I had an amazing weekend attending the Evo 10 conference. Evo is short for The Evolution of Women in social media. It was fascinating. The whole conference, for start to finish, was just incredible. Thank you Jyl of Mom it Forward and Rachael of Today’s Mama for putting together something so special. It took place at The Canyons, in Park City, UT. It was just beautiful! I didn’t realize how much beauty was only 20 mins away! Since I live so close I saved money by staying at home. But I missed some of the late night sleepover madness, so I’d definitely suggest staying at the conference in the future. Otherwise you miss fun stuff like Jumping in the pool with all your clothes on!
(taken by Marlyn or UrbanBliss)
I was able to re-meet some of the amazing women I connected with at CBC. Along with meeting some new ones! Some local (which is nice but not necessary anymore) and even more from all over the world! I was a complete IDIOT and only took 2 pictures the entire time. Really, it’s embarrassing, how can I call myself a blogger with that record? Lucky for me all the other bloggers did their thing and took a ton of pictures! I’ll make sure to give the credit to the amazing photographers!
It was hard to take the picture, we kept laughing, but in the end we got it! My new friend Jenn! I went up to her the first night in LOVE with her hair. Turns out we have a lot in common. She even happens to live here in UT too! Now to find a time in our schedule to get together (how about it Jenn?).
The overall theme that speakers kept coming back to was being Authentic. More than once the question of WHY we blog, or WHAT our goal is came up. Also is what we’re doing (blogging for ourselves, business, money, connection, etc…) making us happy? If we’re not happy with what we’re doing it will come out in our writing. It will wear on us. When we create an online persona we end up resenting it. “When you love what you do you never work a day in your life.” I need a goal, even for blogging. What am I hoping to get from our blog. There is no wrong answers, but if we are honest (with ourselves) about our motivation we can “dress for the job we want” or write/blog for the blog/job we want. Just like other aspects of our life we need a goal, a mission statement to truly enjoy and focus on what we’re doing. Hearing that totally resonated with me. I know it’s not for everyone, but this conference really fit ME. It really clicked and made sense to me. I want to blog this way.
(picture by ShelliBlock, taken with Lindsay of Rock and Roll Mama)
It also taught me SO much about social media. I’m on twitter, but didn’t really use it, at least not well! There were amazing classes on business, marketing, branding, using social media, the FUTURE of social media, etc.. We had some AMAZING and inspiring speakers, and stories. It not only renewed my emotional spirit, but my enjoyment of blogging. I didn’t even realize that I was a bit… worn out?
(Taken by Bush’s Beans Photo Booth at the closing social with Lego Boy)
I loved it! One of the things I haven’t been able to get off my mind since the LAST conference I went to is that I want to, no NEED to (for myself), be sharing more of my story, more of me. I LOVE cakes and crafting, and I’m not stopping any of that side of my blogging. I love my cakes and crafts and fellow craft and foodie bloggers. But I feel like I’m missing something. A part of me is missing and has been missing for awhile. The aspergers, having 4 children with it, being married to someone with it is a huge part of my life. One that people like to ask me about and have lots of questions about. Also I’m pretty fun (not to mention HOT!), and I’d forgotten that! Being surrounded constantly by my non-social family I’ve lost a bit of myself. I don’t mind, usually. I love my husband and children, and they and their happiness, is very important to me. BUT all of us need to refresh ourselves. So I DO need to take care of myself. Which, for me, is why I blog, why I craft, why I throw parties, why I make cakes! For me it’s all stuff I enjoy. BUT something has been missing. While my family isn’t social I AM. And I need friends more than I realize.
(picture by ShelliBlock, taken with Allison at PetitElefant and Alma of Ollibird)
We’ve moved a lot, and where we live now is friendly, but no one my age, no one in my situation and no one who can even comprehend what my life is like. But online I can find that. The internet has made the world so much smaller. This weekend was a treasure! It was refreshing. And seeing how so many of these bloggers had meet and known each other previously just from meeting on line (and a few at other conferences) made me realize how powerful this new world really is. And how much I want to be a part of it. Honestly I’ve been scared, I’m out of practice making friends and it’s hard sometimes to remember that I AM a crazy fun person! It took me a few days at the conference to even loosen up and be silly and fun! I should have been brave enough to break out my mommy dance moves! Next time I promise girls!
(Taken by Bush’s Beans Photo Booth at the closing social of Sweetcakes and Lego Boy)
SO while I’m going to continue the crafts and cakes (how could I not, they bring me so much happiness and fulfillment) I’m also going to do something else. Something new, something I’m scared of. And something I’m not sure I’ll be any good at. I’m going to be more authentic, more real, more ME! My mother has often said I share too much, I’m too open and trusting. She’s right. I think that this quality will actually be beneficial in this world of blogging. But at the same time I’ve never thought of myself as a good writer. I think I’m too… factual, not enough emotion in my writing. I come from a very funny, very sarcastic family. Sarcasm doesn’t translate very well on the page. BUT I’m going to do it anyway. I’m even going to try my hand at Vlogging! Eeekkkk!!! For now I’m just dipping my toe in the water, so I’ll keep it here for now. But if all goes well I’m happy to branch out and separate the crafts/cakes from the personal stuff.
