The Sunshine Blogger Award: Some Friday fun

Bon vendredi à toutes et à tous! How was your week? Let’s close it out with a little bit of fun. The lovely Paulie of PaulieLovesFood nominated me for The Sunshine Blogger Award, so un grand merci goes out to her! What is the award all about? As Paulie writes, “This nomination is from bloggers to bloggers. The award is given to those who are inspiring and bring sunshine into the lives of their readers and fellow bloggers.” Blogging is nothing without the community, so read on to see my answers to her questions and to see who I nominated.

GO!

The Sunshine Blogger Award: Some Friday fun

Rules

1. Thank the person that nominated you and post a link to their blog on your blog. (You can read Paulie’s post nominating me here.)
2. Answer the 11 questions from the person who nominated you.
3. Nominate some other bloggers for this award and give them 11 questions to answer.
4. Notify the bloggers you have nominated.
5. List the rules and display the Sunshine Blogger Award logo.

My nominations

I’m picking 11 bloggers who have been longtime-ish commenters on my blog. 😉

1. Alan and his wife Tracy of An Italian Point of View live near Perpignan
2. Catherine of Taste of France lives near Carcassonne with her family
3. Joanne of Joanne Rambling is one of my Aussie readers
4. As Told By Dana is an American teaching in Lille
5. Molly of Toffee Bits and Chocolate Chips is a whiz in the kitchen
6. Catherine of The Cross Border Blog is a French woman now living in the US.
7. Phoebe of Lou Messugo hosts the fabulous All About France linky each month
8. Jess of A la Prochaine New England calls the Boston area home
9. CatherineRose of La Vie En C-Rose is back in her home state of California
10. Another Diane who blogs over at My Life in the Charente
11. Isabelle of From Side 2 Side is a French woman living in Kansas

 

Answers to the questions Paulie asked me:

1. What do you like most about blogging?

I enjoy a bunch of things about blogging but my favorite is definitely the community. I’ve connected with people — both online and in person — that I never would have otherwise met.

2. One song you’ll never stop listing to?

Oh man, that’s tough. I can’t narrow it down to one song. Music is life. Anything by The Cure, Depeche Mode, old-school Radiohead circa OK Computer, Matt Nathanson because my friend and I discovered him in college and never let go, Damien Rice… ahh too much to list. This song is really pretty.

3. What things are you most grateful for in your life?

Ahh, so many things. The top 2 would be my health and my supportive family, husband, and friends.

4. What’s the story behind your blog’s name?

I started Oui In France shortly after moving to France in 2012 and I wanted a blog name that wasn’t super cliché or boring but was still easy enough to remember. The name Oui In France just popped into my head one day when I was brainstorming and I love that it’s a play on words, “oui” means yes in French and is said like “we” in English, so yes/we are in France. It just fit!

5. What’s the weirdest thing you’ve eaten?

Pig cheek or blood sausage. Once was enough for me.

6. Worst travel experience ever?

I’ve luckily never had any travel nightmares beyond delays and lost luggage — annoying but not the end of the world. The worst experience flying was probably a flight to Boston back in college when I had a bad head cold. It was just a 45-minute flight but the pressure in my head was unbelievable. My ears didn’t “pop” and totally unclog from the flight until the next morning. My ears are hurting just thinking about it.

7. Where are you from, and what is the most common stereotype or misconception about your home town/state/country?

I’m originally from the state of New Jersey in the USA. NJ gets a bad rap but it’s undeserved! We don’t all speak with ridiculous accents and the entire state does not smell! There are so many beautiful parts of New Jersey. It’s also on the Atlantic Coast so the beach is never too far away and it’s not far from Philadelphia and NYC and major airports. I love my home state.

8. What is one important lesson you’ve learned in your travels?

Ahhh, just one? I’m going to break the rules. That people are generally good and willing to help others. To always keep an open mind and to remember that a different way of life isn’t necessarily bad or good. It’s just….. different.

9. Most unique travel destination you’ve visited?

New Zealand was pretty badass. The scenery is breathtaking and so incredibly diverse. I took my first-ever helicopter ride to the top of a glacier and walked around in the snow in a tank top in the summer. I saw penguins out in nature, not in a zoo, and some of the most beautiful sights.

10. What is/are your travel goal(s) for 2017?

Not doing a ton of travel in 2017, but we hope to head to the South of France a little later this year and maybe a trip back to the USA as well. One of these days, I NEED to go to Iceland.

11. How do you like your coffee?

A little milk or cream and 1 sugar.

Here are my questions for the bloggers I nominated above:

1. What’s your life philosophy or motto?
2. Have you ever seen a ghost?
3. How do you relax after a long day?
4. Do you have a favorite book or movie?
5. What’s your worst habit?
6. Are you a morning person?
7. What’s your favorite childhood memory?
8. What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done?
9. What do you get really, really excited about?
10. What is something you’ve done recently that is worth remembering?
11. If you had the power to change anything about the country you live in, what 3 things would you change? Be as serious as you’d like.

Thank you again to Paulie for nominating me and looking forward to the replies from the bloggers I nominated!

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Bon week-end!