A Renaissance Woman

Memes - Freebie Friday - Link Up #contests and prizes every Friday

2012-05-25T07:25:00.000-05:00

Are you hosting a #contest? Great! Post it here on Freebie Friday. What better time to search and enter contests than on the weekend? Sign in so that others can find your giveaway. I will be hosting Freebie Friday each week from now on so be sure to drop back by. Now go grab your tasty beverage, sit back and relax and contest hop with me! Don't forget to check out these hosted contest links too.

Click on those "Like" and "Retweet" buttons to share with the online community. For current events see the side bars and click on the "Add Me" tab above to connect with me using other social media services.

Memes - #Aloha Friday - Blogging Day

2012-05-25T06:54:00.000-05:00

I'm constantly learning new things about blogging and the wonderful ways of the internet. There is a lot of information about traffic. This got me to thinking....

What are your best blogging traffic days and why?

Memes-#WordlessWednesday-404 Error!

2012-05-23T01:24:00.000-05:00

Sorry I'm late but I have been working some seriously long hours. For a little comic relief I thought I would share this custom 404 Error page. Lucky for me the owner of the site has a sense of humor! We had a great laugh over this one.

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#Mamavation Monday - Move Along

2012-05-21T02:46:00.000-05:00

Clearly I'm back in the box! lol - A little crossfit humor for you. These are goblet squats. I'm several days late because I've been working some seriously long hours so I'm working my way backwards. I'm in the gym yes but my diet is not on track. I'm eating so bad that my trips the gym are cancelled out. My head isn't all the way in the right place. There have been a lot of emotional stuff going that I'm not going to get into here because it's just no the appropriate place. My husband God love him isn't helping. He keeps buying ice cream. He says it's because it's on sale but seriously I'm not resisting at all. I'm paying for it. I feel bad. I feel big and swollen and icky! Just icky. You would think that would be enough but clearly it's not. I'm drinking super strong coffee which has kept me up for many hours. I keep trying to catch up but it doesn't seem to be working. I'm almost over the hurdle. Just a few more days??? That's what I keep telling myself.

Eating out: Chick-Fil-A, Gringos, Subway, Wingstop, Pizza*.*

My Work Outs this past week-

5/14 Monday - Crossfit

5/15 Tuesday - Crossfit

5/16 Wednesday - Crossfit

5/17 Thursday - Rest

5/18 Friday - Crossfit

5/19 Saturday - Crossfit

5/20 Sunday - Rest

Scale Reading- Gained 1 pound.

Stress Level -High - My husband and I keep buying crap at the store and by crap I mean cokes, chips, candy and ice cream. OMG!

The UP side- I know what I need to do to turn this around.

Injury prevention is important!

Be a good role model.
A special reminder for us all...

Need for fitness support? Join the "Sistahood". More great resources: The Y, Crossfit Training, Vitamins for your age group, RealAge.com

The long term goal 37 pounds by the end of the year.
The short term goal lose 3 lbs. per month.

January 172 - 160 = 12 pound loss
February 165 - 161 = 4 pound loss
March 166- 165 = 1 pound loss
April 165 - 162 = 3 pound loss
May 163 -
June
July
August
September
October
November
December

Click on those "Like" and "Retweet" buttons to share with the online community. For current events see the side bars and click on the "Add Me" tab above to connect with me using other social media services.

Memes - 5 Fingers of Thanks

2012-05-20T02:22:00.000-05:00

Grateful For..

1.) Thankful that my feet are finally healing. I want to get back to running. It helps me keep a clear head.

2.) Thankful to be back in the gym more often. I'm still having a few issues but I'm handling it.

3.) Thankful to finally have www.DWYDiM.com done and off of my plate!

4.) Thankful for all the help to get that project finished. It was a learning curve for sure.

5.) Thankful Memorial Day is coming and we can get a much needed day of rest.

If you find yourself thinking you would like to share your own five fingers of thanks with me, please leave it in the comment section so I can share in your joy!

