From Tracie: Yellow Office Supplies And Other Answers

Friday, April 25, 2014

Yellow Office Supplies And Other Answers

Do you have questions about yellow office supplies? I might have answers to those. I definitely have answers to the ten questions Rabia sent me this week for Ask Away Friday, and some of those answers do involve the color yellow and office supplies. But first, have you met Rabia?

Rabia is the blogger with an awesome name who has been writing at The Liebers since 2007. Rabia is pronounced RAW-bee-uh, and you can read the backstory to her unique name here. I feel a kinship with people who have names that will always be misspelled, because I have that same issue. She has three cute kids and is married to her high school sweetheart.

You definitely don't want to miss all the fun on Rabia's blog.

Rabia The Liebers

This is the Ask Away Friday game. Rabia and I sent each other ten questions, and today we are answering them. I was so excited to see how she answered my questions, and you can read her answers, too, here.

Ask Away Friday has recently come under new leadership, and we have Tamara from Tamara Like Camera, Tiffany from Mrs Tee Love Life Laughter, Christy from Uplifting Families, Stacey from This Momma's Ramblings and Amber from BoldFitMom to thank for keeping the fun moving forward. You can play along, too. Just invite another blogger, swap questions, and answer them on Friday. Or answer Rabia's questions in the comments.

Ask Away Friday Graphic


1. You say in your “about me” that you’d gladly trade theme parks for some place with seasons and snow. Do you have a specific location in mind? Where would you build your dream/forever home?

I definitely think a LOT about Oregon. If I was really dreaming big, I would imagine a small cottage in the English countryside with lots of book shelves. This is a conversation we have a lot in our family, because we do plan on moving one day, but we haven't made any forever choices yet.


2. Your daughter is adorable! Which of her characteristics does she get from you and which ones does she get from her dad?

Thank you! She gets her love of reading from me, and her sense of silly from her dad. Most people tell me she looks like Thomas...what do you think?

Thomas and Katarina


3. You take a lot of yellow pictures. What’s up with that? Why yellow?

It started as a conversation with some friends on twitter almost five years ago (which is basically a lifetime in social media, right?). It is a mission to search for joy in our everyday lives, and we do it by being on the lookout for the color yellow. Even the smallest bit of yellow is a reminder to pause and appreciate life and the dear sisters (of my heart) that God has placed in my life.

I also have a whole blog post about my journey with the color yellow and joy. Seeing the color yellow as a good thing was not a first response for me, but now I can't pass by something yellow without feeling joyful.

Here is a yellow picture for this question and the next one:
Color Your World Yellow


4. You and I share a love of office supplies. (I got a little bit giddy about ordering new Sharpies last week.) What supplies do you have a lot of and why?

You just named one of my favorites - Sharpies! I love that you had a giddy Sharpie moment. Besides Sharpies, I love pens, freshly sharpened pencils, post-it notes, stationary, highlighters, crayons, paperclips, and stacks of fresh paper just waiting to be a canvas for creativity.


5. I see your name all over my social media feeds! Where is your favorite place to interact and a tip for using that platform.

I have to pick just one? That is hard! I think my answer depends on what I'm wanting to use it for, because I really approach social media networks in different ways.

Facebook is my favorite for interacting with people I have known for many years in real life as well as people I've met online. I did an #AskAwayFriday with Tamara a couple of weeks ago, and she compared facebook to having all the people in your life in the same room together, which was such a perfect explanation of why I love it. My tip: Be the real you. Don't get pulled into arguments. Use the like button freely.

Twitter is where I leave short thoughts and share links to blog posts and articles that have touched my heart or taught me something. My tip: The key to making twitter awesome is to interact. Don't be afraid to jump into other people's conversations; it is a great way to make new friends. And make sure to tag people when you share their blog posts. 

My new love is Instagram. I feel like, for the most part, Instagram is a collection of all the things that made people happy that day. When I scroll through my feed at night, it never fails to make me smile (especially when someone shares a yellow picture), and I feel a greater connection to people when I get to see those small snippets from their life. I know you can share pictures on other social media platforms, but there is something about Instagram that makes pictures feel more personal to me. My tip: Don't share more than one picture an hour. There will be exceptions to this of course, if you are at a special event, or something like that. But for the most part, it is good manners to spread your pictures out throughout the day. 


6. I read the story about your daughter’s grandmother and their cooking adventures (*LOVE*)  and I noticed you said you don’t cook. So what happens at dinner time at your house?

Honestly? A lot of fast food and pizza. I do heat up things in the microwave, but that doesn't guarantee good results. I didn't grow up in a cooking family, and it is something I'm still not very good at doing. Even hot chocolate isn't safe when I'm microwaving it. My daughter really enjoys cooking, though, so she sometimes makes dinner for us in her crockpot.


7. I noticed that Tamara asked you about your most popular posts, so I want to ask about a post that you really loved writing but maybe didn’t get as much traffic.

I really loved this post about not using celebrities as role models for your children. It was something that sat in my heart for a long time before I wrote it, but didn't get a ton of traffic when I published it.

Letter To Parents About Role Models


8. *Silly question alert* Would you rather go for three days without food or three days without sleep?

Three days without sleep! I love my sleep...but I love my food more.


