Category: bloggers

1 interview for 3kids 2dogs and 1old house :)

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I’m seriously loving my series on Mom’s who Blog and today I get to interview the fabulous Cindy Alfino from 3 kids 2 dogs and 1 old house. On the surface this family seems a little unreal,  I mean really, all that good looking in one family?! are you sure this isn’t just a bunch of models put together for those photo frame photoshoots? hehehehe. I kid!
Cindy is super sweet and honest about everything from mixed marriages to skin problems and she has awesome birthday party ideas 🙂 Here is what she has to say

-What do you do when not blogging?  

I am a Mom of 3 very busy little people – Kyla (5), Riya-Ray (4) and Knox (almost 2), so you can generally find me wiping bums or noses, making some sort of food, answering a million questions asked simultaneously or trying to keep them entertained with drawing/crafting or hide and seek (I’m really go at that one).  When I am not with them I also work as a Short Term Insurance Broker at my own Brokerage in Cape Town.
-What made you decide to blog?

  I started blogging way back in 2010, just before Riya was born.  It started out as an online diary of our little adventures and milestones and blossomed into so much more.  As it has grown I have had the privilege of connecting with other Moms that I can learn from and share with, which is a real blessing.  Also, writing is cathartic for me, getting it out into words often stops the jumble of thoughts in my head and if those jumbled thoughts can help anyone else, then that’s pretty awesome.
-What was your concept behind the blog? 

Initially our blog was names 3 Girls, 2 Dogs and 1 Guy or something, but then we had Knox and had to reinvent the title.  We decided on 3 Kids, 2 Dogs and 1 Old House because it pretty much sums up our lives.  Family is most important to us, but you will also find us doing a lot of DIY and crafts to make our Old House our own.
That being said, I always have this ridiculous thought in my head that I will die while they are still young, and so I hope that they will be able to read my words to them/about them/for them and remember a piece of me and how much I love them when I am not here to say it to them.
-Did you find yourself nervous at prospect of letting people into your life in this way? 

A little.  Sometimes we get spotted in public by people recognising our kids.  That is a little bit scary.  In the past I was very careless about what I shared, sometimes I look back on those posts and cringe.  Anyway, the longer I am writing, the more aware I become of what is acceptable to share and what isn’t, so I am not really that nervous anymore.
-Do you ever worry that your kids will be like “mom why are you exposing my life?”

I have no doubt that they will roll their eyes at me in their teenage years, but I hope that they will move past that and realise the value in it.  I try not to post too many personal details about them and rather post more situational things, if that even makes sense. 
-Does your family read your blog? 

I know my Mom reads every post and when my Dad was alive he read them too.  I’m honestly not sure about the rest, I think they probably pick and choose the ones that catch their fancy.  Honestly I still get surprised when someone says that they read our blog – it’s one thing seeing the stats and a totally different thing to put a face to that number. 
-What do you hope to achieve through the blog?

  Leave a little something for my kids to remember me by when I am gone and for me to look back on when I am feeling nostalgic.  But besides that, I hope to continue to meet and build connections and friendships with others.  Also, that by sharing our little story we inspire, encourage or even just commiserate with others, letting them know they are not alone.
-What do you think about the blogging culture in South Africa?

  Don’t get me started on this one.  I think for the most part everyone is friendly, encouraging and supportive but (as in every industry) you will always get those people who think they are better than everyone else.  Eventually people will see through that fake image that they portray and leave them behind.  I think that the day that I can’t be happy for someone else’s success is the day I need to stop blogging because then I’ve stopped doing it for the right reasons.
-What do you think makes for a “good blog”? 

I’m drawn in to blogs by real people that post about real things.  Yes, I love good recipes, fab crafts and beauty products as much as the next person, but if you don’t put enough of you in it then why bother, you know?
-How do you personally measure success in the blogging world? 

