Casual Bloggers Conference: What I Learned

Besides all the meet-n-greets,
there were actual classes for all attendees to choose from--
From Design Labs: The Art of Digital Scrapbooking,
Photography Labs, Writing Labs, Tech Labs, and
for the beginners, Geek Labs--the basics of blogging.

We had Rustin Banks of BLOGFROG
he gave some smart advice on increasing traffic,
finding your niche, and how to grow your ideas into reality.
His last great words were:
"Don't get discouraged."

Then some guy from "Screamin' Coupons" spoke a bit
about his company coming to a city near you,
and they'll be looking for bloggers to partner up with for marketing.
Screamin' Coupons is not in Colorado yet,
but the idea is neat, and you can bet I'll be in line to work with him.
What pulled me in?  The fact that they give back to the community.

Next, was Sarah Kimmel from Tech4Mommies.com--
a virtual banquet of information served up in heaping helpings
and garnished with simplicity...
I'd like to sit down with her one-on-one
to pick her brain--
she is THAT good.
Knows her stuff for sure!
Best nugget I got from her?
SEO "Search Engine Optimization"--
remember that if you don't already know it.
SEO is placing keywords in your blog title, blog post titles,
and blog posts themselves...
doing so bumps your rank up in GOOGLE
which equals more traffic
which equals more opportunities for growth and,
if you're marketing a product,
can result in more mula.
How do you do this?
Well go to her website and find out!
Oh and one more quick nugget,
never
never
never
use the words
CLICK HERE in your posts.
Write the best description of the link you can.
And tons more...so go see her.

Another class was taught by Sarah Kimmel, (the Tech4Mommies.com gal)
and also Marie Ricks of House Of Order--
called
"Keeping Your Real Life Organized So Your Online Life Works for You".
It was a unique class that I hadn't picked to go to,
but Nan did,
so we went.
I'm so glad I did because of the information I learned
that I am pretty sure will affect the way I do alot of things--
for instance,
cooking all of your ground beef at the same time
in a deep pot
to save prep time and clean-up too.
Such a simple, awesome tip!
Or how about the notion
that serving up sweets and treats
actually be
scheduled during the week
to give the yahoos something to look forward to??
Love it, yes?
Anyway, it was a fun, smart class just like the others.

What else did I learn?
The vendors were all gracious
smiling smiling smiling
patient and generous...
there were sweet treats lining every hallway
free for the choosing.
The giveaways were outta this world!
IPAD, Sony Bloggy, Digital Scrapbooking,
and more stuff than I can recall.
I also learned that the women who took the time
to come to the Casual Bloggers Conference
were glad they came.
There was no murmuring,
no complaining
no "why'd-they-do-it-this-way" yammering.
Nope,
everyone was just happy to be there!
Familiar faces were matched up
and hugs were handed out like free samples
at Costco!
Everyone was approachable--
the Event Organizers (MomBabe, Motherboard)
the vendors
the Speakers
and especially the Bloggers!
Will I go again?
Oh you betcha!
And just like spaghetti sauce,
the second day (or conference)
is always better than the first!
It's only going to grow and get sweeter
from here on out
and I for one,
am grateful I had the chance to go to the
First-Ever
Casual Bloggers Conference.

I'll be sharing the SWAG I received tomorrow.
Good stuff, Maynard.

On the Way to Casual Bloggers Conference

One of the most fanstastic perks of living in Colorado Springs

is watching the Thunderbird Air Show

each year for the

Air Force Academy graduation.

And it just so happens that

we have a pretty good view from our deck:

Which explains why I was an hour late leaving for my 

New Scary Adventure

aka 

The Casual Bloggers Conference

in 

Sandy, Utah...

which, for the record,

isn't really sandy at all,

but from the humongous amounts of traffic

is more like Asphalt, Utah.

But I digress...

I got my bahooey into the car

and headed West with my sweet BFF, Nan.

As you know, my memory likes to play 

hide-n-seek

with me

so to be safe,

Nan--an avid Non-Blogger,

volunteered to be my escort.

Southern Utah was especially colorful

this spring--

 I just couldn't get over the colorful desert flowers along the way...

 So I made Nan pull over so I could get a closer look...

 Ahhhhh...so beautiful!  We talked about the 3 L's....

Life, Little Yahoos, and Laundry along the way. 

Isn't it amazing how you never run out of things to talk 

about with a good friend?

It was really great to just have some time away from la familia

to think, ponder and pray.

We laughed our guts out,

sang with Lady Antebellum,

got a little choked up at times too.

Good friends are the best.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Okay, so besides the CBC,

big on our To-Do-List

was

IKEA (did you just hear angels sing too?).

We don't have IKEAs here in Colorado,

so that was a MUST-DO.

We walked around there for 

two and a half hours!

No kidding.

It was Retail Therapy like none other.

Loved. It.

 Is this lamp not the coolest thing??  

I have no idea where I'd hang it,

but if someone gave it to me,

I'd find a place, no doubt.

 More Lamps...I think I have a "thing" for lamps.

Is there a support group for Lamp Addictions?

"Hi, I'm Momza and I am addicted to Lighting."

IKEA is so freaking huge,

it could have it's own Zipcode.

  After my puppies were plum.wore.out,

and my pocketbook too,

we bid adieu to IKEA and headed over to the

BIG SCARY ADVENTURE

aka

The Casual Blogger Conference:

 You know these women.

Denae, Crash, and Kazzy.

