Y’all. I cannot tell you how amazing BlissDom was. I know most of you are probably sick to death of reading the tweets and posts on it, but for real. If you have the chance to go, DON’T HESITATE.

The blogging world is a small one, and we all need to encourage one another!

Heather had told me about how awesome Jon Acuff is, on the way up to Nashville, but FOR REAL. He is. Hilarious too!

His opening keynote was nothing short of amazing and I can’t wait to start his book “Quitter”. (Which, he all gave us signed copies of. Yep.)

He talked about how social media changes families and how there is no way for us to know the impact that our social networking has on our kids and families, since this is the first generation of it.

It REALLY got me thinking.

How many times, do we tell our children or husbands to “hold on” so we can check Facebook or Twitter? Or even read a blog or get on Pinterest. I bet the number would make me ashamed.

I bet, more times than not, I tell my own flesh and blood, to wait to tell me about their day, to read a tweet about The Real Housewives of Orange County.

Do you see what is wrong with this picture? Because I certainly do.

He reminded us that you can’t please everyone and so you must learn who it’s okay to disappoint. And those 3D people sitting at the dinner table, shouldn’t be it.

He wasn’t saying that you shouldn’t have “me” time, because you should. But you need to use that time that no one else is using– like 5 AM (Barf.) So, since I am already trying to form a schedule and routine for around here, I’ve decided my new wake up time is 5AM. or 4:30 if I am going to work out. I will get up on my rest days and work on blogs, read blogs, play on the internet, etc. My time in the evenings is so precious now, that I don’t want to waste it with my family. Now, does this mean that I am baking cookies and playing dress up all evening with my kids? No. I am tired. Last night, Addy just wanted some extra snuggle time, so I brought her in the bedroom with me and snuggled with her while I watched Gossip Girl. She just wanted some snuggles. She was content to just lay there with me. Does getting up that early suck? You betcha. But you know what sucks worse? Disappointing your family.

How many of us could directly quote something negative that has been commented about us on social media? Do you also shoot down other people’s praises with a “Oh it was nothing.”? How many times has someone said, “You run marathons?” and my response is, “ONLY halfs. I can’t do a full.” or “Yeah, but I’m not very fast.” How is that okay? Not everyone can or wants to run. I should remember to be proud of what I can accomplish!!

STOP CHASING THE HATERS.

Here is some irony for you: I got up at 5 am to read blogs and write this post, and low and behold, there I was, finishing it up, and Addy comes in, just a few minutes after 6. The child immediately starts talking my ear off.

OH. THE. IRONY.

I am leaving for BlissDom today and couldn’t be more excited to see these ladies again!

It is sure to be a blast.. let’s just NOT lock our keys in our car this year, Mkay? Oh wait… Thankfully I’m riding with Heather! Whew!

With being a Community Leader this year, things are sure to be a little different. But I couldn’t be MORE excited about it!

I wanted to give you a run down of what sessions I will be in, so you can either come find me and give me a hug or run in the other direction.. (please don’t run in the other direction.)

On Friday: I will be at Shoot Like a Woman Part 1 with the amazing Me Ra Koh at 11 am.

Saturday- I will be a jack of all trades. I am mic wrangling at 9:30 in Storytelling and Embracing Imperfection: Empowering Your Visual Voice with Photography and Video Photography.

At 11:30, I will be in Mobile Photography, Microblogging and Networking.

Then at 2:30, I’ll be in It’s In The Details: Mastering Angles and Compositions.

I, of course, will be FRONT ROW for these guys…

Can’t wait to see everyone!! I hope y’all have safe travels.

Since the countdown is ON for BlissDom 2012, I wanted to share my helpful tips for making this a great experience for you. Maybe this is your first conference, or your 20th, either way, it’s sure to rock!

1. First things first. The Opryland Hotel is MASSIVE. Think, Disney World big. I cannot tell you how lost you can get. Or maybe that’s just me… Either way, something I didn’t figure out until AFTER I had schleped my luggage through the entire hotel, is that the hotel has territories. Cascades, Delta, Magnolia, and Garden. The parking lot mirrors these. I HAD NO IDEA. I literally parked in the first spot I came to, which was Cascades and our room was in Magnolia. Yikes! So, once you find out where your room is, make sure you park in that area as well. It will save your back and feet from walking your luggage all over the place.

2. Secondly. Make sure you bring your suitcase that has wheels. Again. It will make traipsing through the hotel easier.

3. While a laptop or iPad is NOT required to come to these events, you will want some way to take notes. So, bring a notepad. If you choose to bring your iPad, make sure you have the keyboard attachment. It will save you frustration when trying to type. I am so glad I have my very own Macbook Air to bring this year! A side note: A blogging conference is probably the only place where it’s acceptable to be constantly looking at your phone… whether it’s tweeting or Facebooking or Surfing Pinterest… It’s all acceptable!

4. I feel certain you have heard about wearing comfortable shoes and clothing. Wear whatever you want! There is no dress code, as long as you are comfortable in what you have on!

5. You don’t want to miss the night activities.. they are so fun! But a good night’s rest is very important. So don’t stay out all night.

6. Don’t be afraid to go up to your “blogging idols” and speak. I was terrified to go up to Tatertots and Jello last year, but Molly made me do it and I was so glad. I would have been kicking myself all weekend!

7. Bring a camera… it could be your camera phone or your big expensive camera… either way, you are going to want to document those memories.

To give you an idea of BlissDom’s awesomeness.. Here is Part 1 and Part 2 of my experience last year!

Don’t forget to get in on the Twitter stream and use the hashtag #BlissDom You’ll be able to connect with those going. And if you have any questions, feel free to ask away!

You can always connect on the BlissDom Facebook page– people are posting their tips and advice there, as well!

 That afternoon we went to Innovative Writing Techniques and got to listen to some amazing bloggers talk.
 

 Let’s talk about my love/hate relationship with the iPad. Hubs has one. He loves it. He insisted on buying me a few books for it in the beginning, but it was honestly too much trouble to fight him for the iPad. I tried to blog with it. It’s not that great for that. So, I wrote it off. Since I love blogging and all and anything that isn’t kosher with it, I write it off. But, John bought me a new book on it last week so I starting thinking about how awesome it would be to be able to take it to Blissdom. And I sweet talked him into it. And let me say, while, it still isn’t kosher for blogging, I really do love the iPad now. I might possibly need my own.
 

Stay tuned for Part 2….