the mom 2.0 summit and heartfelt thanks
I'm back from Atlanta, having spent a whirlwind weekend at the Mom 2.0 Summit. My heavens, what an amazing time. It had been almost 18 months since I had attended a blogging conference, and the Mom 2.0 Summit is just such a great one to return to: so many friends I've made through this crazy medium were there, and it was wonderful catching up with them all.
Some highlights:
Participating on the opening keynote panel on body confidence, sponsored by Dove. It was such an honour to be a part of this, especially since I've been a fan of Dove's Real Beauty campaign for many years (as I said to their director of marketing, I'm wearing their deodorant right now). The other impressive (and admittedly somewhat intimidating) panelists were so warm and so funny, the hour we spent up on that stage was incredibly fun. They were:
- Jennifer Bremner, Director of Marketing, Dove
- Pippa Lord, blogger at Sous Style
- Dr. Robyn Silverman, child development and body image expert
Definitely go check them out -- they've got so much good to say.
Moderating a panel on the evolution of blogging. This was really special: I had the pleasure of moderating a conversation among one of the most diverse group of really wise women I've ever had the pleasure of being in the company of. Get this: the panel consisted of a charity foundation CEO, a film critic, and beauty queen and a globetrotter. Amazing, right? And each of them was so very smart, funny and engaging, all I had to do is toss them a question and get out of their way, and they blew the room away with their generosity and charm and just plain smarts. It was incredibly fun. They were:
- Heather Spohr (the foundation CEO), who blogs at The Spohrs are Multiplying
- Sandie Angulo Chen (the film critic), who blogs at Teen Lit Rocks
- Veena Goel Crownholm (the beauty queen -- Miss California 2004), who blogs at Tiaras to Babies
- Heather Greenwood-Davis (the globetrotter) who blogs at Globetrotting Mama
These four women write about everything under the sun, and so beautifully. Don't miss their work.
And finally, on Saturday night I was so honoured to receive the Iris Award for Best Photography. I was so overwhelmed, and I'm pretty sure I babbled something in gratitude into the microphone, but I honestly can barely remember anything I said in the haze of emotion I was experiencing at the time. So, now that I've calmed down, I'll say this: first and foremost, thank you so much, all of you who continue to visit me here and encourage me and support my work. It's really difficult to express how much your doing so has changed my life for the better, but it couldn't be more true that you have. I also owe a huge debt of gratitude to the lovely people of Mom 2.0 Summit, because receiving that award last night was absolutely the highlight of my career. And finally, deep, deep, heartfelt thanks to my co-nominees in this category: the photographers listed below are truly phenomenal. Their talent, and their consistent commitment to excellence challenges me to strive to improve my photography with every shot I take.
In short, they inspire me every damned day:
- Jessica Shyba of Momma's Gone City
- Jon Armstrong of Blurbomat
- Ree Drummond of The Pioneer Woman
- Rebecca Woolf of Girl's Gone Child
- Tracey Clark of Shutter Sisters
On that note, friends, I'm exhausted! I think I'm going to take a couple of days off, to hug my family, scratch Rufus' ears, and contemplate how much my carrots grew in my three-day absence. But Mom 2.0 has given me renewed enthusiasm for my work, and I'll be back soon, raring to go.