Good morning!
As I mentioned in my post yesterday, I’m switching things up this week on F&F. This week is going to be all about YOU, so I’m calling it my reader focus week.
For day one, I want to get to know you guys a bit better. In my lessons learned post last week about blogging, I talked about how blogging can sometimes be discouraging. I mentioned that something I struggle with is the difference between the amount of readers who I KNOW look at my blog everyday and read my posts (thousands of you!) versus the number of people who actually take the time to comment on what I write (not even 3% of viewers). Sad times.
I know that I typically end my posts with a “let’s chat” statement or an open-ended question that invites discussion and interaction, but today I want to know more about YOU and not necessarily what you have to say about what I’ve written. Aside from my consistent commentators who I’ve gotten to know over the past couple of years in this little virtual space, who ARE you guys?!
What’s your name?
What part of the world do you live in?
What are your hobbies and what do you do for fun?
What’s your favorite way to stay fit and move more?
What’s your favorite food or workout song?
What posts do you enjoy reading the most?
Any other fun facts about yourself that you’d like to share?
You don’t have to answer all the above, but I figured it might be hard to find a place to start if you have never commented on F&F before.
Please note I got the idea for this post from something I saw Amanda‘s awesome blog a couple of weeks ago. She called it de-lurking, and I want to make sure I give her full credit! <—Blogger code of ethics. 😉
So go ahead you guys. Introduce yourselves. Ready… go.
Can’t wait to “meet” you!
My name is Heather and I live in Pittsburgh, PA, born and raised 🙂 I am a teacher, currently subbing as finding a permanent job is so tough here. I love running, and love to go on my boat in the summer. wakeboarding, skiing, kneeboarding- my favorites! I’m a huge family girl and love being close to them all. I got married last July after being with my husband for 9 years (since I was a freshman in high school!). I never used to like working out but now I love it! I love circuits the most! Workout posts or life in general posts are my favorite to read. This is a great idea, thanks!
Hi Heather! Thanks for “introducing” yourself. It makes me happy when I hear people who used to hate working out but made the switch. Congrats on getting married!
JC
Upstate NY
Blog, Bead, rock Climb, Hike/camp, drink lots, & eat more
Active play, camping, hiking, boating, etc. I like playing around!
Food: Cheese
weekly workouts & recipes
fun fact: I’m a ginger
I love cheese as well! Gouda is one of my favorites, after feta of course. I think it’s cool that you bead! Different. 🙂
Hey Athena,
My name is Alice (hehe nothing new) and I live in Brighton, MA but I am originally from Moscow, Russia. I love to golf (golfed through college years), I love to snowboard (i go as many times as possible in winter), and I love to be outside, either for walking, hiking or playing outdoor games (not in the current weather ofcourse). My favorite way to stay fit…that’s a hard question.. but i think its a good mix of working out at the Y in group classes (kickboxing and interval training) and cooking/eating healthy (your recipes help ofcourse). I also think that you are a very big influence for me and I learned a lot of new ways after reading your posts, on how I can stay fit without hunger stress. The posts I love reading the most are your Friday Favorites posts! Fun fact: I am a huge harry Potter fan 🙂
Hugs hugs
Hi Alice, when did you move to Boston from Russia? I’ve always wondered that! Thanks so much for all your nice words!
What’s your name? Fiona MacDonald
What part of the world do you live in? Ottawa, Ontario (Canada-currently it’s FREEZING)
What are your hobbies and what do you do for fun? I love to SHOP, workout and catch up with my girlfriends, oh and I guess walking my pup with my hubby
What’s your favorite way to stay fit and move more? I am obsessed with Body Pump and Spinning but would like to try Bodyshred!
What’s your favorite food or workout song? Ice cream all the way-hands down, any kind any time
What posts do you enjoy reading the most? I love reading about how YOU stay motivated to work out and eat well day in an day out and any new workouts you throw in there are always appreciated!