“Success” – say that word over 30 times in your head.  What a weird word.  Anyway. 
Success in blogging is so varied.  Is making money from blogging being a “success”?  Is putting out quality posts that resonate with people and make them think, mean that you are a “success”?  I don’t really know the answer to this to be honest.  I guess it’s a good helping of all of the above, being able to provide the right mix that keeps people coming back to read what I have to say is a “success” to me. 
All of that being said, I was recently named in the Living and Loving magazine as an “A-Lister” in the Mommy Blogging category.  I don’t know if that is considered success, but it absolutely made my year.  (http://alfinos.wordpress.com/about-our-family/in-the-media/)




PS. Pictures by  Susie Le Blond Photography http://www.susieleblond.com/

Blogging Mommy – Meet Cat!

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Cat is one of those women who make you feel like you should be doing more with your life, hehehe, always busy but always has time for others. She takes the most beautiful pictures for her blog JUGGLING ACT OF LIFE and is one of those great supportive bloggers that always replies and comments and truely engages with readers 🙂
Here is what she has to say:
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-What do you do when not blogging?
I am an architect full time, a mom all the time and hopefully a good wife and daughter some times
-What made you decide to blog?
When I fell pregnant with twins I felt very alone in this new twin thing. I started Googling for twins and moms of twins and found out that something like a blog exists (way back in April 2007) I started reading and commenting and soon bloggers were pushing me to start myself. I only started in April 2008 when the boys were 6 months old. I still have contact with some of the mainly American moms of twins I “met” there. The first South African blog I read was Tertia’s So Close. Later when having twins was not the most overwhelming thing in the world I started reading South African blogs and easing into the SA blog community.
-What was your concept behind your blog?
In the beginning it was just my life -that of a working mom that at one stage had 3 kids under 3, parenting twins and an older kid and the things we did. Slowly my other loves in the world crept in – photography, crafting , baking and reading. Also camping and traveling with kids in SA. These days its more about general experiences with the children than specifics about us.
-Did you find yourself nervous at prospect of letting people into your life in this way?
At first I had no issue with it. I was mostly know outside of South Africa by a handful of people I felt I “know”. I have never used our real names on the blog but have always been honest about whats going on in our lives. Not just rainbows and unicorns.
-Do you ever worry that your kids will be like “mom why are you exposing my life?” (I worry sometimes)?
Later on in my blogging journey I started thinking about it as I became more known and in the beginning of this year when I was recognized twice in two weeks at school as being a blogger I started considering moving my blog private. The truth is that yes, the kids are growing up and have a say in their lives and what I write about it.When I received in the Princess computer curriculum this year and saw “Effective search with search engines” is mentioned it sealed my decision. So now I run two blogs – a private one with photos etc and more personal experiences and the public one where I do more general posts about anything and everything as well as some media things and giveaways.
-Does your family read your blog?
My hubby does. I do not keep it secret but do not advertise it either. My MIL knows it exists – she has met a few of my blogging friends but finds Facebook to keep in touch way easier. 
-What do you hope to achieve through the blog?
To be honest, I mainly blogged to keep our memories and reading back now in the last 6 years is a wonderful trip down memory lane. I wish I had the same fro the 4 years before that.

The support and friends I have gained through the blogging community in general has been fantastic. Some of them have become IRL friends. At the moment life is hectic and I find that some of my best friends are blogging friends. The ultimate of this is that 3 of us met up last year in May from 3 parts in the country at the Natal South Coast to spend 5 days together – it was fabulous. Therefore I think that now friendship is first of all what it’s about, secondly I think all bloggers love attention in one way or another (let’s be honest) and feedback and comments are lovely.

The marketing part of blogging is relatively low key on my blog, but I do the occasional bit. I truly love to give away stuff – it somehow brings me so much joy to see someone be happy with a win.

