stories, and she doesn’t miss a thing; Teronis has always been calm, watchful and competitive. Scar has always been friendly. He is an easy person to get along with and people seem to like him right off the bat.
I’m sure I’m biased, I could overanalyze and detail you to death about how each trait is a plus and a minus but I’m going with…they are all going to be fine. Each of them will figure it out and use their strengths and weaknesses to reach their goals despite inevitable setbacks. I truly believe they will all be good.
I’m coming to your town! What are we going to do and see?
It’s likely I would invite a bunch of girlfriends over and we’d have apps and drinks (including seltzer, or your drink of choice) and you would get to meet all of the fun and hilarious and incredible friends I have here. I could take you to the beach or rent a boat or go out to a restaurant or to the town green but the most fun would be meeting my friends. Trust me.
What is on your nightstand? Bonus points for a picture?
Not a chance I’m sharing a picture.
I will tell you about it. I have a book (The Language of Flowers that I need to return to a friend). I have an empty bag of cough drops and a full bag of cough drops. There are about 12 kleenex/papertowels because I carry one with me almost constantly and usually drop it there before I sleep (although I have woken up with one still in my hand.) A half-full glass of water. My iPad and a flashlight  – which may be listed last but are in no way least important. You will need serious help if you take my iPad or flashlight from my nightstand and put them somewhere causing me to have to look for either one. I need to read before sleeping and I will hunt you down and wake you up if you’ve taken my stuff. Not. Even. Joking. Ask Greg or the kids.
I know that your boys would say that their favorite sport is whatever one they’re playing. However, do they excel at one over another? As they get older, can you still see them being multisport athletes or do you think think they’ll focus their time and attention one just one?
All three of the kids are pretty decent athletes. I think that’s why each sport is a favorite because they are challenged and learning and offering something to each team they are on. I think they will all still be multi-sport athletes. Unless they start focusing on one in the summer or add a winter program (which would probably be lacrosse – but even as I write that I could argue the same for hockey and football.)
Sometimes I can’t wait for high school, primarily so Tris can have an opportunity to concentrate on one sport at a time. She plays soccer 3 seasons but loves to dance and do gymnastics, both of which take a backseat to soccer. I’d like to see her give either one of those a fair shot – just to see what she could do with some time to focus on them.
I am just starting to really fall in love with my big girl camera. I know that you’re already in love with yours. What is the next lens on your wishlist? Also? Share a few recent favorite photographs!
The next lens on my wish list is a Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM Lens. Specifically for sports pictures. I want a higher zoom than the one I have now and I want clearer photos when I’m at one end of the field shooting the action on the other end.
Not mine. Yet.
Recent photos:
crazy bird in the backyard
congratulations after a goal
just love watching him play
the moon, during the day
Be sure to check out our Facebook page “AskAwayFriday” for a great place to meet up and send out a #BuddyRequest if you need a partner to swap with!
Host’s reserve the right to remove any links that do not pertain to the #AskAwayFriday theme.
What would your answers be? Would you be brave enough to photograph your nightstand?
Thanks for stopping today, can’t wait to read your answers in the comments!
On that first one, I will say that I am slowly but surely learning that blogging is definitely all about marketing and networking if you do indeed want to make money. So, in essence, you have to most definitely treat it like a job. Crazy, but now that I have been making some money doing this, I recently got asked by my SIL if I could teach how to do this to make money. The firs thing, I thought was how could I teach this, as well as I doubt that this person asking would want to give this as much time energy as I do daily.
Very brave with the nightstand! If I had a nightstand, you wouldn’t be hearing about it because I can only imagine the random junk that would make a home there! So glad you got that LAX pic of the boys. I remember that post- amazing-goal-moment and it was awesome and touching all at the same time. I love their friendship.
Happy Friday, Stephanie! I absolutely love all of the Ladies poses in the Blog U photo…awesomesauce for sure! Isn’t it funny how we don’t walkways realize how many skills it takes to run a successful blog? You are doing wonderfully by the way 😉
I’m not sure I would add a pic of my nightstand either…of course I don’t have one right now (can’t seem to find one i love)…so my dresser has become my catch-all… LOL
I am so glad we got to swap, Stephanie!
I can’t wait to see where the rest of 2014 takes you with blogging. If you ever want someone to bounce ideas off of, you know where to find me!
