I learned a lot. So much that I am exhausted and I am still trying to piece my head back together after it exploded from all of the excitement and information. There is a ton of practical information that I came away with and I plan to share that in posts dedicated to each subject, so I can spread the love a little, but today I am going to share something much more valuable...what I learned about people.
I learned that
...Melissa is soft spoken, encouraging and hates to paint...
...Allison is totally crazy and doesn't mind if a semi-celebrity male grabs her leg to pose for a picture...
...I not only envy Gussy's bags, but her super cute hair...
...the Nester loves bacon and wants a window seat when flying...
...Lorie encourages people to act normal, but doesn't follow her own advice, which I love..
...Laurie is one of the best movers and shakers I've ever met. I swear that girl never stops...
...Lindsey lifts up those around her, even her competitors, AND her mom is in my fan club (maybe the president?)...
(me and Sarah)
...Sarah is tall, has a radio-worthy speaking voice and shares my cleaning tool of choice for the kitchen table and floor - a putty knife. (We both have four year old boys.)...
(Becky, Kate and Laurie)
...Becky is a scary combination of savvy and creative. She's also a riot...
...Kate has a vision and heart that makes me think hard about how I can better myself...
(Gina and Tracy)
...Gina is a hard worker, true entrepreneur and has a great southern accent...
...Traci is one of the nicest people I've ever met and she loves to dance...
..."mama" Rhoda is the person you want to plan where a large group of women will eat. She has the kindest eyes and truly lives up to the name of her blog...
...Layla loves it when Kevin slips into his Alabama accent and I swear she and I must use the same box of hair color...
She's also a goof. So's Traci. And I love them both.
(You can blame Layla for this over-exposed strangely cropped picture of Shaunna and I, but I actually think it's kind of artsy. In truth, I handed her my camera and it wasn't set right and she was testing it out.)
...Shaunna is me, but from Alabama and she's married to a different guy. We're both in youth ministry, furniture refinishers and had so much in common we just started laughing at the similarities. The one difference is that her true passion is writing...
...if you need a good conditioner, ask Kristen. She has the prettiest, softest hair....
...Brittany is one of the most thoughtful and generous people I've met. She made a whole goody bag just for me that included latex gloves, a brush, and sand paper. Come on!...
...Sandra can go into teenage sleepover mode at the drop of a hat. This girl is fun...
...Jen looks like a model. Beauty and craftiness...ow!...
Savvy Becky used us shamelessly as billboards, but we got free t-shirts out of it, so that's OK.
...Ashley is the kind of girl you want to tuck in your pocket and take home. She was sweet and, boy, can this girl put together a room. I love her. She was the first person I met and she waved at me like Mr. Collins waves at Elizabeth Bennett in the 1995 TV version of Pride and Prejudice. I couldn't find a clip, but if you've seen it you know what I'm talking about...
...Kristi is a very cool mom and got Crystal Bowersox's autograph for her kid. She lives just around the corner from my in-laws, so I'll see her again...
(Layla and Lindsey)
(Clockwise from top left - Jen, Layla, Ashley, Myra, Shaunna, Kristi, me, Beckie and Lindsey)
...Myra and I were often in the same room, same group and we never got to sit down together to talk. I can tell you that she is beautiful and had an amazing custom bag that I was always looking at. Next time, Myra!...
(Chris, me and Becky)
Chris is not just a girl. She is an amazing girl, well, woman. She's also an English teacher, so watch your grammar. (Forgive my comma splices!)
(Ashley and Erin)
...Erin is stylish and sweet. I loved meeting her and look forward to getting to know her more as her blog grows...
(Beth and Layla. I stole this picture from Beth's Blog)
...Beth is so open and honest. I don't like fluffy talk and she really gets to the heart of things. AND she lives only about a hour away from me, so we're going to get together for a play date/mommy break.
To sum up a really long post - I liked all of these ladies before I met them. They all have fantastic blogs and seemed nice. I can honestly say that I love them, now. This is an awesome bunch.
As the cherry on top of my trip, I sat next to a very nice lady on the flight to Charlotte...
...the Nester! I had her all to myself for a couple of hours. We agreed to hug if the plane was going down. We also laughed at each other's sluggishness in texting on our iPhones. It is painful. You would laugh, too.
Back in PA, I was greeted by giant candy bars. It was a little strange, so I had to get a picture.
By the way, I wore my grey Chucks the entire time. In the end, I wanted to look cute, but I really didn't care what I was wearing.
Today is a day of recovery for me, but it's back to projects and decorating posts tomorrow. I'm also finishing up my post for the Copy Me Challenge with Donna, so get those projects ready!!
Ah! I just realized I totally missed Melissa from 320 Sycamore! I had a wonderful dinner with her and her sister, Kristen, who has a great idea for a new blog. I also forgot Richella from Imparting Grace. She is lovely.
I met a bunch of people and came home with a fistful of business cards, so I know I failed to mention a lot of delightul girls I met! Everyone was amazing and their absense from this post was not intentional!