A Mommy Story

Many of you are familiar with the BlogHer conference, and for those who may not know, I’ll be attending again next week in New York City. This will be my fifth BlogHer, so I kinda feel like an old-pro at this now.

Leading up to this year’s BlogHer, I’ve seen a lot of posts so far featuring what to pack, what to wear, which shoes are the best, hair styles to best flatter your face, makeup and shapewear to help you look your best, how to dress for private parties…the list goes on and on. It’s exhausting, really.

Here’s some simple advice I’ve learned over the years:

1. Dress for comfort. If shapewear is part of your comfort (it is for me), so be it.
2. Wear clothing, makeup, shoes, and whatever else that makes you feel confident and ready to greet the world. (Or at least 2,399 other bloggers.)
3. And know that no matter how bad you look, it can’t be much worse than my first BlogHer.

I’ve been taking a look at photos from past BlogHers and I cringe at some of the shots of myself. I was heavy. I had a bad haircut. And I had no sense of style. OK, I still don’t have any sense of style, but I’m getting better at copying others.

Evidence? Yeah, I thought you might want some proof to back up those statements. So here you go, a quick look at me from BlogHer 2006 until now. Enjoy the walk down memory lane – memories that make me want to go out for a run right now when I think about them.

BlogHer 2006 – My first blogging conference ever, and I was scared out of my wits. I also had a 22 month old daughter and still couldn’t fit into any of my pre-baby clothing. Instead of working to lose the baby weight (which there really wasn’t any – I gained very little weight during pregnancy) I had managed to pack on some extra baby weight. I’m not sure how much I weighed, but it was somewhere around 225 in these photos, maybe more.

Ugh, the full length shot. I’m surprised the button didn’t pop on those capris. And that’s all I had at this conference – denim capris and t-shirts. The hair was also a homemade dye job and the cut was a mall stylist gone hack-happy. I’m amazed anyone even talked to me that year. (PS – I miss you, Mary!!)

BlogHer 2008 – I made an active effort to lose weight for this one. But I only managed about 5-10 pounds. Still, I learned my lesson and let my hair keep growing, and finally discovered what a dress was!

That pic was after a long, warm night of parties. But look – a dress! And long hair really is my thing, I think.

And at this point I think I should point out that apparently I’m contractually obligated to be in a BlogHer photo with Liz and Kristen each year.

BlogHer 2009 – Last year, I was serious about wanting to put my best foot forward at BlogHer, and started my own Hot by BlogHer challenge, along with joining the Shredheads. I lost 20 pounds, felt great, and participated in my first 5K at BlogHer. Also? I no longer cared so much about trying to do it all and “build my brand” at BlogHer. I wanted to have fun and spend time with friends, and I did.