When we were thinking about moving to the mainland, I started following Valley Mom after finding out that our husbands worked together. I was impressed with all of the fun events and projects she had on the go with her girls, and made the Fraser Valley look like a great place to raise a family. We met with our kids for a play-date, and were surprised we had so much in common!
Kristyl has made a career out of being a freelance writer/blogger/journalist/social media specialist for the past six years. I admire the passion and playfulness she brings to her projects and parenting.
Kristyl Clark is 36, and her family includes husband Jason, and daughters Molly, 8, Zoe, 6. Other than moving away to Kamloops for a year to attend a journalism program, she have lived in the Fraser Valley her entire life. They currently reside in Langley, which is in close proximity to their family. Kristyl says,
“We get lots of help from my mom and mother-in- law”.
She feels that the Valley landscape has certainly changed the past decade – so much growth – but still has that country feel. We are surrounded by beautiful parks, trails and farmland, but there is also a great diversity of amazing shops, restaurants, cafes, etc.
Kristyl says, “The Valley used to get that rep for being a bunch of strip malls and mini vans, but that’s no longer the case. There is a lot of great stuff on this side of the bridge (arts, culture, entertainment, food, etc, but for those who want to venture to the city, it’s a pretty quick commute. Really, I think we get the best of both worlds!”
After maternity leave of her second daughter ended, Kristyl wasn’t ready to go back to work as a full-time journalist. Instead, she started looking for freelance work, and was pleasantly surprised as to how much was out there.
“ValleyMom.ca began as a hobby. As a former journalist, I really missed having that connection to the community. Let’s face it, being a parent can be pretty isolating – and mundane at times. Blogging was a great to get back out there, brush up on my writing/interviewing, learn a whole whack of new skills and build relationships. What I didn’t expect was for it to turn into full-time income.”
Long story short, Kristyl was signed by an agent after a couple of years and began to turn her passion into a career. Her readers have been extremely supportive since day one. She says, “I also owe a lot of my success to the various tourism boards, from Chilliwack to Vancouver Island.”
Kristyl has helped promote and sponsor numerous local charities over the years. “The Children’s Wish Foundation’s annual princess tea party is a personal favourite.” ValleyMom.ca is also hyper-local. She loves highlighting what we offer in this neck of the woods, especially those independent mom’n’ pop shops that may fly under the radar.
When asked about the best part about blogging, Kristyl shared, “To be totally candid, I love how incredibly supportive my readers are. I touch on some pretty serious topics at times and put myself out there, which has encouraged many to do the same. They may not comment on a post publicly, but I receive quite few personal messages/emails from women who can relate to my struggles with anxiety, parenting, sobriety, etc.”
Readers return regularly to ValleyMom.ca because of its combination of awesome local giveaways, updates on events, local travel inspiration and personal topics. Kristyl says, “I always try to make sure there is a balance so that there is something for everyone. While a dad may not relate to my post on PMS (well, unless that is my husband, lol) he may identify with my post on quitting drinking.”
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Facebook: @shesavalleymom
Instagram: @thevalleymom
Website: www.valleymom.ca
