The best of today.
Because sometimes you just have to take the pulse of your Twitter followers. while you’re drunk and curious about what the best part of their day was and try not to laugh when people say things like “I didn’t crap my pants.”
I asked:
Which, I fully acknowledge, is a total ripoff from Dora the Explorer. But I PROMISE I won’t ask your kids a question in a minute, and then tell them that I want them to say the answer LOUDER.
(What a cunt! Who authorized that in a children’s show? As if I need my kid saying ANYTHING LOUDER.)
Ahem.
I thought you might like to see the responses I got…
Holy.Shit.
Can I just say, it’s really freaktasting hard to do all those damn image captures and links when you’re drunk? Because, um, yeah.
I’m not even going to tell you how many times I had to correct the typos in that last sentence. The first time I typed it, it said something about fromage crimpage when I’m stank. Or something of that nature.
During my quest to find out what the everyone’s favorire part of their day was, @undomesticdiva queried the same back at me. My asnwer was:
It’s true. And it works pretty much any time you try it, in case you’re wondering.
What was your favorite part of today?
Loter’s Blissdom 2011 – Part 2
Jockey & Tide sponsored Thursday night festivities at Blissdom and it was seriously a blast. My roomies (Mishelle, Dawn, Leslie, Victoria) and I all got dressed up and headed to “the red carpet” to kick off the night. This was basically just a chance to act silly and be photographed (Malia joined us on the carpet).
photo by Heather Durdil
Mishelle captured a great shot of the red carpet photographers, Casey, Hannah, Elan, and Heather.
We ate from a variety of foods provided to us – my favorite thing was pulled pork sandwiches with a vinegar-based barbecue sauce. What can I say, I’m still a NC girl at heart when it comes to BBQ!
I was also witness to a momentous occasion: Mishelle had her very first Guinness.
We all enjoyed the food and drinks, chatted, and laughed together.
last four photos by Mishelle Lane
After hanging out for a little while, we headed into the nightclub, Fuse, to watch performances by Michelle Branch and Mat Kearney.
What a treat – both musicians put on a fabulous show. I was particularly excited to see Michelle Branch, as I’ve utterly adored her music for so many years.
last two photos by Mishelle Lane
I generally don’t go all “fangirl” and have photos taken/do meet and greets, but I didn’t pass up the opportunity this time.
photo by Jana Warnke
Once the performances were over, there was dancing…
…and then people wandered off here and there throughout the hotel to eat, hang out, and just have a great time, late into the night.
photo by Mishelle Lane
These are memorable portions of the night – the times you spent laughing with various groups of friends, catching up, sharing hugs, smiles, and silly moments.
At some point later on, Mishelle, Jim, Diane, Amy and I ended up in the Garden Conservatory. As you can see, we spent a little time being goofballs.
Mishelle and her camera… she had me model for her throughout the hotel. I didn’t argue… even when she asked me to climb onto a piano. What can I say? I’m easy.
last two photos by Mishelle Lane
And of course, Diane gave me her now traditional, on-camera, one-finger salute.
It’s this kind of silliness that makes time with best friends so fun!
Still to come – Friday, Flashmob!, Girl’s Night In, and Saturday’s Photo Walk.
to be continued…
Loter’s Blissdom 2011 – Part 1
As I’ve said previously, Blissdom is a conference that completely has my heart, and my word for it is Love. While there from January 25 – 30, both my days and nights were filled with wonderful and interesting experiences.
Tuesday was a day of traveling, arriving, settling…
…random water show magic…
…meeting, greeting, hanging…
…and relaxing.
last four photos by Mishelle Lane
The highlight of Wednesday was the Photography Wisdom Workshop I helped teach. This was so much fun to be a part of – a large room full of women who wanted to get more intimate about photography with a hands on workshop. We all split up at different tables and gave mini lessons at each table about different aspects of photography.
Mishelle & Dawn – Camera Basics/Overview/Settings/Controls (Her notes are here.)
