It took everything I had pry myself from the house, put on
semi happy face, and join 5,000 people in New York for the conference. Husband lined up time out with friends so I wouldn’t worry. He reminded me how important it is to thank as many of you in person as I can for your love and support during our cancer journey. He reminded me I paid
for my BlogHer conference expenses months before Blitzkrieg got sick and made the investment in myself long ago. I spent the moola. I had to go.
I brought a little security blanket with me. I made and wore
a pin with Blitzkrieg on it backed by the canine lymphoma ribbon (red ribbon
with paw prints) on my conference lanyard. The American Cancer Society saw it
and asked me to add a pledge to their More Birthdays wall.
Blitzkrieg donated tissue to the vet hospital’s research
tissue bank where any researcher in the US can use it. Husband and I feel
it is particularly important to donate because Blitzkrieg’s lymphoma did not
play by any of the cancer rules. We hope our donation will keep another family
from reliving our cancer story.
I didn’t realize until I arrived in
I never took a cab to or from an event during the conference either. GO ME!
Central Park is as fresh air country girl as I like to get.
I took in wonderful strangeness of New York and allowed it to help heal my broken spirit. It may seem strange to you that walking with purpose in crowded streets calms me instead of a leisurely stroll in the country, but it does. Apparently it worked. I had 7 people ask me for directions during my stay (which I gave because I already knew how not to get there.) The locals said to take it as a compliment because it means I fit in.
The next morning, I put on my cute but comfy Fresh Produce dress, grabbed the matching sweater for the cold conference rooms (seriously, even polar bears would find them freezing) - it was time to go to work learning, meeting, and networking with my fellow bloggers.
Thank you Fresh Produce for sponsoring my outfit. Their clothing is everything I look for in vacation clothing. The jersey wads up in a suitcase and travels like a dream. I switched accessories to transition it from a casual dress to night - note the glow necklace headband :) All this AND made in the USA yay!
I tried to follow the advice I give to conference newbies: when I walk
into a room and have a First Day of New School Moment because I don’t see
anyone I know, I take a risk, walk up to someone and say hello. No one ever
says I am not cool enough to hang out with them (although if they were smart
they probably should) AND
because I did that at Blissdom last year and I met Nerd Mom who I didn't know was going to be at Blogher until I saw her tweet during the conference.We met up for a great gabfest and impromptu lunch because we both realized we were at the
conference, didn't have a lunch partner, and needed food. TAKE THAT RISK FOLKS!
Top left: Me and Sommer Green and Clean Mom, Katie Couric and Lisa Stone, Calley The Eco Chic and I. Middle left: Me and Ree The Pioneer Woman, HGTV's Summer Baltzer and myself, Me a giant banana Anne from Green Talk and Laurie from Groovy Green Living, my favorite author Beth Terry signs my copy of her book
Plastic Free How I Kicked the Plastic Habit and You Can Too . Bottom left: Jessica from Scribbleshop and myself, Plucking Daisies sources craft supplies at the Sparklecorn party, The Lorax is so infatuated with me he followed me from Blissdom to Blogher. I'm flattered Lorax but I'm happily married. Sorry.
I also attended sessions on subjects that are out of my comfort zone. I’m
glad I took the risk. I learned about book promotion from none other than
Kathy, The Crafty Chica herself.
Kathy is as positive and bubbly in person as she is on her
blog.
Will there be a book in my future? I don't know. I've been dancing around writing a book for almost a year and wanted to know what I'm getting myself into first. I learned that it's not as easy as writing and sending the manuscript off to the publisher and making the New York Times Best Sellers List. It's up to the author to promote and sell books, not the publisher and authors rarely make a ton of cash on the first book. However, if you do it right you can lay the groundwork in order to write more books. Good to know.
The biggest risk I am most proud of was not taken
by me but by my roommate and real life BFF Christina from A Mommy Story. Through
post baby weight, nursing school, graduating, mommy hood to two awesome girls,
third shift nursing gigs, and a lot of personal left turns at Albuquerque,
Christina spent years working towards her goal of losing enough weight to move into the healthy weight range for her BMI (Body
Mass Index.) If you are interested in her journey, check out her blog Losing My Hind (I
love the name.)
Christina reached her goal right before BlogHer.
Then she faced her fear and rocked her new body (and confidence) in the BlogHer
Fashion Show. Bloggers of all shapes, sizes, and religions walked and
rolled down the catwalk Saturday night. Listen up Madison Avenue, real woman
have curves and we work it!
Photo courtesy of Elizabeth Arden
I cannot tell you how excited for and proud I am of Christina. While she was nervous, (who wouldn’t be?) you wouldn’t know it from
the way she worked the runway like a seasoned supermodel. She was amazing! Update 8/10/2012 7:32pm: Christina wrote about her experience on A Mommy Story and you should read it right now here because taking this risk allowed her to see "and what was reflected in that mirror wasn't just makeup, hair and clothing, but also an inner beauty and self-confidence that had been hidden for most of my life."
People go to blogging conferences for many different and valid reasons. To learn,
to see friends, to network with bloggers and sometimes brands, to discover a little nugget of information that makes your blogging life better from a hallway
conversation, to experience some unexpected pampering or kindness, or to be
silly with a group of people who are the only ones on Earth who understand you
have close friends and allies you’ve never met in real life because all they
live in your computer are a few.
This year I also learned, sometimes, if you are brave enough, personal magic
happens because you also decided to take a risk.
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7 comments:
Your comment, "This year I also learned, sometimes, if you are brave enough, personal magic happens because you also decided to take a risk."
That statement is wonderful and I swear should be on t-shirts and mugs and pallet art! :) Thanks for sharing your risk-taking in a time of grieving. Love this post, I read it thru twice.
I loved the red ribbon that you wore in honor of Blitzkrieg. It was so nice to meet you this year Lisa-you are awesome!
Awe!! Love our pic (and the others)!! Good to see you again!!
Great article! Lisa, as always a hug from you lasts a year.
Yes! Yes! Yes!! Write a book...it will be wonderful and I think you WILL make tons of dough. I'm glad you went to the conference and you are so right about taking risks. I'm also glad you mentioned Blitzkrieg because I was wondering how you and hubby have been doing but didn't want to pry. It is so fantastic you donated his tissue for research...everything about you is thoughtful!!
Great post, Lisa! You are a force my friend. It was wonderful to get to see your magic in action!
Hi Lisa:
I met you at BlogHer12 because you took that risk and walked up to me. Thank you. I was a newbie at BlogHer and the crowds were almost overwhelming at times.
Please accept my sincere sympathy on the loss of your beloved pet. I lost a family cat this year and the hole left in my life is so large.
I've signed up to attend Blissdom in TX next spring so if you are going I'd love to connect in person again.
Regards,
DarleneMAM
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