Inside The Actor's Blogger's Studio

It's time for another episode of "Inside The Actor's Blogger's Studio."
I have had so much fun doing these interviews, mostly because I am very nosy by nature. But I also love getting to know my blogging friends even better, and I love introducing them to those of you that have not met them yet.



I am still working on getting to interview my boyfriend Robert Redford (Just please keep praying about that for me. Thanks!), but today I have another very special guest.

This lady is an amazing Christian wife and mother of two adorable babies. (Click here to see the sweet anniversary post she did for her husband; they just celebrated their eighth wedding anniversary.) She is very funny and creative. (Click here to see some "happies" that she sent me for my birthday.) I was so blown away by her thoughtfulness to me. I have not had the privilege of meeting her in "real" life yet, but as soon as I am done with all of this back pain nonsense, I am meeting up with her and Yvette for some Starbucks and good old fashioned girl talk. (And don't say anything to Mia, but we will probably work on our stalking plans to surprise her one day very soon by showing up on her doorstep.)

So without further ado, it is with great pleasure that I introduce all of you to Tina from the Golden Goodness blog.

(Standing ovation with thunderous applause!)

Tina, thank you for being a guest on "Inside The Actor's Blogger's Studio"
today.

And just like the other two guests that I have had on my show, I know that you are a very busy mom, so I will get right to the questions.

1. What is your favorite word? Ice cream. No, wait. You didn’t ask my favorite food…you asked my favorite word. Well, that could be my favorite word. Ah, let’s see. I’ll go with ‘yes’. I am not always the one saying this word, but I certainly like to hear it. I do think I’m spoiled - I like to get my way…hopefully it’s never at the expense of others. ‘No’ or ‘not right now’ is sometimes a hard pill to swallow. You can relate, yes?

2. What is your least favorite word? It’s a given that I’m no fan of profanity, so I’ll go another direction. I do not like the word ‘wankin’. It’s really not even a word…I don’t think. This is the ‘word’ my husband uses when he’s questioning the children. Instead of saying, ‘What are you whining about?’ he’ll say, ‘What are you wankin about?’ I have no idea why this word irks me so much. Maybe it’s because it’s not a real word that it bothers me, I don’t know. And now you know and now you’ll be sure to say it all.the.time. Am I right?

3. What makes you laugh out loud? Clackamas – The first time I ever heard this word, which turns out to be the name of a city, I thought it sounded like an STD; not that STDs are particularly funny, but consider the commercials they have these days. My friend Debbie blogged about it here (http://phillips-partyoffour.blogspot.com/2008/06/clackamas-part-two.html). We nearly wet out pants while tears streamed down our faces that day. Now we get a great chuckle by blaming everything on our ‘clackamas’ flaring up.

4. What makes you cry? Anger. When I’m extremely angry about something, I cry. If that makes me a baby, so be it. At least you won’t find the cops at my house arresting me for domestic violence. :D

5. What is your favorite "country" word or phrase? Yer. As in Your. I am certain that more often than not, I say Yer instead of Your. “Go get yer shoes on.’ “I’m gonna spank yer bottom if…” “I sure wish you’d stop yer wankin whining!” I’m just that country.

6. What sound or noise do you love? I love to hear my children ‘belly laughing’. You know, that deep, goofy laugh we all do when we see someone get hit in the face with a shovel, er, I mean, pie. The laugh they can’t control when they are so tickled about something, even if it’s not really funny to me, they will crack me up just by bustin’ a gut over it.

7. What sound or noise do you hate? I’m really not very fond of whistling. I’m not talking about the kind you hear at a ball game; Celebratory whistling is fair. I’m talking about the casual strolling-through-the-grocery-store-whistling, or better yet, the husband whistling to a song that he knows the words to…I think he should just sing the words.

8. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt? I think I’d like to be a psychologist for a day. Or a hair stylist. They both get to hear everything that’s going on in people’s lives…but they don’t have to deal with the drama. They get to leave it at work, knowing that their own life isn’t as bad as it could be.

