So here is the deal. If you are hosting a giveaway or have a post about someone’s giveaway just leave a link. Make sure this link is to the giveaway post itself and not just the blog or it will be deleted. If you listed it last week but your giveaway is still open, list it again! Also your link must be to something family friendly or it will be deleted.
So now you need to add your giveaways and go enter some giveaways! Let them know that Contesting Monday sent you!
I admit it, I was raised an ironer… When my husband and I got married I was mortified that he didn’t own an iron or an ironing board. An issue we quickly rectified. Then I continued to iron his wrinkle free pants and shirts because they weren’t wrinkle free enough. And I continued ironing mine and Jeremy’s clothes. Then I had my 4th kid.
No, I really didn’t stop ironing until the 4th kid was born. Since then, the iron only comes out for special occasions or more accurately special materials. I didn’t really try much with whole world of Wrinkle Releaser, I would just toss something in the dryer and shake unless it is a fancy material I can’t iron. Then I go straight to the Downey Wrinkle Releaser Plus. With the new Plus version the mist is so fine that I haven’t had any problem knocking out the creases in dry clean only materials. But other than that it was dry and shake. Except when I travel.
Traveling is inherently hard on your clothes. Things that can normally just be tossed in a dryer or shaken out in order to rid yourself of wrinkles… well that doesn’t work when you travel. Even when you roll shirts you can avoid some of the wrinkles but those that are there create creases. To deal with those I have been known to drag out the hotel iron.
But no more… Last year I was at a conference and I had a new favorite shirt. I was smart and turned the shirt inside out to iron it. And I turned the iron to medium low and then started to iron. Immediately the lining burned right off… I was in tears and calling the husband. Luckily, you can’t really tell from the outside for the most part.
Flash forward…. Same shirt with similar wrinkles. I gave it a spritz with Wrinkle Releaser Plus! And by the time I put my makeup on the shirt was ready. I am never risking a piece of clothing I love to an unpredictable hotel iron!!! I am forever going to bring my travel Downey Wrinkle Releaser Plus!!!
(Disclosure: This is a compensated piece. The subject has been paid for but the words and thoughts are mine!)
Last week I went to the BlogHer conference in San Jose. It was a good conference and I am glad I went. That said, it was what it was. I will write about the fun and sessions later but while it is on my mind, I have to do a little conference analysis.
I enjoyed going but I have to be real about what it is. It is fun. I go to a few sessions and keynotes. I end up walking away with a couple of tidbits and feeling emotionally more secure in what I do. I hang out with some great people and make a couple of business connections. That’s it.
Yup, that is about it. This year I think it was worth it because I drove. I loved the fact that it BlogHer was smaller this year so I could fully participate in all the conference and not be as rushed as previous years I have attended. And I love seeing my friends! There is nothing that really beats that. But a good portion of my friends who I go to BlogHer to see didn’t come this year. And that did make me sad.
But is it worth it? Well, when it is in California I think it is. Maybe. But this isn’t the only place I see my friends and it really isn’t the place I learn. And while I may go to BlogHer it isn’t my conference priority. If I have limited time and money (which is my plight right now) I need to focus on the most effective learning and connections conferences. BlogHerit isn’t a real active learning environment for me and in order to get the most out of my conference dollars I need it to be.
I know, you are wondering what are the conferences I love and learn at.
The first one I am going to is Blogging Concentrated. They will be in San Francisco on August 9th and LA on Sepptember 7th. I am attending the one in LA!
Why? To start with Dan Morris is the bomb! (Full disclosure, we are friends;) I have sat in on some of his sessions at conferences like Type A and Savvyblogging. He knows his stuff and how to teach it! He partners with Rachel Martin to teach a small group for 1 intensive day! Seriously, they limit it to around 35.
I love that this isn’t aimed at the beginning blogger. It is aimed at that person who knows some of the basics and wants to kick it up to the next level. You can also ask just about any question and get an actionable answer.
The second one I am going to is TypeA Parent in September.
It is less than 500 people and frankly, I like that size better. It is also a learning conference. You take your laptop in because you will be given tools you can use then! This conferences is really about equipping so we end up not just learning in the sessions but also in the conversations with people you both do and do not know. I recommend bloggers of all levels attend Type A for all of that learning.
And my peeps are here! I admit that I find the Type A to be a bit more of my tribe. What tribe? Geeks and nerds but not just them, also people who are serious about blogging and learning how to do it better. We all have very productive times of learning and a ton of fun at all the parties too! And getting to know other bloggers is important! I have to be real and say, I have gotten more paid work out of knowing other bloggers than out of pure company contacts. I love Type A so much, I am literally spending my birthday there this year;).
These conferences are where I am going next. I am not saying that I am never going to BlogHer again. It has a value but I (and I think everyone else) needs to be really conscious of what each event brings to them. And is it the conference that gives you the most of what you need?
