The two of us were like giggly school girls getting ready to go out. We were very excited, got up early and rushed around putting on pretty pink dresses, a bit of make up and straightening our hair. Running late as uaual we got one of our reluctant husbands to drop us off at the train station and were on our way. It felt a bit naughty going out alone and leaving them all behind for a whole day...I realised I haven't actually done this since Rosie was born almost a year ago (I think I might do it a bit more often now!).
We got a taxi from the train station and took the first photo of the day:
I must tell you that The Brewery exceeded all expectations.This venue was truly amazing and the right choice for this event. It was also very well organised. As soon as you walked in there were people directing you, your badges were all ready and goody bags were pushed into your hands. These werent just any goody bags oh no they were huge, from companies like Disney, Boots, Crocs, Three, to name but a few. We really did feel special and were spoilt with goodies!
Now I am usually a very happy go lucky, bubblly, outgoing person but when I reached the brewery I suddenly became extrmemley nervous and a little star struck. It was like everyone one else was famous and I was getting to meet them...very exciting but also very nerve wracking. I have only been blogging since January and was overwhelmed with that feeling of "what am I doing here with my little blog", feelings of not being good enough. Luckily though when we sat down at a table we met StayAtHomeMumLovingIt and Alyson from Alysons blog, both blogs I follow and love. I was still a little nervous at this point but they were both very friendly and I got to see lots of them throughout the day.
Lukily for me, both my Sister and I had been chatting with other ladies on twitter and had arranged to meet. These included the lovely Liska at New Mum Online, Hannah from Mummy and The Beastie, Katie from Mummy Daddy and Me Makes Three and Claire Grumpinator. I was also fortunate enough to meet the lovely Claire from PR Mummy and Working London Mummy. I met Kerry from Multiple Mummy and Wendy from Inside The Wendy House. I would have loved to have chatted to them both a bit longer, they both seemed very nice and just like I imagined them to be. There were lots of others too but I cannot possibly write them all down.
Happy in my little group I must admit I was not as confident as I would have liked to have been at introducing myself to more established bloggers. However, I did get to meet Susanna Scott A Modern Mother and tell her how blogging has changed my life and that she is an inspiration.
The morning sessions I went to included Marketing your blog and Working with brands & making money. I found it fascinating at how well some women have made successful businesses on the back of their blogs and it has inspired me to think outside the box.
Sarah Brown was definatley a high note of the day for me. She truly is an inspirational women. I liked the way she answered a question about her Husband and how he had previously managed to fit family life around being the Prime Minister. She came across as very down to earth and ordinary and said the short commute made it possible for Gordon to nip upstairs and spend 20 mins doing bath time, eat supper or say goodnight even at the busiest times. This painted a really good picture of family life!
I must also mention the P&G recharge room. Wow what a place! During the afternoon I was starting to flag and had a bit of a headache. Luckily for me I was able to get a wonderful massage which really helped. I also managed to get my hair done by Cat Deely's stylist. He blow dried it all in big waves for me and gave me big hair using the tongs he uses on Cat..unfortunatley I didn't like it but that wasn't his fault, I guess I am just not a big hair kind of girl!
For me the afternoon session was definitely the best. This included a greatest hits of past posts from bloggers themselves. Some of these made me laugh out loud while others left me literally crying my eyes out. All of these women were inspirational and left me with lots of ideas on how to improve my blog and really write from the heart!
Finally there was the party sponsored by Three. Wow, the room was fab with huge white leather sofas, free flowing wine provided by Naked Wines and lots of other bloggers to relax and chat with....Fantastic.
We would have loved to stay on and go with a few of the others for Curry but by the end we were both flagging, especially my Sister who is pregnant and suffering from hyporemisis. So we headed off home feeling very special with our huge array of goodies.
So there you have it, my day and experience at CyberMummy11. I had a fantastic day. I especially enjoyed getting to spend the whole day with my Sister and no children so thanks Mum and Dad your the best! I also enjoyed meeting my virtual friends..you all seem very real now and I am so glad you are just like your blogs!!
I think keywords for me that sum up the day include making new friends and inspirational women. Hope you all enjoyed the day as much as I did and cant wait till the next big event whenever that may be.
Karen x
