Everyone has been home from BlogHer ‘09 for days now, and most attendees have put up their recap posts. I, on the other hand, needed a few more days. Quite frankly, I was a bit “blogged out” even after Day 1 of BlogHer. I had a great time. So let me just hit the highlights:
- Staying with my sister @busybeebecca in suburban Chicago was a DEFINITE highlight. My little sis is always looking out for me, and this trip was no different. She even loaned me her car for two days to drive in to the city! By the way, she blogs, too!
- Right after I picked up my badge on Friday morning, I sat down and had breakfast with a great group of girls. Unbeknownst to me, I was sitting right next to @amerrylife, who I had tweeted with just the night before! What are the odds?
- The Room of Your Own session on Blogs and Body Image was a definite high point! I got to meet and hug @mizfitonline, one of my favorite bloggers. And the discussion was so valuable. Luckily they started a new blog to keep the conversation going. Go check it out now. I’ll wait right here.
- I got to daydream a bit about having my blog discovered and turned into a book. Hey…it could happen!
- The community keynote made me laugh like crazy and cry, too.
- PepsiCo was kind enough to supply Quaker Oatmeal for breakfast on Saturday morning. So warm and tasty…and I was CRAVING my whole grains!
- In the hallway between sessions, I ran into a girlfriend from high school who I hadn’t seen since graduation! April blogs at Wicked Tasty Harvest, and we share an affinity dating back about eighteen years for a certain caramel brownie recipe.
- I got to meet @feelslikehome finally! And even better, she dragged me along to see Paula Deen. Even though we waited over an hour and a half to see her (Tara had to duck out early for liveblogging duties), it was so worth it. She is SO sweet, y’all! (Both Tara and Paula, that is!) I had her autograph two business cards and my pork bloggers (don’t ask) tee shirt.
- While I was waiting in line to meet Paula, who should I find in line behind me but Dawn from Because I Said So, the very first blogger I ever read. When I saw her nametag, I froze for a second, and then gushed that shewastheveryfirstblogIeverreadandoneofthereasonsIgotintoblogging. She was very sweet about it, and when I bumped into her again, she autographed a copy of her book for me.
- I called home to check in. Mr. Hoagie reported that my mom had called three times. She knows I’m out of town. “What did she want?” “I don’t know; I didn’t answer.” Grrrr. So under the pretense of gushing about Paula Deen (my mom is a huge fan and watches Food Network almost as much as Fox News), I called to make sure she was okay. Turns out, she was just calling to make sure Big Sis was okay.
- The last session I attended was Blogging as Storytelling hosted by @neilochka and @dooblehvay. Good people, great session, and very inspiring.
- Dinner that night was a Hackneyburger, the likes of which I haven’t had in ten years. We used to eat there regularly when I was a kid: so long ago that my parents still liked each other, and they’ve been divorced for 15 years. Just walking in the place gave me waves of nostalgia, and the kind proprietor managed to rustle up an individual-sized order of onion rings just for me. Best. dinner. evah!
You may have heard a lot of drama about swag and possible blackmail, but for the most part, I avoided the drama (but not the swag; I was in need of a chiropractor by the time I left!). BlogHer was good times and good people…and maybe next time, I won’t be so much of a wallflower!
