Yes, More! It’s a Blogher 10 Photo Montage Video! Part 3

Saturday, August 4th was an incredibly fun day for me at the conference. I was still riding the high of having presented at the Photography ROYO the day before. I got up and enjoyed the Photo Editing ROYO with Amy, Pauline, and Ryan, and then slipped away to chill out before a photo walk with Mishelle.

Mishelle is a very special person to me, and I was so happy that we had the chance to carve out a little time to walk together and take photographs. I forgot what it was like to walk around near Central Park in NYC – there is no shortage of dudes wanting to take you on carriage tours or bike rides.

DO YOU WANT TO TOUR THE CITY, HUH HUH DO YA DO YA?

Tour the city by carriage, the best way to see everything and not get tired!
No.
Come on, best tour available!
No.
Special rate, just for you!
Hahahaha. Blow me, dude, I said no, I meant no, and now, I’m walking away.
Special saunter, just for you.

After the walk we came back to the hotel and hit the keynote, cleaned up, and then (with the help of Twitter to choose a restaurant) Dawn, Mishelle, Rachel and I walked to (the fabulous) Pazza Notte for dinner.

This photo montage shows you my photos from the day, our photo walk, and dinner shots.

Oh, by the way… did you know that your Central Park experience is totally enhanced by doing pilates moves? Really.

photo by Mishelle Lane

Yup, you’re going to have to go back now.

Tomorrow? SPARKLECORN AND CHEESEBURGHER! Woot.

The fun continues… It’s a Blogher 10 Photo Montage Video! Part 2

Today, please enjoy viewing two more video montages. These are both from August 6th, the first full conference day.

This video gives you a glance at our Photography ROYO attendees (mad love!), and then goes straight into eventing affairs, with the Blogher Voices of the Year Gala. Please don’t miss the hotness that is Jenny (onthespot) kicking Karaoke’s ass with “Ice, Ice Baby” (the inspiration for the soundtrack here).

And please excuse the fact that ONCE AGAIN I felt the need to take a photo of myself in a bathroom mirror. I really should just have a category on my website called “Dorky Bathroom Photos of Loter”

You’ll also be treated to scenes from the Aiming Low EZPZ Party, and roaming the streets afterward with Leah and Jenny (missgrace). Weee!

(sorry about the skipping, apparently I suck.)

Did you notice how the hotel converted men’s bathrooms into women’s bathrooms, since there was so much estrogen up in that muthatrucka? Lemme tell ya, it’s quite enchanting to pull back a shimmery, royal blue curtain in the bathroom and discover mystical porcelain framed waterfalls! Oooooh. Ahhhhh.

On a related note, I want to formally apologize to Jenny (thebloggess) for getting urinal water on her right after this shot (of us with our favorite blogging friend, I. Holden Pee). I swear I don’t make a point of splashing water that flows from pee receptacles on people I like. Well, unless they say something totally assholish to me. While I’m near a pee receptacle. But she didn’t. So, I’m sorry.

photo by Mishelle Lane

The next video makes me so very happy when I watch it. Maria and her husband and friends arranged a crazy Karaoke party at this place called Duets. I had no idea places like this existed, but it was some kind of insane joint filled with rooms people can geek out in with their friends, Karaoke style.

Also, alcohol. So, you know, perfect storm.

Stay tuned for more! Tomorrow, I’ll be sharing shots from the second conference day, my photo walk with Mishelle, and dinner before the parties.

On Friday, I’ll be sharing the Big Kahuna – shots from The Sparklecorn and Cheeseburgher parties. Holy Slammin’ Party Shots, Batman!

**holy shit at all the Jennies in this post.

It’s a Blogher 10 Photo Montage Video! Part 1

I arrived in New York on Wednesday, August 4th, and was uber pleased to meet Dawn and Adam at the airport. The rest of the afternoon/evening/night was random hanging out with various people, such as Jenny and Jules. And fun times. Fueled, of course, by alcohol.

And here are photos from my first full day in New York – Thursday, August 5th. A lot of randomness, Dawn, Aiming Low Gals, way too many photos of me in the mirror (somebody stop me from taking photos in bathrooms, please?) and then the Social Luxe Lounge and Nikon Night Out Parties. Whew!

*Firemen courtesy of Nikon. Thank you Nikon. Lawdy.

(By the way, the videos don’t stutter or skip once locally on my computer. Thank YouTube for any craptastic viewing issues. Grrr. And Argh.)

