Weather seems to be in the news a lot lately. Throughout the United States, people have been dealing with severe weather of all kinds. My heart goes out to the people in the flooded areas fighting to save their homes and to those picking up the pieces after the deadly tornadoes.
As I pulled into the driveway Wednesday afternoon, the sky changed from sunny and bright to ominous. It was in the mid 90’s, but the wind started to gust. I will admit that I was unaware that a storm warning was in our area. We packed the kids into the house and got them out of their swimsuits and decided to relax in the cooler house. As I was sitting and doing some work, I heard thunder, saw lightning flickering outside, and then chunks of ice were slamming against the house. Yes, chucks of ice.
TechyDad was able to get the one above when he ducked outside our front door to snag it to show the boys. A little while later, the sun came out and I went outside to look around for damage. Even though it was still close to 90 degrees, there were still good sized chunks of hail in the grass.
I went to check on our vegetables that we outside. Luckily, everything looked pretty good. We were a bit nervous since hail destroyed cucumbers and tomatoes a few years back.
When I went back around the front, I decided to take a photo of one chunk of ice and then next to my foot to show the difference.
Yes, we get hail from time to time in the Capital District area, but not like this and several times in a few days. Thank goodness everyone was safe and sound. Now we just hope things settle down across the country for the rest of the summer ahead.
My question to you this week:
Do you like summer storms? Would love to know why you do or do not. Please share any unusual weather you have had near you.
Pssst . . . be sure to stop by my Dove Men + Care giveaway along with TechyDad’s Kung Fu Panda giveaway to enter for a chance to win some great items.
Thanks to Kailani at An Island Life for starting this fun for Friday. Please be sure to head over to her blog to say hello and sign the linky there if you are participating.
The warm weather seems to be here. Thanks to this, people across the country will be getting their grills ready for some BBQ fun. Last Thursday evening, I was invited by Price Chopper to attend their House of BBQ cooking event sponsored by Certified Angus Beef. This event was right after Price Chopper announced the new voices of their House of BBQ commercials to replace the much loved Melvin Sparks after he passed away. Allan Harris and Lynn Sterling, two nationally known musical artists, will now be seen in the ads like this one below.
That’s right, we were not cooking Thursday night, we were learning about grilling. So with the catchy tune in my head, I made my way to The Century House in Latham, NY for the House of BBQ fun. Oh an FYI, this was not a blogger event. This is one of the cooking classes that Price Chopper sponsors throughout the year for members of the community to attend.
At our seats, we were given a bag of goodies. The recipes being prepared, some tip sheets, and extras were inside for everyone in attendance.
When it was time to begin, we decided to use the hashtag #HouseofBBQ on Twitter to live Tweet what we were learning.
First up was Chef Mike Tracy from Price Chopper. Sorry about the photo quality, the lighting at The Century House was tricky to work with.
Chef Mike was filling in for Executive Chef Dave Hamlin. He prepared the following items:
Grilled Carrots with a Maple Cumin Glaze
Grilled Shrimp and Avocado Salad
Grilled Corn on the Cob With Spring Herb Butter
Chef Mike really helped to explain that you should not be afraid of grilling vegetables. He did admit that corn on the cob grilled is not his favorite since it does not look too great when finished.
Next was Chef Michael Ollier from Certified Angus Beef. Chef Michael was tossing jokes out the entire time and keeping everyone on their toes. He was fantastic to watch and listen to. He made learning about different cuts of meats fun and enjoyable. Even this girl, who can not buy Certified Angus Beef (not kosher), knows this meat is the real deal. While Chef Michael showed us different cuts of meat, we referenced the chart below. Then, he demonstrated some grilling techniques and took questions from the audience.
When it was time to try some of the foods that were prepared, I had my camera out snapping shots. Chef Michael joked and asked if I was a blogger or something. Of course, I told him I was and had been live Tweeting the event with my friends. Yes, we even got some of Chef Michael’s jokes in there. You can also read more about the different cuts of beef that he talked about on the #HouseofBBQ hashtag on Twitter.
The final person to present to the group was Chef David Robinson. Chef David is the brilliant man behind Eat Your Mistakes. He has a video cooking series that shows people how to cook and eat your mistakes in the process. Chef David was high energy and talked about his recent trip to Las Vegas where he took local supplies from the Capital District to cook for dignitaries. Yes, I am the blogger that was taking photos of photos.
Chef David was showing us how to prepare some delicious goodies to end a grilling feast. He made Mom’s Chocolate-Chip Oatmeal Cookies (YUM!) and Chocolate Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting. Both of these items were fantastic and will be made and utilized for different events. I will admit, I have been craving more of the cookies since this event. I have seen Chef David on television before, but now his blog is in my feed reader to catch when it is updated.
