Last year I talked Blissdom right into the ground.  I probably drove away half of my dear readers by the time I was done yammering about it.  This year I’m going to try a new approach — a one post recap, and it won’t even make you scroll forever.  I’m not quite sure HOW I’m going to do it, but this is my pledge to you.  One post, 500 words or less.  Starting now.

Highlights:

For one thing, I ate like a queen and didn’t have to wash a single dish for five days.  That right there was worth the price of admission.

Then there was my roommate, Rachel (on the right).

She’s a doll.  And she can function intelligently and manage to look beautiful on less sleep than anyone I’ve ever met.  I’ll try to overlook the fact that she kicked my trash in the Tastemaker competition, but together we swept the whole thing and we each have a trophy filled with spuds to prove it.

Photo credit: TheVioletFig

The hands-on Wisdom Workshop on Photography finally got me to switch my camera off the auto setting.  Now if I could just learn Photoshop.

Playing dress-up.

Cover Girl Smokey Eye Event — brilliant marketing, relevant, and oh so fun!

The Tastemaker Party.

Photo credit: A Southern Fairytale

I had more fun than I thought I would, once I got over my fear and trepidation of cooking in front of 150 people.   The ladies from Fleishman Hillard did a fantastic job putting the event (and the entire challenge) together.  It was smart and innovative and fun, and I hope to get to work with them again.  And also, they totally took care of those of us #strandedatblissdom in snowmageddon.

The session on Evolving as a Professional Blogger — The Evolution From Earned Media to Paid Media.  (If I go over my self-imposed limit of 500 words, it’s because that title is a paragraph of its own.)  Seriously, if you have any aspirations to make this blogging thing into more than a hobby, run, don’t walk, to get yourself a recording of this session.  (I assume they will be made available on the Blissdom Conference website before too long.)

Breakfast at the Pancake Pantry.  Nuff said.

The Opryland Hotel was A-MAZ-ING.  When you have some time to kill, look through the photos on the Blissdom 10 Flickr group.

Hanging out with old friends.

Making new friends.

Is it wrong to say that getting stuck in Nashville for an extra night was one of the highlights of the trip?  Seriously, if I could afford the time and the extra room, I would plan an extra night in to every blogging event.  Having that time to decompress has been absolutely glorious.

Lowlights:

Um.  I got nuttin’.  Srsly.  I had a blast.  Alli and Barbara are rock stars.  That’s all there is to it.

Instead of going on and on about what I want to tell you, why don’t you tell me what you’d like to know.  Ask away, and I’ll answer in the comments.

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I want to do a thorough post on our Tastemaker Showdown last night but there is JUST. NO. TIME. And I need to at least tell you that I won Tastemaker fan favorite!!! That means that I got the most cumulative votes on my YouTube videos, so I have ALL OF YOU to thank.

So. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!

{{virtual hugs}}

Photo credit: mooshinindy

Thank you Amanda and Melanie for wearing Team Jo-Lynne shirts.

Photo credit:  OhAmanda

My dear roommate Rachel was the Tastemaker winner, so big huge congrats to her, and thanks to all of my competitors and the folks at Fleishman Hillard and the National Potato Board for making this experience so much fun.

More later.  Sorry for the brevity.  Or, maybe I should say you’re welcome?

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Well, I’m here, but who knows if I’ll ever get home.  I woke up to 2 inches of snow yesterday morning in Philly, but fortunately it melted before I was scheduled to fly out.  I fear my return trip will be much more difficult, with the storm predicted to hit the east coast on Sunday.  Nevertheless, my trip down was uneventful, which of course is a good thing when it comes to air travel.  I traveled alone, but I wasn’t lonely with Michael Pollan and Martina McBride keeping me company.

I packed a suitcase that was kindly labeled “HEAVY” with a big orange tag by the TSA officials, as the unfortunate gentleman behind me on the escalator last night can attest.  I rather unceremoniously dropped the suitcase on him when I somehow lost grip of the handle.  But it’s the South, after all, and he was gracious.  I, however, was mortified.

When I arrived at the Opryland Hotel, I knew to expect it to be massive, but y’all.  There is nothing to describe the size of this place.  I have walked MILES in the past 24 hours.  And there is a jungle in the middle of it all.

It’s very surreal, the blogging conference.  Of course, this is not my first, but it never ceases to amaze me — women I’ve only known online, women I know and love, women I’m meeting for the first time, all converging in one space.  We are women from all walks of life, all with different purposes for our blogs, yet we speak the same language.

You walk down the hall, and your eyes meet.  Does she know me?  Do I know her?  Should I introduce myself?  Should I know her name?

You see that rockstar blogger from across the room, and you feel like you’re rubbing shoulders with a celebrity.

And then there is that moment when you spot the woman that you vaguely recognize from her Twitter profile picture, but you know her so well.  You run over and squeal like a school girl and share a warm hug.

I attended three of the Wisdom Workshops today, one my own.  It went well, I think.  I was inspired to be a better writer at the Writer’s Craft session, and I learned some new tricks with my Nikon D50 at the Photography workshop.  Here are some of my practice shots:

Soon I’m headed back out to the Kick-Off Cocktail Party.  Lots of ladies have arrived this afternoon, and I’m excited to see who’s there and who I might find.  And the festivities continues.  TTFN.

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