Hey, Y'all!

No BlogHer For Me

I made the choice long ago not to go to BlogHer this year. In fact, I think I decided while I was sitting at BlogHer '10.  I had an AMAZING time last year and, honestly, I still feel like I'm riding the high a bit.  I didn't feel as strongly about going this year as I did last year.  San Diego was not an easy location for me like NYC was and I didn't have enough time this year to really work on getting a sponsor.  A lot of the folks I hung around with last year aren't going, and I don't have any other friends in San Diego, so I don't feel like I'm missing out like I would have if I had not gone to NYC last year.  So, no BlogHer '11.

No worries, though! I've already had a great meetup with Alissa while we've been in DC and on Friday, I get to see SHANNAN!!!!! The world may explode from happiness.  I talk to my blog friends a lot and that is pretty much a direct result of going to BlogHer last year.  I will definitely do more conferences in the future, probably BlogHer at some point when it's geographically feasible, and certainly Type-A.  As much fun as it is to read what your friends write, nothing compares to the energy that comes from being in a room with them for a fun-filled, whirlwind weekend.

I hope everyone who's going has a blast in San Diego. I can't wait to hear your stories.

Comfort Food Saturday: Honeydew Agua Fresca

At the Martha Stewart Bloggers' Night Out, I enjoyed the most refreshing beverage I've ever tasted.  Here's a picture of me drinking it:
 
I was kind of overwhelmed at the party, mostly due to the vast number of people milling around the small space, so I didn't manage to catch the name or recipe of this delectible drink. I knew it was honeydew and I thought I remembered the word "agua," but otherwise, it was lost.  Imagine my delight when the front page of my local newspaper featured this very recipe this week!

This drink can be made with honeydew or cantaloupe.  It's what I like to call a "mocktail," or a cocktail without the booze.  You can bet this will be on the table next time we have friends over for dinner.

HONEYDEW AGUA FRESCA

• 14 cups cubed melon (honeydew or cantaloupe, or a mixture of both)
• 1/3 cup superfine sugar
• 1/2 cup fresh lime juice
• 4 cups water
• 2 cups fresh raspberries (for garnish)

In food processor or blender, puree 14cups of cubed melon (in batches, obviously!) until smooth.  Pour through a strainer into a large pitcher.  You should end up with about 4 cups of melon juice. 

In a small bowl, combine sugar and lime juice.  Stir until sugar dissolves.  Add lime mixture and 4 cups water to melon juice and mix well.  Adjust sweetness with more sugar if desired.  Mixture can be refrigerated for up ot two days.  To serve, add lots of ice and fresh raspberries for garnish.

My NYC

You'll hear more about BlogHer tomorrow because, in case you hadn't noticed, I've yet to tell you about the food!  Today, however, I wanted to tell you about the other parts of my trip, the ones that didn't center around the conference.  I extended my stay through late Monday evening to soak up as much of the city as possible and to see some of my friends.  As I've mentioned before, this was my first trip back to my former home since we've moved. I knew it would be emotional.  I was prepared to finally get some closure, to say goodbye to New York. I hoped that, somehow, I'd fit in well enough to fake it as a local for the five days I was in town.

Thank God for surprises.

I expected to burst into tears when I saw the skyline from the air.  Instead, I was engrossed in conversation with another Alabama blogger and was only able to catch a quick glimpse.  Once we were on the ground, I went into autopilot mode, grabbing my bag, catching a cab, going to Kitty's apartment to change, then hopping on the subway and riding to Kitty's midtown office to meet her for lunch.  I was shocked that it all still seemed so normal, like I'd just done it yesterday.  Things have certainly changed since I moved (Helloooo, Times Square is now for pedestrians!), but I was immediately in the zone of city life.

When I wasn't at the Hilton for BlogHer, Kitty and I spent time on her couch catching me up on episodes of True Blood.  We were ecstatic to be able to watch Design Star together on Sunday instead of having to discuss it over the phone or via email.  We had dinner on Friday at my favorite diner, the Applejack Diner, where the staff still remembered me as "the girl who came in every Tuesday for a year to eat cheese fries."  (I know you covet my title.) 

