So, this weekend, my awesome graphic designer friend Jennifer and I went to the BlogIndiana conference at the IUPUI Campus Center. It was a 2-day conference about blogging. I figured that my blog was neglected and for $50, it would be worth it to meet some people, get a little inspiration, and maybe even learn something.  And on all three fronts, I was successful!

After a short welcome and a couple short greetings from sponsors (seriously- I don’t know that I’ve ever been somewhere a sponsor was given a mic and they actually kept it short and didn’t push their crap on you), we were off to the first panel.  Basically, the schedule for each day was 2 panels in the morning, lunch (provided), a topical panel with multiple bloggers, and 2 more panels in the afternoon. On Saturday there was a networking event where we ran into some chick who was pushing some multi-level marketing product. 

I won’t get into gory details, but one of the panels sucked because the guy who was doing it was basically pushing his product.  Most of the other presentations were really good.  The conference itself was well-organized and I felt like the guys organizing it (Noah Coffey and Shawn Plew) were really quick to respond and adapt to different situations and make everything go smoothly.  Like how after the first session, the presenter (Andrew Paradies from Photrade) handed out some paper evaluation surveys and everyone’s reaction was like, “We have to fill these out after each session? Paper surveys at a technology oriented conference?” Well, Noah and Sean heard everyone and by lunch- no more surveys and plans for an online one instead. 

I did have the epiphany during the last session (Blog Review & Critique) that I actually know more about designing a blog and using certain plug-ins than I thought I did.  Granted I’m not one of those people making moolah from my blog, but I’m not really trying to either.  And frankly, I do know that in order to be making any money from your blog, you need to be consistent about it- which I definitely am not.

Anyway, the best part of BlogIndiana was just the interaction with other bloggers.  So, I will now give you a small modified blogroll of people I met and blogs you may be interested in reading (and obviously click the links in the text above to see the blogs of people I mentioned there):

Jeannette Fulda- pastaqueen.com In addition to this site, she also wrote a book based on her weight-loss journey called Half-Assed. The girl lost 200 pounds!  She is super nice and super smart, and I joked she’d be my new best friend.  And she’s cool enough she could be.

Casey- mooshinindy.com Casey is a “mommyblogger”- a term even she hates- who takes GORGEOUS photos and went to the State Fair 5 times this year. 

Hope Baugh- Indy Theatre Habit Hope really wants people to go to the theatre.  So she started a blog talking about everything coming up in Indianapolis Theatre. At some point in the next couple months, Jennifer and I are going to try and help her snazz up her site a little, but her writing is great and I think she’s blogging for a nice cause too!

Tedra Richter- Tedra on Twitter Tedra right now does most of her blogging on Livejournal and it’s marked as friends-only, so I posted a link to her Twitter so you can watch her micro-blog. 

Renee Wilmeth- Feed Me/Drink Me I really don’t know how I first found Renee’s blog.  But as I read it, I saw that she knew her stuff and I take her recommendations seriously.  It’s because of her that I found out HOW AWESOME brownies from Circle City Sweets are.  She’s a little more gourmet and foodie than I am and definitely has a more sophisticated palate than I do, but she’s in the know when it comes to food stuff in Central Indiana.

Kirsten- Middle West Meals I actually know Kirsten through my old roommate (and saintly friend who helps me organize), Mary.  They used to work together at Borders and I happen to run into her once or twice a year.  I had no idea she had a blog!  She likes to cook and share recipes, so it is definitely worth checking out.

Anyway, it was mostly dudes there, so I think a lot of the women gravitated towards each other.  There are actually a ton of other blogs I encountered, but I haven’t had time to check them out yet. This post is already bordering on TLDR, so you can check out the entire BlogIndiana Blogroll yourself. 

Anyway, thanks to BlogIndiana, you’ll probably see more from me here, and that’s a good thing, right?

Today was Rob’s 33rd birthday. We spent the morning having our DirecTV fixed by a wonderful tech named Frank. After the storms (I really don’t know which storm, but I am assuming it was the storm after the flooding sometime and probably the same storm in which our wireless router got fried) both of my receivers stopped working so I have been relying on Hulu to get my Shear Genius and Baby Borrowers fixes. Today, Frank installed a HD DVR and life is getting back to normal.

