BlogHer

NaBloPoMo January 2013- Day 5: What is your favourite song that gives you energy?

I love music and I am especially enjoying myself now that I have Sirius XM Satelite Radio in my car to help take the edge off the hour plus commute each way that I have every day. I usually enjoy 80’s on 8, 90’s on 9, the Broadway Channel and I will listen to Mike & Mike in the morning to keep me up to date on sports.

As a child of the 80’s I favor the bubbly electronic pop of the period. Madonna, Duran Duran, The Police, Billy Joel, Bon Jovi, Van Halen, and the other MTV regulars (back when music videos was the order of the day) all give me a little pep.

I am also waiting for data on the amount of calories you can burn while car dancing.

My two favorite pep songs are Toni Basil’s “Mickey” and the 90’s Classic, Right Said Fred’s “I’m Too Sexy”, and Ru Paul’s “You Better Work”.

I especially like to listed to the latter two prior to a job interview to give me some pep and perk.

So now I dare you to watch the videos and not bop around in your seat a little.

Mickey-Scroll ahead to 0:33

I’m too Sexy- I dare you not to dance!

Supermodel “You Better Work” -Love Ru Paul

Happy Monday Everyone!

NaBloPoMo January 2013- Day 4: At what time of day do you feel the most energetic and productive?

I have to admit, I am one of THOSE people. A morning person. I get up, grab that shower and I am ready to face the day and my to-do list. I don’t need coffee or caffeine, just a nice shampoo and conditioner, (note to self, buy more shampoo) and I am good to go.

Heck 3 mornings a week I get up and am at the gym by 5am. This does not make me awesome or fit, it’s just that If I am going to work out, it happens first thing in the morning or its not happening.

My brain wakes up almost as fast as I do, which makes those middle of the night bathroom runs challenging as I need to get out of bed, pee, wash hands and get back into bed before my brain fully engages. If it does, I am screwed, because instead of falling back to sleep, I begin to think of all the things I need to do. (note to self, update to-do list)

I am also a breakfast person. Breakfast is a little more challenging now that I am trying to stay Paleo, but I am weaning myself onto the meat and veggie breakfast concept. I have been eating roast chicken and fruit for breakfast a few days this week, and even tried some sashmi, so I am sure that I will be having pot roast in the am any day now.

However, the downside of being a morning person means that once I get to the drive home at 5pm, I am dragging and the day only goes from there. I am trying to break my Coke Zero habit and I am down to one a day or less, but that one usually comes at 6:00pm when I have one with dinner, so I can stay awake long enough to get the kids through the evening and into bed, and then give my sweet husband some undivided attention.

But I always try to remember the following:

NaBloPoMo January 2013- Day 3: What is your favourite way to recharge when you feel drained of energy?

Today is about recharging. For me I can feel myself getting tired so I usually try to grab a nap or go to bed.

However, apparently it is not great to go to bed at 7pm. Its impossible since the kids don’t go to bed until at least 8:30 and I know if I go to bed at 7pm, chances are I will be wide awake at 3am, and get into an insomnia/sleep deprivation cycle.

I adore naps. Sadly, naps are verboten at work, but sometimes I get tempted into a closed door ‘webinar’, where I lock my door and may or may not listen too. (Don’t rest your face on the keyboard. The oils from your fingers will make you break out).

If a nap is not forthcoming, I grab some caffeine. Since I’m not a coffee drinker-its Coke Zero time. However, I am trying to cut back on my processed and artificial sugar, so I only use that when I am really dragging.

I can usually tell I am running low on energy because I get cranky. Things that usually do not bother me, begin to really get on my nerves.

Sadly as the mom, grabbing that nap is not as easy as it was when I was three. In fact, when I am sitting around doing absolutely nothing my husband and kids circle me and look at me like they can’t believe that I am just sitting there. Thankfully though, I do not have that total energy drain too often.

If only recharging was this easy.

NaBloPoMo January 2013- Day 2: Which daily tasks take up the most of your energy?

Every day there is a lot to do. Getting the kids up and out, commuting to work, working, commuting home, making dinner, supervising homework, showers, stories and bedtime.

