BlogHer Fun: Los Angeles

A week ago I was flying home from Los Angeles after attending the annual BlogHer conference.

The Summer of Firstevers: Connecting the Events

If last year was the Summer of Free Music, this was The Summer of Firstevers.

I took my first cruise to my first visit to Canada. I was happily shocked that the huge ship was so stable that I often forgot that we weren’t in some landlocked resort, but rather, in the Atlantic Ocean. I will revisit the cities of Saint John and Halifax because a few hours is simply not enough time to experience a culture. I loved what I did see: the rugged coast, the historic structures, the friendly people, lighthouses. Even the rain, though inconvenient, seemed appropriate.

I did my first Manhattenhenge, the event where the setting sun lines up with Manhattan’s crosstown streets. I have worked in Manhattan my entire adult life and only this year thought to view this phenomenon.

After exhaustive research (ok, mostly Pinterest searches) I discovered keratin products to to tame my curly, coarse hair. It’s laborious, and the blowing out will probably result in nicely defined upper arms. That would seem like a shallow accomplishment but we are often treated according to our appearance. It’s easier to leave the house knowing that I look my personal best.

I attended my first blogging conference and enjoyed it more than I anticipated. It’s still daunting to know how much technical, creative and monetary potential a blog has. I would love to find an in person, college-level, certificate granting course to make me a blogging expert.

For the first time ever, I saw what it takes to set  up a classroom. I was honored to help my daughter clean and arrange the disorganized schoolroom that she was assigned. She did most of the work days before I arrived but there was plenty to wash and sort and hang on boards. I had no idea how many learning tools exist, from math manipulatives to finely-leveled readers, many of which had been haphazardly stored in very large bags.

So many disparate experiences, all connected by the chances to do and learn new things.  To be sure, I have spent a fair amount of time doing nothing of interest, but I am so grateful for the past few months’ growth opportunities.

We Love Books

They grow up but with any luck, the love of books remains.

But it’s not just luck. If you joyfully read to your kids from infancy, if they have readers as role models, then reading is a positive part of life. It’s not just associated with homework assignments, but also with enjoyment.

My Style: Trim Nails as a Show of Strength

I was a nail biter.

You wouldn’t know it to look at me, with trim, tidy nails in a usually understated color. But I was a skittish, nailbiting kid who kept up the habit through adulthood. When my teenaged daughter wanted nice nails for events like proms and sweet sixteens, I gladly paid. It occurred to me that I deserved just as nice but rarely spent the time or money on my own extravagances.

In 2006 I made the decision to no longer be that nervous kid and start treating myself as I wanted to be treated. After wearing tips for about a year I pretty much broke the habit and stopped wearing the fake nails. I learned how to do them myself, although not nearly as professionally as they do in the nail salons. It’s like I made up for lost time, buying more nail polish than I could ever use.

Evening Energy

Ahh, the end of a long day, feet up catching the early evening breeze while I sip a coffee. Just enough energy to get through the evening.

BlogHer Mania and Some Thoughts on Selfies

Happy May everybody! I’m going to attempt to post daily for BlogHer’s “NaBloPoMo” (I think it’s National Blog Post Month or something like that) since their theme this month is photo. Yep, we may get a little self-revelatory in this, my favorite month of the year.