Blogger 411 Meme

Thank you, Caitlin, for asking me to do a meme. It’s my very first, so I wanted to be thoughtful about my responses.

1.Why did you start your blog?
I had played around with the idea of having a blog for awhile, but it wasn’t until I joined the Daring Bakers that I actually committed.

2. How did you come up with your blog name?
Ah, I’ve been asked that a fair number of times. I raised two daughters on my own, and even while working outside the home, I believed in cooking healthy meals from fresh ingredients every night. Now, if you’ve looked at my blog, you’ll get some idea of my philosophy. I don’t do processed foods, and rarely do take-out. So, at dinner, I would present the latest tasty and healthy meal, and both girls would look at it and go “Eeeewww, gross!” And then gulp it down.

It became a standing joke after awhile that when I finally opened my restaurant, I would call it Judy’s Gross Eats.

It was only natural. ;)

3. Do your friends and family know about your blog, and what do they think?
My family and friends know about the blog. Some are regular viewers; some are too busy to remember; one or two don’t have computers (hard to imagine). A few of my friends use it to keep track of me. My regulars give me occasional feedback. Ha ha: the fiancé of one friend can’t understand why I don’t weigh 300 pounds.

4. How do you write posts?
I write rough drafts in my word processor, then tweak them. Because I work in an area of the publishing world, I am very conscious about spelling, grammar, essay construction, etc. Plus, sometimes I think faster than I can write, so I want to be sure I include all my thoughts, and I have a tendency to be too brief, so I usually need to say more.

5. Have you ever had a troll or had to delete unkind comments?

Not yet, thankfully.

6. Do you check your stats or care how many people read your blog? If you care, how do you increase traffic?

Yes. It’s the nerdy part of me. I love looking at where people live, what time they log in, what they look at, if they leave a comment. And the cute little flags. And the bar graphs. And especially the maps.

It is interesting to note that ISP locations can be inconsistent, though. The same viewer could be from one of two places, according to each statistics provider, so for some people, I’m not totally sure where they’re from.

Also, some providers give the ‘corporate’ location. I had someone from a president’s office look it my blog. Break time, maybe?

Oh, and the ones I really laugh at are people who are looking for ‘gross’ foods. Must be quite a shock when they look at my blog.

Had enough?

So, just for fun, I’m tagging the following people, if they wish. I’d really choose everyone, but the list would be way too long.

Noskos of Living the Life

Natalie of Burned Bits

Jaime of Good Eats ‘n Sweet Treats

Mary of The Food Librarian

Rebecca of West Coast Kitchen