Today for #Ask Away Friday I am matched up with Carol from Battered Hope. Carol blogs about the trials and tragedies in her life and how she has overcome them. She is a true source of positive inspiration on the web. She shares stories about her life, dogs and motivational thoughts. If you need a pick me up or a kick in the butt to get moving, you should check out Carol's blog!
If you're not familiar with #AskAwayFriday, it's a great way to meet new people and get really nosy! You pair up and swap ten questions with your partner to be answered in a post on Friday. #AskAwayFriday was created by Penny of The Real Housewife of Caroline County, and is now hosted by these #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
And now for my answers to Carol's questions:
1. One of the things on your Bucket List is to have a blog post go viral. Do you have a favorite post that you felt should have gone viral, and if so, why?
That's a tough question to answer! I can't say that I've ever written a post, hit publish, and thought "that ones' gonna go viral!" I don't even write posts with the intent of going viral. For now I get a huge kick out of seeing someone I've never heard of or interacted with Pin something I wrote on Pinterest. That tells me that my posts are going out beyond my own circle. With that said, I think I've written some pretty good posts over the years. 10 Friends Every Woman Needs was one that sat in my head for a long time before coming out. I also firmly believe what I wrote about allowing my children to fail, even though it goes against current parenting practices.
2. Your children are quite young. How do you think your life and/or career will change when they are in high school, college and beyond?
I don't know if I want to think about that!! I enjoy working and I work full time. My job is amazing and flexible and I don't see any real reason to leave it, so I don't imagine that much will change professionally. The kids have been gone in different combinations this summer, and I'll admit it's been nice to take it easy a bit on the parenting parts. I hope that we continue to have a strong relationship as they grow up and start to move away (physically). I hope that they will stay close when they begin their adult lives, but I won't be offended if circumstances take them elsewhere. My job is to raise them into mature, responsible adults and I'll never know if I succeeded unless they go out on their own eventually!
3. What five words describe you best?
Fun
Silly
Easy Going
Loving
Short
4. When you and hubby have a night alone together, what do you like to do?
With kids and work schedules it's not always easy to go out together, but we do have evenings to ourselves after the kids have gone to bed. We enjoy watching TV together. There are a few shows he's gotten me hooked on and we tend to binge watch them from the DVR.
5. You have co-authored a book, The Mother of All Meltdowns. Do you see a sequel in the future? Or do you think you will write a different type of book?
Crystal says there's a sequel on the way, this time discussing relationship meltdowns. I've bowed out of that one because of Ken's desire to stay private. Crystal promises the book is not about smack talking your spouse, but I can't tell a story about us without his consent, so I won't. I've thought about a different story, but nothing has solidified yet. I'm working on developing a few characters in my head and thinking of how to put them together though. Who knows if it will ever see the light of day!
6. I see that you liked movies such as The Breakfast Club and Star Wars. What is your absolute favorite movie from last year? What about a book?
Last year I really enjoyed Catching Fire
. I read the books and thought they were well made into movies. I also enjoyed Frozen
. Incidentally, those might be the only two movies I saw in the theater. I'll have to ask my movie secretary (Ken). He keeps better track of things like that!
7. In what capacity are you involved in your church? Would you like to be more involved and if so, how?
I love being involved at my church. Up until Benjamin was born I was the Youth Minister and I coordinated all the middle and high school religious education and social activities. That overlapped slightly with teaching the Children's Church program. I started teaching Frances' class when she was three and I am getting ready to start my 8th year with that program. I coincidentally spaced my kids out enough that I can teach them for three years )ages 3-5) and then start over with the next sibling! When Benjamin is finished with that program, I'd like to volunteer with the youth ministry program again. I also LOVE helping with Vacation Bible School. I've been a group leader and I've helped with crafts. The past two years I've been the game leader. It's one of the highlights of each summer!
8. What do you enjoy the most about blogging?
Hands down, without a doubt, it has been the community! I blogged for a long time before I found a community and, while I enjoyed it, it didn't draw me in like it does now. Plus, I feel a responsibility to keep it up now more than I did before. I used to go weeks without posting anything at all and now I try to post every weekday. In fact, I've joked that blogging makes me a better mother!
9. What is your coveted job?
If the opportunities were limitless and I had the chance to try any profession in the world, I'd love to be an archaeologist. But I'd probably get hot and hurt my back after a while. Then I'd come back to the job I have now where I love what I do and the people I get to see every day!
10. What types of foods do you enjoy cooking the most? What about your hubby?
I enjoy cooking all different types of things. I enjoy trying out new recipes and letting the kids help me out. In fact, just three nights ago, Henry insisted on getting the fish sticks ready for the oven and Benjamin wanted to make the rice. Then I told Frances she was in charge of the fruit and vegetable and she took care of it! Then they bragged to Ken that they had cooked the whole dinner by themselves and he rolled his eyes and grinned at me. I didn't steal their thunder.
