Hooray, hooray, hooray it’s Friday and time for another fabulous #AskAwayFriday!
What is #AskAwayFriday? Well…#AskAwayFriday was created by the amazing Penny from Real Housewife of Caroline County as a way to connect with other bloggers with a great Q & A session of 10 questions and 10 answers! By offering 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…
April
from 100lb Countdown
April is a wife, mom, blogger, entrepreneur, author, and fitness guru who blogs about the things that make up her daily life as a SAHM focusing on her family. Be sure to stop by April’s site to check out her wonderful recipe offerings and money making opportunities or to just say “Hi”!
So…grab our brand, new button, follow our amazing hosts and co-host, hop
through the great link ups and make some amazing new friends!
When I started blogging, I didn’t know very many people who had an invisible illness and it was a struggle getting my bosses and coworkers to understand what I was going through. Especially, when I could complete one tasks one day and not the next. It wasn’t because I was lazy or didn’t want to do it, it was just painful for me. Blogging has allowed me to find other people who share some of my symptoms and help raise awareness. I hope you enjoy the questions that Tia asked me and my answers.
- Though I’ve been blogging off and on for a few years, I’m just now starting to branch out and expand my audience/topics/etc. What tips would you give to someone still trying to figure things out?
When I first started blogging, I had no clue that people would actually enjoy my writing and find my articles useful. I started with a small site and ended up branching out to create Uplifting Families. I went from a single niche to a multi-niche market. When you are starting out it will be a bit frustrating but the more you reach out and connect with other bloggers the more successful you will be.
I ended up meeting a bunch of great people by participating in Twitter chat sessions like #SMGirlFriends, #SMManners, and many others. It was a great way for me to connect with other people and learn new things about social media.
As you are branching out, you must market your blog. Share your posts on social media, web 2.0 properties, and comment on other people’s blogs. This is just a basic idea and there is a bunch to learn if you want to turn your blog into a business.
Just believe in your work and don’t let anyone stop you from achieving your dreams. There will be haters out there and they will do their best to destroy you. Just ignore them and move on. I always remember when I post my articles that I can’t please everyone and if someone doesn’t like my post, that is their opinion. A little controversy isn’t a bad thing but you don’t want it to get out of control.
- I love finding hole-in-the-wall places when I travel. I have a few friends in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area. If I were coming to visit them, what non-touristy thing or place would you recommend?
I love staying at the Gaylord Texan in Grapevine. It is a unique experience and I love the atmosphere. It is a bit expensive but if you plan it right you might be able to find some good deals. Several years ago, we went to the murder mystery dinner at one of the restaurants in the hotel. It was a ton of fun and we enjoyed it. Of course, my favorite time to visit the Gaylord is around Christmas time. They do a great job decorating.
If you enjoy shopping, Grapevine Mills mall is nearby. The mall is filled with outlet stores and you can find some decent deals there.
- You told me that you’re also a spoonie. Would you mind sharing a little about your chronic pain and some of the ways it’s impacted your life (good and bad)?
I initially got injured in a car accident in 1999 and never fully healed. Things were good for a very long time and I could ward off the pain by taking motrin and resting for a little while. In 2009, I decided to take on a DIY project in the yard. I wanted to put in concrete rings around the tree in our yard. In order to put the concrete blocks in, I had to dig up quite a bit of grass. A few days later I was in pain and didn’t know what I did to myself. I started seeing a doctor for my pain and they put me on some medicine that helped overall. I wasn’t fully healed but things weren’t as bad after I had several procedures done. Then one day the pain felt different, it was in the center of my lower back. The pain triggered back spasms anytime I bent over too long or did something that aggravated the muscles. I was about to get a steroid inject in late 2010, when I discovered I was pregnant with my youngest son. I did fairly well considering the circumstances and had a ton of pain in my SPD joint. It made walking, rolling over, and getting up very difficult. Thankfully, the pain decreased in my SPD joint after I delivered my son via c-section. After I returned back to work, I was determined to figure out where my pain was originating from since I maxed out my ins deductible. I ended up having a discogram that pin pointed a tear in my L5-S1 disc. I tried to cope with the pain but it dawned on me that my job was making things worse. I had a very physical job and I did my best to try to move to another department. However, I wasn’t successful so I looked into a program that my employer had to help me transfer. Long story short, they said my doctor’s restrictions were too strict and that they couldn’t help me unless I had a few things changed. I didn’t want to do this because the doctors know what is best for my situation. I ended up getting laid off. I spent a lot of time looking for a new job only to discover that it would be hard to get another job while taking pain medication and other drugs. So I started blogging full time and applied for disability. It was a rough transition because I had it in my heart that I still could do something out there but after several interviews, things were looking grim.
After I lost my job, my health continued to decline and my pain was consistently increasing. Last summer, I ended up switching medications because one of my drugs was rather expensive. This was a huge mistake but at the same time it was an eye opener because I started feeling like I had the flu every single day. I struggled to get anything done on my blog and I scraped by to post new content. I finally got my medications straightened out but I am still not feeling normal.
Over the last several years, I have had to adopt new hobbies that I could do so that I wouldn’t feel like a zombie just existing. Blogging is one of my hobbies that I enjoy and I use it as an outlet to help other people. I don’t want pity for my situation and I want to still feel like I am contributing to my family. Its been a hard road.
This past week has been rather difficult, I am having a huge flare and the medications aren’t helping me. I do my best to remain positive but there are so many things that I miss doing.
I feel guilty some days because I feel like I am letting my family down. The older kids have to pick up some of the slack around here and my daughter has been giving me grief over it.
I wrote a post on my blog to help parents who suffer from chronic pain or invisible illnesses because parenting is hard without dealing with chronic pain or an illness.
