Elevate

     I was so lucky to spend yesterday with a group of fellow bloggers at 

the Elevate Blog Conference in Huntington Beach, California!!  

     I am so proud of myself, YOLO... (ok, no I don't use the term YOLO frequently, in fact other than joking about the phrase with Ferrari, it's never come out of my mouth.  I was so confused the first time I heard it, and even more stumped when I began hearing it everywhere so I gave in and googled it.  YOLO for those of you who don't know, means You Only Live Once.  I apologize for the long side note!)  But, I really am proud of myself for going when I knew that I wouldn't "know" anyone other than from reading their blogs.  A couple years ago, I would have never ventured to another state to attend an event where I wouldn't know anyone.  Just one more positive thing that came out of my babies' short lives, they have taught me that I only live once and I better make this life worth living!
     So, back to the event, I learned so much and had such a great time connecting with other women with similar interests.  One woman in particular I was especially excited to meet, I'm sure many of you have heard of her and possibly know her whole story because she is THE BIG TIME in blogland... I met Ashley from Lil Blue Boo!  I know, I know, contain yourself readers!!  This woman's blog is a daily inspiration to me.  You can read more of her story HERE but in short the last 365 days of her life have been filled with trial after trial, her daddy died unexpectedly, she had a miscarriage, and she was diagnosed with cancer.  Her mantra is to CHOOSE JOY, and through her trials has blogged just about every bit of it.  She writes about the good, the bad, and the ugly, and so so so much more!

     I never thought in a million years I would get to meet Ashley, let alone take a picture with her, or hear her speak at a conference.  We even got to spend a few minutes chatting about writing through loss and trials, and how sharing your story can and has helped so many people.

     I just want to say thank you to the girls behind the Elevate Conference!  Go check out their blogs and give them some love!!  Summer from Made By Munchie's Momma and Jen from Delighful Deets, the two of you did a FANTASTIC job, I hope it's an annual event.  The conference was SO much fun, very informative, and the decor was drool worthy!  Hopefully I can steal some other bloggers photos once they upload some, because I did a horrible job at taking pics!  I got a few with my phone though just to give you an idea!  Above is the snack bar, our craft project, our  swag bag full of goodies, and of course my new CHOOSE JOY bracelet!