Crossfit-Daze-Party WOD

2012-05-19T02:10:00.000-05:00

Today was the Crossfit Unity 2 year anniversary party. Nothing like a group shot after a 12 minute wod out in the parking lot in the middle of the afternoon in Texas. You might as well be barbequing us! It was a tough work out let me tell you. We broke up in teams of three. Lucky for me I had a couple of super humans on my team. Whoo Hoo!

On this side of the parking lot we got to do overhead squats. Mmmmm fun. Did I mention how hot it was outside. This was caught near the end of the 12 minutes.

Meanwhile I'm waiting for a team member doing lunges to come and relieve me. We ended up with 151 reps. The idea is to count your reps until the person doing lunges gets to you and then they pick the next number.

My team member on the left is Tracie and she is a Crossfit BEAST! She is really awesome. She was doing dumb bell cleans on the other side of the parking lot. I think we ended up 342 reps.

It felt like forever but it was only 12 minutes and then it was time to clean up. Whoa! Now we feast on some burgers and yummy food that everyone brought to share.

Even a Crossfit party has cake! So when people worry about paying more for a Crossfit membership than a gym, belonging to a box is really like having an extended family. A friend was trying to figure out if she could justify the money for a membership. It's a lifestyle change. We make the adjustment when we want something bad enough. How is that for a party WOD? Until next year.

Memes - Freebie Friday - Link Up #contests and prizes every Friday

2012-05-18T00:01:00.000-05:00

Memes - #Aloha Friday - Summer Song

2012-05-18T00:00:00.000-05:00

Summer is so close! The kids will be out of school and the vacations will begin. I'm not ready for it but usually I can get in the mood with a little music. This got me to thinking....

What is your favorite Summer time song?

Memes-#WordlessWednesday-Reality Check

2012-05-15T21:18:00.001-05:00

Each week I travel downtown to work in a law office. On this particular day this was my view from the windshield of my car. It made me realize how lucky so many people are to have a bed to sleep in. For me it was culture shock. This is not what I normally see in the little town that I live in. I had to take a moment to say a prayer for these three men sleeping on the street (one is not shown).

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Crossfit-Daze-Coming Back

2012-05-15T00:15:00.000-05:00

What you see is just a couple of hand fulls of stuff that floats around in my head on a daily basis. There could be more or less depending on the day. What I want to remember is that regardless of everything going on or what I need to do that I am a priority. The last few weeks of Crossfit I have ended up on this very floor after a work out. I don't want to stand or jump up and down because I finished. NO at this point I just want to keep from throwing up. It sucks!

My body no longer wants to do what I tell it to without some sort of painful reaction in some area of my body. I know sore and I know pain. When you Crossfit you begin to know the difference very clearly. This situation is sort of annoying. People complain about the distance to drive to the gym. It's about 20-30 minute drive for me both ways. Could I find a closer gym? Probably. I'm a creature of habit. As long as my people are there at the gym then that is where I'm comfortable laying on the floor or puking in the bathroom. I'm among friends. lol - And I can hug my barbell at the end of a work out and reliably count on my trainer to take photos that reveal my agony.

It's hard. Trying to make it back to RX. I'm a beginner again. It's so hard and most of the time I have a really bad attitude. I'm not where I want to be and it's very difficult not to compare yourself by the people you are surrounded by during a WOD on any given day.

Today I was working out with three very fast guys. They were quick, lifting heavy and they didn't need no stinking band to do strict chin ups. I'm here thinking I'm nearly on year two and I'm back to square one. It's utter garb! I expect a lot from myself. I was riding the wave and what a long fall it has been. One that I will never forget that is for sure.

It doesn't matter! I just have to keep showing up. That's all I have to do. I have to fight it, every single step of the way. Just keep showing up....