-What do you think about the blogging culture in South Africa?
I think in general we have a great community that supports and spread the love. I have really in troubled times received huge support and love. At times there has been nasty comments in the community between bloggers but I like to totally keep out of that. I have very much a “love and love alike – be what you want to be” attitude. Sometimes I will give my opinion about something a blogger states but seldom will I be nasty. I do think that due to the increasing interest of marketing people and companies in bloggers some of those that feel they should be seen by the companies have become jealous of those that had been seen by a lot of companies. 
-What do you think makes for a “good blog”
Good content, great photos and personality. A part of who and what you are must shine through – it’s what blogging is all about. The people.
-How do you personally measure success in the blogging world
I really do not blog for success and hardly look at statistics. I guess being contacted by marketing people is what would be a traditional measure and I am still to see the woman that does not love a freebie. Personally I love the comments and will often strike up a bit of conversation in the comments section. They feed my will to blog.

Interview with fellow NMB blogger, Megan Botha

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The SA mom blogs network has introduced me to so many awesome mom’s who blog, one of which lives right around here! Megan Kelly Botha. 
 I was pretty surprised to find her and especially surprised to find how sweet and approachable she is – I always fear that the more established bloggers would be all “I’m above you go away”…(hehehe)
Megan does A LOT of reviews on both her baby blog and beauty blog and the great thing is, she doesn’t sugar coat things…if a product sucks she wont hesitate to say so, and that is great 🙂 
I interviewed her about what blogging means to her here is what she had to say:

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1.  What do you do when not blogging?
I am quite busy, to be honest! I work from home, in the evenings, for an American based company, organizing gaming parties in the Tampa area. During the day, I am busy catching up on housework, enjoying life on a farm with 5 dogs at my ankles and a 5 month old who just wants to go-go-go! In between all of that, I try find some time to blog, do research on current trends and hopefully grab some time to record tutorials. (Which I haven’t since the birth of my baby boy)

2.  What made you decide to blog? 
I was originally reviewing beauty products on a popular beauty site and the community members kept encouraging me to start my own blog. So in the beginning, I reviewed products but after a few months, it started to grow into something more. I decided to start sharing bits of my life (especially as I was pregnant) the posts that were more than just reviews, were growing in popularity and after giving birth, I thought – what an incredible way to document our life, as new parents, so I started Baby Blog.

3.  What was your concept behind the two blogs?
As I said, originally – Beauty Blog, was aimed at reviewing beauty products but soon it grew into a lifestyle blog aimed at delivering my readers with reviews, tutorials and trends for beauty and fashion, as well as the latest news and whatever is going on in my life, at the moment.
Baby Blog is aimed at parents – old, new, expecting, anyone, really! I had originally launched, “Mom’s Manic Monday” on Beauty Blog, but soon found that I couldn’t just write one post a week, because as parents – we all know, beauty goes out the door and baby becomes the topic of every conversation. I thought that baby deserved its own blog and pretty soon launched Baby Blog.

4.  Did you find yourself nervous at prospect of letting people into your life in this way?
Originally, yes. 
I guess it reflects in my posts, too. I started with very basic, informative but to the point reviews which later grew into personal posts. Now, when taking on new reviews – I share photos of me, without any makeup, with pimples and red blotches. I PUT THAT, OUT ON THE INTERNET… FOREVER! I had many trust issues to start with, my background has made me build walls and question people BUT my blog has been a sort of therapy.  
I have become a better person since blogging, built genuine friendships, gained confidence and most of all – I am happier! This is the happiest I have ever been. Having the opportunity to say things and sometimes, I even receive blog-love for it. It’s just incredible! But I have also been able to work through a lot, putting thoughts into perspective and letting go of a lot of baggage. My blog has made me a better person!

