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	<title>WIRL Project &#187; Guest WIRL</title>
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	<description>What It&#039;s Really Like.</description>
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		<title>I Don&#8217;t Need a Huge Tribe, Just A Small Circle</title>
		<link>http://www.wirlproject.com/i-dont-need-a-huge-tribe-just-a-small-circle/</link>
		<comments>http://www.wirlproject.com/i-dont-need-a-huge-tribe-just-a-small-circle/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 02 Jul 2015 18:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Guest WIRL]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Life/Leisure]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Be Authentic]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Big Tribe]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[BlogU]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Small Circle]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[WIRL Challenge]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[WIRL Challenge BlogU]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Write]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.wirlproject.com/?p=6979</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Over the past month or so I&#8217;d given myself the same morale-boosting pep talk dozens of times: &#8220;I know it&#8217;s scary, but you can Do This! You can learn from experts! You can talk to people who are passionate about the same things you are! You can FIND YOUR TRIBE!&#8221; I was preparing myself mentally and emotionally for my first Blog Conference. I was about to step out as a Blogger, to begin this new chapter in my life as something more than just Mommy. It was my debutante ball of sorts, but with less High Society and more Middle School Awkward. I was scared to death. Besides the worry over the talking and the listening and the learning and the networking keeping me up at night, I was also nervous to leave my babies. I&#8217;d never spent two nights away from my kids. I knew they&#8217;d be fine without me. I&#8217;d miss them more than they&#8217;d miss me, but still: It was going to be hard. Then, after weeks of worry and nervous anticipation, it was the first weekend in June and I was there on a small, beautiful campus in Baltimore, ready to Get Schooled, ready to Take My Blog Beyond, ready to find my Tribe. Ready&#8230;or not. I started the first afternoon by attending an informative and helpful workshop on Writing and Editing. Taught by experienced bloggers, writers, and editors, it was a crash course on when you may need to hire the services of a professional editor and what you can expect the process to be like. I headed from there over to a class called Mastering Pinterest. It was exactly what it promised to be: A How-To course on the secrets and tricks to conquering the Pinterest algorithm to drive traffic to your site. Taught by the Queen of Pinterest herself (she must be, she&#8217;s a Pinterest genius), the course provided real-life tips on making your posts pinnable and your pins searchable. It was great ready-to-apply information that could make a difference in your blog traffic immediately&#8230;if you&#8217;re ready to Master Pinterest, that is. I have an account. I think I&#8217;ve pinned five things and they&#8217;re all my own articles. I know that&#8217;s not how you Do Pinterest, but I don&#8217;t get Pinterest. I don&#8217;t want to get it, yet I furiously scribbled notes during the class, believing that to be the Blogger I want to be, I&#8217;d better figure out the Pinterest Beast, and fast. I left the session feeling completely overwhelmed. Add to that the fact that I still wasn&#8217;t sure how, exactly, one goes about &#8220;finding her tribe,&#8221; and the fact that I stayed up way too late listening to brilliant writers read the best of their best, and the fact that I woke up way too early for not having a 3-year old in my bed and two bigger boys whispering in my ear that &#8220;It&#8217;s morning! Let&#8217;s go downstairs, please, Mommy! Now, Mommy!&#8221; and I just lost my shit. It was 5am on Saturday morning, with most of the weekend still stretched out before me, and I sat on my bed and cried. I called my husband: &#8220;I don&#8217;t belong here! I don&#8217;t want to Master Pinterest! I don&#8217;t wanna find my tribe! I already have one and I miss you guys&#8230;I want to come home!&#8221; Sam reassured me that he and the kids were, somehow, managing to survive in my absence and that I should NOT come home. &#8220;You&#8217;ll be glad you stayed once it&#8217;s over,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Just stick it out and don&#8217;t try to be something you&#8217;re not. If you don&#8217;t want to Master Pinterest, you don&#8217;t have to. Just try to have fun.&#8221; So I put my brave face back on and went to breakfast. On Saturday, I learned a few things: I don&#8217;t have to Master Pinterest. I don&#8217;t have to build a Facebook community or have a Fans of my Blog Page. I don&#8217;t have to become a brand&#8230;.but if and when I choose to, I&#8217;ll know what to do and how to do it. All I have to be is authentic. That&#8217;s it. That&#8217;s enough. The women who organized the conference and who taught us what they&#8217;ve learned about Blogging as a Business, Making Money as a Writer, using Instagram, and Building Your Book from an idea to a hard copy you can hold in your hands, know exactly what they&#8217;re talking about. These women are smart, driven, hard-working, and highly accomplished. They&#8217;re inspirational and supportive. They&#8217;re also funny as hell. I learned that I don&#8217;t need a huge tribe to feel supported. I need a small circle of real friends. (I found some!) I don&#8217;t need a million page views a month or for an article to &#8220;go viral&#8221; to accomplish my goal. My goal is simply to write. I learned that, if I want to write for an audience, I need to write and write and write and to submit and submit and submit. I can do that. I want to do that. I don&#8217;t have to do more than that&#8230;I don&#8217;t have to BE more than that. But I&#8217;m keeping my notes on Pinterest&#8230;just in case I change my mind. That shit was gold. Lesson Learned: I did it. I saw the boundaries of my comfort zone and I stepped over the line into uncharted territory. I defined my goals: I want to write. It&#8217;s as simple as that. One of my favorite lines of the weekend came not from a session but from the lunch table: My friend Jen said (and I&#8217;m paraphrasing here because I had put my notebook away), &#8220;If you&#8217;re going to be a writer, you&#8217;re going to have to hustle. Might as well hustle for something you&#8217;re passionate about.&#8221; I&#8217;m not passionate about becoming a brand. But I&#8217;m ready to hustle for my writing. I&#8217;m glad I went. I&#8217;m glad I stayed. I&#8217;m glad Nickelodeon hosted the Saturday night party because, damn: I haven&#8217;t danced to Sir Mix a Lot or The Bangles in way too long. &#160;  *This WIRL was originally published on Live Laugh and Learn &#160; Join The Conversation! Easily contribute your story here. &#160; About the Author… Sarah Harris is a mom, a writer, and a filterer of photos. She is constantly seeking Peace &#38; Quiet and Additional Storage on her phone. You can find her at Live, Laugh, and Learn, on Twitter (@skh4102), and on Instagram (@sarah.livelaughlearn). Her writing has been featured on Scary Mommy, The Mid, BonBon Break, and Mamalode, which almost makes up for the fact that she hasn’t been able to drink a cup of hot coffee without reheating it in eight years.  ]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>Italy: What It Was Really Like</title>
		<link>http://www.wirlproject.com/italy-what-it-was-really-like/</link>
