BlogHer 07 ~ A Mini Debriefing (Edited to Add)

I’m back from BlogHer 07 and completely exhausted even after a two hour nap. I had a fabulous time seeing old friends and meeting new ones and like last year, even though I’m happy to be home, I’m a little sad that it’s over already.

It was a year of anticipation in the making and I left feeling like I needed more time to just sit around and talk to people without cocktail parties or conference sessions or an awesome city calling people away to sightsee and shop. All that aside, I’m still so glad that I went but I hope it won’t be quite so long until I see ya’ll again.

Yes, that’s me suggesting something mid-year. Anyone interested? No really, I mean it. Email me.

I promise a better, longer and more link-lovey post when I’ve recovered. And pictures…lots and lots of pictures!

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EDITED TO ADD: I’ve gotten a surprisingly strong response to my suggestion of a mid-year get together in January. That said, the planning has begun.

In the interest of finances, babysitting, vacation days et al:

• Consider telling anyone who asks that you want American Express gift cards for Christmas and Hanukkah (to pay for drinks hotel rooms, airfare, rental cars, trains etc)

• Ask your husbands/sigoths to save some vacation days for you so they can watch the kids

• If you’re employed outside the home, be sure to hoard some vacation days (about two or three) for mid-January.

Please email me (izzyirish at gmail dot com) with your suggestions for warm locales with the subject line “January Trip” (and keep your eyes peeled for a Yahoo Group invite in your email)

i’m violating Miss Izzy!

so..if you can’t be a blogher, be a blogher supporter.

(somehow that line worked better in Grease…when it was all about athletic supporters and such. what…i liked Grease. you can suck it. and then you can admit that you love it too..)

…ahem, back to my point. i did actually have one. Since the hottie little Izzymom is off away at that little old conference in Chicago (you know, the one that i’m NOT at), i, Ali from Cheaper Than Therapy, am filling in for her.

(yes, i realize that it says that Aimee wrote the post. we had some technical difficulties getting my password to work…so miss Aimee was kind enough to help me out. so…i got to violate her too. awesome.)

i’m a little bit fresh off the boat when it comes to this guest posting thing…and the nerves are starting to set in a little bit…because, well, this is Izzy we are talking about. i couldn’t possibly be as funny. or witty. or smart. or hot as she…so you’ll have to bear with me.

hmmm…so what shall we talk about?

~we can talk about Nicole Richie and her so-not-even-pregnant 4-day jail sentence. or how ’bout the fact that all members of the cruise family all share the same hairstyle?

~we can talk about the fact that i have unhealthy, very disturbing dreams about underage boys. (to be fair, he’s now legal. and also loaded.)

~we can talk about how my kid has figured out how to manipulate the hell out of me at bedtime. she’s taken up yelling out, exactly 24 minutes after she’s been put to bed (she gets the anal gene from me. erm. bad choice of words), “i stink!” only to have me run to her room to change her, and there she is, in her crib, holding an empty diaper in the air with nothing but a smug smile on her naked self and a fart…lingering in the air…

~we can talk about my new nanny and how she’s been a complete godsend since my life was turned upside-down not too long ago.

~we can talk about that book…that one that is published by the company that i work for…that everyone and their mother rushed out to buy at midnight…and everyone has already read…except for me…i’m only on book 3…even though harry potter pays my salary.

~we can talk about how this season’s clothing abomination style has made every female look 5 months pregnant.

so what do you think? what should we talk about?

The Psychology of Blogging

Hi, it’s Aimee from Greeblemonkey. Izzy asked me to blogsit today while she is having way too much fun in Chi-Town. And while I am completely flattered, I was also at a bit of a loss for what to talk about. Then I figured most of you are bloggers and probably have the same problem sometimes. I started wondering about the whys, hows and whens of other bloggers habits. The inner Id.

Recently at a party, I was talking to a friend about my blog. A friend who has zero interest in blogging, and kinda thinks I am a wee bit nutters to put all the personal stuff I do out on the internet. I was trying to explain all the facets of blogging that fascinate me. There is so much.

Like how, seeing as I am a graphic designer and web developer, I am really into the design of a site. I can get turned on or off by the font. (Note from me to you, Helvetica/Arial was designed to be boring. Avoid it at all costs. Unless, of course, you are actually boring.) But my point being, the package of blogs attracts me just as much as the content. What makes you change your banner? How far do you like to go with your design?

And then there is the content. What makes you decide what to write about on any given day? How do you go about it?

Personally, I dream my posts. Literally, they come to me in my dreams. Kooky, I know. Don’t worry Izzy, I am not laying down stakes for the Church of Greeblemonkey… But almost every day, my last dream of the night will shape what I write about that day. (Since I have such nocturnal proclivities, the fact that my blog posts work themselves out in my dreams doesn’t actually surprise me all that much). And then I form the words in the shower, and get them into the computer over breakfast. I can’t tell you how many awesome words have been lost between the shampoo and cereal.

And then there are the readers, and interactions with readers. What makes you read? What brings you back?

It took me a while to turn on comments… mainly because my blog started out strictly as a way to document our lives, a way for me to remember Declan’s early years. But it became more than that, much more than that. The support and fun I have had on my blog and on friend’s blogs has built a sense of community. And events like BlogHer foster and proliferate that community.

So what if some people can’t quite get their heads around blogging. People didn’t get Freud back in the day either.

Now, if you will excuse me, I have to go take my second shower of the day so I can come up with a post for my own damn blog.

