Blogging, MrsTee and Christmas?! #AskAwayFriday

Hello Everyone! I can’t believe how fast the summer went and how quickly the fall seems to be coming in…I can’t believe it but I love it! Fall means the beginning of holidays, family time and crisp breezes. So let’s get this week’s #AskAwayFriday started and find out what type of questions my buddy, Ashley from Forever Ashley asked me that has me thinking about all things fall and….Christmas?

 

What is #AskAwayFriday? Well…#AskAwayFriday was created by the amazing Penny from Real Housewife of Caroline County who will again be joining us from time to time, as a way to connect with other bloggers with a great Q & A session of 10 questions and 10 answers, between two bloggers! This is a wonderful opportunity to get to know others while allowing others to get to know you and of course there is also the added bonus of making great friends along the way which is one of the best parts of this online world!

Now to welcome our wonderful #AskAwayFriday hosts…

Tamara from Tamara Like Camera,
Tiffany from Mrs. Tee Love Life Laughter,
Christy from Uplifting Families,
Stacey from This Momma’s Ramblings
and
Amber from Bold Fit Mom

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So…grab our button, follow our amazing hosts and co-host, hop through the great link ups and make some amazing new friends!

 

Oops! Did I mention that this is Ashley’s very 1st #AskAwayFriday!??! Repeat after me:

“Welcome Ashley!!!”

Now on to the fun….

I have questions about blogging…

You write for a variety of online sources, co-host a lot of link-ups and blog hops and are active in quite a few blogging groups and communities.  What are your secrets for blogging organization?

Secrets? I really don’t have any secrets. I try to stay organized and plan things out but honestly most times I write as I think it and I set alerts and reminders for all my due dates and deadlines. That’s about it. I have a calendar or planner but it is not really blog friendly so I am on the hunt for a new one that I customize a bit more. So right now my trusty Calendar, Notes and Reminder Apps are my BFFs!

Being a SAHM has very little to do with actually staying home most days so I also try to work around my Kiddies school, activity and extracurricular schedules. This means blogging crack-o-dawn in the morning somedays and other days burning that midnight oil. It’s all about getting it done when I can and still keeping my family taken care of. I try, I fail, I try again and learn from the mistakes.

When (and how) did you get into vlogging?  Why did you start and what do you love most about it?

My very first Vlog was done as a response to a TAG from my Blogger BFF Penny from The Real Housewife of Caroline County. I was stalking following her Channel along with a few others and wanting so badly to make that first step into Vlogging but just couldn’t seem to think of what to talk about and how to do it. Her Super Mommy Tag gave me the training wheels I needed to get started.

http://youtu.be/CKe5spuXCmg&w=520&h=440

You can see I was definitely a beginner but I was excited and so ready to learn, explore and do more in that land known as YouTube. I haven’t turned back yet and I honestly don’t see myself stopping any time soon. I love it! I’m a Vlogger and I know it! 🙂

If someone asked you to define your blog in one word, which word would it be?  Why?  

ME!

My blog, my site and even my Channel are all true representations of who I am as a person on screen, in words and in video. My Love, Life and Laughter make me who I am and sharing that with everyone is not only an honor but I count it as a responsibility. For that reason I try to present everything as true to me as possible. When I click through my site I see my reflection and that is what I work for everyday.

Now…on to more personal questions:

How was Hawaii?!  I saw that you lived there for a while during your husband’s deployment.  What did you love & dislike most about living there?  Has moving back to the mainland been a challenging transition?

I love(d) my Aloha Home! I was actually there with my Hubby during his station there. Once he deployed, I returned home with the Kiddies and then moved back after he came back.

Hawaii was definitely an experience for me since I had never lived farther than 8 hours from my family and this was 3 flights away! Still, once we arrived and I got settled my family and I loved it. The Aloha spirit, the islands themselves and the memories we made there – I wouldn’t trade them for anything.

My husband and I do not have any children and I’m overwhelmed at times with my career, my blog and my obligations to only my husband and our dogs.  You have SIX children and a very busy blog life.  How do you balance your blog / family time?

Yes, we have 6 Kiddies total but at this point the 3 oldest are out of the house and focused on their college and high school lives so the day to day responsibilities I used to have are a bit lighter now. At home I have my youngest: 7 year old Girlie, 5 year old Girlie and 3 year old Buddie. They are a handful at times but when we get into a routine and our schedules are set things are pretty good. Now trust me I have swapped out classes and then done it again LOL but through it all I just try to focus on making sure my family is happy.

Like I said up above, I try to balance things and work when I can while they are busy or at odd hours of the day but yeah sometimes I mess up. There are days I blog all day for a deadline and realize we haven’t had any ‘us time’ so I make up for it. We have a slumber party or family day…something to let them know they are still my priority.

Some parents are very open about their families online while others are very private.  How open to you feel about sharing your marriage and your family?  Why do you feel this way?

I am open to an extent. Does that make sense? I never use names and of course there are certain things that are precious to us that need to stay that way. Still I am also very honest in my feelings on certain issues of faith, marriage, parenting.

I feel that there needs to be restraint used for anything shared online. Despite the community I have found, the friends I’ve made and the impact it has all had in my life the reality is that there are still bad people out there and on here. There are predators that I don’t want to give any access to my life. For that reason I am careful, I am safe and I am cautious.

The holidays are almost upon us!

So the holidays are almost here.  Do you have anything special lined up for your blog?  A holiday series?  Recipes?  Any linkups or blog hops?

They are aren’t they!?!? Whew! That kinda snuck up on me…wasn’t it just summer? LOL

I am going to be a part of an amazing Fall Giveaway with The Southern Girl Blog Community in October and I am really excited about that so stay tune for details!

Beyond that I haven’t really planned anything yet. I would love to be a part of a Holiday or Christmas Giveaway but haven’t spotted anything – I should probably get on that though, huh? We’ll see…I know the Holidays tend to be really busy and hectic for all of us but I am sure I will have something in the works soon 😀

With your large family, do you have any favorite holiday family traditions?  How did it get started?

YES! We love the Holidays. It always means more time for us together as a family and more memories to make. We are very big on Halloween and the Kiddies are already searching of that ‘perfect costume’. I’m not sure if I’m going to dress up this year yet but last year I had a blast letting out my inner NerdGirl…

Which holiday is your favorite?  Why?  

My favorite Holiday is definitely Christmas. I can’t wait to get that tree in the house! I always start decorating the day after Thanksgiving and keep everything up for about 2 weeks after New Years (yeah we’re THAT house..LOL). I can’t help myself. Christmas is usually when we can actually get all the Kiddies home and we spend about 2 weeks just hanging out, laughing and most of all having fun.

I’m giving you a freebie here.

Is there anything that you were hoping I would ask about (and didn’t) or anything you wish to share that you haven’t yet?

Not really. You age me some really great questions and I had a blast answering them all. Instead I guess I’ll share a random fact about myself that I don’t think I’ve shared yet…

When I was 14 I would work Full Time hours (40+ a week)

and my boss would split my check into 3 so that neither I or him would get in trouble.

*If only I saved that extra money…silly Teenager! LOL

This was so much fun! Now don’t forget to go visit Ashley and check out her answers to my questions and show her a bit of #AskAwayFriday love and support!

 

 

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