Ken likes to grill and he likes to grill meat. We often have meatless dinners when he's not home, but I would never dare to try serving PBJs for dinner when he's around. He's got to have meat with every meal!
That's it for our swap! I hope you stop by Carol's blog, Battered Hope and check out her answers to my questions. In the comments you can tell me what kind of food you love to cook.
1. One of the things on your Bucket List is to have a blog post go viral. Do you have a favorite post that you felt should have gone viral, and if so, why?
That's a tough question to answer! I can't say that I've ever written a post, hit publish, and thought "that ones' gonna go viral!" I don't even write posts with the intent of going viral. For now I get a huge kick out of seeing someone I've never heard of or interacted with Pin something I wrote on Pinterest. That tells me that my posts are going out beyond my own circle. With that said, I think I've written some pretty good posts over the years. 10 Friends Every Woman Needs was one that sat in my head for a long time before coming out. I also firmly believe what I wrote about allowing my children to fail, even though it goes against current parenting practices.
2. Your children are quite young. How do you think your life and/or career will change when they are in high school, college and beyond?
I don't know if I want to think about that!! I enjoy working and I work full time. My job is amazing and flexible and I don't see any real reason to leave it, so I don't imagine that much will change professionally. The kids have been gone in different combinations this summer, and I'll admit it's been nice to take it easy a bit on the parenting parts. I hope that we continue to have a strong relationship as they grow up and start to move away (physically). I hope that they will stay close when they begin their adult lives, but I won't be offended if circumstances take them elsewhere. My job is to raise them into mature, responsible adults and I'll never know if I succeeded unless they go out on their own eventually!
3. What five words describe you best?
Fun
Silly
Easy Going
Loving
Short
4. When you and hubby have a night alone together, what do you like to do?
With kids and work schedules it's not always easy to go out together, but we do have evenings to ourselves after the kids have gone to bed. We enjoy watching TV together. There are a few shows he's gotten me hooked on and we tend to binge watch them from the DVR.
5. You have co-authored a book, The Mother of All Meltdowns. Do you see a sequel in the future? Or do you think you will write a different type of book?
Crystal says there's a sequel on the way, this time discussing relationship meltdowns. I've bowed out of that one because of Ken's desire to stay private. Crystal promises the book is not about smack talking your spouse, but I can't tell a story about us without his consent, so I won't. I've thought about a different story, but nothing has solidified yet. I'm working on developing a few characters in my head and thinking of how to put them together though. Who knows if it will ever see the light of day!
6. I see that you liked movies such as The Breakfast Club and Star Wars. What is your absolute favorite movie from last year? What about a book?
Last year I really enjoyed Catching Fire
. I read the books and thought they were well made into movies. I also enjoyed Frozen. Incidentally, those might be the only two movies I saw in the theater. I'll have to ask my movie secretary (Ken). He keeps better track of things like that!7. In what capacity are you involved in your church? Would you like to be more involved and if so, how?
I love being involved at my church. Up until Benjamin was born I was the Youth Minister and I coordinated all the middle and high school religious education and social activities. That overlapped slightly with teaching the Children's Church program. I started teaching Frances' class when she was three and I am getting ready to start my 8th year with that program. I coincidentally spaced my kids out enough that I can teach them for three years )ages 3-5) and then start over with the next sibling! When Benjamin is finished with that program, I'd like to volunteer with the youth ministry program again. I also LOVE helping with Vacation Bible School. I've been a group leader and I've helped with crafts. The past two years I've been the game leader. It's one of the highlights of each summer!
8. What do you enjoy the most about blogging?
Hands down, without a doubt, it has been the community! I blogged for a long time before I found a community and, while I enjoyed it, it didn't draw me in like it does now. Plus, I feel a responsibility to keep it up now more than I did before. I used to go weeks without posting anything at all and now I try to post every weekday. In fact, I've joked that blogging makes me a better mother!
9. What is your coveted job?
If the opportunities were limitless and I had the chance to try any profession in the world, I'd love to be an archaeologist. But I'd probably get hot and hurt my back after a while. Then I'd come back to the job I have now where I love what I do and the people I get to see every day!
10. What types of foods do you enjoy cooking the most? What about your hubby?
I enjoy cooking all different types of things. I enjoy trying out new recipes and letting the kids help me out. In fact, just three nights ago, Henry insisted on getting the fish sticks ready for the oven and Benjamin wanted to make the rice. Then I told Frances she was in charge of the fruit and vegetable and she took care of it! Then they bragged to Ken that they had cooked the whole dinner by themselves and he rolled his eyes and grinned at me. I didn't steal their thunder.
Ken likes to grill and he likes to grill meat. We often have meatless dinners when he's not home, but I would never dare to try serving PBJs for dinner when he's around. He's got to have meat with every meal!
That's it for our swap! I hope you stop by Carol's blog, Battered Hope and check out her answers to my questions. In the comments you can tell me what kind of food you love to cook.
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