When all was said and done, we were able to go to the back of the room to make a plate and try all of the foods that were prepared. Here is my plate and later on when Chef David delivered cookies fresh from the oven. Yes, being at the end of the line paid off since they ran out of cookies – so gooey fresh ones were a short baking cycle away.
Have you been to a Price Chopper cooking class? Please let me know if you have. I would love to know more about your experience. For those not in the area, what do you love to grill in the summer?
Thank you again to Price Chopper, Certified Angus Beef, The Century House, Chef Mike Tracy, Chef Michael Ollier, Chef David Robinson, and my blogging buddies for an amazing evening. I know I am looking forward to hearing when the next cooking/baking/grilling event will be held.
Disclosure: Price Chopper invited me to be a part of this event. I did not pay for this, nor was I paid to go. I was not asked to blog about this, but wanted to share my experience with my readers. The opinions expressed in this are my own. I was not compensated, but did receive the items shown above and a coupon for Price Chopper cereal after completing a survey about the event.
The world of blogging has opened up the world to me. I have met amazing people online, at conferences, and even locally. The reality is that the internet connects people that may have never met under normal circumstances.
Case in point, I recently had the opportunity to meet the Publisher of Genesee Valley Parent Magazine based out of Rochester, NY.
Barbara Melynk started her magazine 16 years ago and it is still going strong. The way we met is a long story. The in-person meet up was thanks to a blogger outreach connecting people from Western NY to the Capital District area. Although our meeting was short, Barbara was a wealth of information and a very classy woman. She has definitely inspired us. Barbara’s magazine also had an article called Her Words: Moms of Rochester Share Their Words of Wisdom Across The Digital Wires. The article shows how three bloggers in that area are digitally connected via their blogs. A great read for when you have time.
Here is a photo of almost everyone in the group that was at the informative meeting with Barbara.
Thanks to Kailani at An Island Life for starting this fun for Friday. Please be sure to head over to her blog to say hello and sign the linky there if you are participating.
Yes, it is true. This mommy took herself, and a friend on a field trip the day before Mother’s Day. Some may call it selfish; others call it a must needed adventure. I call it being a GEM and knowing that I need ME time. Thanks to Rene Syler, I have realized that it is fine for me to need time away from my family. I love the boys, but this mama likes time with friends and having some additional estrogen in her life.
The reality is that a lot has changed since we got back from Disney Social Media Moms Celebration. At the time, I knew there were big changes coming, but never could have imagined the way it would play out. We started to look at different schooling options for our son. After a major bullying incident, we had to look into this faster than we had intended. I am no longer associated with the local magazine for a variety of reasons. What I realized during all of this chaos is that I love my family/friends and their place in my life. I also saw how people stepped up, helped me with things, and allowed me to laugh during a highly stressful time. Most important of all, I saw the power of women coming together. Reinventing myself is happening with each breath that I take.
Since we got back from Disney, I have been communicating with Rene Syler. Rene has been awesome cheering me on in the background as I embrace my inner GEM (Good Enough Mother). Her energy is contagious. At one point, Rene and I realized that we do not live too that far from one another. The Head GEM suggested that we meet for lunch one day. Before I knew it, Rene and I set a date for a Mommy Field Trip for the two of us and Christina from Cutest Kid Ever.
This past Saturday, yes the day before Mother’s Day, we met at a restaurant. After lots of hugs, we sat down, ordered some drinks/food, and talked up a storm. We had a lot to chat about. Business, families, education, social media, fun, Disney, and pretty much anything else you can think of was on our agenda. Being bloggers, we all took turns taking photos of our food and other items:
Of course, being the social media groupies that we are, we also sent out some Tweets from the Mommy Field Trip. Here is the TwitPic that I captured of the beautiful Rene:
Before we finished our meal, we asked someone in the restaurant to take a photo of us. We hoped to get one outside along the Hudson River, but needed one from inside. Here is a view from our Mommy Field Trip:
Before we knew it, the time had come to head out to our cars. Lots of hugs, some photos by the river, and promises to do this again. It was an amazing first ever Mommy Field Trip for me thanks to the women I was with. Thank you Rene for being an inspiration. I know that Christina and I will use your words of wisdom in the not too distant future. Thanks to you, I move forward one step at a time toward my GEM reinvention. Thank you for supporting me and my new projects that are yet to be seen.
Have you been on a Mommy Field Trip recently? If not, what are you waiting for?!