Anyway, after Frank left, Rob suggested leftover pizza for lunch and I countered since it was his birthday, we should go out to the Cheesecake Factory. So, off to the mall it was after a much-needed shower by yours truly. We sat outside, had a nice waiter and they brought out his Peanut Butter Cup cheesecake with confetti sprinkles and “Happy Birthday Rob” written in chocolate sauce with a candle. We took the 1974 SuperBeetle convertible that my dad so generously is loaning us for the summer (there’ll be a separate post with pics in the semi-near future) up to the Fashion Mall and had a nice late lunch and bought Rob some new kicks. I call them his driving shoes because they have thin soles so he can really feel the mechanics of the stick-shift Beetle and where the clutch actually kicks in. I have always worn thin-soled shoes when driving stick shift vehicles because it is something ingrained in me by The Wag at Frick’s Driving School in Mishwaka where I took driver’s ed eons ago. Anyway, it was raining in Anthropologie and the store was closed (I am assuming as a result of yesterday’s downpours), and we stopped in the Sharper Image- which is going out of business that advertises 50-70% off, but is really just normal prices because they mark it up before they mark it down- and laughed at the prices and what was left.

After we left, it was off to the Urgent Care for me as I am developing an ear infection which I just thought was from sleeping weird and maybe with my hand under my head (sometimes I do this and I wake up with a sore ear) until I noticed the right side of my throat hurt when I was swallowing. Just prior to 6 PM must be the perfect time to get to the Urgent Care because I was checked in without a wait and when I came back out to meet Rob the waiting room was full. I guess people get home, eat, and then go to the doctor. After that it was off to CVS where this lady told me I looked so happy and healthy and commented that the car probably contributed to that (which is totally true- it is like Prozac riding around in that thing).

Then I got home and watched some TV, ate some Parmesan breadsticks from Papa John’s (seriously the best breadsticks from a chain pizza place ever available), and saw that my cousin April started a blog about my Grandma and her paintings. That chick is so stinkin’ cool. It’s always cool when you grow up and you realize there are people in your family that you have stuff in common with and you’d probably want to be friends with them even if you weren’t related.

So, it was a good day. And because I’m not leaving you with a photo, I do want to leave you with this super cute doggy video. I could watch this guy’s YouTube video’s all day:

This week I had quite a few observations and learned some random things:

1. I realized that if I can avoid buying the display pair of shoes at DSW or Marshall’s or wherever, I need to.  I bought a super comfy pair of Adidas shoes last week and this week upon wearing them, I realized that the right one is considerably looser than the left, probably from people trying them on at DSW.  But the were the only pair anywhere close to my size, so there is that.  But it’s kind of disconcerting to walk around with one shoe that’s almost falling off.
2. We went to First Friday in Fountain Square last night.  Saw our friends the Cocaine Wolves and saw some art.  Kind of meh on the art we saw.  A couple gems, but on the whole pretty mediocre.  Perhaps Mass Ave had the better art scene.
3. I walked around my property and took some pictures of the first signs of spring.  Plus, I wanted to document how shabby my property looks, so I can measure the impact of the spring cleanup.  Those pictures will come in a future post.
4. The Pioneer Woman posted a new chapter in her Black Heels to Tractor Wheels love story.  Seriously, if you haven’t read these, you should start from the beginning.  Here’s a link to all of the posts by chapter form the beginning.
5. Just think, air travel used to be a luxury.  I can’t believe 3 airlines went out of business this week.  I am curious to see what will happen with the Open Skies agreement and what will happen when some European airlines can run some flights in the USA.
6. What April Fool’s Story did I fall for? Annie Leibovitz moves her photos to Flickr for $25 mil
7. I ended up at the Melody Inn during the Ron Paul info night. A guy sang a song called “Big Bad Ron”.  We made up Ron Paul lyrics to his other songs.

We’re going to Chicago on Monday.  I am going to a photo workshop, and Rob will be doing some record shopping (he has been dying to do some record shopping since we got the bookcases out in and he purged some records as he was filling it).  He’s going for quality over quantity.

