Friday, March 14, 2014

Double Teaming Blog Hops and Dishing with Michelle

A Dish of Daily Life
Today, I am once again double teaming the Friday Blog hops!! I am so happy to be teaming up with Michelle from A Dish of Daily Life for Ask Away Friday.  I believe I first found Michelle through Tamara's Blog or through Ladies Only Blog Share.  I got to know her a lot better when we were both contributors to The Mother Of All Meltdowns.


Michelle is a soccer mom extraordinaire as well as a photographer and social media maven!  She is the mom of  three kids and seven fur babies!

Check out my answers to the great questions she had for me.  Then, head over to her blog to see what I asked her and how she answered!


 1.  Since you usually do Finish the Sentence Friday and I am a FTSF wanna-be, how would you finish this week's sentence" "My Favorite Decade is . . . . " 

I really didn’t have an answer this week.  I suppose I could say the 70’s because that’s when I was born, but I was born in the late 70’s and don’t actually have much recollection of that decade.  My only other thought about it was to say 1998-2008 because that would encompass the year I got married (1998) and each of the years my daughters were born! (2002, 2004, 2007)

2.  We both have 3 children.  You have 3 girls and I have 2 boys and a girl. What characteristics of yours (good and bad) do you see in your kids? 

I think my oldest is most like me.  She is stubborn, stoic, and a bit of a loner.  Those can be good qualities or they can be negative.  I think she is much more creative than me, though, and she is super smart.

My middle one is probably least like me and most like my husband.  She is a ball of energy.  Her room is a mess and she tends to be rather disorganized.  She has a great sense of humor though and always find the positive in situations.

My youngest is a mixture of all.  She is a little shy and still has some attachment issues, even at six years old.  She is very loving and can also be very stubborn!  

3.  What is one thing that most people don't know about you? 

This is, surprisingly, a tough one.  As a blogger, I feel like there is lots of me “out there.”  I used to not talk at all about my psoriasis and subsequent self-image issues, but I wrote all about it not too long ago.

I also shared a vlog about my weird feet!

I think as bloggers in general, we put a lot of ourselves "out there" for all the world to read.  Some people might be surprised to know that some bloggers - like myself - are actually pretty introverted.

Other than that, all I can think to tell you is that I don't like heights, I'm claustrophobic, and snakes don't bother me, but I hate bugs!

4.  How about sharing one thing that you are trying to change? 

I participate in a women’s bible study group at my church and we recently read the book “7” by Jen Hatmaker.  As a result of the study, all of us in the group chose something we wanted to change - take out or add to our lives, or just do differently in a positive way.  I decided that I want to try and help my family be healthier.  We had gotten in a bad habit of eating too much junk and being too sedentary.  I have stopped buying potato chips unless they are baked.  I have also started making my kids drink more milk and water.  My husband and I have stopped drinking soda and try to drink more water as well.  I vowed to work in more exercise too but so far that hasn’t happened.

5.  What is your biggest pet peeve?

This would be a toss up between disorganization and ice crunching.  I like things to be neat and organized.  I realize that with three kids and busy schedules, nothing is ever going to be perfectly clean, but when my house is messy, it stresses me out.  I  don't do well when my usual schedules and routines get off track either.  My hubby also has a habit of crunching ice which drives me nuts!

6.  I know you're a dog person, because you told me! We have 3 dogs and they do some pretty ridiculous things. One day one of them escaped and went to Spanish class at the prep school we live near...he actually followed kids into the classroom! I love good pet stories, so what is the craziest thing your dog has ever done?

Our dog talks - sort of!  We have a three year old border collie named Sophie and she does this howl-like thing, but she does it in response to us.  She especially does it in the morning when she wants to be fed, when we come home from being gone, or to me when I reprimand her for anything!  See for yourself! (Sorry for the terrible video filming!)

)


7. St. Patrick's Day is on Monday!  Are you good at celebrating holidays like this? Do you decorate the house and make special food? 

I’m terrible at celebrating holidays like these!  I am not crafty at all and that just leads to more messes anyway! (See #5)  I do help out with any class celebrations at my kids’ schools and I do decorate for Christmas, but otherwise I don't do much decorating or any special, crafty activities to celebrate holidays.

8.  What is your favorite social media platform? Are you concentrating on one in particular right now? Share it so we can all make sure we follow you!

