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Blogging Conference Advice

Posted on June 6, 2011 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Once again, there are a bounty of blogging conferences coming up. Whether you are going to TypeACon (may cry since I will not be there in a few short weeks), BlogHer, SheStreams, or another in the months ahead if this is your first experience going to one it can be nerve wracking.

In February 2010, I was heading to Disney Social Media Moms for my first conference experience. I did not know what to expect since it was the first ever at Disney, but looked to my peers for some advice. In August, I went to BlogHer 2010 in New York City. This conference scared me a lot more. It was a much larger scale, many more people, and SO many things going on all at once. I have now been to three conference, and have this bit of advice for you:

BE YOURSELF!

The weeks before a conference people will be stressing over a myriad of things. These are a few items I worried about and my thoughts.

Clothes to wear for sessions and parties –> Take it from me, it is important to be comfortable in a professional way. No need to be too dressy if you will not be happy. People dress in jeans, others will wear cocktail dresses to some of the parties. Do what works best for you.

Techy gadgets to bring –> Take items that you are comfortable working with. Some people will work only on their iPad, others will have laptops, cameras, Flip Cameras, and then some. Only you know what you will use and want to have on hand for live blogging, or networking while there.

Business cards and what to put on them –> Give as much or as little information as you are comfortable with. Your name, blog name, Website address, FB/Twitter pages, phone number, e-mail address are all great starts. I also put my photo on mine. Along with my Angel logo, I have a small photo of myself. This helps people to put a face to my blog after chatting.

Making a schedule –> Do not stress over this. There is so much going on. Have a general plan, do not over book yourself, and go with the flow. As a Type A personality this is tough for me, but I learned the hard way at BlogHer that you can not be in three places at one time.

What sessions should you go to?! –> Only you know what your goals are. If there are a lot of choices at the same time, go to what is best for your future. Sure, your friends may be going to another location, but you will learn the most in a place where you need to be.

My biggest mistake time and time again – not taking enough photos at conferences with my friends. Each time I promise I will do better, and I forget. Do not make this mistake. Pull out your camera and capture these memories. They are well worth the moment to pause and pose.

If you are getting ready for a blogging conference, Tiny Prints would like you to know that they have business cards that you can customize. Their business card selection allow you to add photos, logos and design accents to a variety of formats.

When you go to your first, or subsequent conference enjoy the time, network, learn, have fun, and like I said be yourself! If you have been to a conference – what advice do you have? If you have never been an have any question, please feel free to leave them below.

Disclosure: I wrote this post as part of a Global Influence campaign for Tiny Prints. By sharing this information with my readers, I will receive 50 free business cards to thank me for my participation. No other compensation has been given.

Categories:
Blogging Conference bloggy friends looking back me moments photos sponsored post Web business

Graduations From My Past

Posted on May 2, 2011 6:00 am by TheAngelForever

I have a little secret. I never went to my two college graduations. As a transfer student planning a wedding, I had other items to occupy my time when I was finishing my undergraduate degree. When it was time for my graduate school ceremony, I was frugal and wanted to save the money for a fun vacation with my new husband.

Parents always think ahead about graduation moments for their children. I am no different. I dream about watching my boys in a cap and gown at the end of high school, but also college and beyond. My boys are young, so we have time to prepare for these bigger days. Still, kindergarten was a milestone for NHL. Just a few years ago, TechyDad and I sat in the school cafeteria to watch our oldest son finish his first year at elementary school. Some people may have cried as they walked their child into kindergarten the first time, I was more emotional at graduation.

I spent all that year calling NHL my Kindergarten Kid – and suddenly it was over. He was moving onto first grade and the more real side of elementary learning. He could read, write, and was learning about so many things. I even wrote about the poem that made me cry. To me, it symbolized the last day he was a little kid, he was moving up in the world.

May means that people are starting to think about graduations. College students are finishing up their tenure, high schools are starting to practice their ceremonies, and younger children will be moving from one school milestone to another. Although I do not need any graduation cards this year, many other may need some.

Now it is time to go. I need to cherish these moments with my children. Before I know it – they will be off to college and beyond!

Disclosure: I wrote this post as part of a Global Influence campaign for Tiny Prints. By sharing this information with my readers, I will also receive a Tiny Prints gift code to thank me for my participation. No other compensation has been given.

