Mummascribbles – Mummascribbles meets…This Is Me Now – Mummascribbles

This week we meet the lovely Susie from This Is Me Now. Thanks so much for taking part Susie 🙂

 

Tell me a little bit about yourself and your family
I’m originally from York and now live in Norfolk wth my husband Matt. We met at university 11 years ago now! We did long distance for three years before I finally moved to Norfolk. We have a two year old daughter, Miss Belle. 

What do you like doing to be you, when you are not parenting, working (if you do), or blogging?
Well ‘me time’ is pretty rare these days but my perfect bit of me time is going for a massage or a lovely spa. I manage to get some down time at the gym now – I try to go spinning and to insanity classes when I can. Otherwise I love doing anything that revolves around food – baking, holding dinner parties, going for meals or just a cuppa and cake with friends.  I also love nothing more than a quiet night in where I can have a super hot bath and read a book. 

What is your biggest achievement to date?
Ooh this is hard, but actually I’d say one of my biggest achievements is running a 10k race. I was never sporty at school but I built up jogging from doing the couch to 5k app and then got quite into it. I did two 10ks in the end and I felt so proud of myself after them. I don’t run anymore because I kept getting injured. 

From your own experiences, what do you find the hardest part of parenting and what is the easiest/most rewarding part?
Well when Miss Belle was younger the hardest part was just not knowing what was wrong and the worry when she was ill. As she’s getting older and talking now that’s getting easier in some ways, but then the goal posts move and other things become more challenging! The most rewarding part is now when she leans in and says “hugs” or “love youuuuu Mummy”. There’s no other feeling like it in the world. She makes me so happy my heart could burst! 

Parenting in itself is no mean feat; how do you juggle everything you need to in order to get everything done on a daily basis?
I’m a Stay At Home Mum and we have ourselves a nice little routine at the moment. I find that helps in terms of keeping us both sociable and getting out the house but also having days to tackle things like housework and shopping etc. I also make lists like never before and try and keep as organised as I can. 

Why did you decide to start blogging?
I started my blog when I left work to become a Stay At Home Mum because I wanted to do something that would use my brain. I also used to write for my job as a journalist and then as a press officer, so I wanted to keep my writing skills up. I thought I might learn some new skills that would help me when I return to work too.

Tell me a bit about your blog?
This Is Me Now is about how I’m adjusting to being a SAHM. I write about my family life in Norfolk, those frustrating moments where you could pull your hair out and those moments where you feel so overwhelmed with happiness. I love to travel so I write posts about places we’ve visited. I also am a bit of a foodie so I’ve started adding in some recipes and foodie posts too.

What do you want your blog to achieve and where do you hope to see it go as it grows?
It sounds lame but I just want it to be well received. I did think for a while that success equals making money from blogging, and although yes that would be nice, for me that’s not the be all and end all. I’d much rather have more people reading and feel like I’m either helping someone through something, or connecting with others. The best thing is feeling like someone can relate to what I’m saying. So for me this year I want to grow my page views. And I hope my blog will one day lead to more journalism work in the future. Ideally I’d love to work from home when Miss Belle goes to school. 

What advice would you give someone who is thinking about starting a blog?
Be prepared for the time it will take – I never realised how time consuming it would be! That and just be yourself. Write how you feel and what you think, not what you think people think you should think. My most popular posts are the ones where I’ve worn by heart on my sleeve. 

If you could have dinner with three people (dead or alive), who would it be and why?

1. James Corden – I love him! Gavin and Stacy is a classic.

2. Chris Moyles – also a massive fan. I think I actually cried when he left Radio 1. 

3. Colin Firth (aged when he was in Pride and Prejudice) – just because I love the book and film! 

Tell me three random facts about you

1. I’ve interviewed the leaders of all three major political parties at one point – David Miliband, David Cameron and Nick Clegg. (Nick Clegg was the nicest!) 

2. I’ve been in a hot air balloon over the Maasia Mara in Kenya. 

3. I’ve had dinner with a member of the House of Lords. 

Along with her blog www.thisismenow.co.uk, you can also find Susie over on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest.