I had a really great time at Blog Elevated and since it was my very first conference, I went in with some “expectations” you could say.  I wanted to share some things that surprised me about the conference because honestly… I felt like there were quite a few – which was surprising! HA.

{1} My age is intimidating – or at least it is to me.
I had a really hard time talking with girls around my age.  I tend to think of myself as a nice person to converse with and I can usually connect with a variety of people.  What surprised me was how intimidated I was to go up to a group of girls around my age and chat.  I arrived to the Welcome Event hosted by Kroger a little late (that will be in another post) so a lot of these girls had already cliqued into their groups.  Everyone stood around tiny tables and chatted while I was trying to catch my breath
from being so overwhelmed.  I didn’t expect to be so nervous, but I was.  I ended up feeling a lot more comfortable on the first night with a few women who were moms because I didn’t feel like they were judging me (and I’m sure the girls my age weren’t either, but it was nerve-racking!)

{2} I didn’t use my computer at all.
I really did expect to pull out my tablet between sessions, but I didn’t.  I thought I may regret choosing to not take my actual laptop to the conference, but I didn’t.  I thought I would want to work on things between sessions as I received information, but I ended up preferring to let it all sink in and work on it later when I got home.  I took excellent notes (with my pen and notepad, I prefer writing) and I continued to make a list of things I thought about when it came to my blog.  Now I’m left with a large to-do list, but I feel refreshed from the conference and I’m excited about working through the list.

{3} A Blog Conference is the only place a speaker doesn’t feel ignored by people when they’re on their phone/computer.
This isn’t so much a surprise as it is a realization.  It hit me as I was sitting in on the Keynote speaker.  People were on their phones and laptops all over the room.  There were times that I even glanced at my phone.  I’m pretty big on being respectful when people are presenting/speaking or if you’re in a meeting that you don’t use your phone or computer, but while sitting their I didn’t feel uncomfortable doing it myself, the speaker didn’t particularly care or notice… it was…. natural.  normal.  no big deal.

{4} People who don’t even have a blog… attend a blog conference.
I went in expecting to meet a ton of people who have an established blog and blog every day, but I met an extremely surprising number of people who had never even blogged before, but they wanted to.  They had NO idea what they were stepping in to, how to start, or what blogging could be… but they were interested.

{5} This doesn’t have to just be blog networking.
I went in thinking about how to promote and grow my blog.  I didn’t expect to meet Denise who happens to have a sales job where she also has a lot of contacts.  She also invested in me throughout the conference constantly checking to see if I made it into downtown ok (from where I was staying at my cousins) and if she thought of a possible connection she had to help me with my job search, she mentioned it.  I sent her my resume this week and she has the potential to plug me in with people that may have job opportunities.  I was surprised to walk away with a new lead in the dreaded job search!

{6} I didn’t get pictures with other bloggers…
I somewhat regret this, but I also know that I wasn’t comfortable enough to do so.  I wish I had connected with more bloggers on a more personal level, but I also think that a lot of these bloggers had already known each other or were rooming together and my circumstance was a little different.  I wish I had some fabulous pictures to show y’all from my trip with all these other amazing bloggers (because they were all there!) but I just don’t have any pictures… I know… #bloggerfail big time!

All in all… there were some surprising things about attending a blog conference.  I had a great time, but I didn’t be as social as I could have been… I was also overwhelmed and that’s how I respond in situations like that.

My sweet friend, Meg, nominated me for the Sunshine Award!  I haven’t heard about this award, but I was excited to get nominated for it!  Meg had a few questions for me to answer and you can view those below!

I learned a few things about myself while filming this vlog…
1. I use a lot of words… mostly because I can’t think of the right word.  So apologize in advance for the 7 minute video below!
2. I use the words um and so A WHOLE LOT! ugh!
3. I feel awkward on video, but I’m learning to like it because I want too!

I mention in the video that I went to a ‘vlogging session’ at Blog Elevated, so this is my attempt at editing my very first video.  Don’t laugh, because I know it’s awful!  Sweet Jenny would probably wonder if I actually even sat in on her session lol.