On Sunday, we met a group of former Cornellians for brunch down on St. Mark's.  Memories and laughs were shared by the dozen, stories and hugs were exchanged, knowing smiles were given as we all shook our heads at how much more grown up we are since last time we were all together.

They are a good looking bunch, no?  I educated many of them.  Scary, I know.

After brunch, Kitty and I headed up to the Lincoln Center area, my old stomping grounds.  I worked at Lincoln Center 2 of the 4 years I was in the city and the area around the theatre has always been one of my favorite parts of NYC.  We took the train up to 72nd Street so that we could walk downtown.  As we walked, I looked into the shops and restaurant windows and felt complete comfort wash over me.  I felt completely myself, like my body was more awake than it had been in a long while.  I told Kitty, "This is good. I feel like I'm getting closure."  She laughed at me and said, "Tell me what you feel."  I told her, "I feel like I'm home."  She said, "You are.  Whether you live here or not, whenever you're here, you'll be home.  It doesn't matter how long you stay away, this place will always welcome you back. You don't need no stinkin' closure!" 

Kitty is very wise.

We passed the restaurant where I spent the majority of my dinner breaks, the Starbuck's that always screwed up my lattes and my favorite pizza joint, Francesco's.

Why yes, I thoroughly enjoyed my slice of mushroom with extra cheese, thanks for asking!

After strolling by Lincoln Center, we headed to Columbus Circle to browse around Borders for no other reason than that's what we have always done when we've found ourselves in that part of town. 

On Monday, I woke up early and headed to my old neighborhood.

Good ol' 30th Avenue.  I was shocked to find our block exactly as I'd left it.  Seriously, I think the only thing that's changed is that we no longer live there.  The people in the bakery were the same ones who served us croissants every Saturday morning (and yes, I did have one), the same old men sipped espresso on the corner benches, and our favorite car service was still there:

Greatest. Business name. Ever.  E-VER.

I ducked into our favorite Italian deli, where they asked, "where you been?" Um, we moved, yo.  I came out with a quart and a half of their Balsamic Ravioli Salad, packed in dry ice and ready for the trip back to Alabama.  Needless to say, my husband was very happy when I got home.  I was able to get a photo of the door to our apartment building for Dean's baby book and to walk past all my old haunts on the way back to the subway.  Even though I walked that path hundreds of times before Dean was ever even a blip on the radar, my most prominent memory of that path to the train was the day I walked it in labor, unknowingly taking my last train ride before meeting my son.

Speaking of meeting people's sons, after a lovely lunch at Serendipity, Kitty and I went to Brooklyn to see Qui and his adorable son, Sam. (Qui's wife Abby was working and I'm totally bummed I didn't get to see her.)

Sam just turned one and baby boys who have just turned one are some of my favorite people in the whole world.  It was so cool to see Qui as a dad. He's a natural at it and Sam is just wonderful.  I must say, it was quite surreal to sit around talking about toddler nutrition and diaper rashes with the guy who used to sit up with me until 4am goofing off and drinking coffee. (Good grief, what would we do to have back all those hours we could have been sleeping?  Answer:  Not a single thing.)

Qui and I met at freshman orientation and became fast friends.  That means we've been friends for FIFTEEN YEARS.  That's a lot of years, y'all.  You know how it feels to put on your favorite sweatshirt for the first time when the weather turns cool each year?  That's how Qui makes me feel.  Whenever we're together it's comfortable, easy and wonderfully familiar, even now that we're all grown up.

My flight didn't leave until almost 10pm on Monday, so Kitty and I were able to squeeze in dinner with my friend Betsy.  Betsy and I are near-famous for our lunch dates. Due to our work schedules, we often went months without seeing each other, so when we were finally able to get together, we'd have lunch--for 6 hours.  Unfortunately, dinner could only last about an hour this time, as I had to head to LaGuardia.

