well…i got up today with a plan in my head.
i would go running, take a nice hot relaxing bath at the craft house
and then make Vlog answering some of your questions.
i did go for my run but then the school called and said Scott was throwing up.
so…i am stuck at home still in my stinky running clothes and i will be writing and not vlogging today.
you guys ask great questions.
let's see….
1. Did you ever convert the attic in the craft house?
nope.
we just never had the energy and the money at the same time. :)
who knows what will happen though….we may still do it.
i have dreams for it. Maybe a store? Maybe more work space? Maybe more bunk space? Maybe a little apartment? My running buddies suggested making it a full gym so we could workout together all year long.
and i am LOVING that idea.
2. Are you on Pinterest?
ummm….i am.
but it's the only place online that i am private….i have a fake name.
i just like having all the ideas i like in one place but not sharing what i love with everyone.
that may seem weird but… it's what i am doing and i like it that way.
3. which is your favorite camera and lens?
i have a canon 50D and the 24-70 f/2.8 Canon lens.
and that is all.
i own one lens. :)
it works for my needs…i dream of the 70 – 200 and the 35mm….and a 5D camera body.
but for now and the past two years….just that.
nothing else.
so that is what is in my camera bag.
and by camera bag i mean my purse. HA!
4. How do you edit your photos?
i upload my photos into LightRoom and i use their settings to edit.
i usually bump up the exposure…the vibrance….the fill light….sharpen and that's it.
5. what settings do you use on your camera?
i almost always shoot in AV mode. i shoot at an ISO of 200 and at 2.8 or 3.5. does that help?
someome asked about my settings for indoor shots in the evening…well i just try not to shoot indoors in the evening. because i think those pictures are always bad. So i have no settings to share for that.
i love wendy&tyler from blue lily and they have helped me immensely with understanding my camera. they have workshops where YOU can learn about your camera too. you should go.
and Ashley from Under the Sycamore has an AWESOME online class that you can learn about photography…her next course is coming up soon.
i have never felt great at explaining cameras or putting it into words but both of those blogs do it well!
6. Will you come to Washington?
yes. :)
i would love to do that sometime….
also i was worried it was going to be raining for my run this morning and your quote went through my head Leann "once you're wet, you're wet" and had decided i was going anyway. thankfully… it stopped before i ran.
7. where are the glasses from in the post with the happy things to look at? And the afgans?
i found that pic of the glasses on pinterest….and it linked to martha stewart…who else? but the link was not for the pic…but i think it probably came from her site.
and the afgans linked to flikr….just plain old flikr.
that is the downside of pinterest…messed up links and not getting a real source.
8. does having a GOOD dlsr camera make that much difference?
well…
i think i wouldn't want to go without my dslr. But getting a dlsr won't make you take good pictures. there is a lot more that goes into getting good photos than the camera. instagram is great example of that. it's figuring out the lighting, composition and your angle. and that is where having a nice dslr camera comes in…and makes the shot clear and crisp. where a point and shoot may have a grainier shot? possibly.
if you just want snapshots to keep your memories then a point and shoot is fine.
if you have an interest in photography…any desire to learn more….i think you need a dslr.
9. Can i get a top ten book list of your favorite books?
this is a funny question mommyjulia.
because i don't know that i have read ten books in the last ten years!
but i will share again what i have read the past few months…
i read 7 and then Interrupted….loved.
Now i am reading "A Million Miles in a Thousand Years" and this book is making me think in ways i never have!!! it's challenging me. it's making me do hard things. it's so good.
i love the book Crazy Love.
i loved Calm My Anxious Heart….good for a mom.
Long Way Gone was a book to prepare for africa and it was so good.
i don't read very much….i get so distracted and i don't make time for it.
i definitely don't read fiction.
IF i am reading a book it's going to be about something that i want to learn about…change in myself…get a new direction.
and thankfully i got glasses so at least i don't fall asleep as soon as i start reading.
10. can i have your pattern for the apron? can you tell me how make all the stuff you make at craft weekend? can you do tutorials on all those things that the craft weekenders paid for? (i am paraphrasing here)
nope…sorry. :)
that would not be fair to all those Craft Weekend girls at all.
but i will be selling these things in my shop someday.
and i can't wait for you girls to get your hands on them… everything takes time.
i have five kids and i am running a business so things take a long time to get done.
i wish i could snap my fingers and have my shop filled and everything done…but i just cant.
i am grateful you are patient.
