BlogHer Part 3 – The Unplanned Moments

I think this will be the last of the BlogHer installments. I had fun talking about the Mouthy Housewife Happy Hour, the breakout sessions, and now I’ll conclude about the splendor of spontaneous moments. I love to plan, and it serves me well, but I am glad that I also left room for these little gems a chance to materialize.

Lunch
(Otherwise known as how I Embarrassed Myself Yet Again)

As you know, I was afraid of connecting with no one and having to eat my lunch that would have consisted of a Cliff Bar. Thankfully, that was not the case. Maria and I met her friend from http://www.kidsmealcrowd.com/. We were also joined by some other women at the table. So we all started to hand out our business cards. Laura, Gretchen, and Amy give me their cards. And here begins the scene titled How Erin Makes an Ass Out of Herself. . . Again:

Me: Amy, you look really familiar.

Amy: I just wrote a book.

Me: What’s the title?

Amy: When Did I Get Like This?

Me (scary-excited delightfully surprised tone): OHMYGOODNESS! I KNOW YOU! YOU WERE ON THE TODAY SHOW! HOW EXCITING! YOU GAVE SUCH A GREAT INTERVIEW AND YOUR BOOK SEEMED REALLY INTERESTINGOHMYGOD!

Amy (graciously): Yes, that was me.

Gretchen: Didn’t she look beautiful?

Me (adrenaline still hasn’t had a chance to dissipate into untraceable amounts): YES, SHE DID! YOU LOOKED GREAT!

End scene with them going back to their regularly scheduled conversation.

Yes, I did it again. I sounded like a screaming preteen at yet another Twilight meet-n-greet (like I did with Wendi Aarons at the Mouthy Housewife party). Seriously, I need to get a grip on my gushing. Sorry, Amy, if I frightened you with my overzealous response. I swear I leave the house and socialize (when I am not watching The Today Show). It’s just when I am trolling the aisles of Kroger for groceries with The Babes wearing my Mom Uniform, I don’t usually run into writers of books I want to read.

Everything after this conversation was pretty much a blur since I felt like I made a total ass our of myself and couldn’t leave the table since that would have meant eating alone in the bathroom. And you all know how I feel about that.

Old New Friends
I was so excited to meet The Culture Mom  and La Mere Joie. I have been commenting on their blogs for awhile so it was exciting to finally meet them. I felt like I was meeting old friends, yet for the first time face to face. They were both so sweet. I am glad I had a chance to connect with them. I only wish I had more time to chat.
During this time, I learned that La Mere Joie was Amethyst Moon. *

After the awesome keynote speaker, I took me and my 3 GIGANTIC bags of swag to The Green Affair. I was s exhausted; I knew that it was time to go home. I was looking so forward to Sparklecorn, but alas, I felt the opposite of sparkly; my head was swimming with all my new experiences, my swag bags were rubbing the flesh away on my shoulders, and blisters were forming on my feet.

At this time Maria texted me to see if I wanted to meet up with her for dinner. I really wanted to hang out with her again, so we met in the lobby. At this time, I saw a woman who I thought was someone I knew. (It’s hard to tell with those itty bitty Twitter pictures, right?) When she told me her name was Amethyst Moon, I couldn’t believe it! What were the chances? I told her La Mere Joie was looking for her. Maria met us, and we decided to go get some street meat from this vendor that has a 45 minute wait for his food. And it only cost $6! Marie, Amethyst, and I ventured out to the famous (or infamous) Hallal for the chicken platter.

We sat by the fountain outside the Hilton, looking at the Radio City Music Hall sign, eating our absolutely (and surprisingly) delish food, and chatting about our lives. And I think this was my favorite moment of BlogHer. No pressure, just talking about our lives. Then it occurred to me that this was like blogging but in real life. I knew Maria, we met Amethyst, and we all just started talking. That feeling of connection I get from blogging was happening right here outside all the planning and fanfare of BlogHer. It was awesome!

Doesn't that look delish?!  All for $6. WIN!

There's the lovely Maria.  This meal was her awesome idea!

Final Impressions
There is  a whole new world out there I didn’t even know existed. There are so many avenues to pursue with blogging. I was in awe by these women who followed their love of writing which then led them to have these amazing opportunities. I was also thankful that I was able to meet some of my blog friends in person and meet a lot of new people, too. I left BlogHer 10 feeling both inspired and motivated.

So BlogHer 11, I need to start saving NOW. . . unless you have a lay-away plan because that would be great, too.

*My crude attempt of foreshadowing. What can I say, I am still working on my craft.