Unfortunately my plans to attend this year’s BlogHer Conference in Chicago had to be cancelled. Bad new for me, but potentially good news for someone else!
I have a full conference ticket for sale here via Craigslist, but if anyone is interested feel free to leave a comment and I’m happy to set up the transfer directly!
The conference takes place in only one short week, but if anyone is spontaneous and has connections in Chicago it would be a fun weekend filled with networking and blog building events and learning. Guest speakers include Guy Kawasaki, Sheryl Sandberg and Randi Zuckerber, not to mention all the amazing bloggers in the community of attendees!
I’m really sad to have to miss out, but hope this brings one of you lovely readers and opportunity to join.
The full conference includes both Friday and Saturday sessions and events. It’s valued at $407 and I’d need to pay a $25 fee for the transfer, so I’m asking for $300. But if someone would really just love to attend and can’t quite swing $300, reach out and we can chat!
My beautiful girl crush-worthy friend Ting Ting is part of Lucky’s Dasani Drops contest and could use your love! The contest allows you to vote every day, so vote often.
Why should I vote you ask? Easy-peasy!
Because Ting Ting shares awesome, guilt-free, family friendly (read quick.inexpensive.realistic) recipes like this. And this.
Because Ting is as open and bubbly in real-life as she is online. So she goes out, gets gutsy and does cool things like intro you to stalkworthy new blogs…
Today is a very special day. It’s my gorgeous, light of the world, baby niece’s FIRST Birthday!
Happy Birthday sweet baby girl!
And in honor of this little bundle of joy, what better way than to showcase Miss Molly Mahar’s latest edition of setting the world ablaze with Joy!?
If you aren’t already following Stratejoy, go ahead click >>> this <<< then sit back and enjoy your being one giant step closer to living your own authentic, fabulous life. In her latest installment she’s brought her tribe to Pinterest, thus introducing a new wave of #QOTD worthy imagspirations straight from Molly’s wise words.
Here are just a few of my favorites, but make sure to check them out yourself or better yet add to the fun! The contest closes tonight and winners are announced tomorrow. Which means you still HAVE TIME to get in your own Mollyism!
Somewhere at the corner of Happily Ever After and way too little sleep, I crack myself up. Otherwise known as my idea for a Parisian themed wedding…
“Eiffel For You”
Get it!? haha <— See *literally* laughing at my own cleverness
Admittedly it very well could have been a term coined by another, but since I hadn’t seen it in all my Robin Hooding and pretty much everything on the web has been re-invented and reclaimed multiple times over anyway, I’m claiming it for ACL.
I am a hard core nerd for everything Hollywood. The Actresses. The Actors. The Directors. The Stories. The Theater. The Fashion. The Popcorn. I kid you not, nerd on all fronts.
So when I found this little collection of gems (Also See: failing to focus on weekend work and getting distracted by the shiny things), let’s just say I lost spent an unhealthy amount of time nerding. all. out.
I just love the beauty in these unguarded moments (okay, I know they were interviews, so not totally unguarded but still…). What I didn’t expect was finding the real gems. The ironic and beautiful, almost embarrassed confessions of these – the brightest of stars – as they make their own confessions.
Confessions like this one from a young Jennifer Lawrence as she admits to a, “really gross, dangerous mentality of no consideration of failure. Just never even considering the thought of failure. If I want something I just go until I get it.”
And what comes from having that kind of mentality…
What could happen if you had no consideration of failure?…
Recently I had a conversation with a good friend about dating and something he said struck a chord with me.
“…I’m looking for my equal.”
At face value, you might think, “Aww that’s sweet!”. And isn’t that what we’re all looking for at the end of the day? Someone to love who loves us? Someone to share every happiness with, to be supportive through every sadness?
Wrong.
With so many shouting equality these days, it begs the question of “why?’ Why are we so bent on being equal? Why do you want to be equal – the same – as anybody else, much less everybody else? Somewhere along the line, someone sold us a story about equality. And it sounded good.
But why?
It sounded good because it meant the end to feeling unrecognized, overlooked, underrepresented, underpaid…All the negative feelings we tie from (allow) exterior influences onto our own internal self-worth. While I don’t argue that there are cases where the fight may not be the same for one individual vs. another, I feel that the end goal is often the same. To be the best.
Who cares about being equal? Don’t we really want to be the best?
In career. In family. In friends. In life. Being the best is ingrained from an early age – some might say, an inherent need inherited from our ancestors, when being the best meant survival.
Now circle up. Back to the beginning, I proudly admit that I went after and married my best. Not my equal. Not my “good enough”. My Best.
The man who challenged me, pushed me (sometimes kicking and screaming) beyond my comfort zone to achieve things I only allowed my soul to whisper, barely audible, deep-deep-deep down in my heart. The one who made my stomach flutter. The one with whom I could barely contain a smile from the pride felt when he was by my side. The one who taught me I needn’t try to contain it.
When that man walked into my life, I didn’t think I’d found my equal. I knew I’d found my better half. And that’s what we should all strive for – our Better Half. That is what Mastermind Alliances are forged from, allowing each of us to achieve and continue to build then conquer or biggest dreams in pursuit of our best lives.
This is for anyone who’s written their wedding vows, a best man or maid of honor speech, a toast. For those moments so special that you want to capture with the perfect words. And for knowing that sometimes, the best words have already been written…