		<comments>http://www.wirlproject.com/italy-what-it-was-really-like/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 01 Jul 2015 14:30:24 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Guest WIRL]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Life/Leisure]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Italy]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.wirlproject.com/?p=7388</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[My husband and I travel often and to many places. Sometimes our trips are week long extravaganzas but normally they are a few days here and there set aside to explore smaller towns full of character. There are many trips that have been memorable. Quebec City and Montreal. Jekyll Island, Georgia. Ten days trekking along the Blue Ridge Trail in North Carolina and Virginia. Napa and Sonoma. It would be hard to pick a favorite, but last year we went on a trip to Italy with my husbands family and it easily became the best. Narrowing down what I want to touch base on and show photographs of is going to be tough! There is just so much to show, but I will do my ten favorite stops, what I loved most about each and I will try to keep it to a few photographs per place. Wish Me luck. We went on this trip to celebrate the 80th birthday of my husband&#8217;s great uncle, he still lives in the small village in Tuscany that my husband&#8217;s grandparents are from. And so does about 35/30 other cousins/aunts/uncles. My husband&#8217;s 98 year old Nonno even made the trip with us. The two of us went out a week earlier with my in laws to see Venice before meeting up with the rest of the family.  We stayed in a lovely village about 20 minutes outside of Venice, Montegratto. It helps when your father in law is fluent. Venice Region Venice. I will admit that Venice itself wasn&#8217;t my favorite part of the trip. Way too busy when we were there in August, if you can, go during the off season. I still enjoyed myself. And, I cannot stress enough, don&#8217;t get a private water taxi, get on a public one. Just as easy and way less expensive!!! &#160; Burano/Murano These are two of the Islands just off of Venice that you can take by a water taxi. Murano is the glass blowing capital of the world. You can pick up some awesome trinkets here. Burano is more known for its lace&#8230;and for being one of the most colorful islands in the world. The houses were stunning and so bright. If you only have time to visit one of them&#8230;my vote is for Burano. &#160; Padua This enchanting city is full of universities and museums.  Galileo taught at the university and a majority of The Taming of the Shrew by Shakespeare takes place here. One of my favorite sites is the Prato della Valle, the largest square in all of Italy and one of the largest in the world. It is stunning. &#160; Montegrotto/Villa dei Vescovi We stayed in the lovely city of Montegrotto, about a half hour train ride from Venice and about 15 from Padua. It is mainly a spa town for European tourists and everyone commented mutiple times how exciting it was to have Americans in town as there are not usually many staying there. I saw bourbon at the bar of our hotel one night and the bartender clapped and told me he had purchased it years before in the hopes an American would want it, well, this one did;) When we picked up our car at the end of the week, we checked out the beautiful Villa dei Vescovi, the summer home of the bishop of Padua. Then, I just knew we were going to die with my husband driving on these tiny Italian roads. Spoiler alert, we survived and at the top of this mountain I snapped the most glorious sunset I have ever seen and then we came upon the walled city with the best name ever, Arqua Petrarca.  &#160; Lake Como Region Lake Como, what can I even say to bring justice to this majestic place? Words escape me. No questions asked, my absolute favorite place in all of Italy and it stole my heart.  It took my breath away, on multiple occasions. Torno This is the small village we stayed in while in Lake Como. We had to walk down about 55 steps from the village center to the lake where our hotel was situated. It was small, intimate and bare bones. The family that owned it was incredible. The food was knock your socks off good, every single bite.  The water ferries were super easy to grab right outside of our hotel entrance. However, maybe the best part, Robert De Niro stays at this hotel when he comes to Lake Como and they have a huge picture of him in the lobby. Tony&#8217;s nonno was the oldest guest they had ever checked into the hotel and they took his photo and are placing it next to the picture of Mr. De Niro. When we were leaving and heading to the family land in Tuscany, they ran after us and gave us wine and grappa to enjoy with our family upon arrival. &#160; Bellagio and Cernobbio  We went to quite a few towns in the surrounding area of Torno, but these were the ones that stood out the most to me. The pizza I got in Cernobbio was the most scrumptious meal I have ever had, at least pizza wise. The view of the Alps from Bellagio blew my mind. &#160; Tuscany This was the main purpose of this trip. To see family, to see where my last name originated, where lots of family still live. Family members I have met on their trips to the US and to our wedding, but so many more that, until this trip, were just part of a story I had heard. Now they belong to my story. Nonno and Nonni are from a small village in Tuscany called Gassano. It is in northern Tuscany and about half an hour from Pisa and 45 minutes or so from Cinque Terre. Most of the family still lives in the sweet homes the families have lived in for hundreds of years. One cousin now owns an inn and vineyard and we were beyond lucky to be able to stay there for the duration of our visit.  In the Inn at Pretola is located in Grangola, about 20 minutes away from Gassano. Robert, the chef&#8230;perfecto. It was perfecto. Gassano/Grangola Be still my heart.  The sheer beauty of Como was my favorite place, but being in Gassano is what gave me all the &#8216;feels&#8217;, if you will. Our family, being with them in their everyday world, was the absolute best part of this trip. We arrived to the birthday party for Antonio and the food, oh my gosh, it just kept coming and coming. and it was incredible. We went to the village of Gassano and saw into their homes, built in the 1490s!!! We went to the top of the mountain and I discovered that yes, I can indeed get car sick.  I vomited for a few hours and Nonno, at 98 years young, walked circles around me! I didn&#8217;t even care, that&#8217;s how enchanting this place and its people are. The beautiful vineyard. The small church from the 1500&#8217;s at the base of the family land. The bar. The view from Zia Maria&#8217;s house. The castle that was at the top of the mountain and surrounded in a mist of clouds every morning when we woke up. I savored every part of it. &#160; Cinque Terre I had seen so many gorgeous pictures. I had heard multiple people describe it as heaven on earth. Coming from the ferry and the first moment that I spotted the bright homes jutting out from the cliffs, one glimpse and I was hooked. I did so love this spot. The gelato was heaven. My risotto bolognese was to die for. The boats dangling in the sea. &#160; Lucca  I must admit, of all the &#8216;cities&#8217; we visited, this sweet walled one was easily my favorite. There was a slight drizzle to accompany the grey skies of the day, but nothing could dampen my mood. Actually, all of the colorful umbrellas were one of my favorite sights of the day. This was not a city I had really heard anything about before we took the trip and I cannot urge you to plan a visit to this charming place if you are going to be in Italy. Get here. &#160; Pisa  If you have a chance, you must see the tower and baptismal. It&#8217;s almost surreal. You turn a corner and bam, there it is. It appears superimposed, even in person.  I wish I had better verbiage to describe it, but quite honestly, it&#8217;s just really freaking cool. &#160; &#160; Calling this a trip seems to minimize what this experience was for me, for it was such a great adventure. Spending the time with my in laws, having my father in law teach me a few Italian words/phrases and actually being able to use them somewhat frequently (and correctly) by the end of our trip. These are memories that I will keep in my heart forever, but the ones that stand out to me the most are when my husband saw his family&#8217;s land and where they came from the first time. I teared up witnessing that moment. When we were leaving Gassano, Tony&#8217;s great aunt, Maria, hugged me and kept squeezing my cheeks and calling me &#8220;bella&#8221; while she cried. I didn&#8217;t quite understand what she was saying, but the love she had in her face, transcended language. The other biggest memory maker for me was taking this photo. They have all been to Italy a multitude of times, but this was the first time ever that Nonno had all five of his children there together and this captured the essence of the moment perfectly. I only wish Nonni had been there in person to witness her kids, but we got signs from her all trip. &#160;  *This WIRL was originally published on The Whimsy One. &#160; Join The Conversation! Easily contribute your story here. &#160; About the Author… Maddie is a wife to Wiki and saved by grace. She says words could never sum her up. She&#8217;s a firm believer that bacon, bourbon, and books make everything better. You can find more of her work on her blog, The Whimsy One. &#160; &#160; &#160;]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>BlogU: A Wealth of Technical Knowledge and New Friends</title>
