Tell us about yourself and your life?
I’ve been happily married for nearly thirty years and we have two dear children; a young man of twenty-three and a young lady of twenty. I was born in Dordrecht but grew up in Brabant. I met my husband when he was a student in Tilburg and I eventually moved to the Randstad with him. But still, my heart and soul lie in Brabant. Going back home, filling my lungs again with the fresh air of the countryside, is always guaranteed to make me happy.
Tell us about your career, your Instagram feed, your mission?
After obtaining my ‘VWO’ diploma, I went on to follow ‘Secretarial Studies’ at ‘Schoevers’, completing this successfully and gaining a secretarial position with Shell. That led to being head-hunted by a company in Rotterdam and in turn accepting the offer to be ‘PA’ to their top man. I spent eleven happy and successful years there, learning a lot and travelling the world into the bargain. Finally though, when the children reached school age, I made the decision to be a stay at home Mom.
A friend of mine had recently started blogging so I joined her. It was relatively new then and I had never heard of it before but in no time we were doing really well. There then followed a blog targeted at young mothers and we coupled it to Instagram. That provided the initial foundation for my current Instagram account, which is now the sole basis of what I do. The niche market that I aim to attract is ‘women over forty’ as I feel there is very little on social media that targets this specific group. I notice that women in this age category are beginning to prefer scrolling through Instagram as opposed to FB. My ideal situation would be that I find a few fixed brands that are willing to work with me regularly and that it all falls into place effortlessly. Even better would be if someone other than me, got it up and running in the first place ha ha ha!
If you had a warning label, what would it be?
Hmm, let me think about that one. I think a good one might be ‘Stay Alert’ as unfortunately, not everyone that you come across in life is to be trusted. For example, recently I accepted the offer of a drink, which turned out to be spiked. Luckily the good friend I was with, spotted it immediately. I spent that night, tossing and turning and blaming myself for how naïve I had been.
Any regrets?
Regrets…no not any that are big enough to mention. Little things happen in life, which don’t go as planned and you learn to live with that – but real regrets – no I can’t say that I have.
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
That I was privileged to give birth to two beautiful individuals.
What is your fantasy version of your older self, let’s say 80 years old?
Yes, well I’d be an old fashionista, one who still enjoys life to the full! I’d go out to dinner, on lunch dates, and make city trips with either my husband or my close friends. I already have a group of four ladies that I’ve known for years which I go on holiday with annually. On Ibiza one time, we saw a group of four older lady friends and took a photo of them. ‘This‘ll be us in forty years!’ we said to each other. I love enjoying all that life has to offer but unfortunately for the last eighteen months Corona has thrown a spanner in the works. When everything returns to normal, we’ll pick up where we left off.
What Would You Tweet to Your Younger Self?
Be happy and enjoy every minute.
What do you do to stay positive both mentally and physically?
If I’m honest, I don’t have to try too hard as I’m a positive person by nature. I always think in terms of solutions instead of problems. So what I do and how I do it just happens naturally. If I really want to get rid of my energy I’ll go for a run or to the gym. Sometimes I’ll put on my favourite music at top volume and enjoy a good dance to that. I do have to admit though that if I’m sad or worried, I tend to keep it to myself rather than worry other people with it. This year I lost my father and I went into survival mode, making sure that everyone else was being cared for. I felt like this until we went to Spain at Easter and visited places where I’d been with him. Then everything came out.
Latest Google search?
A new holiday destination. Hopefully we’ll be in Singapore for Christmas.
What is your age and how old do you feel?
I’m fifty-four but I feel like I’m thirty-four!