11. tell us about Lauren….you never do…she is ignored….why don't you talk about her…WHY?!?
(again…paraphrasing)
lauren is 17…almost 18. She requested quite a few years ago for me to not blog about her.
so i don't.
i love her. she is crazy smart. she works on the weekends. she is an awesome volleyball player. she wants to be a doctor.
maybe someday i will be able to talk more about what it's been like raising our first teenager but for now she doesn't want me to talk about her here.
and that is that.
12. Kirsten J asked all these at once: do you make lists? yes…very messy lists Do you ever ask for help? yes. a lot. YOU HAVE TO or you will drown. Do you ever future trip? i don't what that is…dreaming about the future? not much i guess. Will Lauren go away to college? yes she will. we don't where yet but she will. Did you ever have a penpal? YES! i used to write letters constantly. when craig got home from one year of college he had TONS of letters from me. i had two from him. ha ha haaa. also my sister got letters from me constantly. My grandpa and i wrote too. i always signed my letters to him Love, Megan the GREAT!! i would tell him my grades and about my boyfriends and my dance recitals and he would send me money for good grades and call me out on my bad ones. my 101 year great aunt and i wrote for my entire marriage until she passed away this year. i love writing letters. Do you ever just veg out in front of the tv? Reality tv? Or talk shows? NCIS? i do occasionally veg with tv… Parenthood of course, Office, Modern Family, Grey's Anatomy and Saturday Night Live. NO reality tv. i can't take it. NO singing shows…or dancing shows…or dating shows. it makes me want to poke my eyes out. i did like Amazing Race and Survivor…in the beginning…but not anymore. AND i miss Oprah…really really miss her show. What blogs do you read regularly? Julie, Ashley, Kimberlee, Shauna, Jess, Megan, Leslie, amy, shannon, sarah, lisa and michelle just to name a few….i have over 50 more in my reader. :)
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i wish there were some pictures to go along with this post.
how about some george?
yes…i did just take 15 minutes and made a george collage in picmonkey.
don't judge.
just enjoy….it's easy….
there over 100 comments on that post so it will take me awhile to get through them all.
hope you made it through all those answers.
ok…i am going to make all the appointments i have been putting off forever since i am stuck at home.
you know what i mean…. dentist, eye doctor, exterminator, ob/gyn, sewing machine guy, specialist and anything else i can think of.
the part i hate more than making the appointment….GOING to the appointments!
wish me luck.
Penny Smith - You handed me your camera and asked me if I “back focused” and I froze… then I read this-I too shoot in AV (and do the “focus and shift” (that made me think of “bend and snap” from legally blonde. Ha!)… though I also have the 50mm f1.8 (it’s $100) for those inside shots you speak of! π I have a Tamron lenses when the reviews had little difference (yet hundreds of dollars less) so that is how I have more than one. (28-75 f2.8, 17-50 f2.8, and 70-300 (but that came with the camera-and isn’t a fixed f). I think I used the 50mm and dialed the AV for my first couple years of my rebel, and even a lot at first with my 50D a couple years back (Karen Russel influenced-but I am still in LOVE with this lens!!)
OK-I’m babbling… I was happy to hear you edit with lightroom… cuz I was thinking that Blue Lily only uses photoshop and would basically expect everyone should too (regarding the workshop), so I would be lost on it from the get go)… good to know…
π
amber reece - HAHAHAHA! Loved all your responses and the collage of George! FUN! Your blog always brightens my day! Thanks for posting about Jen Hatmaker too, just got finished reading both the interrupted and 7 books and LOVED them! God Bless You and your Sweet Family!!!! xoxoxo
Michael Kors Monogram - Via artikolo estas bone skribita Yeah,
Tere - To think, you answered some of my questions when I didn’t even ask any. And you are coming to Washington? This “Washington” is coming to see you soon!!
shauna - i really love adam too.
but, is my marriage stable?
i’ll have to think about that….
shauna - get out.
you bragger.
shauna - oh gosh! good call on the george collage. that is a real gift.
megan@contentedsparrow - my only comment…..
george.
i die.
Kim Barlow - I love you…thanks for sharing!
cassidynoga - I read “A Million Miles…” a while back. It sticks with you, for always. It was a wonderful book and I have hit many of my friends over the head with it so they would read it. They always do and then we gush about how great it was and how it relates to our lives. I’m a writer so it was twice as rewarding.