I was overcome with shock and awe that they knew me too.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

At Teresa Collin's Girls Night Out,

we were treated to mini-massages--

Nan was almost in pure bliss during hers--

the only thing that woulda made it better

was if she had someone rubbing her feet

and a Diet Pepsi.

Seriously though,

it was a well-planned event;

so much to do and the people were super too.

~~~~~

A trip to Utah

is incomplete without a trip to

 I had their Pork Barbacoa Salad...delicioso!! I could only eat half of it, but even writing this, my mouth is watering and wishin' I had the rest of it!  

~~~~~

 When Nan travels, she knows how to travel in style--

a pedicure is always on the menu...

and she treated me to one too!

 I've said this before, but it's so true, I'm repeating it: 

The worst part about getting a pedicure is

 that you have to STAND UP and WALK OUT afterwards.  

 Cheesy Nan

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We stayed with the Sharps in Pleasant Grove.

I could write a whole blog just about the evenings we spent with them.

Seriously. 

 We met Mr.Elder Sharp while he was a missionary in England.  He was one of the elders that taught MR. W the discussions.  We are keeping Mr. Elder Sharp for eternity.  His wife Sarah is his perfect companion. We LOVE her to infinity and beyond.  And don't even get me started on their precious family. Sweet. Scrumptious. Serious. 

While there, Sarah introduced me to Body Bugg...and I am loving it! There's a whole 'nother blog on that coming soon.  

Sarah also introduced me to Dawn Weidauer, a professional make-up/hair stylist.  Dawn works in Media Make-up and has a Who's Who List in her bag.  Dawn is preparing to launch another blog aimed at everyday folk like me where she does makeovers and uses step-by-step instructions to teach us how to look like a billion bucks on any budget.  I gladly became her first Makeover.  I don't have pics of this, but let me assure you, tons were taken, and will be posted on her new blog when she's ready to launch it.  

I really wondered what Dawn could do with an old hen like me.  I wasn't expecting much, honestly.  But, for the record, when she was finished, I felt beautiful.  Like, prettier than I've felt in a long time.  

Dawn is a miracle worker!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 So this is the Sharp Family.

Well, most of them.

Their son, B. was off to play with a friend,

and Dawn's son, L. was there playing with blondie Mr. T,

so I told L. to stand in "proxy" for B. for the photo.

But the rest of the gang are 100% Sharps.

 Sarah introduced me to OOBEES--

We went to the OOBEES outlet...

got all the girls some for $8 a pr.

Total hit at home!!

Thanks Sarah!

~~~~~~

And that's just Part Uno for the CBC trip.

I have so mucho-much to share,

the rest will be on tomorrow!

~~~~

Checking Back in From the Casual Bloggers Conference V1.0

I'm back.
My bum hurts
from sitting on it
for exactly 5 days straight
which equals
24 X 5
(hold on while I get out the calculator)
One hundred and twenty hours.
120 hours!
No wonder.

I have so much-ch-ch-ch
to share,
I'm not sure where to start,
but here's the line-up for the coming days' commentaries--
*The 8 hour drive from Colorado to Utah
with Nan.
Who sings country songs at the top of her lungs
even when she's sleeping.
*Getting a professional make-over by the gal who does Stephanie Meyers' face & hair, and a bunch of others whose names I may be name-dropping, and introduce this awesome stylist to you all!
* Pedicure with Nan.
* The Girls' Night Out Party at the Hilton!
*Meeting Denae, Kazzy, Alexis, Crash, MomBabe, InkMom and her sidekick sis, MommyJ, Tauna and a host of others.
*Cafe Rio
*IKEA!!
* Getting a Body Bug
*Buying Food Storage
*A bunch of product reviews from the SWAG I rec'd at CBC
*A fantastic Giveaway by a breath-taking artist!!

Oh yeah, I have so much to share
tons of pics to show
and it's all coming up...
right after I get some sleep.
In my own bed.
At least eight hours' worth.
Which I haven't had since last Tuesday night.

Ya'll come back now, ya hear?

Dear Julie B. Beck: Will you be my BFF?

Dear Sister Beck,
I just love you. Your messages about faith and family and womanhood lift and inspire me.

Dear Sister Beck,
I think you're so neat.  Would you ever consider going out to lunch sometime?  I love the Olive Garden and their breadsticks. 


Dear Sr. B.,
Who does your hair? I'm your biggest fan.

Dear Julie,
Hey there, how's it going? Big meeting with President Monson today?  Anything you can share?

Dear Jules,
Can I call you Jules?

Dear Julie Beck,
I think you're awesome.  And if you wanted to be my BFF, I would totally be okay with that. We could hang out, and go shopping together. Or we could just sit at the table and chat about how cool you are, and the women of the world that you visit are too.  But if you're on your way over, will you call first?  I'd hate to have laundry sitting on the sofa when you got here.

Love,
Momza

Do As I'm Doing, Follow, Follow Me

Maybe you've heard about the NEXT BIG THING
in Blogland...
It's THIS !!!

And while I wasn't sure I was gonna be able to make it,
a "kindness magnet" has attached itself to me
and the planets have aligned just right--
Mr. Wonderful and the Yahoos have encouraged me with a resounding:
"YOU NEED TO GO!"

The hairs on my neck are standing on end
as I suspect that there will be much
celebrating and carrying on
in my absence!

I still need to work out the details...

like where I'm gonna stay?

should I drive or fly there?

who will be my new BFF?

is there a Cafe Rio nearby??

and 

MOST IMPORTANTLY--

What am I gonna wear??