Enjoying a bevvie at the Vecco + Brita Olsen mini party. The swizzle stick says, “I’m colorful”. My outfit wasn’t, but my nails were!
When Laurel mentioned the Alt Summit to me, I thought it was something we might entertain going to down the road if it worked out. We found out in the fall that the tickets were sold out. Laurel was devastated. I was disappointed, but thought we’d try again next year. Scott, Lo’s hubby, promised he would get us there. He started trolling Alt chat rooms, Facebook and Twitter feeds and put out many shout outs. In fact, he even contacted one of the founders, Sara Urquhart, asking for tix (we know because when we met her at the conference she mentioned she remembered Scott’s email!). Just before the deadline, Scott’s-not-letting-it go resulted in him finding us two tix!! It was seriously meant to be….and yes, Scott, this is your public “thank-you” and you rock! Ok, now don’t let it go to your head! But really, Lo and I couldn’t be more thankful for hubbies that support us blogging! And Lo, it was AH-MAZING and you were SO right!
I’ve been having trouble sleeping the last few nights because my head is so full of great ideas and information. I can’t wait to put everything (well, that would take a lifetime!) we learned into practice!
Here are the nuggets that I took away and that I think you can apply to most walks of life….
- Personalize your blog or business. I remember when Lo and I first started about talking about blogging (and we did talk about it for about a year before we got the guts to take the plunge!), I said that she would be the writer and I’d be the researcher. Research I could do, but writing not so much! Well, we share the writing, and even though it’s maybe not my strongest asset, I need for focus more on just being myself and NOT just on the facts and research. So, my goal is to let everyone in more….keep good information coming, but let myself shine through!
- One good thing….Laurel passed on this nugget to me from listening to a talk by Karen Walrond of Chookooloonks At the end of each day, write down one good thing that happened during the day. Some days it may be hard to find something but look at ordinary and take nothing for granted. Other days, it may be hard to find just one thing…there may be many!! Like I said, I’m not a writer, but I’m going to discipline myself and start this tonight! Ok, you may need to check in with me and make sure that I’m keeping up with it. I find with such a busy pace of life I can start dripping down into a negative rut. It’s pretty hard to be negative and thankful at the same time, so I’m going to commit to doing this….here I go!
- Defining Success. Jasmine Star asked, “What does success look like to you?” I can’t determine my success if I don’t set some goals….in all areas of life…faith, family, friends and Sugar Plum Sisters. And what I consider to be successful will be different than what you might define as successful. During our flight home, Laurel and I went through some very specific goals for Sugar Plum Sisters and over the next week or so, I will also set personal goals for myself as well. Shoot high…that’s what we went with!!!
- Scheduling. I’ve found it very difficult keeping my blogging time and my family time separate. They blur together and make each mutually frustrating! It’s almost impossible to be inspired if I’m always feeling frustrated. Julie, a good friend of mine, encouraged me to spend Monday mornings at home scheduling the family and my work for the week ahead. I heard this again from Kirsten Grove , a speaker at Alt…that’s exactly what she does! When scheduling, I need to….have dedicated time for blogging and to also NOT be checking my social media during my most productive hours of the day (known as the golden hours–for me that will be once everyone is tucked into bed, including Jason!).
- Don’t be an information hoarder! I am NOT a hoarder when it comes to stuff…trust me, I’m a hucker! But, when it comes to email and Google bookmarks, I don’t want to get rid of anything! What’s my glitch? I hate the feeling of having hundreds of emails in my inbox…it weighs me down! So, I’m going to start being ruthless! Deal with an email and file or delete!!! I don’t need a thousand bookmarks for sites…they will still be there!
So, thank-you Scott for getting us the tix in your Ninja way…
Thank-you Laurel for the encouragement I needed…
And thank-you Jason for making everything happen at home while I was away. You make a dang good Dance Mom!
Alt, you rock! We’ll be back!
Lo and I had fun our first morning at Alt in the Bing photobooth. They were an amazing sponsor, offering tasty treats and bevvies throughout the day. The lavender hot chocolate was my fave!
Lo at the Go Mighty + Red Envelope mini party deciding whose blog she was crushing on!
Image courtesy of Alt Summit’s Photostream
Me and some of the other Mrs. Peacocks at the Clue Party!
Image courtesy of Alt Summit’s Photostream
