Blissdom 11 Recap: Top Ten {Tuesday}

You know I had to do it. I couldn’t get my mind together to do a Blissdom recap on Monday. I mean, I’d only been home for like 24 hours. I couldn’t possibly organize my thoughts. (Or my suitcase.) And here I sit, home for a good 48 hours and still my mind is ajumble. (That’s a word, right? Ajumble?)

Anywhoo. I’m going to recap Blissdom 2011 for you anyway. This is going to be the non-touchy-feely, the barely-bloggy, basic post:

What Amanda Did, Who She Saw, What She Wore and Yes, What She Ate At Blissdom 2011 Recap.

Enjoy. If you can.

1. The Blood Water Belt

photo by the fabulous Kathy Hill

Wednesday was MY day for THE belt! I was the first of the blissdom-sisterhood-of-the-traveling-belt to proudly display the belt. And I loved telling the story to anyone who asked! (You can see Mandi and Sarah in the belt later in the week!)

2. Cupcakes and More

photo by the majestic Mishelle Lane aka Secret Agent Mama

You know I had to get a picture of me with food near my mouth. But honestly, there was no way I could get these in my mouth. They were huge. And for all those that are worried, I only ate half of the Red Velvet and gave the Chocolate one away.

Along with the cupcakes {not at the same time, of course} we had more Orville Redenbacher popcorn than we knew what to do with, Blue Bunny ice cream cones, Nestle Valentine Cookies and a pint of two of Red Lobster‘s Lobster Bisque. Oh, and some coconut chocolate chip cookies from Staci. And a really yummy Chicken and Balsamic Tomato thingie from George Duran. I guess I didn’t get many pictures of me shoveling food in my mouth because everything was too yummy. See:

3. Tea Collection

The first night at Blissdom I spent a few minutes in the swanky FedEx Business Center at the Opryland. Why? Because Tea Collection was sending me a few of their gorgeous pieces of clothes to wear at Blissdom! EEK! I know! How cool is that? It was a surprise as to what they were sending. (Especially because when I took my measurements I was a S/M until I measured my waist at an XL. Yowza.)

When I opened the box, I found these two lovelies:

Seaside Studio Stripe Wrap Cardi and Nova Mar Bella Scarf by Tea Collection

The scarf is actually red and PURPLE. I wore it with a super hawt red dress, black leggings and flat black shoes. I can’t even believe how stylin’ I was. You’ll just have to imagine it since I don’t have a picture of it.

The sweater was so comfy I could have slept in it. I wore it with one of Staci‘s shirts (an awesome long tunic-y thing from the Gap) and my pirate boots. Yes. I have boots. Yes, they remind me of pirates. No, I do not have a picture of them.

4. (In)Courage

Mary, me and Hilary

Thursday night there was a big party at the (in)courage suite. There were cupcakes, free gifts and lots and lots of people. Some of my favorite people, like Mary and Hilary above. And some people I’d been dying to meet–like Lisa-Jo, the fabulous Gypsy Mama, Gussy, The Pleated Poppy and Lisa Leonard {by the way, I could have kicked myself for not telling Lisa Leonard how intensely special it is to have a handmade necklace from her on Mari Luz’ neck and a matching one on mine. The little jingle of that necklace puts my heart and mind in a good place}. Plus, I met people that I didn’t even know I wanted to meet and then did–like Melissa from The Pleated Polka Dot!

5. Sisterchicks

Jill and me. Laughing. or Gossiping. Probably both.

me, Staci and Becky

Mary and Sadie/Sarah playing telephone. Yes, we played telephone.

Staci said it best, these girls “filled me up”! What a lovely, fun, easy time we had together. And I didn’t even get pictures of Mandi, Jen, Christine, Tricia or Jessie. Or Alicia, Hilary or Kathy. That would be because I didn’t bring my camera. Because I broke the lens when I went to California. Hmph.

6. Swag

That’s short for–SUPER COOL FREE STUFF THE SPONSORS THROW AT YOU. Or something. Anywhoo. We got the typical free coupons, keychains, food, panties and jump drives {ok, maybe panties aren’t typical!}. But my fave? The manicures and massages! Thank you GE and Freschetta!

Staci and me. Well, our hands anyway.

7. Workshops

Kathy and I (seriously, did we NOT get a picture together, Kathy?) attended the Wisdom Workshops–which were more in depth, specific classes. I went to a Prompted Writing class (which I will be sharing the results from over the next few weeks), SEO and Monetization.

Now, I have all the tools to be an amazingly talented writer that pulls in every single google search AND makes bookoos of money. Ahem.

Seriously, if you are planning on attending Blissdom 2012, go to the Wisdom Workshops. The rest of the classes during the conferences were ok, but not as detailed as the Wisdom Workshops. Really great info.

Oh, and the final keynote? Scott Stratten of UNmarketing. He was UNbelievable and UNdeniably the best presenter of the weekend. Absolutely UNmatched.

8. Can O’ Bliss

I cannot even describe this. Basically, our illustrious road-trip-planner, Staci created a game for us to play on the way home. Well, just read these tweets and see what happened:

9. Flash Mob

I have been a long-time fan of Improv Everywhere and would love to be in one of their “missions”. But when I heard someone was planning a Blissdom FlashMob a la Improv Everywhere? Well, I was too chicken to join in. But I SHOULD HAVE. Because it was SO incredibly fun. I was crying and laughing at the same time.

I couldn’t find any good videos that showed the whole thing but this one begins with the Sisterchicks, so you’ll get the idea…

Blissdom Flash Mob

{And apparently I can’t embed it either. But you’re gonna wanna click it. It’s funny.}

10. Friends are Friends Forever

What can I say? Bliss. That’s all.

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Wanna join in the Top Ten {Tuesday} fun? Just WRITE an amazing top ten list on your blog. Then LINK back to my blog so others can join the fun. Next, PASTE your url below. Finally start visiting, tweeting, stumbling, like-ing and commenting on the rest of the participants. Even just 2 or 3 or 8! It’s so fun to see a little bit of traffic and interaction when we link up! For more guidelines and a cute little button see my Top Ten {Tuesday} page.

linked to JoLynne’s Blissdom Recap linky!

also–if the photos weren’t marked, they were taken by Staci or my laptop’s PhotoBooth. So don’t even think about stealin’ their awesomeness.