I said a hard goodbye to Kitty, headed to the airport, where I experienced the quickest trip ever through security, and got myself a frappuccino. We boarded the plane and I had a window seat alone.  I watched the lights of the city shrink below me and I finally let myself cry. I wasn't crying the tears I thought I'd be crying, though.  Instead of tears of sadness upon saying goodbye to the city I once inhabited with my mind, body and spirit, the city chock-full of some of my favorite people and places, I was crying tears of joy because the city had welcomed me back with open arms and made me feel as comfortable as the day I left. I know now that no matter how much time passes between visits, NYC will always feel like home.

Thanks, Big Apple.  I heart you. 

 

BlogHer 10: The Conference

I went into the weekend with a meticulously planned-out schedule, which I fully expected to throw out at some point.  I actually stuck to my schedule pretty well, but if there was something else going on that I was more interested in doing or if there was an opportunity to grab some time with a blogger I like a lot, I tossed my plans and chose the face-time.  I attended the Newbie Breakfast on the first day, which was lots of fun.  Stacey and I sat at a table with other newbies and listened to the BlogHer founders welcome us to our first conference. I was still a little nervous until Deb on the Rocks, a BlogHer veteran, took the stage and immediately put  us all at ease.  She congratulated each of us on taking the initiative to come to a blogging conference, many of us alone.  She told us that we were now veterans and had the hardest part--getting there in the first place--under our belts.  Her words were inspiring and uplifting and made me tear up 3 times.  I was so happy to get a moment to talk with Deb in the hallway after breakfast, to thank her for putting me at ease and for just being a cool person in general.  (You REALLY need to read her blog if you don't already.  Especially THIS post.)

The breakout sessions were a bit of a let-down for me.  Maybe I chose poorly, but I didn't get as much as I'd have liked out of them.  I was especially excited about the Writing Lab entitled "Stoke Your Creativity." I was a bit disappointed that most of the session turned into a discussion of writing fiction instead of blogging.  I still got a lot out of the sessions I attended, but they weren't the mind-blowing educational experiences I was hoping to have.  Oh, well, live and learn, right?

The Expo Hall was lots of fun and I feel like I made some good connections with some of the companies, especially the ones who make food.  I did an interview for Yahoo Shine about reinventing yourself and that should be up on their site in the next week or so.

I spent a good deal of time with some mascots:

I also sampled pretty much every single food offering there was, including sausage, biscuits, cupcakes, honey, Terra chips and so much more.  It was fun to see the new products and hear more about the companies.  I colored a postcard to send home to Dean at the Play-Doh booth.  It arrived yesterday.  He is unimpressed.

I think next time I go to BlogHer, I'll do more research into the sessions. If none of them really grab my attention, I may consider doing a party pass because for me, connecting with the people was the best part.

Stay tuned....the FOOD post is coming soon!!!

BlogHer '10: The Parties and Swag

Ok. Before I begin, let's me preface this post with I KNOW. It's not about the swag. Believe me, I know.  That's why the post about the people, the proverbial wind beneath my BlogHer wings, was first.  But when I can get a few nice things for my son?  Swag can be pretty sweet.  Also, when you're currently a one-income family?  Free food coupons are also rather nice. Plus, I like shiny things and candy, so there ya go.

Here's my suitcase, containing most of what I brought home. You won't see the coupons because they are already in my coupon organizer. Two of them have already been redeemed.

I left at least this much stuff in NYC with Kitty.  Some of the toys were too old for Dean, so Kitty can give them to her nephew.  I also left her all the craft supplies I got at the Martha party because I? Am not crafty.  I also got 5 shirts, which are currently in the washer, 8 tote bags, most of which I took to the Swag Exchange with some other stuff I didn't need, and this:

That's Dean in mismatched PJ's with his new BFF: MR. POTATOHEAD!  (The Toy Story 3 edition)  He played with it for 7 hours yesterday and 2 this morning.  Best. Swag. Ever.

Ok, enough of that, let's talk about PARTIES!!!!!!!!  The lovely Shannan invited me to be her guest to the Braces.org Shine and Smile fashion show on Thursday.  You've already seen my picture with our host, Jennie Garth.  They had a super-fun photo booth where you could take pictures with giant toothbrushes. I took my pictures with Michelle, but they are somewhere in the middle of 9000 other pieces of paper right now, so you'll have to wait until I find them and scan them.  In the meantime, here's Shannan and Amy rockin' the fake smiles. (Be sure to look at Amy's eyes!)

