um, that was fun.
i was sort of glued to my phone much of the day
(shame, bridget!) reading your responses rolling in.
i wanted to write back, like, every three minutes
but figured it’d be easier to just make a post of it.
so that’s what i’m doing.
and, i’m sure i’m going to forget all i wanted to say and respond to, but i’ll try my best.
where are you from?! where do you live now?
you guys are from some seriously cool places. an island in the meditteranean sticks out as one. but, all over. the midwest, all over europe, abu dhabi! new orleans… i loveeee new orleans! the all-over-the-world places reaffirm that the blog world is both crazy and cool.
male/female? age?
this was mostly expected. most of you are in the 20s/30s range and ladies. knew it. now here’s a question: when you are 40s/50s are you still gonna be reading blogs? am i still going to be blogging? weird.
how’d you discover my blog?
mostly clicking around which was to be expected! although for some of you… friend of a friend sort of thing. here’s another question. were you guys made aware of the blog world because you had a blog? i didn’t really know about a blog world (outside of like apartment therapy or design sponge) until i had one. and then… woah. mind blown!
what do you do? for work? for fun?
the pricing greeting cards was the one that made me go, “huh! never really considered that job, but… of course!” and the scientist who predicts earthquakes and what not?! how cool.
are you religious? atheist? something in between?
a lot of you are… all three of the above! mormons, christians, atheists, mennonites, jewish. and it seems a lot of us still struggle with questions of faith and what following god looks like and what it means in our daily life. in case you’re new and hadn’t seen my faith post, here it is. but, i could write about ten more of them and it’d change all the time.
what’s your favorite song? band? book?
i know. this one wasn’t even fair. to be pinned down like that! who do i think i am? but, i’m digging what so many of you wrote. neil diamond! sam cooke! band of horses! rhythm of the saints album, yesss! lady antebellum! coldplay! u2! (and dr. dog! i grew up with the guitarist’s cousin and she’s one of my good friends! humble-bragging!). and i need to read some of those books you guys wrote down. i’m ashamed to say i haven’t read a lot of the ones mentioned.
what’s your favorite vacation spot?
aaaaand we’re gonna need to rack up the credit card points cause i’ve just added about thirty places to my travel list. and so many of you have been to greece. this makes me super jealous (and i like what someone said: when they need a boost of confidence, they imagine themselves in the greek isles where everyone is prettier. ha, loved that!). and hey! some of you jersey shore people! stone harbor–used to spend lots of time there! and ocean city boardwalk, yes! lake winnipesaukee, yes! virgin islands! one of you suggested st. john–i forgot to mention it but i stayed at maho bay and it is most definitely heaven. why does it always seem such a surprise when we have this stuff in common? small world, small world.
what would you like to see more of on the blog?
so, i’m glad a lot of you said ‘keep on keepin’ on’ to whatever it is kinda show i’m running here–thanks! although, to those who had suggestions–thanks for them too! i wanted to hear it! a bunch of you said steve. i’m going to pass that along but i can’t guarantee he’ll come through. you’d think that being a professor would mean he’s not terribly camera-shy. i mean, the guy stands up and lectures in front of a hundred-plus people every week. BUT, he is. tried to talk him into doing the vlog with me awhile back… it was a no-go. when you say steve, what do you mean exactly anyway? and the older boys. i know. they aren’t on here a whole lot. in part, it’s just to protect their privacy. since they’re older, they’re more guarded and less interested in having their lives on display. plus, they read my blog from time to time (william and lindsey don’t so i can continue exploiting them until further notice!). and my relationship with the older boys, i’ll be honest, are some of the trickiest for me. if i said what i was feeling sometimes, it wouldn’t be pretty. they are teenagers. you can imagine how difficult that is in a normal situation. add to that a stepmom situation (who’s not a whole lot older than they are)… it can be dicey. it can be great (and often is), but it can be dicey sometimes too. so, in so many words, i can’t promise a lot of nathaniel and jordan here. i mean, getting jordan to smile for a picture these days is like pulling teeth. william and lindsey are eager to be on the blog though. in fact, when i showed lindsey her ‘bullying is bad’ video (before putting it on the blog) she was all, “ughhh… is that going on the blog?” and i said, “doesn’t have to! i won’t put it there.” and she quickly changed her tune, “no! no! post it!” so funny. serious posts! they’re actually some of my favorite. i love writing them, i love reading your responses. they give me a lot to think about. but they are more time-consuming, of course, and sometimes bear more of my soul than i am willing to do. meet me over coffee? i’ll pretty much tell you annnyyything (seriously.). but on a public blog? i’m a bit too reserved to do that! though, i’ll try do those more often. recipes! i can do that. though sometimes i get plain old sick of cooking and there’s not a whole lot on the menu. must-have baby items! i’m no expert, but expect one of those in the future! and fashion! seeing as it’s noon and i’m still in my pajamas right now, this one might be interesting. but i’d love to, at the same time. you guys won’t totally eye-roll at fashion-type posts?