Well, I’ll say the social media platform where I’m most comfortable is Facebook.  (You can follow me at www.facebook.com/GoldenSpoonsBlog.)  However, as most bloggers know, Facebook has made some changes lately that are not blogger/business friendly.  I like Twitter (www.twitter.com/TheGoldenSpoons), but I am still learning how to manage it effectively.  It goes so fast, I find it a little overwhelming.  My blog gets a lot of traffic from Pinterest, so I’m trying to do a better job of utilizing it as well.  (www.pinterest.com/witherspoonl)

9.  How did you come up with the name for your blog?

When I started my blog over 4 years ago, I originally called it “Musings of the Queen Bee,” meaning I was the queen of my “hive.”  Then, I read a book about girls who bully and it referred to the “leader” of girl cliques and the “Queen Bee.”  It was very popular in my area at the time and the term definitely had a negative connotation in the book, so I decided to change the name of my blog. The name I came up with is a play on our last name, Witherspoon.  We are often referred to as “The Spoons” for short.  I had the cheesy thought that my family is more precious than gold.  (That's true; it's just sounds cheesy to say it.)  That’s how I got “The Golden Spoons.”  It also sounded a little like a soap opera title to me, which kind of fit since I used my blog to chronicle different things about our family life.  It never occurred to me at the time, but many people have assumed it is purely a food blog because of the name! 

10.  I know you are going to BlogU. What are you most excited about...learning something specific, networking, meeting your online friends in person, or ????

I am so excited to be going to Blog U!  I am most looking forward to meeting many of my blog friends in person.  I have only been to one other conference (Bloggy Boot Camp in Minneapolis in October 2013) and met two of my blog friends there, but there are so many more I want to meet!  (You, my roomie Dana, Tamara, Kristi, Kate, and NJ just to name a few!)  Of course, I’m sure I will learn tons of helpful blogging stuff.  In regards to that, I am most looking forward to learning how to get my writing “out there” and tips for time management.


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This post is part of Finish The Sentence Friday.  FTSF is hosted by some wonderful blogging ladies.  Please give them a visit and check out all the other blogs that participate as well!
Stephanie at Mommy, for Real
Kristi at Finding Ninee

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Ask Away Friday is a fun blog hop in which two bloggers trade ten questions, then answer them on their blogs.  It's a great way to connect and get to know other bloggers!  It is hosted by:
Amber from Bold Fab Mom

#AskAwayFriday button


30 comments:

Michelle Nahom said...

That talking dog video is hysterical! What a cutie she is!! You know I never thought of the food blog thing on yours, but I think that is because of The Mother of all Meltdowns...people have made that assumption about mine too though. I am glad to hear there is someone else like me in terms of the decorating for various holidays. I am just not organized enough to do it (my house would probably drive you crazy, sorry!). I love seeing people's houses when they do decorate for the different holidays, but I kind of doubt I would ever be able to pull it off, at least not for all of them. So I don't do any!

Janine Huldie said...

I am so with you on being born in the late 70s, so definitely why I didn't pick it, because I don't remember all that much either. And so jealous of you all going to Blog U, but hope to get to go to a conference in the future, just not monetarily or child care, too in the cards for me right now.

Ginnymarie said...

People mistake my blog for a food blog all the time! I never thought that any one would actually read my blog when I named it. I really wish I could to BlogU and meet everyone! It sounds like so much fun!

Tiffany Mrsh Haywood said...

Hi Lisa! I love how and why you came to your Blog name being Golden Spoons. I can understand why you would't want your original name to be associated with anything as negative as being a bully and I love the play on your name and that your family is more precious than gold (totally not cheesy). I hope you have a great weekend!

Lisa @ The Golden Spoons said...

I never thought it about your blog either, but can see how some people might think that. To me, doing all the decorations is just something else I have to find time to do and clean up. Not with it to me! :-)

Lisa @ The Golden Spoons said...

I understand, Janine. I really had to work hard to convince my husband to "let" me go to BlogU and I hesitated because it is so close to the end of the school year for my kids. I would love to meet you IRL, but completely understand how difficult it can be to work it out.

Lisa @ The Golden Spoons said...

I wish you could come to BlogU too because I would love to meet you!

Lisa @ The Golden Spoons said...

Thanks Tiffany!

Kristi - Finding Ninee said...