Deanna & Casey – ISO/Aperture/Shutter Speed
Angie – Finding the Light
Amy & I – Creativity & Detail
We shared our knowledge and our hearts about this thing we truly love: Photography. Afterwards a small group of us headed out to put our photography knowledge to practice. We walked and shot, asking and answering questions, and had a generally good time wrapping up the workshop.
photo by Mishelle Lane
Wednesday night was the kickoff party sponsored by ConAgra and it was so fun. Food and drinks were shared by a large group of excited attendees, buzzing around one another. The area was full of laughter and happiness that was palpable. I was so happy to see David and Kammie from The Social Path and Luckie, and Anissa Mayhew, at the party.
Later, Leslie and I cartwheeled through the hotel as everyone was on their way to have wine, cupcakes, and watch the premier of Working Class with special guest, Melissa Peterman. What, don’t you always cartwheel through hotels? Best way to travel.
When that was done, several of us picked up Jim in the lobby and hung out at Fuse, drinking and laughing.
At one point, Jim, Diane, Mishelle, and I realized we were standing in a circle, drinking, laughing… and Tweeting at a bar.
That’s how fun-lovin’ social media/tech-geeks roll, eh? Regardless, it was so good to spend that time with them, just laughing and soaking in the rarity of close proximity to people I adore online from great distances on a regular basis.
After many drinks, we retired. I think I got about 3 hours of sleep. Oh, boy.
Thursday was the first full day of the official conference. Let me just say that I never make it to all the sessions I want to go to at a conference, and I’m finally learning to be okay with that. On this day, I attended the two things that were most important to me (personally).
My advice to you for conferences is to find the sessions that are the VERY MOST important to you personally and make sure you attend those. If you can get to others, great; if you can carve other time to truly enjoy other facets of the experience (visiting with sponsors, spending time with good friends, networking with new business contacts, exploring the town you’re in) – fabulous!
I’ve mentioned this already, but the Opening Keynote speaker was Brené Brown. Her talk blew me away, made me cry, affirmed things for me, made me laugh deeply, had me nodding, and was basically time well spent. Her message is powerful, and I highly recommend you seek her out – watch her talks, read her book. When I got home I had the renewed confidence I needed to go back and pull up a 4-month old draft and publish it.
photo by Schmutzie
After the opening, there was a roundtable meet and greet time, a fun way for each of us to connect with our “tribe” and get to know one another.
Each tribe is headed by one or many “Tribe Leaders.” (I was one of the Photography Tribe Leaders.) This is an interesting new way to make sure nobody feels alone during the conference – no matter what, you will have a tribe to check in with! There’s even a “No Niche” Tribe. *wink*
After a superb ConAgra lunch, I wandered out into the expo hall, talked to the Purex Rep (who was totally awesome) and as I was wandering on, I suddenly realized that HOLY CRAP IF YOU ONLY SLEEP FOR 3 HOURS AFTER YOU ARE RAGINGLY DRUNK BY MIDDAY THE NEXT DAY YOU ARE SOOOOO DONE SOCIALIZING. Like that, I hit a wall, and I knew it was time to go to my room for a little bit.
Also, someone made me spill tea all over myself and I almost went back and decapitated him later just out of spite. This was totally a sign that I needed a nap, as I am generally a “punch them in the neck” kind of person rather than an “off with their heads!” chick. So I went to the room and slept like a goddess on soft fluffy pillows, fully dressed, for an hour. Then it was up and to the next session!
photo by Mishelle Lane
The Innovative Writing Session with Leslie, Jim, and Amy was fantastic – creative, informative, and hilarious. I really wish you all could have been there. You can see the presentation in this post at Jim’s site.
I think the most important thing they shared was an amazing piece put together by Shawn Burns for presentation during the session, something that he’s worked hard to get across to the community for some time, and Jim, Leslie, and Amy realized this was the perfect opportunity to help it spread. Even if you didn’t get to attend, I really think you should benefit from Shawn’s message. Now go to Jim’s site and pay close attention as you watch. You will thank me.
