A few weeks back I attended the Moms in Business Unite Conference and got to sit in on a couple of sessions by Wendy Robbins. Later, I stopped by her table and bought the book "Why Marry a Millionare? Just Be One!" As I got into reading it one of the first challenges is to come up with 5 things you would want to do if you learned you had just 72 hours to live. It seems like it would be an easy exercise, but it wasn't. I had a hard time sitting and thinking about really what fills me up and lights my fire that is not for anyone else's sake but my own. Probably a lot of moms can relate. It is one of the reasons I started this blog!
Seriously, it was more than a few days ago that I cracked that book open and stared at that exercise. It was so intimidating in fact that the book found its way under a pile of papers on my desk.
Oh, no, no, no. This is not something I was going to let happen. Buy a book that has the potential to open my eyes to see something bigger and then just shuffle it off to the "when-I-have-time" pile. Let's be honest, who does have time? There's always something going on that needs attention, and then there's the major time suck of facebook and reading all kinds of interesting articles that pour into your email inbox. Those are just the modern day idoit box excuses.
Ever since my friend Rachel came to visit back in April, I've been wanting to take a Zumba class. I'd gone out dancing with the girls I went to high school with and we had such a good time! We went to a Thai restaraunt, I had some amazing good wine, and then we went to a dance club. So rare that I get to do that anymore, but one of the things I miss about my pre-mommy days, for sure! Anyway, Rachel asks if I've heard of Zumba and tells me how much I'd like it. I believe her, she knows me pretty good, we've been friends since middle school afterall.
Can you come up with 5 things you'd like to do if you had 72 hours to live? Leave me a comment and share one or all five.
Happiness
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Bought my ticket to BlogHer12..... in NEW YORK!
Going to BlogHer11 here in San Diego was a no-brainer. When I learned the announcement had been made that the conference would be held in NYC next year I was both dismayed and excited... how could I be both? Easy. I don't like to pay for travel expenses, which is the only reason I attended the BlogHer11 conference. Saving for that kind of trip would be hard work. There would be a lot of things to consider, go alone or make it a family trip.... Well, then there is the excitement of it being in, hello.... NEW YORK!
After having an amazing newbie experience and fully getting my money's worth I just decided that I need to be in the big apple next year. I hear it is a common phenomena, once you start going to these things you just can't stop! Hubby would be pretty excited if we made it a kid free trip. There's a thought. I'm really curious to know how everyone else tackles this. I mean, it is certainly more expensive to go as a family. But, then the guilt of going off for all that fun (work) and leaving everyone behind gets me thinking to aim big. We're going on the Disney Cruise in a few weeks so it will be just about time to have a family vacation come August next year. And Owen will be 3 so traveling should be easier (or not).
Anyway, I hear and see a lot of people posting about the 20% off discount that goes away after Aug 31, so in approx 24 hours, saying they'll go ahead and buy it and if they can't afford the trip or find a sponsor they'll just resell the ticket. You have to want something bad enough to make it happen. Did you buy a ticket? Which mindset do you subscribe to? I'd love to know if you're making it a solo trip, couple's getaway, or a family vacation.
After having an amazing newbie experience and fully getting my money's worth I just decided that I need to be in the big apple next year. I hear it is a common phenomena, once you start going to these things you just can't stop! Hubby would be pretty excited if we made it a kid free trip. There's a thought. I'm really curious to know how everyone else tackles this. I mean, it is certainly more expensive to go as a family. But, then the guilt of going off for all that fun (work) and leaving everyone behind gets me thinking to aim big. We're going on the Disney Cruise in a few weeks so it will be just about time to have a family vacation come August next year. And Owen will be 3 so traveling should be easier (or not).
Anyway, I hear and see a lot of people posting about the 20% off discount that goes away after Aug 31, so in approx 24 hours, saying they'll go ahead and buy it and if they can't afford the trip or find a sponsor they'll just resell the ticket. You have to want something bad enough to make it happen. Did you buy a ticket? Which mindset do you subscribe to? I'd love to know if you're making it a solo trip, couple's getaway, or a family vacation.
