Meet The Blogger | The Mama Mary Show

Posted on October 14th, 2013 by Jean

As part of my new series, Meet The Blogger, I’m introducing my favorite bloggers.

Mary of The Mama Mary Show and I met online in 2010 through SITS. There is something about Mary! She’s remarkable in all of her endeavors. Her blog is polished, and she is engaging, humorous and candid. You will love her.

Follow Mary on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest, and Twitter.

Q & A with Mama Mary

Q. You have the blogs, the book, the news segment, the husband, the kids, the freelance writing. What is next for Mama Mary?

A. Thank you for asking this question because it’s made me really think about what I want to do next. The answer is, I don’t know yet. I’m at a crossroads with the blog and I though I really want to focus on video and web productions, I’m not exactly sure which path I’m going to take next. I am going to start doing a vlog series on Felicity Huffman’s site, WhattheFlicka.com and I am also brainstorming on the next spoof video with my husband, but other than that I’m open to ideas, so if anyone wants to collaborate . . .

Q. Who do you turn to for advice?

A. Oh man, so many people. I am lucky to have a ton of amazing people in my life that I can turn to at any time. For life issues or medical advice I turn to my bestie Mariana who is a doctor in New York–I text her almost daily with some sort of ailment for my self or my kids. She is my backbone in most situations. For personal and professional related advice I turn to my husband who has a great way of getting me to come to my own conclusions without telling me what to do. For cooking advice, when I’m trying out a new dish, I have my friend Laura on speed dial so I can ask her the most inane of questions. For blogging advice I turn to Theresa of RockonMommies, who is, ironically, my rock in this crazy blogging world.

Q. What is your current favorite casual outfit from head to toe?

A. My red Justin Timberlake tank top that I bought at his Legends of Summer Tour and my long black maxi skirt that is the most comfortable thing I’ve ever worn, my black Michael Kors sandals that I bought during BlogHer ’11 and my teal fedora from Target. Yes, it’s still warm enough in San Diego to wear a tank top and sandals.

Q. What is the secret to being so comfortable in front of the camera?

A. Wine. Just kidding, just kidding! I try to forget that the camera is there and I just act like I’m just talking to a friend. And practice. Lots of practice.

Q. Complete this sentence – The best place to enjoy a cup of clam chowder in San Diego is __________.

A. Dobson’s. Actually, it’s not clam chowder, it’s mussel bisque and it’s to die for. My dad used to take me there before he died and I recently went back just because I was craving that soup. It’s a little hole in the wall, upscale restaurant, adjacent to Horton Plaza in downtown. Just belly up to the bar, order the soup and use the sourdough bread to dip, and you’ll be in heaven.

Thank you, Mary, for your ever entertaining and candid answers!

Tom Won!

Posted on October 10th, 2013 by Jean

The Community Achievement Awards were held Saturday at the Aquarius Casino Resort in Laughlin, Nevada. My husband, Tom was a finalist in the Tourism category.

2:38PM – We are nervous! I have butterflies. The wind is still blowing. Tom went to wash my car. The girls are eating Papa John’s pizza that I ordered.

I’ve showered, painted my nails, and now have hot rollers in my hair. I ate a slice of pizza. Am drinking water. Took an ibuprofen for my shoulder.

Tom’s going to feed the horses at 3pm, and shower at 3:30pm. The sitter will be here at 4pm. We are meeting friends at the Aquarius bar at 5pm. I’m sure these next few hours will fly by. I still need to do my make-up. I had practiced with false eyelashes a few weeks ago, and think I will do that again.

Breathe!

Whew!

I’m hoping Tom wins! I’ll let you know as soon as I can.

4:16PM – We are ready!

8:42PM – Tom won!!!!!

We are on cloud 9! I’m so proud of Tom! His award is heavy! Plus he got a nice certificate just for being nominated.

We arrived at the Aquarius early. Our friends arrived 15 minutes later, and we all headed upstairs to the banquet room. We were seated at a table with the Tri-State Military Moms, a nice group of 4 ladies who send care packages to the troops. They ended up winning too!