9. What profession would you not like to attempt? Have you ever watched Dirty Jobs?? I will not be cleaning the sewers in NYC (or anywhere), artificially inseminating ANYTHING, collecting roadkill, cleaning skeletons or performing an autopsy on, again, a-n-y-t-h-i-n-g. I would never want to be the host of Dirty Jobs…yay, job security for Mike Rowe.


10. What profession have you attempted before that not many people know about? I don’t know that I have anything that many people don’t know. I’ve been a babysitter, an amusement ride attendant, a cashier for various places, a supervisor at Kroger, a salesperson at Bath & Body Works, a certified teller, a staff accountant for nine days, a billing clerk, a preschool teacher, a file clerk and most recently, I’m the assistant to an HR guru.

11. What is your favorite memory of being a mother? Just before my son turned one, we were on one of our first family vacations at the beach. One morning, he woke up at about 4AM. I tried to get him back to sleep, but he was wide awake. I decided that we would disturb my husband and daughter if we stayed there in the hotel room. I got us dressed, grabbed a blanket and went out for a walk on the beach. As I carried him along the shoreline, I was overcome with the strong love I had for my son. Evan fell asleep on my shoulder, so I found a lounge chair to recline in. I sat in that chair with my beautiful son sleeping peacefully on my chest…and watched the sun rise. I never want to forget that moment. It was tearful. It was incredible.

12. What is your most embarrassing memory of being a mother? The only thing I can think of is springing a leak way back when I was a nursing mother. A big wet spot in a very eye-catching position will do it every time. I don’t consider myself easily embarrassed, maybe that will change when the kids are older…when they forget to think before they speak, and they tell some little old lady that her hair looks blue. For now, people just laugh stuff off and so do I.


13. What does your husband do that gets on your nerves? Other than the whistling…He stays calm. Sometimes I’m like ‘Get mad, would you?’ We are so opposite in this department. He’s calm when I am crazy…but don’t let there be a ‘bad call’ during a ball game. He’ll be yelling at the T.V., freaking the kids out.

14. What does your husband do for you that makes your heart melt? He melts my heart the most when he tells me that he’s proud of me. When I carried and delivered our children, he was proud. When I run my hardest on the treadmill, he’s proud. When I learn and accomplish new things (i.e. blog designing), he’s proud. When I hit home-runs, he’s proud. When we celebrate an anniversary, he’s proud. When I beat him at poker, he’s mad proud. It melts my heart when he tells me that I’m a good mother. I think he’s proud.

15. If you could tell a complete stranger about what God has done in your life, what would you say? I would say: He knew the bad choices I would make before I made them and He allowed me those choices anyway. And when I asked Him to forgive me, He did. And He still does. I am not perfect. I am forgiven. That same forgiveness is available to anyone who asks.

16. What is your favorite Bible verse and why? Oh to narrow it down…Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you…plans for your welfare, not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope," and Romans 8:28 says, "…all things work together for the good of those who love God: those who are called according to His purpose.

Together, these verses say to me that my all-knowing God wants what is best for me. He is not surprised when I make mistakes, but He will use them for good if I choose the path closest to Him.

17. Since we know that Heaven exists, what do you long to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates? Take yer shoes off and stay a while. I long to hear Him say, “Well done, my good and faithful servant.” Only it will probably be more like, “You could’ve done better, but I love you and you are my child. Welcome Home.”

That was awesome, Tina! I loved getting to know you and "yer" family better.:)
Thank you so much for taking the time out of your busy schedule to do this interview with me. And let me just tell you that I am so looking forward to our "girls" day (or night) out! You are a very special lady, and I am blessed to know you.

(Another standing ovation with even more thunderous applause!)

Stay tuned for more interviews with my bloggy friends.....Remember, you may be next!

I'm just saying is all.