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Monday, August 15, 2011
25 Things You Don't Know About Me
Sharing fun, nutty, perhaps even less than interesting things about myself is a good way to determine if you want to come hang out here from time to time. Oh, and a big thanks to Everyday Mama for coming up with this fun topic for a blog hop! I wouldn't have chosen to come up with "25 things you don't know about me" otherwise.
!. My first word was MILK (of course I signed it).
2. I think punctuation is over rated, but I try to be careful and edit to prevent annoying people.
3. One of my all time favorite songs is "Baby Got Back" and watch out when it comes on and we're in the club. Oh and I really have fond memories of "It's getting hot in here!" Yeah, I'm that white girl.
4. I do not do my husband's laundry. We set up this agreement before moving in together. I also somehow got stuck with dishes while he got trash duty. That one wasn't nearly as brilliant.
5. When I was in the 5th grade I made a resolution to stop biting my nails. It worked.
6. Jeff and Jer helped me devise a plan to ask my hubby to my Jr. Prom. It worked.
That was waaaaaaay back when they were on Q106!
7. Giving campus tours at SDSU is how I got used to speaking in large group - I had to remember a bunch of facts related to the school AND walk backwards!
8. When I was a kid I caught 3 fish in a row with just a silver hook. Land of 10,000 lakes! I have been ice fishing. Once.
9. I won Most Improved in choir in high school. That says something about my lack of singing ability - I don't let it stop me from singing in my classes though.
10. If I could have anything in the world, it would be to have my dad still be alive. I've lived more of my life without him than with him now, but it still hurts that he took his own life.
11. I've given feedback to brands since I was in high school. I used to write letters, both negative and positive feedback. I seemed to actually go out of my way more when it was something I loved.
12. My favorite thing to draw as a little girl was a rainbow scene over the hills. Now, the most popular subject of Amberly's drawings are rainbows. I so love that.
13. My husband proposed to me atop Mt. Haleakala.
14. One semester in college I worked 3 jobs and did volunteer work. I wish I had that kind of energy now!
15. I am an "ideas queen". If you need some fresh ideas, I usually have 1 or 10 to give you.
16. I always thought I was going to be either a teacher, a high power corporate executive or doing humanitarian work. But,
17. We're going on a Disney Cruise in less than 2 months and I am beside myself with excitement!
18. I've gone to get pedicures so many times forgetting that I haven't shaved my legs, and haven't let it stop me.
19. When my family moved from Minnesota to California when I was 9 years old, we had to stay in a shelter for a few weeks, it was actually Father Joe's Village. I've never forgotten the importance of charity and helping those in need. But at the same time have learned where to draw the line in being helpful and being an enabler.
20. I'm a procrastinator when it comes to personal projects. In fact I bought the Isagenix starter pack, oh, about 2 months ago.... haven't cracked it open yet. Okay, now it is out there. Maybe I'll do it soon. It took me almost 7 months to get this blog even started. But now that I've got it going, I'm full steam ahead!
21. I thought I would never drink coffee. Little did I know. I once owned stock in Starbucks before even becoming a regular customer myself. I think we sold it in order to make a down payment on a timeshare. We didn't even keep that.
22. My drink of choice is something with Kahlua. I wasn't even sure if I spelled that right, I had to look it up.
23. One of my favorite all time gifts to the kids was Santa Claus putting Disneyland passes in their stocking and going to Disneyland that very day. We ought to do it again.
24. I used to read these steamy romance novels when I was in high school. Shoot I don't even remember what series it was. I was always worried my mom was going to confiscate them. Reading served as a great escape and I miss it.
25. I have this apron that I treasure - it has a bottle of wine and a half filled wine glass and it reads
Sophisticated
Seductive
Complex
And
Full-Bodied
(...And the wine's not bad, either)
Thank you Everyday Mama for doing this fun blog hop!
!. My first word was MILK (of course I signed it).
2. I think punctuation is over rated, but I try to be careful and edit to prevent annoying people.
3. One of my all time favorite songs is "Baby Got Back" and watch out when it comes on and we're in the club. Oh and I really have fond memories of "It's getting hot in here!" Yeah, I'm that white girl.