Because Being Home is Infinitely Better Than Being in Chicago

Hello everyone!  I’m Jennifer from Playgroups are No Place For Children.  Izzy asked me to blogsit while she’s away hobnobbing with all the other bloggers in Chicago for BlogHer.  Of course I’m happy to fill in, but have to admit that I’m more than just a little jealous that I’m not in Chicago, too. 

Since I suspect I’m not the only one feeling down about being stuck at home, I thought I would share some reasons why being in Chicago in all actuality probably sucks.  I hope these facts will help make you feel better!

1.  Chicago is home to the Cubs.  They haven’t won a World Series since 1908.  My favorite team, the St. Louis Cardinals won the Fall Classic just last year!  They previously won in 1926, 1931, 1934, 1942, 1944, 1946, 1964, 1967, and 1982.  I’m not rubbing it in, or anything.  I’m just sayin’.

2.  Chicago was once known as the Mudhole of the Prairie.  I know I wouldn’t want to be spending any time in a place known as a Mudhole.

3.  With all the deep dish pizza and Polish sausages to eat, you’d surely gain about a zillion pounds and clog an aorta. 

4.  It would be really annoying to hear all the locals talking about Da Bears and Da Bulls all da time.

5.  Chicago is known as the Windy City.  Since it is no longer the age of Aqua Net, most coifs probably wouldn’t be able withstand the gale force winds.  I’m no fashion guru, but I’m sure that the wind blown look is not the must have look for summer.

6.  I know if I were in need of a doctor while in Chicago, I’d accept mouth to mouth resitation from no one else except for George Clooney.  Unfortunately though, their ER isn’t actually staffed with Dr. Doug Ross so this would pose a significant problem in the event of an accident.

    Mmmmm, George!

7.  Dinner conversations are probably rather dull without phrases such as “please stop putting the syrup in your hair” and “put your bib back on.”  

8.  Hotel rooms are notorious for being dirty and germy.  Not that your home is the cleanest place on earth, mine certainly isn’t, but at least it’s your family’s germs.

9.  I’m not there.  That speaks volumes about the amount of fun, or actually the lack thereof, that people are having at BlogHer.

10.   Everyone is probably hungover with the taste of last night’s beers and Cosmos on their breath.  And drinking too much leads to, er, uh, intestinal discomfort.  Not that I know anything about such things.  Think of the stench in those conference rooms.  Ewwwww.

I hope that this list has made you realize that being home is infinitely more exciting than being in Chicago.  Please feel free to add to this list with your own reasons why you are jealous relieved to be at home!

**Disclaimer….I have nothing against the city of Chicago.  Well, except for the Cubs.  Go Cards! 

Ta Ta for Now!

Tomorrow I take off for BlogHer and I’m pretty excited and a little nervous, too. I hope it’s as much fun as last year. Unfortunately, I’m not at all packed yet but I have done many other important things, like buy shoes!

I did get some flats but not the ones I was referencing in my shoe post because by the time I got my lazy ass back to the store, my size was gone, which seems to be par for the course this week. And that reminds me…

Old Navy? I hate you. HATE. Your love affair with size 2 has got to stop. If you had a hint of a fracking clue, you’d notice that your racks are filled with those tiny sizes while all the normal sizes are gone. Why? Because like .03% of the population wears a 2 and the rest of us don’t. And all those skinny jeans? Pure evil. Make them go away.

Charlotte Russe? I LOVE you. You have clothes in all sizes and even though your stuff largely falls into the category of “cheap shit” that doesn’t hold up very well, I give you mad props for thinking of us females who don’t look like human lollipops.

Oh wait, I was talking about shoes, wasn’t I? Well, if you’re going to Blogher, just look for the cutest Skechers you’ve ever seen (well, that I’ve ever seen anyway) and you will find my feet in them.

I also plucked my eyebrows, including those weird LONG eyebrow hairs that drive me nuts because they go in the wrong direction but now you can see the bald spot in my one eyebrow. I have a scar and no hair grows there so I’ll be penciling it in like Joan Crawford. Please don’t point and laugh.

Oh, and I de-fuzzed my upper lip, which is pretty noteworthy as I rarely do it. And my roommate Dawn, who hates crusty feet, will be very pleased with my new pedicure. *sigh* The things I do for you people…

Monday was our 13th anniversary and we actually had a babysitter! That is HUGE. It was my neighbor(s) whom I’ve grown quite fond of, but sadly, they’re moving away. We finally find someone we trust enough to watch our kids and they’re LEAVING US!!! *dabs eyes, blows nose*

We just went to the movies, which may not sound like a hot date but considering we haven’t been out together, sans children, since before I was pregnant with P (over two years ago), it was major. We saw “Knocked Up” aka funniest movie I’ve seen in forever. If you haven’t seen it and can handle profanity and boobs and the sight of a baby crowning, you should definitely see it. Funny. As. Hell.

Now ya’ll behave for my awesome surprise blogsitters that will be here watching over the joint while I’m gone and be sure to show them some loooove! I told them you guys could stay up an extra half hour and that you could have some Oreos before bed but ONLY if you’re good, hear?

I guess I’m going to put off the inevitable and start packing my stuff. I leave you with a pretty photo of the gorgeous roses the huz gave me when he realized he almost forgot our anniversary and that I knew he almost forgot our anniversary!

PS: If you can’t see my right sidebar, now or ever, please drop me an email and tell me, k?