FemCon13 Recap

Ok, better late than never, right?

I'm only 2 and a half weeks late on this!

#femcon13

So for those of you who don't know, I went to my very first blogger conference on October 26, 2013! I was nervous, excited, and really wasn't sure what to expect! It was the very first annual Femworking Small Business and Blogger Conference in Arlington, Virginia. I had a few hour hike North but not bad. Not like Haven Conference where I'd have to fly to Atlanta, Georgia, SNAP! where I'd have to fly to Salt Lake City, Utah or BlogHer all the way in San Jose, California!

The conference was kicked off by the keynote speaker, Jill Smokler of Scary Mommy. She is hilarious and down to earth. I hadn't actually heard of her blog (no babies = not big into mommy blogs) but I'll definitely recommend it to my friends with young children and babies. She brings a sense of reality and humor to being a parent. We even got a signed copy of her latest book, Motherhood Comes Naturally (And Other Vicious Lies)! 

We had a full day of speakers and discussions lined up. Everyone was bound to learn at least ONE thing per session. I say at least one thing but if anyone was like me, they learned a ton during each session! Pictured here is the Social Media Panel. Left to right it is Christen Green of Social Shop Media, Laura Harders from Beltway Bargain Mom, and Dawn McCaslin of The Crispy Sage. They gave us all sorts of great info! A few of my favorite points I wrote down were:

• Reciprocity - If you help out someone else, they'll help you out! The more I find AMAZING bloggers to network with, the more I realize how true this is! My advice, seek out and find small groups of like-bloggers that are in it to support each other. Start with specific networks/groups like DIY, real food, home improvement, etc. and also look for networks within your home state! If you can't find a good fit for you...start your own support group! 
• Write out goals for each social media platform (Number of followers, amount of scheduled posts, repins/retweets/shares, etc)
• The first 3 or 4 words of a post MUST catch your reader's attention. 
• Focus on one or two social media outlets and be great at them. 
• Have a presence in all social media forms.
• Get used to hashtags...they're here to stay and will help people find you. 

I'll be honest, I don't like that last one! I hate hashtags. Strongly dislike if you prefer. BUT, the panel stressed that in ever social media outlet, hashtags will help people find my blog. If I write a vegan cookie recipe and use #vegancookie on Pinterest, people searching for vegan cookies will find my pin! Guess I have to work on that! In the meantime I'll keep laughing at hashtags because it makes me think of this! 

We also had a business panel, marketing, monetizing/optimizing your blog, and a legal panel. Pictured her is 3 of the 4 (well, you can actually see Nicole Dash of Tiny Steps Mommy (one of the two lovely ladies who put on this conference) in the mirror on the left. Then from left to right it's Taya Dunn-Johnson of Just Another Day with MrsTDJ, Monica Sakala of Wired Momma and Maria Jose Ovalle of Very Busy Mama'. All these ladies were wonderful and relatable. No one sugar coats things around here! Some of my favorite points from this panel were:

• Listen to your voice.
• Trust your instincts.
• Get out of your box.
• No business is going to come to you and offer you money. You need to request it.
• Create a media kit.
• No one can tell your story but you. 

I couldn't find a good picture of all the speakers of the monetizing your blog session but here's some of what I took away from it:

• Have a good bio, photo and contact (e-mail address!) info easy to find and available. 
• Don't use a contact form.
• Create a media kit. Use it as your "brag' page (guess I need to get on this one...seems to be a big point!) 
• Have a self hosted blog (It's on my to-do list I promise!)
• Work with brands that work with you and your blog
• Treat your blog like a business. Because it is one!

Kelly Sanabria and Nicole Dash, the two lovely ladies who put on this amazing conference in only 3 months! We need some virtual applause, snaps and kudos to these ladies! 

After the conference I hooked up with these beautiful gals and we got dinner before coming back for the cocktail hour in the rooftop lounge of the hotel for a bit. From left to right it's Heidi from Life In Pink, Jess of Being Mrs. Beer, Britni of Play. Party. Pin., Megan of Picture This Photo Solutions, LLC. and me! 

Overall it was a great conference and a great experience!

Have you ever been to a conference? Who wants to pay my way to one of those other huge (and expensive) conferences in 2014? Anyone??

Till next time,
Catherine

Disclaimer: All photos (except the last four) were are from here and were used with permission. 

Strawberry Picking 2013

Our beautiful bounty!

This past weekend, my husband and I went strawberry picking at a farm about 40 minutes away. I had been wanting to do this since last year but we missed the season when it was cut short by too much rain. 

Saturday was really rainy off and on so we waited and went on Sunday. Most farms don't have Sunday pick-your-own hours but this one does! We went to Scott's Strawberry Farm in Moneta, Virginia and it was wonderful! We did have to endure a little drizzle but it wasn't too bad. 

I would definitely recommend going before the season is over! It is $10 for a 5 quart bucket, they're open 7 days a week, and they're very friendly and helpful! They're also going to have raspberries and blueberries in the summer. I'll definitely be back for those!

They have a bunch of fields that are huge! 

Rows and rows of ripe, delicious strawberries!

I even found a short and squat one that looked like a pumpkin! He was de-lish!

We also bought 3 plants too. I told you my wee little strawberry plant needed friends! Now he has some. He? She? Oh who knows. 

My other strawberry plant is the all-star variety and the new ones are Chandler Berries. They're lower and fuller and seem to produce more too. Scott's Strawberry Farm recommends Earliglow for the flavor so I'll be keeping an eye out for those! 

The little blossoms are so pretty!