9. Would you rather go 100 years into the future or 100 years into the past? Why and what would you do?

This a hard one. I love studying history, so I think it would be very interesting to go 100 years into the past. 1914 is the year Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated, starting World War 1, so there would be a lot to see in that year. Or maybe a lot to prevent? It could certainly be a history-changing trip.

At the same time, the sci-fi lover in me what would happen in the future.


10. Do you have a favorite charity or non-profit you support? Why?

There are several. But since it is April, which is the month for both Sexual Assault Awareness and Child Abuse Prevention, I am going to go with RAINN and Child Help. Both of these organizations run hotlines where you can get free crisis counseling if you are a survivor or loved one of a survivor of rape or child abuse.

Rabia, it was so much fun trading questions with you! Let's do it again sometime. I have Alaska-related questions I didn't even begin to cover.  

18 comments:

  1. Wonderful swap, ladies! Love the office supplies! I have a three drawer cart full of school supplies...does that count? Ooh a cottage in the English countryside sounds wonderful...I might go for the Scottish countryside...but close enough. What a wonderful cause! My hubby and I both came from abusive and alcoholic fathers and saw the damage that it did first hand. It is wonderful getting to know you better! Have a wonderful weekend!

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    1. That most definitely counts! My office supply collection is always outgrowing whatever place I have it stored, and even right now I'm thinking of new ways to organize it.

      The Scottish countryside would be awesome, too! Then we could visit each other for tea.

      I'm so sorry you and your husband grew up in abuse, but it is wonderful that you have each other and are breaking those cycles.

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  2. hi Tracie! You and Rabia definitely had a great swap :) I love you reason behind the color yellow and it's connection to joy. That is amazing and such a wonderful way to help yourself keep focus simply by looking at and taking note of the things around you in your daily life.

    Have an amazing weekend and thanks for your continued #AskAwayFriday support!

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    1. Thanks for keeping #AskAwayFriday going. It is a lot of fun, and I loved swapping with Rabia.

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  3. I'm so glad you're continuing your Ask Away Friday career, because, you're amazing at it.
    I went to Oregon once. It was that little Shakespeare town in the mountains. Ashland.
    I can't even describe it without tears in my eyes. Google image it and then imagine it 72 degrees and sunny. In a park. With ice cream. And tacos.
    Anyway, I digress...
    One of my first posts of yours that I read was about yellow. I'm not positive where I heard this but someone once told me that if you're feeling motion sick or just unsure about anything, to close your eyes and picture yellow. It usually works!
    I think Katarina looks like both of you.
    This is weird but I know I have gone three days without food before. I'm sure I was sick at the time, though. I can't forgo sleep or food, really.

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    1. I've read about and seen pictures of that Shakespeare town. It is definitely on my list of places to visit. Parks, ice cream, tacos....all things I love!

      I've never heard that about yellow, but I will definitely try it if the opportunity presents itself. Not that I want to be motion sick, but if I am, hopefully it will work!

      I love that you think Katarina looks like both of you. I just can't get past her looking like herself enough to see who else she resembles.

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  4. I am so glad that I'm not the only one who loves office supplies! I love going into Office Depot! Sharpies and sticky notes are my favorite!

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    1. Office Depot is almost as good as a candy store.

      If they would just add a chocolate aisle next to the pens, it would be shopping perfection!

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  5. I heart this post soooooo much! I feel like I've known you forever, and yet posts like this still give me a peek at things I didn't know :)
    And Katarina is the very best parts of both you and Thomas <3

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    1. You are so sweet!

      Next week you should totally play along with the #AAF fun!

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  6. Tracie this was so much fun!! I loved all your answers! I think yellow is a great color to represent joy. I know I will always see it that way from now on. Also, I'm glad you like post-it notes. Post-it notes and Sharpies bring me a very special kind of joy!
    Ask me any Alaska questions you want!! I haven't been for 14 years, but I have such amazing memories of it!

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    1. Alaska is one of my dream destinations. When I was little, my Uncle Bill used to tell me stories about the time he lived there (he worked on the pipeline), and it just sounded (and looked, from his pictures) magical.

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  7. I have a thing about office supplies I just love them I am forever wanting to buy them even when I don't need them

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    1. That's what happens to me. You can never have too many.

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  8. It's interesting how the yellow story came about and I think it's inspiring too! I love supplies too especially post-its. I have too many of them in different colors, styles, and sizes! Haha. I don't cook but I'm learning.. so slowly and I'm not even sure if I'm making any progress at all. I consider myself a fan girl but yes, I'd also say that celebrities are not the only role models we have for our kids. :)

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    1. I definitely have my fan girl moments, too! :)

      Post-its are the best. I have different colors/shapes/sizes for different projects.

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  9. Fellow office supply lover here! Back to school time is possibly better than Christmas for me! I go through phases - currently really into mechanical pencils and sticky notes right now. Before that it was Uniball pens and notebooks. It's a different kind of obsession, and I love when I find other office supply geeks like myself!
    And I also love Instagram - more and more I think. Exactly like you said, something about seeing those little moments in a person's day is so personal.
    I don't think I could go without food or sleep for three days. I would hate to be around myself if I did!! :)
    Have a great week!

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  10. I love buying gel pens especially in fancy colors. ;)

    Great swap and welcome to Ask Away Friday.

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