Cybermummy

This weekend I went to Cybermummy.

I'm still recovering. Yes, there was wine. Yes, I drank on an empty stomach. But I'm not talking about a hangover, although I will admit to being rather jaded. I'm still feeling overwhelmed and a little unsettled. It was all a bit much for me.

I think the conference was too big, there was too much going on, it was too commercial. I felt I had to get my passport signed by every PR and was disappointed that I had spent time on this and missed most of the sessions - particularly the time management one!  I would have preferred to pick and choose which brands I spoke to (mainly my sponsors, LEGO Duplo, my friends at Three and Leapfrog and also Johnsons - I loved their recycling initiative - and the new Crocs were a pleasant surprise). The PGUK recharge room was a great idea though and I loved my massage. Looking at the photographs of me on the day I really should have asked this guy to do my hair!

The day was bustling and busy and there was simply not enough to eat. I liked the lunch, but would have preferred to sit down to eat. I would also have liked something in the evening, a sandwich would have been enough to line my stomach!

I'm sorry if this sounds negative because I mostly did have a wonderful time. There were many highlights.

I adored catching up with old friends and making new ones. I love it when you just get on with someone so well that conversation is easy.

My Meet, Greet and Eat party went well, I even had my own Twitter hashtag for the night!

I got to meet Sarah Brown again. I loved her keynote speech. She spoke passionately about the power of social media. I am looking forward to reading her (signed) book.

The crowd-sourced keynote was an amazing celebration of blogging. What a wonderful collection of warm and witty writers. I had the honour of speaking last year and enjoyed relaxing in the audience this time, even though Nickie made me blub.

The Blognonymous team met for the first time. We had our long-awaited group hug. It was emotional.

The vlogging session was fantastic and it was great to finally meet Nick. I was inspired to take some video on Saturday night. Sadly must of it can not be used, this is a family blog after all! I will try to edit out all of the 'toys' and see if there's anything I can publish. Tears squirted out of my eyes last night, I cried with laughter watching it back.

In summary, I feel better for finally writing this post. By focussing on the positive, by looking at the photographs and by remembering all of the wonderful conversations with friends I have realised what Cybermummy meant to me. It was a chance to step out from behind the laptop, to connect with my online support group and to develop real life friendships. This is what I will take away with me.

Oh and I did some arts and crafts with Jay. Ooh la la ;-)