Blogalicious Recap, Take Two

Two nights ago, I wrote a great Blogalicious Recap. Then Firefox crashed and Blogger didn't autosave it for some reason. I just went to bed. Here's take two.

I think I have finally recovered from Blogalicious 2009 in Atlanta. Though this was my first blogging conference, I'm no stranger to conference. I've attended many Passion Parties national conventions as well as smaller events. It can be overwhelming--the sessions, the networking, the parties.

Urban Mama and I left Maryland at 4am Friday. Chevy was generous to lend us a totally styling 2010 Cherry Red Equinox for the weekend. Usually the drive to Atlanta takes about 10 hours, but somewhere around the North Carolina/South Carolina border, our OnStar stopped talking to us. We didn't realize it until we reached Columbia, SC. OnStar quickly got us back enroute to Atlanta. Our little detour did allow us the chance to eat at a Sonic Drive-In. I should have gotten a larger Cherry Limeade. Though that would mean I'd just have to take more bathroom breaks.

We arrived with an hour to check-in, catch up with our roomie, Tech Savvy Mama before our reservations for dinner at Eno's, where Eli Kirshtein (from this season's Top Chef) is the executive chef. It was amazing! Along with ParentopiaDevra, we were able to meet Eli after our dinner. Hopefully we didn't act too much like groupies.

There were so many great sessions at Blogalicious. I didn't attend all of them. Saturday afternoon, I totally zonked out on a super comfy couch in the lobby. Thankfully Justice Fergie didn't get any pictures of that.

I took a lot of notes (and put out a few tweets). Though there were so many different topics discussed, there were three main themes that were repeated:

• passion--blog with passionately or topics you are passionate about
• build a community with your blog or other social media (like Twitter or Facebook)
• quality of your followers/community/commenters is more important than quantity

Blogging has always been a hobby for me. I do it for fun, but I've also loved the community I've joined. The people I've met have been the highlight of my blogging. Hearing these themes over and over from seasoned bloggers have me thinking about where I want to take my blog next. When I figure it out, I'll let you know.

Of course there were the parties and after-parties. I really enjoyed meeting the ladies of Clever Girls Collective: Cat, Stefania, & Sheila. They hosted the Sweet Suite party Friday night. We were only 15 minutes late to their after party, but thankfully there were about 8 mini-cupcakes left. Perfectly chocolatey two bite cupcakes.

Their Yummie Tummie room was mobbed! Lucky Cat was able to find a nursing tank for me to try out. I'm looking forward to trying it out. It's going to come in handy for the post-partum belly. Which, have you seen Kim Cole's video about Yummie Tummie. Apparently she crashed Blogalicious. I'm sure no one complained. The wonderful ladies also shared some highlights about Tiny Prints and Little Passports too. I know Sophia would love to get mail from Little Passports every month. Thanks for a great party ladies!

I won't recap all the parties (fun for me, but boring for you). I did get to sneak a glass or two of champagne. That's right, prego girl partied hard. It's my last hurrah before the baby arrives and turns our family upside down.

It just felt so right to be around this amazing group of women. It didn't matter if I owned worked outside the home, or was a stay at home mom or even single. Seems like the internet is a great equalizer. I also met many women who were either multi-racial and/or have multi-racial children. This is something I often think about as we raise Sophia. So much to think about!

The ladies at MamaLaw Media knocked my socks off. The conference proceeded very smoothly. Did I mention that the conference food was great! This pregnant lady definitely ate more than her fair share. I did kind of hope there would be grits for breakfast since we were in the South. It's definitely a staple for our breakfasts. Great job ladies!

Thank goodness we drove. We received lots and lots of swag. My skin will now be very moisturized for the rest of the winter! I would not have been able to take half of it home had I flown.

A big thanks to Urban Mama and Tech Savvy Mama for letting me crash in their room at the last minute. They even let me sleep in my own bed! Now I can't say I slept with anyone while I was in Atlanta.

For some more great (and more detailed) Blogalicious recaps, check here.

Playing Catch Up--Have Some Pumpkin Cake

Ever since the day Sophia got the stomach bug (almost 2 weeks ago, yikes!), I feel like I've been playing catch-up. I have a lot of blog posts planned in my head to share with you. Oh, and joining Facebook hasn't helped.

We hosted a Healthy Choice Just One Bites Emmy watching party. Not only did I get to watch cutie pie Neil Patrick Harris host the awards, they even showed a great clip of him as Dr. Horrible. A new clip! Too bad Nathan Fillion got so much screen time in it. We were also able to munch on some yummy Healthy Choice food too. A more detail posts with pics to come! Here's the clip if you haven't see it yet.



Sophia starts preschool tomorrow. Yay! Both of us are excited. Even hubby is taking the morning off so he can take her to school too.

My birthday is Thursday, and then I'm leaving for Blogalicious early, early Friday. I'm driving to Atlanta with fellow blogger Urban Mama. Hopefully she'll be patient with me as I have to get out of the car and stretch my prego body every 4 hours.

Blogalicious is my first blogging conference, though I'm no stranger to conferences (thanks to our annual Passion Parties conference). I can't wait to report back!

In the meantime, while I try to get caught up (and ready for baby, D-day in 6 weeks), here's some pics of one of our favorite recipes, pumpkin spice cake. Sophia picked green food coloring for the honey cream cheese frosting and since we still have sprinkles from this past Christmas (do sprinkles go bad?), we just went for the whole shebang!

Blogalicious Winner

Congrats to Rosa! She won the free pass to Blogalicious.

She won with her comment:

I would love to see "The Beauty of Different" sponsored by Disney Interactive Studios

The registration specials are still good. It's not too late to register, so don't forget to check out the latest news! The last day to register is September 25.

Arrrgh! Don't forget to talk like a pirate today!

Win A Blogalicious Conference Pass!

Have you heard about Blogalicious? It's an awesome blogging conference organized by the wonderful ladies at MamaLaw. Blogalicious 2009 will provide women bloggers of color an amazing opportunity to come together to celebrate their diversity and their love for blogging.

For three days, black, Latina, Caribbean, Asian-Pacific, and Native-American bloggers, among other nationalities, will enjoy a weekend of entertaining discussions and extraordinary events, all experienced in the company of exceptional women. The conference runs Oct 9-11.

How cool is that? Now don't fret. You don't have to be a minority or have a vagina to attend. Honest. All are welcome!

A couple of weeks ago, they had a special for conference registration and it was too good to resist.
I got on the phone with my OB and she cleared me to travel to Atlanta for the conference. My birthday is October 8, so I hope you can come and help me celebrate.

Let me tell you how awesome the conference will be. Not only will it be a great weekend of networking, but some amazing bloggers will be speaking and sharing their amazing experience. Check out the agenda.

There will also be FREE childcare, thanks to sponsor Huggies. You don't even have to find a sitter for your kids! They're going to be entertained and fed while you get to enjoy time with other grownups. You can even apply for the Chevy Carpool, where you'll receive a cool Chevy to drive to Atlanta. The last day to apply is September 15 (TOMORROW).

So go register today! There are currently some amazing conference pass specials. These are for a limited time and a limited quantity, so take advantage of them before they are gone.

Student Pass - A special discounted price of $75 per ticket is now available for students. A Student Pass admission gives you access to all conference activities BUT you'll have to present current college or university student identification at conference check in and you'll have to be at least 21 years of age to party.

2 for 1 Pass - A special discount of $350 for admission for 2 will be offered to you and a friend if you register together. Admission includes all the perks of a regular admission - just at a discount.

Party Pass - For those of you who want to network a little and party a lot, this pass will give you admission as a conference attendee to the exclusive Blogalicious events on Friday and Saturday nights and will give you access to the Exhibitor Marketplace during the day on Saturday.

Skip Pass - If you only want to attend the general sessions, then this pass is for you! For a special price of $100, you'll get admission to the Saturday Morning Keynote Session; Keynote Luncheon (includes lunch); Town Hall Session; Coffee & Snack Breaks; and the Exhibitor Marketplace.

Don't sleep because these offers are for a limited time only!

You can also win your own pass, right here on my blog! I would love to meet you in person. There are several ways you can enter the giveaway to win a full conference registration (hotel and travel are on your own). Those who are already registered are not eligible for this contest, sorry. Please make sure you leave an email address for me to contact you.

1. Leave a comment on which speaker or breakout session you couldn't miss for the world. (See agenda)

2. Tweet about the giveaway (with link) and leave another comment with the link to your tweet. If you're feeling lazy, you can use this tweet:

Enter to win a free pass to @Blogalicious09 (via @thienkim) http://bit.ly/3cYFh

3. Blog about the giveaway, link back to it and leave your post link in a comment.

I'll draw a winner by this Friday, Sept 18, 2009.