#Mamavation Monday - Back on My To Do List

2012-05-14T19:56:00.000-05:00

I'm not sure what the heck is going on but I feel like I am finally finding myself again. For a few weeks it was work and work and more work. If I could just work more hours I could this done. NO - I ate more, slept less and stayed out of the gym. None of this was good. I gained weight, I ate out a ton and basically fell of the wagon HARD. I kept going to the gym though even if it was twice a week. It's been a long road. Keeping track of my gym performance has helped me see my journey very clearly. Started out with water aerobics! yes really, then yoga, then adventure boot camp, then circuit training, then YMCA boot camp, Running boot camp, Zumba, Taebo, Body Pump and finally Crossfit. Crossfit is where I have settled in. I spent last year working out 5-6 times a week, sometimes twice a day and lots of preparation for races. I ran a 5k per month all year and trickled in some 10ks along the way. I was lifting some really heavy weights. I was RX the max weight for women in my work outs. Then I got hurt and stopped working out, then modified work outs, and now I'm back...but as a beginner SIX months later. I'm starting all over again with Crossfit as a beginner. I'm weaker, slower, lifting lighter and I can't run yet. There is back pain, my hamstrings and calves are tight all the time. I have plantar in one heel and tendonitis in my other foot in the arch. I've done it ALL! Cortizone shot, pain relievers, ice, heat, stretching, rolling, massages, therapy, acupuncture and laser therapy. Yes even the dreaded Graston technique! I have custom foot soles for my feet.

Yesterday I purchased a new pair of Brooks. Amazingly enough I started to feel better in my right leg immediately. I thought it was joke. I'm still in pain but it's less. I've settled into the pain still. Do I want to be pain free? YES! But really it's just time to put on my big girl panties and move on. There are many levels of pain and as long as I'm walking then I need to keep moving, period. I haven't been to the doctor in over 3 weeks. Huge mistake on my part but that's more financial than anything else. I'm moving on with a better attitude. It's time to come back, not just talk about it but actually show up at the gym. I'm going to have pain no matter what so I might as well get to it.

I DON'T WANT to be a work-a-holic, eating out every day, staying up every night, not enough hours in the day person. I DON'T WANT to be at the bottom of the list. This is how I got here! No matter what, I'm worth the time! Everything else is going to have to wait. PERIOD. I saw what happened to me over the last couple of weeks. No matter what time of the day I need to carve out my time to take care of me. No one else is going to do it. It's up to me and that is all.

Eating out: Chick-Fil-A, Gringos, Subway, Wingstop, Pizza*.*

My Work Outs this past week-

5/7 Monday -

5/8 Tuesday -

5/9 Wednesday - Crossfit

5/10 Thursday -

5/11 Friday -

5/12 Saturday -

5/13 Sunday -

Scale Reading- Gained 3 pounds.

Stress Level - Good! I'm gaining but I'm in less pain since the shoes. I'm heading to the Dr. on Wednesday so it's all falling into place.

The UP side- I have a totally different mind set this week. Some flip got switched and I'm actually acting on what I'm saying. This is a good feeling.

Injury prevention is important!

Be a good role model.
A special reminder for us all...

Need for fitness support? Join the "Sistahood". More great resources: The Y, Crossfit Training, Vitamins for your age group, RealAge.com

The long term goal 37 pounds by the end of the year.
The short term goal lose 3 lbs. per month.

January 172 - 160 = 12 pound loss
February 165 - 161 = 4 pound loss
March 166- 165 = 1 pound loss
April 165 - 162 = 3 pound loss
May 163 -
June
July
August
September
October
November
December

Memes - 5 Fingers of Thanks

2012-05-13T19:17:00.000-05:00

Grateful For..

Thankful for all the Mother's Day gifts! My peeps are the best.

Mother's Day Luncheon at Preschool.

My custom place mat, corsage, paper weight and plant.

Me and Silly getting our goofy on!

Mmmm FOOD!

Mmmm desert.

Flowers from my eldest.

My boys made me these cd covers. I love the cartoon of me lifting a barbell with one hand!

I'm always talking about how our home should be a place of peace. A place to relax and get away from all the stuff that happens outside these doors. This was a gift to me from my peeps. It's deemed the "candle of peace and happiness." When it's lit everyone has to be happy and at peace. I LOVE IT!!!! Best gift ever.

If you find yourself thinking you would like to share your own five fingers of thanks with me, please leave it in the comment section so I can share in your joy!