  Fun times.  After the show, I headed to the Martha Stewart Bloggers Night Out.  I had the good fortune of meeting Alissa and Jen in the taxi line, so we shared a cab downtown.  The party was originally supposed to be on the roof, but the weather looked threatening, so we moved inside to Martha's offices.  It was CROWDED.  The displays and stations were nice, but it was almost overwhelming with all the people and chaos. (Oddly, situations like that are usually where I thrive, but this one just gave me a headache.)  I did have the most refreshing beverage of my life there, a nice creation involving honeydew and raspberries. And you couldn't beat the view.

I wanted to dive into these face-first, but Martha's classier than that, so I just ate 14 one instead.

Thursday evening was the People's Party, which was very low-key and informal.  I had a big plate of food, a big Diet Pepsi and some nice conversation with Safire. (Isn't that the coolest name? She's a cool lady, too.)  I called it a night fairly early so I'd have energy for Friday.

After the sessions and such ended on Friday, I met up with Jennie for a quick hello, then headed to the Voices of the Year Gala.  Unfortunately, none of my pictures turned out.  I would have had a better time at the Gala if I'd been there with a big group, but I was tired and not really feeling like a party, so I did a drive-by, then headed out.

Saturday was the best day for social events.  Shannan, Kelby, Mel and I headed downtown for a lovely dinner with Tavern Direct.  You'll be hearing lots more about this dinner later, as this company and their cause is very near and dear to my heart. Also, the food was insanely good. We all whipped out our cameras each time a new course was served.

You know you're with bloggers when they take pictures of their dessert before eating it. 

Saturday evening held lots of good times for us, as the official BlogHer parties closed out the conference with big fun.  Kudos to the good folks of BlogHer for opening these parties up to everyone since the spaces were big enough to accommodate all of us.  First was Blogalicious.  Let me tell you, these ladies know how to shake it.  We danced our tails off to some fantastic music.

Next was Sparklecorn, the best party EVER.  It was amazing. MamaPop sure knows how to throw a bash.  There was this beauty, made by Charm City Cakes:

There was the giant BlogHer sign we all passed around the dance floor:

There was fantastic music, awesome dancing and amazing conversation.  It was the best time I've had in a while.   

After Sparklecorn was CheeseburgHer:

So as you can see, it was a pretty rockin' weekend.

Stay tuned...posts are still to come on the breakout sessions, the expo hall and all the stuff I did in NYC outside of BlogHer! 

BlogHer '10: The People

Wow. WOOOOW.  If you've been to BlogHer, you know what I mean. If you haven't, let me just tell you that it's bigger, crazier, busier and better than you could ever imagine. There is so, so much to tell that I've decided to break it up over several posts, mostly so my site won't crash from the insane amount of pictures I want to share. First, I'll tell you about the best, most important element of Blogher:  The People.  If you're a blogger, you understand how our community works.  We are friends.  REAL friends.  Sure, most of us have never met in real life, but we're often as close as people who see each other every day would be. We email. We read each others' stories. Some of us are friends on Facebook.  And let me tell you, when you do get to meet your blog friends in real life? You KNOW you're with your real friends.  It's exhilarating and comfortable and I would not trade that part of this past weekend for anything.

I went into the weekend with a few small, but obtainable goals where people were concerned. I wanted to be sure that I was one of those people who talked to folks who looked scared or out of place. I think my pal Julie and I did a good job or inviting people to the breakfast or lunch table and of starting up conversations in elevators.  I even made a friend in the taxi line on Thursday.  I had a list of about 7 bloggers that I HAD to meet.  Guess what?  I hugged all of them!

