Cross Blog Conversation With Kathryn from Diary of a Smart Chick – Day Three

This week I’m doing a cross-blog conversation with Kathryn from Diary of a Smart Chick. You probably know Kathryn from Crochet Concupiscence which I have mentioned on my blog before. Kathryn is also the blogger behind Diary of a Smart Chick which is pretty much about everything minus crochet. Each day we will be asking and answering questions to each other on our blogs.

Keep Up with the Conversation

If you’re not caught up yet, here are the posts in this conversation so far:

• Kathryn’s Day 1 Starting Post
• My 1st Response
• Kathryn answered
• I answered
• Kathryn’s Day 3 Post

My response

And the conversation continues on …

Hi Kathryn,

I agree with keeping identifying information private. You never know who is looking or reading what you write and I have heard some SCARY stories of what people have or can do with your personal information.

That makes complete sense that you don’t want to post things about other people without their permission. I think that is almost an “unspoken” rule for bloggers. I would never post personal information or post pictures of friend’s or family without their permission first. I have used first names before when telling stories but most of the names are so common that I don’t think that can hurt.

I have found that blogging helps me to be an individual. Once I got married and had a kid, suddenly I felt like I was no longer a person. I was part of this family and never recognized as myself anymore. I was “Joe’s wife” or “Abby’s mom”. Having my blog lets me express myself and for people to actually get to know ME.

My husband and I enjoy shopping (more him than me) and most of the stuff we like to buy is either organizational or for our daughter. We also like to watch movies, eat out and try new restaurants and travel.

Since having our daughter, our life has become a lot more busy and at the same time it has slowed down. Busy because a child needs care and attention all the time. Slowed down because we obviously don’t go out or travel as much as we used to. It is a joy to watch our daughter grow and become an individual. Right now she is starting to have her own sense of humor and knows what she likes and doesn’t like (sometimes good most times not). The challenges in raising a child are always there but we don’t like to dwell on them. Every parent is different and so is every child. I think the one challenge that I don’t mind talking about is the different ways my husband and I ‘parent’ our daughter. We do a lot of compromising when it comes to different decisions regarding our daughter and how we handle different incidents. Sometimes we don’t always agree but we always work it out in some way or another. There is no handbook for parenting…no matter how many you see for sale!

For me, crochet and origami are both hobbies and ways to keep busy. With modular origami, there is a lot of repetition because so many pieces connect together to make the final object. If each piece is not done perfectly than they will not fit together flush. When I work on origami, I concentrate on each piece. I don’t think about anything else but what I am working on and the perfection of the fold. Because of this I am not worrying about what to do for dinner, that I need to clean the blinds, etc. When I finish a project, I stop thinking about my work because it is done and my mind (for a short while) is refreshed and almost feels clean. Eh, hard to explain but that was the best I could do.

With crochet, I can make lists while I crochet or watch tv or even read a book. Crochet is my multi-tasking hobby. I do it because I love it and (like my blog) it is something I do for me…although I make a lot of stuff for my daughter.

I would love to go to San Francisco again! My husband and I drove there from Las Vegas, NV on our first vacation together. We only spent days there so we didn’t see everything there is to see. I think it would take a month to explore all the amazing places in San Francisco!

Seriously…you are so lucky to live in an area that is rich with different ethnic backgrounds! You can find anything there. The Fort Worth area of Texas doesn’t have an official ‘Chinatown’. There are different Asian markets here and there. I go to the one in Haltom City because it is one of the bigger ones and less than an hour drive. If I feel up for a drive I can go to Arlington to the Asian market that is bigger than a Walmart but that is a 3 hour drive to and from so I rarely do that. I truly do miss some of the food that I grew up and the Asian markets are the only places that come close to having them.

Yes, I don’t like to cook. I used to be the cook of the family when I was in high school. Meal was ready on the table by the time everyone got home from work. Once I moved out I didn’t want to cook anymore. I wish I did…I am lucky that my husband likes to cook and bake. I once mentioned to my daughter’s preschool teacher that my husband was the one that baked them cookies and she looked at me weird. What? No one ever heard of a mom that doesn’t like to cook? Yeah, that’s me.

My husband doesn’t like tomatoes either! I love salsa and pico de gallo so you could say I like tomatoes. Bananas? Hmm, well they do make your mouth dry. Oh no…Hot n’ Spicy Ramen – you are killing me!!! I am sure there is a place just around the corner that makes it fresh too, huh? Not sure if I want to talk to you anymore. I have not been able to find any restaurant here in Fort Worth that makes Ramen. The closest is in downtown Dallas and even my love of Ramen is not enough to make me go down there.

I know that this isn’t Ramen but if you like Hot and Spicy – you should try it. Probably one of the few things that I ate as a child and still eat today. I don’t eat it often but it is one of my comfort foods.

Mama Instant Noodle Pork Flavor

We eat a lot of Chinese. We order from a local place that delivers probably once a week. My daughter loves fried rice, orange chicken, lemon chicken and pot stickers. She is so picky when it comes to everything else – so we eat A LOT of Chinese food but we like it anyway so we aren’t going to complain. Sushi is another one of our favorite foods. Most sushi places serve fried rice and pot stickers (gyoza) as well so makes it easy to take our daughter with us. Foods that I won’t eat…any animal that can be a pet, goat, raw coconut, fresh pineapple, swordfish, dolphin and that is all I can think of at the moment. I know a weird list right? I have seen too many menus with weird dishes!

Oh, Project Runway! Before I had a kid, that was my show. I only watch TV after my daughter goes to bed, that is not taking into account the cartoons I may watch during the day…really, I am not paying attention to Mickey Mouse or Dora. I like to watch drama’s like Criminal Minds, House, Revenge, The Walking Dead and Terra Nova. I like to watch all sorts of movies and pretty much have to because of my husband. But I prefer dance movies, scary religious movies (like the Omen) and romantic comedies.

Okay – the kid has woken up and thank goodness I am done with this post! I am really enjoying this cross-blog conversation, Kathryn. Thanks for inviting me to do this with you!

Questions for Kathryn:

- You totally snagged my attention when you mentioned having foster kids. How did you get started with that? Was it a good experience for you?

- How long have you lived in San Francisco? Where have you lived prior (if you want to mention it)?

- I’d love to know some of your favorite restaurants or fast food joints that you eat at often!

Do you have any questions for Kathryn? Share them in the comments and I’ll ask!