I would love to come hang out with you and your girls! I can see us having a ton of fun together in your town! And if Blog U was any indicator, I know we’d have WAY TOO MANY stories to tell!
I have dreams of a new lens too but I haven’t figured out what I want yet!
So great to learn more about you, and may this year be a great blogging year for you!
Thank you Alison, I hope it is too. My lens purchases were tough, I ended up with a 50mm Canon 1.4 at Michelle’s recommendation. It is a cool lens and it’s a challenging lens – it’s forced me to understand aperture better than my zoom lenses which is a good thing. My everyday, because it’s incredibly versatile is my 18-200mm Canon. I really love this one. My suggestion (not that you asked): figure out what you want to photograph better…action with the kiddos, better faces and still photos, hikes, nature…then research a lens for that. Now I want to know what you choose.
I would never share my nightstand either…or any part of my room. Haha. What a disaster. Good thing it is upstairs and I can close the door! Loved your answers and now I am a bit nervous of this moment that you will never forget because I have no recollection of anything!
Yes – upstairs and close the door. No one needs to see that.
Great swap! I can’t share bedroom pictures either. My bedroom is a disaster area. It is, literally, the catch all room and boy, does it catch all. UGH! I love your pictures! I adore that picture from BlogU! What a wonderful opportunity!
thank you! That picture just makes me smile, it really was a nice opportunity and I’m glad I went. Thanks for stopping – I hope you have a great weekend.
Narrowing down just one lens kills me. I know I need a new one soon. I generally get one every year for my birthday which is in July!
I’m still reeling from BlogU. I have to do everything bird by bird because I want to do SO MUCH and all of the time too.
I will love watching us all grow.
Okay, I’m very behind but I have to say…I’d go for the lens over the bag. I want that lens so badly and you could get the bag for Christmas. Or Thanksgiving. Go with Thanksgiving, or even Labor Day – that’s a celebratory weekend. Oh hell, just get them both for your birthday. You’re worth it.
Really love my hometown too! It brings back so many memories but I don’t get to visit that often so I get what you mean about that certain pull to what you call HOME. Heartwarming to see you guys on your BlogU photo, you all seem so happy to see each other. And I’m sure you are! 🙂
Isn’t it funny people are so mixed in their reactions towards home? Very interesting. BlogU was fun, it really was so natural meeting everyone and spending time with them as if we were old friends.
I’m like your husband and don’t have that strong pull to home. Maybe it’s because I love where I’m at right now, so much more than i ever loved where I was at in the past. And my family now (my husband and kids) feel so much more like home to me than my parents do.
I think your four hours would be the exact same way I’d spend mine! They all sound perfect!!
I think my boys will be multisport athletes. They both get so immersed in each sport each season – I love seeing it!
Have a great weekend!
I love seeing it too, the kids and their sports. This is our first weekend with no sports and now no school. I’m not quite sure what to do with myself. Looking forward to our swap next week!
I’ve been curious as to how you met Michelle, too, so thanks for sharing. Going to be curious as to how you both started blogging and whether you both were writing before becoming friends or after. Please share if you get time management. I’m really struggling this week with it. With this LIFE with it… maybe. I think. Yeah. My mom’s in town. My responses are likely different than they will be when she’s not.
That last line is pretty funny. I did get to tell the story of how we met this week. I was wondering if she remembered or not simply because it was a huge moment for me. Hope your party and visiting and week went well. Time management is probably a pipe dream by the way…
Great swap. I have always tried to treat my blog as a business because I do want it to generate income. I know that it has taken me a long time to get to the point where I am earning some money. If you aren’t there, keep working towards your goal and keep improving your blog.
Most people say that it takes three years to see a profit on a brick and mortar business and it has taken me a year and a half in the blogging world. The good thing about blogging, overhead is low but if you are a one man show you have to do everything you can to get readers to your blog.
Thanks Christy, a year and a half is about what I see and hear. And that’s not really too long when you think about it.
That is so great that you were able to attend BlogU, I would love to go to one someday! That moon pic is gorgeous! My bedside table is a disaster area. LOL! Hope you have a great weekend, Stephanie!
Thanks Stacey, I feel bad I didn’t have my newer post up yet. Thank you for stopping, I hope you have a great weekend, too!