So Friday I wrote on the last bit of my Hope post on how I’d be joining up with NapTime Diaries and The Tiny Twig (among others) for #analogweeked. Friday night-Monday morning it’s a conscious step back from social media to spend more time with family, writing, reading, etc.

I always want to know how someone did with these things since follow through isn’t one of my top ten best qualities. Especially online. So I decided to share mine.

Friday evening after Sam got home, I thought about what a social media break meant to me. The obvious were no Facebook or Twitter. And no Instagram. I wasn’t sure what else since there isn’t a ton more, so those were the three. I rarely use LinkedIn or Pinterest.

Facebook just annoys me lately, so that one was easy. If I got on my computer I didn’t open a tab, and last month I deleted the app off my phone.

Twitter I use more to publish posts and IG photos than “chat” – so pretty simple to avoid it. I also had deleted it off my phone.

Instagram was a problem. I changed the settings to not alert me of new comments, but the app itself I didn’t want to delete only to reinstall Monday. The app and the use of Instagram at all go hand in hand.

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I’m finding again that when a lot of things happen in a short amount of time I can’t write about it because figuring out where to start and how to not make it a 2,000 word post where my hands fall off half way through is impossible. But – then I always wish I’d written about it sooner and in more detail.

Blissdom was amazing this year. It was a lot more relaxed, which is how I thought of it last year as well but this time was even more so. Great on the pregnant girl. I was able to see, do, and be at {almost} everything I wanted and by Sunday morning didn’t feel regret for missing a little. At the same time I was able to go to long lunches, spend time with my girls I haven’t seen in a while, and hang out in the room without feeling the guilt or push of “YOU SHOULD BE DOING…”

I honestly felt like I got my money’s worth in both sessions and friends. I left feeling connected to the women I love, the community I love, the writing I love, and most important; I left knowing why I write. I have to say that there are many times during the months where I feel like this is pointless, no one cares, my blog is a mess, maybe this is just an addiction to the internet…

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A few months ago I was invited to speak at The Influence Conference this coming fall. What a complete dream come true that was for me, and I’m honored {and nervous!} to be joining the women {and men} that will be speaking as well. Some of them even spoke at Blissdom this year so I had a chance to meet them. I’m already working on what I’ll be talking on, and praying over my material and thoughts as it comes together. I’m hoping that whatever I say will truly bless you, the Lord, and the story that has been given to me.

Tickets go on sale today, and there are a limited number to keep this conference small and intimate while still allowing for a wonderful network to happen. If you haven’t had a chance to look at their site and get to know the Influence Network better, head over and see more about the conference, the online classes they host, and the Christian community they pull together. This truly is an extraordinary group of women that make social media connections happen all year round.

Hopefully I’ll see some of you {again? for the first time?} this September in Indianapolis at the Westin for this amazing conference. Also I’ll be bringing the baby – all freshly baked and small. In case any of you need to get a fix right about then.

If you’d like any more info, I can help point you in the right direction or you can find Influence here:

Facebook / Twitter / Instagram

5 conferences. I remember the first year I started blogging in January ’10 and Blissdom was right after that. I had no idea what it all was, but watching Twitter BLOW UP about it made me feel like I really needed to go. I missed BlogHer that summer, but decided after that I was going to try to go to at least one. If nothing else, to meet all the women I’d connected with online that past year. This year I’m a community leader for Blissdom and I’m hoping that means I’ll find a lot more of you to hug.

3 years and 5 conferences later, the magic is still the same. There is always a bit of an unknown going – who will I run into? Will people know or care about who I am at all? Will I run into so and so and DIE FROM ANXIETY of finally meeting them?

The most important: What swag will I be taking home?

Of course, that isn’t the most important. (Top 5) The MOST important is getting to finally squeeze and hug and talk with the women who you’ve written, texted, Skyped, cried, and laughed with for months or years past. The chance to finally tell that blogging idol, “You are so amazing.”

And then walk away kicking yourself for being such a giant dork and obvious stalker.

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Lori from A Day in Motherhood and I met on the Disney cruise we were both sent on in October. Assigned to the same table (and just us with the kids!) we quickly realized just how much we clicked and spent the majority of the cruise together. I’m so honored to have her here today, writing about becoming a single mom to 3 girls under 6 and working from home for the income needed to support them all. She inspires me to dig deeper when I feel like I’m maxed out as a WAHM!

I think that, as moms, we all want to do our absolute best at one thing: being a mom. At least I do. I want to be patient, attentive, creative, loving and amazing. And I think I was… for the first few months of all of their lives.

And then life stepped in. Three children in three years, a stressful move, the depression of money issues and finally, the divorce that was put into place that, truly, had been coming since the beginning.

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