4. I do not do my husband's laundry. We set up this agreement before moving in together. I also somehow got stuck with dishes while he got trash duty. That one wasn't nearly as brilliant.
5. When I was in the 5th grade I made a resolution to stop biting my nails. It worked.
6. Jeff and Jer helped me devise a plan to ask my hubby to my Jr. Prom. It worked.
That was waaaaaaay back when they were on Q106!
7. Giving campus tours at SDSU is how I got used to speaking in large group - I had to remember a bunch of facts related to the school AND walk backwards!
8. When I was a kid I caught 3 fish in a row with just a silver hook. Land of 10,000 lakes! I have been ice fishing. Once.
9. I won Most Improved in choir in high school. That says something about my lack of singing ability - I don't let it stop me from singing in my classes though.
10. If I could have anything in the world, it would be to have my dad still be alive. I've lived more of my life without him than with him now, but it still hurts that he took his own life.
11. I've given feedback to brands since I was in high school. I used to write letters, both negative and positive feedback. I seemed to actually go out of my way more when it was something I loved.
12. My favorite thing to draw as a little girl was a rainbow scene over the hills. Now, the most popular subject of Amberly's drawings are rainbows. I so love that.
13. My husband proposed to me atop Mt. Haleakala.
14. One semester in college I worked 3 jobs and did volunteer work. I wish I had that kind of energy now!
15. I am an "ideas queen". If you need some fresh ideas, I usually have 1 or 10 to give you.
16. I always thought I was going to be either a teacher, a high power corporate executive or doing humanitarian work. But,
17. We're going on a Disney Cruise in less than 2 months and I am beside myself with excitement!
18. I've gone to get pedicures so many times forgetting that I haven't shaved my legs, and haven't let it stop me.
19. When my family moved from Minnesota to California when I was 9 years old, we had to stay in a shelter for a few weeks, it was actually Father Joe's Village. I've never forgotten the importance of charity and helping those in need. But at the same time have learned where to draw the line in being helpful and being an enabler.
20. I'm a procrastinator when it comes to personal projects. In fact I bought the Isagenix starter pack, oh, about 2 months ago.... haven't cracked it open yet. Okay, now it is out there. Maybe I'll do it soon. It took me almost 7 months to get this blog even started. But now that I've got it going, I'm full steam ahead!
21. I thought I would never drink coffee. Little did I know. I once owned stock in Starbucks before even becoming a regular customer myself. I think we sold it in order to make a down payment on a timeshare. We didn't even keep that.
22. My drink of choice is something with Kahlua. I wasn't even sure if I spelled that right, I had to look it up.
23. One of my favorite all time gifts to the kids was Santa Claus putting Disneyland passes in their stocking and going to Disneyland that very day. We ought to do it again.
24. I used to read these steamy romance novels when I was in high school. Shoot I don't even remember what series it was. I was always worried my mom was going to confiscate them. Reading served as a great escape and I miss it.
25. I have this apron that I treasure - it has a bottle of wine and a half filled wine glass and it reads
Sophisticated
Seductive
Complex
And
Full-Bodied
(...And the wine's not bad, either)
Thank you Everyday Mama for doing this fun blog hop!
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Bucket List addition - Learn how to make peanut butter pie #APieforMikey
Last night I saw a couple of friends rsvp to an event that caught my attention. I didn't know that opening up the link would break my heart a little. I'm not a foodie, I long to be one, but it didn't matter if I was part of the community, the tragedy of a loving wife and 2 girls losing their husband/father touched a sensitive nerve with me. Having lost my father when I was in high school, I had to stop and reflect.
In that link there was the story of how twitter was lifting up this family by fulfilling on a simple request - Make a peanut butter pie and share it with someone you love. Really? That's all she asked. It must be true all the beautiful things I saw written about Jennifer Perillo. I never even tried peanut butter pie before let alone thought about making it. I got the message late, but I tell ya, I am moved by the way she wants us to express love through food for others, because you never know when it will be the last time. I'm adding this to my bucket list. I don't even have a bucket list posted, but will soon. My committment is to have the pie made in 72 hours. Not only will I be sharing it with my family and get to enjoy something special in the kitchen with my daughter (and maybe the boys), but I'll pause a moment and remember my Dad. He probably would have liked peanut butter pie, it sounds like just the thing he would have enjoyed.
