i. am. so. darn. pooped.

I guess that's what happens when you pArTaY for four days straight.

Casual Bloggers Conference aside, I've been up to my eyeballs in dinner engagements and graduation celebrations and BBQ's and famdamily overnighters! If there was a cookie salad or a pan of baked beans within a mile radius, I was there.

And you know what else? When there is one dear friend from Hawaii in town, there are a dozen dear friends from Hawaii in town. And a dozen more coming.

But one story at a time. Today I need to finish bragging about the Casual Blogger Conference.


I will start by publicly declaring that blogging my brains out has been the best thing I've ever done with my brains!


You all know that blogging is a waste of time, and it interferes with/replaces human interaction, right?

WRONG! Come here and let me poke you in the eye for nodding your head.

Blogging actually makes you feel plugged in. It connects you to people in up-close and personal ways. And it actually heightens the real-life experience when you finally meet and greet.

It was just plain amazing to spend the weekend with people I know and lub, even though I've never met them, and people who know and lub me even though they've never met me--people who squeal when they see me, and hug me and bring me chocolates.

Or people who don't squeal, but quietly say, out of nowhere, "I just want to tell you that I read your blog all the time and I am so excited to meet you."

That's what happened when I met Shanna.

Do you guys know Shanna?

She's the one on the left, standing next to the centerfold, Annie Valentine--who is rockin' her super model sunglasses.

Our meeting has a mysterious twist: Shanna's blog identity is Just So. Unfortunately she failed to mention this to me when she introduced herself. (I swear I'm going to smack her next time I see her.)

Of course I know Just So. I know that her first profile pic she was sporting a pair of wicked white rimmed sunglasses. And I know that her current profile pic looks exactly like my college roommate from Ricks.

But in real life she doesn't look like my roommate, and she doesn't wear white rims, and her name tag said something like thesegolilypad. Bottom line: I didn't recognize her. I had to put on my super sleuth hat and switch my brain into deductive reasoning mode

And guess who I decided she was?

Tamn, from Seriously, So Blessed.

BAAAAAAAAAA!

No, I really did, because let's just say she knew too much. Plus she was dropping all kinds of subliminal messages.

For instance, when she and DeNae's sinfully silly sister, Amber

kept nudging me and giggling about a post they were reading written by Jessica from bernit.com.

It was about the first time Jessica wore a feminine hygiene product that begins with TAMN . . .

Uh hem . . . you get me?

Why would they be reading about a feminine hygiene product that starts with TAMN, if they weren't trying to give me an Encyclopedia Brown clue about Shanna's undercover identity? Hmm, hmm, hmm?

But as it turned out she is Just So, the same blogger who once saw me shopping at Macey's for Diet Coke (for my hub), but was too shy to say HI!

(Like I said before, SMACK!)

Shanna, I still lub you, even though you're not Tamn.

And Amber, I still lub you, even though you were pulling gray hairs out of my head.

BTW, in case you were wondering, YES that was Kristina P. in the pink snuggie.

And yes, she opened the conference with the Star Spangled Banner. (hee hee hee)

It would have been a highlight if it were true.

There were plenty of other true highlights though.

Like seeing Jillybean, who has a way of making me want to watch Ice Castles again and again. She bedazzled this snuggie for Kristina P. in only two hours. I should have her bedazzle my next magic quilt, huh?

Other cool highlights:

I FINALLY met Annie Valentine.


She's may be preggo, but she's still a super model. (And can I just say that her voice is super duper sultry!)

I also got to meet Mommy J from Mommy Snark and Ink Mom from I'm (not) Crazy Mom

They're famous blogging sisters from North Carolina, and I overheard them saying "I wish Melanie J. were here. We LUB Melanie J."

I said "HEY, I lub Melanie J. too!" So we made a postcard for Melanie J:

You're welcome, MJ!

For all of you out there who didn't go to the CBC, you MUST go next year. I double dog dare you. It was outstanding. I learned so much. For instance:

I learned that everyone's shoes are way more glam-bam than mine. (I wore my fit flops the second day.)

I also learned that me and Amber from Making the Moments Count are kinda trippy when under the influence of Photoscape.

I learned that Annette Lyon can dew the Dew with the best of them. (Seriously, she's got sass-a-frass!)

And I learned that Braden Bell has his very own Charlie's Angels.

These are the three girlz who worked on the song He Healeth Me for Braden's debut book, The Road Show.

Sherri Shepherd, (on the right) who is absolutely adorable--fer real--wrote the song, while DeNae Handy, did the violin arrangement, and Veronica Johnson, (on the left) did the vocals, and believe you me, it sounds loverly.

(Me? Oh, I'm just with the band.)

Don't believe me about how loverly it sounds? Go take a listen for yourself. (You'll have to download.) Or go to Braden's blog for a sample.



I learned a bunch of other stuff too, at the conference thingie. Real kine stuff. But I'll have to share that tomorrow because like I said before . . .

I. am. so. darn. pooped.