Memes - Freebie Friday - Link Up #contests and prizes every Friday

2012-05-11T00:00:00.000-05:00

Special thanks to this weeks sponsor UPrinting.com. Get your custom sticker printing packaged on a roll! Click on those "Like" and "Retweet" buttons to share with the online community. For current events see the side bars and click on the "Add Me" tab above to connect with me using other social media services.

Memes - #AlohaFriday - Pomodora

2012-05-10T22:26:00.000-05:00

My latest battle has been with time management! I don't mind multitasking, however my desk can get bogged down and papers get buried. My to do list just gets longer and longer. Last night I had a meeting with my business coach who suggested I download the Pomodora app on my iPhone. You can also find it in the Google App store. It's a timer. You turn it on and give yourself 25 minutes to complete a given task. This got me to thinking...

Have you ever heard of the Pomodora concept? Does it work for you?

#Mamavation Monday - Mother's Day

2012-05-07T03:31:00.000-05:00

It's been seven days and this time I made it to the gym twice! I'm working my way back up again. The project flood gates have opened and here I sit at 3am still working on stuff I need to do. Is it time management? Maybe, but the projects I have taken on are huge and time consuming. In the end it will be worth it. These things have a away of maintaining themselves. It's the price a pay for working from home. Yes there is flexibility but there is also burning the candle at both ends.

I'm settling into the pain. It's still daily but what else can I do that I haven't already done? I could spend every day at my doctor. I'm at a loss but will continue to hit the gym when I can.My concern is our insurance and when does it end and can I afford to go to the doctor now that we are on the list of the unemployed. Don't get me wrong my husband and I are some ridiculously resourceful people. The future looks bright but in the meantime...

The goal this month is to get to the 150's and I don't care if it's 159 let's just get moving.

Still working on: Operation: Humpty Dumpty

Not really, I don't think I will ever fully be back together without a long period of constant adjustment.

Eating out: none yet

My Work Outs this past week-

4/30 Monday -

5/1 Tuesday -

5/2 Wednesday -

5/3 Thursday - Crossfit

5/4 Friday - Crossfit

5/5 Saturday -

5/6 Sunday -

Scale Reading- Gained a pound.

Stress Level -Up but it's a good kind of stress. More excitement than can't pull it together stress.

The UP side- I'm opening opening up a pond I have so many ducks.

Injury prevention is important!

Be a good role model.
A special reminder for us all...

Need for fitness support? Join the "Sistahood". More great resources: The Y, Crossfit Training, Vitamins for your age group, RealAge.com

The long term goal 37 pounds by the end of the year.
The short term goal lose 3 lbs. per month.

January 172 - 160 = 12 pound loss
February 165 - 161 = 4 pound loss
March 166- 165 = 1 pound loss
April 165 - 162 = 3 pound loss
May 163 -
June
July
August
September
October
November
December

Memes - 5 Fingers of Thanks

2012-05-06T20:18:00.000-05:00

Grateful For..

1. Thankful that my husband now has some breathing room. It's nice to see him smile again.

2. Thankful that all that is left is to pay off the house. Dave Ramsey's Baby Step 6.

3. Thankful that I'm over the pain management. I've just settled in with the idea that I'm going to be in pain.

4. Thankful to have my priorities straight.

5. Thankful my church has this super awesome family series that has been really helpful. I have lots of links to share.

This is a listing of our church members and their HEALTHY businesses.

Alice Sexton, D.C. - Health Works Clear Lake
Scott Anderson - Crossfit Deer Park
Carmon Womack - Vemma Liquid Vitamin Supplements

Other health related sites:

Calculate your Body Mass Index, learn about good mental health at Healthy Minds and find out what's going on for Fitness in Deer Park, TX.

If you find yourself thinking you would like to share your own five fingers of thanks with me, please leave it in the comment section so I can share in your joy!

