Robin | Farewell Stranger

Blissdom Travel in Pictures

February 28, 2012 by Farewell Stranger ·

My one-line review of Blissdom: I didn’t love it.

I enjoyed it, mostly, but I didn’t come away feeling totally inspired the way I did after BlogHer last year. Judging by the tweets on the #Blissdom hash tag, I was one of the few who felt that way.

I think it was a combination of things – it turned out to be a bad time to travel for all sorts of reasons, which made it hard to enjoy the conference. But I didn’t love the speakers. And I just didn’t get the same vibe. Maybe that’s the difference between an event with 700 people and one with 4,000. Or maybe it’s because I went into BlogHer totally ready to be fired up and feeling alive because of what I was doing in this space at the time, which I don’t feel at all right now. In any case, I’m glad I went but I’m not sure it will be on my list for next year.

Things I did love:

Rooming with Mama Track and Baby Track. Natalie was awesome and that baby is just so unbelievably, squishily cute. I could hardly stand it.
Meeting some bloggers I really wanted to meet. Angela was an absolute dream and someone I’m really glad I got a chance to meet. Mary Lauren was awesome – way more outgoing than I expected from her blog and we had a great time talking (and wondering why the heck Joe Jonas was performing at an event full of women in their 30s and 40s) at the party on the first night. I met lots of others too – Dana, Kimberly, Carri, Doc G, Amber, Greta, Shell, and was really, really glad to see Jessica and Frelle and Katherine and Shannon again. I didn’t spend nearly enough time talking to some of them, but it was great to see those faces and get hugs again.
The hotel. Just, wow. It’s incredible. Seriously – check out their photo gallery.

One thing I didn’t do is take pictures of people or the hotel, both of which I intended to do. But I did take pictures from the air on the flight down. (I know, I’m a travel geek.)

So I’ll leave you with these, which are better than whatever words I have right now.

Heading out – Alberta from the air

Over the border. I see blue!

Utah red

The Grand Canyon

Landing in Phoenix

After that I lost my window seat, but I did make it down to Nashville.

Opening morning of Blissdom

One shot from inside the hotel

And that’s all, folks.

Filed Under: Photos · Tagged With: blogging, community, photos, travel

Things I Like About Me – The Sequel

February 27, 2012 by Farewell Stranger ·

In July of last year, I jumped in on a link-up my friend Elena created. Except she wasn’t really my friend then because I’d only just met her so I didn’t know her all that well.

Anyway, I wrote a list of things I like about me and linked up with her because I thought it was a great idea. A whole bunch of other people did too so the link-up really took off. And shortly after that Elena invited me to join her on a new site she was about to launch and, thankfully, I said yes, which is how I got involved with Just.Be.Enough (and discovered just how incredibly Elena really is).

And now we’re doing the link-up again.

It’s almost six months since we launched Just.Be.Enough, which seems like a good time to remind ourselves of the things we like about who we are. When I wrote my last list, I was surprised at how hard it was for me. This time I know it’s going to be hard, which is why I’m rambling on here instead of getting to the list already.

Okay, here we go:

I know myself well enough to know when I need a break and don’t push myself to be social when my introverted self is done with crowds (she says as she writes from her hotel room at the Blissdom conference while everyone else is at the party).
I think I’m a pretty good boss.
I try to make sure no one feels excluded.
I’m a hugger. I don’t know why I like that about myself, but I do.

I think that’s all I’ve got. Not that I’m down on myself right now – I’m just feeling blocked about writing. That has certainly become clear over the last couple of days at this conference, but more on that later. Maybe.

Filed Under: Be enough me · Tagged With: Be enough me, lists, perspective

Blissdom Bound

February 22, 2012 by Farewell Stranger ·

I’m all set. Packed. As ready as I’m ever going to be. (Which is not very, but I’m all about winging things these days.)

A few months ago I bought a ticket to Blissdom. This is a conference I’ve known of for a while and I always thought it sounded like a fun one to go to, especially because of the name. Bliss? Count me in.

But then I realized a bunch of my blog friends—some I have already met and love dearly and some I’m dying to hug—will be there, and I jumped. A big motivating factor is that Natalie (aka Mama Track) is going to be there with her new baby girl (aka Baby Track). And Jessica and Angela are trying to fight me for who gets to hold Baby Track first. (I’m going to win.) And Kimberly and her pregnant belly are going to be there. And there are so many others.

So I bought a ticket and hoped it would work out. And then of course we moved and I got a new job and I started to wonder if perhaps it wasn’t meant to be. But my new boss is great and doesn’t seem to care that the newest member of the team is taking a couple of days off and my husband doesn’t seem to mind that I’m ditching him, so here I go.

This feels much different than when I was leaving for BlogHer last year. I’m still excited, but less nervous. It feels less life-altering, though it could be equally so. Mostly I’m just tired and dreading the travel, just a little bit.

But I’m going anyway, for how else to pursue the life I want than to take the opportunities that come my way? I just ask that if you spot a sleeping blogger in the Phoenix airport that you give her a nudge and send her on her way to Nashville.

While I’m travelling on Thursday, I leave you with a post at Just.Be.Enough. It’s about being a working mom with a stay-at-home-dad husband, an arrangement I’m grateful for, but one that has included some unexpected perspective on what that means for my own mom identity. Please come and visit!

Filed Under: Happy things, Hello, Inspiration · Tagged With: blogging, community, firsts, gratitude, living life, travel

Missing Grandma

February 21, 2012 by Farewell Stranger ·

Big, spontaneous tears at bedtime tonight.

“I miss Grandma,” he said, his voice in the darkness succumbing to a wail.

Oh dear, I thought.

He was tired—by design, since tonight is volleyball night for my husband and I’m tired and didn’t want an extended bedtime again (ha ha) so we skipped his nap—so I figured it was a small sigh and he’d succumb to sleep.

“Oh buddy, I know you miss Grandma. She’s coming to visit soon though.”

Sniff, sniff, wail.

“We’re going to go and visit Grandma and Grandpa soon too!”

Nothing.

“And you know what? They’re getting ready to move here!”

“They should live right next to us.”

“Maybe they will.” (Mental note: Ask the neighbours if they would like to sell their house.)

“We never should have left our house.”

“…What do you mean? Which house?”

“Our old house.”

Oh dear.

This child sure knows how to break his mama’s heart. He’s probably been thinking about Grandma and all the fun things they do and all the things he wants to show her. I imagine his little brain thinking about this but not saying anything until now, when it comes out in the quiet of the night. Whether it’s a tired lament or not, I know he misses them. I knew he would. I dreaded it.

I tried to jolly him along – “They’re coming soon!” and “You know what?! Grandpa is a really good skater and he would love to go skating with you! You can show him your new skates and what you’ve learned so far!” – but no dice.

He was quiet, and at first I thought it was working. I could no longer hear his sniffles—only mine—but then it started again.

“WAHHH!!”

The mommy-cheering-up tactics weren’t working, so we called Grandma. They talked and made a list of all the things they’re going to do when she comes to visit and, for now at least, it’s all better. Until the next bedtime, and the next, and the next. Until they’ve moved close enough to make him happy.

I really need to go and sweet-talk the neighbours.

Filed Under: Conversations with Connor, Hard things, Motherhood · Tagged With: bedtime, family

Keeping Secrets

February 16, 2012 by Farewell Stranger ·

A little while ago I got an email about an ambassador opportunity for a child ID theft program. Normally this isn’t the sort of thing that would catch my attention because I’m notoriously unconcerned with privacy. Which is exactly why I thought it might be good for me to participate and learn more about some of these issues.