The amazing things I saw on Twitter stuck with me. You may want to check out the hashtag #APieforMikey to see for yourself. Then today my friend Julie Frans of Dining Details posted on facebook this beauiful... I don't even know what to call it... but you do need to see the blogpost that has a video simply done, so sweet, with such love, my eyes welled up.
I'm learning more about Jennie as I read her "about me" page and learn that her father died when he was only 49. You can see in a video she posted "one last dance" that Mikey didn't look like your prime candidate for a heart attack. I'm hurting for her so much right now. I think about all the people who did hear of this story and event, yet did nothing. I suppose in some way you have to relate to it in order to be moved to take action. I'm amazed lately at the timing of events and how many connections are made, even if in part those events and connections are sad.
Mommy's slice of the pie (or my two cents) Tomorrow will be uplifting. I'll make that pie, Jennie, thank you for the beautiful inspiration - they say your true character is revealed in your darkest days. I imagine you're a saint.
In that link there was the story of how twitter was lifting up this family by fulfilling on a simple request - Make a peanut butter pie and share it with someone you love. Really? That's all she asked. It must be true all the beautiful things I saw written about Jennifer Perillo. I never even tried peanut butter pie before let alone thought about making it. I got the message late, but I tell ya, I am moved by the way she wants us to express love through food for others, because you never know when it will be the last time. I'm adding this to my bucket list. I don't even have a bucket list posted, but will soon. My committment is to have the pie made in 72 hours. Not only will I be sharing it with my family and get to enjoy something special in the kitchen with my daughter (and maybe the boys), but I'll pause a moment and remember my Dad. He probably would have liked peanut butter pie, it sounds like just the thing he would have enjoyed.
The amazing things I saw on Twitter stuck with me. You may want to check out the hashtag #APieforMikey to see for yourself. Then today my friend Julie Frans of Dining Details posted on facebook this beauiful... I don't even know what to call it... but you do need to see the blogpost that has a video simply done, so sweet, with such love, my eyes welled up.
I'm learning more about Jennie as I read her "about me" page and learn that her father died when he was only 49. You can see in a video she posted "one last dance" that Mikey didn't look like your prime candidate for a heart attack. I'm hurting for her so much right now. I think about all the people who did hear of this story and event, yet did nothing. I suppose in some way you have to relate to it in order to be moved to take action. I'm amazed lately at the timing of events and how many connections are made, even if in part those events and connections are sad.
Mommy's slice of the pie (or my two cents) Tomorrow will be uplifting. I'll make that pie, Jennie, thank you for the beautiful inspiration - they say your true character is revealed in your darkest days. I imagine you're a saint.
Friday, August 12, 2011
Family Movie Night - Rio
We've totally stolen the concept of family movie night from friends and make usually one night out of the weekend a family movie night that includes a kid friendly movie, popcorn, kids lined up on their Disney plush chairs, and everyone in the same room laughing.
One thing I love is that hubby is the one who takes charge of this little family tradition - good job, babe! Tonight he was charged with going out to pick up dinner and he upon arriving home he announced it was Family Movie Night. This always gets the kids excited. It is a huge motivator too for behavior issues - we just have to ask "Do you want to miss "Family Movie Night?"
Rio was the movie tonight. It is now available on demand. I'll be honest I don't always fully tune in to the movie. I did however stop what I was doing at one point when Owen had been moved by the beat of the music to remove his diaper (oh yeah we're now using the Pampers Easy Ups and CVS has them on sale for $5 - I do like the soft feel of them - but honestly I hope we're towards the end of this diapering thing) and get jiggy with it! He is such a performer, at the tender age of 2 1/2. Now, normally we get on Owen about keeping his diaper on, but this time we really all had to take note of him shaking his booty because it was so hilarious! So, no pics to go with this post - that would be just oh so wrong. In fact, one day I may have to come back and just delete this post... but for today I have to share that after a rough night of poor Owen being sick and all day of me changing said child's diapers with a sore tushie to boot I was just glad to see him being silly and not feeling sick.
