Meet the Blogger: Meet Kona: Elvis Blue’s Sister, Blogger and Speaker

Today we meet SA mom blogger Kona, who balances managing her brother’s career, two kids, blogging and public speaking. 

1) What do you normally get up to on an average day? (Give us a brief description about yourself)

I always tell people I am a “Slashie”, because I do more than one job. I spend a lot of time as a music manager for Elvis Blue, who happens to be my little brother. He does on average 133 live performances a year, so we are kept pretty busy. I also do public speaking and write the blog. I also make a lot of peanutbutter samies and drive around allot.

2) How do you feel about motherhood – what are your struggles and joys? My biggest struggle with motherhood mostly takes place within myself. I think that fear and guilt are any mom’s biggest enemy and it takes a lot of sober self assessment and grace to keep those at bay. But the joys? Oh the joys of boys. One of my biggest joys as a mom is when my kids surprise me. You know those times, when they listen the first time, when you suddenly contagiously catch their sense of wonder over the world, when you hear them getting along, when you get a hug for no reason.  

3) Tell us about your kid(s). The Elder is Evan, and is 10. He really likes to swim, read and boss his brother around. He also really likes space and back scratches. The Younger is Riley, who is 8. He likes to know how things work. He also likes talking to himself, dreaming about the future and hiding in his bed in the morning and making me “find” him.

4). How did you start blogging? I have always loved words and when I “retired” (only a husband would call leaving an 8 hour a day job for a 24 hour a day job “retiring!) to raise my boys I suddenly had the time to pursue writing. We all need words to frame our reality, our meaningful and our mundane, the irreverent stories and the amateur poetry that make up our little lives. I think that is what makes blogging as a mom so precious.

5) Share with us a valuable blogging tip you’ve learnt. (or more) I use Evernote a lot and record notes and research and voice recordings all the time. I seem to have my best ideas when I am moving (although that is possibly because I don’t sit still often) and this app is a great way of keeping track of ideas as you go.

6) If you make money from your blog, give us a breakdown on how you do it. Give us some of your methods on how to get started on this, or any tips or advice. I don’t make money from my blog, but it has been a great source of speaking opportunities, which I love.

You can find Kona on her blog The Unsinkable Mommy Brown, Facebook and Instagram.