Love this idea! 🙂
Never knew you lived in Canada either! So fun to learn all this new stuff. Thanks for playing along!
What a fun idea!!
I’m Kim and I live in Topeka, KS but I’m from Texas and will always be a Texan!!!
I love to read (wish I had more time) and workout! Running has always been my number one choice but I like lots of other things, too (Insanity, P90X, Turbo Fire….). My favorite place to be is laying on a beach soaking up sun!!!
Hi Kim, how long did you live in Texas for before moving to Kansas? Ditto on the beach!
Well, I moved some (grad school) but I always went back to TX – I think I was there about 14 or 15 years plus some way back in elementary.
My name is Laura and I live in Tampa, FL. My hobbies are writing, photography, singing, and playing piano. I play volleyball, run, do yoga, AND I recently started a beginner’s belly dance class – fun! My favorite foods are Mexican and Italian and I like all kinds of music to workout to – even an opera song can inspire me sometimes! I enjoy reading your posts about food – what you make at home and what you choose when you go out. Thank you for your blog – I really enjoy your conversational writing style and always find it an interesting and informative read! 🙂
Hi Laura, thanks for introducing yourself! That beginner’s belly dance class sounds like so much fun. Not gonna lie though, I hate volleyball. I think a lot of that has to do with my lack of ability though. Thanks for your nice words – so glad you read!
My name is Katie and I’m a 40 something wife and mom of 2 active girls living in Rehoboth, Massachusetts. I’m also a fellow Mtecher 🙂 and was recently introduced to your blog. My fitness includes running, walking, and the occasional yoga class. I also enjoy gardening, the beach (weather permitting in New England), baking, reading, decorating, and attending my daughter’s numerous sporting events and activities. Favorite foods vary from healthy salads, yogurt/fruit/granola, and grilled anything to Mexican, winter comfort foods, and ice-cream. I’m always striving to maintain a healthy lifestyle and appreciate your blog!!
Hi Katie, thanks for the comment! You will have to message me at work so I can trax stalk you and put a face to the name!
What’s your name? Erin
What part of the world do you live in? Cambridge, MA! We’re neighbors 🙂
What are your hobbies and what do you do for fun? I love to read, bake, be active/outside. I’m also really into craft beer – love visiting new breweries/bars and going to beer fests!
What’s your favorite way to stay fit and move more? I love running, and HIIT/tabata-style workouts that combine cardio and strength training. This is also the year that I’m finally going to start riding my bike to work. I’m sick of the T!
What’s your favorite food or workout song? Food: anything from Life Alive in Central Square
What posts do you enjoy reading the most? I like posts with new workout ideas and recipes.
Thanks and keep up the great work! 🙂
Hi Erin! Yes, we definitely are neighbors. I like craft beer too. Some of my favorite local places to go for craft beers are Mead Hall in Kendall, The Independent in Union, and the Gaff in Waltham. The Beer Cellar in Belmont is a GREAT place to go to pick up craft beers too – they have everything under the sun and you can mix and match different bottles in a six pack.
I just won a gift certificate to Life Alive, so I’m excited to try it. I’ve never had it before!
What’s your name? Mary
What part of the world do you live in? Watertown, MA
What are your hobbies and what do you do for fun? I love to workout, cook, ski in the winter, beach boating and swimming in the summer. Spend time with my family and friends!
What’s your favorite way to stay fit and move more? I love group exercise classes (kickboxing/your classes), Hot Yoga, spinning & running outside when its nice.
What’s your favorite food or workout song? Food: I am loving spaghetti squash right now, but I really love Pizza & chicken parm so good but so bad! Song: Anything dance/fast beat to get me moving!
What posts do you enjoy reading the most? I like workouts, recipes & life related posts.