YAY for BlogU! I forgot to tell Michelle that I'm going and I cant wait to meet everybody! I like Facebook too, and find it a real bummer that they're changing the rules so much. I still get some traffic from it but not nearly as much as I used to. Grr. I had to laugh out loud about the ice crunching. My husband does this breathing thing when he's concentrating really hard that totally drives me nuts!

Jodi @the noise of boys said...

No worries woman I am not crafty at these holiday things either! What a great start to naming your blog! And I need to check out this vlog! too funny! Glad you posted about psoriasis it is so misunderstood :-(

Jodi @the noise of boys said...

Gosh now I wish I was headed to BlogU! Also so jealous/happy you get to meet all these wonderful ladies and would have loved to have seen you again!

Lisa @ The Golden Spoons said...

It is a bit misunderstood and, today, treatments are soooooooo much better than they were 15-20 years ago.

Lisa @ The Golden Spoons said...

There's still room is you can swing it!! I would love to see you again!

Stephanie Sprenger said...

These are so fun and interesting- love learning more about you! And your dog is SO adorable!

Lisa @ The Golden Spoons said...

Thanks Stephanie!

Dana said...

I can't wait to meet you too! I am not an introvert at all, so I think we will be a good match. And your dog...is that a border collie thing, the talking? Because my dog does that too! When she wants something she makes a sound very similar to what Sophie does. People think it means she's upset, but it really means she just wants your attention (or food).

Lisa @ The Golden Spoons said...

I don't know if it;s a border collie thing, but that's exactly what she does. She especially does it to me because I'm usually the who who reprimands her! It's like she is back-talking me and my kids think it's hilarious. A couple people have mistaken it for actual growling, but she's usually wag gin her tail when she does it!

Tarana said...

It was interesting getting to know you more! I'm a bit of an introvert myself, so kudos to you for vlogging about something that I'm sure wasn't easy for you to talk about.

Tamara Bowman said...

I really hope I do meet you at BlogU! If not there, somewhere else for sure.
I love the Sophie video! And Golden Spoons fits you so well - I love hearing about the origin about blog names.

Lisa @ The Golden Spoons said...

Thanks Tarana!

Lisa @ The Golden Spoons said...

I completely understand. We had gotten to a point where my kids came home from school and the first thing they grabbed for a snack was chips or ice cream. With 5 different palates and a couple super picky eaters, it's hard, but we're trying!

Lisa @ The Golden Spoons said...

Thanks, Don! I feel the same way about the dog- the last thing I need it somebody else arguing with me! :-)

Lisa @ The Golden Spoons said...

I hope we get to meet at BlogU, too, Tamara!

Jennifer | The Deliberate Mom said...

I'm quite introverted as well. It surprises lots of people when I meet them because I really put myself "out there". Very interesting isn't it?!


I followed you on Facebook and would like to thank you for you visit this morning. This is a great post for me to get to know you. Thanks!


Wishing you a lovely weekend.
xoxo

MamaRabia said...

One of these days I am going to invite a bunch of my uber-organized friends over to my house...and lock them in it until they organize it for me! Muah-ha-ha-ha!! Just kidding...maybe!

Christy Garrett said...

I with that I could go to a bloggy conference. I live close to Dallas so maybe I need to find something in my area. One day, I will be at Blog Her Conference. ;)

Lisa @ The Golden Spoons said...

So glad you visited Jennifer! I have seen you comment on Pink Dryer Lint (Love Robin!) and I have followed you on Facebook, too! Hope you had a great weekend, too!

Lisa @ The Golden Spoons said...

Honestly, I would love to!! Cleaning and organizing is somehow cathartic for me - weird, I know. I just wish I could clean and organize and then have my family keep it the way I fixed it!!!! :-)

Lisa @ The Golden Spoons said...

I haven't been to BolgHer either - too big and too much $$. Look to see if SITS Girls are doing a BBC in Dallas this year - that's the first one I went to. It was just one day and pretty small, so it wasn't terribly overwhelming, but I still got tons of good info.

Stacey Gannett said...

Oddly, I am a fan of the 80's, but for me it was mostly the music! Loved your answers! I would love to go to a conference, but it would have to be one in the midwest. I too, am such an introvert, but I try not to let it completely overrule me. I loved your blog name story, very sweet! I hope you have a great weekend!

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