5.  Do you ever worry that your kids will be like “mom why are you exposing my life?” 
Growing up, I moved A LOT! I think I have been to something like 6 primary schools and 4 high schools. Through the moves, we never really hoarded much and all the memories of my childhood are down to a single envelope of photos and a scrapbook of certificates and some school reports. Although, I have a very good memory, I am sure there are loads of things that I have forgotten, things that would have been great to read about or see in photos. I guess that, that is my motivation – I know that I flood my Instagram with photos of my kid (you’re probably sick of them!) and my other social media sites are often full of milestones that he has reached. Not to mention an entire blog dedicated to my adventures of motherhood… I hope that all of this documenting will show him, just how important he is to me, how much I love him… I never ever want to forget this moment. I try write in a way that won’t make him feel ashamed, but I think – with us as parents, he will most likely have our strange sense of humor… he already laughs when he farts. What it comes down to is, time is no friend of mine… so I do what I can to hold on to each treasured moment and maybe one day… I can share it with his kids. I believe his memories, photos and home videos are safer on my blog than in a shoebox that will more than likely get damaged, chewed up by our dogs or lost in a move. 

6.  Does your family read your blog?
My mom is a dedicated reader but as for the rest of my family – it isn’t very often. It used to upset me because I felt like how can I expect anyone else to read my blog, when my own family won’t. I have come to the realization that I don’t blog for anyone else but me… this is my way of getting everything out. So whether they read it or not, isn’t really my worry. Also, I don’t think many people take blogging seriously, they see it as a hobby and don’t really understand that their are communities who support and uplift bloggers. Some see blogging as a way of getting freebies, not realizing that sure, goody bags and media drops are LOADS of fun, but it takes time and effort to deliver posts that are worthy of those freebies. Time and effort isn’t free and those goodies take hard work and dedication! 

7. What do you hope to achieve through the blog?
I’d like to take my writing to a professional level but as for my blog – it always surprises me. I never expected much of it, yet it has become something! I mean – here I am, writing out my answers for an interview… how crazy is that? – Before my blog, I was an introvert, fighting a war inside. Since I’ve started my blog, I am constantly challenging myself, whether it be applying for new jobs or a writing internship, I approach people, I make friends, I put myself out there. In all honesty, my blog is probably one of the greatest things that could have happened, and that is more than I could have ever hoped for. 
Ideally, I’d like to inspire people and be helpful. I know how scary motherhood can be and family members are sometimes a nag with their advice, so I hope that my posts help by reading about my experiences. For instance, I cried for an entire day, when I had to make the decision to circumcise my son and in that moment, no one but Google could console me. It was reading real-life stories that comforted me and helped me through the trials of motherhood. I hate the idea of feeling alone so I hope to provide other moms with a place, where they will never feel that way. I hope that Beauty Blog teaches women to be confident in themselves, none of this conforming to media nonsense. Ladies, my thighs touch – and I am okay with that!

8. What do you think about the blogging culture in South Africa?
When I started blogging, I was naive and didn’t even know such a thing existed. I have learnt that a large part of the success of your blog, relies on how you interact with other bloggers. I believe in upliftment, encouragement and motivation. I believe in ‘community’. I get upset when I read bloggers who are VERY successful, in comparison to my little blog, put down newbees. I prefer the bloggers who read newbee posts, share them and assist where they can. I love how when you tweet about how bad your days is, there will be a blogger out there sending you caffeine and hugs! That’s the part of blogging culture that I choose to focus on. If you show support and engage with bloggers, they’ll return the love.