Hi Mary, thanks for commenting! I need to start coming to hot yoga with you. I keep meaning to check out the studio pricing. Thanks for reading F&F 🙂
What’s your name?Jen
What part of the world do you live in? The cold part. (Calgary)
What are your hobbies and what do you do for fun? Workout, bake, find and drink new beers/wines, nap, laugh. YES LAUGHING IS A HOBBY do you know how good it is for you?!!
What’s your favorite way to stay fit and move more? Hot yoga, treadmill/spinning, hikes, walking as much as I can. So YES, I am the one person who parks at the end of the grocery store parking lot. Except when it’s snowy, so really I only do it 4 months out of the year.
What’s your favorite food or workout song? Savory: Steak. Sweet: Chocolate. Workout Song: Anything Flo Rida or Pit Bull. Which can be dangerous if I listen to it when I’m on the treadmill, because then I start to dance-run and often clip the side of the tread.
What posts do you enjoy reading the most? The random ones.
Any other fun facts about yourself that you’d like to share? I am awesome. Except when I’m hangry.
This comment inspired me to bust out my Pitbull playlist this week! PS Have you heard the new one? Unreal!
Which one?
Wild Wild Love… and MMM Yeah. Both are good!
I have both in rotation now- I secretly like the mmm yeah one bettee
Hi! My name is Georgia, I am 50+ years old and live north of Boston. Athena, you know who I am!!
My hobbies are working out, reading, going to the beach, and exploring New England. My favorite way to stay fit is taking classes, from an intense Abs/weights class to kickboxing and Zumba. I keep active in my everyday life, walking, taking the stairs,parking my car in a spot far from my destination, and just puttering around the house. I am very interested in nutrition and am always interested in learning more. I like your motivation and inspiration posts and the extra monthly challenges. My favorite food is Greek food and I am proud of my Greek heritage!
If you had to pick ONE Greek food, what would it be?!
What’s your name? Ashley parent
What part of the world do you live in? Boston, ma
What are your hobbies and what do you do for fun? Reading, walking/playing with my dog, going out to eat, watching tv, just being with friends!
What’s your favorite way to stay fit and move more? Weight training, kickboxing, hiking, spinning, walking
What’s your favorite food or workout song? I’m going with jens idea and splitting between savory and sweet. Savory: cheese. Sweet: chocolate. I love to workout to eminem or pink.
What posts do you enjoy reading the most? I love all your posts but especially Friday favorites and awk spot!
Any other fun facts about yourself that you’d like to share? Fun fact: I love Georgia’s post above! Moms are the best!
My mom REALLY liked your fun fact, as you saw. I also need to bring back the Awk Spot! I do have one ready in my head… just need to write it!
Hello!
My name is Chuck and Athena you have known me for a few decades now. I hail from New Bedford, Ma., but now reside in Wilmington, Ma. My hobbies include: sports, umpiring baseball, card playing, bowling, trivia, and finding different routes to places without the GPS. I try to stay fit by walking, running, and mostly by playing basketball. My favorite foods are seafood, greek food, deli sandwiches, paninis, fruits, vegetables, and nuts. For unhealthy items, I love pizza, potato chips, and chewy candy like Mexican hats and red licorice. I enjoy reading your posts on the awk spots, places and restaurants you go to, and family happenings. For fun, I like to do anything competitive, traveling to different places, listening to music, watching TV SERIES, AND ATTENDING pc hoop games.
I laughed out loud to the “finding different routes to places without the GPS.” Is that your way of saying that you don’t know how to use the GPS on your iPhone, dad!? I HATE red licorice – worst candy!
Hi, I’m Allison from Lansing, Michigan. I am a classroom teacher and curriculum coordinator. My favorite way to stay fit is running and circuit training. My favorite food(s) are chips and cheesy, yummy nachos! Healthy-food favorites include fruits, Greek yogurt and cottage cheese. I really like your Friday Favorites posts.
Hi Allison, thanks for sharing! I used to have cottage cheese every day for breakfast, but have recently switched to yogurt bowls instead. I still like it though – I’m not one of those people who gets grossed out by the texture!