Global Influence Network

Categories:
looking back me moments photos school sponsored post Web business

Memories From Mother’s Day

Posted on April 7, 2011 8:03 am by TheAngelForever

This year, I will be celebrating Mother’s Day as a mother with a kiddo for the seventh time. My thoughts and feelings about the holiday have changed over the years. It used to be a day to gather with extended family for a nice brunch. Then, it became a day to spend quiet time with my family enjoying each other. It changed some in recent years because my little guy’s birthday is very close to Mother’s Day and we have had a family celebration on Mother’s Day at least once. This can easily make the day stressful.

Looking back, it is pretty easy for me to pick out the Mother’s Day that was the most special to me. It was two years ago and this photo is my favorite from the day:

In May 2009, we took our boys to Walt Disney World for the first time. Making it extra special, my parents decided to experience the magic with us. We arrived the day before Mother’s Day, making that Sunday our first full day at Walt Disney World. We woke up that morning and went to Disney Hollywood Studios. It was a magical day with my boys and my parents. Even though my glasses broke, it could not ruin the day. It was filled with laughter, smiles, memories, and milestones for my kiddos. It was also the day that both of my boys were likely bitten by the Disney bug and joined the ranks with the rest of our family.

No matter how our Mother’s Day celebration changes over the years, one thing stays constant. It is a day where we make sure to thank the mothers in our lives. This includes not only my mother and TechyDad’s mother, but my grandmother, sister-in-laws, aunts, and friends who are mothers. Now time to admit something, I am sick of going to stores to fight for a spot in a small display to pick our greeting cards to send people. This year, I plan on sending long distance cards via Tiny Prints.

Tiny Prints provides simple, modern and unique stationery from Fathers Day Cards to personalized greeting cards to thank you cards, business cards, and even custom wedding invitations or photo birth announcements. Offering exclusive designs from the nation’s top designers, easy card personalization, a powerful preview engine and top-notch customer service and paper quality, their designs have been lauded by numerous television networks, publications and celebrities. With Tiny Prints by your side, commemorating every holiday and momentous occasion is a cinch! They offer perfect party invitations for every occasion and memorable personalized photo-gifts like notebooks, photo books and calendars to commemorate the event.

Now, I best be off. I need to start my list of cards to make for special women in our lives for Mother’s Day 2011.

Global Influence Network

Categories:
family holidays looking back sponsored post Web business

What Love Means to a Child

Posted on January 31, 2011 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Red, pink, and all of the hues in-between are all around right now. Tuesday begins the month of love, with Valentine’s Day right in the middle. We do not typically do a lot on this day, but try to do a little something extra for the kids to let them know how much we love them and each other.

So what does love mean to a 7 year old boy? I asked this question to NHL and his initial response was that he did not want to answer this question. Hmmm. . . me thinks he is officially at that point in second grade where things change. Then, when asking his little brother he chimed in: “It means you are dating someone." Oy, are they already talking about dating people?!

Next, I asked JSL, my 3 year old, what love means to him. His reply is really telling: “It means love”! Of course, he then rattled off a list of random people, places, and things that he loves. Hey wait, was I on that list? Oh that’s right, he said everybody – guess that includes me.

I do believe that boys see things a bit different. To me, love is family, friends, and special memories made with these people. Love it being able to see through the tough times and recall those special moments to keep you going.

Love means letting those that you care about know how much they mean in your world. For me, this could be with a hug, a note to say I’m thinking about them, or a special day together.

How do you tell someone you love them?

Valentine’s Day is the perfect time to send someone you love a card to let them know you are thinking of them. Tiny Prints can help you with this. They have Valentine’s Day cards that you can personalize. There are greeting cards, Valentine’s cards for kids, stickers, gift tags, and many other items to pick from.

Tiny Prints provides simple, modern and unique stationery from Valentines Day cards to personalized greeting cards to thank you cards, business cards, and even custom wedding invitations. Offering exclusive designs from the nation’s top designers, easy card personalization, a powerful preview engine and top-notch customer service and paper quality, their designs have been lauded by numerous television networks, publications and celebrities. With Tiny Prints by your side commemorating every holiday and momentous occasion is a cinch! They offer perfect party invitations for every occasion and memorable personalized photo-gifts like notebooks, photo books and calendars.

Don’t mind me, I’m heading off to figure out some cards to make for the kids, TechyDad, and other special people in my life.

Global Influence Network

Categories:
holidays kid talk shopping Web business

Don’t lose it, label it (Review/Giveaway)

Posted on December 2, 2010 9:54 am by TheAngelForever

As a teacher, I am big into labeling items that we own. I used to put my name on everything in my classroom. I do mean everything – down to the single crayon! I know it was a bit much, but when you spend so much in supplies you get to be a bit protective.