Can one really have "too many" strawberries? 

Nah...I didn't think so either.

What's your favorite place to go strawberry picking? What do you do with your bounty when you get home?

Till next time,

Catherine

Good Friday Traditions

I have never grown up following any traditions for Good Friday but we went to church on Easter and searched for our Easter baskets when we got home. We also would get together with family but nothing really other than that.

My boss, who is Catholic, mentioned that they don't eat meat on Good Friday. I've also heard that Catholics fast on Friday. I'm not sure of any other traditions, though.

I found a really cool recipe on Pinterest called Resurrection Rolls on the blog Kitchen Kneads. You basically cover a marshmallow with a roll and when you bake it, the marshmallow melts. The entire recipe explains the story of Christ's death and resurrection. I'd love to do this for my niece and nephew! What a cool (and yummy) visual for children, and even adults too! I think that would be a fun tradition to start!

Do you have any Good Friday traditions that you celebrate with your family? How do you share the Easter story with little ones? 

Till next time,
Catherine

Health Goals

At the risk of doing something that is highly overdone, especially in the beginning of a new year, I figured I should type up some of my current goals for getting healthier. I know I'm in the same boat as many people...this is our year! We're going to finally get healthier. Losing weight is awesome but the main goal is to get healthy and I mean it.

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I've always had extra weight and have always wanted to get rid of it. My weight fluctuates a bit but I feel like overall I've tried to stay fairly healthy. Keyword: tried. I'm usually pretty active and have worked several labor intensive jobs. But it always seemed like I'd eat the worst when I worked the hardest. We (the girls I worked with) were just exhausted all the time that when we finally got a chance to eat we would eat whatever was the fastest because we had to get right back to work! I shouldn't place all the blame on my previous job(s) but trust me, it didn't help. Especially because in our minds, hey, we're working really hard, let's "reward" ourselves with food. Bad thinking!

So now, upon entering the new year, 2013, I'm ready to buckle down. I have no excuses! I've got a great, supportive husband who will eat better with me, cook with me, work out with me and so on. There's a world of motivation and workouts on Pinterest and we belong to a great gym. No more excuses!

I want to:

• Lose weight
• Drop pant sizes
• Lose inches
• Tone up/Strengthen my muscles (I'm no weakling but I want to be stronger)
• Feel more confident
• Be healthier

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How I plan to do it:

• Gym 3 days a week--Couch to 5k program, lots of walking/elliptical, and weight training
• Lighter workout at home 2 days a week--Walking Dead Workout for now
• Eat more salads! Every day would be ideal
• Take daily women's multi-vitamin
• Drink more water--8 glasses + 
• Eat more fruits and vegetables--DAILY
• Eat less wheat products (we only eat whole grain/wheat, but could be limited)
• Continue to avoid processed food, fried food, refined, bleached, enriched, high fructose corn syrup, etc
• Don't eat out or highly limit it, twice monthly max
• Yoga? (I know it's supposed to be great for you but I've never tried...input?)

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All of these things are basically the same for my husband as well. He doesn't need to lose as much as I want to but he wants to be stronger and healthier.

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I decided to write this down on my blog in order to give myself more accountability. I would LOVE any kind of support and motivation from my readers and friends! All the nitty gritty scary details like weight and inches are staying in a secure Excel file on my computer...not brave enough to put that out there! Maybe when (not if! Need to be more positive too) I reach my goals! Maybe.

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My husband and I have talked about it a million times but we really need to buckle down and get serious. We want to live LONG, HEALTHY lives together. I don't ever want to be hampered down by a preventable disease. The decisions we make today effect our health later on in life.

Follow my Health and Fitness board to see some of the cool stuff I've pinned regarding health and fitness! That's where all of my pictures came from for today's post. I try to pin fun workouts and motivation along with other health tips and tidbits.

Are you trying to do any of these things in the new year? How are you going about it? Also, any suggestions for fun home workouts once we complete every episode for The Walking Dead Workout?

Till next time,
Catherine

A New Year

Well, as I'm sure most everyone is doing today, they are reflecting on the past year and preparing for a new one. 2012 was a great year and I really don't have any complaints. I got married! Everything after that is just a bonus!

Here are some highlights of my 2012:

• My husband (then fiance) got a great job in Lynchburg (technically this was still 2011 but he started in January 2012)
• We moved him to Lynchburg (January)
• Had an amazing bridal shower (February)
• Hosted a baby shower for a close friend (February)
• We got married (March)
• Had an amazing honeymoon in Lake Harmony, Pennsylvania (March)
• My niece had her first birthday (April)
• Found a great job as a veterinary assistant (May)
• Joined Planet Fitness (June)
• Worked our 5th straight year of Studentz Camp (July)
• Started this blog (October)
• Vacationed in Hatteras with my family (October)
• Finished my last (full) semester of college (December)

I'm sure there are many more things I could type up but those are just some things that stick out right now.

Without turning this into a major bucket list, there are a few things I want to do in 2013...goals or resolutions if you will:

• Get a second part time job or one full time job
• Officially graduate college with my B.S. in Business Management
• Start online Veterinary Technician school/and other certifications
• Exercise more
• Eat healthier
• Grow the blog
• Volunteer more
• Buy more of our food from local farms
• Run a 5k with my husband
• Read more

So basically, live more and live better. Pretty usual stuff. I'm excited for 2013 because this will be my first full year as a wife and nothing can beat that! Bring it on, 2013!

What were your favorite times/events from 2012? What are some of your goals or resolutions for 2013? 

Till next time,
Catherine