What's that?  Why, yes, that IS me and Amalah! I might have kind of twitter stalked her for a bit and upon finding out she was in the hotel bar, I might have gone down there to meet her. Um, yeah.  I hoped that I would get to see her from afar, maybe a handshake in the hall or a wave in the lobby, maybe try to work in the fact that I think she's the bee's knees.  15 minutes of one-on-one time AND meeting her adorable husband?  Was SO much better.  She is an absolute delight. We talked about baby vomit. (OF COURSE we did.)  A few people saw me talking to her and were all "Ooh, you KNOW her?" I said, "No, but I had the opportunity to go up and meet her, so I took it." And boy, oh boy, am I glad I did.  Guess what?  She's a PERSON! LIKE ME!  I KNOW, IT'S NUTS!  Seriously, she was very sweet and thanked me for reading and didn't act like I was bothering her at all.  It rocked.  (Spoiler:  The big name bloggers come to this conference to meet people, too!)

And here I am with Casey who is, without a doubt, one of the top 3 most adorable people I've ever met. A while back, she wrote a post that touched my heart so much that I told her in the comments that whenever I met her, I'd be giving her an uncomfortably long hug.  She held me to it. (and held, and held...) (Wow, I said "that" a lot in that sentence. No, not that one. That one.)  I saw Casey again on Saturday in the Expo Hall with Emily, who was also on my list and who is absolutely precious.  Through magical text messaging, I was able to catch Jennie before she left for dinner with her friends.  She was so welcoming and so exactly how I imagined her to be. 

There's something you should know about BlogHer.  Yes, we're all bloggers, but many of us know each other from Twitter.  This leads to massive confusion, especially when people have Twitter names that aren't their real names.  I spent most of the first day calling people things like @honestandtruly and @resourcefulmom.  Kelby Carr, the owner of Foodie Mama and Type-A Mom, said she feels like she doesn't even have a "real person" name any more because everyone calls her @typeamom.  It's hilarious to watch people figure out who everyone is.  You spend a lot of time staring at people's mid-sections so you can read their name tags. (It's easier for me because I come up to everyone's mid-section.  See Amalah picture above for proof.) 

On Friday, I was standing in the lobby quickly posting the pictures from Thursday when I heard someone scream, "JEN!!!!!!!!"  Honestly, I didn't even react at first because about 2000 of the 2500 people at BlogHer were named Jen and I figured no one could possibly be looking for me.  Fortunately, I was wrong. I looked up to see the beautiful Stacey running toward me, yelling, "You look exactly like your picture!"  We had met on Twitter just a few days before BlogHer and had instantly hit it off.  She is SO much fun! We sat together at the Newbie Breakfast and talked like we'd been best friends for years. You'll hear more about  our adventures in my party post, but here's a picture of the two of us getting down with our bad selves at Sparklecorn:

Stacey was much better-decorated than I was. 

Most of my time this weekend was spent with this lady:

That's Shannan. (@slpowell)  You read the pre-BlogHer posts before you go and some of them tell you that you will meet people. You will make some friends. You might make some really good friends, and you might just meet your "bury the body" friend.  I'm fairly certain the latter could very well be true of Shannan and me.  We spent HOURS talking on Skype before we went to NYC and were lucky enough to find each other immediately upon arriving at the Hilton on Thursday. She brought me as her guest to the Smile and Shine fashion show on Thursday, then to a lovely dinner with Tavern Direct on Saturday. Over the weekend, we ate together, met tons of people, collected bag after bag of swag, looked for her lost camera (she found it!), broke it down on the dance floor, enjoyed the best cake ever made, participated in a focus group (mostly so we could sit down for half an hour and enjoy free Coke products) and much, much more.  We are truly birds of a feather and I am ecstatic to have had this time to get to know her.  Of course now the bad part is that I miss her and want her at my house, but whatcha gonna do?

Here we are entertaining the people at the Butterfinger Snackerz booth in the Expo Hall:

I loved all the "stuff" at BlogHer, but the people are what made the trip worthwhile for me.  It was so unbelievably cool to meet these women, to hug them and talk to them and share meals and laughs and stories.  I needed some time with my girlfriends and I feel like I got much more than I could ever have hoped for out of this weekend.

More to come...

BlogHer10: I'm here!

I'm headed to the Newbie Breakfast, but I wanted to check in and tell you all that i"m here and I had an action-packed first day!  I met SO many people, attended a cool fashion show hosted by Jennie Garth and hit the Martha Stewart soiree and the People's Party. It doesn't sound like much, but I was RUNNING all day long.  Many more updates and pictures to come.