Mommy's slice of the pie was that stolen glance between hubby and I about how ridiculously cute that was.
What have you let your child get away with recently that you secretly or even not so secretly enjoyed?
One thing I love is that hubby is the one who takes charge of this little family tradition - good job, babe! Tonight he was charged with going out to pick up dinner and he upon arriving home he announced it was Family Movie Night. This always gets the kids excited. It is a huge motivator too for behavior issues - we just have to ask "Do you want to miss "Family Movie Night?"
Rio was the movie tonight. It is now available on demand. I'll be honest I don't always fully tune in to the movie. I did however stop what I was doing at one point when Owen had been moved by the beat of the music to remove his diaper (oh yeah we're now using the Pampers Easy Ups and CVS has them on sale for $5 - I do like the soft feel of them - but honestly I hope we're towards the end of this diapering thing) and get jiggy with it! He is such a performer, at the tender age of 2 1/2. Now, normally we get on Owen about keeping his diaper on, but this time we really all had to take note of him shaking his booty because it was so hilarious! So, no pics to go with this post - that would be just oh so wrong. In fact, one day I may have to come back and just delete this post... but for today I have to share that after a rough night of poor Owen being sick and all day of me changing said child's diapers with a sore tushie to boot I was just glad to see him being silly and not feeling sick.
Mommy's slice of the pie was that stolen glance between hubby and I about how ridiculously cute that was.
What have you let your child get away with recently that you secretly or even not so secretly enjoyed?
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Pancakes for Breakfast - everyone gets a slice of the pie
All the ingredients I'm using to fortify this breakfast.
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. We've been taught this from childhood, but what's funny is the practice of getting a good start to the day onto the breakfast table happens less than I'd like. Today, though, the kitchen was clean, nobody was starving when they rolled out of bed at 7:30, and I felt like making something with love (or writing a blog post!). So, we all get what we want, kids get their favorite breakfast, I get to add my pinch of healthy to their tummies.
The Bisquick recipe is a simple 3 ingredient list: Bisquick, Milk, and eggs. That's a good start because 2 of the ingredients are protein sources. When I stopped by the Jimmy Dean booth at BlogHer11 I learned that only 15% of Americans are getting an adequate protein fix in their breakfast. Getting protein on the breakfast plate has always been on my radar, but hearing this statistic means I'm going to give it more effort. Anyways, as you can see from the photo below, my pancakes are not the basic 3 ingredient mix. Nope, pancakes are the perfect opportunity to sneak in a little boost of nutrition or what I like to think of as "adding a touch of love."
I first became inspired to boost recipes nutritional value by Jessica Seinfeld's Deceptively Delicious. A good source to get started. There's another that I have yet to check out but hear good things about, The Sneaky Chef. It's on my to-do list.
First, I add 2 scoops of the Organic Golden Flax by flax usa, since I'm making the Bisquick recipe with 14 pancakes that seems appropriate. It has all kinds of nutritional benefits, one of which is an added boost of protein! It's easy to add this gluten-free, Omega-3, fiberous foodsource to anything from yogurt and smoothies to oatmeal and muffin mixes. This particular brand actually provides another pancake recipe on the back, but it takes a little more effort than I want to put in for now. Maybe in the future though. I don't even remember how I learned about flax, but it sounded like a smart mom thing to integrate into our diets... slowly, but surely I'm remembering to use it with more regularity.
Second, I add protein powder, this one is vanilla flavored. In the past I've added too much and it negatively affected the flavor of the pancakes so I'd been hesitant to try it again. But, wait, I can just use less and still get the desired outcome, more protein, perhaps less than the full scoop provides, but I figure with all the other sources of protein, eggs, milk, flax seed, that half a scoop in this huge Costco bag will do the trick.
Mixing it up with my Cheap Sally apron - thank you Amberly for taking many shots til we got it just right ; )
Third, I add chocolate chips, mainly because I'm still too lazy to clean up syrup and have never bothered to even look for a healthy syrup. My husband still will give the kids syrup when he makes pancakes, and inevitably my daughter will still get syrup in her hair, then that leads to a whole other discussion, better left for a future blog post. Now, I know there is a movement to ban Nestle by the a large segment of the breastfeeding advocacy community, but this is one thing I haven't been able to get on the board with... maybe cuz I lack the full scope of knowledge, maybe because I can't resist buying some our favortie candies on occassion, and because I like the occassional chocolate milk. Again, for a future blog post. Basically I prefer chocolate chips to syrup and it seems chocolate has some nutritional value, at least more than say syrup.