How To Use Linkedin

2012-05-05T17:07:00.000-05:00

LinkedIn is considered one of "the" social networks for business. How do you use LinkedIn? In my experience it has allowed me to represent myself in way that is more professional than other social media platforms.
LinkedIn features:
incorporate a resume
keyword skill set
employment history
education background
recommendations

It's a site that allows you to connect with others you have worked with in the present or the past at a particular company. Recommendations are always nice because it gives others a sense of how you work with others. Is it possible to have your best friend recommend how awesome you are? Of course is it but clearly the more recommendations you have the better idea a future employer will have about you. Many of the folks in my real life circle have told me that employers are reviewing LinkedIn profiles just as much as they do a Facebook account. There are a number of social media sites to use but LinkedIn to me is where you want to put your best professional foot forward. On that note and what has prompted me to write this post is because my inbox alerted me to a LinkedIn connection request.

Here is the important part for me, I NEED to know who you are before your added to my network. That might turn people off but honestly that is what works best for my LinkedIn profile. People I know personally, or we have worked on a project together, or we are connected on another social network, maybe we met at a conference, these are the people that are added. As a business owner and blogger many of my recommendations are from projects. Networking is great but there are other platforms that I use for a while until I get to know you better. Another words I don't blindly add people to my LinkedIn account just for the sake of having numerous connections.

For example this particular person sent me a request. The name didn't ring a bell. As an online consultant I remember twitter handles, blogs, names of companies, or logos and that is why branding is so important. Back to the invitation, I clicked through to see how I might know this person. There wasn't much there at all. It's important to take care of your account. If you take the time to open an account complete it before you send out invitations to connect.
Add the profile photo
Add the resume
Add the education
How else will I know who you are? What do you think? Does it really matter to you who you add to your LinkedIn network?

Freebie Friday - Link Up #contests and prizes every Friday

2012-05-04T00:00:00.000-05:00

#AlohaFriday - Summer Time

2012-05-03T22:29:00.001-05:00

Our city community center has a ton of stuff for kids to do during the summer. The parents come out and form long lines just to make sure their kid gets a spot, myself included. It takes a lot of work to juggle the summer schedule. I think it might be worse than the school year. This got me to thinking...

What are you planning for your kids to do this summer?

Last week I asked you about going to a blog conference. Thank you for all the advice. If you would like to read my Rookie Experience please click on the hyperlink.

I have my ticket and I'm ready to go! After being online for the last 5 years I'm finally heading to a blogging conference. It's in Austin so it's pretty easy for me to get to with minimal cost. I can't wait to learn what they have to teach. This got me to thinking....

As a newbie what advice do you have for me?

Kailani at An Island Life has created this really fun idea. If you are interested in joining in, please visit her site for more details. Click on those "Like" and "Retweet" buttons to share with the online community. For current events see the side bars and click on the "Add Me" tab above to connect with me using other social media services.

#WordlessWednesday - Road Trips

2012-05-02T02:00:00.000-05:00

We were on a long road trip! Here we are about 4 hours into our drive with our kids. My little girl is whacking her brother with her baby doll. I just want someone to let me out of this van!

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The Voice of Vlogs Tuesday Link Up

2012-05-01T04:01:00.001-05:00

Need a place to get your feet wet when it comes to vlogging? Maybe you're already an expert and would just like a place to share your latest vlog post. Are you embarrassed to see yourself on camera? I think that coming up on age 40 has caused me not to sweat the small stuff. Besides whatever I look like on camera is irrelevant since people see me like this every day. The plan is to host this linky every Tuesday. It's new so give me some time to get some super fun badge to share with your friends. It's barely out of the bubble wrap it's so new! This is my first and it was taken on my iPad. It's nothing fancy and it's pretty short but I had a good time doing it. Join me and link up! Let me see what you've got. Keep it clean and family friendly or you will be deleted. No spammers, just play nice, OK?

#Mamavation Monday - Still Hanging On!

