May Spotlight - Melissa

Well it's that time again... that time to spotlight another awesome blogger. For my sixth feature, I thought I'd ask Melissa some questions. I've emailed Melissa and we just talk about random stuff. It is great. I love the communication and helpfulness. That's what made it easy to choose her for my next feature.

Where did the name of your blog come from?

When I first started reading style blogs, I noticed there weren’t very many that had “mom” somewhere in the title, or “working”. I really wanted to find some that were specifically geared toward working moms just so that I could relate a little bit more. Since A Working Mom’s Closet wasn’t already taken and it’s what I would’ve looked for myself, I decided to use it. J

When did you start your blog? Have you ever had any other blogs before?

I started almost a year ago; my first blog birthday is coming up soon! I kept another blog that was more about my quest to lose weight.

What is the main goal of your blog?

To inspire, to be inspired; to encourage and be encouraged. To learn, to grow; to form relationships and be a part of the wonderful community of style bloggers.

Did the intent or content of your blog change since you started?

I don’t think so. My photos have improved as I’ve learned more throughout the year, but otherwise I think it’s been consistent.

How many hours per week would you say you spend blogging?

Not enough. J I used to have more time to work on my blog but it seems as though life and work have gotten busier.

Do you spend more time reading blogs than you do writing your own blog?

Same as above; I used to have LOTS of time to read and comment on other blogs and at that point yes, I would spend hours upon hours reading blogs while only spending an hour or two writing my own. Now, however, it’s been all I can do just to write my own blog. I rarely have any time to read and comment and I miss my bloggy friends so very much!

How many blogs do you read on a daily basis?

Oh gosh…well, like I wrote above, I don’t have time to read on a daily basis anymore but I’m subscribed to a LOT. I typically have 100-200 unread posts come into my reader each day.

How do you find the time to comment on so many of the blogs that you read?

When I had the time, I was doing it at work. My boss at that point was only working part-time and there wasn’t much work to get done so I had lots of time throughout the day to read and comment. In my new position, there’s quite a bit more work which is good professionally, but that means I don’t have as much time to read. I try to do it while I’m home but my work hours are crazy and when I’m home my priority is time with my daughter when it’s my custody time with her.

Do people email you often because they read your blog?

Nope, not really. J I try to respond to comments via email as often as possible but I don’t get many direct emails from readers.

Do you communicate with a lot of your readers via email/IM?

Only via email in response to comments. I don’t use IM very much so not really that way, but I communicate via twitter too. Email is my favorite though.

What is your inspiration?

I have lots of different inspirations. For life in general, my daughter is my inspiration. For fitness, my ex-husband and my daughter. For fashion, I’m inspired mostly by all of my blog friends!

From the past six months, what is your favorite outfit that you’ve worn (and photographed)?

Ooooh, that’s a tough one. I have several favorites, some casual and some professional. I liked the outfit from this post because the purple dress always makes me feel like a million bucks, I can wear it with any type of belt and it’s fabulous. I liked it this way with the white belt, blue accents and floral flats because I felt entirely appropriate for the baby shower I attended.

What is your favorite picture (of you, others, or scenery) that you have taken recently?

My favorite recent pictures include my daughter, but I don’t post her photo publicly so I won’t show those. I don’t take pictures of scenery often. Coming up with a favorite photo of myself isn’t an easy task! I honestly can’t think of one that’s a favorite.

What post are you most proud of?  Did it get the most hits?

This is another hard one. I think the one I’m most proud of is this one about why I didn’t participate in the Friend Friday blog awards. It was a difficult post for me to write; I opened up about a few aspects of myself and I explained why I was going against the grain. I’m a people pleaser and typically like to do what everyone else is doing so that I fit in, but I was convicted about my reasons for not participating and felt I really needed to explain them. I lost someone that I thought was a good blog friend and the whole experience was a lesson for me. I’m not sure if it got the most hits, but I’m proud of myself for posting it.

What is your daily routine regarding your blog? (Ex: When do you take pictures? When do you upload them? When do you write the post?)

This stays just between us, right? (Heh.) I take my photos right before I leave the house for work. I upload them at the office typically right after our morning meeting (we have one every.single.day.) and write the post then too, if I can.

How do you handle keeping up with posting outfits on the day you actually wore them?

Well…as long as there is time for me to get it done at work, it hasn’t really been an issue. Seriously, this stays between us, right? J

How do you juggle all your competing priorities and still have time to blog?

I blog at work. For the most part. For special features and things like my Proper Professional interviews, I work on those while my daughter is still asleep in the mornings or during her naps or after she’s gone to bed. My blog priority is to keep up with posting in the first place, then to keep any commitments I’ve made in regard to guest posts or features, and then to make sure I respond as often as possible to reader comments (which I like to do via email because it’s more personal, but I can really only do it when the email address is connected to the writer’s comment profile). My main competing priority is my daughter and that is NO competition. Hence the reason I don’t do more or comment more. My daughter comes first. Always.

What is your best tip to photographing yourself and not making yourself look short?

Wait…I don’t look short? Well I honestly have no idea how that happens. I am short and kind of take pride in that, so I don’t really do anything to make it appear otherwise. J

Do you find it difficult to workout in the morning before work all the time?

YES. I wake up at 4:30am. I’d have to go to bed at 8:30 to get a full night’s sleep (actually even earlier because 9 hours would be better).  However, I end up staying up until 9:30 or 10 and don’t get enough sleep so the next morning I’m exhausted and YES it’s hard to work out when I’m exhausted. But I do it. Which leads us to…

What motivates you to keep up with the exercise?

The fact that I’ve been overweight most of my life and I know what that feels like. I don’t like it. It makes me uncomfortable and unhealthy and unenergetic. The fact that I see my daughter wanting to be just like me, but I want her to be like the healthy me, not the unhealthy one that never works out and doesn’t eat well. I want her to be proud of me and I want to be a good example for her.

What is one interesting fact you’d like to share about yourself?

During the Christmas season, I work a side job with an entertainment company singing Christmas music. My absolute favorite gig was singing with my ex-husband and other friends at Disney as the group The Mistletones. If I could sing and blog for a living, I would do that in a heartbeat.

If you haven't done so already, head on over to see what Melissa has to say at A Working Mom's Closet.