On processing my Blissdom Conference experience.

There is so much. So very much, and there is no way I can touch it all in one post. I’m going to break this up into posts on different days (non-consecutive, of course, wouldn’t want to ruin my lazy douche reputation by posting two whole days in a row with words and stuff) as I speak specifically, and share photos (mine and others’) and videos with you as I go along.

photo by Mishelle Lane

And even then, I won’t be able to get it all across to you. The excitement, the freedom, the friendship, the FLASHMOB (oh yeah!), the chance to speak and share, the Community, the panels, the musical performances, the food and drinks, the fun, the laughter. The LOVE.

photo by Mishelle Lane

I’m going to try very hard, but there just seems so much and some parts of it seem so deep, that I fear I have not the skill, the time, the energy… to really make you see, hear, and feel it the way you should, the way I wish for you to, the way I did.

I’m going to tell you now, before I start the posts by day, that I truly love this community of persons I’ve become connected to these last several years. Some of you I am only connected to by the wisp of a thread, and we float into and out of one another’s lives only occasionally. Others of you spend time with me every now and again, us keeping up in bouts and starts and stops, flowing here and there; you make my life your here sometimes and your there at other times. Still others of you are tied to me like a lifeline, and I think of or hear from you every day; we’ve been with one another through happy times and hard ones, and everything in between.

photo by Mishelle Lane & Lotus Carroll

All of you amaze me, inspire me, and collectively form a thing I am constantly in awe of and drawn to endlessly.

Each of you should attend this conference next year, or the first time you have the chance to do so. I’m rooted in the heritage of BD and have been a part of this Blissdom Community since it began in a crazy, cowhide-covered-walls hotel with a pink crayon brazier in the lobby (no really), and I’ll be a part of it for the rest of its fabulous ride down the road. I can tell you that with absolute surety, and I will also tell you now that what keeps me coming back is not just my ties to its past, or my deep and abiding love for the woman whose heart dreamed this dream so fiercely that she made it come true, but for the HUGE sense of love, friendship, and community I feel while I’m at this conference.

There isn’t any substantial amount of time that you will spend alone while at Blissdom (unless you really want to be alone, and I’m right there with you on that one, we all need to decompress, and for me that’s hiding in my hotel room every now and then in the dark because I will be a complete hag to someone in that moment if I don’t, and also because I get REALLY GASSY when I’m traveling/nervous and you gotta excuse yourself every little while and let that out, but I digress) and you won’t find one minute when there isn’t something amazing right at your fingertips.

My word for this conference is LOVE.

Call me cheesy (I really don’t mind, cheese is one of my favorite things in the world), but that is the truth. And Love, when it is truly felt and shared and spread around, is basically the most wonderful thing that exists. Some pretty popular and talented Liverpoolers once said that it’s all you need.  I think they were pretty much right.

I’m looking forward to sharing these next several posts with you. I hope you enjoy them.

Oh, and one more thing: All you women out there, the ones I know well and hold dearly in my heart, the ones who have been with me for the past few years, and those who only check in once in a great while, as well as any woman who just happens to stumble through here for whatever reason, and even those who never read these words themselves at all or know me in the least (can you tell them for me?)…

~You are beautiful.

The one where I make you look at my ass. And Elvis.

Have you seen a ton
of Blissdom Conf posts this week?
Here’s another one.

Thought I could not go.
Husband gone and no childcare.
No conference pass!

Thursday? Felt sorry
for myself. A bit jealous.
But then realized…

Your happy is what
you make it. So, Friday I
hopped on over there.

In the parking lot
saw my first three hot ladies.
FLINGER LICKED ME. SCORE!

From eleven to
one:thirty I ran people
down with B’s stroller.

Entered a sea of
mingling, chatting ladies.
Saw faces I knew.

While I still felt like
sort of a jerk outsider,
my spirits lifted.

That night, was honored -
four ladies came to my home!
For hours we all laughed.

