Happy Friday! Here we go with Part 2 of the Q&A series!
Question: Thank you for helping me out of a deep funk – might even be called depression, but I refuse to call it that – that hit hard in 2016.
I’m inspired by you, and motivated, and, well I confess I picked my own blogging back up after all these years and that might make me a copy cat… 
or not. I don’t know. But I want to thank you for that. My question is… and my heart has been going out to you about this… but do you get any critique, naysayers, downers or otherwise unkind people contacting you? It seems that on a public forum, even such a positive one as yours, there is usually someone who’s not happy. Do you get that, and how do you deal with it?
Answer: What a great question! First of all, I’m so glad you’re out of the funk. So very thankful! With that being said, this is such a great question! For the most part, everyone who interacts on this site and on the Facebook and Instagram pages, is awesome. I am constantly blown away by how positive, helpful and wonderful everyone is.There has been only one time when someone said something really unkind. It stung and made me question who I am. Then I looked at the person who said it and asked myself……do I want to be like her? Is her opinion one I trust? Is she speaking honesty and truth into my life? And the answers were no, no and no. She was not a reliable truth source so, I let what she said go. People who are hurt will hurt other people and people who are sad will try to make other people sad. I believe that when you put yourself out there, someone is bound to be mean sometimes….thankful that hasn’t happened much around here and I hope it stays that way.
Question: How do you feel safe hiking with your little ones by yourselves? Do you bring a taser, mace? I’d love to hike on my baby’s schedule but sometimes that means hitting the trails by ourselves, thanks!!
Answer: In short, I don’t hike alone. What a bummer of an answer, right? Yep. It stinks to live in a world where I feel this way. However, lots of gals I know DO hike alone with their kids so honestly, it’s just up to you. I have mace I bring with me when I hike with friends and when I go to beaches or walking with my kids, I always go in places that are open and not isolated. I’m a cautious person, but it’s what I’m most comfortable with. My best advice is to create a group of women in your life that you can get outside with. Make a private Facebook group or something and invite people to join you, even if it’s last minute! 
Question: What kind of revenue streams do you find and can you make a living off of it? I feel like I have great info to share but not sure how to capitalize on it!
Answer: When I started NW Healthy Mama, I wasn’t trying to earn a paycheck from it. Trust me and don’t start blogging for that reason. Blogging for money is HARD. As the site grew, I was approached by a few different companies that I personally happen to LOVE. Working with them has been wonderful! I get to do what I love and pay for things like sports for my kids. It’s NOT a full time income at this point and I’m okay with it. My main goal is to stay true to the content around here and not be a big giant advertisement. My advice to you is to blog and share what’s on your heart, if that’s something you’re really passionate about, but don’t try to do it for money. Make your site really great, be consistent with what you share and then later look into capitalizing on it. Do it because you love it and do it well—then later, start looking for partnership opportunities.
Whew! That was fun! Have a great weekend, friends! What’s everyone up to?