Actual BlogHer photo recap to come, since I took 700 pictures in 4 days (and my phone was totally dead by Sparklecorn so THOSE photos taken by other people will come even later)(although some of THOSE photos are going in my private never-to-see-the-light-of-day file).

Sunday:

As if I needed to point for you to see that giant canyon I have between my eyebrows. Maybe Botox wants to sponsor me.

Captain(s) Evan

I love a man who reads to his kids

Monday:

Every trip to Target starts with the kids BEGGING to take this cart and ends with them screaming at me to get out

Mommy’s little helper

Cuddlesssssss

Tuesday:

Caroline’s list of demands for BlogHer: Pony, Minnie Mouse, candy, dolly.

Mommy, I need balls! Balls, mommy! (for the cannon, obvs)

Library play time

Wednesday:

Waiting at the train station to send me off

Riding in a cab makes me feel glamorous. I watched too much Sex and the City.

REALLY EXCITED TO BE AT BLOGHER

Thursday:

Blographer Event: Info gets a 9, food gets a 10.

I kept thinking I might run into Carson Daly, but then I remembered it’s not 1999.

I wish I was this talented

Friday:

Learning high kicks from the experts – The Rockettes!

Just hanging out with Martha. NBD.

What, don’t all NY hotels have giant tropical fish tanks in the lobby?

Saturday:

Breakfast with Disney Jr. I don’t even think Disney is CAPABLE of doing something half-way.

Katie Couric is pretty much my hero.

Convenient location, crazy expensive food and drinks.

Holy cow am I tired. I went to NYC trying to fight off a cold and ended up with laryngitis. I can barely whisper. It’s making getting back to real life even more of a challenge – any minute the kids are going to realize I physically CAN’T yell at them for things and their reign of terror will begin. Thank GOD my mother-in-law kept the house stocked and clean so I can just play silent-movie trains and watch Disney Jr and drink 50 gallons of water today while I remember what real life feels like.

Did you take any camera phone photos this week? Link up with one or lots using the linky below and grab the code (so it shows on your blog too!) over at Amy’s . It’s really fun!

I was careful to plan extra time into my trip to NYC next week for sight seeing, since last year in San Diego I was so rushed with conference events I didn’t see anything besides the inside of the hotel. This year I planned time for relaxing, unpacking, and a walking food tour of Chelsea Market. But when Adorama announced The Blographer Event on Thursday, August 2rd I threw ALL my plans out the window (Deep, sincere apologies to the friends I cancelled on, but thank you so much for understanding.)

The Blographer Event is a chance to learn from and connect with some extremely talented photo bloggers, whose specialties range from urban landscapes to food to children and families. I’m extra super excited to hear Rachel Devine speak on how photographs can be just as important as words when it comes to telling our stories online. I imagine I will spend most of Thursday yelling “Yes! Perfect! Exactly! Amen!” – but I promise to yell quietly so I won’t bug you if you’re sitting next to me. (Please come sit next to me?) You’ll also get to meet Jill from Baby Rabies – Miss Blographer herself.

I promise this isn’t just for pros and experts (heck, if I’M going I can assure you no one is checking portfolios at the door.) Here’s a quick list of people who should attend this event:

1. Bloggers.
2. Photographers
3. Blographers
4. People who shoot on manual all the time
5. People who don’t even know how to set their camera on manual
6. People who have read their manuals
7. People who can’t find their manuals
8. People who really love photography no matter what their level
9. People who love to be inspired
10. YOU!

Here are the details: The Blographer Event runs 9:30 am – 5:00 pm on Thursday August 2nd at the Metropolitan Pavillion (2.2 miles from The Hilton – a 7 minute cab ride). There are 3 sessions, each led by two experts. Drinks, snacks and lunch will be served and each attendee will get some amazing goodies (aka swag) to take home. Really, with tickets priced only $69 I guarantee it’s worth it JUST for the swag and food. If you can find a buddy to go with you can buy two tickets for $99 and it’s an even more amazing deal.

Are you as excited as I am now? Are you ready to register? You DON’T have to be attending anything else happening that weekend to come, so if you’re within a couple of hours of NYC I recommend calling in sick taking the day off because this is a very, very special event. Here’s the coolest news so far: I have one free ticket to give away for The Blographer Event!

Time is short so this is going to be a quick turn around! Leave a comment on this post saying “I WANT TO GO!” (if you want to comment but can’t make it to NYC, you can leave a comment too but I won’t count ones that don’t specifically say “I WANT TO GO!”) I will count up all the comments and draw a winner using Random.org early Monday morning.

p.s. If you buy a ticket now and end up winning, Adorama will happily reimburse you. So go! I mean come! I will see you there!

 Disclaimer: One comment per person, winner must provide a valid email address so I can contact them Monday. I was given a ticket to this event along with one to give away, but I was already planning to ditch my friends and go because it sounds super cool. No other compensation was provided and all really excited and caps-locky opinions are my own.

I seriously love photo assignments – from the photo-every-hour posts to the photoaday Instagram challenges Fatmumslim does every month – but I’ve been doing a terrible job keeping up. During the all-day ones I always end up driving or eating for EVERY shot and I always lose steam on the monthlies. I’ll do really well for a week or two and then miss two or three in a row and then quit altogether. But four days? I can do four days. So how about a mini-photo-a-day just for our time in NYC?

I present to you: The BlogHer Photo A Day challenge! Four pics a day for four days means 16 photos in all – totally doable! The plan is to follow along on Instagram (use the hashtag #bh12photoaday) while we’re at the conference and then when we all get home I’ll post a linky for round-up posts. If you’re NOT in NYC, feel free to play along at home, get creative (maybe you’ve still got that Statue of Liberty snow globe you bought on your 4th grade trip? Just me?) and link up the second week of August.  I’ve got a few friends who’ve already promised to play along but the more kids play the more fun it will be.

We start August 1st! Are you in?

(I’m not BlogHer official or anything, so don’t bomb the #BlogHer12 hashtag with a zillion pictures of your suitcase. I just had an idea and ran with it. Look at me. Maybe C25K really IS changing my attitude towards running.)