9. What do you think makes for a “good blog”
There are the obvious things to remember like make it appealing and always have engaging material. But I believe it’s the way you deliver it. I love blogs that are simple, easy to navigate through and the font is clean and neat – you should have no problem reading what they have to say. Their pictures are their own, showing honest results, etc. I enjoy relatable (and humorous) content – this is where honesty comes in. Don’t tell me about the foundation you “love” in hopes of partnering up with the brand, tell me the truth! I have the utmost respect for the brands who care about what bloggers say and they go onto share their links despite it not always being the review that states how absolutely perfect their products are. Those are the brands you want to work with and the only way of making that happen is by being honest. Honesty attracts a good audience – they’ll appreciate your content more as it differs from the “copy and paste” reviews. Recently, I had a challenging experience with skincare, as my readers will know, and even after trying to the fix the problem, my skin just wasn’t agreeing with their products. I posted my review, pictures and all and in return, I got one of the most heartfelt letters from the company, thanking me for the time and most importantly, the honesty! I value that more than anything! If you can afford MAC and Bobbi Brown – good for you! Tell me about it! But if you can’t, then tell me about the products you use, the ones you love and don’t. In a recent post, I admitted that I use R25 eyeliner found at a Chinese shop – it doesn’t make me any less of a blogger. If you’re into fashion – don’t tell me you’re a size 2, when you’re a size 8. I am the first to admit that I am no model – I have a baby and I enjoy food! Honest content is appealing because people realize you are only human, they put themselves in your shoes and see… wow, we’re alike, I could so enjoy having a glass of wine with this blogger.

10. How do you personally measure success in the blogging world
Success is determined by your own measure. As mentioned, I never set out for my blog to be anything more than sharing my opinion but I have gained SO much from it. Just writing this, I see how much it has given me. That is how I measure success. It is not by how many Twitter followers you have, or how many Facebook likes you get in an hour – it is about how it makes YOU feel. After writing a post, I feel a sense of accomplishment, success and excitement. Often, as I complete one post, I want to write the next and the next and the next, scheduling them to go live on different days. Then there are the days that I have nothing, no energy, no inspiration – I just want to be a mom. And that is ok. I listen to my mom and how highly she speaks of my blogs, how she questions others, “have you read this one, or that one?” – sure, she is my mom. So she is meant to do that, right? – but I have made her proud, my husband believes that anything is possible since I started blogging and most of all, I make me proud… and happy!  


Megan Kelly Botha


083 657 6409  
    

The head and heart behind SA mom blogs

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Recently I have been raving about the moms I have met through SA mom blogs so I thought it would only be right to introduce you to the lady who started the whole initiative Heather Step…Reading her blog you get the feeling that you are listening to an old friend, she just has that comfortable niceness about her which makes you feel like you would trust her with your secrets within half an hour of meeting her…weird but true.
Here what Heather has to say:
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-I love what you are doing bringing all the SA mom bloggers together, where did the idea come from?
I guess the idea really came from frustration of getting all these USA mom blogger opportunities in my inbox, knowing that I couldn’t participate because they are overseas. I see how established mom bloggers are in other countries and I want that for us. I so enjoy writing, and it would be wonderful to start something to bring us together and see where it can go. I have just discovered this site britmums.com and have been dreaming a little!
-What made you decide to blog in the first place?
I started blogging to document my infertility journey. I attended an online fertility telesummit and got clicking away, one thing led to another and I saw this advert for the fertility blogs. I started there, then I moved to my own domain (surviveandthrive.co.za) and later after hacking, moved to onestepatatime.co.za.
-What was your concept behind the whole thing?
I started out just to survive my infertility experience and connect with other bloggers going through the same thing. Now it is about surviving the toddler years! I am just taking it one step at a time!
-Did you find yourself nervous at prospect of letting people into your life in this way?
I initially kept it to myself but now I’ve made it more public. I think the biggest risk was writing about my parenting opinions (attachment parenting, extended breastfeeding) and knowing that not everyone I know would agree. At the end of the day I am documenting my experiences and the ups and downs of trying to parent as best as I can, and although it may make me vulnerable, it also has brought some fantastic friendships and connections.
-Do you ever worry that your kids will be like “mom why are you exposing my life?” (I worry sometimes)?
I do worry about that. I think while they are little it isn’t such a big deal, but as they get older I predict my blog will probably change and I might focus on other things. We’ll see…
-Does your family read your blog?
Yes. My mom even comments sometimes. My husband helps me edit occasionally.
-What do you hope to achieve through the blog?
I hope to create a supportive platform for those going through infertility and for moms battling parenting struggles. For my SA Mom blogs site I would like to create more connections and increase the numbers on the blogroll. From there on I would like to build it up into a real blog resource for SA Mom Bloggers.
-What do you think about the blogging culture in South Africa?
I have met some awesome bloggers so far but I feel like I am a bit of a newbie on the SA blog scene. Even though I have been blogging since 2010 and connecting with the infertility community, I have only just started connecting with SA bloggers, going to events and doing sponsored posts. I am hoping to get more involved.
-What do you think makes for a “good blog”
A good blog is one where you can’t wait to read the next post. You have to be a good writer and build a connection through the story of your life.
-How do you personally measure success in the blogging world
This month’s edition of Living and Loving magazine had a list of the top mommy bloggers in SA. I think that would be success! Increasing readership, making money but still “blogging for profit without selling your soul” would be success for me.
Heather Step is a stay at home mom to Nicholas, born June 2012. After enduring five years of infertility he was totally worth the wait! When she isn’t following him around she likes writing and blogging at http://onestepatatime.co.za. She has also founded a blog directory for South African mom bloggers: http://samomblogs.co.za. Heather also used to be a Grade One teacher and has an interest in children and psychology. She has a BA (Hons) degree in Psychology and is also an Emotional Freedom Techniques practitioner. You can read more about that at http://healwithheather.com.  She lives in Johannesburg, South Africa, with her husband, little Nicky, and their two dogs.
List your blog: http://samomblogs.co.za/list-your-blog
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Meet “The Stiletto Mum”

