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Thursday, August 03, 2006

 

Good Things Come in Threes


Krisco of Crib Ceiling, Mary
Originally uploaded by marytsao.
I know ya'll are sick of hearing about BlogHer, but I really want to thank some wonderful women that have helped me be the blogger I am today.

I want to acknowledge three women whom I had the pleasure of hanging out with at the convention: Liz of Mom-101, Krisco of Crib Ceiling, and Julie of Mothergoosemouse.

Liz of Mom-101 was my "first" at this year's BlogHer. That means she was the first person to talk to me and for that I will be forever grateful. I wasn't sure what to expect when I walked into the pool area at the San Jose Hyatt, clutching my laptop bag and wearing my non-mom shoes. I knew Mir, Chris, and Jenn were at the hotel somewhere, but I hadn't called to rendezvous with any of them. Thanks to Julie's awesome organizational skills, I had a vague idea that bloggers would be meeting in the pool area around noon-ish. I suppose I expected a large party but there were only a few women sitting at tables. All of a sudden I hear, "Mary? It's Liz... Mom-101!" Hurrah! All of a sudden my anxiety disappeared and I got to sit down and have a great conversation with Liz, Roo of roo the day, and Catherine of Her Bad Mother. Catherine and I discussed babies and eros, and she has promised to blog about it soon. Which is good because I didn't even remember the conversation until I read about it on her blog. Again, damn my crappy memory!

Later that evening, on my way to the bus that would take the BlogHer contributing editors to an off-site lemon drop hoe-down, a woman in the lobby shouted, "Mary! Hi!" And she looked at me and smiled. And I looked at her like an idiot with a blank look on my face. And she said, "It's Krisco! Crib Ceiling?!" I think I squealed and hugged her and appologized at that point. Oh, and then ran out the door and promised her I'd be back later. I have no idea why I didn't immediately recognize her -- I think I already had met and hugged close to two dozen women and I was starting to hyperventilate. But I did hang out with her later and also during the next two days and it was like hanging out with an old friend. Krisco is one of the first people ever to comment on this blog besides my mother and my mother-in-law. I think she found me last year from the BlogHer blogroll. And this year I got to meet her and have a conversation with her like I really knew her. Because, well, I do. It felt good.

I would like to thank Julie of mothergoosemouse, who not only was the extraordinary force behind compiling a list of a couple dozen bloggers who would be going to BlogHer, but who also was one of the first bloggers whom I stalked after last year's conference. I remember reading comments over at Meghan's blog written by one mothergoosemouse and really liking what this woman (I assumed she was a woman) had to say. So I followed her comments like a trail of breadcrumbs over to her blog and from her, I met dozens of other great women writers. And I'm selfishly glad she quit that lousy job she had because now she has more time to blog again! There, I said it. Julie is generous of mind and spirit, but she's also opinionated, which is good because she's smart and has smart things to say. She's the whole package, that mothergoosemouse. (And I love this post she just wrote about social networking. Good stuff!)

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Ah, the Mommybloggers: Jenny Lauck of Three Kid Circus, Jenn Satterwhite of Mommy Needs Coffee, and Meghan Townsend of I'm ablogging. What can I say? These three women helped introduce me to the concept of mommyblogging. Before I went to last year's BlogHer, I didn't know that I was a mommyblogger or that there were others like me. Seriously. The discussion we had last year (these three led last year's panel discussion on mommyblogging) led me to start taking seriously this little 'ol blog. And then when they featured me on the mommybloggers site?! Wow. I was walking on air for weeks.

Jenny, Jenn, and Meghan: You three really made me feel like I deserved recognition. Thank you for the ego boost! I had a great time hanging out with all three of you this year, and I see great things in the future for all of us!

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I also want to publicly thank the three women who are behind BlogHer: Jory Des Jardins, Lisa Stone, and Elisa Camahort. These three women are amazing powerhouses who were not afraid to ask the question, "Where are the women bloggers?" at last year's conference and who furthered the conversation this year with the theme, "How has your blog changed your world?" My blog definitely has changed my world, and I am excited to now be a part of the BlogHer organization as a contributing editor and as a founding member of the ad network. These three women are empowering women bloggers in many facets of their development and they deserve to be applauded for their hard work and dedication. And in dealing with these three women, I have never been involved with drama. Ever. They bring to the BlogHer organization pure professionalism and for that, I am especially thankful.

I know that looking at the photos of BlogHer might be intimidating, but I strongly urge any woman who is serious about writing--about blogging--to think about going to next year's conference. My attendance last year opened a number of doors for me and I anticipate good things to come from the relationships I started this year, too.

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