I recently had the pleasure of attending the Type A Parent Conference hosted in Charlotte, NC and I had a blast. I met some of the most inspiring people during this conference and learned more than I imagined was possible. The women (and men) there were absolutely incredible. Type A is not your usual stuffy uptight conference (as evidenced by the pictures) Everyone was so friendly and open with just a touch of crazy ( my kind of people)

Some of the biggest takeaways for me?

The best way to take good pictures is to practice. The best  camera to use is the one that you have with you. I guess this would be an uh, duh moment for me because I always have that “my camera isn’t good enough” excuse or ” I’m not good at taking pictures” excuse. Kinda like a kid saying that they can’t kick a soccer ball. We make them try it, right? We don’t take lame excuses from them, so why do we accept them from ourselves?

It’s my blog and I get to decide what goes in it. I can say what I want when I want to say it. In other words, if you don’t like it, you are free to move on to someone else’s blog. That may not seem like a big deal to most people, but for me it is. I have always concerned myself with other people think. It’s time to stop that. I can be as real as I want without stressing over so-and-so’s opinion. Basically, if you act like a giant douchebag, I reserve the right to blog about it. (okay maybe this wasn’t the intended message but it’s what I internalized)

My blog design and layout sucks. I already knew this but now I feel like I should do something about it. I will be tinkering and toying and playing around with it for the next few weeks. Once I get it the way I want it, I will get bored and start all over. I can’t help it. I get bored easily. I like change and I like learning. I redid my About page yesterday and I am still not happy with it. It needs pictures. I need to take pictures soon. (see the comments above)

Numbers shouldn’t matter as much as interaction. That seems a bit counter-intuitive but for me it’s really not. Although I would hope a million people would find me interesting, it is also okay if only 10 people respond to me. The point is, if it was like a street corner, I would rather 10 people came to visit and talk than 100 who gawk at me and continue on without saying a word.

But by far the biggest take away that I got from the conference was that I am not alone. There are literally hundreds of others out there just.like.me.

People like my roommates and new freinds Angela from ThePaganMomBlog , Cindy from It’sFoodtastic, Christina from WellinTHIShouse and Cindy from MildlyManicMom. We giggled like schoolgirls quite often throughout the weekend. I abso-freakin-lutely loved it. I haven’t laughed so hard in years. Literally years. It was like we were long lost highschool besties getting together for a reunion. Finally people that didn’t need an explanation of what blogging is. No weird looks or uncomfortable stares from anyone. (well there was the woman on the plane but that is a whole other story.) Just a whole lotta fun and learning all rolled up into a big ole ball.

Bottom line? I loved loved loved being able to go to this conference. I am already planning on going again next year. Guess I’ll start saving my pennies now…