promise.

I have so much to tell you,
and so much to say,
but there just isn't enough,
moments in the day.

[totally just made that up....right now]

I haven't told you about BlogHer.

I haven't told you about the amazing haircut that literally changed my life.

I haven't told you about missing my kids so much it hurt.

I haven't told you about all the great new friends I made, the old friends I saw, and the brands and companies I am happy to have gotten a chance to talk to, network with, and build friendships with.

BlogHer was totally my thing this year. I loved it.

More later.....

promise.

BlogHer'10 ~ LIVE from the Conference

This weekend has been a whirlwind of:

~hugging and squealing when running in to old friends
~the excitement of meeting new friends
~getting a chance to meet some amazing brands that have some amazing things going on
~parties and events that have been unbelievable, in both good and bad ways
~a hotel experience that brought me to tears, and not in a good way
~ getting a chance to tell SO SO SO many people about me and the company that made it all possible for me to be here
~learning experiences of a Midwest girl in a BIG city, and realizing just how much there is going on that I never knew existed

And really, that is a complete incohesive, spur of the moment list I have created.

It is 6am, Saturday morning, the last day of the conference.  I have more events, more conference business to attend to, more parties, and a lot to learn still. I have had to absorb a lot and I have attempted to process it all, but I am not able to take this entire experience and put it into words just yet.

Like I said, it's been a whirlwind, and interesting, fun, exciting whirlwind, and I can't wait to tell you more about it......but not until I get home.

BLOGHER'10 ~ How I am Getting to BlogHer

By airplane, silly!

That's not really what I meant. I'm just trying to be funny. And you know what, a lot of the time, i AM really funny. Hopefully, some of you amazing ladies will get a chance to see that side of me this weekend in NYC.

I feel like I am WAY more laid back about BlogHer this year. I think it comes with the territory of not being a Newbie. Last year, I had no idea what to expect, and I had baby girl with me, so I had an instant conversation starter! I mean, who could NOT want to talk to this smiling face? (and I'm not talking about MINE!)

I loved having her with me, and it truly was a pretty monumental occasion for us. And I admit, leaving her home this year is probably the hardest part of this whole thing. It's not the planning or the shopping or even leaving my son (he's got daddy, so he's a happy camper!), it's leaving her. She has become such a huge part of me and who I have become this last year. Our relationship is so different than it was last year, and BlogHer'09 was a huge part of the inseparable relationship we have today.

But this year will be different. BlogHer isn't in my own backyard. It is a new and exciting city that I have never been to (New York City), I have many more commitments this year, I know a lot more people, and I won't have Lily, so I will actually have to talk to people on my OWN! Not to mention, it was all made possible by a pretty amazing sponsor!

Thanks to my sponsorship from iResq, I am able to attend BlogHer10. Not only am I going to be there representing MYSELF, I will also be there representing them. And I couldn't think of any other company that I feel more suitable sharing with all of you.

You see, I'm kinda klutzy.  And unorganized. And frazzled. 

I want to say, "That's the life of being a mother of two kids under 4." but, I know I can't make a unanimous statement like that, so I will just stick with, "FOR ME, ever since I had kids, my mind has been mush."

So I tend to misplace things. Lose things. Drops things. Break things. Adding in my love for my iPhone and a toddler who constantly takes off the case, you can see WHY iResq and I have the relationship we have.

Here's the funny (okay, funny for you, klutzy for me) part:

The screen on my iPhone has been shattered THREE times in the past SIX MONTHS!

So iResq and I have become pretty good friends. And I trust them completely with my phone.

So when it came time to attempting to find a sponsor for BlogHer'10 (because I knew I could not afford a trip to NYC all on my own), I began emailing companies to see if they were interested. I got MANY No's. MANY. But I truly believe, all of those "No's" helped me tweak myself and MY pitch into what it is iResq and I finally agreed on. You see, I think I finally found the secret.  So many people send out "blind pitch's", in hopes that a company they have never worked with would be willing to take a chance on them. In most cases (and I say most, because I am sure SOME people were lucky enough to find companies like that), that's not going to work. You have to look at it from there point of view. It is a huge risk, even for a company you DO know and have previously worked with. It's all business. And some companies have the wiggle room to take a chance, and some don't. It's hard to not take the "No's" personally, especially when it's a company you KNOW you  are a good fit for. But it's not personal. You just have to find the "perfect" company that fits you like a glove. And iResq is that to me, they fit me like a glove, a glove with my iphone in my hand of course. 

iResq took a chance on me, and I am positive I will represent them well. I have NUMEROUS first hand experiences with their company and services, I am an avid Apple product enthusiast, and I feel honored they accepted the risk in sponsoring me. Even though it wasn't personal when those other companies told me "No", it WAS personal when iResq said "Yes".

BlogHer10 ~ it IS about the shoes

And I have to say this, because it HAS to be said (prepare for wild tangent on fashion, style, and mom's)....

It is PERFECTLY fine to stress over what you are wearing, or over what shoes you have, or about getting mani's/pedi's or getting your hair done, or buying a new outfit, or spending $$ on YOURSELF, or spending TIME on yourself! Do it! You deserve it! And if you want to tweet about your shoes and clothes and hair, DO IT! Don't listen to those people out there who are giving other's hell for stressing about these things. Because I completely understand WHY you (and I!) are proud/happy/stressed about it. Because the other 360-some days of the year, while we are wiping noses, wiping butts, gets thrown up on/peed on/pooped on, buying clothes for our kids, getting our kids haircuts, cooking dinner, watching Thomas for the 13,000th time, staying up all night with sick kids, driving our kids to practice/friends houses/school, while we are sleeping in a bed where the sheets haven't been changed in a month, pulling weeds, painting fences, cutting our own bangs, paying a babysitter so we can just go to the grocery store in peace.......(and so on), it's never about us. The Mom.

WE DESERVE TO HAVE THESE DAYS FOR JUST US AND NO ONE ELSE

We deserve to put the energy into shopping for the perfect outfit for the #marthablogger party. We deserve to go get our hair cut by a professional. We deserve to get manicures and pedicures in hopes the nail tech can save our feet from the torture we have put them through for the past year. We deserve to blog/tweet/chat/scream from the rooftops about our new shoes, old shoes....whatever shoes. And if we want to dress up, even if some people think we shouldn't. Then by all means Mama, you do it!

As for me. I bought a few new outfits. New shoes. Jewelry. My mani/pedi appointment is in the morning. I spent more money than I should have on all of this. But I deserve it. And I deserve to tell the world about.

And on Sunday morning, I will return home, to a house that'll need cleaning, kids and a husband that will have missed me to their very core, and my everyday attire of yoga pants and tank tops.

But from Thursday morning until I step foot inside my front door when it is all said and done. I will spoil myself. Because I deserve it.

And damnit, you do too.