3 Bedroom Bungalow
Being a military wife can be strangely isolating – especially when you find out you're moving to a new continent, with two young children. That's what happened to Kat Williamson, who is married to a US army soldier, and relocated to Suffolk in 2008.
To help make the big move a little easier, Kat started blogging at 3 Bedroom Bungalow, a blog that now attracts thousands of readers each week, drawn by Kat's hilarious tales of domestic disaster and family life.
"I didn't want to write one of those diary blogs, about how today we got up and what we had for breakfast, because I read enough blogs to know that I found those boring," says Kat.
"Instead, I wanted something that just brought together stuff that happens to us that's interesting, or just funny."
3 Bedroom Bungalow is about the embarrassing, silly, ridiculous things that can happen to all of us – but seem to happen to some people more often. Who hasn't accidentally found themselves wearing a granny's underwear or had it all go a bit wrong when trying to pierce their own child's ears for the first time?
In the early days, blogging was a way for Kat to write about the strangeness of moving to a new country, and to keep her family updated. As a newcomer to the UK, Kat was mystified by things like how to pronounce aluminium, and navigating roundabouts and giving way.
The blog is a great way for Kat's husband to feel connected to the family when he is overseas, and Kat's American family are also regular readers. "The great thing about blogging is that if your family read it, they don't call you so often," she jokes.
Kat's blog is well known among bloggers as home of the Dear So and So post. Each week, Kat writes a series of short letters on her blog to people in her life – her daughter, her friends, the man who barged in front of her at the supermarket. These short, often hilarious notes, proved so popular that soon other bloggers started joining in and writing their own Dear So and So blogs – which Kat now shares each with her own readers.
"Dear So and So started out as letters I wrote to my toddler when she was driving me crazy, but I soon realised I could write letters to all the people who annoyed me – anonymously, on the Internet!" Kat explains. "Of course, sometimes it's also a way to say thanks to someone who did something great. But mostly, it's about things that annoy me."
Kat's Bookmarks
As one of the UK's funniest bloggers, Kat knows how to keep herself entertained online. So we asked her to tell us about her favourite websites:
LOLcats: I can always, always find something to laugh about here.
Pinterest: Great for entertaining yourself if you have a spare 10 minutes. Only it usually becomes an hour. Or four. I love finding craft activities and putting them in a category called "Crafts I will never do".
365project.org: A brilliant source of inspiration if you like taking pictures – it's where loads of people take a picture every day, and share it online. I started this year, but I have lost momentum, but I love going there to find other photographs that inspire me.
The Oatmeal: I love this site – it has great LOLs for the not easily offended
Ted: Complete brilliance. Innovative minds, progressive thinking, challenging ideas.