Stay tuned! Tomorrow I’ll slap down photos from August 6th, the first full day of the conference, plus the Blogher Voices of the Year Gala, The Aiming Low EZPZ Party, and a badass Karaoke party at Duets! *insert drunken wooooo! sound here*

Blogher 10 Photography ROYO: How to Take Great Pictures, Whether You Have a DSLR or Point-and-Shoot

One of the things I was hugely excited about this year at the conference was being on a panel of photographers presenting a ROYO (“Room of Your Own” Session) about how to take great photos. Rachel and Mishelle are both amazing artists in their trade and I was so honored to be there with them. Beside the fact that they are both huge inspirations to me, I absolutely adore both of these women on a very personal level too. What a gift to connect with them for this event!

photo courtesy of Mishelle

We worked hard for weeks to get our presentation just right, hoping we could fit the best information into the time and medium allotted. I’ll leave it to you all to decide if we were truly successful, but I have to tell you that it felt right and I got a sense that it went very well. (Squee.)

Here you will find the slideshow we used during our presentation, as well as the audio from the actual session right below it. You can listen and go along with the presentation. You’re only missing seeing us sit behind a desk full of wires and cameras and laptops, with microphones pinned to our bewbie areas. (Also, if anyone tries to pass on a rumor that I picked my nose during the presentation, that is a lie. I repeat, a filthy lie.)

I hope you enjoy! And if you have any questions, feel free to hit me up.

photo courtesy of Mishelle

I’m going to New York City, and also, I’m a freaking fantastic mother.

It is that time of year when bloggers of all kinds, mostly women, but also lots of men, start packing their bags and preparing to descend on some fabulous city for a popular blogging conference, as well as days and nights filled with more than their fair share of merriment and crazy making.

There have been weeks of hype and talk and more than just a gentle buzz, but more like a gnashing, crunching, building roar of excitement from those who are attending. That building cacophony of anticipation has been filled with excitement, anticipation, nerves, joy, anxiety, what ifs and a general sense of OH YAY, I CAN’T WAIT.

I’m speaking at this conference.

Dude.

I’m speaking at this conference!

I didn’t really mention that here even one time in the past several months, did I? I’ve been kind of a horrible blogger so far as words and stories and explanations go, lately, haven’t I? (Kind of. Just kind of? Hah.)

I go hither and yon, ebb and flow, rise and fall, swell and shrink.

<<< >>>

I’m here, living and laughing and crying and spinning and twirling and facing my fears and sometimes hiding in corners from the dark I Know Not What.  But mostly I’ve been running until my body is covered in sweat, stealing bites of chocolate here and there and torturing myself with happiness of all kinds.

Life has been full of a little of everything and not so much of nothing.

Yes, I speak in poems! How unfair of me, eh? But my life kind of feels like a poem to me right now, and so that is what you get. Neener.

<<< >>>

BUT.DUDE.I’M.SPEAKING.AT.THIS.CONFERENCE.

(Yes, I’m excited.)

I’m honored to be part of a trio of photographers who will be presenting a Room of Your Own Session on how to take great photos with a DSLR or Point & Shoot. I’m delighted beyond words to be sharing this experience with Mishelle Lane (@secretagentmama) and Rachel Devine (@sesameellis). These are amazing women, talented women, women who make me laugh and teach me, inspire me, and lift me up. I have thoroughly enjoyed working with them to create this presentation, and I’m really looking forward to seeing them in person in New York at this conference. I hope that those who attend take away valuable ideas and learn some things they’ve been wanting to know.

I’m full to bursting with all that excitement and anticipation I mentioned above.

I’m about to jett off to New York City! You know, that fabulous place full of bustle and lights, that never sleeps, and has way more sights, sounds, tastes, smells, and experiences than any place should dare to be allowed.

With those thoughts swirling in my head, I take a deep breath and acknowledge the huge smile on my face. I’M GOING TO NYC TO PLAY AND WORK AND PARTY AND SPEAK AT A CONFERENCE AND BE A GROWNUP ALL BY MYSELF (WITH MY FRIENDS) FOR DAYS AND DAYS.

Squee?

<<< >>>

Leaving Braden for that long is one of those things that makes me both sigh with relief and twists my guts with agony.

I will love having the break from him! (I will miss him!)

I will love not being pestered and bossed around by a 3 Year Old.

I will love peeing without being yelled at or visited, eating without attending to others first, bathing only myself and sleeping without someone screaming in the night.

I will enjoy waking without someone ordering me to make their breakfast, or crying when it’s not perfect.

I will love no cleaning up toys, wiping the pee up from around the toilet, or being head butted in the face.

I will love not being screamed at or hearing NO NO NO all.day.long.

<<< >>>

I WILL MISS HIM.

But it’s all good. His Daddy will be spending days with him. Then two different trusted friends will take turns caring for him. He’s in great hands.

And hey, I’m a freaking good Mom. (If you laugh, I will cut you.) I’ve raised this kid well, given him a great foundation. He’s been loved and supported emotionally, physically, and spiritually his whole life.