Dawn*, Victoria,**
Sammanthia,***Leslie**** – they came -
brought food, drinks, and mirth.

Photo by Victoria, with Leslie’s Phone, Edited by Me. Heh.

A balm to my soul.
Can’t express how I needed
a night just.like.that.

Wasn’t planning to,
but Saturday morning I
hopped over again!

Photo courtesy of Domestic Extraordinaire

More love ly faces…
snapped a bra and then B and
I crashed a session!

Photo courtesy of A Mommy Story

(Oops! Sorry, Alli!)
We’re total rebels! B now
Blog Branding expert.

Photo courtesy of Domestic Extraordinaire

Braden blogged along!
Okay, okay, it was a
Spongebob DVD.

(Damn, this is long, huh?
Heh. Sorry about that guys.
But it’s fun for me.)

I had a short, but
lovely (unregistered) time.
Wish I had seen more!

But Sunday morning,
more fun to be had on the
Blissdom Photo Walk!

Lisa, Jill, Roni,
Colleen, Leighann, Mishelle… then
Maggie and Michelle!

Walked Downtown Nashville,
took photos, chatted… enjoyed
the warm, sunny day.

Photo courtesy of Mommy Always Wins

Swooned a bit over
Elvis. I think Braden was
worried about me.

Photo courtesy of Mommy Always Wins

FYI: Some shots
require you to stick your ass
out for all to see.

Photo courtesy of Mommy Always Wins

Did I have “total
conference experience?”
Hell no, I did not.

What I had instead,
was the best I could each day.
And? That was darn good.

*BEWBS
**”Snort that, bitchez.”
***The “i” is silent!
****She drinks when she cusses, ya’ll.

I wanted to hurl… I cried instead.

I attended my first Blogging Conference Thingie on Saturday. You may have seen me mention it at some point previously?

Yes, that would be Blissdom 08 – sponsored by Epson and planned/organized/streamlined by One2One Network.

Saturday morning I woke up early so that I could shower (all you ladies who hugged me that day can give me hearty thanks, because I STANK before that shower). The first thing I noticed was that my stomach was sending me a memo. It read:

“Hi! You are pregnant! Welcome to Nausea! Enjoy the inevitable stress of wondering whether you’re going to hurl or not!  Better chomp on those Tums now!  *LAUGH*”

My first response to noting the strong feeling of impending puke was to be absolutely annoyed that it would happen on the day of Blissdom ’08. Right on the heels of that I got as giddy as a pixie on crack, because I was thinking it’s a good sign! Lots of Quease-Inducing-Progesterone = healthy, strong pregnancy!

Yay, bring on the puke! (By the way, have you noticed that my tiny sidebar alien is getting a little cuter? Awww. It made me teary on Sunday when I noticed it.)

ANYWAY… Once I got to the lovely Hotel Preston, I admired the Pink-Crayon-Boob-Art (uh, not the official name of the piece)…

photo courtesy of Secret Agent Mama

…and then I left Braden with some lovely sitters from Mommy Mixer.  Couldn’t have attended without them!  Thank you, wonderful baby watchers!  Then it was off to Blogging Merriment for me.

Seeing so many lovely faces on Saturday and getting to hug the necks of sweet and wonderful women I adore was really fabulous. (And so many more, forgive me if I missed your link!)

I called Heather “Ho” directly upon meeting her, and she called me “Skank.” I think one day we might get married, because it is clear that we are on the same wavelength (and we’re both sluts).

There was a lot of information to take in – great tips and amazing thoughts and questions from everyone.  It was such a wonderful day of sharing with like-minded women.

I think I got through the whole day without shoving my foot in my mouth or saying anything too horrible. No one gave me the finger, so that’s a good sign. (Though Shannan did get rather animated during Q&A and flip both birds at once while telling a story. <3)

I also didn’t say any cusswords while I was on panel (unlike SOME people – and this is why I LOVE some people)… I was very well behaved for Mommy Alli and Auntie Karla.

photo courtesy of Secret Agent Mama

I did kind of start crying while answering a question, so while I did not puke, I did leak from my face a little bit. I also found it impossible to answer a question in one sentence.