2012-04-30T18:02:00.000-05:00

Ladies, ladies thank you so much for your words of support and encouragement. This is why it's so helpful to belong to a group that really does seem to get it week to week. It's up and down and all around. My to do list is a mile long but let me tell you this! What I saw today was a reminder of how important fitness and good health is for all of us. Today I was in a place that is a public office. Every person working there was over weight. I mean obese. They were stuck inside cubicles with their fast food drinks displayed on their desks. It was a real eye opener. All it said to me is that these folks work really hard and they multitask at their jobs and I'm sure by the time they get through serving the public there is no energy for anything else. It reminded me that as I have been recently swamped with work and chained to this computer that I MUST shut it off. There has to be some balance. I'm thankful for the group! I'm thankful that my gym, my trainer is on Facebook and Twitter to say "HEY! Get ur ars in here!" This is what I need. Too often we get overwhelmed and we lose sight of our health. We sleep less, we eat like crap for convenience and we forget fitness because we are too tired. It's easy to do! So please don't forget to reach out. There is nothing wrong with a reminder. It helps us to refocus our priorities and get back on track to what is important. At the end of the day, no one gives a rats patooty if you post. No one cares if you tweet or update your status! If you don't get to that email you don't. At the end of the day it's the people that aren't on your monitors that are important. Those are the ones you need to engage with. Give yourself permission to get up and walk away and be ok with it. It's almost like I'm writing this to myself isn't it?

Still working on: Operation: Humpty Dumpty

Eating out: IHOP, Dominoes Pizza, Chilis - Whoa this is more eating out that usual.

My Work Outs this past week-

4/23 Monday -

4/24 Tuesday - Crossfit

4/25 Wednesday -

4/26 Thursday -

4/27 Friday -

4/28 Saturday -

4/29 Sunday -

Scale Reading- Lost a pound.Total of 3 pounds down this month.

Stress Level - Coming down thanks to a few key people.

The UP side-I'm getting my ducks in a row STILL!

Injury prevention is important!

Be a good role model.
A special reminder for us all...

Need for fitness support? Join the "Sistahood". More great resources: The Y, Crossfit Training, Vitamins for your age group, RealAge.com

The long term goal 37 pounds by the end of the year.
The short term goal lose 3 lbs. per month.

January 172 - 160 = 12 pound loss
February 165 - 161 = 4 pound loss
March 166- 165 = 1 pound loss
April 165 - 162 = 3 pound loss
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December

What is in Nail Polish?

2012-04-30T15:57:00.000-05:00

What is in nail polish is exactly what I thought when I heard my son say, "Mommy.....Silly is painting herself all over her hands!" What is he talking about? She is suppose to be taking a nap. Oh foolish parent that I am trusting a three year old to be sleeping soundly in her room. I painted her piggy toes and nails before church this morning and I'm pretty sure I put that nail polish away. She can climb you know. At some point after we put her down for a nap she snuck downstairs and found the polish and took it back to her room without anyone hearing or seeing her.
Much to my horror this is what I found....Really little man, really? I mean look at her. You can't smell that? I asked him. No! Even though her big brother is right next door to her apparently he his oblivious to paint fumes.

She painted her little toy family van too. There was nail polish all over her floor. What is in nail polish was a concern because she has a tendency to put her fingers in her mouth. I tried soap and water at first. It didn't work at all so it was time to ask Dr. Google! That's right, when in doubt and you need an answer quickly just search for it. We have a very small supply of nail polish remover, not enough to deal with this mess. The suggestion was hair spray which we have a pretty descent supply but would it work?

The remaining nail polish remover that we had was tried first but we had a long way to go to get it removed. Hairspray it is and so we began the scrubbing process.

It seems to be rolling off but not without effort. It was better than the nail polish remover though but it was sticky!

One hand down and one to go!

Hairspray! Who knew? Apparently some awesome person that shared it on Google. Thank you.

Both hands are free and clear from paint. But what about her face?

Oh sure she's all smiles but the scrubbing hasn't begun yet. I'm crossing my fingers.

I couldn't spray it all over her face so I opted for a wash towel and then tried to wipe her face in the opposite direction of how she applied the paint.

It was really sticky and unpleasant but it was working. Poor thing. Hopefully she will not paint herself any more.

Finally, there is that precious little face! Now what do I do for the hair? I think I'm just going to let her be cool and have pink highlights while we wait for it to wash out. I'm not sure what is in nail polish but I think for her I might just stick with Piggy Pain for little people. At least I know it's non-toxic so if she does decide to give herself a paint job she won't get sick! In case it crossed your mind as to why in the world would you grab a camera? It keeps me from losing it! She's just a child and capturing it helps me find the humor in the situation. Besides I can't be the only victim of the Nail Polish Debacle!

