I need about a week to bounce back from this past weekend, but having little kids is not conducive to a break, so back to real life it is. Because my brain is still fuzzy and I have to keep stopping Rocket from trying to climb into the refrigerator, I'm relying on bullet points, which are lame except when you have the attention span of a gnat, as I do. In fact, right after I wrote that, I got distracted and almost lost this, all of this progress that I have already made on this post.
* The Kirtsy/Alltop party was nice. Really nice. As much as I was thrilled to be away from my kids, they would have loved this party, as Guy Kawasaki's house is truly a kids' paradise. And in a nice way, not a creepy way like Neverland Ranch.
* The rest of the night was a blur of parties and people. Everyone was so nice and it was fun to see people whom I had only seen on the internet before. I am 100% certain I came off as a buffoon.
Bonggamom is awesome. I wanted to hold her hand like a lost child as she led me around. She made Thursday night so much fun and none of it would have been possible without Mod*Mom, who is hip, cool and also very kind.
I missed the first breakout session on Friday because I found the Sesame Street room. Oh my god! Abby Cadabby was there along with Grover. Abby is incredibly funny and conversational and for the second (and final) time, I really wished my kids were there. For the kids that did come into the room, Abby showered them with love and attention, making the kids glow with happiness. Sesame Street was filmed each mom with one of the characters in front of a Sesame Street backdrop. I talked with Grover and he said hello to both of my kids by name and at that point, I wanted to cry with joy. When I returned home on Sunday, I immediately showed the kids and they loved it. Rocket had some trouble wrapping his mind around it. He'd look at the screen, look at me, back to the screen, etc., first saying "mommy?" then "mommy!" (I first thought I'd upload it, but later in the day made it to the privacy session - really just to see Crystal and it was worth it - and since it does mention my kids real names, I've decided against it.)
Sesame Street also had the best snacks. I nabbed some cookies to take home to my kids and while I intended to bring some cupcakes home too, they did not make it. I could say they got smashed in my bags, but that wouldn't be true.
I tried to duck into an ongoing session, but picked political opinion writing and soon after sitting down, the speaker asked the crowd what a lede/lead was and then said she was going to have everyone practice writing one. I left, smug in the fact that I went to journalism school and that meant I could take a break.
Free Bluetooth earpiece!
I skipped the last session of the day to hang out in my quiet hotel room. It was so nice to sit quietly without anyone whining or climbing on me. It was also a really good Big Bird cupcake.
Party and head shots with Silicon Valley Moms Blogs at Saks. I had my makeup done by the Armani makeup artist who I can say with 100% certainty - even though we did not discuss it - imagines himself working with the contestants and models as a consultant on Project Runway. He asked about my moisturizer and I hated to say Neutrogena because I knew he'd disapprove, but he really made the most foul face in response that was a stronger reaction that I expected. He jabbed me in the eyes several times with the makeup brush and then sneered that I "should stop using my...NOXEMA!" The last part came out in a hiss. I haven't used Noxema since I was about 13 and while I wanted to correct him, he probably considers Noxema and Neutorgena the same thing, so I let it go, knowing I would not win.
There were about seven or eight makeup people, but only one hair stylist. Drama ensued.
As we left the event, we tried to give away special coupons we'd received at the party for 15% off. The idea was offered as a quick way to generate good karma, but the people who we approached to give our coupons all acted like we were handing out religious pamphlets. One lady physically jumped back about three feet while grabbing her purse. The women spraying perfume samples get a more welcome customer reaction.
Party at Blue Sky with the always funny Robyn and Lia. Also with Kelsey, who looks like a younger, hotter Sarah Jessica Parker. Free nail polish! (If you didn't get yours, please contact Robyn.)
We left the party early - I went to meet Kevin, while everyone else went to the movies - which meant I needed to meet my two drink minimum in a hurry (because leaving a ticket behind would be wasting and I hate waste) only to grab Evany in a boozy haze outside the door and yell "I LOVE YOUR CARPOOL DISPATCHES!"
Maggie Mason is gorgeous. Seriously. I love Mighty Girl, which means I'd seen her picture before and knew she was pretty, but really, she is a knock out. And the cool, funny best girlfriend everyone wants.
Evany is pee your pants funny and was also very kind about the drunken run in the night before.
Sarah is as funny as I had imagined, which kind of sounds like an insult, but I imagined her very funny and she is. I can't wait for her book.
Me Ra Koh, oh my god! I almost didn't go to this panel, but it was easily the highlight of the weekend. Her photos are so beautiful, they make me want to cry. She took technical photography principles and made them so easy to understand in the most conversational way. She was so great that I am going to look into her DVDs. She was selling them at the swap meet before the panel, but I was so focused on Annie, Jen Lemen and trying to determine if a Superhero necklace would look horrible on my thick neck while slammed like sardines into a steam room, that I missed the photography DVDs. I also missed meeting Shannon, who is in my mom's group.
Me Ra is also gorgeous and it was fun to see how she interacted with her husband, with whom she works. I love her.
I'm running out of steam on this...
I left the closing keynote with Heather Armstrong slightly early to meet Kevin at Michael Mina. The couple at the table next to us documented their entire experience - not in a blog way, but in a huge Food Network fan way - which meant flashes were constantly going off in my eye. Also the table behind us featured a very wealthy looking couple where the beautiful wife was maybe my age and the homely husband was maybe my dad's age. When I pointed it out to Kevin, he responded with "wealthy old man with a younger, hotter wife? No, you don't see that around here much."
I skipped the SVMoms/Momocrats breakfast so I could sleep in, yet I only made it to 8:30, and then I regretted missing the breakfast. My kids have ruined sleep for me, even when they are not around.
I woke up to an email that another post of mine was picked up for syndication. Yay!
I love Michelle. Or as I referred to her when telling Kevin about my time, My New Friend Michelle! (Exclamation mark always included.)
There are a million things I am leaving out - including myriad huge bags of swag - but now that I have Rocket distracted, the dog is acting up. My imaginary working memoir title is now "If Not the Kid, Then the Dog."