Big surprise, right?

If you want to punch me in the face, here’s your chance.

Oh, crap, I’m totally going to do it. I’m going to talk about Blissfully Domestic again!

But wait! This is about something you can join in with!

LADIES! BlogHer was supposed to be hosting a Reach Out Tour Conference right here in Nashville, TN… but they bailed on us. Harsh! We were not feeling the love, I gotta tell ya!

Luckily, Blissfully Domestic is saving the day.

BD is hosting a conference at The Hotel Preston (those who are able to attend will get a discount code for staying at the hotel if that is needed) in Nashville on October 18.

It’s an all day blogging conference (sponsored by Epson) with panels, Q&A, tons of fun ladies… and it ends with a corporately sponsored swanky cocktail party!

(You know what you get at wonna those? SWAG, BABY, SWAG!)

Can you go, you ask? YES, YES YOU CAN!

How much does it cost, you ask? NOTHING! It’s free. You are just responsible for bringin’ yo-self, puttin’ yo-self up, and feedin’ yo-self.

There are limited seats available – 75 in all. The official registration opens on Friday Sept. 26, and the announcement about who got a seat will come on Monday Sept. 29.

New information about the event will be released all week long, so make sure you join in over here so you can stay aware of happenings, and get in on the registration as soon as it opens on Friday!

[If you aren't able to attend this October, fear not! BD will be hosting an annual conference every February, so look for that, too! Every topic covered in the magazine will be explored and covered at the conferences.]

I have been honored by being requested as one of the panelists for the day on October 18.

Apparently someone is foolish enough to think I will do a good job knows that I have a lot to offer the blogging community at large!

WE NEED YOUR INPUT…

The idea is for the conference to be useful, beneficial, and enjoyable for YOU. So those putting things together would like to know:

• What would you like to hear about?
• What are the burning questions you want answered?
• What kinds of things do you want to hear, see, feel, etc?

And WILL YOU BE THERE?

I WILL!

So, technically, you could punch me in the face.  But I’d much prefer a hug and a photograph with you.  Or some chocolate, maybe.

I hope to see your smiling face there!

It’s Funny Photo Friday! 9.19.08

Today, the first Funny Photo Friday that you can join in on (via a “Mr. Linky”) went live over at Photo Bliss!

Today’s post over there has a shot of quite an interesting bathroom!

Follow this link to see the Funny Photo Friday for 9.19.08, and to learn how you can join in for the laughs and the prizes!


My funny photo for today is from my archives….

My little wagon… it’s full of doggy butt.

I bet that hurt his butthole a little bit.

I love Fussy, yes I do.

I love Fussy, how about you?

If your answer is yes, then you better head over to her Baby Shower Blog and leave her some love.  It’s the next best thing to actually being there! 

She’s expecting Baby Boy Number FIVE and the induction is scheduled for May 15th.

Photo By Alli’s MIL

The Mrs. Fussypants Baby Shower blog is a surprise for her, so please go make her feel special while she is still bursting with child.

If your answer was, Fussy?  What’s that?  Then you are seriously in need of edu-mah-cation here.  I’m talkin’ about Mrs. Fussypants, otherwise known as Alli, otherwise known as Super-Amazing, Sweet, Kind, and Funny Nashville Mommy Blogger! (She only has like, what… A Gagillion Successful Blogs? Sheesh!)  Go check her out!

And if your answer was no… Well.  Come closer.  I have a fork I need to stick in your eye.






PS:  The contributors for  Blissfully Domestic (another of Alli’s successful ventures) are doing a surprise Baby Theme all week in honor of Alli!  Head over and see what’s gestating there!