I am firmly sure that I’ve taught him well and given him all the tools he needs to make it through several days without me and not have any troubles.

I have set a great example for him for years now, and I know that will shine through.

Oh, shut up. At least I’m not the one who just taught him to say, “When Mommy’s gone we’re going to cruise chicks!”

[before you get all "oh no she di'in't!" I didn't teach him to flip the bird. he was showing me a "boo-boo" he wanted me to kiss. I don't teach my kid to give people the finger. gah. we are way too busy free-basing and listening to hard core rap while we count the money the hookers bring in to spend time on foolish finger salutes....]

And with that, I’m out.

New York, I can’t wait to be in you, baby. Peace out, beeshes.

*****

Hodgepodge of things to share…

First and foremost, there is a wonderful update by Peter Mayhew about Anissa – she is going home!  That totally made me cry big, fat tears of joy.  Please read the update and pass along the good news in any way you can – on your website, Twitter, Facebook, shouting from rooftops, etc.  We need to spread this – ANISSA IS GOING HOME!

The tweet announcing she’s left the hospital is here. RT that sucker!

Additionally, we need to do everything we can to  help them now, again.  The copays for her outpatient care are $100 a day.  Anything we can donate to The Mayhews right now will be of great help to them.  You can click here to access their Paypal donation page, or click the image below.

*****

Of much less importance, I have another two posts syndicated at Blogher: Falling Happens, But Jumping Takes Courage and The Not Good Enough Mother.  You may or may not have read them here, but if you have a chance, I’d love for you to check them out and leave me a comment over there.

*****

I’m also excited to share that I’ve started a new job as Nashville City Guide Editor at The Savvy Source. They are still looking for Editors for other City Guides (you’d provide regular info on preschool-age child-friendly activities in your town) for the following places: Berkeley, Charleston, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Halifax, Honolulu, Houston, Indy, KC, Louisville, Memphis, Miami, Minnesota, Northern New Jersey, OKC, Pitt, St. Louis, Toronto, Vancouver. If you’re interested, Tweet @whithonea or email him

*****

I’m also contributing to Room 704 in its new, monthly format. (Officially, I’m Visual Editor/Cartoonist, but I’m submitting posts, as well.)  Check out the February issue!

Whew.  This really cramps my sitting-on-my-ass-doing-nothing style.

What have you been up to?

Yeah, that’s my horn you’re hearing.

Essss-cuse me while I toot it.  I’m going to have some of my content syndicated at Blogher in the next couple months (SQUEEE!) and today I have a post up over there – if you’re interested in showing me/my piece some love with a comment, you can see it by clicking: My Child Wouldn’t Nap: The Day I Learned Perspective.  (You know you want to “show my piece some love.”)

Okay, I have to put my horn down for a little while now. It’s throwing me off while I do this here booty shakin’ dance.

digital parenting. yes, it means more than just tweeting all day while your kid is locked in the closet. at least that’s what i’ve been told. (pffffft)

Disclosure: while I was not paid for this post specifically, I am compensated for my work on the Family Connections citizen journalism project. Seeing as how I invite you all to crawl up in my butt on a regular basis, I thought maybe I should tell you that.

For the past few months, I’ve been participating in BlogHer’s Family Connections citizen journalism project as a Momspotter. Basically that means I tweet a few times a day with the #momspotting hashtag about how I use technology in my day-to-day parenting life.  I also write forum posts on the Family Connections Group at Blogher about digital parenting topics.  I’ve had a lot of fun talking about this stuff, and it’s made me consider the impact of digital technology on my family in much more depth.  Seeing thoughts from other parents who have older kids has also made me realize what we might be facing in the years to come!  There’s a little meme associated with this project, and I’m going to answer the questions here, for your amusement and inspiration.

(More disclosure: I totally ripped off the “for your amusement and inspiration” phrase from an episode of Spongebob Squarepants, because that is the level of intelligence I strive to emulate.  When I was typing it, I heard his voice in my head.  At some point, I can promise you that I’m going to work the phrase “The official testament of how heartily we party… hearty?” into a post. Yes, I am a highly educated and classy sophisticate with incredibly literate and lofty aspirations.)

Anyway, If you like this meme, feel free to do one yourself and leave a link in the comments or tweet it with the #momspotting hashtag. (And if you hate the word “meme,” like I do, you can totally set a flaming bag of dog poo at its front door while we laugh and hide behind a tree.  And just call this a survey.  Or something.)

