Your Questions, Answered {part two}

What is your favorite part of blogging?

I love that I am creating a record for my family. That is hands down, my favorite part of blogging. I also really enjoy sharing experiences with friends, family, and other bloggers. It is a fun outlet for me. I can't imagine ever giving it up.

What do you dislike most about blogging?

Fortunately, I haven't had to deal with much of the negative side of blogging that some experience. However, I do occasionally get sucked into the numbers. It is hard to remember that blog traffic doesn't define me or my family. 

Why do you blog when you have so much else going on?

I blog first and foremost for my family. It seems counter intuitive to spend time away from my family, for my family. But at the end of the day, this blog is the best record we have. We all look back on it. Just this past weekend I searched for an old post that featured pictures of a story my family was laughing about. 

Also, I hope blogging can become something a bit more for my family, a means for keeping me home during the day with Behr. That would be the ultimate!

Do you plan on staying in DC long term?

We love DC, but know that now is the time to take an adventure. Behr isn't in school, there aren't any other babies on the way. If we want to live or work somewhere else for a while, now is the time. So as we consider next steps for our family we are keeping doors open.


Do you ever feel insecure? How do you combat those feelings?

Yes, all the time. My insecurity primarily stems from other people's opinions of me.  Naturally a people pleaser, I stress out about how I will be perceived. Blogger meet-ups are the hardest for me. I am always afraid that people will stop liking me, think I misrepresent myself on my blog, or some other crazy thing like that.

I often get nervous about letting people down, and in turn over commit. This is the most destructive form of my insecurity, something I really have to work on.

I am also insecure about my working mom status. I hate conversations about work vs. motherhood, because I feel like everyone always has an agenda, or a solution to offer me. People make assumptions, that I am putting my career before my family, that I want an extravagant life style, that money matters more than my child, that I don't enjoy motherhood. None of these assumptions are correct, but they still sting. I have to keep reminding myself that I am doing what is best for my family right now.

To combat these all of my feelings on insecurity? Oh wow, I am not sure I am very good at this. I try to pray when I am feeling insecure, I listen to positive and encouraging music, and I surround myself with encouraging friendships, I stop reading magazines, or blogs that I start comparing myself to. The whole mantra garbage in garbage out...I try to make it apply to all areas of my life.
When you daydream of the perfect life for your family in the fictitious 5 years, what does that include?

Five years from now...in my dreams: We may still live in a city, but we have a farm with a barn where everyone likes to hang out. Our house if full of children, our own and their friends, because we have created a welcoming place that is kid friendly. We enjoy summers outside on a big porch. We have a garden where we grow most of our food, but we also support local farmers. We have a full size freezer so we can buy a whole cow. If we don't live near family, we are blessed to be able to visit them often. I no longer have a traditional day job, but instead support my family through my own business (maybe my etsy shop and blog...maybe something else, who knows!) This dream could go on and on...

If/when Mark is working late or out with the guys, and Behr is happily in bed, what do you watch on TV and what do you make for dinner?

If Mark is out for the evening, I tend to keep dinner really simple but not necessarily healthy. We tend to eat healthy together, so solo style looks like prepackaged tortellini, bagel bites, or mac and cheese, something Behr and I both enjoy that is quick and easy.

Once Behr goes to bed (which is always earlier when we aren't both home for some crazy reason...) I tend to catch up on blogging or make more cards for my etsy shop. But my go to TV shows are Fairly Legal, Parenthood, NCIS, and The Good Wife, but we often watch these together even though I know they aren't Mark's favorite. He's a good sport.

What is your favorite food? The food on your blog always seems healthy, do you ever eat dessert?

I eat my fair share of dessert, but typical crave salty food, not sweets. I make a mean chocolate chip cookie and those are my favorite non-fruit dessert. I am not a huge chocolate fan.

The food on my blog looks healthy because we eat a lot of fruits and veggies from our farm share, or CSA.  I like experimenting with new recipes with CSA food, so that is why they get featured more heavily on the blog. Plus fresh produce makes for better photos.

My absolute favorite, I would eat it any time of day, food is a philly cheesesteak. Kinda gross right? But I love them. Its a good thing I haven't found a place to get an authentic cheesesteak here in DC.

Thanks so much for asking great questions! This has been really fun.

~

Be sure to check out part one and my new FAQ page.