Well..it’s been a while since my last blog post dear followers and for that I am truly sorry….or so the saying goes but yes, I’ve been neglecting my little blog recently. I could tell you all about how busy I’ve been…well like so many of you I do have children (4 of them) and I’m training for a half marathon etc etc but the real truth is I have so much to blog about that I think I actually reached a mental block, sometimes when you have too much in your head it’s hard to know where to start and what should come out…so here’s my start…..
You see 2014 was a mixed bag of emotion for me but it ended rather hectic and on a high, I was asked to work on another exciting Food Festival happening this year, I secured a regular Radio Slot as Kerry Food Reporter on West Limerick FM, I ended up cooking on TV as a finalist in Easy Food Magazine Home Cook Hero Awards and my Little Foodies ‘Haunted Kitchen’ Halloween Workshops were a massive success and sold out in a few days which saw us putting on extra classes and increasing numbers.
Kenmare Foodies last year changed for me from being a partnership to me flying solo, for a while I wasn’t sure I could face doing it alone as it was never part of my plan when I started Blogging and posting as Kenmare Foodie but I turned to a few good friends ( you know who you are and I am forever grateful ) and they all advised me that I had built something up and shouldn’t let that go, so as hard as it was and as low as I was feeling I focused all my energy into cooking, styling my photographs and posting photos to my Facebook Page, Instagram and Twitter, in a few short months I had more than doubled the likes on my facebook page and Instagram was flying it for me, I suppose this was the first time that I really had given it my all as now I was posting for me and driving it forward for me. The feedback from people has been amazing and the comments on my food photographs, requests for recipes and numerous people asking if I have a cookbook has been what has kept me going and helped me grow into my new skin as Kenmare Foodie which I have to say I now love, everything feels good and feels like it’s going in the right direction.
Apart from my TV appearance I have a regular slot on West Limerick FM with Sharon Noonan on her Show ‘The Best Possible Taste’ where I get to talk about Food, Food and even more Food! How perfect could that be? I was invited by the wonderful team in GMIT, Jacinta Dalton, Cormac Handy and Colin Gilligan also known as The Foodie Forum to be a Special Guest MC at this years Forum, to say I was honored, thrilled and chuffed is an understatement so THANK YOU GUYS!
A new development has been that I am now giving Private Cookery Classes, this has been my dream for years! I have always wanted to share my passion for food with people but as I have two lively 7 year old boys, a very hungry teen, a husband, a wired puppy, a stubborn Bernese Mountain dog and a very demanding cat with an annoying “Miaow” demoing at home isn’t an option for me so when I was approached by a local lady and asked to give a cookery class for 10 people in her house I jumped at it. I gave my first Cookery Class Friday evening to a group of wonderful Kenmare ladies who sat and enjoyed some wine in the comfort of their friends home while watching me cook and then they all sat around together to eat. What could be more perfect? I now have 3 more Private Cookery Classes lined up on requests from people and I am feeling very positive!
2014 knocked the stuffing out of me, it totally threw me off track and saw me put on over a stone….I’ve figured out I’m an emotional stress eater, something I’d rather not be! I am known for my crazy energy levels, running around organising things, looking after my family, running half marathons and rowing out on Kenmare Bay but I lost my will to live and to run last Autumn and the weight piled on. I’m glad to say that coming up to New Years Eve 2014 I decided that 2015 was going to be my year, I was going to be happy again, fit back into my jeans and make Kenmare Foodies work. So far so good, Kenmare Foodies is where I want it to be, a hobby that I enjoy and am earning some pocket money from. Mr C and I started a healthy eating regime on Jan 6th and I have lost 10lbs since then…..I’ll keep his loss a secret for when he starts his own blog (a joke!).. I am back running…. I ran 10 fabulous miles this morning through the most stunning Kerry country side with 3 of my wonderful running friends by my side. I was supposed to run Clonakilty Half Marathon with them last December but alas my running was off and my head wasn’t in it so I didn’t get to do it. Having ran it twice already this was my wake up call. What I did do though was I got myself to Clonakilty and I stood at the finish line and I cheered and clapped and screamed as each one of them crossed the line, I shed a tear too with the emotion of the bond that’s between us who train together and who pull each other through every mile, these girls are with me every step of the way on my journey but that tear was also shed for the fact that I wasn’t there running it with them so I am now well under way in training for Tralee Half Marathon on Mothers Day, we are training together, we will travel together that morning, stand at the start line together, hug each other at the finish line and we will head back to Kenmare, put the glad rags on and go out and celebrate our achievement together that night. But most of all I am happy……
I have a few exciting things in the pipeline, I can’t say too much here but for one of them I’ve hooked up with a very highly regarded Kenmare Chef and plans are afoot for a food event in the Autumn in Kenmare, we are in the baby stages but it’s something we are excited about, it won’t be a festival so there’s much less hassle for me and it’s all going to be manageable and fun!
I guess 2014 wasn’t all bad…..it did have many highs, a wonderful family holiday to France which is without doubt our favourite holiday destination and we watched the twins enter a Frog Race at a festival in Sarlat which was hilarious and will be remembered for ever! My oldest son came home after a year in China. I rowed in my first Regatta with my team in a boat bearing the name Kenmare in front of the home crowd all standing on the pier cheering us on, we rowed hard as if our lives depended on it, what a buzz! We didn’t come first, second or third, we came second last but for us it was as if we had won because to not come last on our first outing was the icing on the cake, we all sat on the grass at the pier afterwards and drank Prosecco and toasted our day. This is what life is all about, I’ll be back rowing soon as the Spring opens up and the evenings stretch out. That’s about as rough a summary as I can give, I will be posting blogs far more regularly from now on….it’s my promise to me. I’m also going to be contributing to a new Website and I plan a new look for this Website to reflect me more and where I am now.
I will leave you with a few images of my highlights of the last 12 months and to all my friends who have listened, advised and been there for me in the last few months I am so very grateful for your advice and Kenmare Foodie is now facing a very exciting and positive year.