1. What do you suggest for someone visiting the Big Apple - best places to see, can’t miss, or foodie recommendations? – Dana

This is definitely one of the top questions I get, so I actually made a full page dedicated to NYC – my favorite tips, restaurants, and other attractions. Click here to view it!

One of my biggest recommendations for visiting New York is to check out the more local attractions (especially downtown). The touristy things in Midtown can be fun, but to get the real feel of NYC you should explore places like Greenwich Village, West Village, and Soho.

Also, taking a bus tour is a great way to see most of the city in just a few hours.

2. Dating for a Christian girl, tips & advice or what you’ve learned? – Dana

This is a great question and something I’ve become quite passionate about lately. I hate to leave you hanging, but I actually have a handful of posts coming in the next few weeks about this topic (as does Jessi). Stay tuned!

3. How do you balance blogging and work? – Marissa

Well first of all, I work from home (real estate appraisal administration for my dad’s company), so that makes balancing the two much easier than when I had my office job. I work from 9-5, so I try to write blog posts in the morning and/or evening. And since I work on the computer it’s easy to keep up with GML and social media throughout the day.

Something else that I’ve found helps a lot is scheduling and pre-writing posts. I try to have at least two or three posts saved at any time so if I have a particularly busy day, I can still put up some new content.

4. How do you balance work and play, and what does a typical day look like for you? – Emily

Balancing work and play is definitely an art form, especially when there’s just so much of both to be done I’m lucky in the sense that my job isn’t project based, so it’s pretty easy to just shut my computer and be done for the day. And then other aspects of my work (like blogging) just naturally feel like play to me. Not to mention that networking is of huge importance in New York, so just about any social event can be beneficial to your career without intending for it to be.

I tend to have something social going on most nights of the week, with much more on the weekends. I do try to have at least one or two nights at home to just relax.

My daily routine can look completely different from one day to the next, but typically it looks like:

- wake up around 7am
- have at least 30 minutes of time with God
- squeeze in a workout if I can
- work on GML and social media for church
- start work at 9am, eat breakfast
- I take a 30-60 minute break around 1pm where I either go to the gym or run errands
- eat lunch around 2pm
- throughout the whole day I do social media and GML stuff when work is slow/caught up
- finish work at 5pm
- evenings/nights I either have some sort of meeting, stay home and watch TV, or go out with friends

5. What do you mean when you say “part career?” I love blogging and am no way in it for the money, but making money for something I love would obviously be awesome. Do you actually make a reasonable income, and if so, how did you get into that position? - Nicole

When I first started blogging, I never anticipated it becoming part of my career. I had no idea it was even something you could monetize! But when I realized that blogging is something I wanted to do long term and that I could make income from it, it was an easy decision.

At first I was part of the Foodbuzz ad network, but now I’m part of BlogHer Publishing Network and have been for about 2 years. I LOVE BlogHer and highly recommend them. My income comes from the ads you see on GML’s main page, as well as sponsored posts. Right now blogging makes up about 1/3 of my income. If you want to learn more about making money from blogging, definitely check out Katy Widrick’s blog – she has great tips and advice.

I do want to note that even as my income from blogging continues to grow (and yes, it’s something I would love to do full time), it’s very important to me that GML never looks or feels like a “professional blog.” To me, that takes away from what a blog is supposed to be! So I really make it a point that the products I review are always ones that I truly love and use myself. I never want to come across as a saleswoman.

6. What would you suggest if you realize that you and your friends don’t mesh anymore and that you would like a new friendship group? – Anonymous

This is a tough one. Friendships do change as life goes on, either by getting closer or drifting apart. First of all, remember that those seasons are normal and a part of life. But with that being said, I personally wouldn’t cut them off completely. You can always add friends to your life, but it doesn’t mean you have to entirely cut ties with others (if the friendships were unhealthy or something detrimental happened, though, than that’s a different story!).

I think the best thing to do is to open yourself up to more opportunities to meet new friends. Start getting involved in things you and enjoy and are passionate about. For me, that meant finding a church that had young people with similar lifestyles to mine. For other people that might look like taking a new class, joining a gym, volunteering somewhere, etc.

I also think that the most important thing about making new friends is getting over the fear of rejection. At some point you’ll have to take the initiative and ask someone if they want to meet for coffee, for example. Putting yourself out there can be scary and feel weird at first, but you’ve got to start somewhere!

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Please note that I’m *not* an expert and that this advice is based solely on my own experiences and thoughts.

How do you balance work and play in your own life?
Have a question? Feel free to leave it as a comment on this post or ask me anonymously.