		<link>http://www.wirlproject.com/blogu-a-wealth-of-technical-knowledge-and-new-friends/</link>
		<comments>http://www.wirlproject.com/blogu-a-wealth-of-technical-knowledge-and-new-friends/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 18 Jun 2015 03:00:57 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Guest WIRL]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Life/Leisure]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[WIRL Challenge]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Work/Money]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Animals]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[BlogU]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Challenge]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Friends]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Friendships]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Notre Dame]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Technical]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wealth of Knowledge]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[WIRL Challenge BlogU]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.wirlproject.com/?p=6965</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[First, congratulations to the BlogU15 staff and organizers, nicely done. My husband and I are frequent conference attendees and have had the privilege of working behind the scenes at conferences, there are a thousand moving parts and never any down time for the organizers. Everyone was so kind and generous with questions and responsive to making the conference experience enjoyable. I hope everyone is able to rest this week, you poured so much energy out into creating very welcoming spaces, no small feat. I loved that BlogU15 is held on a campus rather than a hotel, the grounds at Notre Dame are beautiful and within a half hour of arriving I had discovered the beautiful chapel. The chapel became my quiet place when I needed to pull back and reflect on why I write. Beauty calms the spirit, and the discovery of Mayer of Munich stained glass windows was an unexpected joy of the weekend. Many of you know that I attended the BlogU15 conference as my personal challenge for 2015. I tried to be diligent about emptying myself of expectations of the conference so that I could have open hands to receive the unexpected. I struggled with that and was grateful for the generosity and conversation with Susan Maccarelli of Beyond Your Blog on Saturday morning. I was able to “re-boot” so to speak, refresh my browser, and start the day new. I had a beautiful day Saturday. I am so grateful for the time with Jen Kehl ofBeyond Blog Design in the Design Lab, I knew as I walked away from that time that I had been given a great gift. There were so many classes that I wanted to attend, like all of them, having to chose was very difficult. I came away from each class content that I had chosen the right one, still wishing I could have squeezed in others, and always wishing I had taken better notes. I would have to say my favorite part of the weekend was the new friendships that I brought home. I had the great privilege of meeting sisters from Canada who graciously indulged me in my love for dogs. It is hard to explain how exciting it is to find kindred spirits and to be able to talk for hours about dogs, horses, and rescue animals, about animals who have touched our souls and changed our lives. I met another amazing woman, a photographer, writer, a woman full of passion and spirit for her book and her garden, another kindred spirit. All around me I met gracious and generous women, women who listened to each others stories, women who were not afraid of tears and emotions. I came home with a wealth of technical knowledge, most of which I have not unpacked yet. What I have unpacked is the memories of conversation and cupcakes, memories of an impromptu Q&#38;A on Instagram, thank you Malan for your patience! And I came home with a sense of peace about my writing, my voice, my blog, why I write, why I will keep writing. I very grateful and heartfelt thank you to everyone at BlogU15, wishing everyone a very restorative and peaceful summer! &#160;  *This WIRL was originally published on Back of the North Wind. &#160; Join The Conversation! Easily contribute your story here. &#160; About the Author… Terri Jackson is a writer, wife, and mother of two sons. Her oldest son, Justin, was killed in a vehicle accident September 27, 2010. Terri and her husband, Doug, have been married for over thirty years, her blog tells the story of their struggles, tears, and the joy and humor of learning to live again after the unthinkable happens. She has been published in “We Need Not Walk Alone”, the national magazine for The Compassionate Friends organization. Terri has discovered a love for being a canine foster parent for rescued Shepherds, home brewing beer and mead, and hosting book studies in their home as she explores her new “normal.” Her blog can be found at www.backofthenorthwind.com.]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>I Stopped Apologizing For Being Me</title>
		<link>http://www.wirlproject.com/i-stopped-apologizing-for-being-me/</link>
		<comments>http://www.wirlproject.com/i-stopped-apologizing-for-being-me/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 18 Jun 2015 01:00:10 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Guest WIRL]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Life/Leisure]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[WIRL Challenge]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Apologize]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Awesome]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[BlogU]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Me]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[People]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[WIRL Challenge BlogU]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.wirlproject.com/?p=6977</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I have struggled with other people’s assumptions my entire life. I remember being in the principal’s office at the public school we were zoned for when we lived in the country, and her leaning in and asking me “Are you an only child?” I was in her office because a boy had run up to me and grabbed me between my legs when our Spanish teacher was out of the room. I was so embarrassed — it had been a dare, I think, from the way his friends were laughing — and would never have spoken a word about it to our teacher. But my friend was appalled and dragged me to the principal and now there I was, sitting in front of her, mortified and sweating and wishing I wouldn’t have let my friend shove me into her office. “Are you an only child?” She asked me again. “Yes.” “Well, that explains it. You’re probably spoiled.” The number of siblings I did or did not have had nothing to do with the fact that I was minding my own business, sitting on a windowsill talking about whatever 5th grade girls talk about, when someone shoved his hand in a place it never should have gone. But I was a white girl who was dressed nicely and got good grades, and now it was out that I was also an only child too, with parents who worked in the city. HOW DARE I. This is when my shame began: the apologetic feeling. The I’m sorry for being who I am. The let me work really hard to make you feel okay about dealing with me. I have spent almost my entire life dealing with a compulsive need to prove to others that I’m not an airhead because I smile a lot. I’M JUST A HAPPY PERSON, DAMN IT. I have worked tirelessly for far too long to prove that I’m not bitchy because I’m a confident woman, that I’m not racist because I happen to be white, that I’m not closed-minded because I was raised in a Conservative Christian bubble, and that I’m not judgy because my house is clean. I’ve spent my life feeling afraid of offending others with my presence, even when they were the ones offending me. Fuck. That. Noise. I don’t want to apologize anymore and I don’t feel like I have to, because I have experienced the elation of being immersed in a situation where everyone is just as screwed up and weird and talented as I am and it was AMAZING. It was such a moving experience to go to the Blog