Ask Away Friday With Dana From Kiss My List

Hello Friday! It is time again for another Ask Away session! This link up is hosted by Amber from Bold Fab Mom, Stacy from This Momma’s Ramblings, Tiffany from Mrs. Tee, and Penny from the Real Housewife Of Caroline Country.  The idea is simple. 2 bloggers trade 10 questions, answer those questions on their blog, and link up.

Today I’m partnered up with the adorable Dana from Kiss My List.  I found Dana’s blog when I reviewed her book, the Mother Of All Meltdowns. Our friendship has deepened the last few months and we’ve even taken the plunge and became real life Facebook friends. Dana is a book lover and a list maker. She’s funny and kind, and her posts almost always make me smile.

1. A cookie before dinner. What kind of cookie would you have?

At this very second? I’d love a soft sugar cookie with butter cream frosting. My aunt always makes them around Easter and I’ve got spring on my mind.

2. You are an extrovert and your husband Mike is an introvert. Are you complete opposites in other areas as well? Tell me a few. 

We also have completely different tastes in dessert foods. He loves things like strawberry short cake and blueberry cobbler. I like fruit. And I like dessert. But I don’t like them combined, unless it is a chocolate covered strawberry. I fully believe the best desserts start with the word chocolate.

3. You say that one of your greatest joys is community. In the blogging world, that community can happen on social media. So with what form of social media do you most enjoy making connections? 

I am starting to like Twitter more, but I adore Instagram. I love seeing the photos and hearing the narrative behind it.

My favorite Insta this week.

4. One of my favorite posts of yours is Why I’m Blogging Like a Horse With Blinders On, which you posted three months ago. Are you still wearing them? It’s so hard not to compare yourself to other bloggers – how are you doing with that?

I am proud to report that yes, I am still wearing my blinders but I’ve changed their lenses a little bit. I will always celebrate the successes of my friends. I love when their hard work pays off for them in a big way and a new exciting thing is happening for them.

But, I’m also feeling really discouraged. I’ve been passed over on a few things that would have been a great fit for my readers because “we’re looking for people who have a larger reach.”

It has left me wondering if there is room at the table for a blogger who doesn’t have 10k or more page views but does have great community of readers.

I’d like to see that landscape change. If I was in charge of marketing a product, I’d much rather have it put in front of someone that I KNOW is my target market instead of throwing up on a blog that has a ton of page views and hoping that a few of those readers engage.

I may or may not be sitting on a new domain name and I may or may not be thinking about launching something for the middle (but engaged) blogger who wants to work with brands.

5. Okay, Ms. Thrifting Fanatic – what is you most awesome purchase? 

In terms of profit margins on Ebay, children’s Keen sandals. Last spring I picked up a bunch in different sizes. I didn’t spend more than $6.00 on a pair. Some were a little dirty, so I washed them before I listed them. Each pair sold for between $20 and $25. I’ve also picked up a few children’s Patagonia and Mini Boden  pieces for pennies that turned a huge profit.

My favorite finds of all time is our vintage 1950’s toy box. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw it at Savers. It is in great condition. It is currently holds all of Malone’s bigger trucks.

I adore thrifting so much. I love the thrill of the hunt. I’ve thought about opening a shop attached to my blog. We’ve got a great thift store in our area that has tons of great stuff. I want to bring it all home with me, but we just don’t have space!

6. I once spent hours in the Yankee Candle flagship store, and you only live twenty minutes away! What is you favorite candle scent?

I wish I would have known you were so close! I would have come up to see you! I love going to the flagship store. It is one of Malone’s favorite places to go and explore because they have so much more than just candles there! Malone could spend hours in the evergreen forest that snows bubbles ever 3 minutes. The Yankee Candle Santa is the Santa that I saw at a funeral! He’s the REAL DEAL.

My favorite candle scents are lemon, fresh cut grass, and clean cotton. I like scents that smell crisp. Those three happen to be some of my favorite smells of all time, so it is only natural that they are my favorite candle scents too! I don’t love the other the top fruit smells or the really musky scents.

7.What is something about you that doesn’t come through on your blog – something that you want people who have never met you in person to know about you?

I have had many real life friends who also read my blog tell me that I am the same in both words. I don’t think there is much of a higher compliment than that! I strive to be the same person in both worlds. It would be so easy to present a fake version of myself online, because one can really control what they post to social media and the words that they write.

In real life I am just as bubbly, encouraging, authentic, and friendly as I am here. I guess the only thing this blog is missing is the sound of my voice and my laughter, but that could easily be fixed by doing a little vlogging.

8. I give you $500, and you have to spend it on yourself, and no one else. What will you spend it on? 

That is an easy one! I’m spending it on a blog conference ticket and an extra night’s stay at the hotel. I think that this is actually going to happen for me this year. I am still hoping to get to Blog U, but I am almost certain that I’m going to Allume. If I go to Allume, I hope to pad my trip with an extra night’s stay before the conference starts to soak it all in. I plan to volunteer with set up tasks, if I can. I’ll be able to give back a bit and make a few deeper connections before things get crazy there.

9. Are you as sick of winter as I am? Show me a photo that you took that makes you think “warm.”

I’m writing this on Saturday the 15th and yes, I am sick of the snow. I heard that it is supposed to be 50 degrees on Wednesday, so that gives me hope. I’m tired of the logistics of two small children and winter gear. On top of that, we park on the street and I am done with trying to either climb over a snow mountain or walking ½ a block down to someone’s plowed driveway to get to my car. I heard last fall that the Farmer’s Almanac said this winter was going to be rough  and boy were they right!

Malone loves the winter though, so he’s having a blast!

Here is a warm photo. It is from Cape Cod last summer. There is NOTHING like a sunset on the beach with friends.

10. Let’s end with a “Would You Rather” question. My son came up with this one, knowing I was asking a fellow blogger. Would you rather be able to write (and not speak) or speak (and not write)? You can’t cheat and have someone write for you. And writing means doing what you do here, not mundane writing like jotting down a phone number. 

I’d give up writing, but it would be so hard.

I speak so much life into my kids on a daily basis. If I could never give Malone another positive affirmation, I would be heart broken. I spend a lot of my day chatting with Malone and Lola and a lot of nights writing for them. This blog is for them in a lot of ways even if it isn’t written directly at them. I want them to be able to look back on my life a parent and see that it is okay to have good days and bad days.

When my mom passed away, I didn’t have much of her words. I would have loved to have her thoughts on paper. I keep a sentence a day journal for my kids. I started it this year and I’m really enjoying keeping it up. The entries are small.and seem like they don‘t matter- things like “we went to the library this morning, Malone loved playing at story hour with his new friends.”

So, to give up writing it would be so hard. But I would have to just hope and pray that they would remember the sound of my voice.

Also, it would be really hard to stop talking to Mike. He’s a man of few words, but I love chatting with him!

Whew! She had great questions for me, didn’t she? Head on over to Dana’s page to see how she answered my questions!