Last night I went to Genki to spend some time with Cooking Light magazine’s Chef Allison Fishman to learn more about this cook-off.  First let me tell you she is such a sweet person and so were the reps who sponsored our meet up.  Also, the food we ate at Genki was super fabulous.  Have you ever had deep fried seaweed?  If not, you are so missing out.  If this is a glimpse into this weekend’s Taste of Atlanta – you don’t want to miss it!

Thought I would share this info from Cooking Light:

COOKING LIGHT

HOSTS COOK-OFF TO FIND THE

“HEALTHY COOK OF THE YEAR” AT TASTE OF ATLANTA

—

Four Finalists Compete in Live Cook-Off for $10,000 Prize Package

Cooking Light will host a live cook-off event at Taste of Atlanta on Saturday, October 23, 2010. Four finalists, chosen by readers and online users of Cooking Light, will compete in two rounds for the title of “Healthy Cook of the Year” and a prize package valued at $10,000. The first round of competition begins at 11:45am on the main stage of Taste of Atlanta.

In ordered to be considered for this competition, entrants submitted a three-minute prep-to-plate video of a healthy, original recipe on which they were judged.  At Taste of Atlanta, the four finalists will prepare this original recipe in round one of the cook-off. In round two, beginning at 1:15pm, the finalists will prepare their own version of lightened up macaroni and cheese. The winner will be announced at 2:15pm on the main stage.

The finalists will be judged by Cooking Light Chef Allison Fishman, Atlanta-based Chef Marvin Woods, and Good Day Atlanta co-anchor Suchita Vadlamani.

Taste of Atlanta is a two-day outdoor food festival, taking place on October 23 and 24, 2010, in Technology Square at the 5^th Street Bridge in Atlanta, GA.  For ticket information, please visit www.TasteOfAtlanta.com.

Thought I would share this press release with you since many moms look for alternatives to traditional trick or treating.  We did this with James when he was really little.

October is Trick-or-Treat time at Atlanta-area Simon malls, and there will be plenty in store for young ghouls and goblins.  From festivals and costume contests to games and sweet treats, there’s something for everyone!  Halloween events include the following:

October 30:

• Northlake Mall opens its doors for trick-or-treaters from 5 p.m. – 7 p.m., and kids can stock up on goodies from participating mall retailers. Stop by Guest Services for a treat and list of participating stores. (4800 Briarcliff Rd., Atlanta; 770-938-3564)
• Town Center at Cobb hosts its annual Simon Kidgits Club “Boo Bash” and mall-wide trick-or-treating from 5 p.m. – 8 p.m. in the Center Court and outside the Food Court Main Entrance (weather permitting.) Enjoy trick-or-treating, a bounce house, Halloween crafts and costume photo opportunities. (400 Barrett Pkwy, Kennesaw; 770-424-9486)

October 31:

• Gwinnett Place Mall hosts its 7^th Annual Really Really Big Halloween Party, sponsored by Radio Disney from 2 p.m. – 5 p.m. in the Belk Wing and Center Court.  Kidgits members can enjoy frighteningly fun festivities and interactive booths!  Non-members can join the fun for $5. Log on to www.simonkidgitsclub.com and visit Gwinnett Place for more details. Little ones can also enjoy trick-or-treating at participating stores from 3 p.m. – 5 p.m.  (2100 Pleasant Hill Road, Duluth; 770-476-5160)
• Mall of Georgia hosts both its Simon Kidgits Club Fall Festival and mall-wide trick-or-treat. Stop by The Village at Mall of Georgia to enjoy a costume contest with prizes, a performance by a local dance studio, taekwondo demonstrations and a bounce house as well as artists doing crazy hair, balloon animals and face painting – all from 1 p.m. – 4 p.m. After the Fall Festival, stick around to trick-or-treat around the mall from 4 p.m. – 6 p.m. Participating merchants will offer goodies and sweets to costume-clad children 12 years of age and under.  Please remember that masks are not allowed.  (3333 Buford Dr., Buford; 678-482-8788)

For more information on Simon malls, visit www.simon.com.

Not a Simon Kidgits Club member?  For only $5, you can become one!  Please visit Simon Guest Services at any mall to join. For more information on Simon Kidgits Club, visit www.simonkidgitsclub.com.

Out of all the attractions this year, I was most excited about Atlanta Zombie Apocalypse. I absolutely love zombies and have seen every zombie movie there is, some several times. I’m definitely a zombie fan! What goes better with an apocalypse than zombies? Who can pass up shooting zombies with paintball guns? Based on the line to get in to Atlanta Zombie Apocalypse there are a whole lot of people who feel the same way. The line was impressive and reflects excellent marketing strategies. Lucky for us our tickets were at the window and we only had to wait about 45 minutes. We spoke to some people who claimed to have been waiting 2 hours! Good things come to those who wait right?


