Written By Mama

This week’s blogger that I’m featuring for my Blogger Interview Series is Patricia from My Randomness. I am quite the fan of her for a few reasons; 1. She’s from the South – do I even need to go on?
Anyways, I haven’t known or followed Patricia for very long, we happen to have mutual blogger friends and that’s how I met her. She’s also started the blogger challenge with myself and the other 7 bloggers. It’s pretty fun so far and we’re all getting to know each other and learn a TON of new stuff! Anyways, enough about me, let’s get on with her interview….

How did you get started blogging? How long have you been blogging for?
I started my Facebook page on July 21, 2011. I had a blog for awhile but never used it. I would guess I started really writing that September. I originally started out as a coupon/deals blog. Thankfully, I entitled it My Randomness so I could write about whatever I wanted! I still focus a lot on deals, but now I do a lot of reviews and write personal stories.

What’s your favorite thing about blogging?
That’s an easy one. I love to interact with people: maybe make them laugh or teach them something or even have them teach me things. I had one lady just today tell me she has been following my site since the beginning and due to the things she’s learned on my page, she was able to help her family save a lot of money and also help her church and community with the things she learned from little ol’ me! THAT was a huge blessing and it’s things like that that keep me going. For Christmas time, my fans and I also come together to raise money to buy toys for kids who not otherwise get anything. I think in the past two years we’ve raised over $500 to help! Also, for Veterans Day in 2011, I (along with a handful of fans) hand wrote and mailed out over 2,500 thank you notes to Veterans. It took months and some did not get there until Christmas but that was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life.

As the wife of a Veteran, I would like to thank you for such an amazing act of kindness. In my neck of the woods, the troops aren’t appreciated as much as they should be. And it warms my heart knowing that people out there still care. Thank you -Angela

I know it’s not fair to pick favorites, but what’s your favorite product that you’ve reviewed so far?
Oh aside from any pair of shoes (I’m addicted to shoes) it would have to be a Ronco Rotisserie. I made my first Thanksgiving dinner all by myself due to that thing!!!! Of course all I had to do was season and stuff a whole chicken and shove it in, but I sure made it look like hard work!

When did you start your mailing list for your fans, to receive Christmas cards, b-day cards etc…?
The first year I made the site, I had saved the addresses from everyone who had won something from me, and sent them all a Christmas card. This year, I kind of took it to an extreme and decided that my old pen and paper method of keeping track of all the addresses was slightly out of date and confusing. So, I decided to make a form that people could fill out knowing that they would get something
from me eventually and not a ‘um, yeah I won something from you and you have my address are you stalking me’ kinda thing. I added the birthday card thing later. But, I literally get hand cramps and it takes me days to address them all, but I do send every single one a Christmas postcard (I’m addicted to postcards. I love receiving them from people!).

I know you just started the blogging challenge with the rest of us, what made you decide to join?
Well, one of my buddies hit me up about it. I’ve been very sick for awhile so she had not asked me sooner. She really didn’t explain much, so when I joined boy was I in for a shock! I’m not a big cook which naturally I though “Oh CRAP I’m definitely in the wrong place.”, but I am creative in the kitchen and I’m also the only southern cook of the group so I thought that I might be bringing
something creative to the group. Also, when I was told that we can do crafts and interpret the challenges the way we wanted, I was alllll over that.

How long do you spend searching for deals and ways to get paid?
I never pay retail online. EVER. I have been known to wait years to get something because I refuse to pay full price. For example, I have been looking for a good pair of cowboy boots to wear forever. Never did I find a pair that I liked AND was under $200. It was either one or the other. Yes, I like shoes, but I don’t like $200 shoes. FINALLY, the skies opened up and the angels sang and I found a pair of boots under $50 on Amazon and with gift cards I had saved up they were almost free. Persistence pays off! I also try to devote as much time as I can to sites like Swagbucks and other survey sites. Even it’s just running SBTV on and off throughout the day (By the way I was able to pay for my Kindle using giftcards due to Swagbucks and other gift card earning sites). Every little bit really does help.

Are you an active couponer? How do you find the time to clip, organize and find each coupon?
I used to be a very devoted couponer. Had my binder in one hand, calculator in the other and NO ONE would come shopping with me. And that was great! I used to get tons of free products and things extremely cheap. I was able to donate to local churches and all those good things. But then, I started having gallbladder problems (and keep in mind I have a 5 year old and a 2 year old with a husband who works 7 days a week and doesn’t get home until 8pm each night) and couponing went by the waist-side, but I never stopped saving money. I would start buying a lot in bulk on Amazon and would end up paying less AND it was shipped to my door (God forbid I have to get out of my pajamas… put on a bra? That’s only reserved for very special occasions). Now, I’m back into couponing very slowly. Everyone in my family helps collect, clip, and organize. Recently my 5 year old decided she wanted to go toy shopping with her money she had been saving. Well she was able to save $8.00 using coupons and by shopping on sale, she was able to bring home $14.00 to use on her next shopping trip. Of course right now she is the poster child for coupons.

If you had to pick only 1 blog to follow for the rest of your life, who would it be?
Oh with all my blogger friends, I’m totally not picking! Are you TRYING to get me in trouble? LOL

That’s code for, Angela your blog is the best, but I can’t admit it lol

What’s one thing you’d like people to know about you?
That I’m very passionate about supporting of military and veterans. That I’m very kind and have a good heart. I’m also very respectful and I demand the same respect from others as I give to them.

Okay and I *have* to ask, are you sure you didn’t ride alligators to school, growing up in South Louisiana?
HAHAHA I really do get this question all the time. I live 5 minutes from the boat landings to get to the marsh. I took my first boat ride out to my parents camp at 6 weeks old. I’m literally as country as it gets, hell I see Liz from Swamp People all the time at Wal-Mart! My dad used to be a trapper and hunter, and that included alligators. Now, back then it wasn’t like what you see on tv when you can just drop them off straight out the swamp. Back then, you have to skin them and clean them yourself, THEN go sell them. Anyways, my dad and godfather scored a 14 foot over 1000 pound alligator. They had put it in my dad’s old jeep. It was so big that my godfather actually had to sit on it! Well, apparently they had just knocked it out, because it came back to life underneath my
godfather! There were so many bullet holes in the bottom of that jeep when they got home it wasn’t even funny!!

This interview was probably my favorite so far, Patricia’s answers are awesome! Make sure you follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest to see new deals, Swagbuck codes and much more!

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