Are You Mad at Me? is a sweet and hilarious comedy relationship podcast featuring Vickie Morgan and Josh Morgan. They talk about the ups and downs of owning a small business, marketing, self publishing, producing radio, tv and film, and homeschooling their boys in Canada.
Vickie has ruined a LOT of weddings. If you weren’t already mad at her, hearing these stories might spark something.
Happy birthday to Josh and happy Boxing Day to Canadians everywhere and possibly some parts of Australia. Josh wants to know if Christmas crackers are British. Vickie thinks he means Snowflake Ritz.
Vickie headlined at Last Minute Comedy this week.
Josh says she murdered. And then the next night she went and did ten minutes at
Landwash Brewery in front of a packed house. Thanks to the producers of that
show.
Thanks to the local radio shows that play Mulberry Creek songs all year. Home Brew with Sam Whiffen on Krock, Jigs and Reels with Danielle Butt on OZFM, the Irish Newfoundland Show on VOCM with Greg Smith, Coast All Access with Rick Bailey and the regular rotation on CHMR.
Tibbs Eve was an unofficial holiday celebrated in
Newfoundland and Labrador on December 23rd when you drink with friends
before the obligatory holiday gatherings commence.
The character Tibb was said to be a loose moraled woman. If
something was said to happen on Tibbs Eve, it was unlikely it would ever
happen. Like saying when pigs fly.
So we're hanging out this Christmas in our living
room. We're going to, open some presents from Santa Claus and then have some
delicious food. We were planning on making turkey chili. We're not doing a
turkey dinner. We're doing turkey chili and homemade biscuits.
Many years ago in Maine Vickie and Josh went to a
chili cookoff and got a recipe from Vickie’s friend Christina and it won! Would
you like to try the recipe? Send us a message or leave a comment and ask for
the chili recipe! It’s delicious.
There was a big news article that the people who
own the mall decided that they were not going to support having the Salvation
Army kettle campaign next year. They were fine for this year, but starting next
year, they were going to not be allowed in there. And there was an uproar of
about 40 people on Facebook
The owners of the local malls made an announcement
that the Salvation Army is welcome at the mall for eternity.
Go watch it. It’s amazing.
Vickie is taking inspiration from hearing and seeing
Aaron Weber and Brian Bates on the podcast because they're not just sidekicks
on the podcast, they're really funny comedians, and they tell real stories
about gigs that don't sell any tickets or someone gets into almost a fistfight.
We're three years behind in that podcast but there
are parallels in our lives right now. A
fight almost broke out at Vickie’s gig last week and someone collapsed on
stage.
And people were like, well, what should we do?
Should we call an ambulance? Vickie pointed out none of the comedians or comedy
fans in attendance were qualified to determine if this person who hit their
head on the speaker on the way down was okay or not.
Please learn a little bit about the guests and
hype up the crowd for the openers and headliner. And for producers, please find
a host who is going to learn the names of the people who are performing, maybe
someone who will encourage the comedians, tell them how funny they are.
Preferably don't criticize the people's material after they get down off the
stage. Those are just little tips that make things run smoother and make
everybody feel, you know, comfortable and maybe want to go back to perform
again in the future.
Big words of appreciation for the crew at Landwash
Brewery, the show host and producers and the folks at Johnnie and Mae’s who
make the best salt beef poutine.
To summarize, when children grow up in turmoil
and craziness especially around alcohol, addictions, religious fanaticism, gambling,
drugs, etc. when parents are dealing with these addictions, there's a lot of
stuff that naturally trickles down to the children. And one of the things is
that children never know what who they're going to get, whether it's going to a
relative's house and this uncle is particularly nice when he's drinking or this
aunt is particularly whatever when she's hung over, you never really know who
you're getting. And it's kind of messes up your perception of how the world is
and how people are going to respond to you and how lovable you are, and whether
you're worthy of affection.
The perfectionist message kids learn is maybe if I say exactly the right thing,
at exactly the right time to exactly the right person, they'll love me. And
that reality just doesn’t exist. You can spend your whole life trying to get
things perfect and it robs you of so much joy.
Many years ago Vickie had a mental health podcast
and had Denielle Hann on as a guest and Denielle gave this analogy about the
law of attraction and manifesting the life you want. If you’re at the Village Mall
and you want to go to Quidi Vidi which is in the east end of the city and you
realize you’ve gotten on the wrong bus and you’re headed to Mount Pear what do you
do? To which Vickie replied “I wait until the bus returns to the Village and
get a transfer” and Denielle said “No you pull the string, get off the bus and
you start WALKING toward Quidi Vidi.
In other words when you know what you want, point
in that direction and start moving towards it no matter how long it takes you
to get there. A step towards your dream no matter how small is better than
taking steps away from it or worse standing still.