I just wanted to share that you won’t forget this book easily! (:
Jeannine - Haha love the George collage. You’re awesome!
Thanks for answering some of our questions! And I think it’s wonderful you’re respecting Lauren’s wishes about her privacy.
If you go to Washington State, I’ll drive down from Vancouver to buy you a cup of coffee and maybe go for a run π
Su@TheIntentionalHome - Oh I never thought of having a fake name on Pinterest. You are brillant!!! I so wanted Pinterest to create a way to have some boards private. . .you know for research I am doing, future blog posts, etc. But now I know how to do that. Oh, thanks for sharing that!!!
Su@TheIntentionalHome - Me too. . plus I am a faster reader than I am a video watcher π
Karen - For those asking about the flower glasses, they are old sour cream jars found fairly easily in antique stores (I have no idea where your picture is from π ). I have lots of them. They are really fun! Well, except for the fact that you should really wash by hand and not by dishwasher to preserve the integrity of the flowers!
Amy - Hey Meg, regarding Question #7…the afgans…I totally knew those afgans the second I saw them! I have pinned them, swooned over them and even hooked up a couple of her patterns for my own collection. They are part of a beautiful handcrafted and well loved collection by Lucy of Attic24. She is a sweet bloggy friend from England. If you or any of your readers are “happy hookers” {as in CROCHETERS}! Check out her Attic24 blog! Just wanted to help give credit where credit is due.
Kori - So I had a fake name on Facebook in the beginning and then my friend made fun of me. I TOTALLY wanted a fake on on Pinterest because I also wanted to be private with the things I loved. I went ahead with my real name and it’s still weird to me when my friends start following me there. Not such a big deal with strangers, though. Go figure. Maybe I worry my friends will think me crazy for having as many pins as I do. π
I LOVE GEORGE. In fact I’m watching “Out of Sight” right now. π And I don’t think twice about you spending 15 minutes making a collage. In fact it doesn’t sound like very much time to peruse pics of him.
HA!
Leslie @topofthepage - I always think of you now when I watch Parenthood since last year you threw down for Team Adam. As you know, I’m on Team Crosby. Which is maybe why you have a stable marriage and mine, well, keeps me on my toes :). Somehow, I know that’s just where God wants us too…
Jenn - LOVE the fake name! I so am going to do this too! Thanks for the idea!!!
mommyjulia - You answered my question!!! Yay! Thanks, Meg! 6 books is better than 10, anyway π Loved your answer about Lauren- she seems like a pretty awesome young lady. Anywho, I need to go purchase some books and get reading. Thanks again for taking the time to answer me!
Tiffany - Oh Meg, you crack me up. Your “It makes me want to poke my eyes out” comment was so true! Nice little Q&A… It’s fun getting to know you better!
Andrea - Thank you for sharing!! And thanks for the eye candy. I have another question- do you think you will ever stop blogging? I love reading about your life. You’re so real and honest too. Love that. I would be sad if you did, because I am not attached to you and your family! Is that weird? Please dont ever stop!
Kelly - Go you with a fake name on pinterest!! LOVE IT! I like my privacy from time to time too. Is it funny that my pinterest “fake name” is totally tied to my blog and I don’t care about that but I didn’t want to put my real name? hmm . . . have a great one! Oh and do you ever go see what people have pinned from your blog? I’ll bet there is a lot. I know I myself have pinned stuff from your craft room (before it became the whole craft house) as inspiration as I continue to create my craft room and the whole reason I came to your blog right now is to look back at bathroom pics and pin as a bathroom remodel just *might* get to be in the works soon. Trying not to get my hopes up and remember to the upheaval that would come with it. Kelly
Amy - Thanks for the George…what a wonderful way to end Monday!!!
ginny - Thank you for typing it out, and not vlogging it. (even though you maybe seemed a tad annoyed with some of the questions lol). I don’t like to watch videos. I’m usually on the couch with laptop while hubby watches tv. He doesn’t want to listen to what I’m doing. So I would so much rather read that watch videos. π JMO π
Lisa - Its funny to me that people would think Lauren is ignored or question you not sharing much about her here. Anyone who knows teens would understand that most of them want their privacy and space. From your blog you seem like a great mom. Not perfect but loving, purposeful and invested. π btw this post was fun to read. And keep your pinterest secret. You deserve that!!