are any of you famous?
this was mostly a silly question but i liked the few stories that did come out–a friend’s dad delivering shiloh pitt, a distant relative of johnny cash, a dave brubeck connection (love him) and… famous to your kids (of course).
thank you for your reponses. i really enjoyed learning a bit about all of you!
oh! and did a little blog “summer cleaning” — you like?
ps. bad news. i’m gone all day + evening.
bachelorette commentary is gonna have to be postponed. ughhhh.
i'm first!!! cause i'm awake and on the other side of the world. Thanks for including Abu Dhabi in your list even though i was gay and didn't fill out the survey. unless there is someone else super cool living here that you are blends with. eff. i need a blog. xx
I am almost 50 and just started blogging at 48. My niece had a blog and I decided to start one. I hope your girls are still blogging at my age!
I missed this post, but it's fun to see what your readers are like, pretty much what I expected, but u really want to meet the person hobbies the persons who delivered Shiloh Pitt 🙂
An island in the mediterranean, that's me I guess! Have you google it? It's beautiful isn't it? That made my day 🙂
I've also read today your thoughts about faith, which are the same things I'm dealing with right now.
Have a nice day!
@angie, totally you. i wanna live in menorca.
I'm going to be the oldest living blogger ever. Mark it.
AND TELL ME I'm wrong, you are not going to be missing the Bachelorette again. I started watching this stupid shit for your live-tweeting. I feel somewhat cheated, that's all I'm saying.
Love this and love the new look to your blog. It looks gooooooood 🙂
@e, i know! events on mondays BE GONE WITH YOU until the end of the season. but… i tell no lie. no live tweeting for me tonight.
@alex, thanks girl!
This was so fun to read! And I love love love the new header. I also loved how you talked honestly about the older boys. I can tell there's a great amount of building respect between you.
I like the new look, but where is the pic of you on the left? nowhere to be found? I didn't answer the questions before but mainly because I'm too boring – live north of Boston like you do, 29 yo female, not famous. BUT I do highly recommend the Lake Tahoe area as a beautiful, relaxing vacation spot! I've never been anywhere truly exotic or amazing or European. But northern CA is my home and is sort of paradise.
I can't believe I missed this! I didn't know what exactly the response period was and seeing as I have exams at the moment, I am not exactly the best at keeping up with my favorite blogs…yours being one of them! Just so you know, you have a pretty loyal reader in Israel (though I am originally from Boulder, CO). I am a 24 year old female and I found your blog through one of my best friends, Anne (from anne the adventurer)! I am Jewish, but am not quite sure where I am on the G-d issue, enjoy reading all kinds of books in English and Hebrew and for vacation spots I definitely recommend coming to Israel (a MUST at least once in a lifetime!), Itacare, Brasil (or really anywhere on the Northern coast!) and of course Colorado (my second/first home!). Keep up the good work, I absolutely LOVE your bachelorette posts and Parker is one adorable little dude that makes my heart melt with every picture!!
so, i'm from south jersey as well-close to phildelphia. Audubon to be more specific. I saw you were from around the same area and vacationing at the shore. i have been going to Ocean City since i was in diapers. I just wanted to make the connection, and let you know i was a new follower!
That was fun! I thought the vast locations of your readers was the best part.
Great new layout! Do it yourself?
@angela, yep myself! thanks!
when you say steve, what do you mean exactly?
naked.
YOU WOULD.
I would love a 'summer cleaning / house tour'!!
And just more posts about everything and anything.