THE SUNSHINE BLOGGER AWARD!!!

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I’m so honored and impressed to have been nominated for the Sunshine Blogger Award from fellow blogger Ceci Rey of 

FAMILY PALATE

This is an award that is given to bloggers by bloggers who have found others creative, positive, and inspiring.

Considering I am about to celebrate my blog’s six-month anniversary, I’m even more gratified. I never expected the online community of bloggers to be so supportive and to feel like colleagues in a challenging task! I accept the nomination, will answer the questions Ceci has posed as part of her nomination, and am delighted to nominate bloggers who’ve inspired me. Some of these have been key to my blogging for the last six months, and others for longer. And there are many other bloggers that I don’t have space to acknowledge here. 

Many, many thanks (merci, mahalo, gracias, arigato) to Ceci Rey for the nomination, and I hope you will check out her blog right now. She integrates food (including restaurant reviews), travel and family beautifully and with wonderful humor and upbeat energy. I love her “2 in 1” recipes!

Please run, don’t walk, to her blog Family Palate at https://familypalate.com/ 

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Rules that go with the Sunshine Blogger Award

• Thank the blogger who nominated you and provide a link back to their website. (Ceci…grazie and danke!)
• List the Sunshine Blogger Award Rules and display the logo (there are many versions!) on your website.
• Answer the 11 questions asked by the blogger who nominated you for the award.
• Nominate 11 other bloggers and ask them 11 new questions.
• Notify the nominees of their nomination.

Here are the 11 questions asked of me from Ceci, and my answers:

1. From the beginning of your blogging career, have your ideas or niche changed?  If so, how? Yes!! Well my very FIRST blog was for my high school science students, so definitely yes … and I dabbled with a food science-based blog in 2012 but got too busy to continue. My blog now is driven by the fact that I make three meals a week for my daughter-in-law, who eats gluten-and-dairy-free, my son and their young baby. Food blogs need eaters and helpful critics! 
2. What is your favorite place to visit and why? You’ll see lots of mentions of Hawaii in my blog since my husband and I lived there since 1983. Part of the family is still there and that’s one of the best reasons to visit any place. Also, Hawaii people expect their food to be exceptionally fresh and I always get great ideas for ethnic recipes I haven’t already made. 
3. Before you started your blog, did you take an instructional course or did you ‘learn as you go’? Explain. Both. I joined the Food Blogger Pro network and watched their very fine videos and podcasts for several months before launching. Then looked for additional online tutorials. Still hunting for resources, always. 
4. Do you have any family traditions?  If so, which is your favorite and why? I’d have to choose Thanksgiving food because it was an easy meal to prepare even when my two sons were little. Now that they are grown it’s become more potluck, and everyone contributes (or requests) their favorites. It’s fun to see what those favorites have become.
5. If you had to choose Ocean or Lake, which would you rather vacation at and why? Ocean for sure – it’s one of the toughest things about being based in Denver, lovely as the mountains are. It’s the immense view of the sea and the soothing rush of the waves that I need from time to time.
6. Hindsight is 20/20.  What is the one thing you know now that you wish you knew then? Blogging requires a lot of skills I didn’t start with, especially as a “digital immigrant”, and am still learning at the same time, like managing costs and WordPress, monetizing and other business aspects, social media, photography and creative writing. But each time I overcome a little challenge I feel a great sense of accomplishment. 
7. Music has an influence on our lives.  Do you have a song that is attached to a memory? If so, explain the memory. I always liked the ideas in Best Day of My Life by American Authors but now it’s one of the tunes my choir is singing, so it’s even more meaningful. 
8. What is your favorite food to eat and why? Thai or Japanese food – I know that’s two, but there is a lot of crossover of flavors. The balance of savory, salty, spicy and tart can’t be beat, and there’s that magical something in Asian cuisines. 
9. This time next year, what do you hope your blog has achieved? In addition to having published 150 posts, which I’m on track to do, I want to hone my food photography to be like that in blogs that inspire me! 
10. I have a huge bucket list of things to do.  What is at the top of your bucket list? I’d like to visit New Zealand and Bali. Bali for crafts (I’d like to take a batik class there) and New Zealand because of the scenery and the connection to hula (another of my passions). 
11. Let’s play Sweet & Sour for new bloggers.  What is the best and worst action a new blogger can do? Best: In blogging, there’s always one more thing you can do to get better at your craft. If you prioritize things you enjoy, that will come through in your blog. Worst: thinking nobody’s noticing what you are doing! 

Through my first half year of publishing A Meal In Mind, I have been blessed with supportive friends and family who encouraged me, read and commented on my posts, and tasted my food! But my fellow bloggers cheer each other on and challenge one another to publish our best in very important ways.  Each one of you deserves to be nominated, some more than once if that were possible. Thank you. 

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 I nominate you for the Sunshine Blogger Award:

1. Mean Green Chef https://www.meangreenchef.com/

2. Bakes & Blunders http://www.bakesandblunders.com/

3. Just What We Eat https://justwhatweeat.com/

4. The Grahams’ Table https://www.instagram.com/

5. Allergy Awesomeness https://allergyawesomeness.com/

6. Life As A Strawberry https://www.lifeasastrawberry.com/

7. Searching for Spice https://searchingforspice.com/

8. The Japantry https://thejapantry.com/

9. Natural Deets https://www.naturaldeets.com/

10. Yellow Glass Dish https://yellowglassdish.com/

11. Frugal & Fit http://frugalnfit.com/

Here are my questions for each of you. 

1. How did you come up with the name of your blog?
2. What motivated you to start blogging? 
3. What continues to inspire you?
4. What would you be doing if you weren’t blogging?
5. What is your favorite thing to do to relax? 
6. Are you a morning person or a night person? 
7. What is a place you would love to visit, and why?
8. What is a favorite saying or quote?
9. What is your favorite comfort food?
10. If you could live anywhere, where would it be?
11. What advice would you give to a new blogger?

Again, thank you to my fellow bloggers and THANKS Ceci, for the nomination!

Beth Allingham 

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