What I learned while traveling without my kids…..to the #FWCon

It’s been awhile since we’ve been back from the wonderful #FWCon. Well it was an amazing event. The Food & Wine Conference is a wonderful way to learn about blogging, taking your blog to the next level, writing a cookbook, or even just an inspiring event that makes you realize you can make your dreams come true. For me, my little blog started almost 4 years ago when my oldest was born. I never thought I’d become a foodie. However here I am loving my time in the kitchen and using my words to get through motherhood! So my husband and I decided this conference was exactly what I needed. Not only that but now I am working for Isabel over at #SundaySupper and I couldn’t be happier to be part of such a wonderful movement. This year I look forward to being more involved in the planning process of such a great event! First I’ll share 5 things I’ve learnt while traveling without kids. Then I’ll share just how awesome this event was for me. In the meantime lets get real. My husband and I don’t travel much. When we do it’s usually not far enough to get on a plane, it’s been a real long time for us! I hate leaving my kids, OK maybe hate is a strong word but I could have gone alone, but we needed the time away  together. It taught me a lot!!! Not just about food, wine and blogging but somethings about little ol me!! Here is what I learnt a long the way and I wanted to share some pictures with you too of course!

1. I probably won’t be traveling with my kids until they are respectably 8 and 10.  We sat next to kids on the airplane. Both ways. Yes both ways. On the way down to Florida you know nothing could ruin my mood as I was about to have 4 days without children and learn all I could about food blogging. Insert 3 kids across from us. I have to say for 90% of the flight the mother had the patience of a saint. Cool and calm. Redirected when she needed to and even got a few tantrums to end rather quickly. The youngest reminded me of my daughter because she was doing the good ol “ehhhhhhhh” when her mother asked her something she didn’t feel like answering. I chuckled to myself and kept reading my book. Yes I read a book. Oh where was Dear ol Dad you ask? He was sitting behind us with one more child. Doing nothing. When there was about an hour left of the flight I looked over and Mom had managed to nod off a bit while the little one “tried” to nod off too. When ever I saw an arm tap her on the back and ask her where something was located in the bag, well I damn near ripped his arm off for her. Clearly this is how their relationship works and to each is own but I leaned over and whispered to my husband. “If you EVER woke me from the 6 min nap that I managed to sneak in to ask me where something was located in a bag, you wouldn’t come out alive!” It made me feel a little better when we were actually landing she leaned over to her husband and whispered (or not) “NEVER AGAIN!!!” Why does this make me feel better?? I would have said that same statement during the first 30 min of the flight. Now the kids sitting in front of us on the way home, I’m convinced they were drugged because they were probably about 4ish (twins) and never moved. Never read a book, never colored in a book, never asked a question, never closed their eyes. Sat there staring into the seat in front of them.

2. I’m really really shy. No really shy.  I never realized how much I got used to writing, blogging and being an introvert for the past four years. I had never met any of these people before but I virtually “knew” them. I have had plenty of conversations via the internet with them. I’ve visited their sites, I even featured a lot of them on mine so I really got to know a lot of them. However when it came to break times and socializing I was the awkward duck that sat there waiting for someone to come up to me. I wanted to wear a big sign on my back that said “HI I’M TAMMI FROM MOMMA’S MEALS!!” it’s probably why I enjoyed the dinners so much because it came with free wine and once I have a glass down, I’ll talk to anyone! What makes a person so shy? I don’t know but I wish I did so I could fix it.

3. I realized I actually love my husband. It’s not that I didn’t know that I love my husband, of course I do. We just NEVER get more than 30 min a day alone to really really just be together. At the age our children are at it’s expected I get that, however it sure was nice to just be together. ALONE. No diaper to change, no juice to wipe up, no butt to wipe, no baths to give, no laundry to switch or fold, NO NOTHING. I never realized how much I’d miss him as we went through the daily juggle, struggle and joys of parenthood. I remembered how funny he was, how handsome he looks when we go out together and how much of an amazing person he truly is. I also realized we need date nights more. Some people would think we get a lot, which we do, but we used to have more and we need to make time for that again. We can’t forget where our little family first began before the hustle and bustle of raising kids happened.

