A BIG thank you to Epson, One2One Network and the wonderful ladies at Blissfully Domestic for such a great weekend.
When I would tell people where Maddie and I were going this past weekend, I would say "Oh, we're heading up to Nashville for this little conference. It's going to be with some people I read on the internet. (aside - I'm not above lying to family members about having a blog) Maddie and I are going to meet some (blog) friends in Memphis and eat dinner and then head on to Nashville and on Saturday we'll be at the conference and then we'll come home."
I was wrong. Man, was I wrong. I didn't go to a "little conference." I went to a BIG, HUGE, FULL OF IDEAS AND WONDERFUL PEOPLE conference. There was so much great discussion and learning going on.
Look at those great minds! Megan of Velveteen Mind, Ali of Mrs. Fussypants, Tsh from Simple Mom and The Nester from The Nesting Place.
The concert during lunch was by Jessie Baylin and Maddie slept through the whole thing. I have some video that I took for Newbaby.com so I'll have that up later today or tomorrow.
While I may not want to run ads or make a living at home from my blog, I still got a lot out of the sessions.
Hotel Preston was really nice. Maddie and I rolled in around 11:15 and I carried our 6 pieces of luggage and Maddie in her stroller up to the 10th floor because the check in clerk had ambiguous handwriting. We were really on the 6th floor and after we made it in, scaring a few elevator riders along the way (She was really hungry), I got settled and we sacked out. I should have known I was going to have a good time, guess who's picture was in my hotel room?
That would be Hank Williams Jr. in his prime right there .
I wasn't even all that worried or anxious the next morning. I did manage to scare off the two people who sat with me for breakfast. Maddie was certainly a good icebreaker, and I had no problem finding baby holders. After the concert and the afternoon sessions, we had drinks and then went out to dinner. Three very gracious and friendly ladies who made the trek from freakin' OHIO included me in their group and we went to the restaurant early (either that or they just wanted to get their hands on my baby). I'm glad we did, Maddie had had about all of the holding and bouncing and confinement she could handle, so it was a good idea that we had ordered our food before most of the group got there and left early.
We got up early to make it make for Tim's office picnic, which we ended up not going to anyway, but I'm glad we were home early.
The swag bag, my first ever, was packed with stuff! Hudson especially liked the 25th anniversary My Little Pony's:
While I may not want to run ads or make a living at home from my blog, I still got a lot out of the sessions.
Hotel Preston was really nice. Maddie and I rolled in around 11:15 and I carried our 6 pieces of luggage and Maddie in her stroller up to the 10th floor because the check in clerk had ambiguous handwriting. We were really on the 6th floor and after we made it in, scaring a few elevator riders along the way (She was really hungry), I got settled and we sacked out. I should have known I was going to have a good time, guess who's picture was in my hotel room?
That would be Hank Williams Jr. in his prime right there .
I wasn't even all that worried or anxious the next morning. I did manage to scare off the two people who sat with me for breakfast. Maddie was certainly a good icebreaker, and I had no problem finding baby holders. After the concert and the afternoon sessions, we had drinks and then went out to dinner. Three very gracious and friendly ladies who made the trek from freakin' OHIO included me in their group and we went to the restaurant early (either that or they just wanted to get their hands on my baby). I'm glad we did, Maddie had had about all of the holding and bouncing and confinement she could handle, so it was a good idea that we had ordered our food before most of the group got there and left early.
We got up early to make it make for Tim's office picnic, which we ended up not going to anyway, but I'm glad we were home early.
The swag bag, my first ever, was packed with stuff! Hudson especially liked the 25th anniversary My Little Pony's:
For my first blogging conference, I would say that this was an unmitigated success. I can't wait until February for the next one.
ooh, I would have loved to have met Megan of Velveteen Mind! And Robin of Pensieve! and Susan of WMAG! And Maddie of Mrs. CPA!!
I'm very sad I missed you all.
Posted by: CPA Mom | October 20, 2008 at 11:54 AM
Sounds like a wonderful time! Glad you had fun and totally enjoyed yourself, I'm bummed that I missed out. But February just might be an option for me.....
I assume it's going to be in Nashville then too?
Posted by: SJ | October 20, 2008 at 12:37 PM
That's a great picture of you and Maddie!! And, as always, Hudson is a cutie!
Posted by: Rachel | October 20, 2008 at 01:15 PM
Hi there! I loved holding Maddie! She's SO sweet.
And ya know you said "suck a great weekend" in this post. heh. It made me laugh but you'll get Google pervs. Just fyi...
It was great meeting you and hopefully, we'll be doing it again in February!
Posted by: Amy @ Milk Breath & Margaritas | October 20, 2008 at 02:12 PM
(*waves*)
Hey!!
Posted by: Moriah @ Please Pass the Salt | October 20, 2008 at 03:08 PM
Maddie did so well! She's such a sweetheart. Great to have met you and I look forward to seeing you again, with an even bigger Maddie (because they do sure grow fast!)
Posted by: Secret Agent Mama | October 20, 2008 at 04:25 PM
Aw, I'm so sorry I didn't realize you were eating lunch by yourself! I feel like an a$$!
I'll be there in February. We'll do lunch! ;-)
Posted by: Colleen - Mommy Always Wins | October 20, 2008 at 11:28 PM
It was my first blogging conference too, and it was great! Your baby was so adorable and yes, I'm sure she will contribute to the baby fever that will spread from BlissDom 08.
Posted by: Heather, Queen of Shake Shake | October 21, 2008 at 09:12 AM
I'm having baby-withdrawal like you wouldn't believe. Give her a kiss from Auntie Amy!
Posted by: Amy in Ohio | October 21, 2008 at 02:45 PM
Ahhhh... sorry poor Maddie was "held out," but it was SUCH fun holding her. :) I hope she settled o.k. after dinner...
Was nice meeting you. It really was a lot of fun.
Posted by: Rebecca (Ramblings by Reba) | October 21, 2008 at 07:33 PM