My blog is ten years old now. My YouTube channel is 9 years old. And I have seduced you all with the idea that one day you will get to know who I really am. I guess the day has come, and you can read about my well-rounded intro in this post. Today I am going to share my food blogging journey with you.
About Me
For starters, my name is Freda Muyambo, sometimes I plug in my maiden name, Freda Palm Muyambo. And that is little old me. Throughout my food blogging journey, I have hidden behind a semi pseudonym and called myself Freedes Em. Why? Let me confess. There was a time I used to have an opinion on just about everything. Every little thing under the sun. And I often got into trouble for it. Sigh. I am 40 now and things haven’t changed much at all.
My Blogging Inspiration
I was inspired to blog by my friend called Maff or The Girl With a Fro. She has shut down her blog for years but I literally lived to read her every word as she spoke about her family, growing up, identity crisis being mixed race and her awe-inspiring walk with God. I marveled at her vulnerability and dependence on God for just about everything from the babies sleeping to weight loss. So I decided I needed practice.
My Blogging Journey
My first was called afriquanwoman. It is where I shared a lot about my struggles in my career as an engineer. Topics included what I wore to work, what I did, who inspired my career, and so on. I also used to draw all these graphics using Word or PowerPoint. I never posted photos. After a year or so, I shut it down. I don’t think I will ever publish it again. It was during a time I went through a challenging period in my career, and let’s just say it is not very nice seeing rant after rant. It’s depressing. So I stopped.
My second blog was called “mother of a star.” I started it after I became a mom. Oh gosh, that too was another journey; being a first-time mom. But I will share more on that another time. Moments got deep then man.
Et voila! My Burnt Orange. My Burnt Orange is actually my third blog. I also blog and write on other sites, and land myself into even more hot sauce. There was a time I started attacking challenging some of my feminist friends through heated debates. But I actually learned a lot about the topic at hand. After that, I decided to just stick with food, to keep me out of trouble. And My Burnt Orange does that for me. It has been a good 10 years of research, writing, and musing about all things African food. I find it very rewarding.
What Changed Along the Way
When I look back at the words I wrote a decade ago, sometimes I just want to slap myself. I also had an annoying habit of proofreading my friends’ blogs and telling them about the typos I found. That deserves a slap too. It happens but thankfully I don’t do that anymore. Teehee!
The End
So there we have it, folks. That is the story of how I started this blog. It has been a rewarding journey so far, especially when it was picked up by the media. Next time, I will share a take on my love affair with food….and the one, my beloved and the music in my life. In case you can’t wait to hear more, check out this interview by a flavorful World.
No Comments