Cocktails were at 5pm, so we went back into the lobby area and got some Fireball martinis. We mingled a bit as we knew some of the people in attendance.

Dinner was served at 6pm. Our first course was a pastry filled with cheese. I whispered to Tom that it was a Hot Pocket, and he used it as his joke which the table loved. He can get away with saying it. LOL! Then we were served a rose-petal flavored sorbet which was aromatic. Next was a crab salad. Then we had dinner: a small steak (it was taller than it was wide), a small crust-less pie which the waiter said was made of lobster meat, and a crumb-coated potato wedge made with potato shavings that were a bit crunchy. For dessert we had tiramisu cake. It was good and rich. We also had white wine, and a blueberry-cream martini. Dinner also came with iced tea and water.

Then it was time for the awards. We watched as each winner went onstage and read a prepared speech. Tom didn’t write a speech! Then, I told him I didn’t want to go onstage with him if he won. He was nervous, I could tell. When he won, he made his way to the stage, ran up the stairs, and said, “Tourism”. Then he did well, thanking the judges, thanking me, thanking our friends for flying in from Nebraska. He said when he moved here he fell in love with the river. He loves living here and raising a family here. He also said we are starting the Entertainment magazine in 2014 and we will continue to bring tens of thousands of unique visitors to the area. I was so proud of him! He even got applause when he said he had been publishing for twenty five years. Yay, Tom!

At the end of the awards, he had to pose with all of the winners. That photos is in the paper today, as well as individual photos of the winners.

Now to box up my dresses and necklaces and return them.

Thank you for sharing in our happiness!

Tags: Arizona, Community Awards, Nevada, Tourism, winner

Meet The Blogger | Living, Loving, Laughing…

Posted on October 7th, 2013 by Jean

As part of my new series, Meet The Blogger, I’m introducing my favorite bloggers.

Angelia has been Freshly Pressed on WordPress twice four times, and that is probably how I first found her blog, Living, Loving, Laughing…. She lives up to all those titles with her full life, her loving relationships, and her positive attitude.

You can follow Angelia on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter.
 

A: My granddaughter is the sweetest thing I have seen (besides her mother). She lights up my heart. My favorite part of being a grandmother is holding her tiny fingers in mine and just being amazed over this little person that I love more than I thought possible.

Q: How was your Chics Who Click exhibit received at the Arlington Museum of Art?

A: Our Chics Who Click Exhibit was a wonderful success. We had several paper and blog write-ups within the local city news. A film crew from North Texas Now interviewed several of us. We had very nice turnouts at our monthly receptions and many prints were sold by individual photographers. We are currently looking for your next venue or art show.

Q: Being a corporate travel agent, you must book some amazing trips. What would be your dream vacation?

A: The key word is corporate, as in, boring, stuffy business trips. They can be very demanding and urgent, but that is what I like. I like the fast pace of corporate travel. I did have some time doing vacation travel when I first started out. Mostly, I booked Las Vegas. My dream vacation would be Costa Rica – beaches, mountains, and beautiful waterfalls.

Q: Your Christmas Card photo shoot posts are such a joy to read. What are the ingredients for a successful family Christmas card?

A: The key ingredient to Christmas card shoots are the outfits. Each year we color coordinate outfits between ourselves (and our dogs if included). There is usually a central theme too. One year was Christmas pajamas, one year was hats, and one year was reindeer antlers. But the most important thing is to have FUN!

Q: You have shared favorite and faulty phone apps with us in the past. Do you have a new favorite app, what is it, and what does it do?

A: My newest favorite app is Zillow. It’s a house hunting app. No, I am not looking for a house, nor are we selling our house. I am just obsessed with looking at houses inside and out. I probably should have been a realtor.

Thank you, Angelia, for visiting with us today!

Tags: Blog, blogging, friends, interview, Living Loving Laughing, meet the blogger, Q&A, Wordpress