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.