And I will now leave you with what has to be one of the most ridiculous campaign videos ever.  Watch it all the way through:

 

So, on Valentine’s Day Rob and I had dinner at White Castle.  Many White Castles around the country actually have table service on Valentine’s Day.  You call and make a reservation and they bring you a menu (with a coupon for a free White Castle on a future visit) and a waitress takes your order and brings you your food. They also took pictures of you and they finally posted them online the other day.  There was kind of a mix-up over our picture and I used the White Castle contact page to ask where our picture was.  Not only did they follow up by phone, but they sent us a thank you letter for our feedback with coupons for free sliders. So, anyway, I think we’re going to do this next year again.  It was a fun time for a low-key Valentine’s Day.  I highly recommend it if there’s a participating White Castle in your area.

Here’s our picture (heh- it’s like prom).  

Here’s a slideshow of my pictures.

So, this holiday season has been a whirlwind! But it has probably been one of my more favorite years on record. Not so much for the loot- although it was pretty sweet- but for the general cheer and the getting to hang out with our friends and family.The Friday before Christmas we ended up at our friends Steve and Jamie’s house. It was an impromptu party organized over the internet during the day. It was good to be surrounded by good friends.Then on Saturday we met Jeff and Carrie at The BAR at the Broad Ripple Steakhouse for a couple martinis. It was good to see them, and we can’t wait to go to their wedding in L.A. this fall!Sunday, we headed up to South Bend to my parents’ house. The day of Christmas Eve I was woken by a wonderful phone call- Joe (my best man) and Carisse got engaged in Paris! I knew it was coming, but it was still exciting knowing she had the ring. Congrats, you two! Then Rob and I picked up pies, switched my car, ate at Bob Evans, and wrapped a few last-minute gifts. Then we trekked to Angola for Christmas with my mom’s side of the family. The kids were super cute and the Swedish potato sausage was tasty. Dylan got a toy piano and he played and sang us some songs. After we got back to South Bend, we went to Zoë’s and hung out with her family after catching the tail-end of their mostly annual Christmas Eve party. Rob and I ended up wth the largest gift- a giant cartoon made from a couple photos from our wedding rehearsal. There was only one place to hang it when Jimmy brought it down to us (it wouldn’t fit in my Subaru Outback) this weekend- our entryway! Then it was off to Greenfield on Christmas morning where again the gifts were lovely and the company was good. Rob gave me a Nelson spindle clock at his parents’ house and his mom made both of us stockings, which can all be seen in this picture:Then on the 27th it was practically a Warren Central HS reunion when we met up with Rob’s friends Lyle and Catherine, who coordinated a get together at the Broad Ripple Brewpub. Good friends were in abundance as we hung out with Carly and Kevin, Amanda and Neal, Matt and Pooyan, and too many other cool people to list.Anyway, I’m still pretty beat, but I have managed to be fairly productive since the festivities died down. And I feel another big burst of energy coming this week; the New Year can be super energizing!As always, there are more pictures over at my Flickr page. I post a lot of stuff over there and never refernce it here, so you should think about bookmarking my Flickr page or adding me as a contact if you have a Flickr account.

So, yesterday, Indiana’s first day on Daylight Savings Time was a doozy. It’s messing with my circadian rhythm a little, as my body thinks it’s an hour earlier than what it is. This is most evident when it comes to my sleep habits. I had a really hard time getting to bed last night. And waking up this morning was tough. My body just hasn’t adjusted yet. I think tomorrow I will just have to force it to adjust at the expense of my energy. I had no issues otherwise though.

Last night was crazy with the rain. The free concert on the circle had just ended when the storms hit. Lots of stuff spewed around. Rob called me because it was a little hairy and he was checking in. It blew out some windows and did some major damage to the Regions Bank building downtown. You can see some pictures of the aftermath here at the IndyStar.com website. My power was flickering, but never went out. I had unplugged my computer and hard drives from the wall. I didn’t trust my surge protector.

Not really much going on here. Selling houses, running speed dating events, and planning the wedding. It’s going well. We have the band now. Yay! Going up to Chicago for a seminar next week. Crashing on Dave and Jenny’s couch in Evanston the night before so the drive isn’t terrible.