Who is this Mama?

Wow my first Mother’s Day and what a lovely day it was. I was woken up by my lovely hubby with a kiss and cuddles from Hugo. Although it wasn’t breakfast in bed Ayman had cooked breakfast downstairs which consisted of a gluten-free pancake and a cooked breakfast which left me bursting at the seams. Good job we only had a three course meal awaiting us a few hours later hey. As we stayed at my in-laws we celebrated the day over in their neck of the woods & my mum and her partner joined us too. I do feel lucky that my mum and mum-in-law get on so well as it’s nice we can share special days like this altogether. 

I thought as it was Mother’s Day you may be interested to learn a little more about the woman who’s writing all this, who I am and what I’m about? (I’ll try and keep it short).

My family: I come from a very large family, altogether I have two sisters and four brothers, some are half so we didn’t all live in the same house but nonetheless I’m used to having lots of people around me. I now also have four beautiful nieces and one handsome nephew but Hugo is still the youngest amongst them all by 10 weeks. I would say that I’m closer to my mum especially since I grew older as it turned into more of a friendship. My dad mostly lives in the Dominican Republic so I don’t get to see him very much these days.

Health: I was diagnosed with coeliac disease when I was 22 which meant from that moment on I had to cut out all gluten (basically anything with wheat in it) from my diet. Some people think this is just an allergy but there is no cure… only prevention… which means cutting it out of your diet or else it could lead to a much more serious illnesses like stomach cancer. My sister Laura also has it so we call ourselves the coeliac sisters haha.

Food: I love nutella, I put teaspoons of it on a plate, melt in the microwave and then eat it with my fingers like a big kid, I sometimes add a little peanut butter too, it’s soooo naughty but oh so yummy! On the same note I basically love all chocolate and sweets so you may as well call me the honey monster. Houmous and sweet chilli sauce are my favourite condiments I generally put with any meal.  

Hobbies: I love to dance and shake what my mama gave me. I’m really into buggyfit at the moment too, it’s a great work-out and then us mamas enjoy having a natter over a coffee whilst feeding our babes afterwards.

Education: I studied dance teaching and performance at uni and then got a scholarship to do my masters in Dance and Somatic Wellbeing: Connections to the living body, I received a First in both. My masters was similar to Dance Movement Therapy and concentrated on looking at the body from an inner perspective and bringing healing from within. It was one of the most wholesome years of my life. I’m starting to lead classes again soon which I’m looking forward to, as I have a real heart for building women’s confidence in who they are and how they perceive themselves. 

Career: I now work in my family jewellery business, we have three shops and one on-line Concepts by Tienne and we have plans to grow the business even more which is exciting, so I’m always on the hunt for new modern jewellery brands to stock.

Faith: In my nearly 28 years of life I’ve been through quite a lot of trauma, maybe not as bad as some people but enough where at times I feel like I’ve hit rock bottom emotionally. The one constant thing that has been my rock through everything is God and strangely it’s at those real tough times where I’ve felt his presence most, almost like he’s scooped me up every time and carried me through it. To live by his grace has been one of the best decisions of my life and I know that whatever I do in life he’s got my back. Am I on the journey that God intended for my life? I have no idea but I know he works with wherever you’re at and I just pray that he’ll continue to lead me to wherever he wants to take me opening and closing the right doors along the way. 

Love: My husband Ayman and I have been together 10 years this year and married 3 years next week. We first met outside a takeaway on a night out, he offered me some of his chips but that was it much to my dismay (I couldn’t stop thinking about him). After that we bumped into each other another two times and on the third time outside the same takeaway he asked for my number. He asked me on a date and the rest is history. I would actually say it was love at first sight as cheesy as that sounds!

Who takes my photos: I take the majority of them, close ups of Hugo and I, I’ve often taken as a selfie I hate to admit it but sometimes I use a selfie stick too, far away photos my husband takes. We’re both not photographers but through trial and error I guess we’ve both sharpened our skill set slightly.