U Conference last weekend and feel completely accepted into a group of people who are not at all like me, but yet somehow completely like me. We swept the Notre Dame of Maryland University campus with a quirky, maladjusted wave of awesomeness. The nuns probably all rolled over in their graves or crossed their chests or something. I can’t wait to go back. Somehow these people who I have never met in real life know and understand me better than people who have known me for 35 years. I don’t know how or why and I don’t understand any of it, but apparently this is what it feels like when you find your people. This is what it feels like to not have to explain or apologize for being yourself. This is what it feels like to be seen. I never would have had this experience without the support of my amazing husband, who raised the funds for me to go, and without the support of my bomb ass friends and family who keep pushing me, reading my work, encouraging me and telling me I need to shut up and stop apologizing for the love of holy hot dog buns. Go find your people. It is so, so worth the wait. &#160; &#160;  *This WIRL was originally published on Modern Mommy Madness. &#160; Join The Conversation! Easily contribute your story here. &#160; About the Author… Harmony is a full-time mother of three who navigates the waters of motherhood without any grace or finesse whatsoever. A fan of strong coffee, red wine, and sturdy undergarments, her work is best described as &#8220;honesty and insanity in one fell swoop.&#8221; Harmony is co-author of Scary Mommy&#8217;s Guide to Surviving the Holidays and I Still Just Want To Pee Alone, the third installment in the New York Times Best-Seller series. Her work has been featured on Today Parents, Scary Mommy, Mamalode, Mamapedia, Bon Bon Break, and more, but her home base is her blog, Modern Mommy Madness.]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>BlogU Taught Me About Blogging and Powdered Alcohol</title>
		<link>http://www.wirlproject.com/blogu-taught-me-about-blogging-and-powdered-alcohol/</link>
		<comments>http://www.wirlproject.com/blogu-taught-me-about-blogging-and-powdered-alcohol/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 17 Jun 2015 23:00:14 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Guest WIRL]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Life/Leisure]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Technology/Web]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[WIRL Challenge]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[blogging]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[BlogU]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Conference]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Doughnuts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Powdered Alcohol]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sleep]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[WIRL Challenge BlogU]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.wirlproject.com/?p=6988</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[This past weekend was one that I had basically been counting down to since it was over last year, Blog U was finally here. This time was made even better by the fact that one of my real life besties was joining me this go round. Nicole and I headed up on Thursday and made it despite the dreary and seemingly never ending rain that fell from Durham all the way to Baltimore. We relaxed a little bit before heading out to eat and met up with a group at a nearby restaurant after bumping into two of my favorites, Frugie and Kerry. A few squeals and hugs may have transpired in the tiny Radisson elevator. It first it felt like we had intruded on a tight knit group, but by the end we were laughing hysterically and were so glad we decided to join them for dinner, even if we waited forever and all the days for our food. Just meant more conversation. We headed back to our hotel and joined the pow wow that was happening in the lobby and met even more fantastic ladies. Lots of the BluntMom crew and to put it bluntly (hardy har har) these were some of my favorite ladies of the weekend. I hearted them almost immediately. The next day was National Donut Day and who in the hades would I be not to participate? Ergo, Nicole and I stopped by the Fractured Prune and oh. my. heavens. Delicious.  Don&#8217;t just trust me, Melissa and Susanne agree also. The rest of the day went by fast, getting to catch up with so many of my favorite people (Tabatha!!!) and also turning Facebook friends into actual friends. There was also plenty of time spent confusing the hell out of people by saying Amanda Madison is my Facebook but please call me &#8216;Maddie&#8221;  Confused yet? Good. This year started off with a bang and we went right into sessions. I learned so much from the first two and am already putting Anna&#8217;s and Lynn&#8217;s tips to good use. I am already seeing a spike from Pinterest and I think I am using SEO properly. Being around this group of women (and men!) seems to just ignite something inside of you and you just jump into bettering yourself and your blog. I also ascertained (via the back of a bathroom stall, we were on a college campus, after all) that there is such a thing as powdered alcohol.  Apparently you can&#8217;t snort it or eat it, therefore I can only assume you just pinch it in your butt cheeks like they used to do for fun with chewing tobacco. Or you know, mix it with liquid but&#8230; how boring. This is not a conference you want to attend if you need to sleep. It is pretty much go time from the moment you arrive. Sessions on Friday and then an awesome event that night. Saturday morning after breakfast, which really is just social hour with people half awake, you head to hear amazing keynote speakers before participating in a full day of more sessions, cupcakes and then, the Saturday night fun&#8230;this year the theme was Middle School Awkward and it didn&#8217;t disappoint. Nicole and I just kept mentioning how pretty much every single person was dancing! There was just one drawback, my awesome roomie, Amy, wasn&#8217;t there this year. My partner in tea loving crime. Next year, friend! And you were certainly missed. You were the absolute first thing Foxy and I talked about upon seeing each other. And neither was Megan because of last minute emergency. I will see you very soon in NYC though, my friend! For now though, here&#8217;s a photo overload for you all. You&#8217;re so welcome. We had the middle school awkward dance on Saturday and I need better pictures because my acid wash jeans were legit&#8230;legitimately ugly as all hell. &#160; &#160; &#160; &#160; &#160; &#160; &#160; Blog U was once again held at the beautiful Notre Dame of Maryland Campus and Nick Mom hosted the Saturday night festivities, they did a fantastic job and it was just as awesome as last year! I cannot emphasize enough how much knowledge I gained from attending this conference. Stephanie, Meredith and the rest of the Blog U faculty completely rock this whole shebang. There is plenty of socializing to be had, but what I learned is by far the best reason to attend, well, besides these (right). &#160; &#160; *This WIRL was originally published on The Whimsy One.  &#160; &#160; Join The Conversation! Easily contribute your story here. &#160; About the Author… Madison Rae is a Southern girl from the country that fell in love with a Boston boy. You can usually find her sippin&#8217; sweet tea or bourbon, and reading books or watching a sporting event. She loves to travel with her husband and is a complete history groupie. She blogs @ The Whimsy One and The ThankFull Tummy &#160;]]></description>
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		<title>Why Flying Home From BlogU Nearly Killed Me</title>
		<link>http://www.wirlproject.com/why-flying-home-from-blogu-nearly-killed-me/</link>