When we pulled in the parking lot we marveled at the size of the superbly painted camouflage building and armed guards patrolling for zombies. What was this I hear when we stepped out of the car? Was it Slayer? Was it screams and gunshots? Car crashes? Oh yeah!!!!!
Make sure you don’t have any open cuts, sores, or scratches. They will not hesitate to take you out back and put one in your head. The poor girl standing behind us for quite a while time found out the hard way. But it’s better them than us right?


As far as the attraction itself goes, I appreciated the theatrics and creativity. I enjoyed making my way through the hotel while our guard dispatched zombies left and right. Too bad we didn’t get guns…. I would have to say I enjoyed the outdoor area the most. Zombies young and old were coming at us from all sides. Fortunately for us our guide was able to keep them at bay. The girls in the post apocalyptic scene were a delight.


While I wasn’t scared or startled, really at all, I did enjoy the premise and appreciated the theatrics as well as the effort and hard work that went in to all this. Atlanta Zombie Apocalypse did feel like a production and It did kind of feel like I was in a zombie movie. I definitely think they are on to something and thought it was fun.


Although I had a good time, I also thought the zombie shoot was a bit of a letdown. It was fun to shoot live targets for a few minutes though.   I would have preferred a bit more realism but that’s not to say I didn’t enjoy the zombie actors and their antics. Maybe the whole thing could be turned into a competition of sorts to keep zombies from reaching a certain point, attacking a victim, or something along those lines.


Overall Atlanta Zombie Apocalypse was fun and I enjoyed going. You should definitely check it out for yourself as I’m sure you will have a good time too. I think I might be a little harder to scare than the average person as well as bit of a zombie fanatic so I hope I wasn’t too harsh. Maybe my expectations are lofty and too high? You can never know unless you go see for yourself!

RATINGS

Creativity:  3 skulls

Characters: 2 skulls

Gore: 1 skull

Length: 3 skulls

Scariness: 1 skulls

Construction: 2 skulls

Atlanta Zombie Apocalypse is located in Conley, GA and is open Wednesday – Sunday.

Atlanta Zombie Apocalypse on Facebook.

Read about other Atlanta haunts and click the image above.

Written by James Samples

Folklore Haunted House is a new attraction this year in Dallas, GA roughly 35 miles west of Atlanta. This is not your average haunted house and definitely not for the faint of heart. Believe me, you aren’t even safe in the parking lot!  These folks are serious and it shows in all aspects of this attraction – from the incredibly well constructed (and fire-proofed) walls to the professional acting of their employees. I’m telling you this place is top quality! If you know anyone who thinks they can’t be scared in a haunted house bring them in.

They are complete masters of misdirection and really know how to get your attention focused in one direction and come at you in a completely unexpected way at precisely the right time. I am not easily startled or scared and am proud to say they “got me” numerous times! It is as if they tapped into some dark psychology found in a haunted file cabinet or something. They literally came at us from every direction!

The zombies!!!! The zombies!!!!

The zombies are absolutely amazing and look very realistic. There are both slow and fast movers! The make-up is phenomenal and includes those awesomely eerie eyes of various colors that make things all the more disturbing. Folklore provides an experience you can only find in high end haunts minus the overly inflated price. Did I mention they have a coffin ride out front? Yes, I said a coffin ride!!!! Take your “Last Ride” and experience being buried alive…complete with smells and sounds no doubt! It even simulates the movement of being lowered to your most horrific grave! How awesome is that? Where else can you get buried alive for $5 and live to tell about it? Without spoiling the attraction we can tell you that everything you experience will be well thought out, right down to the last detail. Folklore is definitely a must see!

Ratings

Check out Folklore on  FaceBook!

I’m so excited to announce that Disney on Ice’s Toy Story 3 is coming to Atlanta and my family will be there! My oldest son grew up on the original Toy Story and is still a HUGE fan (Team Woody). My youngest son is also a fan (Team Buzz). Tomorrow night they both get to see the “on ice” version at Philips Arena.

What: Toy Story 3 on Ice
Where: Philips Arena
When: October 13th – October 17th

Tickets start at $14 and are on sale now at Ticketmaster.

Last year we saw Disney on Ice and it was very impressive.  I expect Toy Story 3 to be nothing short of spectacular.  You can find your favorite characters and information on the Atlanta Toy Story 3 Facebook page or check out some sneak peeks of the show on Disney’s Toy Story 3 site on YouTube.

Disclosure:  My family was given media tickets to see Toy Story 3 in exchange for promotion from Feld Entertainment.

YO GABBA GABBA! LIVE!:

THERE’S A PARTY IN MY CITY

Atlanta’s Fox Theatre

Saturday and Sunday, October 23rd and 24th, at 2 and 5PM

Who is your favorite?  DJ Lance Rock?  Brobee?  Plex?  Well, I’m a huge fan of Foofa!  Is this all foreign to you?  It shouldn’t be…it’s Yo Gabba Gabba and they are coming to Atlanta!  I have four tickets for a lucky reader to join us at the October 23rd show at 5 PM.  I can’t wait to share the pictures with you after the show, but in the meantime enter to win the tickets for the show…

From the PR Release:

The state-of-the-art production features music, singing, dancing and animation. The show is an interactive experience that offers audience members of all ages the opportunity to witness their favorite characters come to life. Joining the characters on stage will be hip-hop legend Biz Markie to teach kids how to beat box with “Biz’s Beat of the Day”.   Special guests will join the party on stage for the Super Music Friends Show and Dancey Dance segments.

