Bloggy Bootcamp ~ Why I want to go

Posted on March 7, 2012 by Jackie

You may have noticed all the tweets yesterday with the hashtag #bloggybootcamp… well that’s because it was Bloggy Bootcamp Day and they had an awesome Twitter party full of fun prizes including tickets to a Bloggy Bootcamp of your choice! Well, I didn’t win but that’s alright because I still have another chance! All I have to do is simply write a post stating what I loved about the Bloggy Bootcamp event and why I’d like to come back.

So what did I love about it? Honestly, I loved everything about it from the smaller group, assigned seating, meeting all the great women who make up the SITS girls, all the awesome bloggers who attend, and of course the wine party.

When I got there I’ll admit that I was nervous. Would anyone have even heard of my blog… would they like me… my mind filled of what if’s and worries. But they were unnecessary… The women I met were very open and welcoming. I could just be me and relax!

But what really stuck out was how open and real the SITS girls were. They took the time to talk to everyone and really listen and this is something that I don’t think that you would get at other conferences. Even after the conference was over Tiffany took the time out of her day to speak with me and help me work towards my goals. I was honored and felt like she actually cared…. this kind of attention is something that you will never get from any other conference.

Friends, dear friends. It’s amazing that there are so many great bloggers, who I am happy to call my friends, that live no more than 2 hours from me. But you know what… we never get together! But we have a great time when we’re at Bloggy Bootcamp!

You’ll also find new people and create lasting friendships. You’ll find your tribe and laugh more than you ever thought possible.

The Cool Crowd

I have pages upon pages of notes from my weekend at Bloggy Bootcamp and several more from my call with the beautiful Tiffany Romero. Notes that I’ve looked over time and again just to remind myself of all that I’ve learned and the goals that I am working towards.

Myself, Amy, and Julie at Sears Tower

I would love to go to again to learn, grow, meet new people, and have fun with my Michigan friends.

Have you been to a Bloggy Bootcamp? What do you think of it?

Without social media I…

Posted on February 7, 2012 by Jackie

Without social media where would I be…. that is a good question. Probably sitting on my couch watching horrible reality based TV shows with a box of bon-bons in my lap. Okay… that’s a lie because we all know that I don’t like reality shows. It’s more likely that I’d have my face buried in a book!

Without social media I would be left behind the times and not part of the cool crowd.

The Cool Crowd

Without social media I would have never known that someone could karaoke Ice, Ice, Baby so well! I mean Elena can belt it out like no other…. and she can do it all by memory!

Gleek Retreat Karaoke

Without social media I wouldn’t have started on a my journey to a new career for myself. My eyes wouldn’t have been opened to all the incredible opportunities that are out there in the world, all that there is to learn, and all the great people who are willing to help you out.

Without social media I wouldn’t have met an incredible woman. One who is exactly the same online as she is in person. One who is sweet, open, honest, and downright hilarious. I mean have you read her blog???

The Empress and I

Without social media I’d probably be really bored.

Without social media I would have never found Pinterest. Life without Pinterest… I shudder to think of it!

Without social media I would have never found wonderful recipes and been able to share them with everyone.

Without social media I wouldn’t have met some incredible women from right here in the state of Michigan.

Awesome Michigan Bloggers

Without social media I wouldn’t have been able to state my case and then get an iPhone as a result!

Without social media I wouldn’t have started writing fiction again or have known about #NaNoWriMo.

Without social media I would not have met some of the best friends ever. Even though I haven’t met the majority of them in person I am honored to call them friends. When you need a shoulder to cry on, someone to vent to, or help with a fashion crisis they’re always there for you. And once in a while you meet that one person that you really connect with and you become fast friends. Someone you trust and look forward to talking to. Someone who has earned the title of a best friend.

What about you? What would you been doing without social media? How would your life be different?

The year in pictures

Posted on December 29, 2011 by Jackie

While going through my reader the other day (Yes, I do go through it on occasion) I happened upon a post from Ashley from My Front Porch Swing and then the same one from Jessica over at Four Plus an Angel and decided to play along! I mean 12 pictures or my favorite posts from the year… how much easier can it get?

January brought Andrew’s first birthday! It seems so long ago but it was only a year…. and what a difference a year makes.

February brings Valentine’s Day… need I say more?

March and my little girl turned 9 and brought Flat Lauren to the party!

April at my parents house for Easter and the girls were on a scavenger hunt that their grandma puts together every year for them.

May! And my first ever blogging conference! I made the trip…. all2 hrous of it to Holland Michigan for Gleek Retreat where I met some incredible women all from Michigan! That’s me along with Elena from Mommy’s in Timeout and Katie from Sluiter Nation!

In June all three of my girls took part in one of the parades that take place every year during the Curwood Festival. I was a proud mama watching all of them march!

The heat of July is only intensified by sitting by the ball field while you watch your kids play for what seems like hours on end.

August brought another conference for me and this time it was Bloggy Bootcamp. If you ever have a chance to go to one of these GO! Seriously it was incredible! Here I am with so great friends from Michigan! Dutch Being Me, Mommy is in Time Out, Daily Dribbles, and Buried with Children.

First day of school for September of course.

October was warm… on occasion and the day we carved pumpkins the kids all made their way outside and spent the afternoon playing together and carving pumpkins.

Every year in November the high school marching band puts on one final performance of the marching season indoors. Yes, indoors! Where it’s warm & we can enjoy it. It is truly one of the best events during the year.

