12 Blissdom.....Nailed It

I'm back from Blissdom and although not physically recharged my mind is buzzing with ideas. This was my first blog conference and I knew it could get overwhelming. It was pretty much non stop from the time I arrived on Friday until Joe picked me up on Sunday. They say that going to Blissdom is like coming home for bloggers and it is kind of true. Where else can you sit at a table with 9 other ladies and have them all tweeting while still maintaining eye contact and carrying on a conversation! 

With Sonya and Erica at Richmond Station for a special tasting dinner

Blissdom is what you make it. I chose to spend my time with a smaller group of people so I could really get to know them and develop lasting friendships. I connected with the speakers and what they were sharing with us. I connected with my new friends until my whole body hurt from laughing. I found opportunities to share a bit about myself and took crazy fast notes on my BlackBerry as I learned how to make this blog better. 

I also had a lot of fun.

 Dinner with Erica, Stacey, Tracey, Sonya, Tanya, Nerina and Kirsten

 

 At the kickoff party with Tanya, Kirsten, Nerina

 The rest of my dinnermates: Erica, Sonya, Tracey, Stacey

With Chef Michael Smith thanks to Canadian Lentils!

At the costume party with Jen, Ashley and Jenn (whoa that's a lot of Jen(n)'s!)

 Taking a break from fighting crime! Ashley, Gretel, Kirsten

I managed to make my way through the conference keeping my green values intact. I probably walked away with the least amount of swag! I turned down anything that was plastic or was a brand or product that I would not use.  The biggest impact of my weekend was transportation. I carpooled to the train station with Lisa but opted to have Joe pick me up to go home vs taking the train part of the way. On Sunday I took an excursion to wine country which included a drive to and from Toronto. The winery I found and that is now the official sponsor of wine in the JnJ house was well worth it! (More on this winery to come in a follow up post).

I took my own water bottle, turned down bottled water, took my own coffee mug but didn't have to use it as there were reusable mugs available. I didn't hand out business cards (which Sonya says makes me more memorable!), didn't print any confirmations and took all notes electronically.The conference even donated any unwanted food we received from brands to the local food bank!

The weekend is what you make of it and these guys helped make it awesome! Alex, Ann, Annie (I forced myself to grow balls and go talk to her), Ashley, Erica, Gretel, Jen (my roomie!), Jenn (I did a guest post for her years ago...small world!) Kirsten, Lisa, Nerina, Rebecca, Sherrie, Sonya, Stacey, Tanya, Tracey

  
As an added bonus my roommate didn't kill me in my sleep.