My name is Sarah and I live in MN! I am 37 and am a student, a mom and a wife. Sometimes I think my daughter and husband forget the student part.
Hi Sarah, thanks for introducing yourself! My boyfriend grew up in the Franklin area – small world. I am also traveling to Minnesota next week for work!
Hi!
My name is Lisa and I live in MN also! I am 27 and actually just looking at going back to school for Dietetics also! Hopefully starting pre-req’s this summer!
My hobbies are really revolved around food and exercise! I enjoy reading about nutrition, the latest trends, recipes and workouts! And then also going to the gym, running outside (weather permitting since we live in a Tundra), biking in the summer and I love teaching my bootcamp and High intensity interval training class! And I also love just chilling out with my friends or boyfriend and watching a movie or chatting with some wine.
My favorite way to stay fit is high intensity interval training, I love it, I love mixing it up, pushing myself through painful things like burpees and running intervals! I also love Hot Yoga but unfortunately, the closest place is at least 45 minutes away for that.
Favorite workout song is anything by Flo Rida, I love his music! Partially bc the Rock n Roll Half marathon I did in FL, he was the headlining band at the end, but also bc his music is so good to run to.
I love reading your blog, you’re at the top of the list! I also read the Real RD (love her energy in her posts, and all of her food ideas). I like PopSugar and PopSugarFitness, they always have interesting things come up! Also the Minimalist Baker!
Hi Lisa, I will be traveling to Minnesota for work next week. Too funny! I think it’s awesome that you are going back to school for dietetics. I think if I could do it all over again, that would be right up my alley. Thanks for your nice words!
What’s your name? Jennifer McCarthy
What part of the world do you live in? Recently Moved to RI
What are your hobbies and what do you do for fun? Working out with friends, road races and working on building my blog with my sister
What’s your favorite way to stay fit and move more? road races. I love the feeling of crossing the finish line!
What’s your favorite food or workout song? Anything by Journey!
What posts do you enjoy reading the most? Recipes, I love to cook and always need inspiration!
Any other fun facts about yourself that you’d like to share? My twin sister and I have lost 90lbs each and have used Tumblr to chronicle our journey hoping to move to and work on a better blog! But we recently started a facebook page https://www.facebook.com/twinstakeonlife so we are excited!
Thanks for commenting, Jen! I’m excited to see what is in store for you and your sister. You have an awesome story/journey to share.
What’s your name? Monique Gagnon
What part of the world do you live in? Originally from Maine, but I live in East Boston now
What are your hobbies and what do you do for fun? I love to workout (teach a million classes) and cook/bake and drink wine 🙂
What’s your favorite way to stay fit and move more? Kickboxing is my favorite form of cardio/exercise, but recently I’ve been really enjoying indoor cycling and strength training!
What posts do you enjoy reading the most? I like reading ones that show me new workouts or that I can relate to when it comes to life/work/blog/fitness life balancing!
Your switch from hating cycling to loving it is crazy!!
Hi Athena! Sorry I’m late. 🙂
My name is Patrice and I live in the Boston area. My hobbies and preferred exercises tend to shift with the seasons; spring to fall, I try to spend as much time outside as possible! I have two dogs and I like to bring them with me on outside excursions whenever I can. In this crappy weather, though, that’s not happening much lately. Year round, I’m a big fan of movies and I’m forced to watch a lot of hockey too. I try to like it! For workout music, I go for anything fast paced because my body tends to want to follow along so my steps, reps, or whatever are in time with the beat. As for posts I like to read, I like the ones that give me insight into the blogger and who he/she really is. I also always appreciate a good no-equipment workout plan to use when I’m out of my usual workout environment. Onto day 2!
You’re a good fiancee for trying to like hockey! I think a lot of readers prefer the no equipment workout posts – you aren’t alone there. Thanks for commenting!