A few weeks ago, I went on the trip of a lifetime.

I didn’t go on rides at Disneyland or see a Broadway show in New York City, & I didn’t go to Scotland to search for a family castle either. I will someday though. Sup, Clan MacLeod!

I went to San Francisco; it wasn’t my first trip there, but it was a one of a kind trip to say the least.

I was invited by my friend – April Bowles Olin from Blacksburg Belle – to be a guest instructor on her latest Creative Live course, “Double your Followers with Creative Marketing“. 

You should definitely check the class out. You may even see me chatting away with some of my favourite people. In fact, you quite probably will hear me chatting…a lot.

Who am I kidding? You definitely will, because I. Just. Can’t. Stop. Talking!

They had to bring my mic sound up and down every time I felt compelled to share sudden outbursts. I’m sure the sound guys were happy to see me go at the end of filming.

But I was sad to go, because the ladies I met (& the ones I’ve known since my last trip to Creative Live) are some of the most wonderful friends I’ve come to know. It’s great to get to know people who have a lot in common with you, right?

It can be rare when you’re in business alone to meet people who really get it.

So it was severely awesome to have a whole week with such a great bunch of them. We met up Sunday night, after first flying into SF from all over the US (& Canada too!), & we bonded as easily & completely as preschoolers, sharing play-doh on the first day of school.

It was such a fun time, hanging out & even living with so many great ladies.

After all that awesome, what does one do to keep the fun going?

Well I’ve been happy to spend my time since I arrived home, getting to know a whole ton of other fantastic ladies who have joined the #30DaysWithaK free-writing challenge & the Blog Your Voice Blog-Content Bootcamp here, at the With a K Academy.

There are 3 times as many of us in this community as there were just a few weeks ago. How cool is that?!

We obviously need to get to know each other a bit better, so I decided that today (being my birthday) would be the perfect day for us to have a little fun around here & welcome any new people to our community with open arms.

A great to get to know your blog-readers is to simply ask them to share themselves with you; it’s such a natural way to build relationships with real people, so it will work well online too (because these relationships are real), & it’s one of the post-types I explore in the Bootcamp.

So I thought we could have a small Getting-to-Know-You game of 20 Questions together.

It’s really simple to participate & it’s a great way for each of us to have the chance to meet a few more friends who get it.

• All you have to do to participate is read my 20 questions below to get to know me a little better. Then copy the questions & the following blurb into a new blog post on your own blog – this week or next week.

I’m participating in a Getting-to-Know-You game of 20 Questions with Kris (With a K) from the With a K Writing Academy. I’m excited to get to know my own blog-readers better & to find other bloggers to play with too. You know – friends who just get it. If you want to participate, you can too! Just go to check out Kris’s post about it here, & get started.

• Then come back here to drop a link to your post in the comments, so we can get to know you too.
• Finally, scan through the comments next week to find at least 3 new blogs to check out & maybe make 3 new friends. Who knows! It could be like sharing the play-doh all over again.

Ready? Let’s start!

1 – What’s a ridiculous nickname you’ve had?

My neighbour used to call me Kristie-Kritters, when I was little.

2 – Why do you write a blog? Have your reasons changed over time?

I started my blog because it’s a fantastic marketing practice & because it’s an obvious choice for a writer, but I keep doing it because of the community it’s helped me to find & develop.

3 – Where do you like to be when you are writing?

I usually write at my desk in my living room, but I like to run away sometimes to a café or to sit outside with a notebook, though it’s getting too cold for that around here (Winter is Coming, Jon Snow).

4 – Peanut butter & __________.

Bananas.

5. What does your Writing Process look like?

Right now, it looks like me in a Snuggy, with notebooks full of outlines & the tap-tap-tapping of my keyboard. Sometimes, it looks like wild inspiration – but not very often, to be honest.

I’ve been using a clear Writing Process for long enough that I trust my writing a lot more now, so I know my inspiration will come when I do the work & make it a map first.

6 – What keeps you up at night?

Netflix.

That & hope/fear/expectations/concern for my family & my business. Great potential can really freak me out sometimes.

7 – What was your last online purchase? Did you hide it from anyone? (I see you, impulse buyers & shame shoppers)

Airline tickets to San Francisco! But I’m also about to buy a new notebook, because my Moleskine is nearly full. I’m thinking a Leuchtturm medium, with dots or squares & numbered pages.

Notebooks are serious business.

8 – What do you honestly think of elastic waistbands?

I am one hundred percent PRO elastic waistbands. Regular waistbands tell me things I don’t want to know, while sweatpants know the right times to be quiet.

Now pass me the birthday donuts & my stretchy pants!

9 – What blogs or magazines do you love to read? Why?

I love to check in on my friend’s blogs most weeks. I also really enjoy the Miriam Webster’s “Ask the Editor” video series that sometimes pops up in my inbox.

Because I am a full-blown word-nerd – & proud of it.

10 – What is your favourite way to express your creativity?

I obviously spend a lot of time writing, but I really love drawing too. I took some fine arts courses in University, but I only doodle & play with pens & paper as a hobby now – which means I get to do it just for fun. I like it that way.

11 – DSLR or iPhone?

iPhone, baby! Even though my 13 year old daughter is about to purchase her first DSLR, I’m still a simple iPhone-ographer for now.

12 – How do you feel about the semicolon? Do you have any feelings about punctuation marks, in general? (it’s ok if you don’t)

*Word-nerd Alert: I LOVE the semicolon. It’s by far my favourite punctuation mark, because it lets two ideas work together without one of them being in charge or pushing the other idea around.

13 – What is a skill you really want to learn?

Photography! And getting to bed on time.

14 – Do you use a planner or journal to keep your life from derailing? What kind?

YES! I love bullet-journalling, because I can control how my Notebook works & keep control of my days too. Obsessed.

15 – What does your dream Sunday look like?

I wake up when I want, but still find it’s fairly early & I have the whole day ahead of me. My girls are home & happily making something crafty & paintsy & fun (as they generally do, when they’re at home).

We make brunch together & make plans for our day: some tidying up & ready-making for the week ahead, some family time & a visit to the Chapters book store nearby for a coffee/hot-chocolate & new-book date.

We come home & spend the evening relaxing & reading our new books. I magically get myself – & the girls – to bed before it gets too late, so we can start Monday without too many snoozes.

16 – Do you have a full-time business or a side hustle?

Full-time, baby! Though I’ve been thinking about working part-time in a bookstore. I may have watched “You’ve Got Mail” recently.

17 – Coffee or tea?

COFFEEEEEEE!

18 – What is your favourite outfit?

Leggings, cozy socks & an enormous knit sweater.

19 – What scares you?

Scary movies, haunted corn-mazes & failure.

20 – Cats or Dogs?

Kittens!

I love dogs too, but I’m a cat person, through & through. As if you had to ask.

Thanks for playing!

I can’t wait to read your posts too & get to know you a little better. Consider this your official welcome to the With a K home – or your official Thank-you for being here all along.

Don’t forget to write your own 20 Questions post & come back here to share it with all of us.

I absolutely love being a part of this community of people looking for & embracing our own Voices.

See you next week.

xo
Kris