About Jem
Hello… I’m Jem.
I’m a blog post writing, website making, heavy weight lifting, marathon running, taekwon-do doing, feminist mama geek. Or something like that.
I work at home and create things online for money: websites, content, bad jokes on social media (nobody pays me for that one really). I’ve been making websites since the tender age of 14 — the nerdy spotty teen sat on the fastest PC in the after-school computing club — and I have over 20 years commercial development experience. You can read more about my professional credentials and my WordPress web development work on my portfolio →
I am ‘mum’ to two school-age kids — Isabel and Oliver — who fill my life with love and laughter, and are the cause of my drinking problem (jokes 👀).
I am married to a fellow nerd, whom I met on OKCupid in May 2014, shortly after kicking out my then-partner of 12 years. We ‘tied the knot’ in a private ceremony in May 2016 on the second anniversary of when we met, and then went for pizza.
We opened our marriage in early 2022 as part of a range of measures to try and improve areas that we saw as ‘lacking’ in our marriage. In hindsight, adding more people to a failing relationship wasn’t the best idea we’d ever had. We finally decided to call it a day in February 2024 and are currently in the process of separating. We remain good friends.
In theory I still practice non-monogamy in my relationships, but in reality I’m currently settled with my primary partner Shane who, for some absurd reason, actually enjoys what a huge dork I am.
I came out as bisexual in October 2017. The only person who was surprised by the announcement was me.
I run a variety of distances (although won’t be breaking records any time soon) and like to lift heavy weights because it makes me look badass. Or just an ass, not sure which.
I have a bit of a pet “problem”. At one point I owned the equivalent of a petting zoo with 6 cats, 2 rabbits, 5 guinea pigs and a tarantula. To stop me from going full zoo, I spent a few years as a volunteer at Shropshire Cat Rescue. Unfortunately this didn’t quite work as planned, as I ended up adopting several more animals.
I currently have a Labrador and 2 cats. That’s a normal amount of animals!
I’m stubborn, sarcastic, honest to a fault (probably not a good idea to ask me if your bum looks big in that) and have a habit of being a bit of a “know it all”. Probably because I really do know it all. Turns out this might be the autism though.
I love to read, used to collect geek t-shirts, and vaguely remember a time when I had chance to be a gamer. Now I’m an adult with responsibilities and my Animal Crossing island looks… well, frankly, post-apocalyptic.
I suffer from a severe form of PMS called Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD). Despite being categorised as a depressive disorder, research suggests that women with PMDD are more sensitive to normal hormone fluctuations due to a molecular mechanism in their genes. Either way, PMDD causes cyclical feelings of anxiety, depression, anger and even suicide idealisation. But, it turns out this might be the autism too. Read more about my PMDD and what I’m doing to treat the symptoms →
In March 2017 I realised that alcohol was having a negative impact upon my life for no net benefit and gave it up. Sort of. You can read about my journey to and from (and to and from) sobriety here.
I am actively involved in a boycott of all Nestlé products.