ChefTony of Visions Restaurant: on sharp knives, social media, and my gazpacho

Chef Tony (@ChefTony on Twitter) of Visions Restaurant in Bethesda, Maryland is a social media guru… with a very sharp knife. We had a few moments to chat before last night’s DC Tweep Up and one of the employees was nice enough to hold my Flip camera…for 10 minutes straight. I don’t know his name but hats off to the camera work dude!

Chef Tony was also willing to taste my gazpacho, and show me the proper way to chop an onion. The one-handed egg cracking trick will have to wait until next time.

If you are in the DC area be sure to visit Visions Restaurant, and check out Sisarina for the next Tweet Up date.

Thanks Tony!
Janine

Hallmark cards go to the Edge Of Motherhood, inverview with writer Tina Neidlein

yes, my boobs do look awesome, thank you for noticing!

Hallmark’s new line of cards, “Edge of Motherhood”, speak to all of us moms…whether you have young kids or teens, as they say “there is a Hallmark card for it”.  This new line is funny, edgy, and we had to know what it takes to put it together!  Have you always wanted to know what is behind the masterminds of the greeting card business?  Here is one of the master”moms”..

We had the opportunity to ask one of the writers, Tina Neidlein a few behind the scenes questions!

How did Hallmark come up with the idea of this “Edge of Motherhood” line of cards?

Well, we’ve heard again and again from moms that they turn to other moms for encouragement and support. So we thought it’d be a natural fit to give them a humorous way to do that, and just like that, Edge of Motherhood was born! Only, it was far less painful than an actual birth. No drugs, either.

These cards draw from life experiences that we all have as moms. Is there one particular experience or stage of motherhood that has inspired you the most?

Wow, you know, it’s funny you ask that: my son is 6 now, and just when I think it’s getting easy, and I’ve got everything under control, I have one of those days…yet again! So as far as my own experiences, I’m still able to draw from what I’m going through now and from my past. I will say, however, that those early (hard!) months of motherhood stand out for me as the first time I realized that I was going to need supportive friends if I wanted to survive! That stage, and those same friends who helped me laugh through the hard times, aren’t ever far from my mind.

We all have good days and bad days. Do these effect the type of card you create?

Bad days? I NEVER have bad days! Yeahhh, right. I’d say, absolutely, that whatever I’m going through can help inspire what I’m writing. You gotta find something funny to laugh at, even during the worst days. And that translates right into what I’m responsible for every day: finding that thing that’s going to help people laugh their way out of a bad day, lest they crumple into a big ol’ mess of tears. Not like, y’know, I’ve ever done that…this week…

I read that you think of a certain person and try to create a card around them…does that person ever figure it out? “Oh that’s about me isn’t it?”

Fortunately, not too often. I try to mask any specifics so it’s general enough to work for lots of people out there…I don’t want to lose any friends! However, my husband is totally onto me. He’s knows which cards are about him and tends to look at me with this little disappointed squint. Sorry, man, you live with me, you’re fair game!

Do you ever have an idea wake you up at night? What is the strangest place/event/person that made you say “I have to make that into a card”.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, now that I’ve finally got my kid sleeping through the night, nothing’s waking me up ever AGAIN! Honestly, though, this will sound so cliché, but it’s true: the shower is where it’s at. I’m getting ready for work, making the transformation from At Home Tina to At Work Tina, and something inevitably will creep in. Happens all the time. As far as strangest place/event/person…that’s a tough one. I really find more interesting material in those everyday moments that happen to all of us—the horrifying embarrassment of something your kid has said, for example…everybody’s got a story like that. I eavesdrop like crazy. I just gotta know what’s going on in everybody’s life, whether I know them or not. Nosy, huh?

Any plans to work with Dads on a similar Dads’ line of cards?

Good question! Dads certainly go through much of the same stuff we moms do—needing to laugh at some of those “challenging” moments of parenthood. We’ve got quite a few cards in the “Edge” line that work well for dads, too. So we’re definitely including them in the mix. As far as an entire new line? I really can’t tell you, I really only write funny words and drink coffee around here. But it’d be a lot of fun to work on! I know some hilarious dads, that’s for sure…

I see you are a fan of Pop Culture? If you could sum up the work environment at Hallmark into a movie, what would the title be?

Breakfast Club

Home Alone

Young Frankenstein

Rocky

None of the above, but here is a movie that says it all….

Dang, now you’ve got me thinking here…hmm. Well, since “Funny People” is already taken, I’ll go with “13 Going on 35.” We have way too much fun to be grown-ups. (Now, wait—I’ll probably come up with something better the next time I shower…)

Great movie and looks like a great place to work!

Annoucing the Best Legs Winners!

Congratulations to our Grand Prize Winner!

@SarahInMI – blurry photo but you can see those legs and, sweet shoes!

And our Runners Up are…

@CassieAiden - Nice pose on the stage at the People’s Party!

@ShaunaGlenn – y’all know she models in real life?

Congratulations and thank you to all who posed, played and voted!

Please remember to check out Pacific Shaving Company who sponsored this contest and remember that for every bottle of All Natural Shaving Oil sold ($7.00 will last 100 shaves!) they plant a tree!

Janine & Linda

Balance is a Journey – You Never Reach the Top

We had the privilege at BlogHer to talk with Stacey Weckstein, author or Create a Balance and Life Coach. Her thoughts on creating a balance in your life, and how she is reaching out to young moms are inspirational…so much so she sent Janine a little OFF BALANCE…you’ll see in the video…

How did she come up with her vision? Stacey shares the how, why and when of her journey…

@JoeSchmitt: On stealing material from his wife and not wearing a hat

Recently I had the opportunity to interview “Mr. Twitter Funny Guy”, Joe Schmitt. And, I owe him an apology.

Sorry Joe.
Sorry for calling your ‘Mr. Funny Guy’ one too many times (in terms of interviewers I have lots to learn…or do I?).
Sorry for not taking your advice and heading into a quiet corner.

That said, Joe was a sport and lived up to his reputation for humor. He was also soooo very nice.

We talked about the fact that everyone thinks he is wearing a hat in his avatar picture on Twitter. We discussed where he gets his humorous material (lately he’s been stealing from his wife who is newly on Twitter herself so that’s going to have to stop) and we discussed why he has no reference to his ‘real’ job on his website or Twitter bio.

If you love @JoeSchmitt watch this (and try to ignore the background activity AND his mid-western accent).

We love you Joe!

Janine (@twincident)

Linda (@shortpumppreppy)