And that brings us to December. And with it being the holidays and all I bet you’re tired of seeing all those happy holiday type pictures so instead of that I’ve decided to grace you with the Pimp of Greek Town. Now, I have no idea what his name is or if he really is a pimp but I HAD to take a picture of this. We took a trip to Detroit for my daughter’s 16th birthday and I have to say that this was probably the highlight of the day!

So there you have it folks…12 pictures from the past year. I do have to say that I loved going through all the pictures from the year and seeing how the kids have changed and grown, the places we’ve been, and all the fun we had. Picking just one picture for each month was hard because I wanted to share so much more with you all.

How was your year? Have you had time to sit and look back at all your pictures yet?

Bloggy Bootcamp Chicago in Pictures

Posted on August 24, 2011 by Jackie

This past weekend I was lucky enough to be able to attend Bloggy Bootcamp in Chicago. I met up with over 100 of my friends along with the awesome SITS girls for a great day of learning, networking, and fun. I won’t get to my wrap up post until this weekend but I did want to share some of the pictures from the weekend with you. If you want to see all of the pictures that I took (not very many either) you can check them out on my Flickr page.

Dressed up with accessories from Ross!

One of the highlights of the day was meeting the Empress!

The Friday Night Dinner Crew & the SITS Girls

Amy, Julie, and I on the Skydeck

Getting to know me – Bloggy Bootcamp Style

Posted on August 18, 2011 by Jackie

Alright, if you didn’t already know I’ll be heading to Chicago this weekend for Bloggy Bootcamp which is an incredible one day blogging conference hosted by the SITS Girls!

Of course I’m excited to be going and that I’ll be meeting up with some old friends, Julie & Elena (my roommates), Jen and then meeting some new people as well! Kmama, Mother’s Hideaway, and Coffee Lovin’ Mom. Of course there are so many others that are going to be attending that I am looking forward to meeting and getting to know but it’d take a lifetime to list all 125 women!

I can’t forget the SITS girls who will be our hostess’ for the day, Tiffany and Francesca! Because without them we all wouldn’t be going to this great event or learning everything that they have to offer through their website. Seriously, they’re incredible!

Oh, one of the cool things about going to Bloggy Bootcamp…. My SITS day was just the other day! It’s like the holidays have come early!

So for those of you who haven’t met me I’ll give you a bit of background in case you don’t feel like poking around here all day trying to figure things out.

I’m married to a pretty good guy who puts up with all my social media addictions and idiosyncrasies. A big thank you goes out to him for letting me get away this weekend and staying home with the kids.
I have 4 kids. Yup, you heard me right. And even more fun is that there are 3 girls (15, 11, 9) and 1 boy (19 months). Big age gap, huh?
I work full time outside the home as a product owner at a small software development company in Michigan. It’s a good job and a even better place to work but it’s not my dream job.
I’m somewhat reserved and I suppose that at times I can come across as mean/rude/bitchy or something along those lines. But believe me I’m none of those things (at least I don’t think I am). I just don’t know what to say and have this fear of looking/sounding like an idiot.
I can be fun so come talk to me. Please…. don’t leave me alone sitting in that hard chair in the corner.
Yes, I’ve been stressing over what to wear. Do I change before the cocktail party? Should I dress up or go more casual? Do I find something new or wear what I have? Ugg…. decisions… decisions. I really need Tracy to help me!
This is my second blog conference so I can officially say that I’m not a newbie. This May I went to Gleek Retreat right here in Michigan and had a great time! I suggest that you check it out.
I love social media! A lot. So much that I have a goal to make a career change and find a job in the social media field.

Come find me and say Hi!

By the way... this is me.

Gleek Retreat ~ Counting the Days!

Posted on May 16, 2011 by Jackie

I have to tell you that I am sooo.. excited! Why you ask, well because this weekend, 5 days away, I’ll be joining a bunch of great people in Holland for Gleek Retreat!

Gleek Retreat is a blogging conference that is held right here in Michigan every year and was created by bloggers for bloggers. The conference is held over the weekend and that is one of the best parts about it… I’m able to go and not miss work or to much at home.

This will be my first ever conference and as I talked about before there’s a lot that goes into deciding whether or not to go to a conference. This one is a mere 2 hours from my home and looks like it’s going to be filled with a ton of useful information and even more fun.

Maybe your thinking to yourself… that’s not all that exciting… but I’m here to tell you that it really is and I’ll share the reasons why.

I haven’t been away without my kids or husband EVER
I haven’t done anything with friends in so long I may have forgotten how to act (I apologize for this in advance ladies)
I can use all the help I can get when it comes to writing and blogging
I get to go on a dinner cruise
I get to eat my dinner uninterrupted (YAY!!)
I get to use the bathroom alone
Holland is a great city with a lot to see and do. (Shopping anyone?)
I need a “girls” night out (I apologize to any men who may attend)

It goes without being said that I will miss my family and that they’ll probably miss me even more. I say that because they’ve never had a weekend where dad is the one doing everything so it may (or may not) be a challenge for them all. It will most definitely be a learning experience for them though….hey… I just had a thought…. maybe they’ll see how much I do for them and totally appreciate everything and be gushing over me when I get home (I can dream can’t I?).

Anyway be prepared for a few posts reviewing the conference, what I’ve learned, and of course a ton of pictures!