1. Which expensive electronic device do you most often let your older children abuse or your baby drool on?
   Braden is neither a baby nor an older child, so I guess it’s fitting that he alternately abuses and drools on my iPhone. I know. Even I think I’m a certified moron for letting him anywhere near such an expensive piece of technology, but he’s supervised (I don’t let him walk away with it) and he’s much more careful with it than you might think. Sometimes I let him play a game alone, sometimes we engage in an activity together. My favorite has been watching him create his own songs with layered tracks using the Zoozbeat App. And you can see from this photo how tickled he is by that. Totally worth letting him play with the expensive gadget. And I have those songs saved.  They go in my “Braden” file right along with all the digital photos and videos of him.




2. How many take-out restaurant numbers do you have programmed into your phone?
   I actually have absolutely none of these programmed into my phone. I do, however, have several apps that can tell me what the nearest places are where I can get all kinds of things, from free wifi, to coffee, to food, to a happy ending, I mean a massage. *cough* John, however, does have numbers programmed into his phone for take-out from restaurants… because I HATE calling and placing orders and, as such, I force him to do it. Because I’m a control freak a good delegator of tasks to those who are best suited to complete them most effectively. (I used to be in Retail Management, can you tell? Heh.)




3. How many hours of television do you so totally not let your kids watch a week?
   Hahaha, well, Braden used to watch several hours of cartoons on PBS every morning, and sometimes in the afternoons, as well. Some days, there would be no TV. Most days, there was a lot of PBS (we only get limited basic, so there’s literally no other children’s programming for him to watch on TV). Various DVDs were in the mix, too (kiddie music, Thomas, etc). Over time, I decided he’d behave better if I limited his TV exposure. So now he watches at most 2-3 hours of something – that includes DVD watching. At least a couple days a week, we call “NO TV” all day. For the most part, he’s okay with it. Sometimes he LOSES HIS MIND. For all of 5 minutes. Then he gives up and moves on. And his behavior is much better with less television viewing. We have a motto: “Too much TV is bad for your brain!” He says it now. (I’m trying to get him to stop saying, “No, Mommy, no, not the closet again!” because that’s going to get me in trouble eventually.)




4. Do you think people who say “we don’t watch television” at playdates but really mean “we just watch DVDs” are lying liars from Liarville?
   I don’t know – I guess it’s possible that they are TOTALLY from Liarville. But if it’s anything like Margaritaville and they’re willing to share the yummy drinks, I’m okay with that.  Seriously, though, it doesn’t really matter whether the program is on a TV channel, streaming live on the Internet, or running off a DVD, it’s all media viewing, right?  So, yeah, it seems dumb to say “we don’t watch TV” if you mean “we only watch DVDs.”  But overall, I don’t care what other people do or don’t do.  Not my kid, not my business.




5. How many miles have you driven with your child and not one device of electronic entertainment in a single car trip?
   Well, when he was an infant we made 12 hour car trips, but he was technically asleep during most of them. Why? Because we were FRIGHTENED FOR OUR VERY LIVES. So we traveled overnight. We didn’t have a DVD player then, or smart phones, so we decided our best shot was driving all night to avoid the demon wailing. Later we got the portable DVD player and that became the primary method of calming the insane toddler during long rides. Because, GOOD LORD.  Sometimes you just want to jump out the window of a moving vehicle if you have to hear “WANT OUT, GO PLAYGROUND, SEE SEE SEE!!!” one.more.time.




6. What’s your record for calls to the pediatrician or Ask-a-Nurse in a single day?
   Um. One. Is this abnormal? I do admit that I’ve hit up Drs. Google and Twitter quite a bit. I recently learned all you’d ever want to know about Croup from Ye Olde Internet. Didn’t call the Ped once.




7. What’s the sexiest thing your husband/partner could text you after a hard day?
   “I know I am still on the road and won’t be home for another week, and you’re tired, so I hired a nanny and Keifer Sutherland is going to be over in about 2 hours. Have fun!”
   What? Ok, fine:
   “I miss you and I’m bringing home dinner so that you don’t have to make it or clean up afterwards.” RAWR, BABY.




8. What’s your favorite iPad joke?
   This entire post: The iPad Made Me Poop Bricks is my favorite iPad Joke. Also? The iPad itself is my favorite iPad joke.




9. What’s the dumbest parenting tool, gear, gadget or device you ever bought?
   ?? I honestly can’t think of a single one that we purchased that we thought was dumb. I even asked John, because I thought, “Surely there was something we bought that we later threw across the room, screaming, ‘WHAT A PIECE OF SHIT!’ because it was worthless.”  But no, he couldn’t think of anything.  Uh, we’re wise consumers who conduct effective research before making purchases?




10. How many years will it take for your child to become more tech-savvy than you?
    Hahaha, he may already be. He’s figured out how to do things on my iPhone in less than 10 seconds that I STILL don’t know how to do. He really needs to get a job soon and start pulling his own weight around here.  Stinkin’ free-loader.

Your turn, beeshes!