BlogHer's crazy, y'all.

Me and Jennie.  We're super-tight now. (Perhaps she can give me tips on how not to have super-frizzy subway hair!)

Good grief, I love this place. 
  

Countdown to BlogHer: Almost Time

My suitcase is packed.

There's plenty of food for my family and our babysitter.

The laundry's done. (That, in and of itself, is a miracle.)

I've checked my purse 3008 times for my conference pass. (Make that 3009)

I've done  a color-coded schedule for the weekend on Cozi.com.

My toenails are painted.

My hair is straightened. (Or as straight as it's gonna get.)

The car is gassed up and ready for long-term parking at the airport.

My alarm is set for 4am. (God help me.)

Plans have been made, cell phone numbers exchanged.

I'm ready.

Tomorrow at 6:45am, I'll be on a plane bound for NYC--my favorite place on Earth.  I'm trying to prepare myself for the rush of emotions I'm sure to feel when I see the city for the first time since we've moved. It's such a special place.  My marriage started there.  Dean was born there.  Some of my favorite people live there and some of my most treasured work experiences happened there.  A part of me feels like I'm going home.  If Marcus and Dean were going, it would be perfect. (Marcus says he does NOT want to go to BlogHer, thankyouverymuchly, nor does he feel like riding the subway any time soon.) (He turned 40 today, so he's a little sensitive.)

Watch for updates and pictures.  I can't wait to share my stories with you.

Countdown to BlogHer: A Weekend of Preparation

This entire weekend seems to have been consumed with preparations for BlogHer.  Not only did I make my packing list, do a dry run of packing the suitcase (oh yes, I did), buy travel-sized toiletries and arrange for things to go smoothly at home in my absence, I also spent a lot of time connecting with other bloggers.  Shannan has been INCREDIBLE, talking me through what all the events will be like, helping me figure out what to wear and just generally being awesome and getting me even more excited about the week, if that were even possible.   

My schedule seems to be filling up by the minute, but I have managed to allow myself 3 solid hours of down-time on Friday and Saturday.  I'll use that time to mingle, see the Expo hall and various sponsored suites, or just sit with a cup of coffee and chill for a few minutes. Maybe I'll even blog. (Is live-blogging interesting to people or will it make you want to punch me?)  When I'm not chilling?  I'll be attending dinners, fashion shows, breakout sessions, parties and other events.  Mah feet may fall off.

 I bought the greatest bag ever this weekend because the idea of rolling a suitcase around did not seem like the best option.  Wanna see it? Excellent!

Please excuse my unmade bed with clothes, pillows in mis-matched cases, stuffed animals and mesh laundry bags strewn about it.  Try to concentrate on the BAG.  This baby's amazing. There's a padded, removable case for my laptop, 2 huge, deep pockets, a middle zipper pocket and lots of little loops and nooks for things like my Metro card and lip balm.

The BlogHer nightmares have started, as I knew they would.  2 nights ago, I dreamed I left my conference pass at home and they made me fly back to get it. Last week I dreamed I went to the Serenity Suite first thing and fell asleep for the entire weekend.  Last night I dreamed I was the only one who showed up, so they gave me all the swag and I had no way to get it home. Fortunately, I'm fairly sure none of those scenarios will come true. (Though getting all the swag? Wouldn't be so rough.)

I'm so tired that I'm at a loss as to how to end this post, so I'll do my usual cop-out thing and leave you with a picture:

 
I'm sewing it to my chest for the plane ride to NYC. 

Countdown to BlogHer: The Vlog

You do not even want to know the drama surrounding this vlog.  It took me 2 days to make it work.  I actually did a different version that I love, but it's so big that I can't get it to upload. So this one will have to do.  I warn you that I look exhausted because Dean woke me up at 5am.  I also got my hair cut today and she did a blow-out, so it's very straight and a bit flippy.  But there ya go.  Please feel free to use this as a tutorial to get through my accent.  If you watch it enough times, you just might be able to understand what I"m saying next week!