Recovery Breakfast - It’s Hard To Say Good-bye

God only knows what time those girls at the Cheezeburgher Party went to bed but they were up bright at early for the Recover Breakfast. It was sponsored by Starbucks and

I didn’t want this weekend to end. When it ends it meant going back to the real world. Back to a world where I got up early in the morning to make sure that my posts for ThriftyMaven were in order. It’s a world where I have to be at work by 8:25 in the morning and I am surrounded by teenagers all day. This is a world where she beds don’t get made by themselves nor do dishes get done on their own. No photographers stop me and snap my picture and companies are not giving me swag or inviting me to party like a rockstar.

Then again all weekend long I’ve missed my husband. That’s right, the same husband who knows exactly how to get on my last stinking nerve. I miss how he talks about subject I have no interest in whatsoever. I miss fixing his meals and doing his laundry. Most of all I miss his kisses and being in his arms at night.

I miss my dogs too. I wonder if they notice I am gone. Does Darryl remember to tell them that they are “good boys” and offer them a treat if they poop outside? I wonder if he let’s Little Dog sleep in our bed when I’m not around.

I take the elevator down to the lobby. Already it is packed with new arrivals. New signs have replaced the BlogHer signs. The lower floors looked so empty. Less than 24 hours earlier they were filled with bloggers and PR reps. I took one last look at my home away from home and headed upstairs for a final party.

Coffee wasn’t all they were serving. They also had the new Starbucks Vivanno. There were also lots of pastries and I could have just crunched the calorie level in my head. “No” I tell myself. “You can only have one pastry that’s it. Since I’m not a coffee drinker I didn’t have any of that either. I love Starbucks Green Tea Lattes and if they want to send me some free coupons to try some of their pastries or other beverages to review. Please feel free to do so. If you want to sponsor a giveaway on my site to promote your tea products I would be happy to do so.

Honestly if I didn’t care about the calories I consumed I would have tried every yummy pastry they had there. As it was I grabbed a couple of samples of their new coffee and a couple packs of their snacks and began taking some photos. Each minute that ticked by brought me another closer to home. Why can’t I always live like this? If I lived like this what would it take to make things seem so special? Isn’t it amazing where the crossroads of sweeping and blogging have brought me?

I glanced at a clock and realized I needed to hustle back down to my room so I can get packed and ready to go. From here I have one more appointment. One last great hurrah for a thrifty blogger on a trip of a lifetime.

CheeseburgHer, CheeseburgHer, CheeseburgHer

I know I’ve said this before but I signed up for almost every party out there. For some I had certain expectations or perceptions and for others I had not one single clue. The CheezeburgHerParty describes itself as a group of blogger friends who decided to throw an impromptu hotel party involving cheeseburgers, bags on heads and fun at BlogHer in 2007, and a tradition was born. Now this party sounded like fun.

It seemed that I was already starting to get into the teacher, sleep mode of ready for bed by ten but I didn’t want to miss this party. I at least wanted to make an appearance. I’m so glad I did.

The party took place in the 2500-square-foot Presidential SuiteThe Suite which had a wonderful view. The large table was laden with McDonalds Cheeseburgers, Hamburgers, and French Fries. All the while a waiter was running around offering you more fries and burgers with cheese or sans cheese. What’s to drink? Wine of course, oh and Snapple, and Dr. Pepper too.

I donned my party hat and began to take some video. The hat actually reminded me of something I might have done as a child. Unlike other little boys and girls who had birthday parties with hats and noisemakers. We were poor and I wished I could have had one of those funny little hats. Back then I did my best to make hats from shopping bags with the help of scissors, tape, and crayons. None of my brothers or sisters co-operated.

Here I was walking around with a McDonald’s hat on my head and the word “Thriftymaven.com” written on it. OK so I’m not all that imaginative. I was overwhelmed by the number of women that were able to cram themselves into a room but as the room began to fill I began to feel uncomfortable. I’m just so claustrophobic.

I left before the party got really loud which is probably a good thing because it seems security was called and just before the bachelor party crashed the party. I did hear that it was so noisy that nearby guests were complaining. Who knew that bagheads were so cool?

No wonder McDonalds is still my kind of place!

BOWLHER One of My Hands Down Favorite Events At BlogHer

Can a girl admit she’s WRONG? I was wrong. Wrong with a capital W. When I was busy signing up for parties I decided not to sign up for BowlHer.

I do not bowl. Rather I have tried to bowl and as of yet I’ve not quite got a handle on why no points are awarded for consistent getting the ball to head straight for the gutter on the right hand side of the lane. I even have a patented move which involves me getting in the squat position with my legs open wide and rolling the ball down the lane. Even the shoes are ugly. I just couldn’t imagine myself enjoying a party at a bowling alley. Did I mention I was WRONG?

