Ten Things You Didn’t Know About Me

The fabulous Mim tagged me in the “Ten Things You Didn’t Know About Me” thingie. I don’t normally take part in things like this, but this one looked like fun so I thought I’d give it a go… Mim has asked me 10 questions, and now I’m going to answer them!

1.  What’s your name and where’d you come from? 

My name is Vicky and I’m from Salisbury in Wiltshire (the south of England). I’ve lived here my entire life, except for a few months in Southampton around 1999. I grew up in Wilton, which is a little town 3 miles out of Salisbury, two streets up from the house my mum grew up in and a couple of miles from the farm my dad grew up on. Most of my immediate family still lives in the area, and we’re all very local!
2.  Why do you blog?

I started this blog when I was a lonely new mum with nobody to talk to. I wrote something and published it as a Facebook note, and a friend commented asking if I’d considered writing a blog. At first I thought “oh, gawd no, I couldn’t do that!” Then I thought about it a little more, and decided to give it a go. Three years later, my blog is my passion; it’s where I spend as much time as possible, and it’s given me the confidence and experience to be able to set up my own business.
3.  Where would you travel to that you haven’t already been and why?

I would love to go to Hawaii. Someone I follow on social media spent last week there, and I was so jealous seeing the background of her Periscopes and Facebook videos. I am definitely solar powered and want to be somewhere warm and sunny at all times!
4.  Who’s your favourite Blogger?

Ooh, that’s a tricky one. I met so many lovely people at Brit Mums this year and had some lovely chats with awesome bloggers. I think Leigh from Headspace Perspective is probably one of my favourites though – in terms of her blog and in person. Her posts are always inspiring and thought provoking, but more importantly, she’s one of the most inclusive and lovely people I’ve ever met. She genuinely cares for others, and I’ve never known her to say an unkind word about anyone else. Even last year, when another blogger said something quite unkind about her blog, she’s never publicly said who that person was – an approach I think a lot of us could learn from!
5.  If you could collaborate with just one brand on your blog, who would it be?

Right now, I think it would have to be BeachBody, a company that doesn’t even really have a presence in the UK. They’re the company that makes PiYo as well as numerous other workout routines, supplements etc. They’re a multi level marketing company so I don’t think they really work with bloggers either. But I love everything I’ve seen about them recently.

6.  What is your proudest achievement, aside from your children?

I climbed a muddyfunking mountain, dude! While I was recovering from a life altering nervous breakdown, too. Here’s a photo of me at the top of Mount Snowdon, five years ago this week:

If I’m honest, it was the mental strength of my friend Chris that dragged me up the mountain, but I still managed it, and I really feel like that was a definite turning point in my recovery where I realised, hey, I climbed a mountain. I’m capable of more than I thought…
7.  Why did you choose your blog name?

I honestly couldn’t tell you. I decided to set up a blog, and just sort of went to Blogger and started it. I never intended for anyone to actually read it, so I didn’t think too much about what I called it. Three years later, I have a reasonable readership and people I’ve never met read my blog and chat on my Facebook page. I quite like it now, despite the fact people regularly make comments about how it is not a great first impression. Balls to that!
8.  Who’s your no. 1 celebrity crush?

I honestly don’t have one.
9.  What is your biggest regret in life?

I avoid regrets at all costs. Life is too short, and everything that has happened up to now, good and bad, has led me to this point – which is exactly where I needed to be!
10.  What’s your no. 1 blogging tip?

Figure out who you’re writing for. Is it your mum? People who live locally to you? Visitors from abroad? People with one leg and ginger hair? If you know who you’re writing for, you know what to write about.

I’m supposed to tag otherbloggers in this but I’m pants at all that  stuff. So I tag everyone! If you want to do it, go for your life!