Marriage
How did you and your husband meet and end up living where you do?
We met through a mutual friend at church! I was home in Albuquerque for the summer and Steven was stationed there through the Air Force. I went to church with the friend and she had forgotten she had a lunch date with Steven. She thought it was a friend date, he wanted it to be more and three months later we were dating, so that’s how that all unfolded. 🙂
I went to High Point University for undergrad and met Steven before my sophomore year. We got married the summer before my senior year and moved out to NC officially so I could finish my last year at HPU and so Steven could start school.
How did being in a long distance relationship affect your marriage?
Being in a long distance relationship for the entirety that we dated was by far the hardest and most rewarding thing I have ever done. For eight months of us dating (two periods of four months) we were on different continents and the rest we were across the country. We could not always rely on being able to drive over to the other person’s house to talk things out or even to be able to pick up the phone and talk about our day. Long distance taught us a lot about communication (like, a lot), independence, treasuring time together and fighting for each other no matter what.
What is your favorite thing about being married?
My favorite thing about being married is not having to worry about when we will see each other. After doing long distance for so long, it’s so comforting to know that at the end of the day, we’ll see each other at home. Especially during this season of busyness with school for Steven it’s so nice to know we can always spend time together at home.
What do you think your marriage’s role is in the Kingdom?
I think the most practical role for anyone’s marriage in the grand scheme of the Kingdom is to be a representation of the relationship between Christ and the Church. Being married, we are almost put under a microscope and I don’t think we always realize how much of an impact our marriages have. Especially for non-believers I think seeing a healthy, successful and Christ centered marriage is one of the greatest testimonies we can have.
Blogging
How did you get started blogging?
After I graduated college and started an 8-5 job where no work outside of the office was required, I got bored real quickly. I had just started doing some freelance graphic design but it wasn’t taking up enough of my time to keep me occupied. I started browsing through my Bloglovin’ account, which at the time I only followed huge bloggers. I started to find all kinds of blogs that were written by women who were just like me and I realized it was something I could do, too!
Why do you blog?
Blogging for me is an expression and a record of my life. I don’t think I could narrow down my blog to a specific category which is why I love being a faith based lifestyle blog. It allows me to share all the different aspects in my life! I also do not think I would have such a passion for blogging if it were not for the amazing blogging community!
How do you build a blogging community??
My best advice is just to put yourself out there. Comment on other blogs, join blogging groups, tweet at your favorite bloggers. Don’t just sit behind a computer screen and think that you’ll build community that way. For more of my tips on building a blog community, you can check out?this post!
What is your favorite type of post to write?
My favorite posts are personal posts like the ones I write for the Community Brew link up and the posts I write with tips on blogging and social media. I love helping other people so being able to teach people some of the ins and outs of blogging makes me so happy!
What are your favorite blogs to read?
There are so many amazing blogs that I love to read that I can’t even name them. But I will say that I enjoy reading other lifestlye blogs, faith based blogs and cooking blogs! I also get inspiration from big bloggers who have made a living off of blogging and blogs from fellow graphic designers as well.
How you manage your blog while being employed full-time?
Carefully. Haha, but honestly, it’s a struggle. With being employed full time, I pretty much work all day and come home and work all night. I never seem to get ahead, I’m always just getting what I need to get done. Granted I also have other personal commitments and my freelance design business that I am juggling too! Staying organized is a huge factor to managing all of those things! Also prioritizing, saying NO and avoiding burnout are huge.
What do you do when you struggle to find that inspiration for your blog?
I always turn back to my post ideas list! When I’m feeling uninspired, I don’t want to just throw a post together for the sake of posting, I want to make sure I post quality posts! Having my running list is so helpful on days where I feel uninspired or unmotivated!
Design & Photography
What software/training would you recommend for people who want to learn graphic design for blogs?
I personally use Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator for everything I do graphically! I would really recommend taking some classes to learn those programs. You can take a class at a local community college or you can take a class through Skillshare. They have all kinds of classes but their classes on the Adobe products are great!
You definitely don’t have to have these fancy programs, you can also utilize free software like PicMonkey and Canva. Push yourself in using these programs though to do something that is different from what others are doing and when in doubt, keep it simple!
What camera, lenses, and editing software do you use?
Right now I am using a Canon 5D Mark ii and a 50 mm f/1.8. For a deeper look into my camera bag and my photography wish list, you can check out this post!
Miscellaneous
Where do you go to find inspiration?
Other blogs and Pinterest are huge inspirations for me. I have a few secret boards that I pin things to for things like recipes I want to make and posts I want to do. I never copy the post ideas directly, but it’s an easy place to go back to and reference an idea! I also keep a running list of post ideas. I randomly have ideas for great posts and if I don’t write them down within a few minutes, I’ll forget them forever!
Do you prefer milk chocolate or dark chocolate?
Dark chocolate, all the way. If you really wanted to know, my absolute favorite chocolate is dark chocolate with salted caramel!
What kind of dog is Azi?
She is a boxer-husky mix that we rescued through Ruff Love Rescue!
Have other questions that weren’t answered? Email me at [email protected] – I would love to get to know you and answer your questions!
