I have to admit - I am not a fan of country music. So I was a bit apprehensive when I set up country line dancing for this week's "In Your Backyard."

Lynette and I visited the the Tractor Twang Dance Club in Newville, Cumberland County. As usual, I knew how to dress the part - denim, pigtails and boots.

And as soon as we started learning the first step with instructor Leah Redclay and all the girls -- I totally got in the mood. Pretty soon I was humming along to Shania and Taylor Swift, scootin' in my boots.

Thanks again to Owner Scott Donato, Leah and all the girls (especially those who took off work!) We had such a fabulous time - and by golly I think I'm a country girl now.

..dancing that is. I totally agree with the statement the more the merrier, especially when it comes to dancing...that is why line dancing is so much fun! Kiersten and I had a chance to line dance yesterday and we had an absolute blast! We learned two dances. The first one is called the Sleazy Slide and the second one is called the Canadian Stomp. If you like people and you like to dance, I definitely recommend line dancing and remember there is nothing to it but to do it!

Kiersten and I are listening intently to our instructor....one missed step and that could throw off the whole line....not really!

We are dancing the Sleazy Slide...Woo Hoo!

Group dancing, group pictures they're both great!

Mother Nature had her own 4th of July party this weekend. She gaves us downpours, thunder and muggy air down in Sea Isle -- cancelling the fireworks.

We still had fun, meeting up with our friends Chris and Kate. I've known Kate for 8 years - since we were suitemates our freshman year at Saint Joe's. She's the only person that is shorter than me but she made me crouch down for this photo.

This dinner made up for my absent fireworks - broiled sea scallops. Delish.

I hope everyone had a great 4th celebrating our nation's birthday!

I did more in one day than some people do in an entire week. That happens sometimes when you have places to go and people to see and that sentence sums up my entire weekend! The places: Florida and Maryland. The people: friends, celebrities and family.

I flew to miami on Saturday, went to the beach and went to 2 fabulous parties where I met new people and caught up with old friends. I had to be at the airport by 5:10am on Sunday to catch a 7:10am flight to my next destination, Maryland. I got back to Maryland on Sunday morning and spent more time with my parents before I had to drive back home to Pennsylvania. Woo.. I'm tired just thinking about my jam-packed yet funfilled day/weekend!

Kiersten and I were invited to a 4th of July picnic by the Swatara Township Highway Department. One of the most exciting things about the day was that we were invited as a surprise for the crew....how cool is that!! I arrived before Kiersten so I was the one who saw their genuine shock and aww. It was such a good feeling to see everyone's reaction when I walked into the room!

Everyone was very happy when Kiersten arrived and we saved her a seat right next to Tony! We all ate, talked, laughed, snapped pictures and laughed some more. After we were done with all the shananigans, we went outside to take a group picture.

Kiersten and I would like to thank the Swatara Township Highway Department for being loyal viewers and after our bonding experience, we now think of them as loyal friends. We truly had a wonderful time at the picnic!

I just walked in.....Surprise!

This is Brian, my #1 self-proclaimed fan!

Kiersten joined us and took her saved seat next to Tony...I forecasted sunshine that day but I didn't mean inside the building...Tony, take the sunglasses off!

Great minds think alike....as we wait to take our group picture!

Our new friends...thanks guys!

Roller skating is an inexpensive way to have fun on the weekends. I know because Kiersten and I hit the floor on 8 wheels....That's right, we went roller skating for this week's In Your Backyard segment.

We had not been roller skating in about 15 years but for me it was like riding a bike. Once I laced up my skates and rolled onto the rink, it all came back to me..forward skating, backwards skating, crossover skating, spinning and even arabesques! Kiersten warned me before we got there that she wasn't that strong of a roller skater but she held her own and didn't fall not once!

Check out the video at our day at the rink and remember, not only is roller skating fun and inexpensive but you can get a good work out while doing it!

I had two days off last week. It was for my boyfriend Andrew's birthday. He turned the big 2-6. Our friends also got married. Here's a picture before the reception - I'll blog about it later this week.

For Andrew's b-day we celebrated by playing golf, eating angel food cake with strawberries...

...and we went to the Phillies game.

They beat the St. Louis Cardinal's 4 to 1 and Ryan Howard hit two home runs! Andrew had an awesome day but I was totally in celebration mode, too - even though my birthday isn't for another 7 weeks! (hint, hint)

or does everyone go into crazy mode before you take a trip? It never fails, I get so overwhelmed with what to pack, things I have to do at work and at home or errands I have to run, like going to the dry cleaners, going to the tailor, shopping for clothes, buying miscellaneous items and if that is not enough I have to make sure Velvet (my dog) has a sitter and food.

Sometimes I wonder if travelling is worth all the hassle, especially now since gas is so expensive and going through the airport feels like you're going through customs...but when you really think about it, seeing the world and your loved ones is definitely worth the headache!

So much to take with so little room...what's a girl to do?!

More bags that may or may not be taken...how did Velvet's toy get in the picture?!

Clothes that need to go to the cleaners!

Boxes from last minute purchases online....ladies you know what I'm talking about!

Oh yes, our good friends Alexandra and Zack were married over the weekend. They are the first of our friends to wed so everyone was uber-excited for the festivities. The weather was awesome, the ceremony was beautiful and the bride and groom looked absolutely stunning!

The reception was held at the Philadelphia Country Club. And because they both went to Penn State, it was filled with all things blue and white. Including a Nittany Lion ice sculpture.

And a blue and white cake. It was covered in white chocolate shavings - heavenly.

