Doing the blog hop

It’s time for some blog hopping. GALUMPH!

What’s a blog hop? Well I only found out myself three days ago thanks to my wonderful friend Sarah from Pearls of Willsdom (this is your cue to follow her as she’s down right hilarious, but at other times she’ll move you to tears. She’s also on Facebook here). A blog hop is similar to the good ol’ chain letter, but lucky for me, there’s no horrible impending disaster threatened to occur if I don’t do this one. Bonus!

This blog hop is about my writing, something that’s caused me great anxiety for years. Even though I was in communications/PR for 15 years. AND even though I write a blog. Go figure.

So here it goes:

How does my writing differ from others in its genre?

I must admit it’s pretty hard to stand out in the food blogging arena simply because there are SO many of us. I think mine has been better received ever since I started being honest about my own struggle with mental health. Suddenly I feel the blog is a wonderful outlet for me to share my daily struggles while adding in a good dose of therapy through my cooking.

Why do I write what I do?

It’s very simple - to build awareness about mental illness.

For quite sometime I’ve wanted to give my experience with poor mental health a purpose. That purpose is to break down stigma surrounding mental illness and maybe help some other people along the way realise they’re not alone.

How does my writing process work?

Depends on the post. Some are harder to write then others. Like the one on binge eating. That one was written, rewritten, rewritten again, and then left to sit for over a week. After that I did some more rewriting and realised I was so nervous about telling that story. Finally I hit publish and it’s been the most viewed post on my blog.

When it comes to writing the recipes they’ve all been tested by me. I try to make them as simple as possible, hence why a lot of them are modified from other recipes just so I can give it my own unique touch.

Why do I write?

Because I have to. It’s as simple as that. I have too many thoughts that go on in my head and by writing them down I can give them some sort of order and understanding.

What am I working on?

I’m currently working on a post, which will be a compassionate letter to myself. I’m also working on getting back into a working life and not letting my anxieties get the better of me. I’m not sure who’s winning that battle, yet.

Now I get to choose three blogs that I follow that get to do the blog hop next. But as I don’t follow many blogs, and one is the one I already mentioned, Pearls of Willsdom, I’m just choosing two blogs for you to enjoy.

Me and my 2 guys
Bree is a hooker, stitcher, cooker and an all round bonza chick. I love the amazing things she creates from quilts to shawls, beanies to bunting, all while bringing up two children. You can follow her on Facebook here.

Bizzy Lizzy’s good things
Now this woman can cook and write. I love Liz’s zest for the cooking life and the importance of cooking with local, seasonal produce. She has a long history of working in the food industry so she knows what she’s talking about. You can read more about her here.