Released in October, 2009, YO GABBA GABBA!: MUSIC IS AWESOME Volume 1 topped kids and overall music charts at iTunes (#1 kids album), Amazon (top 5 kids album) and Target sales, which reached more than 40,000 copies in only 6 months since its release. YO GABBA GABBA!: MUSIC IS AWESOME was picked as one of 2009’s top holiday gifts for toddlers by both PARENTS magazine and the popular Mom web destination MomLogic.com. YO GABBA GABBA!: MUSIC IS AWESOME Volume 2 hit shelves nationwide this September.

Dates, venues and ticket prices are subject to change.

Find Yo Gabba Gabba on Facebook

Follow Yo Gabba Gabba on Twitter

GIVEAWAY:

Tell my your favorite Yo Gabba Gabba character in a comment below for your mandatory entry. One winner will win a pack of 4 tickets for date/time disclosed above.

Additional entries can be earned by (please leave separate comments):
2. Follow my blog or if you are already following – tell me who you are. (1 entry)
3. Blog about this and link back to me or email 5 friends about this giveaway copying me on the email. (10 entries)
4. Follow me on twitter @lisasamples and tweet this contest leaving me a link. (1 entry per tweet/2 tweets per day) Please leave time between tweets.
5. Subscribe to my email feed. (2 entries)
6. Connect via Facebook with my blog Life with Lisa. (2 entries)
7. Favorite me on technorati, digg, or stumble leaving link. (1 entry per fav)
8. Vote for @lisasamples as a Top 50 Twitter Mom and get one entry per vote http://www.babble.com/mom/work-family/top-50-twitter-moms-nominate-favorites/index.aspx. (1 entry per)
9. Follow @YoGabbaGabba on twitter and/or Facebook. (1 entry each)

This giveaway will end October 19th th at 11:59 pm EST. Winner will be determined by Random.org or through random selector installed on my site and will have 48 hours to send contact information to lisa(dot)samples@gmail.com.  US entries only. This listing is compliments of  Yo Gabba Gabba and I was compensated for my time, but my opinion is 100% mine and honest!

13 Stories Haunted House

We heard mixed reviews of 13 Stories, so we took it upon ourselves (as any true horror fans should) to check it out for ourselves. Some people just don’t have an appreciation for the art of haunted housery. Our first glimpse of 13 stories came in the form of a beam of light cutting across the night sky emanating from their most spooktacular spotlight. Yeah! Was this a warning to stay away or a beckoning from beyond the grave? There was only one way to find out….

Mwuahahaha!

As we approached the haunt we were welcomed by this mysterious fog that seemed to blanket the parking lot and it was then we knew we were in for a treat! If I were to describe this haunt with one word I would have to describe it as insanity. It really felt as if we were fumbling our way through an insane asylum stocked with the most violent maniacal zombies and evilest creatures known to man. After the first scene I believe I had a horrorgasm! I think the start alone was worth the money. This haunt is filled with the most insane screams, maniacal laughs, and terrifying sounds. You never know what is lurking around the corner waiting to jump out of the darkness. If you like haunts where theatrics are a must, this is a good one.  The actors seem to know exactly when to pounce from the shadows for maximum effect.

This haunt provides an awesome sensory experience with strobe lights, fog, and well timed bangs, shots of air, vibrations, and screams. I wish I could say more but I think it is best you see it for yourself!

Ratings

Check out 13 Stories on  FaceBook!

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Camp Blood

Rednecks, freaks of nature, chainsaws, murderous mayhem, oh yes!

“Run fer yer life!!!”

Camp Blood provides a half mile of sheer hillbilly hell. Oh the butchery! Hopefully your body parts don’t end up on those tables.  Just don’t let them catch you (and don’t run into the trees and knock yourself out)! Camp blood was undoubtedly the best redneck themed haunt we have ever had the pleasure to walk (and run) through. The actors were extremely enthusiastic and seemed to enjoy what they were doing.  They played their characters quite well. We enjoyed chilling at the redneck movie theatre and warming up by the bonfire before we disembarked on our perilous backwoods expedition. While waiting for our turn we got to meet some real interesting and peculiar country folk. Just be careful, you never know who you might run into or who might run at you! They like to creep up out of the shadows and keep you on your toes.

Ratings

Check out Camp Blood on  FaceBook!

Note:  We were the very first to go through the haunt and we arrived a bit early.  The owner, Atch, was terribly apologetic because they were not fully set up upon our arrival.  He told us about the improvements and changes that were coming this season and we will be going back again to check them out.  He has a passion for what he does and it is very evident when talking with him.  However, we rated the haunt on our experience at the time and anticipate that ratings will improve upon our next visit.