I made it back to Alabama, safe and sound. A tad exhausted, but glad to be home.

I’ll be honest, heading into this years BlissDom, I wasn’t sure how I felt about it. Financially, it was a bigger undertaking for me having to fly, instead of drive. Since I’ve already gone to Miami this year, and heading to DC next month, plus a vacation this summer, I was sorta, kinda wishing I hadn’t committed myself to it. GUILT set in.

But, I decided to go and have a good time and and learn and network, with the knowledge that maybe next year, I wouldn’t go.

The travel alone needs it’s own post dedicated to it, but I’ll leave you with what is fresh on my mind.

I didn’t get a lot of time last year to chat with sponsors and I really wanted to make sure I had time for that this year. I did and feel I have walked away with some amazing connections.

I feel like I have changed so much since last year. Going back to work, really changed my priorities. Things I took for granted, priorities being shifted, etc etc.

Lately, I have been feeling down on my blogging. I rarely read blogs andI don’t have a ton of extra time. But I love blogging and sharing my life. I am very present on Instagram and Twitter, and generally once my thought bubbles or pictures are out, I forget to post them. I haven’t been posting on my family life or the reds as much as I should.

With being a Community Leader, I had certain assignments for sessions and one of my sessions was David Molnar’s. If you aren’t familiar with him, YOU SHOULD BE. He is not only an amazing photographer and story teller, his devotion to his son and wife are nothing short of spectacular. His Friday session spoke leaps and bounds to me, where I sat with tears in my eyes through most of the session. Even though, his session was about storytelling, his point was “Who will tell your story if you don’t?” Since pictures obviously are the best storytellers, he was just saying that no matter if you are a professional or novice, Nikon or Canon, Camera phone or DSLR, just get out there and take pictures of your story.

His story spoke to me on a different level though. I realized I never take my actual camera out to tell our story. The iPhone is so much easier and less bulky. So, I am challenging myself to not share a picture from my iPhone for 30 days on the blog. All pictures have to be from my Nikon. WHOA. Right?

Now.. let’s be honest. When I do a BlissDom recap post, I WILL have to post from my iPhone because I didn’t take my Nikon everywhere. So, let’s just exclude those posts, Mmkay?

Lastly, Jon Acuff always delivers. That man is hilarious, but he also knows how to really make you re-evaluate and think about things. His closing key note, did NOT disappoint. He spoke about the Road to Awesome… and a few things he said really stuck with me. As we get older, we start to edit our lives– cut out those who don’t uplift us or things that no longer give us joy. As we begin to edit, we will meet fear. FEAR IS A LIAR. Fear only gets loud when you do things that matter. Fear never throws rocks at someone who is lying down. Fear FEARS community. Fear will always try to isolate you from others.

Fear sometimes paralyzes me. I am fearful of failure. Failing my husband. Failing my kids. Failing myself. I’ve got to stop being afraid. When you stop being afraid, amazing things happen. When you are unstuck, you are unstoppable.