Vickie recounts the year she wrote Jimmy Glen just before Christmas and sent it to Cory Tetford who produced it in less than two weeks and Chris Ledrew played some pedal steel on the song. It’s the most requested song at Mulberry Creek shows and you can request it at your local radio station to help bring Jimmy Glen home.
Vickie talks about weddings she’s ruined in this
week’s segment of Are You Mad At Me? including her first one that happened in
front of 6247 people and the weddings of her (at the time) two best friends.
Vickie promised to post a comedy set every day for the 12 days of Christmas. Then also promises to post some music on the Mulberry Creek page every day for the the 12 days of Christmas and they can be found here:
Vickie talks about a channel on YouTube she loves
that she came across late one night and was inspired by the lady’s business model
and how she promotes her self published book.
Here’s the exact transcript of this segment.
Vickie: So I'm watching this lady's video and
she's talking about how she has done all these different things to make money
as, like hemming people's pains, fixing people's prom dresses. And then she had
a corporate or an industrial job where she was hemming curtains, and she hated
all of it. And so in her video, she says, I talk about this in my book.
And then she describes how she made money
teaching children's classes and sewing, and how she made money at that, and how
she shares in her book, like, how much to charge, how many kids you can handle,
what kind of equipment you need. She really broke down her business plan, which
most people would say, oh, isn't that sacred?
Isn't that like, you know, shouldn't you keep
that close to the chest? But, like, now she's in Hawaii. She doesn't care if
someone in Newfoundland makes it the sewing class. Yeah. So I went and bought
her book at 6:00 in the morning. I actually got out of bed, went downstairs,
got my phone, looked her up, bought the book at 6 a.m. while she was sleeping.
And I love it. It's a very short book. It's very
succinct. It tells exactly what it promised it would tell. She self-published
it and she sold it from her own website. So I spent $22 American on her 65 page
book. The font was huge. It had a bunch of pictures, and I think it was one of
the best purchases I have ever made.
Because that lady is an entrepreneur. She makes
money teaching classes to kids. She also makes money from her book while she
sleeps. She's an expert at the things she's doing. She probably has lots of
other hobbies. She's got a Facebook page and she's got a website, but she also
sells her book through this YouTube video that other people are watching while
she sleeps.
That's just a good business model, right? When people
get a chance to get to know you, they're much more inclined to go buy your
book. If they've seen a 15 minute video of you sharing your story, instead of
an ad popping up on Facebook.
So my entrepreneurship advice from one business
owner to another, from one creative to another. First of all, we need to accept
that it's okay to make money, period. No matter what how you do it, it's okay
to make money.
It's okay to enjoy money. It's okay to want
money. It's not a dirty thing to actually be paid for what you provide. And if
you make somebody’s day brighter because you, performed a joke or because you
played a song or because you passed them their McDonald's fries, you made their
life better. You deserve to get paid for it, right?
That's my advice to artists. And I'm going to
listen back to this because I need to hear this too. So like setting up my
website, it was hard and I didn't know how to do it, but now I do know how to
do it. And if you want me to set up yours, I can do that for you.
There's a thing that we can exchange and maybe
you can do something for me. I don't know. Anyway, that's my rant about
entrepreneurship.
I'm
telling you that as an adult, in case you needed an adult to give you
permission or tell you that that's okay, I'll be that for you.
Send it back to me one of these days and say, you
know what, Vickie? If you want to do those things, you can give me permission
too.
Vickie: One of these days I'm going to hang out
at Zanies until Brian Bates is there, and Aaron Weber and Nate Bargatze and Dusty
Slay. I'm not even at the episodes yet with Dusty Slay, but man, I can't wait
to see those guys in person. It’s been the highlight of my year to find them.
Merry Christmas to all our listeners. Keep being creative!
You can listen to Are You Mad At Me? at any of the links below. Please remember to subscribe, like, leave a comment, tell a friend about us!
If you're just here for the beagles
If you’re following the Are You Mad At Me? podcast for cute
beagles jump ahead to 5:13 and hear
Maebe talk.
In this podcast episode, we meet Ginger Sparkledust who came
into existence when Vickie dressed a bit festive for a community television
broadcast and ended up in front of the camera.
The beginning of Ginger Sparkledust
6:21
Ginger Sparkledust origin story
In an Are You Mad at Me segment, Vickie describes getting
fired from this volunteer job and reacting creatively through the magic of
video and comedy. Ginger Sparkledust is now freelance and available to deliver
greetings, lead holiday parades and dispose of leftover Jingle Balls.
Ginger Sparkledust: You can't fire me, I'm a volunteer!
Happy anniversary to Josh and Vickie!
17:55
Anniversary day
Vickie and Josh discuss their $500 wedding at a local
theater 18 years ago and check in on how things are going financially these
days. Still no car but they managed to have a lovely anniversary lunch with the
kids.