Now I am fortunate that my husband shares in a bunch of the work with me, so I am not in charge of everything, but there is still a lot to be done.

The commute each day is pretty draining because I get sick of driving, but the most draining part of the day is the evening tasks. Supervising my daughter’s bath and dealing with stories and bedtime is the biggest energy suck. This is probably because it is the end of the day, and I want to go to bed myself, but I know that bedtime is still an hour or two away.

However, I know as my daughter gets older she will need less supervision at bedtime and I will get more relaxing time in the evening.

For those of you wondering what’s entailed here is a nice little video.

NaBloPoMo January 2013- Day 1: From Where Do You Draw Your Energy

Happy New Year Everyone! I hope that 2013 is wonderful to you and that it does not take you too long to rememebr to write the correct year on your checks. Of course if you are like me, and have almost everything on auto bill pay where you are at the point of writing maybe two checks a month, three if its a banner month, than it might take you even longer.

Trying to blog everyday for an entire month should be interesting, as I have never done it before. After reviewing my WordPress Blogging Report for 2012 I realized that I need to blog more if I am to have a blog people read. One of the biggest impediments to blogging can be the lack of ideas, so having a month worth of daily prompts seems to be a great way to start.

The 1st Prompt is: From Where Do You Draw Your Energy?

I am lucking that I am normally pretty high energy. I was one of those horrible children that gave up naps very early (and was rewarded with similar children) and I always seemed to just run and run.

How energetic am I? I remember being in the OB’s office during my second trimester of pregnancy with my son Alex. I remember sitting there with Dave bitterly complaining that I did not have the rebound of energy I was expecting in the second trimester. Where was all this energy I was supposed to be having? My lovely OB gave me a look and asked my husband about my activity level. He then proceeded to describe my 40+ hour a week job with travel two weeks out of the month, full-time grad school schedule, and 3x a week workout.

My OB raised an eyebrow, laughed at me and explained that there was obviously nothing wrong with my energy level.

Now that I have two kids, several years of not sleeping through the night and I am a little older, I find that my energy level is not what it used to be. Now I need sleep, and after a really hard workout, that hour nap on the weekend is important. Also, I find that cutting way back on the white carbs helps. As much as I LOVE pasta or pizza, I have to admit that after a dinner of either that I am ready for a nap.

I’m not a big fan of caffeine, as I find it makes me feel all wired, but at times when I am under the weather, or just need a boost a Coke Zero will help, but since it makes me jumpy I really try not to indulge. Consider it my gift to you all.

12 Lessons Learned From BlogHer12

I had a great time at BlogHer 12, learning so much that my brain was completely full for a good 24 hours after I left and meeting some great people.

I was also psyched that BlogHer13 is being held in Chicago, a city I love and have not been back to in 10 years, and does not conflict with my son’s birthday.

Taking what I learned from BlogHer12, I am going to make sure I do the following for BlogHer13.

1. Book the conference hotel the very second the conference rate becomes available: Thankfully, the Sheraton allows you to cancel pretty close to the conference, so even if I can’t go at the end, I can let go of the room and not get penalized. I really want the conference hotel. Its much easier to make periodic swag drops during the day, and I think there is more quality socializing to be had when you are in the conference hotel.

2. Bring more going out clothes. I brought one dress for the Friday parties, but that was not enough. I am going to bring dressy stuff for each night.

3. Bring cute shoes: I kept to functional shoes since I was schlepping between the two hotels, but if I am following lesson number 1, I can bring the more fun shoes.

4. Bring a baggie for the business cards I collect, since I had them in a million spots in my bag.

5. Find an adorable backpack to keep my hands free, which is especially helpful during the buffet meals.

6. Set the alarm on my phone 15 minutes before each seminar starts so I (a) make it to the seminar before it starts and (b) get a seat at the seminar.

7. Be more assertive about trying to catch up with the bloggers I really want to meet: I did not realize that there were 5000 people registered and just how many people 5000 people are. I was hoping to meet Stephanie O’ Dea from Crockpot365 and Melissa from Rock And Drool, but I figured that by checking the badges of people that looked like them, I would find them. Bad strategy.