My original plan was to go to the BlogHer cocktail party then head on over to the Shutter Sisters Pajama Party and end the evening at the Cheezeburgher Party. My quick exit from the Shutter Sisters Party left a big gaping hole in my social activities. The BlogHer cocktail party turned out to be a wonderful formal send off for the weekend. They had an open bar and some nice horderves. The butlers in their formal outfits made sure that you were well taken care of. They had shrimp pot stickers, lamb chop, coconut chicken, stuffed mushrooms, and mini-beef Wellington.

BlogHer is formally over but it's not time to say goodbye. It's time to say good-bye to my fairy tale life at BlogHer. The clock it heading towards midnight but I hope I don't leave my glass slipper behind.

I decided to make a quick trip over to the BowlHer event and I discovered they had a list and were checking it twice. No problem. I admitted straight up that I had failed to register for the party. She looked down and said, “No problem. Come on in.” I was then handed a PINK feather boa and a crown.

This was another moment I would have just run out skipping and jumping for joy because I got a pink boa and I was so special I got a crown. Pink is my FAVORITE color so my happiness level is already flying at full-staff.

As we ascended the escalator to the second floor you could see people looking at us. Not in a weird crazy bag lady that one might do if you were the only one with a tiara and a feather boa. No this was more like a “Why can’t I have a feather boa and a crown?”

I heard a woman who was walking up the stairs ask one of the pink boa ladies “What’s with the crowns?” “We’re bloggers” she answered. Did she understand I wondered?

At the top of the stairs you noticed that it was decked out to be a big media type event that began with a walk on the red carpet. It appears that they were promoting Lifetime TV Channel and Project Runway. Someone came by with a camera just as I getting online and asked if we loved Project Runway. The squat, chunky young woman behind me chimed in “I’m simply addicted to that show. I just love, love, love it.” You might as well have been asking me if I loved chocolate.

Now’s the time I said to myself. I turned to the woman who had just come to life on cue and said, “I just love your boa. You have great taste.” She looked down at her boa and said, “Oh you too. I like yours too.”

I can’t let it drop here. I have to say something. Usually this is where I fall flat. I did the open now I need to keep the ball in the air.

“You know, originally I wasn’t going to come to this party. I’d signed up for almost every party that you could but I am such a crummy bowler I thought I’d be a fish out of water.”

Not the best come back line but it does open her to state that she’s either a very good bowler, a mediocre bowler, or a bowler more in line with me and perhaps a corpse. Even if she didn’t want to share that she could maybe comment on how she’d been to some party or all of the parties or how much she had been looking forward to this party. I’m hanging and hoping that she will respond.

I decide to make one last attempt at conversation. “I spoke to one of the people who is working with this event and she mentioned that it would be awful for me to miss out on all the great swag. She had even mentioned something about a zebra bowling bag. Isn’t that funny?”

I didn’t realize that I was waving a red cape before a bull. Her eyes narrowed and she said, “I hate all this commercialism. I hate how people are making it all about the swag. It’s not all about the swag. Blogging is about the art. It is about your ability to tell a story. It is not and should not be a commercial venture.”

Ah, OK. I decided to change the subject. “What do you blog about?” “I’m a Mommy Blogger. I blog for a news paper insert the name of a small Midwestern city, and I paid for this trip myself. Unlike some of the other people here who have sold their souls for the all-mighty dollar, I paid for this myself. I don’t let corporate America influence what I am saying. Every day I’m sharing deep and personal thoughts and feelings with people and even though I don’t have a lot of readers I’m beginning to see an upswing in my readership.”

Perhaps because I won a trip to Kraft Food I was a little put off by her statement. I sold my soul to Kraft Food? How is that exactly? Then in the very next thought I blurted out “Do you get paid to blog?” She told me she did but not as much as the sports blogger. He has more people following his blog. While I didn’t say it aloud was that being on a newspaper was also a sponsored blog. My blog is not sponsored but my trip was and I was a bit put off by her self-righteousness.

The woman behind her was also a mommy blogger for a newspaper so they began talking about how sports bloggers always have more readers. Then I heard the woman brag about how she didn’t even ask the newspaper to pay her expenses because that way she could be honest about her opinions of BlogHer. I suppose that was supposed to mean that she was above it all but no one had asked me to say ANYTHING.

I listened as she droned on about how she about her personal and innermost thoughts on her mommy blog. So essentially she sacrifices her family’s privacy for a paycheck. Is that selling out I wanted to ask her. I mean if it’s really all about the craft of writing like was saying then why not do it for FREE? Then I heard her talk about how some companies provide her with things to review but she lets them know that she will write what she truly feels about something and not be a corporate shill.

