BLOGGING GRANDMOTHERS SERIES WITH SUE FROM SIZZLING TOWARDS 60 & BEYOND
The 8th blogging grandmother to be
featured for this series is Sue from Sizzling Towards 60 & Beyond.
QUESTIONS ABOUT YOUR BLOG
NAME OF YOUR BLOG: SIZZLING TOWARDS 60 & BEYOND – ENCOURAGING WOMEN OVER 50 TO BE FIT, FABULOUS, HEALTHIER & HAPPIER
SOCIAL MEDIA: Facebook • Instagram • Pinterest • Twitter
WHERE DO YOU LIVE: I live in sunny Queensland, Australia in the state capital which is Brisbane. My suburb is Kangaroo Point which sounds very Australian – doesn’t it? But no, we don’t have kangaroos hopping down the main street.
WHAT DO YOU WRITE ABOUT: I’m passionate about women being the best version of themselves and keeping fit, fabulous, healthier and happier during midlife and beyond.
HOW DID YOU COME UP WITH THE NAME FOR YOUR BLOG: I’m not really sure to be honest. I wanted to portray something fun and vibrant and get the message that life after 50 can be wonderful. I’ve recently added ‘& Beyond’ because I just turned 60 and no way am I going to stop Sizzling!
WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO START BLOGGING: I had recently retired and after a few months I felt a little lost. I had worked full time most of my life, and although I enjoy traveling with my husband, I found it hard to get into the rhythm of not having to get up each morning. We all need a purpose and I wanted to share my passion of being fit and active in later life and to encourage other women to forget about age and just start living.
HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN BLOGGING: 2.5 years
WHAT DO YOU FIND MOST CHALLENGING OR FRUSTRATING ABOUT BLOGGING: Sometimes I feel frustrated because I’m ‘not the next big thing’ in blogging and don’t have the so-called thousands of followers other bloggers have. Also a pet peeve of mine, is when people just link and run at link parties. We are all working hard and it can be annoying if you are commenting and sharing other bloggers’ work but that isn’t reciprocated. We should all be supporting each other.
HOW OFTEN DO YOU BLOG: Over the last few months I’ve had monthly themes and written 5 posts per week. However, it depends on what I have to write about and if I don’t have anything worthwhile to say then I don’t post. It can be addictive though!
DO YOU PARTICIPATE IN LINK PARTIES: Yes. I find link parties a great way to share your work and also connect with other bloggers. I co-host three parties – Over the Moon Link Party, Blogger’s Pit Stop and Blogging Grandmothers Link Party (with Dee).
THE BEST THING ABOUT BLOGGING: Oh definitely the connections I’ve made. I’ve met so many wonderful women 50+ who are all discovering who they are beyond the empty nest. Some have become very close friends, in particular, Leanne from Cresting the Hill who is another Aussie blogger. She lives on the opposite side of Australia from me but we are firm friends.
QUESTIONS ABOUT YOU AS A GRANDMOTHER
WHAT DO YOUR GRANDCHILDREN CALL YOU: My darling grandson, Ethan calls me Nan and I’m Nanna Sue to Lexie, Harry & Camden (my step daughter’s children).
HOW MANY GRANDCHILDREN DO YOU HAVE: I have one with my daughter and I have three on my husband’s side of the family.
HOW OFTEN DO YOU GET TO SEE YOUR GRANDCHILDREN: I am so lucky to see my grandson each Wednesday and it is the highlight of my week. Our other grandchildren we mainly see at birthdays and Christmas.
WHAT IS THE BEST THING ABOUT BEING A GRANDMOTHER: The utter joy that grandchildren bring and realizing that you have more love in your heart than you thought you had. I love that my grandson Ethan has taught me to stop, breathe and enjoy the moment.
QUESTIONS ABOUT YOU
MARRIED, SINGLE, DIVORCED, WIDOWED: I am married to Mike and will celebrate 20 years of marriage in 2018. He is my best friend and we enjoy traveling together.
HOW MANY CHILDREN DO YOU HAVE: I have a daughter, Rachel and a son, Nathan and I love them both unconditionally.