Anne - I love/hate that you’ve got a fake name on Pinterest. Completely respect your privacy, and think its quite clever to have a fake name, but its killing me to know you’ve pinned some amazing ideas that I don’t have access to. Ha! π
Jocelyn Pascall - I really loved this post. Great answers and also, the pictures of George made me laugh out loud.
April R - Me too π Sassy, mysterious, and free
(And I think it’s funny people didn’t guess why you don’t blog about Lauren much)
Kimberlee Jost - Is this a good time for me to mention (again!) that I met George Clooney on my honeymoon? Just checking.
π
I love you more than I could ever love George.
For real.
Molly - I love reading your blog. You are a great example and inspiration for me. I really appreciate that you listened to Lauren and don’t blog about her. I need to remember that. Also, I totally get that you have a fake name on pinterest! sometimes you just want to keep those ideas to yourself!!!
Terri Christian - Can you get through one episode of Parenthood without crying…..cause I can’t! Terri
lc - Thank you for answering the question about Lauren. I think a lot of parents overshare on their blogs. Thank you for respecting your almost adult daughter. If Lauren wants her business on the internets, she can start her own blog!
Terrie - I will live in your apt. and clean before and after craft weekends…
of course, I may have to take full advantage of a craft house and craft until dawn each day!
So proud of you for respecting your daughter’s privacy.
Reading Crazy Love now…loving it!
I agree with you on the dslr…loving mine!
Dreaming of the 70-200 lens and the 5D…sigh
although…shooting in av confuses me.
Crazy, right?!
I’ve been shooting in manual ever since I took ashley’s course online
two weeks after I got my camera last year. She was fabulous!!
Totally recommend her online course if you are new to dslr cameras.
And you can never go wrong with a little george! Happy Monday!
SammaMichelle - Hey Meg!!! Loved the answers to the questions but I mostly wanted to tell you that the 15 minutes you spent making a George collage WAS NOT WASTED!! ;0) Love it and him and you!!!! Thanks for always reminding me to be happy!
sara @ it's good to be queen - i think you’re great. π
Lisa M. - Thank you for sharing, Meg!
Love your blog!
seriously sassy mama - My sister has a super big crush on George Clooney. Pinterest is my crack. I am on the computer more than the TV. I cannot stand reality TV. I like the store idea for yur attic. I need a big old house!
happygirl - I like looking at George, I don’t like hearing him talk. π Thanks for doing a post like this. You remind me it’s the talent that cannot be bought. It has to be developed. Love it.
Angela A - Loved this post. And you should just put pictures of George on here everyday.
Alicia @ La Famille - lovely stuff! thanks for the share π
Heather S. - I totally wondered if Lauren wasn’t on b/c of a request made by her! I can see that. Totally. And George, while I’m not really a fan, really does just get better and better with age. π
Tiffany - cracking up. loved your answers. you really are human, nooooo? meg on pinterest: private, eh? – good.for.you! lauren wants to be private too – good for her! even stevie wonder could figure this one out. teenagers like their privacy, readers. duh. also hooray for her wanting to be a doctor, luv that – girl power!!! reality shows blow, real actors need jobs, not those clowns. ok that may have been harsh, but man some of those shows stink to high heaven. one day, craft weekend, i need/deserve/want it. i was wondering if maybe you would do a craft weekend “guest” giveaway?! just sayin, consider it, they would have to be a helper of course. i would recommend, say….myself? ha! π Happy Monday!
danielle - Oh my word! I love that you have a fake pinterest name. I would love one, it would make me feel sassy and mysterious!
Kristin S - This post is yet further proof that you are my favorite blogger! I have about 200 in my reader and am cutting more each day. Yours will only leave when you stop blogging.
Thanks for sharing Meg!
And I love that you are honoring Lauren’s request.
Amy - if you come to Washington State I want to buy you dinner!! π And go for run and I’ll show you the most beautiful mountains!!!
Kerry - Hey Meg, I’ve checked back onto your blog for most of the day – mainly because I was interested to see if you answered the question about Lauren, I’m so glad you did! My 12 year old daughter has also requested I blog ‘only if I really have to’ about her as her friends are so into Social Media and they click through to my blog posts from there – she gets a little embarrassed π So I’m so glad I’m not alone!
Great blog list too by the way – I already read Kimberlee’s, Joy’s & Lisa’s on your recommendation – I just signed up to the rest too!
Happy Monday Meg xx