Debbie wrote a great post yesterday answering my question, “Why did you start blogging?”. Go check out her post and see what her answer is! Here is her question for me:

Why is your blog named “Danielle’s Journey”? I have read several of the Work at Home Mom (WAHM) articles on your site – do you consider yourself to be a SAHM, a WAHM or something in between?  Do you have advice for anyone who is considering becoming a WAHM?

To answer your first question I named my blog “Danielle’s Journey”, because I have done so many little businesses to earn money and have given up on them.  I had a very successful ebay business twice!  I have done network marketing and still get a check every month from that.  I have also worked as a guide for ChaCha.com, a mobile and text search service.  I just got to the point that I wanted to find a business that I love and could make enough money to get completely out of debt and have my husband stay home with us.

So Danielle’s Journey is just that: my journey to find a business I really love to do.  I think I am getting really close with affiliate marketing.  I also have some ideas to expand on as my business develops.

I definitely see myself as both a Stay-at-home Mom and a Work-at-home Mom! I have been at home with my kids for over eight years now.  For a long time I was just a stay-at-home Mom.  Then I got the itch to contribute, so to speak.  My intention was never to have a full-time income but to take some pressure off the budget a bit! It has evolved into a desire to make a full-time income so we (my husband and I) could spend more time together as a family. Read more »

I am continuing my conversation with Debbie Taylor: The Queen Mommy. On Monday I asked Debbie about her experience as a Mom’s Talk Network intern, you can find her answer here at The Queen Mommy’s Cafe. She gave some fabulous insights on blogging and the importance it has been in her life.

Here is Debbie’s question to me:

I want to know what you learned as an intern that you are applying now – but would you also talk about how you found all the Sweepstakes, Contests, and Giveaways online for Mom Giveaways!?!  Did you have experience before with Sweepstakes, Contests and Giveaways?

The internship gave me a confidence in my writing. I have never been confident in my writing and yet have kept journals for years.  Isn’t that funny?!  I like to write but I don’t like to worry about the little things I do wrong!  So I gained a lot of confidence in my writing style.  I also found that I can come up with good ideas for blog posts.  I have always deemed myself as being uncreative. I know that is not a talent of mine but I can think of things to write just as well as the next person.  That also helped with my confidence!

One last thing I learned…

I learned a ton but I will only cover one last thing.  Kelly, taught us a lot about being social and helped us form habits.  I realized that some things that will make a blog successful I am just not willing to do all the time!  Big shocker, right?  I am not willing to spend hours mulling over blogs just to make comments.  Now I am not saying I don’t read a lot of blog posts or leave comments, because I do!  I read a lot of posts but only the posts that actually interest me.  I am a mom of four kids.  I don’t have time looking for posts to comment on, just to be friendly!  So my socializing is great but I have to do it at my own pace and not on a schedule!  I really think that is the great part of the internship, we were given the tools and we could take it or leave it that is up to us!

Mom Giveaways

I had a lot of fun on Mom Giveaways because I am so passionate about sweepstakes!  I love them and have so much fun entering and winning! I started entering sweepstakes on a regular basis, five years ago.  I have stopped and started many times.  When I filled out my internship application I listed that as one of my hobbies.  So I believe Kelly picked me because of this!  Boy am I  glad she did! I was able to share my knowledge on the website about the in’s and out’s of doing sweeps (as us sweepers call it).  To answer your first question about Mom Giveaways.  I didn’t have to find any giveaways and post them.  Anyone can enter their own giveaway to get traffic!  I did do one post with a bunch of giveaways that were all for cash prizes.  That one I did with the help of some online newsletters that I subscribe to.  There are several newsletters out there that find great giveaways and make the hobby really fun!

Okay Debbie here is your next question:

How long have you been blogging?  As a stay-at-home (busy) mom how has it benefited your life?  Okay and one last question: Why did you choose to start blogging?

photo credit: daveeedo6

I just read a great post that will change my blogging forever.  It is a post by Copyblogger called Why You’re To Qualified and Respectful To Produce Great Content. Pace (the Copyblogger) says you should not qualify or be too respectful or you will sound like you are writing a paper!  That’s me!!  Do you see me waving my hand around?  If you haven’t noticed I am a big perfectionist!  I like to get things right and be nice about it!  Well no more nice Danielle!  Not anymore!

Okay, Okay, I will be nice sometimes!

But seriously,  I am constantly checking my grammar (because mine is not so good) and reviewing what I am saying so that I am not offensive to others.  Well let the real me come out!!  I love using exclamation points!!!  I do because I am very passionate and expressive in real life!  Ask my husband.  So if you don’t want my honest opinion about things then I must say goodbye to you right now.  I must say, I am nice but I have some strong feelings about things.  Some of those strong feelings may rub you the wrong way.  But that is why our country is such a great place to live because we can speak freely and have strong opinions about anything and everything.  Not only that we can have blogs that share those strong opinions.  Sometimes we can even have radio or television shows to share these opinions!

So here is to a new blogging me!

This will be more of the me in real life on my blog.  I am excited.  I feel more free!  I feel liberated in a way.  If I do things wrong I will do them wrong in style!  I would rather, from here on out, be myself and screw up big time then not be me at all.

I have done this often in my life.

In my past I have taken big risks that were really scary.  If I wouldn’t have I wouldn’t have had the blessings I do now!  For instance.  I moved from my home in Washington State to Southern California all by myself.  I knew one person.  I didn’t have a job.  I had a rent payment of $700 and a car payment of $300!  I think about that choice and the me now thinks, the me then was crazy!!  So what came out of it?  I married my husband (of nine years) after six months of being there.  We didn’t know each other beforehand.  I have four beautiful children and a best friend I couldn’t live without!

So from now on I will take those risks again.

I will tell you what is on my mind and be bold about it.  I hope you will stay and find out what happens and how this blog evolves!!

Honestly,

Danielle

PS. Don’t forget to checkout that blog post by Copyblogger!

photo credit: runran

Today is going to be the start of some very fun posts.  I am beginning a Cross-Blog Conversation with Debbie Taylor who is The Queen Mommy’s Cafe. Debbie and I met during our internships at Mom’s Talk Network.  While I was writing posts about sweepstakes and giveaways on Mom Giveaways, she was sharing the latest and greatest things coming from the kitchen at Family Foodies. Let me tell you Debbie knows her stuff!  I tried, have used and passed on some of her recipes!

Here is how it works!

What Debbie and I will be doing is I will ask a question here at Danielle’s Journey.  She will respond the next day or two on her blog at The Queen Mommy’s Cafe, in the same post she answers my question, she will also ask me a question. In turn I will answer her question her and ask another question! This will be very fun and you will get to know her and I better!

So here goes…Debbie,  we spent ten weeks working with Kelly McCausey on her Mom’s Talk Network blogs.  What three things did you take away from that experience and what have you implemented and are using currently?

Keep an eye out on The Queen Mommy’s Cafe to see how Debbie answers my question!