So what are you attending next? What did you think of BlogHer?
So here is the deal. If you are hosting a giveaway or have a post about someone’s giveaway just leave a link. Make sure this link is to the giveaway post itself and not just the blog or it will be deleted. If you listed it last week but your giveaway is still open, list it again! Also your link must be to something family friendly or it will be deleted.
So now you need to add your giveaways and go enter some giveaways! Let them know that Contesting Monday sent you!
So here is the deal. If you are hosting a giveaway or have a post about someone’s giveaway just leave a link. Make sure this link is to the giveaway post itself and not just the blog or it will be deleted. If you listed it last week but your giveaway is still open, list it again! Also your link must be to something family friendly or it will be deleted.
So now you need to add your giveaways and go enter some giveaways! Let them know that Contesting Monday sent you!
TeeFury is having a blowout grab bag sale!!! You have 2 choices: Whovian or Non-Whovian. I am personally ordering a few Whovian varieties for our house. You can see the more than 16 designs of each camp but not choose your shirt. I personally like all the Whovian choices so we will be happy with whatever we get. And did I mention they are only $6!!!
So go grab a few for you and all those you know! These would be great gifts, especially for only $6!!!! And remember, they have kid sizes too!!!
So here is the deal. If you are hosting a giveaway or have a post about someone’s giveaway just leave a link. Make sure this link is to the giveaway post itself and not just the blog or it will be deleted. If you listed it last week but your giveaway is still open, list it again! Also your link must be to something family friendly or it will be deleted.
So now you need to add your giveaways and go enter some giveaways! Let them know that Contesting Monday sent you!
I just finished watching August: Osage County. It made me feel all these emotions and thoughts about my family. And not in the “at least my family isn’t that bad” way. But more in the “Holy crap, that could be a version of us in the future” way. I thought about how if I was constantly around it, how would it affect me versus how it already has…
I had all these thoughts running through my mind. Including that I can’t be the only one in this type of crazy situation, I just watched a movie about it. Knowing I am not alone, my thoughts turned to blogging to sort out the jumble in my head. Not only to vent but hopefully my chaos would help someone else in their own chaos.
And then I stopped short.
Why? I don’t really blog about the crazy that is my family situation, my mom or any emotions/thoughts about it. I don’t allow myself to write about anything to do with anything remotely related to my family and the effect on my life. I know for my mom, anything I write about any emotional processing or facts about my family will be an attack on her. Even if it isn’t about her. So I didn’t write about it for a smattering of reasons.
The first big reason is I want to respect my mom. I do love her and I don’t want to make her angry. I keep thinking at some point in the future she won’t be angry at me for the fact I have boundaries and that I can’t romanticize our past (because it angers and hurts me) and I don’t want a blog to be the one reason she won’t speak to me. But since I moved out on my own and got married, since I drew boundaries on how she could treat me, since I cut the strings she carved me out of the family. Why would a blog make the difference?
Another reason I never write about it all is a little shame. For years I despised myself. What kind of person am I that my own mom doesn’t love me? It took having kids for me to emotionally realize that is all more about her than me. But there is still a fear that others will judge and despise me for the same reasons I did.
The last reason is a ridiculous fear. My mom always made sure I knew that I was a horrible person. She had lists of stupid things I said and bad things I did (and they were bad). These things all served as evidence to show what a bad person I truly am. And if I aired what she considered to be her dirty laundry or embarrassed her…. Well, she would destroy my image and reputations. Everyone would know me for the despicable person I am. And yes, I lied and snuck around and did a whole bunch of crap that I am not proud of. But know what else? That was all before I was 21. Yup, before I was 21! That can’t define the person I am no. And I don’t think that I would want to be around any small minded people whom all that could effect.
Now that I have come to terms with the stupid thing that have prevented me from writing about my family situation, this isn’t going to become a mom bashing blog. But it does mean I am going to be free.
Free to write about missing my siblings. Free to write about questions on how to deal with my emotional issues. Free to share the epiphanies that have given me freedom from pain. I really can’t know what all it means but I do know that it isn’t actually about my mom but a freedom to be about me….
So here is the deal. If you are hosting a giveaway or have a post about someone’s giveaway just leave a link. Make sure this link is to the giveaway post itself and not just the blog or it will be deleted. If you listed it last week but your giveaway is still open, list it again! Also your link must be to something family friendly or it will be deleted.
So now you need to add your giveaways and go enter some giveaways! Let them know that Contesting Monday sent you!
So here is the deal. If you are hosting a giveaway or have a post about someone’s giveaway just leave a link. Make sure this link is to the giveaway post itself and not just the blog or it will be deleted. If you listed it last week but your giveaway is still open, list it again! Also your link must be to something family friendly or it will be deleted.
So now you need to add your giveaways and go enter some giveaways! Let them know that Contesting Monday sent you!