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So you guys know how I love finding out about people (the journalist in me) well this week I chatted to Charlotte over at The Stiletto Mum , she is part of the SA MOM BLOGS network and her blog is a great read.
She is one of the most honest bloggers I have ever come across and you find yourself really relating to her..

Here is what she has to say about blogging:

-What made you decide to blog?

When my eldest was a baby it was just the two of us, I had time to scrapbook every moment of her life. By the time I had my second we were a family of four with my BF working two jobs so I never had to time to continue with the scrapbooking. I felt it wasn’t fair. I started my first blog called “Imperfect Mom” but I did a total of 2 posts and left it to join Moomie (a parenting forum that can be found at www.moomie.co.za). Moomie was great, but I still felt that I’m not doing for my second that I did for my first and one day I found WordPress and started “Scaredmom’s Blog” I blogged at scared mom for just under 3 years. The Stilettomum was born because I was no longer scared of parenting and I knew who I was and what I wanted out of life. Now I blog about taking on life, love and parenting one stiletto clad step at a time.

-What was your concept behind the whole thing?

An online diary for my children so that they can see their childhood through my eyes but somehow over the last couple of years my blog became a place where I blog about my custody and maintenance struggles. I was open about everything and gave advice to so many people. I loved it. I have moved back to mostly blogging about my children and myself.

-Did you find yourself nervous at prospect of letting people into your life in this way?

I have always been very open, so the idea of people looking into my life did not bother me much.

-Do you ever worry that your kids will be like “mom why are you exposing my life?” (I worry sometimes)?

As Amandalynn got older I mostly ask her if I can post x,y,z. She knows about the blog and sometimes I will show it to her on my tablet. Both my kids have Facebook pages and I tag them in every photo I take of them. People tend to think that is a bit much, but now when they turn 13 and I allow them access to the World Wide Web their entire lives will be there. I think it is awesome, maybe they will hate it, maybe not, but I will cross that bridge when I get there.

-Does your family read your blog?

My aunts read my blog and most of my friends read it as well. They aren’t always happy about what I post, but they need to then deal with it or stop reading.

-What do you hope to achieve through the blog?

I’m not doing this to make money, I’m doing this for myself and for my children. I want to be able to look back when they are all grown up and think about how good life was/is. I have started putting my book in PDF format, I want to print it in book form for my girls.

-What do you think about the blogging culture in South Africa?

