Blogger Behind the Blog {This Glorious Life}

Here’s this week’s instalment of Blogger Behind the Blog where I interview a blogger all about their reasons for blogging and what it means to them. This week I’m joined by Madeline from This Glorious Life.

Here’s Madeline with more about her blogging life:

Where did your blog name come from?

My blog is called This Glorious Life, and it did take me a while to settle on it.  I wanted something that would allow me to write about various topics and not limit me in the future too much as my children get older.  I also knew I wanted to write about psychology and how we can use it to our advantage to make our lives happier, easier etc.  I tried a few options along the lines of ‘this … life’ but kept coming back to glorious because it’s a word my parents use and I love having that link to them in there.

When did you start your blog and why?

I started my blog in February 2015.  My maternity leave had just ended when I was offered voluntary redundancy from my office job, so I took the chance to leave and start something new.  At the time I didn’t know much at all about blogging but I just knew I wanted to try it!

What did you do before you blogged?

Before I started my blog I worked in administration.  I had dropped down to just 2 days a week after Rhys was born but then there was a huge restructure in my office when I was pregnant with Nerys and I ended up having to go back up to 5 days a week, which I didn’t really want to do.  So when the chance came to take redundancy after she was born I took it.

What was your first post?

My very first post was very short and basically explained that I was ready to try something new.  It was titled ‘every new beginning‘ (because I’d had the song ‘closing time’ in my head for days and the lyrics seemed fitting!)

What inspires you to blog?

All sorts of things inspire me to blog.  My children, things I chat to my mum friends about, psychological studies I read about, and reading other people’s blogs too.

What post has had the best response, which post are you most proud of and which one did you most enjoy writing?

The post that’s had the best response so far I think has been ‘Are the baby days behind us?‘, where I wrote about how something really small made me start to wonder if the baby days are almost behind us as, at the time, we really weren’t sure if we would try for a third child.

The post I’m most proud of is ‘13 things I wish I’d known about breastfeeding‘ because it’s something that I feel quite strongly about, having struggled to breastfeed my son.  I really hope that it might help at least one other woman!

The post I enjoyed writing the most is probably ‘A month of photos (#showyouwerethere)‘, which is a collection of photos that I took over the course of a month that had me in them.  Not because I’m a egotistical selfie-queen!  But because I feel so strongly that us parents, and especially mums, don’t get in photos enough.  We take so many of our children but we don’t get in there with them.  Yet what our children will want most in the future is photos of us!  So for the last 2 years I’ve spent the month of March trying to get in a photo a day, for my children.

Have any of your posts not had the response that you expected?

I can’t think that I’ve ever had a negative response to anything I’ve written, but I know some posts haven’t really had any response at all which is a bit hard sometimes when you’ve put a lot of time and heart into writing them.  I need to make more of an effort to get my work ‘out there’ though I think!

Where do you see your blog in a year’s time?

In a year’s time, I would love my blog to be going from strength to strength.  I’m hoping to have created an ebook by the end of next year too which I’m quite excited about.

What is your favourite thing about blogging?

My favourite thing about blogging is the creativity and freedom of it.  I love being able to sit down and write about whatever it is I want to write about!

…and your least favourite?

My least favourite thing I suppose is the pressure I sometimes put on myself to write posts when I should maybe just take a night off and not worry about it.

What’s the best blog post you have ever read?

Oh wow that’s a tricky question!  I’ve read so many blog posts over the last few years, and at different times different posts have stood out to me.  That’s what I love about blogs, there are so many out there, there’s always someone with something helpful or supportive to say when it’s the middle of the night and you need to read something reassuring as a mum!

What blog do you love to read and why?

This is another tricky question because there are so many fab blogs out there, but I always enjoy reading Mum in Brum.

Do you do anything differently now to when you started blogging?

I’m much more active on social media and linkies than I was when I started blogging.  Although there’s still so much more I could be doing, I’m getting better at sharing my posts and putting myself out there.

Is blogging what you expected it to be?

Blogging is what I expected it to be and more!

<What’s been your favourite blog collaboration to date?

I absolutely loved working on the #wearehere project to commemorate the battle of the somme.  It was just an incredible event to be a part of.

Are there any brands you would love to work with, why?

We’ve not been away on holiday as a family since Nerys came along, so I’d love to work with Bluestone or Butlins for a trip away in the UK!  Then when the children are older I’d love to do a Mark Warner holiday, they always look amazing!

Have you had any blogging fails so far?

I don’t think I’ve really had any fails so far (touch wood!).  I think maybe my only kind of fail is not being proactive enough with getting involved in the blogging community and building a presence on social media.

What is your biggest blogging hope, dream or ambition?

My biggest dream is for my blog to be known as somewhere people can go to read things that are helpful, hopefully uplifting and occasionally moving.  And I would love for it to bring in a decent bit of money too!

What do you do when you’re not blogging?

When I’m not blogging I take care of my two children and work on building up my photography business.  I also love to watch box sets of tv programmes.  I binge-watched all of Game of Thrones over the summer and absolutely loved it.  I will also happily watch Gilmore Girls and Friends over and over again.

and lastly, tell us all a random fact about yourself.

I was born on Friday the 13th.  Nothing bad or scary about that date at all!

Now that you know all about Madeline from This Glorious Life, make sure you go and read her blog. You can follow her on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram – thanks so much Madeline for being involved!