My favorite blog post (as promised): I really LOVE this recipe!

The bloggers who I would be honored to give this award to:
Angela @ Simply Shepards
Brittany @ Where My Soul Belongs
Hillary @ A Whole Awful Lot
Sarah @ Fueled and Aflamed
Rachel @ The Random Writings
*Sorry, I don’t have 10 total.

Questions for you ladies:
1. Do you already have your plans scheduled for Thanksgiving?  If so, what?
2. How many times have you been to DisneyWorld?
3. What’s your favorite hot drink during the winter months?
4. What’s your favorite chore at home?
5. What’s your least favorite chore at home?
6. How many pets do you have?  And what kind?
7. What type of planner do you use?  If you use one…
8. Introverted or Extroverted?
9. How many blates have you been on?
10. Have you ever been snow skiing?

Looking forward to reading y’all’s answers if you choose to participate! 🙂
Thanks for choosing me for this award, it gave me a great excuse to begin to practice editing videos for my future in the vlogging world!

Holy Smokes I feel like I’ve been away from this little space for way too long!! I just got back from Blog Elevated yesterday and I’m excited to re-cap that soon and catch y’all up on everything going on!  Truth be told, I haven’t been able to catch up much on reading y’all’s blogs and although I was just at a Blog Conference, I didn’t spend much time actually on my blog.  Why?  Well… it’s how I process information.  I was getting all this knowledge and information that was exciting, but I needed the time to process it before doing anything with it so it was more stressful for me to be on my blog during our breaks in order to make changes here or there than to just enjoy the information I was getting and start working with it when I got home.  I firmly believe in doing what you think is best for you, and that was definitely best for me!  I’ve been jotting down thought after thought on how to improve this little space and how to plug deeper into your lives and I’m so excited about this new phase or journey or whatever you want to call it that I’m about to embark on!

What you can expect in the coming weeks?  New and improved stuff around here!  You may notice the changes or you may not, but I hope you do and you enjoy it.  I have a deep issue that’s been on my heart for some time now dealing with the blogging world and I’ve finally realized how I intend to approach that issue on my blog and inspire other women to do the same.  I want this to be awesome though and powerful, so I’m putting a lot of thought into it before I release it on the blog, you’ll know it when you see it though!  I will be bringing in sponsorships soon, but that’s because I know the direction I want my blog to go in and I need to offer sponsorships in order to do that.  I’d love for my blog to be roughly 40-50% business (ish) and 50-60% personal and informative as it always has been.  I’m excited about partnering with various companies in the near future and sharing some great products with y’all.  I can assure you that I won’t work with a company or person that I don’t agree with or support though, so it’s not a bunch of fluff, it’s me doing what I can to help a company/person get to where they want to be in life.  Just expect changes… but seriously, I’m working hard to make them all for the good.  I’m still me.  I still respond to every comment, every e-mail, every prayer request.  I’m still personal and I still love hearing about you and your life!

Disney Wine & Dine Training: This past week was some what of a bust.  I didn’t do my long run (7 miles) and I ate pretty terribly (most of the time).  I jumped back in yesterday though with a 3.5 mile run that went a heck of a lot better than I expected!  I have strength training today and a tempo run tomorrow.  I look forward to my 8 miles this weekend especially since the weather is cooling off! yipee!!

The dreaded job hunt: I still haven’t heard anything about the Marketing position I was excited about.  There is always still hope, but luckily I also snatched up an interview with a University in Mississippi doing program coordinating that I think I would really love.  That interview is a skype interview today at 4pm so prayers would be appreciated!  I know there is something out there for me, I just need to find the patience to get to that point.

Other life happenings: I enjoyed a splendid trip to Houston spending time with my cousin and her family.  That little monkey man is the most precious thing!  I have a sweet sweet puppy napping in the same room as me which brings a smile to my face.  It’s pouring rain here in Mississippi, but I’m loving it!  The rest of my days are being filled catching up on the blog and working on all these thoughts and ideas I have.

What’s going on with you?  Is there a post I might have missed over the past week?  Hook a girl up!
Happy Tuesday sweet friends of mine!