5 Fingers of Thanks

2012-04-29T14:39:00.000-05:00

1. Thankful I got caught up on my blogging.

2. Thankful I was put in a situation that allowed me to understand my worth and how valuable what I do can really be for someone else.

3. Thankful I got to finally go to a blog conference.

4. Thankful for how much I learned and how great it felt to be among people who understand what I do.

5. Thankful to have finally gotten some sleep!

When I first started this meme I would put up a linky but found no one really wants to come out and play on a Sunday so I removed it so it wouldn't be sitting there lonely and empty. lol

But if you find yourself thinking you would like to share your thanks with me, please leave it in the comment section so I can share in your joy!

BlogathonATX 2012 - The Rookie Experience

2012-04-28T02:02:00.000-05:00

BlogathonATX first popped up in my Facebook Fan Page stream. The event is located in Austin which is about a four hour drive for me. Would I actually be able to attend? Would the universe finally align in a way that would allow me to attend? After all I have been out here for five years and have never been able to attend any conferences.

It happened! Finally my universe was aligning. Translation, my husband was agreeable to watching the kids, it wasn't out of state therefore I didn't have to worry about an airline ticket and I wouldn't have to hire a dog sitter for our furry babies. Now all I had to do was see if I could gather some sponsorship for all that gas. Insert Karen Nelson owner of an interior design firm, Design with Your Dime in Mind and Matthew Johnson my go to graphics designer owner of Seventhfury Studios. They provide fantastic services and I LOVE working with both of them. If your curious click on the hyperlinks to see their portfolios. There is nothing better than having people who support what you do. It can make you all warm and fuzzy inside.

First up rookie mistake #1 - No business cards. That part of my universe didn't align at all. There was absolutely no way for me to get those done at the last minute. Even though I only came back with three business cards those are three people that I will stay in contact with. Everyone had their little boxes of cards so next time I will be armed.

My husband and I were crazy enough to turn it into a family trip. That's right we took the entire family on a road trip. We started out at ~~oh my God it's still dark outside~~ 4am. All five of us were packed in the van. The plan was get the children dressed and then let them pass out again. It worked pretty well too.

What do you wear to a conference? rookie mistake #2 - Caring about it. Recently while I was researching there was a media kit on a blogger's site that discussed sponsorship and the need to cover clothing expenses. Whoa! I thought if you can get your clothing covered for a conference then go on with your bad self. Honestly, I went into my closet and thought carefully. For me it was about comfort, just be yourself. It made me less nervous and I would be in a lot less pain throughout the day. It's Austin for crying out loud and that's a great place to just be who you are so Chuck's it was....

We drove and we drove and drove watching the sun rise. Let me rephrase that, my husband drove and drove and drove. Did I mention I only slept for 1.5 hours? Long story...moving on. The kids were getting restless. All of a sudden I look out my side of the window and there it is! SQUIRREL.

Pecan Farm

This thing was huge! I went to the Berdoll site and found out this squirrel has a name, Ms. Pearl. My husband passed it and made a u turn so we could all get out of the van and admire the largest squirrel statue in Texas I'm sure. Don't quote me on that because I could be wrong but I think I'm sure. The kids went NUTS! ha ha no pun intended. We jumped back in the van and my husband drove and drove and drove.

The road trip was starting to drive me NUTS! The kids were going bonkers in the back. The princess was nailing her brother with her Belle baby doll. It was complete madness by this time but we were so close. Finally the moment had a arrived and it was long over due. Not just the conference but meeting up with Shelley Oz author of Slightly Off Kilter and second in command at Mamavation.

Once I was released from the zoo on wheels it was all fun and games. What a relief it was to know at least one person there. This brings us to rookie mistake #3 - wall flower syndrome. What if I don't know anyone? Who cares go! These are your people. These are the folks that get you and what you do so show up, set aside your fear and get ready to put the Twitter handles with real live human beings.