Forth, I add blueberries. My daughter and I actually prefer the blueberries to the chocolate chips so I add them to hers and mine primarily. We use the fresh blueberries. I have it on my to-do list to start buying these organic, but since Costco makes it so easy and affordable to buy them there, that's what we do. One problem I have though, usually the blueberry pancakes come out with still uncooked pancake batter just surrounding the blueberries. Not sure how to solve that problem, but it hasn't been enough of a problem to deter me from adding them. Maybe someone can give me a cooking tip?
Honestly, I don't take the time to sit and count up the grams of protein per serving, being super busy it is more important to me that I make the effort to be more health conscious rather than see how the numbers add up. This was summed up nicely in a tweet by HolisticMomsNet yesterday.
I won't write a lot about cooking, because as my husband will tell you, I'm not so great a cook, but when I do, it will probably be related to breakfast. In my college communication class I even gave a speech about the importance of breakfast. Some things always stick with you. It makes me feel good inside to cook a good breakfast, it makes the kids feel good, both emotionally and nutritionally, so we all got our "slice of the pie" this morning.
**The link to Cheap Sally above takes you to my profile for their Bring Home the Bacon contest. Voting officially gets under way Sept 1st so I hope you'll check back and vote for me. Hey, you could enter too! I'm all about sharing the wealth of knowledge. I tweeted with them about the $100,000 opportunity this morning.
**The link to Jimmy Dean above takes you to their 52 ways To Deliver Great Days facebook campaign where you have a chance to win a $250 Amazon giftcard. Don't say I never did nothin' for ya!
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Mommy, I did it! I attended my first BlogHer Conference - 4 reasons to attend
Shoot. Where do I begin? I am one of those analytical types that immediately wants to give feedback on things like a conference and have yet to get a feedback form, so I'll save that for another post ; ) I'm gonna focus on the FUN!
I had just given birth two weeks before BlogHer11 to my new blog and the first post was appropriately about my desire and decision to stay the night away from the family during the conference. Since I live local it seemed silly, but the closer it got to the actual conference the more I felt the need to soak it all in and let loose at the BlogHer parties... which I did! My youngest child is 2 and a half and his favorite phrase right now is "Mommy, I did it!" with arms raised up high in the air. Aside from staying in the hospital when I delivered my second and third child, it was the first time I spent the night away from everyone. Now let me go on about my take aways from this "Big Girl's Summer Camp" as Maegan of Beyond the Bandaids puts it.
First, the swag! I had actually called my favorite local morning radio show AJ in the Morning for the "Why you smiling" segment and gave a shout out about going to BlogHer, the fun and the swag I was anticipating... but still I had NO idea! I think some of the ladies basically made up for their conference pass in swag. That's what I call smart. I know someone who won an iPad! I think the trick is to hang around the booth long enough that you find out about all their little deals. After talking with someone for a little longer at a booth, she handed me a little something extra and said, "This is for the special people." I hit the expo right as I got in on Friday morning. But, where I really scored was going back on day two when everyone was more relaxed and I went into video mode. More on that later. Honestly, I haven't even gone through all the swag still, but the kids love all the cool kids stuff! After being away for a couple of days I made sure to come home bearing gifts. Some of my personal favorites were the Hotwheels toy cars for the boys, the Hallmark card I sent my daughter, and the Loews craft kits to create birdhouses! Oh, wait, the favorite one for me that I couldn't get over was 3M's Scotch Restickable Shapes which I can now use to hang my children's artwork on our stainless steel refrigerator. That right there is a small giveaway item, but life changing because I always felt like I didn't have a space to display their creativity properly. Come on, there is no better home than the family fridge to hang those precious works of art. If one wants to go to BlogHer for the swag, it's totally legit. Hit that up!