You can tell where you are by the toilet paper
20:23
Toilet paper
Have you ever noticed the quality of toilet paper? Better
question, have you ever been made to feel less than because the toilet paper in
a place was so cheap and flimsy that you had to wonder if they knew humans
would be using it.
By comparison the toilet paper in Costco might be made out
of handmade quilts. That’s a place that wants you to enjoy your visit and
remind you that your economic status is doing just fine.
Tax free event in Canada now until Feb 14 or something
26:58
On to Canadian Tire
The Morgans are enjoying life without a vehicle and
considering their improved fitness level from all the walking. They discuss the
tax-free shopping experience in Canada, alluding to gratitude for a political
figure, though they clarify this isn't meant to be a political podcast.
The couple wander into Canadian Tire following their
anniversary lunch and pick out some new winter boots for the kids. When they
get to the checkout they’re told the tax free event is for children’s clothing
and footwear and since their children have enormous feet, the store refuses to
grant the tax exemption.
An embarrassing confrontation ensues, the kids are mortified
and Vickie got the tax break.
34:08
Shopping in stores
35:18 AITA?
Mother knows best
35:43
Vickie's mom
Vickie recalls a story from her childhood when she was with
their mom in downtown St. John's, shopping and enjoying the evening only to be
told by a store manager to leave while waiting for a taxi.
The customer service representative insisted he had to lock
up the doors to the store but Mom refused to leave, arguing she had just spent
money in the store and shouldn't have to stand outside in the cold with her
young daughter. At the time, it was mortifying but upon reflection Vickie
wonders if her Mom may have been right all along.
There's a reason Vickie is the way she is and it's
probably because she had three brothers
41:13
Vickie's brothers
43:06
Ladies Night
Mama Bear
45:18
Instant choir
The Morgan family recently participated in an "instant
choir" at The Rooms. The experience of singing together in a beautiful
location with the kids enjoying it and singing in tune was a first for the
Morgans. Though there were moments when the kids were goofing around and some
old lady was giving them the ole side eye but thankfully Vickie wished her a
very Merry Christmas.
48:43
Christmas time
Vickie and Josh talk about what a stressful time the
holidays can be with all the pressure to get things perfect. They discuss ways
they keep things as simple as possible especially with the shorter days and
being grateful for what they actually have.
51:26
More shopping
52:15
Our wedding
55:54
Scary ghost stories
Newfoundland and North Carolina is the perfect amalgam of
food, culture and did we mention sweet tea?
58:39
Southern food
Vickie and Josh discuss family traditions like the famous
cheese dip and cocktail weenies made by Granny which remain fond memories of
Christmas celebrations. The speaker reflects on how their kids now enjoy a mix
of Newfoundland traditions and Southern food and culture especially sweet tea.
1:00:19
Sam's Club Thanksgiving
1:00:56
Making stuff
There’s a discussion about creating connection with more
audiences through the podcast and setting up a website for the podcast.
Our weekly tribute to the Nateland Podcast
1:02:00
Nateland Podcast
This is becoming a regular segment where Vickie expresses
love and gratitude for the existence of the Nateland podcast which is providing
much needed laughter and encouragement through December and there are still 200
more episodes to catch up on so thanks to Nate Bargatze for that.
1:03:02
Upcoming shows
Setting up a Shopify account is sooooo easy once you've
done it all
1:03:37
Shopify
Vickie asked Josh to set up a website with ecommerce
capability because he’s studying graphic design. Turns out those two things
have nothing to do with each other so Vickie learned how to set up a Shopify
storefront and offer ebooks and audiobooks for direct sale as well as music
from Mulberry Creek and some documentary films the couple have made together.
Stay tuned for patterns, recipes, tutorials and more books in the New Year
hopefully!
You never know who's listening
1:06:00
Bookstore lady
In 2013 the Morgan family lost their son Joe who had Trisomy
13 (also known as Patau Syndrome).
Together they wrote a book For the Grace of Joe.
The book touches on the complex feelings surrounding their pregnancy, the
diagnosis and the impact on their life as well as how they processed the
experience. There is a poignant reflection on the significance of names, and
the bond still felt with Joe.
The conversation shifts to a recent experience Vickie had
while visiting with her friend Karen in a local bookstore having festive hot
chocolates. They were talking about signs and deep feelings of connection.
When Vickie mentioned seeing some crows earlier in the day
and had taken it as a good sign, a stranger who was listening nearby asked if
she could join the conversation.
Vickie was overwhelmed with grief and connection when this
stranger told a story about a stray kitten who was nearly dead when they found
her living under a barn and they later named her Grace. The stranger went on to
tell of a crow who often visited the farm and they had started calling him
Joe.
Start reading For the
Grace of Joe now
Vickie and Josh finish this episode encouraging others to
connect with the world around them through personal stories especially in
podcasts and books.
Thanks for listening! Subscribe, leave a comment, tell a friend about the show!
Listen to Are You Mad At Me? by clicking any of the links below