Again, why not say, my family’s story is not for sale? If swag and ANYONE who takes it is really unscrupulous like you say, then why are you standing in line in a boa and a tiara waiting to go to a party sponsored by a television show? Why not be working on your craft at home away from all this commercialism? Why must you expound upon how much better you are than others?

I believe some women who blog are all about the craft of writing. They are so good at what they do that the fame comes to them. They don’t generally lecture people about hypocritical loss leaders. They don’t have to say they are better than others because their barometer of success does not require putting others down to raise themselves up. I am certainly not at that level.

I was almost trying to turn off her diatribe against other bloggers, against the swag, and then I heard her say something about the stealing of swag. Swag stealing? I knew nothing about that? Pushing? Elbowing babies? A bruise in the shape of a hand? What in the heck was I dealing with? I had gone from rolling my eyes to wondering what the hell was wrong with people.

The line began to move. I watched as women began walking the red carpet, sometimes by themselves and sometimes in groups. They stopped for photos and I tried to get back in a festive party mood but I was mulling over all that I had just heard. I walked down the red carpet, took my photos and entered the bowling alley.

This was a bowling alley like I had never known before. It was HUGE with a bar, pool tables, and glow in the dark pins. I was stopped by one woman who asked if I wanted to send a video message to someone special. I said sure and I told them my husband. They wanted to know why he was the greatest man alive. I had exactly two minutes to think about what I was going to say and then it was lights, camera, action.

Then I walked to the back of the bar. For people like me this was a great place to observe and make a decision as to what I was going to do. I walked up to a table and there were women who were dealing with children with autism. We talked for about ten minutes. I told them about my nephew and about some former students and they told me about their organization. It was this conversation that brought me back to my own reality.

I went into teaching to make a difference. I look over the years and remember the families and former students who thanked me for the things I have done. Why in the world did I let that girl in line ruffle my feathers for even a moment? If being a blogger makes her feel as though she’s changing the world then let her have that. I didn’t care. I think what I did care about what her decision that others weren’t making the same contributions that she was. I knew that in less than 24 hours I would be going back to my little world and then shortly thereafter I’d be starting back to school.

I came out of the shadows of the back of the bowling alley and began to walk around. I tried to play pool. I sampled some products. I handed out some business cards. I had a great time and then I left because I didn’t want to miss the Cheezeburgher Party.

It’s funny that this was the one party that I thought I wouldn’t enjoy but turned out to be one I enjoyed a great deal.

South Of The Border Lunch At BlogHer

Lunch today was brought to us by the letter M for Mexican. Once again they offered me way too much food and once again it took everything inside me to try to keep from loading up on the food.

Why is it that I normally eat reasonable sized servings but throw me in a buffet line and I’m acting like I’m in the meal line on the Titanic and this is my last meal. I just want to throw food onto my plate almost in an attempt to reassure myself that I won’t be hungry later.

There were tamales, chicken fajita,refried beans, salad, and although it was difficult I even tried a bite of the tasty desserts like Tres Leches and Churros. Since I’m still trying to stay away from drinking so much caffeine I wish they had had some caffeine free diet Pepsi to drink. Then again, I might have been the only one there drinking it so I suppose that is selfish of me.

Once again this meal was supposed to be Birds of a Feather but I was a bird without a flock. Stick me in a big room with food and tables and I’m a mouse in a maze. I head for one of the tables and once again I’m joined by some other bloggers.

I ask each one their name and each one about their blog but no one asks for my name or the name of my blog. Are we all so lost in the tech world that we forget that conversation goes two ways? Am I expecting too much? I listen as they tell me about their blog, the opinion about BlogHer and I wonder if I should interject something like, “Oh and by the way, I’m the ThriftyMaven but you can just call me Cathy.”

After spending the day inside I was anxious get some fresh air. I hoped to be back in time to hear the Sponsored v. Unsponsored – Blogging for $$ Where Do You Stand? With that in mind I was off for a walk along the river in the bright sun shine.

The Microsoft Spa – Ah

The Microsoft Spa – Ah

I have been teaching Microsoft Office for the last seventeen years. I am even Microsoft Office Certified which means I took a test as to my competency and I passed it with flying colors. So when I first noticed the word Microsoft my head turned. Maybe I could get some information about the new version of Microsoft Office which I haven’t learned but I know I must teach soon. Then I noticed the word SPA. Who doesn’t love a spa? What do the two have in common I wanted to know.

Turns out that Microsoft had decided to pamper the bloggers of Blogher with professional makeovers, back rubs, and manicures. After a wonderful experience at the Suave counter I visited the Spa for a makeover.

I no sooner sat in the chair when a photographer came up. She took my name and my card and told me she was taking photos for some paper that included London in it’s name. I swear I couldn’t hear her even though I asked her twice. She took a series of photos as the makeup artist worked her magic.

