I'm Back!!!

The euphoria is slowing abating and Vegas is becoming a memory but in a nutshell Blogalicious 2012 ROCKED - hard!!!

It was so awesome, so well organized and executed, I'm still amazed. I'd never even heard of Blogalicious until my bestie Teri mentioned it to me because the 2011 conference was held in DC. Up until I got to Vegas I still had no idea what to expect. Justice Fergie and crew had a mission and oh my was it accomplished! The sponsored parties never failed to impress from the Fashionista tea party hosted by Ross Dress for Less (where I donned my very first dress hat, a lime green one with a black band & flower), to the American Cancer Society's bowl for more birthdays benefit, to the McDonald's poolside mixer where the only thing cheezy were the burgers not to mention vthe Gain Fresh party in Cherry nightclub starring none other than the human-beat box Doug E Fresh, himself. (In case you're wondering, yes Doug E's STILL got it and it looks good!) Let's not forget our trip to da Strip where we jammed to two phenomenal females djs at clubs Tao and Lavo, Blogalicious 2012 was non-stop enjoyment. Even the live water nymphs (with their strategically placed flower petals) lounging in tubs at the entrance to Tao couldn't dampen my spirits. This was Vegas and I pretty much expected just about anything. Even our meals were taken care of - very, very well indeed and the libations were potent and liberally offered. I haven't drank that much in just 4 days in my entire life! And everywhere but everywhere we went there was a swag bag of some kind - it was like Christmas - I could get used to this.

so much swag

All that was just the fun part but the primary purpose of Blogalicious was to inform and inspire. There was a bevy of great speakers including my fellow Baltimore natives, Harriette Cole and Mario Armstrong, PBS' Miss Lori and hip-hop group TLC's Rozonda "Chili" Thomas. I met so many other accomplished but not so famous women like Toronto's own Goddess intellect, the Curvy Fashionista, and Robrette from Modish Verve - inspiring all. But my most memorable encounter though fleeting was with Boomer Wizdom.  She said something so simple yet profound that it could be my motto for Blogalicious conference and possibly my life.  She related how she learned to ski at 60 but only after mastering the hardest thing - learning how to fall.  And while she spoke in the context of skiing, I found it a wonderful metaphor for life.  Just imagine how limitless life can be once falling and failing no longer matter.  So despite feeling a bit more self conscious about my tiny slice of the blogosphere I am far more comfortable that there is indeed a place and audience for my blog. Growing my audience won't happen overnight but it does need to happen if I want to be taken seriously. The sooner I accept that missteps and falls are par for this course, the better my experience will be.  

Oh, if there was one thing, I'd change about it besides making it a week long it would have been that like an episode of Oprah where everybody would get an iPad 3 instead of just the two lucky winners....  a gurl can dream, can't she? Maybe next year at Blogalicious 2013.