		<comments>http://www.wirlproject.com/why-flying-home-from-blogu-nearly-killed-me/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 17 Jun 2015 22:00:46 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Guest WIRL]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Life/Leisure]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Technology/Web]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[WIRL Challenge]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[BlogU]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Conference]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Flight]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Missed Flight]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sleep]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[WIRL Challenge BlogU]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.wirlproject.com/?p=6990</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Every year I try to attend at least one conference where I will hone my skill of writing, and network with others in the same genre. This year I attended an amazing conference called BlogU – short for University. It is held on the beautiful campus of the all girls college Notre Dame University in Baltimore, Maryland. The panels were made up ‘faculty’ who are all successful in their own areas, and are humor bloggers. Leaving the scope of this function to be perfectly aligned with my own interests, unlike other conferences I have attended. The conference itself was wonderful, the networking was awesome, and as always reuniting and meeting (and it feels so good – please tell me you know that song) with other bloggers I know and admire is a big part of what makes this a fantastic weekend away from my family (besides the obvious weekend away from my family). I attended sessions about Writing and Editing, Branding, Getting a Byline, Building Online Communities, Building My Book, and How to Make Money. All were informative and had many takeaways. Previous conferences I’ve attended always left me overwhelmed, annoyed, and unsatisfied. I would leave wondering why I spent the time and money to go, but BlogU was worth the low cost admission. I truly can’t recommend it enough except to say if you are a blogger, or are considering becoming one, THIS IS THE CONFERENCE TO GO TO. Yes I am screaming, but well it was that good. To make it even better I didn’t have a panic attack, nor did I make an ass of myself (that I know of), and most importantly I didn’t drink too much meaning I was functioning at all events and breakout sessions. YAY me. The issue came (you know there is always one) when I traveled home. My flight was Sunday at 1 pm out of BWI to Detroit. I had a 3 hour layover in Detroit before my flight to my final resting place, home. I was pushing it when I arrived  to the airport, for my 1 pm flight, 50 minutes prior to departure. My hubs woulda had a shit fit if he was traveling with me. He is a road warrior and likes to be at the airport at least an hour and a half prior to departure. I am more an hour before departure kinda gal so even for me this was cutting it close, but I made it (avoiding all shit I woulda got if I missed my flight…phew) thank god for no real lines in security. The flight into Detroit was fine, and I didn’t have to sit next to the shitter! YAY me again! The issue came in Detroit. I trolled around the airport trying to kill three hours. I bought a new small purple roller bag for my daughter’s upcoming trip, I spent a good twenty minutes in one eclectic home shop trying to find something cool and cheap – by the way those two things do not exist in an airport. I enjoyed a lovely meal at PF Changs and one 20 ounce beer before heading to my gate. I arrived with an hour and twenty minutes before take off. After using the restroom I settled in with my book to wait but then shit went south. I fell asleep, I shit you not A-SLEEP! This is insane since I can’t sleep sitting up anywhere. I never sleep in the car, on the couch, or on a plane. I can only sleep lying down in my bed. But apparently the Gods of Travel said Fuck YOU and sprinkled sleeping dust on me because boom! out like a light. I awoke at 5:55 to a boarding area devoid of people. It was one minute after the doors closed for my plane had closed and I couldn’t get on it. I missed the announcements, the boarding, the reminder announcements, everything. I was sitting where two gates use the same area so I suppose the counter people thought I was part of the other gate, or just a homeless person sleeping in a chair. I rushed to the counter flailing and shrieking, “Please, please, please open the doors up!” I have no idea why I thought they would, they NEVER do and they didn’t. I was screwed. I had to call my husband and tell him I had fallen asleep in the damn airport and missed my plane. Crickets could be heard, along with him running his hand through the front of his hair which he only does when he’s so annoyed he can’t stand it. Yup this was an epic fuckup. There are not a lot of flights into our town so missing a flight is kinda a major issue. I stood at the counter crying while the lovely ladies got me on the next and last flight – two hours later. This required a supervisor’s assistance who had little compassion for me when I explained I had just fallen asleep after waiting three hours. Thanks buddy, you’re a doll. My two new besties kept me calm explaining  “things happen for a reason”, “God works in mysterious ways”, “not to overthink it”, “all would work out”, “relax it’s fine”, and every other calming phrase as I cried. After finagling the system they got me on the 8 pm out of Detroit as a standby passenger. You can be damn sure I would bolt myself to the fucking door if necessary, I was not missing this flight no matter what. Good thing I was well rested now. I did make the flight and arrived home just a mere 10 hours after my airport journey day started vs. the 7 it should have been but well what could I do? The only option is to laugh and wait to hear about it for the rest of my life because my husband will beat this horse so much it will rival American Pharoah’s triple crown performance. All I can say is I truly can’t make this shit up even if I tried. Oh and go to BlogU next year! I am but I’m bringing No Doz for the flight home. &#160; *This WIRL was originally posted on The Shitastrophy  Join The Conversation! Easily contribute your story here. &#160; About the Author… Originally from NJ, Alyson Herzig lives in the Midwest but has kept her sarcastic cynical Jersey attitude. She has been described as the Andy Rooney of Stay-at-Home Moms. You can find her blogging about the many disasters and observations of her life at TheShitastrophy.com. She is the co-creator of the anthology Surviving Mental Illness Through Humor that will be released in April 2015. Alyson is also a contributor to the anthology My Other Ex: Women’s True Stories of Leaving and Losing Friends and the sequel I Still Just Want to Pee Alone. She has had works featured at Scary Mommy, Huffington Post, Mamapedia, and others. You can find Alyson on her blog, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Google +. &#160; &#160;]]></description>
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		<title>BlogU: Middle Age Middle School</title>
		<link>http://www.wirlproject.com/blogu-middle-age-middle-school/</link>
		<comments>http://www.wirlproject.com/blogu-middle-age-middle-school/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 17 Jun 2015 21:00:19 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Guest WIRL]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Life/Leisure]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Awesome]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Awkward]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[BlogU]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Middle Age]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Middle School]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[WIRL Challenge BlogU]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.wirlproject.com/?p=6974</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I had the weirdest dream: I’m sharing a couch in a hotel bar with “I Just Want to Pee Alone” NYT Bestselling Author, Jen Mann. Our conversation meanders from our mutual admiration for Hugh Howey to me giving her shit about the fact that her rental car has manual roll-down windows. We then somehow make the connection that I was in the PTA with a book blogger that she follows. The next thing I know, Kim Bongiorno (Let Me Start By Saying) is next to me dressed up as Urkel performing a “Dancing With the Stars” worthy number with Frugie from Frugalista Blog. This dream is so much fun that I don’t want to wake up! But this isn’t a dream. This is Blog U. When I signed up for the Blog U conference on a (wine inspired) whim a few months ago, there wasn’t even a schedule in place, let alone a list of presenters. All that was on the BlogU website was the registration form and this picture of Kim Bongiorno, Nicole Leigh Shaw and Kerry Rossow. My fan-girl obsession with Kim Bongiorno seemed to be a good enough reason to fly half way across the country and miss my kids’ last day of school to attend the 3-day blogging conference so I put down my wine and filled out the registration. As the months passed, and