Second, the sessions! I did my due diligence and attended all the 3 sessions lined up on my schedule (I say that as if I planned them out with great skill. Nope. I'm bad when it comes to picking breakout sessions... I worry I'll miss something great, therefore stress over it and pick very last minute. For this conference it worked out okay. Next year though I'm doing my homework. I don't want to sound environmentally unfriendly but I can't get the whole picture via computer screen, I'm a touchy feely type that wants to flip back and forth between real pages). Every single session I attended was a panel. I guess this is a theme with BlogHer, I'm not 100% sure since this was my first. I totally don't mind having an expert get up there, put together some power point and feed me some of their tried and true tips. But, I get it, blogging is about community, a panel with a moderator is a community way to share knowledge. One I attended that was really good was about making a PR pitch. Coming from PR people themselves. I was grateful for their insight and took great notes - which I'll need to remember to take with me to the post BlogHer Tweetup I'm attending tomorrow. I learned it is really common for people to "bounce" in and out of sessions at BlogHer - hmm. That's too bad. I did it once cuz I was so not sure what to go to and once I decided I walked into the wrong one! But lucky for me another blogger I had just met and who had pleasantly waved me over decided it wasn't for her either. Haha! So although I hate that it is widely done, I am guilty of the same dang thing. Hypocrite. If one wants to go to BlogHer for the learning, you'll walk away having fulfilled on that.
Third, destination! Come on, if you've been to conferences elsewhere, this is just the best place to wrap education up with fun in the sun. Yes, I'm totally biased cuz I live here in San Diego, but seriously who didn't love how quick and easy it was to get from one party to the next? I'm really trying to push for the Signing Time Academy conference to be in San Diego next year, cuz if I have to travel to New York for BlogHer12 and travel for the Signing Time conference, somethings gotta give. I heard there were way more sponsors and way more parties last year when it was in NY City.... so of course I'm gonna totally go despite the huge travel expense. That's how the whole sponsorship thing comes in handy. I just hope that San Diego makes it in the rotation to be a regular destination, because truly it makes for a great staycation (I know Sugar Jones, you don't like that word). You know part of the reason I attended was for some "mommy me time", so if that's what's calling you to BlogHer, you're not alone!
Forth, the parties! I did my first party hopping ever! At first when all these invitations began to pop up for sponsored parties I thought what a shame that all this competition was going on... but there is no way that all 3,000 bloggers could go to one or even two of these parties, so the more the merrier! What I learned from Nicole who blogs at Red Lotus Mama is that I need to research these things in advance, find out what the objective is so I know if I'll gain anything out of it other than just another party or luncheon. Girl, you gave me the best post BlogHer advice so far! Having said that though, you can never have too many parties to go to, right? I know, I know, some didn't even go out the next night because they still hadn't recovered from the previous night! Is your inner party girl feeling neglected? Use that as your reason to go to BlogHer!
I don't know about you all but it looks like a lot of dang work to put that big deal together. I wouldn't wanna take it on but am sure glad for the women at BlogHer that do this! Can't wait for next year!
As stated earlier, more is to come when I went into video mode at the sponsor booths!
Did I miss a critical piece of the pie in why one attends a BlogHer Conference? I really want to know!
I had just given birth two weeks before BlogHer11 to my new blog and the first post was appropriately about my desire and decision to stay the night away from the family during the conference. Since I live local it seemed silly, but the closer it got to the actual conference the more I felt the need to soak it all in and let loose at the BlogHer parties... which I did! My youngest child is 2 and a half and his favorite phrase right now is "Mommy, I did it!" with arms raised up high in the air. Aside from staying in the hospital when I delivered my second and third child, it was the first time I spent the night away from everyone. Now let me go on about my take aways from this "Big Girl's Summer Camp" as Maegan of Beyond the Bandaids puts it.
