Sunshine Blogger Award: Thanks for the Nomination!

Day 18 Blog-vember 2018 --Blooming Prejippie

First of all, thanks littlemisadvencha for nominating us for this awesome award! I am delighted to know that our blogging pixie dust has spread throughout the galaxy and has graced us with this nomination. I am less delighted with the fact that I did not realize that we were nominated until now; I just happened to have googled us for something else and happened upon it. The bottom line is that we couldn’t be happier and will spread this love on to the next group of bloggers.

If you're curious, check out the "9 Things We Learned in 8 Months of Blogging" post.

What is the Sunshine Blogger Award?

While I could not find definitive proof of who was originally behind it, this is what I found out from a past recipient, Coleman Concierge: “The Sunshine Blogger Award is given to those who are creative, positive, and inspiring, while spreading sunshine to the blogging community.” That’s something that we can dig. We love sharing in projects designed to showcase and uplift creativity and inspiration, so this it was easy to get on board with this movement.

Here's a little something about how we feel about "branding."

Strategy for Posting and Choosing:

In order to answer these questions given to us by our nominator—most of which are travel-related—we will try to simply go with our gut; which means that the first thing we FEEL like saying is what we’ll say.

In order to choose new nominees, I can say that I have been curious about most of the folks on this list from the moment I learned about them. I wanted to know more about the thinking behind their blogs and then, also how they run their blogs. Therefore, the questions that we have chosen reflect this innate nosiness. (–Did you want me to lie to you or to tell you the truth?)

15 Tips for Better Band Photos --Blooming Prejippie Zine

First of all, here are the RULES that we are to follow:

1. Give thanks to the blogger who nominated you, and link their blog in your post. [Done.]

2. List the rules and make sure you’ve displayed the logo. [Done.]

3. Answer up to 11 questions which they give you. [Done.]

4. Nominate up to 11 other bloggers, and ask them up to 11 questions also! [Done.]

QUESTIONS ASKED (from littlemisadvencha) AND ANSWERED:

1. How did you get into blogging?

We used to run a snail mail zine (back in the 90s). We loved it, but once our son was born, we were off to new adventures in parenting and it was hard to juggle ALL the things. Now, we realize how much we miss the community that we had built when we were doing it. This time, we wanted to add that musical side, as well as everything else. At that time, there was no real internet and every copy had to be handmade, designed, printed, collated, and mailed out. Now, that there’s the internet, we realized that we could do the blog plus a video channel and plus a podcast AND could advertise for free on all these amazing social media platforms! We’d be fools NOT to blog!

2. What is your favorite post you’ve written?

I loved the YouTube Frenzy post. But I am sure it’s mostly for the kick-ass graphic and maybe less for the writing. However, I was sooooo passionate in that fight that I think the post does capture that feeling, so….

3…your favorite food you have eaten in a foreign country?

Dang! This is a tough one. I can’t say it’s my favorite, but we had escargot while we were in France. We can at least check that one off our list….

4….your favorite place you’ve ever been?

Even after going to France recently, I still think Toronto is our favorite. The culture is close enough to ours that it wasn’t too difficult to adjust to, but it was such a healthier and more “civilized” (for lack of better word) version. In fact, I think I am still so overwhelmed after having gone twice now that I still cannot seem to muster not even one blog post about it…. I know, mind blown…

5. Where did you go on your first trip and how old were you?

My mom was what I have called a “black gypsy,” so before I was 10, we had travelled to Africa, Santo Domingo and Haiti. We had also visited Puerto Rico and had lived in Hawaii for 6 months. The spirit of adventure was fully alive in her and even though she is gone, that spirit remains alive in me…. Recently our family has begun to travel (Bucket List), and I know that it is from the seeds that my mom and Bruce’s dad planted deep within us.

6. What would you do if you didn’t blog?

Blogging IS my thing…. We had a snail mail zine in the 90s and we’ve kinda been hooked ever since. Didn’t know you could make a living at it. Fast forward to age of the internet and, yes, we can, so here we are. I have put ALL my eggs in the basket that reads “online influencer” because I love it sooo much. For us, it is not only a way to share our music, but also our philosophy of creating.

7. What is the most adventurous thing you have ever done?

Put all of my eggs in this ONE basket. I quit my job to do JUST this. It is the most challenging and scary and energizing and outgoing and rewarding and beautiful thing we’ve ever done. And I am proud enough to risk it ALL to make it work as a lifestyle.

8…favorite and least favorite things about blogging?

My favorite thing about blogging—since I am the chief blogger in this operation—is that with stats, I can see impact every single day. When we were doing the snail mail zine that was always a mystery. Now, I can see from day to day, how many folks have visited and commented on our posts. It is rewarding, because I am sometimes surprised about what posts and which countries and which groups of people are digging our shit.

My least favorite thing about blogging is that it is taking a while to “stick.” What I mean is that I feel that if I don’t promote every single day that nothing is happening for the blog (or the music). It’s that “What have you done for me lately?” mentality. The bad part is that I feel that if I stopped today, we would be forgotten. The fact that it’s taken 2 solid years of daily promotion to get to where we are is a little overwhelming. At the same time, though, it is encouraging, because I think about how I worked in the “dark” for so long (in the 90s), whereas now, I can shore up the places where I am not seeing traction. The difference now, also, is that because Bruce has access to social media, it is not just me doing all the distributing; he helps tremendously—especially with the Facebook pages and, more recently, with the Twitter and Instagram profiles. We are much more of a team now than we have ever been and I appreciate that.

Thanks for 500k plays on Facebook --Blooming Prejippie

Celebrated 500k views on Facebook of one of our first music videos!

9. What makes you different from any other blogger?

What makes us different is that we are a team—I don’t see that often. What also makes us different is that we’re husband and wife. I REALLY don’t see that often. We’re also much older than many of the other folks who are blogging. We are certainly NOT focused on our kids’ activities, our financial situation, nor blogging; these are all parts of the stew, but certainly NOT our main thing…. Our blog is more about enjoying living in your purpose as creative folks; something that I see rarely as I look around at other music bloggers.

10…your favorite book or travel movie?

I know it’s probably NOT uplifting, but “Thelma and Louise” is probably one of favorite travel movies, along with “True Romance”—another downer—and the entire “Terminator” series.

11. What’s the best travel picture you’ve taken?

The best travel pictures we’ve taken was our family in Paris (at the Eiffel Tower and at Arc De Triumph). –One of the top things on our Vision Board for last year was visiting Paris for the first time. We did it as a family and are still reeling from the experience (both the good and the bad). These photos are the proof that we accomplished that goal quickly and will remember that time forever.