The same goes with items that belong to my kids. NHL is in second grade and I put his name on everything with a permanent marker. Of course, over the years we have found some items that do not work well with markers. Some items do not have labels to write on, or are so dark a black marker will not work.

When JSL started nursery school this year, I toyed with buying some labels. At about the same time a person from Loveable Labels contacted me about doing a review on my blog. Perfect timing indeed!

About Loveable Labels:

Loveable Labels was born in 2003 when Owner and President of the company Laura Porreca’s first child entered daycare. She was faced with labeling all of the items that belonged to her son. She realized that there was a need for personalized labels that would hold up the wear and tear that kids would put them through each and every day.

The original Loveable Labels included Regular and Slimline Stickers, Shoe Labels, Iron-ons and bag tags. The Regular and Slimline labels are microwave and dishwasher safe, the Iron-on labels can go in the washer and dryer, the Shoe Labels have an extra strength adhesive to stay put, and the Bag Tags are made of a durable and flexible plastic.

Seven years later, Loveable Labels offers many more items including metal tags, safety products for medical alert, household labels, and much more.

What we thought:

We received the Holly Jolly Gift Pack – Santa’s Pick (Christmas Jewels is in colors for girls). The photo above shows all of the individual labels that were included. The boys opted to have a hockey puck and stick on the ones made for us, along with our last name. There was a little bit of everything from Loveable Labels included to give us a nice sample of their products. When the package arrived, it was small and I wondered how it could all be inside. When I opened it up this is what I saw:

As a mom, I loved how organized everything was inside the package. The tabs were labeled so I could quickly get what I needed. The instructions were right in the back in case I needed them Best of all, everything was together for safe storage.

I think the Slimline stickers are going to be my favorite. Since they are smaller and fit on more items, they work well for putting on items that are around the house and head into school. Since NHL is taking our Nintendo DS all over, I decided that a first stop for our labels would be the DS and the carry case.

I am still trying to figure out how to use the Shoe Labels on my son’s boots. I am waiting to get some help from TechyDad to open them up and see if we can figure out a non-furry location where they will stay and be seen. I really hope we can find a spot since most of the boys at school have similar boots and labels would be an asset. In addition to this, I have put a clothing dot on the inside of JSL’s snow pants that will stay at nursery school. Love that the bright label will help him to recognize his own in the sea of similar looking pants within his classroom.

We are still testing the labels, but so far I am really impressed. I like how durable they appear and easy to read. My next goal is to wash some items and see how they hold up. I know some kosher labels that already own do very well in the microwave and dish washer.

Giveaway:

Thanks to Loveable Labels, one lucky winner will receive a Holly Jolly Gift Pack like the one I reviewed.

Rules for Giveaway:

MAIN RULE – Go to the Loveable Labels website and let me know which icon you would like on your personalized labels if you win. There are 45, so lots of choices for boys and girls.

The following Bonus Entries may also be done. Please be sure to leave separate comments for each that you complete below to make sure you get the right number of entries.

1 Bonus Entry – What is the first item you need to label and why?
1 Bonus Entry – Tweet the following about the giveaway (May be done once a day): Chance to #win a holiday pack of labels from @mylovablelabels and @TheAngelForever. Many ways to enter the #giveaway http://bit.ly/exPdRP
1 Bonus Entry – Subscribe to my RSS feed (or let me know if you already are) in a separate comment.
1 Bonus Entry – Leave a comment on any of my non-giveaway posts from the month of November/December. Leave a comment here to let me know which one. This Bonus entry may be done three times per person.
3 Bonus Entries – Add my blog button to your website and leave a link with the location. Be sure to give yourself 3 comments for credit.
5 Bonus Entries – Write a post on your blog linking to my blog about the giveaway. Be sure to leave 5 comments about this to get credit for all of your extra entries.

To enter, please follow the rules above within the comment section. Contest starts today December 2 and ends at 10:59 EST on December 12, 2010. You do not have to be a blogger to enter, but must leave a valid e-mail address for me to contact you for mailing address once the giveaway is over. I will select the winner using random.org and contact you via e-mail. You will have 48 hours to claim the prize. If there is no response, another winner will be selected. Open to U.S. and Canadian residents only.

Disclosure: The review and giveaway were made possible by Loveable Labels. They provided me with the items shown above to facilitate this review. The opinions of this review are mine and I received no other compensation.