First, the swag! I had actually called my favorite local morning radio show AJ in the Morning for the "Why you smiling" segment and gave a shout out about going to BlogHer, the fun and the swag I was anticipating... but still I had NO idea! I think some of the ladies basically made up for their conference pass in swag. That's what I call smart. I know someone who won an iPad! I think the trick is to hang around the booth long enough that you find out about all their little deals. After talking with someone for a little longer at a booth, she handed me a little something extra and said, "This is for the special people." I hit the expo right as I got in on Friday morning. But, where I really scored was going back on day two when everyone was more relaxed and I went into video mode. More on that later. Honestly, I haven't even gone through all the swag still, but the kids love all the cool kids stuff! After being away for a couple of days I made sure to come home bearing gifts. Some of my personal favorites were the Hotwheels toy cars for the boys, the Hallmark card I sent my daughter, and the Loews craft kits to create birdhouses! Oh, wait, the favorite one for me that I couldn't get over was 3M's Scotch Restickable Shapes which I can now use to hang my children's artwork on our stainless steel refrigerator. That right there is a small giveaway item, but life changing because I always felt like I didn't have a space to display their creativity properly. Come on, there is no better home than the family fridge to hang those precious works of art. If one wants to go to BlogHer for the swag, it's totally legit. Hit that up!
Second, the sessions! I did my due diligence and attended all the 3 sessions lined up on my schedule (I say that as if I planned them out with great skill. Nope. I'm bad when it comes to picking breakout sessions... I worry I'll miss something great, therefore stress over it and pick very last minute. For this conference it worked out okay. Next year though I'm doing my homework. I don't want to sound environmentally unfriendly but I can't get the whole picture via computer screen, I'm a touchy feely type that wants to flip back and forth between real pages). Every single session I attended was a panel. I guess this is a theme with BlogHer, I'm not 100% sure since this was my first. I totally don't mind having an expert get up there, put together some power point and feed me some of their tried and true tips. But, I get it, blogging is about community, a panel with a moderator is a community way to share knowledge. One I attended that was really good was about making a PR pitch. Coming from PR people themselves. I was grateful for their insight and took great notes - which I'll need to remember to take with me to the post BlogHer Tweetup I'm attending tomorrow. I learned it is really common for people to "bounce" in and out of sessions at BlogHer - hmm. That's too bad. I did it once cuz I was so not sure what to go to and once I decided I walked into the wrong one! But lucky for me another blogger I had just met and who had pleasantly waved me over decided it wasn't for her either. Haha! So although I hate that it is widely done, I am guilty of the same dang thing. Hypocrite. If one wants to go to BlogHer for the learning, you'll walk away having fulfilled on that.
Third, destination! Come on, if you've been to conferences elsewhere, this is just the best place to wrap education up with fun in the sun. Yes, I'm totally biased cuz I live here in San Diego, but seriously who didn't love how quick and easy it was to get from one party to the next? I'm really trying to push for the Signing Time Academy conference to be in San Diego next year, cuz if I have to travel to New York for BlogHer12 and travel for the Signing Time conference, somethings gotta give. I heard there were way more sponsors and way more parties last year when it was in NY City.... so of course I'm gonna totally go despite the huge travel expense. That's how the whole sponsorship thing comes in handy. I just hope that San Diego makes it in the rotation to be a regular destination, because truly it makes for a great staycation (I know Sugar Jones, you don't like that word). You know part of the reason I attended was for some "mommy me time", so if that's what's calling you to BlogHer, you're not alone!
Forth, the parties! I did my first party hopping ever! At first when all these invitations began to pop up for sponsored parties I thought what a shame that all this competition was going on... but there is no way that all 3,000 bloggers could go to one or even two of these parties, so the more the merrier! What I learned from Nicole who blogs at Red Lotus Mama is that I need to research these things in advance, find out what the objective is so I know if I'll gain anything out of it other than just another party or luncheon. Girl, you gave me the best post BlogHer advice so far! Having said that though, you can never have too many parties to go to, right? I know, I know, some didn't even go out the next night because they still hadn't recovered from the previous night! Is your inner party girl feeling neglected? Use that as your reason to go to BlogHer!
I don't know about you all but it looks like a lot of dang work to put that big deal together. I wouldn't wanna take it on but am sure glad for the women at BlogHer that do this! Can't wait for next year!
As stated earlier, more is to come when I went into video mode at the sponsor booths!
Did I miss a critical piece of the pie in why one attends a BlogHer Conference? I really want to know!
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