the details of the conference were revealed, it became clear that I should start making more of my career decisions after 2 ½ glasses of wine. In addition to Kim Bongiorno, the ‘faculty’ list now included Jen Mann (People I Want to Punch in the Throat, I Just Want to Pee Alone), Nicole Knepper (Moms Who Drink And Swear), Jill Smokler (Scary Mommy), Anna Luther (My Life and Kids) and Ilana Wiles (Mommy Shorts). And they were just a few of the amazing talents leading classes, (please see them all here.) The excitement of the opportunity to learn from some of the most talented and successful women in the blogging world could only be matched by the thrill of finally getting to meet many of the bloggers that I have grown to admire and care for during my nine-months of blogging. But there were still some doubts: What would they be like in real life? Would conversations still come naturally when there weren’t 1,000 miles and a computer monitor between us? What if they didn’t like me? Was this going to be awesome or was it going to be awkward? Some of you, (okay, two of you), may remember one of my very first posts, “I’m a Facebook Girl Living in a Twitter World”. The post is about how terribly overwhelmed and nervous I was about trying to ‘break in’ to the world of blogging. (And oddly enough, just as he did with my dream-like conversation with Jen Mann, Hugh Howey played a prominent part in the story.) Here’s a brief excerpt: “The first thing I realized was, Holy shit, I think every mom in the world has a blog, (and some of them even have two!) The second thing I realized was “Holy shit, I think all of these mom bloggers are all besties who have been partying together for years” and immediately felt like the new girl at the party who keeps wandering around trying to squeeze my way into a bunch of circles of conversation only to look down and realize I’m not wearing any pants. Super awkward, super humbling. I have been fortunate to make it through all levels of school without a socially awkward phase and at age 42 I thought I was safe….guess not.” Coincidentally, the theme of the dress-up party that Nickelodeon hosted on Saturday night was #MiddleSchoolAwkward. I hoped that this wasn’t some cruel foreshadowing that all my fears from that original post would materialize during the conference In one sense, it turned out that part of my post from back in September was correct: Many of these bloggers are besties who have been partying together for years. Fortunately, the part that I had wrong was the belief that I would need to “squeeze” into their tight-knit conversations. The reality was that no matter how tight the circles were, they opened right up to welcome me when I arrived. They were friendly, generous, smart, kind and so damn funny. As for the part about looking down and realizing I wasn’t wearing pants….that was also accurate, but only because I went and removed my leggings from under my skirt half-way through the Nickelodeon party after almost having heat stroke on the dance floor. I originally intended for this post to be more of a true recap of my weekend at Blog U, but every time I started writing, I felt like I was trying to describe a dream: It wasn’t so much the individual moments or the events, it was how they all tied together to create a feeling that I’m simply not able to describe except with the word grateful. Grateful for the weird inspiration, while brushing my teeth one night last August, which led me to start a blog about beginning a job search after 10 years as a stay at home mom. Grateful that one silly post about my super-anal Childcare Instructions that I left for my in-laws got noticed by someone at Redbook.com and took my blog in a new direction. Grateful that this new direction has given me the opportunity to meet so many new friends who share my interests, weird sense of humor and unusual combination of extreme-emotional-introvert/extreme-sharing-extrovert. Grateful that I have a family that supports me (both with their love with their cash-money) so that when I suggested going to Blog U so I could spend the weekend with these new friends the response was an enthusiastic “you should totally do it!” (Except for my 9 year old, who continues to remind me that you’re not supposed to meet up with strangers from the internet.) Grateful that after all my fears that the Blog U might turn out #MiddleSchoolAwkward, instead it ended up being #MiddleAgeAwesome. And since a picture speaks a thousand words, I’ll let this one do the rest of the talking. &#160; &#160; *This WIRL was originally published on The Dusty Parachute  &#160; &#160; Join The Conversation! Easily contribute your story here. &#160; About the Author… Once upon a time, Susanne Kerns was a Senior Account Director at an advertising agency working for two of the top brands in the world.  Nine years ago she traded in her corporate life for a life as a stay at home mom, raising two of the best kids in the world.  She started her blog, The Dusty Parachute as a way to dust off her online advertising skills and begin her job search. Instead, she now uses it as a way to spend lots of time on the computer so her kids think that mommy has a job.  Susanne’s essays have been featured in Scary Mommy, BonBon Break and Redbook and she is also a contributor in the upcoming books, It’s Really 10 Months, Special Delivery and Martinis &#38; Motherhood – Tales of Wonder Woe &#38; WTF?!  You can follow her on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.]]></description>
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		<title>BlogU Taught Me About Myself</title>
		<link>http://www.wirlproject.com/blogu-taught-me-about-myself/</link>
		<comments>http://www.wirlproject.com/blogu-taught-me-about-myself/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 17 Jun 2015 20:00:59 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Guest WIRL]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Life/Leisure]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Technology/Web]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[WIRL Challenge]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Anxious]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[BlogU]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Cafeteria]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dorm]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Grow Up]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Myself]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nerdvar]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Social]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[WIRL Challenge BlogU]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.wirlproject.com/?p=6998</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I’m sure that many others will blog about the amazingness that was Blog U 2015 this past weekend. Blog U was a great conference which packed about a month of information into 48 hours. I got excellent information which will improve TND, help us expand our reach, AND help us chart the next step beyond. I highly recommend it for any blogger looking to up their game. But I’m not going to talk about any of that. Rather, I’m going to talk about what Blog U taught me about myself: 1) I’m not only too old to stay in a dorm, but also too old to eat in a cafeteria. My stomach just can’t handle dining hall food any more. My eyes won’t even allow me to put most of it on my plate. Especially not “vegan meat.” Of course, I did still manage to eat the cupcakes. 2) I’m too socially anxious to play well with others. (Ok, I already knew this). Networking events for me were like trying to solve a Rubik’s cube blindfolded while suffering from malaria. After the first few minutes I began fantasizing that the room would suddenly be seized by militants, which would certainly decrease my anxiety levels. The dining room felt like Middle School all over again. If I didn’t see an open seat at a table populated mainly by the 6 or 7 folks I “know,” I made a beeline for a small table off to the side where no one would notice the losers (as Momus was my ever companion) eating alone. Worst of all, I skipped the headline “Middle School Dance” entirely in order to avoid my deep-seated costume trauma and the possibility that I would have no one to talk to. I am of course regretting all of the above now. There were so many amazing people that I failed to meet, and so many missed connections. I’m now determined to either A) never go to another conference again as long as I live, or B) finally get that treatment for social phobia that I’ve been avoiding my whole life. Let’s be honest: probably A – and that’s only because C) never leave the fucking house again is likely implausible. 