8. Try to fit in a nap every day: If I want to stay out past 11, I either need to nap, or start learning to love Red Bull.

9. Bring a water bottle:

10: Bring some different sized envelopes to organize the papers and coupons you receive as you visit with the vendors.

11. Bring one large suitcase. I had brought a duffle bag for the 2o pounds of swag I brought home. (Yes, I weighed the bag), but for ease of transport I think I would have been better off with one really big bag that was slightly empty while traveling to BlogHer, that I could load up at the end.

12. Write more posts and make an effort to connect with the wonderful women (and men) I met at BlogHer12, so I will be a better blogger and social media user this time next year.

So to the others attending BlogHer, anything you would do differently for BlogHer13?

BlogHer 2012

My bag is mostly packed, my Amtrak ticket is printed and I remembered to put my Sheraton Membership Card in my purse. I am ready to go to BlogHer.

I am very excited to go. I have been having trouble finding readers and getting the blog off the ground, so I am hoping that the opportunity to learn from other bloggers and meet people will give me the kick start I need to have a better blog.

As with all seminars and conferences I find myself looking at the seminar list, and I want to go to all of them. I want to hit every party and have fun.

I am also looking forward to going because I have been doing the stay at home mom- not working thing for a couple of weeks while preparing for and completing our move and I could use the decompression for a day or two, especially now that I have seriously started job hunting.

So I hope to spend a few days meeting people, learning new things and coming back fired up and ready to tackle the world.

So if you see a gal with a hot pink tote bag and a shy smile. That’s me. Come over and say hi!

Getting Around NYC

I am very excited to be attending BlogHer this year. Its my first BlogHer and I am looking forward to meeting some wonderful bloggers and learning ways to make my blog better and learn how to be better versed in social media.

I was also excited that the conference is in NYC. I grew up on Long Island and have always loved visiting the city.

While there are many ways to get around NYC and they all have pros and cons, with the exception of bringing your own car and driving it around. My only response is to NOT DO IT. NYC can be challenging to navigate by car and finding legal, inexpensive parking is next to impossible. If you thought about coming in by car, I suggest you find one of the commuter rail or Amtrak stations near you and park your car there and take the train.

If you are going to take in some sightseeing when you are not in conferences here are the pros and cons to getting around.

Pros and Cons to Traveling in NYC:

1. Walking-

Pros: Its free and its a great way to see the city, there are a lot of cute little stores, and gives you lots of opportunities for people watching.

Cons: You are limited by the speed you can walk, so if you are trying to see lots of the city, walking alone is not the most efficient way.

2. Taxi-

Pros: You will go exactly where you want and you can still see lots of what is going on. Also, if you have a friendly driver, you can have some great converations.

Cons: Taxi’s are expensive. I would save a cab for when you are either exhausted, carrying a lot of stuff, or feel that you are hopelessly lost.

3. Subway-

Pros: Efficient, and not very expensive. You can cover lots of the city, and get to people watch. Also the subway is very safe and most trains have a map of the stops so you will not miss your stop. Here is a link for a Subway Map, and you can also download a free app for the Subway.

Cons: You do have to plan a little to make sure you are going to the right place, and be careful to be on a local and not an express train. Also, since the subway is underground, you do not see a lot of the city.

4. Tour Bus-

On just about every corner you will see people selling tickets for one of the double decker tour buses. You buy tickets and you can hop on and off for different loops around the city.

Pros: You really get to see a lot of the city, and if you get a good tour guide, you learn a lot of neat facts. Also, the hop on-hop off nature allows you to target the areas you want to see, and with a bus every 10-20 minutes during the day, you are never stuck in one area for long.

Cons: The tickets are not cheap, but if you google the companies, you can often get coupons. Also, getting from place to place is faster than walking, but slower than the subway or taxi.

I have never tried the bicycle rickshaws, so I cannot comment on them.

Getting around NYC is also pretty easy as the bulk of the city is on a grid. Sometimes you might get turned around a little, but you can always find your way.

Also to save yourself a little on a cab, try to catch your cab facing in the direction you want to go it. That trip around the block, especially in traffic can add to your fare.

nodrama4mama

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