Blogger Behind the Blog {Odd Socks and Lollipops}

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 Jenni from Odd Socks and Lollipops.

Here’s Jenni with more about her blogging life:

Where did your blog name come from?

I am not really sure exactly, after I had been blogging for about 6 months at the blog Baby Chaos, I realised that the name wasn’t really going to last very long! And as I always wear Odd Socks and just thought Odd Socks and Lollipops sounded fun!

When did you start your blog and why?

I started blogging when I was on maternity leave in the summer of 2014 so that I could do something for me, but also to record my journey through motherhood.

What did you do before you blogged?

My main hobby before I started blogging was playing online games. I played World of Warcraft (a lot!) and ran a guild which was a bit like trying to herd cats!

What was your first post?

*runs off to check* my first ever post (back in June 2014) was called Introductions and then I didn’t post for weeks! It did take me a while to get in to the swing of things (as my daughter really hated sleep until she was about 2!)

What inspires you to blog?

I think mainly the compulsion I feel to write, I have always written – and have about a million notebooks (and about 12 novels in pieces in lots of notebooks). Also since my Fibromyalgia Diagnosis I have wanted to share my thoughts in the hope that, down the line, it will help someone else who is diagnosed.

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

One of my posts which gets the most views (and this makes me sad) is one called My Father is a disappointment. I wrote it to offload and was actually hesitant about pressing publish. I am glad I did as I had lots of responses about people who had experienced similar which made me sad, because I wouldn’t wish that on anyone but it also made me feel better too – as I felt less alone.

The post I am most proud of (I am not sure that it’s the right word?) or rather the post I am most proud of myself for writing was my post called Empty about my recent pregnancy that wasn’t meant to be. It was hard to write but I felt a little better for writing it.

The post I enjoyed writing the most was my post about all of the reasons there are to eat biscuits!

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

I don’t think so, other than the My Father is a Disappointment post – I guess I just expected it to be my rant and I was sad to find out how common a situation it is

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

I am not really sure to be honest, I feel like I am just plodding along and not really planning for the future, I try to get organised but I am not very good at it!

What is your favourite thing about blogging?

I think finding a new blog that I grow to love, or reading a new post from one of my favourite blogs.

…and your least favourite?

This has to be writing a review of something that I don’t like, or we didn’t get on with – I am always honest with my reviews and try to balance to bad with good, but I can’t help feeling mean and have a really hard time finding the right way to word things.

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

One post which sticks in my mind, from my very early blogging days is ‘A year of living with Silent Reflux‘ by the lovely Tara over at After The Rain – it really resonated with me, and as I was struggling (or rather my daughter was struggling) with Silent Reflux it helped me feel like I wasn’t the only one who was finding things almost impossible and that it was ok to feel upset and angry.

What blog do you love to read and why?

So many blogs to choose from! If I have to pick then… I love reading After the Rain – I love Tara’s outlook on things and her daughter is so cute – I can just imagine all the mayhem her and my daughter could cause!

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

I post more often, and I spend longer over my posts, and as I have fallen in love with taking billions of photos, I try to include them in all of my posts.

Is blogging what you expected it to be?

I am not really sure what I expected blogging to be, I didn’t really read blogs before I started blogging myself. I just wanted to write. Though I am shocked (surprised?) by all the work that goes on ‘behind the scenes’.

What’s been your favourite blog collaboration to date?

I loved being part of the launch team for the Message in a Bottle book – I will be doing my review of the finished book in the new couple of weeks – it’s awesome! It felt so wonderful to be part of the creative process of something I know that my daughter is going to love.

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

As my husband is Danish – I am going to say Lego/Lego Duplo as Boo and my husband always have so much fun building and making mad creations.

Have you had any blogging fails so far?

I don’t think so! Though I did try to make a Twirlywoos Halloween costume for Boo when she was 1 and it was so bad I couldn’t blog about it (I think I took one photo of it – and that was when she was out trick or treating in it, in the dark – it was worthy of a Pinterest Fail post though!

What is your biggest blogging hope, dream or ambition?

I hope I can become more organised. My dream is to be able to share the blog with my daughter when she is older and her looks at all the things we did when she was tiny and that she loves the blog as much as I do!

What do you do when you’re not blogging?

I am usually playing trains, or making a mess crafting things with my daughter. And when she is in bed I like to play World of Warcraft or read a good book.

and lastly, tell us all a random fact about yourself

I met my husband through playing World of Warcraft!

  Now that you know all about Jenni from Odd Socks and Lollipops, make sure you go and read her blog. You can follow her on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram – thanks so much Jenni for being involved!