Since You Asked

Occasionally, I get questions in my comments or via email about things I’ve rambled on about here on my blog. So you want to know… here are the answers. Have more? Email me, and perhaps I’ll get to them in the next installment.

How do you find out how people find you?

I happen to use Stat Counter and MyBlogLog. But there are hosts of free counters that can track traffic on your blog. Just Google “free stat counter” and pick one that suits you. They tell you super strange stuff, like the screen resolutions of your visitors or what browser they use. But it also tells you interesting things like the cities, states, providences and countries your visiors are from. Waving to Pago, Pago, American Samoa, Greece, and South Africa. Sometimes it’s just cool to see how small the world really is. It also, much to my mad giggles, tells you what keywords people use to find you. Those are just funny.

What in the world is Trouble eating?

Do you not recognize the nutritious Boybarian staple, Toaster Strudels??? The Wildberry flavor happens to have neon blue frosting.

Are you going to interview the other boys or Handy Man?

Ummm… eventually they’ll each hold still long enough for an interview. The worst is actually Handy Man. He’s a workaholic and goes and goes and goes until he falls asleep. Often standing up. I happened to catch Trouble in the bathtub where he can’t run away. Isn’t that a great trick?

Do you charge for design work?

This is Handy Man’s biggest pet peeve with me. Seriously. Ask him. I am trying to build a portfolio and some credibility. But it takes a lot of time to makeover a blog. I hope to eventually turn the design work into some book money to help offset homeschool expenses. Many of my loyal readers are homeschoolers so they get it, but unlike public schools, we have to pay for things like microscopes, globes, maps, and books. And even though we pay taxes to the public schools and not use their services, we don’t get any credit to offset our expenses. This is a voting year, so you can bet my ideal candidate hopes to provide some tax relief to homeschoolers. Anyway, that turned into a tangent. The short answer is: No I don’t… but that window will be closing shortly. I can’t work for free much longer or Handy Man is going to take away my beloved toys.

What is the story behind yours and your grandmothers’ names?

My name is Darcy. My grandmothers are Marcy (Marcella) and Darlene. My great-grandmother’s name was Lee. I think you can figure out the rest.

Where are you from, City Girl?

The Chicago Area – Home of good hot dogs, Portillo’s, Michigan Avenue, real restaurants, delivery (oh, how I miss delivery!), art museums, off broadway shows, great shopping, and all sorts of stuff not found in the sticks.

How far is your nearest Starbucks?

It’s about 20 minutes away. 40 minutes round-trip. *sigh*

What’s your favorite coffee drink?

I love illy. Starbucks can’t even hold a candle to illy. Dark roasted, ground into powder-like consistency. Here at home I start each day with a quad-shot latte. Please don’t email me with the side effects of caffeine. My day would be much, much worse without it. I start dreaming of my morning coffee when I lay me down to sleep. At Starbucks, my drink of choice is a non-fat Cinnamon Dolce latte, no whip. Aren’t you glad you know that about me?

Do you have any siblings? Why don’t you ever blog about them?

Yes. I have a multitude of siblings. Five sisters and three brothers. No, that is not a typo. I don’t blog about them because 1 – I’m not sure they want me to… 2 – they all live out of state and we don’t see each other as often as I’d like… 3 – I have one of those families that needs a flow chart not a tree. So, some of my siblings aren’t each other’s siblings. That’s a blog for another day. My sister “Mobs” can be seen here. Mobs stands for Mean Ol Baby Sister. She’s actually not mean. She just earned that nickname when she chopped off 12″, then 14″ then 16″ off my head for Locks of Love and laughed madly the whole time. It’s also 84 degrees today where she lives. Brat. Since I don’t talk about them that often, I’ll give you this tidbit. Mobs is getting married this year to a hot fireman who really is a calendar pin up boy. I’ll scan the calendar pictures to prove it. I’m sure Mobs’s future hubby won’t mind.

Did Handy Man really design your house? Can we see it?

Yes, he really did. It took him almost a year to build it. I love this house. My beloved Handy Man thoughtfully planned each niche, every tile, each strategically placed wall. He did nearly all of the work himself. In fact, buried in our hollow banister are pictures my boys drew, some random toys, and a love letter I wrote to Handy Man. Someday, should someone ever tear down this house… I hope the finder tracks down my children, grandchildren or great-grandchildren so they know just how much I loved my family.

Can you see it? Maybe. If you’re really, really good.

Hmmm… that seems to satisfy the boybarians.