My BlogHer 09 Wrap-Up

Feel free to skip this post if you're tired of reading all the BlogHer recaps. I wouldn't blame you one bit.

My head is still spinning from this past weekend in Chicago at the BlogHer conference. I have some mixed feelings about this weekend.

Overall, I had a wonderful time. I roomed with Toni again and loved every minute we spent together. I met some fantastic people and made some great new friends. And yes, I did leave with a few bags of great swag. (But only my fair share, which I got while still acting like a human being, and that I do not feel the need to make excuses for. And that's all I'm going to say about that!)

The weekend started with me feeling a little starry-eyed while driving Toni and Jessica Smith from the airport to the hotel. I have admired and respected Jessica from afar for quite a while and I had a great time getting to know her a bit in person. She was genuine and kind. She even went as far as offering my shy self an out when I felt trapped in an awkward situation - she'd be just an ear-tug away. And for what it's worth...Jessica really does know! (Oh, and of course I was starry-eyed over riding with The Happy Housewife too.)

I also had the great fortune of becoming friends with Kelly from Wisdom Begun. She and I spent a ton of time together. We found out we have a lot in common (like in a long-lost-twin sort of way), including shyness. We made a great pair I tell you. But there's strength in numbers and together we managed to not hide out in our rooms the entire weekend.

I also spent some time with the wonderful Ohio contingent of bloggers. (Erin from $5 Dinners, Tricia from Once A Month Mom, Marianne from Writer Mommy, and too many others to name.) Oh, and Toni and I had a great late-night chat with Queen Mommy and Lizzy Dear.

All that meeting and talking was by far the highlight of BlogHer for me.

The rest of it was...well...just okay. I thought two of the panels I sat in on were good and I learned some new things, especially Jessica's panel. (See what I mean? When in doubt...Jessica Knows!) But everything else was just a bit too much drama for me.

Will I be going to BlogHer 2010 in New York? Nope. It's just not for me as much as I loved the networking and getting to know fellow bloggers. I am glad I had the experience though and I don't regret going one bit. Honestly, I did have a wonderful time all in all.