BBCSea: more awesomeness, wine, and lots of stepping & repeating.

i assume you listened to me when i prompted you HERE to go eat, right?

good.

so where was i?

oh right! the awesomeness that was bloggy bootcamp seattle style! i can't reiterate over and over again just how awesome the weekend was. i learned so much. i never felt overwhelmed. true, i do want to try everything but i know there is just a better way to do it rather than jump right in and go for it, ykwim? i'm still working on finding my "voice"...but i have a better idea on how to do that thanks to this conference. now onto more of the awesome speakers...

i am KICKING myself right now for accidentally using the wrong lens for this picture. 

these two amazeballs ladies are Mamakat and Danae again!!

these gorgeous ladies talked about writing and content on your blog.

more specifically, narrative ark. 

or is it arc? meh. i don't know!

they made something that usually gives me a headache, TOTALLY easy to understand.

and i hope i do them proud. 

follow their tweets: 

Danae: @fedexmylife

Kat: @mamakatslosinit

oh hai Marlynn. 

this little bundle of awesome-sauce is Marlynn Schotland.

psst- she borrowed my phone charger during the conference. 

we connected via twitter when she called out for tech help. lol

yea..i'm cool now.

anyone who knows me knows that i tend to pile a lot of stuff on my plate at once. i forget that despite calling myself a super mom, i'm not really one. at least...i'll never be as super as i'd like to be. she spoke all about finding peace within the chaos. and Lord knows, i could use a bit of that. especially as a mom of two.  she made it okay for me to be a piler rather than a filer...as long as the piles make sense to me! and she made it okay to put MY priorities first, not the ones that society tells us we should have. thanks Marlynn. you rocked it! oh and your kiddos are just too cute for words! 

follow her tweets: @designmama

it was around this time that i had to bolt out of the conference room and go pump. lol. so i apologize for the things i missed. i had only pumped a little bit waaaay early in the day and at this point, i had lumps the size of kentucky in my bra. trust me...not a good look friends. BUT- i haz photos.

**let me apologize in advance for the horrificness of the quality of these pictures.

 i really need to learn how to edit flash photos.**

Dave Mirassou and I.

 yep, his family is the oldest wine making family in the country.

i pretty much LOVE his wine.

{can't you tell by the obviously tipsy look i'm rocking here?}

check out his fb page: HERE

ZOMG! It's me and Jenny {from the spot!}

*starstruck*

follow her tweets: @jennyonthespot

omg. omg. it's Tiffany Romero! 

she's super pretty. and her voice is like BUTTAH on the mic. 

follow her tweets: @TiffanyRom

me and Stasha. 

okay, i swear i've met her somewhere before. is it just me ?

in any case...SHE FRACKIN ROCKS. HILARIOUS.

and we took some funny pictures at the wine tasting/after party.

follow her tweets: @NorthWestMommy

stasha & rachel from and then, she {snapped}

rachel- tiffany-kerri

the bravest men alive!! lol

seriously...one of the best weekends of my life.

second only to THIS one.

if there's a conference within 200miles of your hometown...i HIGHLY suggest you go.

seriously. it was the best decision i made regarding this blog.

AND i met some of the coolest ladies this side of the mississippi! 

NO. LIE. 

Thanks again to the sponsors:

Mirassou Winery

Sony Electronics

Truvia

Invisalign

Collective Bias

and of course,

The SITS Girls

bloggy bootcamp aka the best weekend of my bloggin life. {part one}

the night before bloggy bootcamp seattle, i could NOT sleep. it was like i suddenly got a burst of energy and couldn't turn my body off to get some sleep. it was like the first day of school. nevertheless, i managed to get about four hours of shut-eye before my alarm went off. when the blaring started, i groaned and glared at my phone until i realized it was bloggy bootcamp day and then i jumped out of bed with a quickness! 

i went early for the breakfast sponsored by Invisalign Teen. apparently, i overestimated saturday morning traffic because i got there in a speedy thirty minutes {it normally takes about forty five minutes to an hour}. 

yea....and no one was there. 

over-achiever much?

as the conference went on, i met some really amazing ladies {and brent}. it was nice to meet people who i'd been blog-stalking for the past two years and GASP! some of these people even knew ME! it was awesome. there were times where i totally felt like the creepy, awkward girl..but for the most part- i was able to strike up a conversation with just about everyone i came in contact with. 

 the speakers were PHENOM. i have to admit, i was a bit skeptical that i'd learn anything that i could put to good use in my own blog - as it is more lifestyle driven. but i learned quite a bit.

THIS, friends. is Jenny from Jenny On The Spot. 

she's famous. and pretty fackin hilarious, if i do say so. and omgah...she was WORKING the short dress. 

can i have your legs? or is that creepy? whoops.

listening to her speak about content on a lifestyle blog was definitely what i needed to hear. 

she confirmed some things for me {like no auto-play music and pictures rock} and i also learned some things {like too many pics of your kiddos? add a story, make it interesting to your readers}. she's a total doll and is the kind of women i keep in my inner circle...funny, gorgeous, interesting and smart. 

THIS, oh readers of mine, is Carol Schiller. 

she's kind of a big deal. and when i say kind of...i mean she IS.

she's the go-to gal for social media, in my opinion. she spoke to us about writing pitches that don't suck.

i wrote ONE sucky pitch once upon a time, got a definite NO, and immediately decided i hated trying to monetize my blog. lol but she opened my eyes to why i was told no and how to get a yes. she totally inspired me to try and get out there. the worst that can happen is getting a no. and i've already gotten that!! the worst part? i was taking so many detailed notes on my ipad. then i hit a button and erased over half of them! ACK! i wanted to cry. so if anyone has great notes from her presentation..can ya send 'em my way...please?

omgah friends...it's Danae from My Real Life Was Backordered.

one- isn't that an awesome blog name? two- she's absolutely fantastic

i'm gushing.

danae is a fantastic writer who wants us ALL to be fantastic writers. she's incredibly captivating and you'll find yourself hanging on her every word. or maybe that's the creepy chic in me. and BONUS- she's a musician. so when she was talking about minor sevenths...i was all kinds of googly-eyed. lol

she even offered to read and edit a sample of everyone's writing as her free swag to us. seriously, she's amazing. 

oh- and she was worried about being before lunch because everyone would be too distracted by their rumbling tummies. welp. i, for one, wished she would've kept going. food can wait. awesome speakers are so worth it!

lunch was amazing too.

need i say more? 

{i NOMed my face off}

now that i've reminded you that you're hungry by posting the delicious food they served us, i'm going to let you go eat. don't worry, i'll pause the blog here. come on back when you're done. besides, this post is kind of long already...all 678 words of it. {is that all...}

...to be continued.

finally!!

see this face?

THAT'S how excited i am to be going to bloggy bootcamp tomorrow!

scary, isn't it?

please, if you see me...don't run away screaming or pretend to be really busy...

because i'm really, incredibly, painfully shy and awkward.

not NEARLY as cool in person as i seem on the interwebz.

i say "yea" and nod a lot..

and i tend to laugh really loudly at a joke that i'm not included in.

i'm hardly EVER the cool kid.

but once you get to know me...i promise...you'll like me.

{unless you just won't...then i'll feel super dumb}

but yea. the moral of the story is...

i'm not as lame as i seem in real life. i promise.

so talk to me..please!

{and take one of my business cards that have stressed me out all week. mmk?}