The Pictures I Didn't Post

In case anyone still cares about my trip to BlogHer. (Which was officially FOREVER ago and I refuse to let it go).

Here we go.

 Me, laden down with swag and hugging a cardboard cutout of the Brawny man. Where is this dude to clean my kitchen???? AWOL? Typical male.

 The Glee cheerleaders at the People's Party. They were teaching people how to do the Dougie. I had no idea what that was and they pretty much called me old. Whatever bitches, I can drink alcohol and you can't. (Notice the white trash wine with ice in my hand... it was a tribute to Raising Hope. I love theme cocktails.)

My girls. WendyWillBlog, SpaghettiWesterner and BeyondThe Bandaids. I *heart* you. Thank you for making my first BlogHer so incredible. MWAH.

BlogHer 11 - I Survived!

So I may actually be the last Blogger that attended BlogHer to give a recap... I'm a little behind the times, so SUE ME. We just got home and there's piles of laundry and a kid to keep alive and the dog ate my homework... so yeah.

BlogHer - the Recap
aka 
Things That Shocked the Sh** Out of Me About BlogHer

1) I wish I had paid attention to the comfortable shoes comments. My feet were bleeding by the end of the first day. Like BLEEDING people. I'm hobbled. But I looked pretty hot, if I do say so myself.  
     For the 3600 women who attended... Was I trying to impress them with pain? Apparently. Most impressive. 

2) That I would get to hug Amalah. She's awesome by the way, and totally huggable and I may actually have squeeed a few times. It's ok, she's used to it.

3) That I would only go to half the sessions but I went to all of the BlogHer parties (in addition to a few off-site ones...)

4) That I would meet bloggers with whom I had the MOST random connections. Fairfax County represents, Bebehblog!!

5) That I would meet other slightly crunchy green moms at the really cool Haute Green party and that I would come out of that party with over $150 in cloth diapers. I mean, REALLY?

6) That when they say swag... they mean swag. I can't believe the amount of stuff I brought home. I may have to take a picture of it later to really impress you with the quantity and quality of the sponsors that were there. It was mind boggling.

7) That I would not take a single, stupid picture the entire time...even when I was dancing on stage at Sparklecorn and love every stinking minute of it. This from the person who has watched most of her child's babyhood through the lens of a camera.

8) That I would go in knowing only 1 person out of 3600 and I would see them for approximately 10 minutes. (sad face)

9) That I would come out having made awesome and amazing connections with some brilliant, hysterical, emotional, raw and honest people. I have beautiful friends that came out of this chaos and for that I am grateful.

10) That despite that fact I was FRIED by the end of the first day, and barely dragged my lifeless body through the second day of sessions... I can't WAIT for BlogHer 12. I can't wait to reconnect, to tackle the goals I've laid out for the year and to see what I've finished by the time it rolls around again.

Watch out NYC, BlogHer is coming back!!!

Who the Hell AM I?

So part of my BlogHer experience this year is going to the Haute Green party/meetup. I'm beyond freaking out about this. I'm going to get to meet other bloggers, many of which I've stalked followed for years, and actually talk to them! Or at least try to talk to them while I babble incoherently...

The best part really is that all of these moms/women are like me. They all cloth diaper, they are all eco-friendly, most of them drink wine by the gallon... it's like, holy shit I've found my PEOPLE!

Let's be honest though, I was not always this way. The hubs and I have always been consumers. Like, REAL consumers of pretty much anything we could get our hands on. Durable goods, alcohol, food... we never really cared where it came from or where it was going when we finished with it. Hell, I was 25 when we met and the most I thought about where my food was coming from was when I ordered it out. We partied, we fed, we pretty much just consumed everything in our lives without a worry or a care.

And then we had the kid.

And while I don't remember the exact reason I decided that our lifestyle needed an overhaul besides the fact that, holy shit, what was going to be left for HIM?!?!, I knew that something had to give. I knew that while we recycled (the millions of bottles of beer/wine that we consumed) there was probably more that we could be doing. We talked about cloth diapers... and set it aside. We weren't ready to make that kind of commitment. I read about them, followed Amalah as she cloth diapered and kind of lusted after the cute colors and fat bottoms... but we decided it wasn't for us just yet. I was going back to work, then we were buying a house and moving 500 miles away. It didn't seem like something I needed to bother myself with.

Then we moved up to Sonoma. And here was the lifestyle that I never knew I wanted or needed all this time. Sustainable agriculture, composting, CSAs, local produce, dairy and meat... it was mind boggling and SO exciting for me. And all of a sudden it all fell into place. All of those things that I knew that I should be doing, became a whole lot easier to actually do. We joined a CSA, I picked my way through slowly read The Omnivore's Dilemma and started reading labels, shunning corn by-products and buying grass fed beef. We started a huge garden, cut down our footprint, got some chickens... and I started cloth diapering. And it was AWESOME! And I loved it!

I get it a lot from old friends though... Who the F*** are you and what happened to Ashley?

Its true... even I was astonished at this person who had gone from total consumer, self centered 20 something, to this conscious, aware "hippie" (as the hubs calls me). I feel like I've opened my eyes for the first time and I'm excited to make a change... no matter how small it is. Because I know that the change I've made in our lives will teach the kiddo to live his life the same way...

So now I get to share that passion with all of these other awesome, eco-cool women and I'm STOKED! And it will be amazing to be surrounded by like-minded people... to share ideas... cloth diapering horror stories... martinis... whatever. I'm just happy to be there. And maybe I'll bring some more hippie ideas with me up north.

I'm sure the hubs will be ecstatic.