I have met a couple of blogging moms and they are awesome. I do not really follow any other kind of blogs. I cannot really comment on the culture in SA but the culture for moms is we help each other and support each other.

-What do you think makes for a “good blog”

Honesty. You cannot be all happy all the time. Be honest. 

-How do you personally measure success in the blogging world?

I often get emails from moms about my struggle and how honest I am. That for me is success, if my struggle helps other then my blog is a success. 
*Thanks Charlotte you rock and I love the fb idea 🙂 

Thursday, is her day….blogger interviews (Fathima Khan of Decadently Addicted)

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When I started this blog in 2011, I did it because I was venturing out of the writing side of media and didn’t want to lose my voice...FIRST EVER POST  But as with everything, voices change… and I seem to have gone from writing about fashion, events and weight loss (not much changed there) to writing about raising a child after losing one and about DIY and food and naturally about me (I’m self indulgent like that)…More recently I have had the chance to run cool competitions and interview cool people and my blog, which is always going to be something I can look back on to see how my life has evolved, has grown into a bit of a mommy blog…
So much show that I have joined a great network of mommy bloggers, SA.MomBlogs Although I like to think of myself more as a mom who happens to blog…hehehe
The network has exposed me to a bunch of great women and their super interesting blogs; some funny, some serious and some sinfully indulgent….
Since I’m pretty much still a rookie in the whole blogging business, I have asked some of my favourite bloggers about being a mommy blogger, or a blogger who happens to be a mom, in South Africa 🙂
The questions to the different ladies are fairly similar, probably because they are the questions I often ask myself…

Here is what my first victim  interviewee had to say:

Decadent Addiction

She is Fathima Khan of Decadently Addicted, a fun foodie blog that will make you say “diet? what diet?” she has low cal things on there too, mind you, but as I said, “diet? what diet?”…

My Photo
–What made you decide to blog? I craved a creative and intellectual outlet. I was a career crazy women for many years. I was retrenched and decided to take the opportunity to take back being part of my kids lives. As much as I love them, I also need something that is me and mine.
-What was your concept behind the whole thing? It started as a way to document my experiments, but when I started blogging this whole other persona emerged and took over. So now it’s a recipe with a little story which links together.
-Did you find yourself nervous at prospect of letting people into your life in this way? I am a fiercely private person and blogging gives you a false sense of security because you’re just typing away alone at your laptop. Your audience is not sitting in front of you! So it’s a great medium for us introverts because we too have something to say. So no I’m not nervous.
-Do you ever worry that your kids will be like “mom why are you exposing my life?” I deliberately keep my kids exposure on the blog to a minimum. They are not in a position to choose wisely and I don’t want them to regret it later on. My son has twisted my arm to make a few mentions of him though.
-Does your family read your blog? Not really and that’s fine. It makes talking about them easier ;). 
-What do you hope to achieve through the blog? Spread my love of food and the ease of creating scrumptious dishes. To let the first time cook know, step by step, what they should be doing and with pics of course. It’s not that hard, just takes practice.
-What do you think about the blogging culture in South Africa? We are at a critical stage. The international stage sees blogging as the next wave of the marketing. So it’s going to be interesting to see the extent to which SA will follow suite. The blogging space has a bad name and I would like to be part of the changing this perception.
I think we are pretty segmented as a community and this is why I started Blog Addict to create a platform for all types of bloggers. Newbie, seasoned, fashion, tech, travel, food, gender equality, social upliftment, etc. it also includes life experienced and younger bloggers from across SA.

-What do you think makes for a “good blog”? A passionate blogger who produces honest, informed content on their area of interest.  Blogging for me is written by the heart and guided by the head. Someone so aptly described it as a familiar friend’s opinion.
-How do you personally measure success in the blogging world? Success to me is a very personal barometer. For some it’s ad space or number of followers or just getting the content out into the blogosphere. For me it’s reaching a person with my words and making a difference in that person’s life.
-Please give us a link to your favourite recipe – I haven’t posted that yet! But