While I sat in the chair, I had the overwhelming urge to say “I’m ready for my close-up Mr. DeMille.” Sadly I knew that my remark would fall flat as they have probably never watched the movie Sunset Boulevard. It was appropriate though. While I was never a movie star, in society I was hitting the age where many would consider me to be a has been. The bloom was not only off the rose and the bloom itself was just a memory.

When do we stop looking in the rearview mirror at the mistakes and missteps that we have made? Do people who say that they lived their life with no regrets truly have nothing they would have done differently? When I sing “My Way” with Frank Sinatra on the car radio am I really telling the truth? Isn’t it true that our way is often decided upon by factors like serendipity? Can’t I still wish I’d had a pony?

After I had my makeover I stopped over to talk to the lady who was in charge who wanted to know what I thought of my experience. I told her how much I enjoyed it and bragged about my certifications. I told her how much I enjoyed my time at the spa and what my opinions were about the new Windows Live. I like it except for the fact you can’t upload more than one photo at a time. Other than that I LOVE Photo Gallery and Movie Maker to edit and organize your photos and movies, and then post them online. You can blog, manage your calendar and I can see what's new with my friends all in one place. That's because you can add your favorite sites, like Facebook, Yelp, or Twitter to Windows Live, and your friends will get your updates in their “What’s New” feed. That means you don’t have to e-mail or IM all your friends to let them know what you’re up to.

What I love is that I have access to all the files I've uploaded no matter where I am AND my friends and family, and even co-workers can have access to the files I want to share with them and they



When we were finished she handed me one of my very favorite gifts of the weekend, a Microsoft Office Small Business version. I could have hugged her. It’s just what I needed for my laptop which I use for my school work.

I looked at my schedule to see what I missed. For a woman who only missed four classes during my whole college career I was feeling a bit embarrassed for having missed so many of the break-out sessions. Still I felt I was accomplishing some of what I hoped to accomplish. I was meeting people in the PR field and trying to get my name out there. I was also stretching my wings and trying new things. Now off to lunch I say.

The Shutter Sisters Pajama Party

I was so excited about this party. When I was growing up my mother NEVER let us go to a sleep over or have one at our house. For my mother, child molesters and mass murders lurked behind every door. Growing up I never sat up all night listening to ghost stories, talking about boys, or doing my nails while spreading gossip with other teenage girls.

Not too long ago I heard about adult women having slumber parties and they sounded fun. So much more to dish about and you don’t have to worry about your mom coming in to tell you to hush up and go to sleep. My problem is of course that I haven’t really made any close friends here in Georgia.

I have only myself to blame. I cannot always expect someone else to make the first move. It seems I have lots of acquaintances. They all like me but it just seems that I’m afraid to impose on their free time. I thought this might be a great opportunity to make new friends. I even bought a new nightgown with Tinkerbell all over it. Call me Kitschy.

When it came time to show up to the party I changed into my PJs and looked at myself in the mirror. What was I doing? Sure it said PJ party but at that moment I was more certain than ever that everyone would be wearing those Lounge Pants sets. I would stick out like a sore thumb. I changed back into the outfit I’d been wearing earlier and headed upstairs to the Shutter Sisters PJ Party.

They were friendly enough, even offered me wine but almost immediately I realized I was totally out of my element. These women were photographers. The talented kind. You know the kind of people who NEVER have photos that chop off the top of people’s heads or forget to leave the lens cover on. I felt much like I would have felt if I had walked into a room filled with artists of any media. I feel awed by their talent, so awed that I’m speechless. When I look around it seems like many of the people there know each other and I almost want to run for the door as embarrassed as if I’d walked into the wrong apartment.

I look at their work quietly and then I leave.

More Proof That I Am Not The Center Of The Universe

Actually I have never imagined myself to be the center of any universe except my own little world and even there the title might be up for discussion. While I signed up for almost every party I saw some parties did not have me on their guest list. Who could blame them though? I was not a mover or a shaker or for that matter the beautiful ingénue. I’m not even a gamer nor do I play one on TV.

Just like I had no clue whatsoever about the Nikon Party, which by the way had they invited me I’d have twittered #Nikonlovesteachers or #IheartNikon. Another party I knew absolutely nothing about was a private party sponsored by Nintendo. From what I understand, everyone who attended received a Nintendo DSi. Is that cool or what? I also heard that these lucky bloggers were taken by horse-drawn carriages up to the Hancock Tower. Once there they were whisked away to the Signature Room on the 95th floor of the Hancock Tower. There they enjoyed hors d’vours and wine. They were then seated and enjoyed a four-course dinner and an open bar.

Tell me the truth. Can you not see how being treated this way, like media superstars doesn’t go to a girl’s head? I guess I just didn’t understand the power of the blog. Oh sure I remember my English teacher telling me about the power of the pen but if this is any indication about the shift of marketing then I’m really further behind the curve than I realized.