Hello, I’m Prabs,
loser of keys, avoider of housework and mum to Musical M, Doe-eyed D and Cheeky K (no not a bonkers celebrity who gave her kids bizarre names: those are their blog aliases!). Born and raised in the UK by first generation immigrant Indian parents, I studied, worked and enjoyed life in London and Paris before meeting my husband (who was a globetrotting nomad like me). We’d both harboured thoughts of living in the Med (and watched several episodes of a Place in the Sun), so when a work opportunity presented itself in Malta in the mid noughties, couldn’t say no. We packed up our life in the UK and swapped city streets and urban life for blue skies and beach life, with a then 14-month old Musical M. We only intended to stay for three years…
Two more kids several years of ‘expat stay-at-home mum’ life later, going back to work was impossible due to limited job and childcare options and my husband’s regular work trips. I’d grown tired of only using my university degree to calculate how many times I’d reheated my tea or yelled “What do you MEAN you can only find ONE shoe?!” in the space of just one day. So I decided to heed my sister’s advice to find something I could do from home (apparently watching the Sex and the City boxset three times didn’t count). Friends described my Facebook posts, about my colossal parent fails and domestic disasters, as sitcom material that deserved its own dedicated platform… There was only one logical thing to do: after four more years of faffing (yes if I ever write that book, it will be ‘How to Put Off til Next Year What You Can do Today’), I finally dusted off my writing skills, re-energised that mum brain and launched Absolutely Prabulous* to air the less polished side of motherhood, womanhood and life in general.
It’s crazy how many nights I’ve stayed up til ridiculous o’clock writing posts, honing my Photoshop skills, installing plugins and widgets, trying to understand social media algorithms and posting schedules, fighting with subscription software etc. I don’t know how many times I’ve had to pull over to the side of the road or asked one of my kids, to jot down a blog post idea before I forget it. And I’m sure my friends have inwardly rolled their eyes as I interrupt yet another conversation with a “Oooh, you’ve just given me a great idea for a post!” Eureka moment.
I simply LOVE the therapeutic nature of writing and the power of the written word. The warm fuzzy feeling I get when a reader says my words have brightened their mood with laughter or helped them feel less lonely/frustrated/helpless in a specific situation or echoed exactly what they think about a current news topic…the most humbling and gratifying feeling! Writing funny, moving or informative content that people relate to, is what makes me tick.
So essentially, this blog is my passion project (but I also make a bit of money from the occasional sponsored post or product review/giveaway etc, which is always declared on the relevant post).
If you’re new to this blog, this is a good place to start: a collection of some my own faves, popular posts as well as the ones that went viral.
To Musical M on your 12th Birthday, It’s Not You, It’s Me
Exhausted Mothers’ Epidemic as School Year FINALLY Ends
13 Confessions of a Housewife
The Good, The Bad, The WTF of Blogging (This is Why I Write!)
The Anniversary Card I Never Thought I’d Write
25 Things That Annoy the Hell Out of Bloggers
To the Women I Shamed With My Silence: #MeToo
Extreme Beauty Craze Claims Mum of Three as First Victim
13 Important Things You Should Know About Getting Old
For a full list of companies I’ve worked with, click here.
To see the kind of stuff people say about my blog, click here.
If you are PR/outreach rep or someone with a potential collaborative idea, please visit my Work With Me page or contact me at absolutelyprabulous@gmail.com.
And finally (on the thoroughly unBritish horn-tooting front), I’m proud to say Absolutely Prabulous was awarded the Brilliance in Blogging 2016 Best Writer award as well as reaching the finalist shortlists for the MAD Blog Awards 2016, Best Writer category and the Brilliance in Blogging 2017, Reader’s Choice category. (I’m also fluent in French, love to run and have an abnormally comprehensive knowledge of music trivia but sadly, I fear only one of those is an actual useable skill.)
*Please note Absolutely Prabulous has relaunched with a new URL ending in .blog. However, you will still come across mentions of the previous dot com URL (absolutelyprabulous.com) when visiting certain external website pages, whose links are included on this site.
If you happen to click on absolutelyprabulous.com, you’ll find yourself on a bizarre site thanks to the person who hijacked my old URL (don’t ask). You’re advised to hit the back button and come hurrying back here to safety. Remember: Absolutelyprabulous.blog = GOOD. Absolutelyprabulous.com = BAD, v bad…
Thanks for reading and I hope you’ll stick around!
Prabs Patel
Owner and Editor-in-Chief of www.absoluteyprabulous.blog
