As the former Community Manager, Lisa was the first person I met when I became acquainted with Families.com, and has become a good friend. Lisa, how fun to interview you today! How long have you blogged for Families.com?
I’ve been with Families.com since September 26th, 2005. I believe we had about twenty-six members back then. When management announced they would be hiring bloggers, I applied for the topics of Food, Weight Loss and Disney. When they launched the blogs here in early December 2005, they hired me for all three topics as well as the position of Community Manager. Eventually, the demands of being Community Manager forced me to set blogging aside for a while. After seeing the community grow to over 260,000 members, I decided to go back to my original intention of “just writing” and started blogging on the topics of Disney and Weight Loss.
What other topics do you blog about?
Food and Fitness are two other topics I love and like to contribute to.
What is your favorite thing about blogging for Families.com?
My favorite thing about blogging for Families.com is the sense of family we’ve fostered here. Nathan, Dean and Ward had a great idea when they created Families.com in 2005. They made every member a “Family Member.” That isn’t just a label here. People really do feel like family. We all have our ups and downs, good days and bad days, but we stay together and support each other like family should. While this is particularly true for all the Bloggers here, I think it is still very true for the entire community even though we’ve grown from a small town to a booming metropolis.
What do you like to do when you’re not blogging?
Write. No, seriously, my husband and two sons are the joys in my life. They will always come first for me. I have been blessed with this wonderful little family and wouldn’t dream of taking it for granted. I will always have a great passion for writing though. I’ve written an action/adventure novel that is actually the first in a series of seven novels I have outlined. I also have plans for a fantasy trilogy based upon part of the Book of Enoch as well as a historical novel (or series) based upon the life of Francois Louis Thibault and the family he created in Canada and the U.S.
Is there anything in particular you would like our readers to know about
you?
If our readers read the forums here, they probably know more than they’d care to already! Once in a while, I’ll work as a headhunter for online communities and blogging networks. I love being able to put great writers together and watching the amazing communities that grow from their work.
I’ve lived so many lifetimes in just this one. I’ve been a child, a
student, a gypsy, a soldier (Airman), a wife, a politician, a mother, a
writer and more. I’ve had such an amazing life and I’m not even half done yet! I can’t wait to see what happens next!
What are some of your favorite blogs you’ve written?
I love writing about working for the Disney Company and how to get in the door at Disney (I used to work for the Mouse). It is an amazing company to work for and the benefits are, well, magical!
I’m also very passionate about the Body-for-Life lifestyle.
Not only does it lead to weight loss and physical fitness but it is also seems to be great for those who may be trying to conceive. (I didn’t become pregnant with my first child until I was 37 and my second child arrived when I was 40. Both were conceived while I was taking the Body-for-Life Challenge!)
I think if I had to pick one single blog that I’d really want your readers to read, it would be Charity = Weight Loss.
It is about all the many charity walks that go on every year. Walking for charity is great because you don’t need money to be able to give, you get a great feeling from having done something good for others and you get the added benefit of good health. Nobody loses!
Lisa, thank you for joining us. It’s been so fun to get to know you better, and I think I may have to pump you for more information on this gypsy lifestyle you used to lead.