Memorial Weekend is the unofficial start of summer and we celebrated by bringing together a panel of guests & visitors who brought a ton of info, fun, entertainment & knowledge!Image may be NSFW.
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+Larry Fournillier – one of my favorites chefs on the interwebs! Larry joined us from Trinidad and brought his infectious personality from the land of fruit, veggies, drinks & everlasting Summer. Larry hosts several entertaining online shows. Caribbean Cooking, Food Stories and worldly cuisine are just a few of the wide assortment of videos from my Hangouts On Air series.
+Heather Kraafter – +Kraaft Shaak – Crafter extraordinaire & Google Hangout Host. Heather’s weekly shows teach people (young, old, boys, girls) how to create something from the heart using fun techniques.
+Debi Davis of +3D Communications (Debi Davis) – Business Communication Strategist & one of the most engaging people on Google Plus! Debi always has great advice on how to prioritize & strategically manage time. Perfect for summer!
We also had a few pop in visitors – two of my favorite guys! +Greg Boysaw , the main man in my life (even more main man than Bob Voss) joined me for an IRL (in real life) mimosa and then my show host partner in crime +Chef Dennis Littley – also stopped by to join in the conversation.
Our first subject was, of course, Food & Drink. Summer is such a delightful time for drinks, barbecImage may be NSFW.
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ues, parties, gatherings and fresh ingredients! Larry filled us in on his very own drink called the Larry-Jito- a new take on the traditional Cuban Mojito. Listen to this: Rum, fresh lemongrass tea (Larry grows his own LG!), sour orange, sugar, ice and .. a smidge of Scotch Bonnet pepper. YOWZA! Here’s the full recipe: http://goo.gl/Vyjqjs Larry also shared some of the local traditions: Saturday is usually Soup Day which can range in ingredients but usually contains potatoes, celery, split peas, dumplings, etc. This is a year round tradition in Trinidad. And then there is Sunday Callalloo – among other things, this yummy dish boasts fresh veggies like kale, spinach, karole leaf, okra, pumpkin, buttnernut squash and is seasoned with coconut milk, onion & garlic. Out of this world!
In celebration of summer we also discussed Farmers Markets & Fresh Recipes. Nothing is better than going local & green! Living in Colorado, we are SUPER spoiled with local produce & goods. Check out this handy guide for finding YOUR local farmers market. Make sure to check out the event for great comments & photos from the audience (aka: The BatPack). My personal favorite? Caprese Salad!
We also had a great time talking DIRTY! You know.. composting. (hee hee, GOTCHA!) My good friend Wayne Meador always has great tips about composting, worms, etc. – make sure to stop by his YouTube channel & pick up some easy info on how to go a little more green this summer.Image may be NSFW.
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We also picked up some GREAT crafting tips from Ms. Kraafty herself, Heather Kraafter of The Kraaft Shaak. As with anything preparation is key for having fun on a road trip. Heather’s hot tip: For summer travel, markers are the way to go! Pick up some water color paper at your local craft shop, invest in some good markers and then.. here’s the super fun tip: pick up a Water Brush Pen (Google it, you’ll find all kinds of fun pens). Add in some baby wipes for “oops” moments and you are set! Check out her latest creation above.
Heather also suggested picking up a plastic “To Go” water color palette and filling it with your favorite water colors. Make sure the plastic travel palette is empty so you can buy your own colors (premade palettes tend to be a bit more bland in colors). Squirt the water color paint in, let it dry and then you can reactivate the paint using the Water Image may be NSFW.
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Brush. Now you can be what is called a “Plein Air Artist” which is fancy talk for “painting outdoors”. Heather is also going to trying out “Gelli” or mono printing this summer! You can also try Gelato sticks (Faber Castel has a great line)
Business Strategy so that we can all actually have time to do fun stuff was also brought into the discussion. Debi filled us in on what she calls her Tripod Strategy (Bob Voss, the tripod cat, obviously approved of that!): Frame, Focus and Follow Through. The general idea behind this strategy is that you don’t want to miss out on fun things so it does take some planning which is part of the first principle of “Frame” which can also be described as preparation. Add in the other two principles of Focus (stay on task) and Follow Through (action plan) – you have a recipe for success!
A great example of this, specifically for summer, was a summer road trip that Debi took along with her two sisters and their 3 preteen kids. Imagine two cars with various forms of siblings & relatives traveling through the US during the hot summer! Sounds like a recipe for disaster, right? Well the Tripod Strategy (and bonus strategy of “Flexibility”) made her trip a great success. They packed food for the trip and plouted the route but also allowed time for distraction & spontinaety. One of the kids noticed a route that included the Badlands and so their course meandered a bit but time had been built into the schedule. They also gave all the kids $10 in quarters each day to spend as they wish (fast food, souveniers, etc.). They also built a system that if there were disagreements between everyone, fines of a quarter each would be levied – this made the kids aware that their behavior effected a few things like budget & fun. It cut down on a lot of disagreement.
So how do we apply that for grownups? You can reduce stress & increase spontaneity just by planning! This applies during all seasons, of course, but with the long summer days & the number of parties, concerts & festivals. With that being said, I am officially declaring this the Summer of JOMO – The Joy of Missing Out. I read about this phrase recently (found it in a Southwest Airlines Magazine, of all places) and was really struck by that phrase, in relation to FOMO (Fear of Missing Out). Check out the definition (according to Urban Dictionary which is, of course, the gospel of trendy definitions)
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Enough said, right? Let’s make this the #SummerOfJOMO and get out there & enjoy! I plan applying the Tripod Plus One principles of Frame, Focus and Follow Through (Plus Flexibility) to get more out of this summer!
A big shout of thanks to my panelists Debi Davis, Heather Kraafter & Larry Fournillier for bringing such wonderful info! And a big shout to guests Greg Boysaw & Chef Dennis Littley – you both make my world a fun place to be! Speaking of which, all these guests were great sports when I asked – |what’s on your feet?” Greg even sported my tiara & Mickey Mouse Hand.. #TROOPER !
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