Imagine that the internet came to life and all of your favorite bloggers and Twitter personalities jumped from your screen and into your living room. Multiply that by a few thousand. Add in some free stuff, alcohol, big name speakers, a few celebrities, and a tourist town. What you get is BlogHer 2012– a blogging conference that will house over 4,500 mostly women bloggers. There will be informative sessions and panels, guest speakers such as Katie Couric and Martha Stewart- even Obama is addressing us via live video, an Expo Hall where you will find reps handing you sausage and post-it notes, and when the lights go out the bloggers come out to play at official and private parties in the hotel and all over NYC.
I’ll be there {hyperventilates a little.} I attended BlogHer last year when it was in San Diego and it was really a remarkable experience if only for the beautiful location. I was able to meet so many of my Internet friends and learn from and be inspired by the sessions and speeches. I even met and hugged Ricki Lake, a birth idol advocate, and got to have drinks at a bar with her and other bloggers! That doesn’t even seem real! Me!
BlogHer can bring out the best and worst in people. I’m determined to go there with no other agenda than to absorb what I need to and repel the ugly that might be there. I want to meet new people, say hi to the bloggers I admire, attend sessions, see the sights in NYC, have fun with my roomate Julie Clark from Cloth Diaper Geek, and let loose a little bit.
I just moved into a new home so the timing could be better. I’m still looking for a pair of shoes I had planned to wear and I can’t find my beloved Pumpease anywhere! Packing for a trip when many of your belongings are still boxed up is truly frustrating. I’ve also submerged myself in a few home projects and eschewed the Internet in favor of home renovations. I have a one-track mind and BlogHer has been cast off in favor of decorating my Golden Girls Guest Bedroom (more information on this soon) but it dawned on my that I leave in just one day. Cue panic mode!
Here is my suitcase to give you an idea of what I’m packing. I’m not even finished yet and I leave in the morning!
Some things of note:
–Rockin’ Green Shirt (they are sponsoring me for this trip!)
-My own “Cloth Rocks” shirt
-Non Nursing Bras (no baby for 5 days)
-Hygeia Enjoye Pump (no baby for 5 days but I still have milk!)
-Sparkly Shoes
-“I Love Cloth Diapers” buttons to give out
I’m not leaving a lot of room for swag because I have enough stuff in my house. I’ll receive some but whatever is completely unnecessary or won’t fit will be left in the swag exchange room for someone else. I’ll keep a few toys for the kids if any come my way. I prefer the edible kind of swag anyways (I’m looking at you Hershey’s!) and that won’t make it long enough to get packed.
I’d love to meet you if you will be attending BlogHer! I’ll be the one with the “I Love Cloth Diapers” button on my badge and the short blonde hair. In case you need a reminder here I am on the beach with my two little guys. I think a full body photo is in order since I’ll be there as a whole person and not just as a head. I’ll even still have the crooked knees as shown.
I’m two parts excited about going to BlogHer and making my first trip to NYC (despite living in NY State for 5 years, doh) and one part terrified of leaving my boys behind. My husband will do great, he always does, but I wouldn’t be the mother I am if I didn’t worry about how many times their teeth will be brushed, what they will have for lunch, and how they are sleeping at night without mommy.
And of course another huge shout out to Rockin’ Green Soap for sending me to BlogHer! They have been my cloth diaper detergent of choice for many, many years. They also make several other products such as Femme Rock (for Mama Cloth) and Funk Rock (to soak your funky diapers). Rockin’ Green makes washing diapers easy -choosing a scent is the hardest part!