4. I will always be ready to head out for a day/night before my husband. This really shouldn’t be on the list because I already knew this however the weekend away reminded me just how much I hate it 😉 I’m the girl, I’m the one that puts make up on and fusses with her hair, tries on a dozen different dresses with shoes. So then why is it that my husband is always the one still getting ready while I’m patiently waiting by the door to leave? I think it’s because I’m a planner and he…….well he is not so I always leave myself plenty of time to get ready. When we are at home and we have a sitter for the evening (which doesn’t happen too much) I have one kid hanging off my hip and another one destroying my room as I’m rushing to get ready. One of the things that I really took advantage of during this trip was getting ready. Without kids. My husband is lucky no matter where we go or when we head out for anything he gets ready in peace. Me. Never. Always chasing after one kid and have the other one hanging off my hip. Here are a few shots of me and my husband before heading out each night. (selfies if you will which I’ve always hated but we did them because we could!)

 

5. I don’t relax enough. I know what your thinking, Mothers don’t get to relax much. I know that. However mentally I need to do it more. My husband says I should meditate, I laugh because I can barley watch TV without thinking of the things I have to do the next day. Or in an hour from then. However I can take a few minutes to rest with my children more. One thing I’ve been doing a lot more of since I’ve returned from this trip is just snuggle more. Take in the moments and hug it out! My daughter has actually been quite the love bug lately which isn’t like her so it’s been great, and my son, well he’s just learnt how to hug, or hang on my skirt one or the other. Sundays are usually the only days that we have together as a family just the four of us. Last weekend I said I’m so tired I just need to sit down for a minute. My husband laughed and said well then sit down. Well I did better. I laid down and we just talked for 15 min. It made my day!

OK well not that I’ve shared those fun facts lets get onto the Food and Wine Conference! Are you wondering what do you do at one of these events?? Well not much. You sit, you learn, you eat, you drink, you talk, and of course take a picture of everything you eat and drink! I learnt so much about social media, sorry if I’m about to blow everyone’s Facebook pages up, make your phone alert with all my new tweets and if I start to really Instagram it up! I have to put the things to use that I’ve learned. Let’s start already!! Well one thing is for sure, it wouldn’t exist without these two lovely ladies. Finally getting to meet them was a pleasure to say the least.
Day 1. We got five hours by the pool before the registration began. Perfect time for a drink by the pool, some sunshine and relaxation. Yes I read, can you believe it.

Next we were off to registration where we got our badges, our goody bags, met one another FINALLY. Did you see the stuff I got in my goody bag?? You have know idea what it’s like to socialize with these people on a weekly basis via technology but then get to actually see them or hug them! Of course there was the big Idaho Potato truck we couldn’t miss that.   A few hours after registration we had cocktail hour/Blogger Blend where we got to sample Gallo Family Vineyards newest addition!! Yes! A new Riesling! It was truly awesome. We took a group photo and snacked on cheese and wine. Here are a few shots and yes I was double fisted a few times throughout this weekend! Everyone in that group picture below is from the #SundaySupper family. It amazed me to see that the attendance from last year more than tripled!!

 

I feel like we got to walk the red carpet! It was fun.

Then we were off to dinner. This is where we sampled dishes from the restaurants at Rosen Shingle Creek. Can I just say how amazing all of their food was. It was neat to have stations set up and get to try a few different dishes, I was so busy mingling that I didn’t take any pics from this event. I know crazy huh. Luckily there was a professional photographer there. Ashlee Harmon Photography did an amazing job capturing these great moments for us. A fellow blogger friend of mine over at Crazy Foodie Stunts won the contest they held so his dish of Peppered Tenderloin of Beef Over Corn Polenta, Frisée Salad and Cabernet Reduction was replicated for the conference. It was TO DIE FOR. My favorite dish of the weekend!

 

Day 2. My husband and I had a nice breakfast together in their buffet restaurant and then we were off to learn learn learn. Well I was, he was off driving around Orlando and sitting by the pool. The opening speeches were by Emily from the Food Network Channel and Whitney who won the first season of MasterChef.

