The fact that it has taken me a week to collect my thoughts about this year’s Blogalicious conference should tell you something. The fourth annual conference for women (and a few gentlemen) in social media exceeded my expectations and gave me so much (maybe too much) to think about for the rest of 2012 and the upcoming year. Check out what I learned from hanging with some of my favorite bloggers in one of my favorite cities – Las Vegas!
1) I’m more ingrained in my day-to-day life with my kids than I thought. By this, I mean that it was almost physically painful for me to be away from them. The first day I was in Vegas, before the conference officially started the following day, I was very, very sad. I missed my kids. I was thinking about what they were doing, what funny things they were saying and if my husband would remember to pack their lunches the next morning. I just missed being “Mommy.” And that was a shock because I was SURE I would hop on that plane and kick back and relax and enjoy my time “off.” But I was homesick. Can you believe it?
My room! Those pillows!
I took four baths in here during my 3.5 day stay. Loved it.
2) I’m getting much better at networking. When I’m around large groups of people, I get nervous. It’s the introvert in me. I’m much more comfortable in small group settings or one-on-one conversations. But this time, I was much more aware of what I was there to do. I made it my mission to meet the people I wanted to meet and decided not to let the other stuff stress me out.
3) It is okay to drop it low on the dance floor – yes, even after kids. I went to the Gain Fresh party on Saturday (hosted by the incomparable Doug E. Fresh) and damn near lost my mind. I only had one drink in my system (which is usually enough to knock me out cold) but I managed to sweat out my hair and my clothes during the three-hour dance party. Mind you, I was on Vegas time, not my usual East Coast time, so what I thought was a 9 p.m to midnight party was actually a midnight to 3 a.m. party, according to my internal clock.But Doug E. Fresh brought that ENERGY! I was too hype. Check out his dance moves in the video below:
4) I need a business plan. Thus far, I’ve been winging it. Doing projects I think would be fun, switching topics whenever I feel like, but now I know that I need a bit more structure in what I’m doing. Even though winging it has taken me to great places, being even more organized and strategic will take me further. It was a keynote by Mario Armstrong that make me snap to attention. He gave us a 21-day challenge that I’m considering my homework for the month of October. Check it out and let me know if it helps you as much as it helped me!
5) I need to set some goals for my kids in school. Since they are so young, their report cards don’t have the standard GPA and all that. But that’s okay. The Blogalicious conference featured the Box Tops for Education panel (the whole reason I was there) and I was inspired when I heard from parents on how much they wanted to be part of their kids education. I volunteer at my daughter’s school and I’m currently a Box Tops Coordinator but I want to make sure I’m doing as much as I possibly can for them.
The Box Tops for Education panel
6) I need a partner. Or a few partners. I need more people on my team. Being an army of one is exhausting and I feel I might be stifling all my great ideas because I simply don’t have the manpower to complete them all. One of my 2012 goals was to host a local meet-up for young mothers. Haven’t done it yet because I haven’t had the time to sit down and figure it out. I need to finish up these blogging webinars and make them available but I need to have time to do that. See what I mean?
All in all, I had a TERRIFIC time at Blogalicious. If you haven’t gone to a blogging conference yet, try to make it to Blogalicious in the future. EVERYONE is very friendly, the organizers always pick top-notch hotels, and you’re sure to get a big dose of information and fun all wrapped up in one.
Disclosure: I am a Box Tops for Education blogger, and all travel and expenses were compensated for Blogalicious by General Mills
I’m so mad I had to miss it this year! All of the tweets and now the blog posts have me sooo jealous! Next year!!!
Well until you get your full battalion, I can join you and we can be an army of two. I need someone to help me stay motivated as well. Sometimes we think that we can do it all, and life has a way of telling us – “No ma’am! You need to have a seat!”
As usual, it was a pleasure hanging out with you and having someone who “got” me.
I appreciate your wisdom beyond your years, and you are definitely a HUGE inspiration to me!
I can tell you had a great time. I hope to attend next year.
Why hello, partner! 😉
Glad you had a great time and got to drop it low a few times. LOL. I’m so with you on a lot of these points. I went to my first blogger conference in August. And although, the kids came along they stayed with my mom during the day and all I could think about was what were they doing, were they crying for me, etc.