Cascia Talbert is a passionate writer slash blogger slash editor, mother of five, and they're currently living near Chicago. The Healthy Moms Blog Magazine, which Cascia founded in 2007. is currently one of the top ranked health blogs for moms and features several health experts and as well as interesting articles from mom bloggers. Cascia is a featured health blogger at Wellsphere.com and has also written for ezinearticles.com. She also runs the
Healthy Moms Social Network.
You can find her on social media including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, Bloglovin' and Pinterest.
Cascia has a wealth of experience blogging and has traveled the US extensively (on several occasions with small children...which on it's own deserves an award of some sort). She's a "newbie" to AAF, but participates regularly in Wordless Wednesday and other blogging link-ups at the Talbert Zoo.
Our wonderful #AskAwayFriday hosts…
Tamara from Tamara Like Camera (and the lovely Lindsay's sister!),
Tiffany from Mrs. Tee Love Life Laughter,
Christy from Uplifting Families,
Stacey from This Momma’s Ramblings
Echo from The Mad Mommy
And now's the part I always enjoy the most. I answer the questions that Cascia has asked me (and you can check out Cascia's answers to my questions here):
About Blogging:
You blog a lot about your ex, being divorced, and co-parenting. My best friend from high school just started blogging. She has six children and is currently on her fourth husband. She is very careful about what she says on her blog and she doesn't use her name or her kids' names or photos of them on her blog. She is worried that her exes will find her and use what she says against her. If she wants to grow her blog what advice do you have for her? Can she have a successful blog if she remains anonymous?
Wow. Six children. Fourth husband. That's incredible.
As far as “successful” – I don’t know if I’d describe myself as successful – but my readership has been steadily growing. Like your friend, I’m very careful about names and pictures and specific details. While my blog is for my readers – it’s also for me. It’s an outlet for me to discuss (and sometimes dump) my issues. I've used it to have the internal discussions with myself (sometimes seeing it written makes it easier to make decisions) and I use my readers as a sounding board to figure out if I’m doing the right thing. I would suggest that given your friend appears to have a wealth of experience with divorce, if she's willing to share, she should consider becoming a contributor to DivorcedMoms.com – they’re a great resource for divorced women and have been a really supportive community for me.You have been blogging for just over a year now and I have been reading your blog since it's beginning. What is one blogging milestone that you are most proud of?
You have – and thank you! It’s bloggers like you that have encouraged and supported me while growing my readership and I really do appreciate it. I think that getting published on HuffPost Divorce not just once, but twice has been my biggest milestone. But I’ve also been very closely involved with DivorcedMoms.com and recently had a series appear on the SinceMyDivorce website. I’ve appreciated them all! I really would like to branch out this year if I can. I’ve been experimenting with more humorous pieces and getting a good response.What is one blogging goal that you have set for yourself for 2015?
If I can, I’d like to submit to one of the more interesting Mommy websites (ScaryMommy, What the Flicka, Motherlode) and have something published there. I understand that a number of them have some fantastic editors – that even if my piece doesn't get published may help me to grow as a writer. And that’s my real goal.
About Family:
How did you meet your husband?
Hubs and I met at work. When I came back from mat leave after Flower, he was my new boss. In June of 2010 I was transferred to a new position in another department…just as we’d started a bit of a flirtation. It continued while I was on assignment (and he wasn't technically my boss) and we started dating in October. We've been apart with very few exceptions since that first night. We started talking about the “M” word in early December.
I had the accident in mid-December and that changed everything fairly drastically. He had scheduled two weeks in Holland with his sister three days after my accident – and I insisted he continue as planned. I ddidn'twant to ruin his Christmas. He came back New Years’ Eve and moved in with me and the kids in part to assist us with daily living. We got married in March 2011.What is one thing about each of your children that makes them special or unique?