We had a morning break with Mimosa’s, Bloody Mary’s and a nice snack from one of our sponsors Duda Farms.

We then heard a very motivating speech from Michelle Northrup from Intensity Academy and Erika Kerekes from NOT Ketchup as they shared their journey of marketing and how they got their product out on shelves. Though a bottle broke in my suitcase on the way home and ruined my favorite white dress, I’m still going to go on and on about how great their product really is!  So far I’ve used them both as a marinade for chicken! We had a pretty nice set up for ourselves. We had plenty of room to take notes, type on our computer devices and were able to watch the tweets on a big screen.

We then had lunch which was pretty amazing. Again different stations set up so we could grab a little of everything. I tried the Chicken Sausage sandwiches and the Black Bean Burgers. Yes yes I had to have a little dessert too.

We even got to check out the cars that were brought over from another sponsor Fields Auto Group. My husband and I had some fun with this one.  Sitting in cars that were more money than our house! Back to more learning and an afternoon snack from Cabot’s Cheese. I have always loved their product. I can’t wait to use the coupons they passed out to buy some treats. My friend Renee over at Magnolia Days gave a speech about WordPress. Which was perfect for me since I use WordPress for my blog. I really wish I had about 8 hours of one on one time with this gal because she knows her WordPress stuff! More learning and then my favorite part of the weekend. We all sat down and had a Sunday Supper together. It was truly amazing. The menu was beautiful of course we got to sample maybe 6 different kinds of Gallo Wine! All Mine!!!

It was a family style dinner so it was nice to meet some new people as we passed the dishes around. Then Isabel introduced her team to everyone and I got to stand on stage with these amazing women.

Day 3. This day was full of live demonstrations and workshops. It was difficult to take it all in at first because I had to pick and choose which events to attend. I walked around the campus of Rosen College of Hospitality Management amazed by how beautiful it was.

I chose to take part in a workshop where I learnt how to make a Media Kit. Which is basically a resume to anyone who blogs.  I finally have enough background and work to actually make one now so I’m really looking forward to actually getting this done for my blog. It will help me take it to the next level. I saw a live demo from The Beef Checkoff Company.

I learnt about different cuts of beef and how to get the most meat for your buck! I also learnt more about photography from Renee. Though I may not have the time to work on my photos like I should, I know I’ll get there eventually. I still think I’ve come a long way and it never hurts to learn more! Renee takes beautiful photo’s, I’ve always admired her shots!

Lunch time rolled around and we were served a beautiful salad and of course Steak tips and Potatoes from Idaho Potato. Can we say yummy??!! I even got to sit at the same table as Whitney and her fiance, the winner of Season Ones Masterchef. He actually had a lot in common with my husband. It was so nice to see him enjoy himself too.

I also learnt about taking your hobby to the next level with what it takes to publish a cook book. It’s on my agenda for some point in my life but I’ll put that on the 10 year plan. I want more experience in the kitchen, in the blogging world and with my children right now. Soooo a bit more learning and we were done! It was bitter sweet because I never got to say good-bye to anyone. All of the #SundaySupper family went to eat that night at a restaurant in town. I chose to stay at the hotel and have a nice dinner with my husband and that we did! Next year though, we are staying an extra night so I hope they decide to go out again because I’ll be joining next year!

My husband were off to have dinner at A Land Remembered. It was a Steakhouse that was located on the golf course. It was everything we thought it would be. The wine selection was amazing and the filet we chose……..there are no words. Well that sums up what I’ve learnt while traveling without my kids. I suggest this conference for any blogger out there. The community-family feeling you get when your a part of this event is just amazing. You will learn things that will have you wanting to dive into your blog right away. I won’t talk about how I was looking forward to working on my blog for 3 straight hours on the flight home and how we had no internet access and a man had a seizure on my husband. 🙁 I’m lucky enough to be on this years committee of planning this fabulous event. I’m super excited to be behind the scenes helping and making it even better than it was this year, if that’s even possible. So stay tuned as we plan next years Food and Wine Conference!!