Checklist for the Haven blog Conference

The Haven blog conference is only a week away!  A W E E K!  Are you ready? Are you excited, giddy, scared to death of meeting tons of people like you, who are DIYers and bloggers. I’m all of those things and cannot believe that it’s almost time to get on that plane.

Hands=On at Haven Conference 2012

But I’m doing it, I’m taking a really deep breath and getting on that plane because I’m getting hands on at Haven. Yeah baby! You can read the post I wrote about social anxiety after I attended the Relevant blog conference, HERE.

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To help me get it together, I’ve created a checklist of all the things I need to do and take along with me.

check list 1

This is the before I leave list because we all want to look our best. I haven’t lost 20 lbs, just 4, but that’s ok and I will get a mani-pedi before I leave next week.

check list 2

Everything on the Traveling by air list is necessary. Don’t forget your ID or you won’t get on the plane and check your airline regulations for what can be carried on and what things must be checked in your suitcase.  I always have a little sweater for over airconditioned spaces.

comfy shoes

No matter how many escalators or moving sidewalks in the airport, you still do lots of walking, so wear your comfy shoes.

check list 3

Remember that the sessions are hands on, so your best outfits could get dirty. I’ll probably wear capris and some nice tops, nothing fancy.

Don’t forget your sunglasses, glasses or contacts and solution so you can see all your new BFFs. :)

That’s my list, maybe it will be helpful to you too!  I’ll be checking things off soon.

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CYA when I get there!

You can link up HERE to see who else is going to Haven.  It’s gonna be sooooo much fun!

There are more blog conference posts HERE.

Thanks for visiting! Debbie (((xx)))

Social anxiety and surviving a blog conference

Last year I attended my first blog conference, Relevant10, a conference for Christian bloggers, and it was just up the road from my home. Here’s an excerpt from a post I wrote after the conference.

It was a big deal for me, a huge deal,  because I’ve never been to a blogger’s conference before and didn’t know what to expect. Hundreds of women I’ve never met before, all ages and all blog niches brought together with a few things in common…..all women, all bloggers and all Christians.

It WAS a wonderful experience…..mostly. I knew no one, not one person and I was definitely feeling the weight of my social anxiety. I am NOT unfriendly, snobby, stuck up………….I AM intimidated by YOU. I AM terrified of YOU. I AM in awe of YOU. If I were a doggie I would put my tail between my legs and cower in the corner!
 

Then something wonderful happened. Someone noticed my anxiety and crossed the room and started to chat. That sweet gal was Shelly Noonan. I didn’t know then that she was a published author, I only knew that she was warm and welcoming and beautiful. Later I learned she created Pumpkin Seed Press and writes a blog, B’Twixt & B’Tween which is aimed at mentoring girls and women.

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She’s speaking this year at Relevant11. She will be an inspiring and uplifting speaker and sadly, I’m not attending this year.

With Shelly I also met Dani from Domestic Serenity.

Taken from her blog,  a space for preserving beauty, gathering grace, celebrating family, and nurturing the soul. No lavish displays of ‘the perfect life’, instead a humble record of an intentional one, mistakes and all.

She writes about her love of God, family, the pleasures of a simple life and I always come away from her blog feeling peaceful.  

If you suffer from social anxiety like I do,  know that despite your fear, you will meet incredible women at a blog conference! 

  So…….Haven Conference 2012 I decided not to go to Relevant11 and attend Haven12 instead.

 

  I truly want to meet the fabulous gals of Haven12, but my social anxiety will be with me…. I’m choosing to ignore it…..GULP

  I think I can I think I can I think I can

 

 

                Photobucket  Amanda from Serenity Now

asks the question, “what do you do if you feel like the odd man out?” Here’s the part where I’m cowering in the corner…..under the table.
 

She’s written a post about blog cliques where she answers that question and offers some really great advice.  Some bloggers feel that niche=clique. I’m guilty of feeling that way too sometimes, but I know it’s a coping mechanism  Green with envy….thinking negative of others because you feel left out helps lessen your anxiety.

So if you’re going to Haven12, get over to Serenity Now and read THIS post.  Read her whole Blogging Myths series while you’re there. Blogging_Myths_series_button_Serenity_Now

And remember this, the people you’re terrified of may be just as terrified of you. Just keep telling yourself that!

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If you see me and my camera at Haven12, please say Hi, because I have this social anxiety terror and am afraid of you!

 

 

 

Debbie (((xx)))