3) I have Nervdar – the ability to spot another anxious soul at as much as 80 yards away. These kindred souls (you know who you are) provided me an oasis, as I was able to approach them almost like a genuine member of the human race. 4) I still have no idea what I want to do when I grow up. I went from session to session creating different lives for myself. One session convinced me that I wanted to move from blogging into journalism, the next that I would be a really kick-ass copywriter, and yet another that I really should be writing a book. I went to dinner Saturday evening with my head spinning as I tried to figure out what path I want to move down with my writing. I have a feeling that this is going to take more than a little time to figure out. At least I know that Idon’t want to be a data analyst. Oops. 5) I want to be Jen Mann. That is all. 6) I will never master Pinterest. I just don’t have the time or graphical savvy to do what it takes to make me Pinterest Perfect.  I guess I’ll just have to settle for Pinterest Passable. &#160; These are my personal lessons learned. I can guarantee that everyone who went to this event has her own set of lessons. I can also just about guarantee that none of them are as pathetic as mine. &#160; *This WIRL was originally published on The Next Deslusion &#160; &#160; Join The Conversation! Easily contribute your story here. &#160; About the Author… Cassandra is in her mid-forties with two children. She works as a research consultant and data analyst despite her love of words and deep mistrust of all things numeric. Her writing has been featured on The Erma Bombeck Writer’s Workshop, Great Moments in Parenting, and Project Underblog. She blogs with her partner in crime, Momus, at www.TheNextDelusion.com. She can also be found on Facebook, Twitter (@TheNextDelusion), and Pinterest. &#160;]]></description>
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		<title>No Rest for the Wicked(ly Awesome) at BlogU15</title>
		<link>http://www.wirlproject.com/no-rest-for-the-wickedly-awesome-at-blogu15/</link>
		<comments>http://www.wirlproject.com/no-rest-for-the-wickedly-awesome-at-blogu15/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 17 Jun 2015 19:00:06 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Guest WIRL]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Life/Leisure]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Technology/Web]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[WIRL Challenge]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[BlogU]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Energy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Key]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[No Sleep]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[People]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Rest]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[WIRL Challenge BlogU]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.wirlproject.com/?p=7001</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[It’s always best to begin at the beginning. From the moment I decided to attend BlogU15 in Baltimore I was terrified and thrilled. The “bitch in my head” started to take over my brain and I did my best to quiet her. My flight would be leaving Florida at 6 am on Friday, which meant I needed to be awake at 3 am and in a cab to the airport by 4. Mornings and I are not the best of friends so when I sat straight up in bed at 1 am I decided it best to get dressed, add my last minutes things to my suitcase, and wait. That Tom Petty is spot fucking on because the waiting is the hardest part. I watched a Harry Potter movie as the time ticked by. Because I was so afraid I would sleep through my cab honking his horn outside my window, I actually ended up pulling out one of the most epic 24 hours without sleep my adult life has ever seen. I’m gonna blame lack of sleep that day on all the biggest unfortunate incident that followed. My complete clumsiness had no bearing on anything – yeah right, on a good day I’m like a baby giraffe learning to walk. My arrival on the Notre Dame of Maryland campus was a bit of a blur. Except for this amazing story with Audrey, of Sass Mouth. Southern lady, my ass. I finally got to meet (in the flesh) a group of people I’ve been interacting with on the internet for about a year. These women, these glorious and brilliant women, were all I expected and more, as my online world collided with my real life. Surreal would be putting it mildly. I pounded some 5-hour Energy as I would not, could not, miss one second of the precious 48 hours I would have at BlogU. “Sleep is for pussies. I’ll sleep when I’m dead,” was the battle cry on loop in my maxed out brain. And I was doing it too. I attended classes that afternoon, went to dinner, then a party and a fabulous open mic reading. I watched as some of the greatest bloggers of my generation read their masterpieces aloud in front of large crowds. I watched Allen Ginsberg do a live reading in Greenwich Village 21 years ago. The stories I heard at BlogU made Ginsberg seem like a hack. The energy was palpable. My decision to stay awake was the right one. At least until it wasn’t. When the open mic finished I found myself with my girl, Toni Hammer, as we took an elevator to our respective dorm rooms. As the elevator door opened I fished my small metal room key out of my neck lanyard. While stepping out of the elevator onto my floor I said, “Night, bitch,” and attempted to flourish my right hand in some sort of strangely odd wave. Blame it on the sleep deprivation, or the excitement of where I was and what I was doing, or the fact that I have the coordination of a bear learning the pachanga… my key flew out of my Vulcan death grip and was now airborne. Toni and I watched in slow motion as that silver flash flew through the air and fell… right into the small gap that separated the elevator from the floor. We heard a little ping as it settled at the bottom of the old dormitory. It was a one in a million shot made by the whitest of white girls. I sure picked the wrong time to do a LeBron James impression. The hour that followed was spent sitting outside my locked dorm room door, waiting for a security guard to let me in. He was a portly fellow who didn’t seem to appreciate the humor of the whole situation. Imagine that? Finally, after a great deal of begging on my part he let me into my room, I fell into my bed and passed out. The next day, between classes, I ran to the basement of the building hoping to find my sweet little key sitting there waiting for me. Even a broken clock tells the right time twice a day, but no. Lady luck had decided to flip me the finger as I was able to see my key, about 4 feet lower than where I stood. In the elevator shaft. Fuck. Campus security made it a point to let me know the elevator company would be coming by to retrieve my key long after the conference was over, so I kept my door unlocked for the rest of the weekend and, not to my surprise, all of my valuables stayed safe and sound. Although, I do think someone stole the chocolate out of my swag bag. Which makes total sense because chocolate and coffee are more valuable to bloggers then someone else’s laptop and cash money. In 48 hours I made a million amazing memories. My sides and face ached from smiling and laughter. Surrounded by women (and a couple of brave men) I was in my element. These people got me. And I got them. The relationships I solidified in such a short period astound me. I even won the class clown award, which is very surprising because I’m a really serious person who rarely jokes around ever – Ahem. My only complaint? There wasn’t enough time. Until next year, BlogU. Adieu. &#160; *This WIRL was originally published on The Outnumbered Mother  Join The Conversation! Easily contribute your story here. &#160; About the Author… Amy Hunter grew up in the suburbs of Long Island singing Barbara Streisand hits into her hairbrush.  When she’s not writing her hilarity fueled parenting memoir as The Outnumbered Mother, she’s a Florida living, butt wiping, soccer team carting, gourmet chef attempting, tennis skirt wearing, non-tennis playing, self-proclaimed bad mamma jamma to 3 sons and a very understanding husband. You can find Amy’s work as a featured writer for Scary Mommy, The Mid, The Huffington Post, and In The Powder Room. You can find Amy on her blog, The Outnumbered Mother, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. &#160; &#160; &#160; &#160;]]></description>
