There’s so much packed into just a few short days that it feels impossible to even write about it. At a small panel I attended on the last day we were asked to tell our name, blog and what one thing we took away from Blissdom. I sat panicked, my heart beating furiously because I had no idea what I was going to say when it was my turn and I tend to freak out when I have to speak out loud in a crowd. I grasped frantically for the answer, was it something in the awesome opening keynote by Brene Brown? What about the amazing ending keynote by Scott Stratten? Had any one thing from the sessions stuck with me?

What came to mind was this:

and I tried to put that into words.

So, when it came my turn I said, “What I took away was that the community of people and friendships we develop online turn out to be just as important and real as the friendships we have in our offline, everyday lives.” (Though probably not as neatly. I’m sure I stuttered and shook as I spit it out.)

Blissdom 2010 was different from Blissdom 2011. This year I went knowing there were people I wanted to see again and spend time with. People whose blogs I read and feel like I already know, like Edie, Emily, Nester, Melissa, Patty and Gussy. And it was such a joy to hug their necks and chat a short while. It’s never enough time.

Patty from Serendipity

I also met some new people. People whose blogs I haven’t read, but now I want to. People like Jessica, Shannan, Nish, Ashleigh and Abby. These people I sat with, ate with, listened to and now call new friends.

And then, because Ruthanne is crafty, I was able to meet and hang out with some of her friends, the crafty girls who blog. People like Jessica, Mique, Jeanette, Lindsey and April. Crafty girls have the best blog cards. They come with handmade goodies.

The crafty crew in our room where I made a fabulous first impression.

It’s really more like a reunion than a conference. And it’s so much fun. You really should go next year.

A few memorable moments:

sitting on the floor between sessions talking writing with gwen, emily and shannan

late night hanging out in our room talking everything with edie and patty

watching jessica freak out to mat kearney singing

supper and great conversation with maggie, abby, ashleigh, nish and ruthanne

being in a flashmob, feeling terrified and incompetent, but excited (thanks to emily, nester and robyn for helping me practice)

Me with Edie and Emily. Love these girls.

I am so tired and I don’t think my brain is working well to write a post, but I just had to. I had to say hi from Blissdom. Wish you were here. Maybe you are.

I watched chick flicks all the way here while Ruthanne and Kristan kept their eyes on the road. It was such a great trip.

I’ve had so much fun meeting and talking to people and when I have some downtime I’m going to link to all of them so you can meet them too. But right now I have to get ready to go out again. Blissdom is a busy place.

More Blissdom photos can be found on my flickr stream.