10 Questions with Jen of Costa Rica Crazy

1. Describe your blog in five sentences or less.
My blog is about my new life in Costa Rica with my family. It contains daily life for a family of five in a completely different place that is still exactly the same. I hope to inspire people to make big changes, inform people about what it is like in a country other than the U.S. (both the similarities and the differences) and entertain people with the antics of my life and little ones.

2. Link us to one post from your blog that best defines who you are.
Mi Amor – or a Trip to the Hardware Store in Costa Rica

3. What sets you apart from other bloggers?
I really believe that there is such a common thread among people and the human experience that every blog is like a three-course meal with similiar options. Mine throws together a Mommy-type blog for an appetizer, with a travel themed blog for the main course, and a sweet dessert of highlighting that we are all the same.

4. When and how did you first discover blogging?
When my husband and I started to secretly plan this excursion, I told my best friend. She has always been a journal writer and suggested I keep a journal about the experience. At the time I was living in Silicon Valley and blog was the big buzzword of the day. 1 + 1 = 2, or in this case www.costaricacrazy.blogspot.com.

5. What is your biggest pet peeve related to blogging or the internet?
I think that my biggest pet peeve is more with myself. I am just hitting middle-age and not as quick as I once was. The explosion of options, widgets, services, feeds, and so on is evolving faster than I can get a solid grasp of what has already been. And the lingo sometimes feels like a different language. I am not even sure that I know what entrecards are? Please help me.

6. Name one plugin, blogging widget, or service that you can’t live without.
I have just begun to understand the beauty of the feed aggregators and have fallen in love with FeedDemon. It feels a little like an endless to do list, but is so much better than trying to favorite each blog that I am interested in.

7. If you could choose anyone, living or dead, to write a guest post for your blog, who would it be and why?
This is a tough one. I only recently got a handle on writing myself and never thought of using a guest blogger. After writing in and erasing several people, I think that it would be interesting to post something from my father. He has always been a technically sound and emotional writer and it would not be a bad idea to have his say on Costa Rica and our hip-hop to this country. He has told me in conversations what he thinks, but to write for publication will draw out more how he feels. A really good idea. Thanks.

8. How has blogging made you a better person?
I look at things differently now. I have always been observant, however now I am looking for something to photograph or write about to interest a broader range of people. I also think that it has improved my writing skills.

9. What are your tips for becoming a better blogger?
I think the most important points are to keep posting (she says with a chuckle after a couple month gap) and keep observing.

10. Name one great blog that you read on a regular basis. What makes it unique?
I hate to admit, but my secret pleasure is PostSecret. It is anonymously written by so many people and in a short statement a whole life episode is revealed. It appeals to the voyeur in me, as well as the sympathetic.

Categories: Personal, Ten Questions, Travel & Culture