Blogging be-damned!

I think I have writers block. The reason that I say 'think' is because I am not sure if I have ever had writers block, so am not sure what the symptoms are. I went to the first Irish Food Bloggers meeting last week in Dublin. Hosted by Bord Bia and organised by the adorable Donal Skehan (The Good Mood Food Blog).

I spent the day hanging with some cool foodies and got to learn a lot about:

1.     Irish Pork

2.     How to take better photos for all the blogging I do (food styling etc.), 

3.     When to blog (daily, weekly etc.FYI - it is best to post once a week on Tuesdays!) 

4.     How to go from ' Blog to Book ' . This was probably the most interesting segment of the day for me. 

There are a few things I learned that will help me 'tailor' my blog in case I ever want to attempt that unimaginable task! 

So to start with Bord Bia (aka Irish Food Board) spent a lot of time ' pushing pork ' on all us bloggers. Why you say? Well, back in 2008 the Irish Department of Agriculture issued a press statement saying restrictions have been placed on a number of pig farms following the discovery of contaminated animal feed. It says it discovered polychlorinated biphenyls (PCPs). These are organic pollutants normally occurring as a result of industrial processes, in pork fat during routine monitoring.

Since then the Pork industry has struggled to stay afloat and now the folks at Bord Bia are trying to spread the word that the ' Pig is back in town'  and safe to eat. They wanted us bloggers to eat a lot of Pork then go back home and encourage all our readers to ' eat more Irish Pork'.  

I was kind of bored for the first half of the day truth be told. I know all the important cuts of meat on a pig (I learned that at The Preble County Pork Festival years ago. I also learned how to scald and skin a pig too should the need ever arise). A lot of very cool people showed up teaching us how to utilise Irish Pork in several different styles. We covered fajhitas, a stirfry and a curry. I was a little sad that no one shared any Irish recipes and even though Bord Bia put on a really delicious lunch spread for all the hungry bloggers, we did not get to taste anything the demonstrators had just cooked?

Just as we were tucking into our desserts and getting ready to move back into the boardroom, a really cool guy named Eoin Purcell stepped up to the plate to talk to us about our big fat ego's.......... huh?

Apparently we would not be throwing ourselves out there into the internet abyss if we did not have a huge ego that needed stroking from all our peeps. I always thought I married the one with the huge ego. Actually,  I am certain that I did marry the one with the huge ego. Does this now mean that I have to face 'facts' and admit I write because my ego needs it? 

Hence the arrival of writers block this week. Not even as much as a ' Mary had a little lamb'  quote on Facebook out of me. Here I sit wondering if anything I have to say is actually relevant at all and even if I think it is relevant why do I have the insane urge to share it with everyone?

Seeing as I have bored you all this far I might as well carry on with a little bit more blogging and blathering. You see I am just settling in nicely to my four month hiatus from University life. We have a couple of extra (foster) kids hanging around the house which makes life a little more hectic than normal, so maybe my writers block does not necessarily stem from all that above ego/reality check stats. Maybe I am just busy?

Maybe I am distracted by the fact that I have to create a different kind of home environment to heavily nurture the new kids making sure they feel like they have a safe place to lay their heads, a hearty meal to nourish their bodies and ample (if not extra) access to hugs when needed. 

With Rory's seventh birthday looming, a lot of time has been spent looking back over the hectic life we have been leading. I am constantly in awe of who she is becoming. She is a take charge kind of girl, and amazingly  is the epitome of what WiseHospitality is all about here in Ireland.

So, with all that said and having unloaded all my insecurities of my chest for this fine summers evening, I have come to one conclusion: 

I write because I have to. 

It is in me, and it has to come out. 

For the most part, my words get whirled around the internet 300 + times a week. Hats off to my loyal blog followers, all my Facebook friends and my family. For you (all) I am eternally thankful. 

Those are all the (very long winded) WiseWords I have for tonight,

WiseMóna