Here's their first dance as Mr. and Mrs. Mills. It was such a magical night -- congrats Alexandra and Zack!!

Is taco salad! A few days ago Tiffany, the morning show producer, was eating one for lunch. It was overflowing with crunchy goodness. So I made sure to put it on my menu this week -- and I finally made it last night for dinner. As you can see - a sure winner.

How I make this - all my fave taco toppings piled on chopped lettuce. Yum.

For this week's In Your Backyard segment, we went sailing at Gifford Pinchot Park. The Pinchot Sailing Club is hosting its 2nd Annual Fun Sail Day this Saturday, July 19th. You and the fam can sail for FREE and you get FREE lunch!

But even with all the fun in the sun on the boat - I was distracted by these little guys in the lake. Adorable!!

You can see the one on the left has a little mohawk. I wanted to duck-nap them, but I didn't think it would "fly" with my cat Caliente (or the park rangers).

I'm flying out of town tonight for a mini-vacation. Getting away with the boyfriend and the family up to my aunt's house on Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire.

It will be a long weekend of boating, sailing, grilling and sleeping in! I'll be back on Wednesday!

Whew! Does vacation fly by or what??

I just returned from my mini-break at Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire. We had a ton of fun on the boat, playing tennis and eating too much food.

But it RAINED - the whole time. It was cool, wet and damp all four days.

This is (left to right) my grandmother Nana, cousin CC, sister Juliana, me and cousin Nina. Notice how my younger sister is taller than everyone.

Despite the gloomy weather - we did see a rainbow! Look closely, it arches right above the church steeple.

However, the cloudy skies let me completely relax and sleep in! I'll post more pictures soon.

I just finished The Road by Cormac McCarthy. Not the best easy, summer read. It's an end-of-the-world novel. It focuses on a man and his son trying to survive the grim realities of a post-apocalyptic world. I did love the style of Cormac's writing - very Ernest Hemingway.

Now I'm moving onto this book, True North.

My friend Kate likes to read stories about frigid and cold places during the hot summer months so I'm giving it a try this weekend down at the shore! See you Monday!

I am being hunted by this!

There was one in the house on vacation, on my steering wheel at 2 AM and on the wall in the bathroom Monday morning. Luckily, Caliente came to my rescue by attacking it.

According to the PA Wild Resource Conservation Program, it's called a crane fly. It doesn't bite, even though it looks like a giant mosquito. It says the harmless bug is important to our eco-system which is good and all -- I just want it out of my personal eco-system.

I was in Chicago, also known as the windy city, last week attending a National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) conference. This year it was Unity meaning the conference encompassed all of the minority groups. National Association of Asian Journalists (NAAJ), National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ) and Native American Journalists Association (NAJA).

O'Bama and McCain were invited to speak at the Conference. O'Bama did except the invitation and spoke on Sunday afternoon.

The conference was a week of networking, attending seminars, catching up with old friends and meeting new ones. My friend, Amanda and I are doing just that, catching up on old times and posing for pictures.

This was my first time in Chicago so of course I "had" to do what the chicagoans do.....have some of the famous deep dish chicago pizza at Giordano's Italian Restaurant and Pizzaria! The pizza is so thick it takes 50-60 minutes to bake but it is so worth the wait....mmm...yummy!

It is so thick I could barely finish it....but you know I did!

I visited the Tribune building

As Amanda and I were shopping on the Magnificent Mile we came across this tin man....Yes, he is real!

We went to the Navy Pier and took a boat tour on Lake Michigan.

I went to a Chicago Cubs game and sat in the sky box where you get all the food you want for free from hors d'oeuvres to hot dogs to any kind of dessert you can think of, to cappucinos to slushies, ect!! It was so much food catering going on I was overwhelmed but I'm not complaining in the least!

Here I am with Jean Maye, Director of Human Resources at WPIX-TV in New York and Myrna Ramirez, VP of Human Resources of Tribune Broadcasting.

If so, I missing that link. Plants (not animals) tend to die in my care -- but check out the gardens at my parent's house! Why can't I have Mom and Dad's landscaping knowledge?

Here are the Red Japanese Lillies.

And the Tropical Hibiscus.

And I'm just waiting for the tomatoes to turn red. Yum.

We eat them all the time but have you ever wondered how potato chips are made? Kiersten and I wanted to find out and of course eat them hot right off the assembly line, so we went to Martin's Potato Chips! We saw the potato making process from start to finish and we got some fun facts during our tour, check them out.

* From potatoes to packaging - the whole chip making time takes only 15 minutes.

* Martin's makes 34,000 pounds of potato chips a day.

* Idaho potatoes, although good for baking, are not good for chipping. Martin's uses potatoes that are in-season along the East Coast. Right now, the spuds come from Virginia.

* The Martin's family owned a farm and started making chips as a side business in 1941. Now the York County company has more than 150 employees.

* The Martin's Kettle Cooked Potato Chip is the chip of choice on Air Force One. It's been flying with the Chief Commander for the past 15 years. The story is, while campaigning, former President Bill Clinton got a taste of the chip at the Farmer's Market. Since then, the chips have been served to global dignitaries at 30,000 feet in the air.

* On the tour, you get to taste a warm potato chip. To get the same "off-the-assembly-line" taste at home, pop the chips in the microwave for a few seconds. A quick zap will warm them right up.

They start on the belt....there they go!

Peeled Potato!

Sliced Potato!

The slices go into very hot oil and come out as Potato chips!

They are put into the bag!

Push play to check out our potato chip tour!