It’s like you were there, right? You can thank me in the comments. (Heh.)
to be continued…
Blissdom: It started with her.
On Tuesday, January 25th, I flew to Nashville to speak at and attend Blissdom, a Women’s Blogging Conference hosted by Allison Worthington, Barbara Jones, and Paula Bruno.
A few years ago, I was sitting in Alli’s kitchen, having coffee with her while my son was surreptitiously crayon-decorating her kitchen cabinet. We had several moments like this, two moms enjoying one another’s company, talking about motherhood, life, blogging, and dreaming of the future. These playdates were like therapy for me; each visit was a refill for my sanity. Girlfriends: Life’s Prettiest Meds.
Okay, maybe not always the prettiest. But definitely the most fun?
Back then she talked about wanting to do things on her website to help mothers, and women in general. Eventually, she shared that she dreamed of more than the blog; she wanted to go further, help more people, chase bigger dreams. During one of our visits, Alli asked me, “So, what do you want to do with your blog; what is your goal? You want to rule the Internet, right?” I didn’t have dreams of Internet Domination, though, and I said, “Well, no… I really just hope that people will read and enjoy my content.” Alli’s response? “Oh, no no no, honey. We have to build a Kindgom!” She made me laugh, but I could sense her drive.
That was Alli – big love, big dreams, big plans. Add in all her hard work, and it equals big success, and there she is now. I’m so proud of her, and so excited to see her dreams coming to fruition. She’s worked damn hard to make it from Mrs. Fussypants to co-hosting her own blogging conference, and she’s worked her arse off for it every step of the way. You know what she’s also done, every step of the way? She’s kept the love, the genuine caring, and the desire to help others and support women a core part of her agenda and personality.
I had to say all this before I even start talking about the specifics of my trip. I saw her, before all of this Blissdom stuff, as a mom and woman, a girlfriend, in her home. I talked to her on the phone about her dreams, plans, and eventually – progress, while we also gabbed about daily life and motherhood. As months and years danced past us, making our children older and our hairs a little grayer here and there, we’ve floated in and out of emails, twitter @’s and Skype conversations. Alli is a friend, and someone I trust.
I can’t tell you how many times people have asked me, “Is she really the nice person in real life that she seems online?” My answer is always Yes. Is she perfect? Nobody is perfect. Is she flawed? Of course she is, aren’t we all? She’s not a “mean girl” or a ruthless backstabber. Alli is a genuine, kind person, and I’ve never seen her as anything else. I’m glad her big dreams and hard work have paid off for her. Walking into the Gaylord Opryland Hotel in Nashville on January 25th for the 3rd Blissdom Conference, I was excited about the week ahead, and, as always, proud of my former playdate partner and girlfriend.
In the coming week, I’ll post several photos from my trip (as well as some taken by others that show things I didn’t capture) and give you some of the highlights of the conference (from my experience), but I had to share this post first.
photo courtesy of Rachel at Southern Fairytale
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.
Is it finally the end? Yes. It’s a Blogher 10 Photo Montage Video Post! Part 4
Saturday night was made for parties. Sparklecorn and Cheeseburgher did Saturday proud. Behold the Party People!
And if you’re lucky enough to have Mishelle near you often at an event, you get some nice photographic evidence of the good time you had. Which you can then force other people to view. *insert evil laugh of doom here*
The following photos are courtesy of Mishelle Lane.
View her Blogher 10 Set on flickr.
I think it’s pretty clear I had a great time. Also, I may have sexually assaulted Catherine. I’m not entirely sure… do you cross some sort of line when you actually try to stick your head inside someone’s tutu while they’re standing at the bar?
If you’d like to see all my Blogher 10 photographs in one place, they’re available on flickr. Enjoy!
I hope to see you all at Blogher 11! But bring a wet suit. It’s going to be in a whale’s vagina next year.
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.
Yup, you’re going to have to go back now.
Tomorrow? SPARKLECORN AND CHEESEBURGHER! Woot.
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*
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