Heading to Blissdom

I went to the Blissdom blog conference last year in Nashville and I’m super excited to go again! This year I’ll be going as  community leader for the blissdom newbies, so it adds an extra level of excitement (and anxiety).

It’s funny how something like this can stir up feelings reminiscent of highschool. We have to make business and networking decisions that we hope will expand our blogs; which sessions to go to, the people to hang out with, where to sit at lunch. You hope you don’t say anything stupid, or you know…..trip and fall down the stairs. And then they’re is the whole “deciding what to wear” issue. It’s about enough to make a girl go nuts. Especially someone who has never been to Blissdom before.

So just a few short tips:

The thing about the Opryland Hotel is, 1) it’s awesome.

and 2) You walk a ton. (which is good because of all the good food you eat…..)

(last year I wore these cutesy slippers when I got tired of my heels)

I never found the “perfect clothes” last year, and that’s ok. I brought what I felt good in. I’m not the most fashionable gal in the world, (which I was keenly aware of rooming with fashionable JoLynne from Musings of a Housewife) but I don’t think most noticed. I didn’t really see what other people were wearing anyways! This year I hope to do a bit better.

I also loved bringing along my datebook last year to hold all of the business cards from other bloggers I met. I just pop in a baseball card insert (from like a million years ago when I thought it was cool to collect them…….I have a bunch of cards, anyone want them?) and I can easily see the info I need! And make sure your own business cards have your blog URL, email address, and if you have room, your avatar. Sure, social media is nice to put on there too, especially twitter, but if you have all that info on your blog, you’re good to go.

If you’re going too, I recommend checking out the Blissdom blog where they talk about all of the “insider tips”; from getting there, to making your way around the enormous hotel, to getting the most out of your experience.

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Personal Goals

I‘ve recently been thinking about why I don’t get everything done that I’d like to do. Sure, I have little ones at home and life takes time. But I often find myself floundering a bit with no real direction.

And then it hit me.

I no longer write out my to-do list. I no longer write down my yearly goals.

Back when I worked a full time desk job, my planner was always close at hand. I’d spend my day working (of course) but often times I’d jot down things I wanted to read, projects I wanted to do, or even my to-do list for the next day.

I very much enjoy a good to-do list.

And so it begins that this year I want to be able to do more. Because the work I do at home is never finished, my blog is never finished, and I honestly don’t feel like I can sit back and really feel like I’m done. That and my to-do list keeps getting longer……. So I thought I’d break up my year into more manageable pieces, and focus on each quarter as it comes around.

Personal Goals, 1st quarter: January – March

• Read four books – I used to be quite the book worm. In fact, I used to get in trouble for reading to much when I was young! Somehow throughout the years I’ve made less time for reading and more time for other things. Things that include a screen…… And while I do love to read online, I also love to educate myself with a good old fashioned book. I have a very long list of books on my to-read pile on Goodreads. Forty-seven of them in fact. Quite a few of these are actually on my shelf waiting to be read! The ones I’d like to tackle these next couple of months are:
• Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God – currently about 5 chapters in.
• Vitamin K2 and the Calcium Paradox: How a Little-Known Vitamin Could Save Your Life
• The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You’re Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are – I bought this one at Blissdom last year after listening to Brene Brown speak, I’m hoping it’s as inspiring as she is.
• Organized Simplicity: The Clutter-Free Approach to Intentional Living – I just got this free for Kindle yesterday on Amazon! It’s by Tsh from Simple Mom (I currently write for her Simple Organic website) and looks really good.

• Finish eight more units in my master herbalist curriculum – I. Am. So. Slow. Seriously, a work at your own pace thing has become my downfall – I keep letting life (and blogging) get in the way of furthering my education. So I’m setting myself goals and trying to read at night instead of watch tv.

• Learn to make cheese – You’d have thought I would have already been playing around with making cheese right? Or at least attempted it! But no. I rarely get enough milk from our farm share to make milk, some weeks getting none at all. But a friend of mine is leading a cheeses making class AND our farm has extra milk right now. Guess that means I’m making cheese!

• Study three new herbs – Along with working on my curriculum, I thought it’s be fun to research and play around with one new herb each month! I’m about ready to put in my bi-yearly Mountain Rose Herbs order so I’ll be adding in a couple extra herbs I’ve never used before.

• Try eight new recipes - This may be a bit lofty, yet I’d like to begin trying a new recipe each week or two. I find that making new dishes helps me keep things fresh in the kitchen as well as expands my knowledge of food and preparing it.

So what are you currently working on?

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My Week in Pictures {10.28.11}

We were blessed to be able to see the Northern Lights this last week! It’s been a very long time since I’ve been able to witness the show of blue, green, and red lights in the sky, and while it was a bit chilly out, we stood outside much longer than we thought we were going to. I threw on my flip flops and grabbed my camera to try to get a couple quick shots for my son to see – but once Todd and I were out there, it was quite magical watching the sky change colors and the bright beams of green coming from behind the tree line. Had I known it was actually a great time to take photos I would have grabbed my tripod instead of trying to take a long exposure with my camera propped up on the mailbox. Doh!

© donielle - iphone photography via instagram

I was also able to make it to a bulk natural foods store and stock up on nuts, seeds, and whole grains for the winter, so I set about soaking and dehydrating some this week.

© donielle - iphone photography via instagram

I also made an entire gallon of water kefir now that I have some whole cane sugar in the house again. man, a few years ago I wouldn’t have known what to do without sugar! Now we go weeks upon weeks without it and it doesn’t make a difference in our meals.

Homemade yogurt is also something that I’ve been trying to make each week again, but this batch was a bit runnier than I like for snacking on a bowl of yogurt and fruit. An easy tip is to strain it with a thin cloth to drain some of the whey out! You can strain enough out for greek style yogurt or go all the way to yogurt cheese. And I like having a bit of whey in the fridge for soaking and lacto-fermenting dressings and mayo.

© donielle - iphone photography via instagram

Have a wonderful weekend friends!

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