We went in to register and the first thing we were given was a bag to put all our goodies in. There were a lot of goodies. They didn't miss a thing! Breakfast tacos, fruit bowls, drinks, chips, candy, balloons (because every party needs them) water, and then there was the SWAG table. We stocked up!

We found great seats right up front (at the cool kids table) with non other than Amanda Evans. I know of her from Twitter as @KeepComplicated. She is the very talented author of Sadie The Paper Crown Princess.

That's right Shelley is holding a pre-released copy! I think my little girl would love it. Pre-order a copy!

Next up we were given the option to have our blogs critiqued in a small group 15 minute session. Do I really want to have people telling me what's wrong with my blog? rookie mistake #4 - If you don't go for it. These ladies are a wealth of information. Don't be scared! Throw caution to the wind and absorb what they have to say like a sponge.

Susan Price owner of firecatstudio.com and Julie Gomoll author of JulieSays.com gave us so much information. I could do an entire series but that will have to wait for another day. The real diamond in the rough we found out is ChumpLady.com. She's an anonymous blogger! Even though I have a photo of her I can't share it because it would be unprofessional to not respect her privacy. She's going places. Just you wait and see. You can see her blog though. What does she have? She has original art work and a niche focus. $$$$ that's the sound of money coming her way. When Susan and Julie look at each other and smile you know that they know she's got something! We headed over to the Q&A with Lauren Modery but we only caught part of it. I'm hoping to go dig up some tweets and posts to see what I missed.

Next up we headed over to WordPress101 and every seat was taken. People were sitting out in the hall way just to hear. This was the only issue this conference had. Too bad they weren't able to stream it live. There were so many people that wanted in on that session. We decided to go wait for lunch sponsored by Lonely Gourmet.It was great and even better Chump Lady sat with us and took in all the advice that Shelley and I had to give. There is nothing like being with people who value what you have to say.

Next up was a Q&A with Crystal Edwards about long term blog maintenance. Should I bring my lap top? Rookie Mistake #5 - I didn't but was it a mistake? There are pros and cons. I could have brought my iPad which would have been handy for tweeting and status updates on Facebook but not for blogging. I have had issues trying to blog on it. The iPhone came in handy for Instagram updates. However, I had to keep in mind that it would go to Twitter which was displayed for all to see. If I would have brought mine it would have been a pretty big bulky machine. I wouldn't have left it any where and would have had to drag it with me every where I went. That would have gotten old. Most likely my brain would not have been there. It's possible that I would have spent time checking emails and working on other things that really giving my undivided attention. I think a pen and pad worked just fine.

We decided to leave after that session but not before saying good bye to all the wonderful peeps at our table, Amanda of course, fellow Crossfitter Cindy Brummer, Rock Star Ronnie Burt and Super Adorable LeLein. We did a lot of laughing together. We bonded over R2D2 and more, it was amazing.

The party was over and it was time to meet up with my people. After all that I was running on less than fumes. Special thanks to Yelp for the fun SWAG. My little princess loved the gloves and glasses. Thank you to the team that put this event together. It was great to be around people that get what you do! Until next time.

Links for 2009-09-22 [Digg]

2009-09-23T00:00:00-07:00

Read for the Record
Jumpstart believes in the potential inside of each child to succeed and learn and focuses on early literacy as the path to fulfilling that potential. As a mother, as an educator, and as a human being, I believe that literacy is one of the most important gifts we can give to our children. Reading is a key to entire worlds filled with possibilities.

Links for 2009-09-12 [Digg]

2009-09-13T00:00:00-07:00

10 new stadium anthems: Lil Wayne, M.I.A., Green Day - HitFi
NFL fans may -- and will -- have to contend with the grim fact that Cotteneyed Joe is still being boomed in stadiums across America, as the regular season kicks off this week.But there are, of course, lasting and great stadium anthems to be had. Ozzys Crazy Train will still encourage handclapping in unison. House of Pains Jump Around elicits it
Diaper Cake Giveaway - Win a Free Diaper Cake
Enter to win one of these cute diaper cakes. The winner will get to choose the gender.