Puck is a “pleaser”. He’s very sensitive to everyone’s emotions and works hard to make sure that everyone is happy with him. This is a good thing in some ways – I find he’s the easiest to cajole into cleaning things up and helping out around the house. But it’s also bad in some ways – because he can’t always please everyone and I think this causes him some anxiety.
Flower is my dare-devil. She’s willing to try just about anything – she’s up for the scariest ride at the amusement park – and she’ll be going with me on her birthday to a wind tunnel for some indoor sky diving. I have no doubt that I’ll have to worry about her safety when she tries jumping out of a plane. But I love that she’s up for just about any challenge.
Bae is the most easy going kid I've ever come across. He's always go with the flow – and very rarely gives me any grief, much like his father. Even when he's sick, (which has been a lot since day care started), he's pretty easy to deal with. He's also a mover – and I have to watch sometimes as he’s recently started climbing on just about everything (table, stairs, dishwasher). He's sure he's a big boy – and now sits at the table on a normal chair, refusing his high chair. We got him a booster, but he only accepts that because otherwise he's nose to the table.Do you have any pets? If so tell me about them. If not, why don't you have pets?
With the death of our dear Apollo in September, we're down to one dog. She’s a Black Lab/Weimeraner cross. I suspect she might also be part chicken too…she’s skittish around other dogs and tends to either ignore them or run away from them. She’s very athletic, loves to run and has muscles in the back of her legs to prove it. She also loves to swim.
She’s been hurting since we lost Apollo – I think she's not sure where he went and is worried we'll send her away too. She’s very much a part of the “pack” and aware that Hubs is her Alpha. She spends a lot of time when he’s away waiting by the door for his return, whether the kids and I are in the house or not. She’s a very sweet and good natured dog, and has been very good with the kids. She was a transition dog for us – we knew Apollo’s time was limited when we got her, and wanted him to help train her for us. He's done a great job.
Where did you grow up?
Without revealing too much (the whole anonymous thing), I've lived in two different states – colder ones (including the one I live in now). I spent a year abroad in England as a child (my father was working there).If you won a million dollars (after paying taxes) what would you do with it?
A million dollars doesn't amount to much these days (especially after taxes). If I could swing it, after paying off the house, I’d consider finding a way to make a passive income for both me and hubs and stay at home with the kids. Or I might go back to school and finish my Masters degree.
We’d travel a lot more too, and include our families in our travels. We’re currently working on a bucket list of destinations we’d both like to see, and million or not, we’re going to try and make it happen.If you took a vacation would you prefer to relax on a warm beach or tour a big city? Why?
That’s a really hard question to answer. I've done both. And I've truly enjoyed both. I liked the excitement and pace of Amsterdam, but I've also enjoyed quiet time reading a book in a hammock in Mexico. Given my last vacation was to a big city, and it's really cold here today, I’d like my next one to include a warm beach, a hammock and a book.Ten favorites….go:
Book – The Princess BrideAnd that's it for me this week. Make sure you stop over and check out Cascia's answers to my questions!! And check in again tomorrow - its's finally #1000Speak day!
Movie – The Princess Bride
Music/genre/song/artist – I LOVE Jason Mraz's Lucky. It speaks to me. When I first heard it on Ellen just after the accident, I cried.
Celebrity – I don’t think I really have one – but if I had to pick, Ellen? She just seems like such a likable person – someone that I could be really good friends with. I'm not into the whole fake person thing.
Color – green. It’s a “life” color for me. Season – summer. Or spring. Not autumn because that means winter’s around the corner. And not winter because damn it’s cold here. I might have a different opinion if I lived somewhere where the air doesn't hurt my face at certain times of the year.
State in the United States – I don’t know if I could pick just one (although I haven’t been to as many as you!!). We got married in NYC – so I’m going to go with New York. It’s an amazing city - so if the rest of the state is like that...
Famous historical figure – I've read several books about Henry the Eighth. I don’t think we’d be best friends, and I'd worry about my neck – but I find that whole period fascinating.
Holiday – Hallowe'en. I love to dress up.
Food – chocolate. Chocolate anything.
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