Wow! What a response ...

I am so thrilled with all of the questions I have received as a result of this post. As of this moment, I have received 22 questions! Keep them coming, this has been a lot of fun.

My original intent was to publish them all, on May 1st, with my answers, but that is turning into a very long post and I'm afraid it would be too much of a good thing. So, here are a few of the first questions, and my answers:

Question #1 (9:58AM 26 April 2009)
You have been so kind to share with me self-affirmation style blogs that I totally enjoy daily. What are your favorite blogs that you "feel" are spiritually uplifting for yourself?
Sherri on Lemons2Lemonade blog

Sherri, you are so sweet. I keep running into blogs that are so much more, creatively, your thing than my thing. I still have to get to the point where I can get messy. Years ago I used to love paint and glue and since surviving 8 straight years of diapers, mess and other forms of goo, I’ve really abandoned my love of mess – but I am trying to get it back!

I like honest blogs. Blogs where those blogging are true to themselves and clear to the reader. I find it funny when I’m fully “out there” and “honest” I receive comments that run along the lines of “wow, I can’t believe you owned up to that”. I also like blogs that challenge me. Not in a bitchy way but in an engaging “this is my idea, what is yours?” kind of way.

I am not a fan of blogs by those who are caught up in their own artistic, inaccessible, talking-to-themselves kind of way. Artists who are trying to be eccentric - as opposed to artists who are, authentically, eccentric. You know the kind “you’re not part of the crowd if you don’t get me” kind of artist. I’m all about art, but I’m more about accessibility.

As a result of your question, I have updated the blogroll on the side to include the 25 most affirming and uplifting blogs I read – daily.

Question #2 (7:49PM 26 April 2009)
Do you have a secret side to your personality or, is there something about you (a like or dislike) that people would be surprised to find out about?
Dena on theLINARstudio blog

Hey Dena, thanks for your question. I suppose those who know me in person know that I have no ‘secret’ side of anything. Tact is not my greatest strength! I like to be liked, but I will not compromise myself to be liked.

I am a positive and resilient person by nature and on my blogs I tend to err on the side of positive, not that I don’t acknowledge the negative – I just don’t dwell there, not even in the “real world”. I have my down days, but eventually realize they're a waste of time and move on. Always onward!

What you can’t “see” on a blog: I have a temper, a terrible tornado of a temper, it takes a lot to make me blow, but when I do, take cover. It’s pretty terrible. I do all I can to keep a lid on but every once in a while I’ll lose it. I have no doubt most of my outbursts are based on my keen sense of right and wrong. I continue to see the world in black and white with very little grey. I have little patience for those who dwell in grey. I don’t often have a statement, opinion or emotion with an asterisk. An asterisk is grey.

I hope that is the kind of answer you were looking for with your question.

Question #3 (8:27PM 26 April 2009)
As a mum of four how do you keep track of all the kids, their activities, and getting them where they need to be......especially when they all need to be someplace at the same time? That was always the challenge at our house.
Becky on Lemons2Lemonade blog

Thanks for the question, Becky.

Logistics are always a challenge around here. I always thought I’d be one of those mums with perfectly behaved, perfectly dressed and perfectly everything children – after all, I’d lived a lot of life before I had my kids, I knew something or two about order, control and perfect. Boy, was I wrong. Four kids in five years removes all sense of order and control! So we are fluid. I am not spontaneous, ever, but I am all about being flexible.

One rule: NEVER CAR POOL. I did that once and I realized that someone else has their own priorities and it is not you or where your kid needs to be.

In order to keep everything on track I address all projects immediately. 99% of projects are planned with only the execution left for the deadline. From Lunch Lady orders to camp plans to bills to hockey registration to scrapbook retreats. I do all of the big parts of every project up front. Some of the fussier details can wait until later. Anything I do for fun or for myself is as a reward for a job well done. That does not mean I avoid laundry, I just know my threshold for being overwhelmed and I don’t go there any more.

Everything is in my Blackberry: added as soon as the information comes in. I am from a family of planners, I know by the end of one event the date for the next event. Louis and I sit down over coffee every morning and we coordinate the daily logistics. If he can help, great: if not, someone – an “older” someone, gets to sit a bit longer waiting for me to pick them up. That’s okay. They all know how to pick up a book. We have also run into some conflicts which results in some choices being made but now with Claire and Cole old enough to babysit, or left alone, things are far more relaxed.

No doubt way more of an answer than you wanted, but there you have it.

Questions #4, #5 and #6 (10:10PM 26 April 2009)
1. Aren't you a professional photographer? How long have you been in the photography business?
2. You take such incredible photographs ~ how do you do it?
3. You have four amazing kids & create such wonderful scrapbook pages~how do you juggle the time between keeping up with family, chores & hobby?
HollyM on Lemons2Lemonade blog

I am happy to answer any of your multitudes of questions, Holly! Thanks for these three (if you ever have any more you can ask me on my Facebook page, or send a question – or ten – to leecurrie at cogeco dot ca).

1. I am not a professional photographer. I am not in the business of taking pictures, just in the joy of it. I have played with the idea of going pro; but, I think I’m sticking with my amateur status! I got my first camera when I was 12 and it has been my favourite hobby ever since. I have learned not to turn something you love into your "job", you'll start to resent your hobby!

2. Thank you. And thank you more for not asking about what equipment I use! (That always seems so insulting - like it was the equipment that took the photo.) The only thing I can tell you is to bend your knees. Get on level or below your subject. You’ll be amazed at how much better your photos will look. Have your kids look at the lens, not at you. Then, start reading about light. Oh, and take LOTS of photos! Almost all of my photos are SOOC (Straight Out Of Camera) – sheer lack of time to fiddle with them once taken! I’m coming to the conclusion that the luxury of postproduction is for those with plenty of time on their hands! Though, there are a few things I’d love to learn with Photoshop Elements.

3. Thanks for that, Holly. I think my kids are amazing. Very different from each other, each special, thanks for noticing! They are my reason for being. As for scrapbooking, it’s simple. I am manic. Truly. I scrapbook as a reward (as mentioned in my response to Becky, above) and tend to do more than a few pages at a time. I am familiar with my developed photos, and often take photos based on how the “finished layout” may look, so I can finish a page in less than an hour.

Thanks Sherry, Dena, Becky and Holly for my first questions! I hope the answers are what you were looking for, if not, send along a note and I'll be more clear.