DO YOU WORK OR ARE YOU RETIRED, WHAT IS OR WAS YOUR PROFESSION: My first job was owning my own ballet school, but after children came along I worked in Business and Accounting. I’m retired now but do the odd bookkeeping and website maintenance. I also volunteer one day a week at my MIL’s retirement home.
WHAT IS THE BEST AND WORST THING ABOUT GETTING OLDER: The best thing for me is that I finally came to terms with loving the person who I am and accepting myself. It is all about attitude and I like to think I have a positive outlook. Obviously, our bodies age but I exercise regularly and that makes life so much easier.
WHAT MAKES YOU HAPPY: Being with my family and friends and enjoying their company and running away to the Coast with my darling for long weekends.
WHAT 3 WORDS BEST DESCRIBE YOU: Loving, caring and driven.
WHAT ARE 3 INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT YOU: I started running at 50 and ran a full marathon at 55, I’ve walked along the Great Wall of China and I can just about hold a conversation in Italian.
HOBBIES: I love to run and run twice a week with my friends. We are called the Saturday Sisters. I enjoy reading, cooking, travel and knitting/crochet. I also love making birthday cakes for the grandchildren usually with a theme.
PETS: We don’t have any pets at the moment, but my husband would love a little dog.
FAV ICE CREAM: Salted caramel and macadamia
FAV COLD DRINK: Champagne! It makes every day a celebration!
FAV FOOD: None, I just love food.
FAV AROMA: Morning coffee – my husband has been making me a morning coffee for nearly 25 years.
FAV PERFUME: I love Red Door – it has been around for years.
FAV AUTHOR: I love Maeve Binchy, Jodie Picoult & Lisa Genova.
FAV MUSIC: Anything from 70s & 80s which of course includes ABBA!
FAV TV SHOW: I loved Downton Abbey (it has finished now) – all the history and beautiful clothes of that 1900 – 1920s era. Plus my current favourite is ‘Offspring’ an Australian drama.
FAV TV SHOW WHEN YOU WERE A CHILD: Now this is going way back – The Patty Duke Show and Gilligan’s Island.
WERE YOU A GIRLY GIRL OR A TOMBOY AS A CHILD: Definitely a girly girl.
SPRING, SUMMER, FALL, OR WINTER: I love all the seasons but Spring and Fall are my favourites. In Brisbane, we don’t really have definite seasons which I would love to experience. It is generally quite warm for most of the year and doesn’t get too cold in Winter with clear blue skies.
DO YOU HAVE A TALENT: I think my talent is making people feel motivated to achieve their goals and dreams.
WHAT TALENT WOULD YOU MOST LIKE TO HAVE: I would love to be able to sing and not just in the shower!
EARLY BIRD OR NIGHT OWL: I’m not a great sleeper so sometimes I might get up at 3 am to write on my blog.
HOW DO YOU RELAX: We have an apartment at the beach so we escape there and I walk along the beach, read for hours and then enjoy a delicious dinner.
MOVIES OR BOOKS: Books because I can get lost for hours in a good book and lately I haven’t had any movies that really grab me.
CELL PHONE – APPLE OR ANDROID: Apple
CALLING OR TEXTING: Mostly texting because it is so convenient unless I want to have a long chat.
IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE YOU’D LIKE TO TELL US: I’ve just celebrated my 60th birthday and was totally spoilt! My blog theme for August was Celebrating Life Now! and included ways to celebrate the small things as well as the big events in your life. My husband and I are also off to Europe in October so have been busy planning our trip and I can’t wait. Thank you Dee for inviting me to be part of this Blogging Grandmothers Series and for introducing fabulous Grandmothers who have wonderful stories to share.
*Who will be the next featured grandmother in this series?
*You can see those who have been featured at the bottom of the this page.
If you would like to be featured, you must first join our Blogging Grandmothers group at Facebook. Click here to join. Once you're approved as a member, let me (Grammy Dee) know you’re interested and we’ll get it set up.
Click here to see where I party!
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