Hey, y’all!

I have to tell you all about my trip to Bloggy Boot Camp and my latest step onto the scale…so sit down and get comfy. I’ll even share a few things I’m working on for the future of Hot Mess Princess!

Yesterday was the best day – I schlepped my 3.5 butts all the way to Dallas for an all day Bloggy Boot Camp, thrown by the very talented ladies over at SITS…and boy, did they give me something to think about. My brain was so full my tummy wasn’t even hungry until afternoon.  (I confessed a major eating faux pas on my Facebook fan page yesterday when I got home!)

Unfortunately, I missed the pre-conference parties on Friday night because I was playing nursemaid to Miss Kirby (who is doing better everyday, by the way!)  She’s doing great, but Dyson is a little slow on the uptake sometimes…and he’s thumped his giant frying pan sized paws way too close to her incision for my comfort.  I’m so thankful for everyone’s well wishes this week…and so is Kirby!

I met my first bloggy friend while I was standing in the registration line and Ashley from The Social Shoppe walked up behind me. We chatted excitedly about the day ahead and were bummed that we weren’t seated at a table together that morning! There was a gorgeous free breakfast provided by Petit Jean Meats that was out of this world.  (Not just bacon…the official bacon of the Dallas Cowboys!  Hello!!!)

The event was organized with a lot of heart – especially for those of us who are better at making new friends behind a keyboard than we are in a room full of strangers.  Seating was assigned all morning and changed with each speaker, so we played musical tables until lunch…and met a lot of cool chicks in the process! I loved that – because even though I can talk up a storm if I don’t know you very well, if you make me walk into a room full of strangers I’m most likely going to stick to the walls like the tacky velvet wallpaper my parents had when I was a kid.

Before the opening presentation by Lauri at TipJunkie, I chatted up Allie from Sammis & Ochoa (later in the afternoon we found each other again and showed off pictures of our cats…it’s true).  Later in the morning, I got to meet Beth from Wise Mommies (you moms will definitely want to check out her blog) and Stephanie from Food and Fitness 4 Real (she baked yummy “healthified” oatmeal chocolate chip cookies for everyone…the recipe is on her site!)

Here’s Allie & me as we switch tables during the networking break (hey, I know it’s blurry but we had to dash!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I learned so much before lunch that my brain AND my tummy were full.  At lunch, I reconnected with Allie and met even more cool chicks – then it was on to the afternoon sessions, where I met Carrie Elle from CarrieElle.com and Amy from AmyLovesAustin.com.  The day was so busy and so fun…I wish I could have spent so much more time with these awesome bloggy chicks. The day zoomed by so fast – and yet it slows down to a snail’s pace when I’m waiting in the doctor’s office or listening to Hot Mess Hubby talk about antique coins.

Everyone was so nice and so excited to chat…and Kroger was giving free massages inside the meeting room.  I didn’t sign up for a massage only because I’ve seen those massage chair thangs you have to fold yourself into and I had a reasonable fear that I either wouldn’t fit in one or I’d entangle myself as I was trying to get out. Fear of taking a header into table #13 with my legs wrapped around a massage chair kept me at a safe distance. (I tweeted a picture yesterday…of me by the massage chairs, not me wrapped around the massage chairs!)

The last speaker of the day was Elizabeth Jayne Liu from Flourish In Progress.  I laughed so hard…she was hysterical.  Her presentation topic?  Authenticity.  It hit home for me on a number of levels.  Sometimes I worry a little too much about whether folks are going to like a certain post or comment at all.  (Every time my Facebook fan page gets UNliked it’s like someone kicked me in the crotch…seriously, I’m a lovely person.  What’s there to unlike?)

Elizabeth reminded me that it’s okay to stick to my guns and be the person I was born to be: a Hot Mess Princess who’s losing 219 pounds with no surgery, no diet, and no special shakes or super protein packed pills that could choke a horse.  On my terms, on my schedule.  Sheer determination and a serious fear of wearing corduroy pants is going to get me through this.

My SWAG bag from the conference:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I learned so much – but more than that, I was inspired and motivated to bring you a better blog here at Hot Mess Princess.  It was awesome.  No, it wasn’t just awesome.  It was awesome and amazing, rolled in fabulous and dipped in wow, with a big-ass side of YAY!!!!  I didn’t take the car when I left…I rode home on a unicorn on a rainbow!  Covered in glitter!!  Okay, maybe some of that’s not true.

So here’s just a little snip of what you can expect in the coming months here at Hot Mess Princess…

One word: e-book.  Two words:  FREE e-book.   Yes!

I’m working on an e-book to offer for free to new email subscribers of my blog.  Already a subscriber?  Don’t worry…you’ll get one for free just because I already love you.  Fabulous, right?  I thought you’d see it that way.

I’m also working on more recipes (I was inspired by the honey wheat rolls I got from King’s Hawaiian yesterday!) and a little Pinterest project that’ll have you laughing hysterically.  I hope.

So Kirby’s healing, I’ve been to Boot Camp, and all is well here in the Hot Mess household.  I hope all is well in yours.

Oh!  I forgot to mention…I lost another pound yesterday.  🙂  I continue to chip away at the 7 craptastic pounds I gained back recently.  I’m almost to the point of moving forward again…getting closer every day…knowing it’s only a matter of time.

Oh and one more thing:  there’s been so much going on with me lately that I’ve been a lot more stressed than usual.  So stressed, in fact, that the 7 Dwarfs of the Menstrual Apocalypse rolled up in front of my house today and banged on the door.  A whole week early.  The world is a cold, cruel place.

Gimme an ibuprofen I.V. with a chocolate truffle drip so I can get through this please…STAT!

 

Kirkland Signature Ibuprofen Tablets USP, 200MG 500-Tablets