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		<title>The 10 Things That BlogU Taught Me</title>
		<link>http://www.wirlproject.com/the-10-things-that-blogu-taught-me/</link>
		<comments>http://www.wirlproject.com/the-10-things-that-blogu-taught-me/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 17 Jun 2015 18:00:50 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Guest WIRL]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Life/Leisure]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Technology/Web]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[WIRL Challenge]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Bar]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Bathroom]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[BlogU]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Go Away]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Hello]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nap]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Party]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Pinterest]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Roller Skates]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Smile]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Talk]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[WIRL Challenge BlogU]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.wirlproject.com/?p=6996</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Guys, I’m not gonna lie. Going to a conference is hard work. But if you’re dedicated, like me, this is what you have to do. This weekend I went to the BlogU blogging conference where they run a pretty tight ship. They keep you going the whole damn time. I guess they want people to get their money’s worth or something, but I’m like, “Hold up, Ladies. I’m gonna need a nap now.” Unfortunately, this year they did not build nap time in the schedule, but all that’s gonna change next year with their new added group nap session. Nicole Leigh Shaw said so and I’m gonna hold her to it. It’s pretty much the only conference in the world that will have a nap session, which automatically makes it the best conference (even though it was already the best conference). I know not everybody who wanted to go got to go, which is why I’ve written up the Top 10 Things I Learned at BlogU15 highlighting the key elements from the weekend. It will feel like you where there. Top 10 Things I Learned at BlogU15 10. Talk to people while in line in the bathroom. You never know who you’ll meet, and it totally speeds up the waiting process. I’ve met some of my best friends in bathrooms. At BlogU15 that’s were I ran into The Dusty Parachute at long last. (Another good strategy is to talk to people at the bar. That’s where I found Orange and Silver, but she’s lush.) 9. Bring your A game to the Saturday Night Dance ParTAY, but know that you will always be shown up by Susan Mclean. She had on her badass, ORIGINAL, circa 1985, straight-out-of-her-parent’s-attic, teal and black (because that’s always a winning color combination) New Kids on The Block jacket. And roller skates. ROLLER SKATES. Anyone who shows up to a middle school party, or any party for that matter, in roller skates is the automatic winner. That’s just how it works. The woman simply will not be outdone. 8. I can no longer party like it’s 1999. This is rather upsetting news for me. I woke up the morning after the party sore, and all I did was dance. I’m still recovering and this is Day 3. Now I’m too old to even dance? How is that possible? This is not okay, Universe. I want it rectified! 7. Do whatever Jen Mann says. That’s my new motto in life. Also, marry her husband. I’ve been plotting a way to get Jen’s husband to marry me ever since I learned he is her super fan and her #1 pimp, and he doesn’t even require sexual favors. I mean I’m sure he’ll accept them, but he doesn’t require them and that’s key. My husband’s good and all, and he cooks for me, but what I really need is someone to schedule my Facebook posts, make graphics and get me an agent. I don’t know if Jen’s into sister wives or anything, but this could be another revenue stream for the business. Think about it, Jen. Here’s my little montage of Professor Mann in action. 6. Make sure posts on your own page and anything you’ve written elsewhere link back to your main post on the topic. The more links you have to a post the more credibility it has in Google’s eyes and the better it ranks. If you syndicate a post have the article link back to your original post NOT your page URL. Again, better for Google rank. 5. Say hello to everybody. Turns out people like that. Friendliness is not frowned upon. Plus, that’s what you’re there for. To meet people. And how are you going to meet people if you don’t meet people? It took a little while for me to internalize that one. About a year. Last year even though everyone was super friendly and welcoming and accessible, I was nervous, and I didn’t want to look like a idiot or know what to say so I didn’t say anything. You know what that did for me? Nothing. This year I said, “This is one of very limited opportunities to actually meet people I know online, and God dammit I’m going to meet them.” So you know what I did? I met them. It worked out so much better that way. 4. If you compliment someone on the 80’s jelly bracelets you wanted to wear because it reminded you of your Madonna period in 6th grade and that person who is another blogger you greatly admire and may or may not be Julianna Miner so generously rips them off her arm to give to you, you will forever share an unbreakable bond. 3. Make your pins on Pinterest “rich pins.” Sadly, I have no idea what that is or how to do it. If you want to know more, you should have gone to BlogU15. I can’t do everything for you, Ok? I think it might mean adding a description of the pin with key words, though. You should also make a spread sheet for your pins so you know when you posted them and can plan when to repin them in about a month or two. Oh, and you should also have a “blog” board on Pinterest for all your blog posts, which I did not know and which I currently do not have. 2. To thine own self be true. I got that from the truly inspiring Keynote speech by Nikki Knepper. While there were a ton of informative classes at BlogU and wonderful people to meet and chat with, Nikki’s speech fed the soul. It was real and honest and what I needed to hear. So often at conferences you get the down and dirty details and the technical information, which is great and necessary, but you don’t get the sustenance you need to forge ahead. It’s so easy to get distracted and overwhelmed and paralyzed by all the information and things you should be doing that you can’t possibly do. It was so refreshing amid the million and one technical things I’m always doing wrong to have some affirmation that, yes, if you keep your head down, continue doing what you’re doing, follow your gut, you will be on the right path. Because you know what? We can’t control the Internet. All we can do is continue to do what we believe in. Otherwise, what’s the point? 1. And the #1 thing I learned is I need to go away more often. My husband texted me like 20 times asking when I was coming home and if I could move up my departure time because he couldn’t take the kids anymore. When I did get home, he had dinner made for me AND cleaned all the bathrooms. Now that’s a man who appreciates his woman. And the kids? Well, Crazy didn’t miss me at all, but The Kid acted like I’d been gone for a whole month. She was nice to me. I’ve never had that experience before. I kinda liked it. *This was WIRL originally posted on One Funny Motha &#160; Join The Conversation! Easily contribute your story here. &#160; About the Author… Stacey Gill is an award-winning journalist, the mastermind behind the humor blog, One FunnyMotha, and co-author of I Still Just Want to Pee Alone,the third book in The New York Times best-selling series. Her work has appeared on such sites as The Huffington Post; BlogHer; Babble; Brain, Child; Scary Mommy; Mom365; The Good Men Project; and Mommyish. In 2014 she was named one of the Top 10 Funny Parent Bloggers of the Year by VoiceBoks. Perhaps most importantly, she is the proud founder of the Detached Parenting Movement, a child-rearing model she single-handedly developed without any guidance or advanced degrees in child psychology. Currently, she’s at work on a memoir based on this radical theory. For a good time, find her on Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter. &#160;]]></description>
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