January/February in Review: Mom2 + Monica + a whole lotta Kirtsy and a little bit of Boulder

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Whew! The last two months have been crazy, wonderful and beautiful all at once. I believe the last time I sat still for any length of time was when I went to see Eurydice…. and wasn’t New Year’s Eve like ten minutes ago?! I don’t want forget a bit of the amazingness and glitter that consumed January and February so without further ado…. a couple months in review!

An open conversation between Moms & Marketers

Mid-January I realized I hadn’t seen Monica in a while as she was super busy planning the Mom 2.0 Summit (and all of the other things she does). So like any annoying, over-helpful little sister, I announced I was coming over one Saturday “to help” and that there would be no argument. Monica didn’t take my threat lightly. When I arrived she had a to-do list as long as my arm ready for me to dive into. And dive I did! I mean…. why not? Some of my favorite women in the world, the Kirtsy chicks, were involved so I was grateful and delighted to be a part of the project.

The next couple of weeks were jam packed with budgers budgets, the matrix, schwag bags and rock band. I spent far more time with Monica and with her co-planner, Amber, than I had bargained for and I absolutely loved every moment of it. I learned more from those two ladies about event planning than I ever did during my River Oaks wedding planning days! I even manged to convince one of my favorite graphic designers and SEO gurus, Matthew, to come to Houston and be a part of our SEO panel. He was the icing on my Mom2 cake!

I was the VIP/PR liaison and so it was with sleepy elation and a tummy full of butterflies (and a new dress to bolster my courage!) that I greeted the morning of the Mom2 kick off. I would be picking up Matthew and then Guy Kawasaki at the airport. Everything with Matthew went amazingly well but Guy’s pickup was a different story.

I was 15 minutes early to the airport and was able to snag a parking spot right in front of the terminal. There was no way Guy was going to slip past me! 15 minutes after Guy’s plane was supposed to land I picked up my phone to shoot him a text…. and realized the ol’ Blackberry was dead. Of course. An hour and a half later there was still no Guy. I was fully convinced that I had lost the Mom2 keynote speaker somewhere at Bush Intercontinental Airport and that the Kirtsy girls were going to strangle me. Too afraid to venture far from my big red truck (which Guy knew to look for) to find a payphone lest I miss him, I befriended a security guard with a phone. Dear Sterling (the guard) called the airport for me and we determined that Guy’s flight was WAY delayed. Thank God.

Thirty minutes later I had Guy in my possession and any nervousness I may have felt about a long truck ride with THE Guy Kawasaki was quickly replaced with a sense of calm when he climbed into my truck and said “I thought your truck was going to be way bigger! This isn’t that big!” Anyone who talks smack immediately upon meeting a Texas Gal who drives a big truck is beyond brave and okay in my book…. and they are DEFINITELY open game for return sarcasm. Next time I see Guy, my truck is going to be so jacked up, he’s going to need a ladder to get in.

Three days later…. the conference was over. The final panel was surreal; how could the conference already be over? Mom2 flew by in a series of amazing conversations, laughter filled presentations and one amazing concert. My evenings were spent with some truly amazing women and a couple of great guys. TONS of irreplaceable advice was received. In my opinion, Mom2 was beyond successful.

Have I mentioned yet how truly happy I am to have been a part of something so amazing?

work, work, #SEOchats and more work

Gwen Bell’s wedding was coming up and I swore I would not be taking my laptop, so I needed to bury myself in work…. the next week and a half flew by even faster than the conference had! Schipul was as amazing as it always is AND I got to participate in the first ever #SEOchat with the 5 Minutes for Mom ladies, Seth Jenks and Gwendolyn. I learned a ton from Seth and Susan! I don’t write about Macaroni, but SO many people stumble upon my blog by searching for Mac ‘n’ Cheese! Seth says it’s all in the URL baby. Who knew? If you missed the #SEOchat, don’t worry! You can listen to the podcast on Susan and Janice’s blog or search #SEOchat on twitter search.

The first chat was such a success, we’ve scheduled another one for March 16! This one is going to focus on Kyword Research. The whole series of chats are geared toward beginners so don’t be timid. Join us! And ask lots of questions. There are only 96 slots for the call so you better get in on the action early! Gwen is on her honeymoon so I’ll be moderating this one…. and things may get interesting. Don’t tell Seth.

Wedding bells and cheesy wonderful tweets

Last weekend I went to Boulder with Monica for Gwen and Joel’s wedding. We rented a house with Laurie, Laura and Gabby and I could not effin WAIT to land. How could a trip with the Kirtsy girls + Cosmopolitician NOT be a blast? Monica and I arrived at the house first and we quickly claimed the upstairs room (the kid’s room, as it came to be called) mostly because of the HUGE bathtub. What can I say. We find happiness in the little things.

Reuniting with Gwen at her “rehearsal dinner” was of course the highlight of the trip. Yes, I had just seen her at Mom2, but I sometimes think Gwen holds a little bit of my heart…. all the time. I miss her when we are apart! It was also awesome to finally meet this Joel I’d been hearing so much about :)

The next morning was a blast. We met at The Cup for coffee and breakfast (because Monica LOVES coffee) and then we girls were off to do girly things…. You know the drill. Hair, nails and gossip. And the nail place Gwen chose was the perfect venue for these things to take place. I mean, right on the wall at ten20 it says “A Place Where TV Gossip Is Forever Embraced. Diet Coke and M&Ms Are Always In Stock. A Place Where Havaianas Are The Dress Code. Laughing is Strictly Enforced. A Place Where Super-Sanitation is Super-Important. White Robes Stay at the Toga Party. A Place Where Hairlessness Is Fashionable.” I bed the ladies who opened the place love Perez Hilton!

The wedding was was truly truly amazing. It was warm enough in Boulder that we got to move it outside and I totally cried when Gwen and Joel read their vows. I think Jenny Slade summed it up best in her tweet “If you ever wondered whether digital and sacred could co-exist, @gwenbell + @jlongtine are proof possible.”

After Joel whisked Gwen off to Mexico for their honeymoon, Monica and I decided a trip to Estes Park was necessary. We packed it up with Gwen’s rocking wedding photographer, Holly, and her husband and headed up the mountain. What followed was beyond hilarious. We ate some steak, then visited the Stanley Hotel (THE SHINING!), I tried to convince Monica to let me pet some Elk, she said no, and then we played in some snow. I have to say; making a snow angel in minimal cold weather gear may be hilarious but is never a good idea. See this video if you don’t believe me.

Leaving Boulder was sad. I’d felt like I was in the little Kirtsy bubble in the Mountains. But is was good to be heading home. I missed my David.

So what’s next????

Tomorrow I leave for SXSW with a few other Schipulites. Brandi, David and Fayza will be riding with me so I’m sure the drive will be almost as fun as the concert itself. Besides all the rocking panels, I’m most excited about the is the “Girl/Guy” party on Sunday night…. Girls gone SXSW! It’s sponsored by my Kirtsy girls and Alltop so I’ll be getting a second chance to traumatize Guy and he’ll be getting another oppotunity to talk smack about my truck. The RSVP list is full so if you want an invite, you are going to have to hit up Monica, Laura, Amber or I for a bandana. That’s the only way in!!

And then what is Monday the 16th? The #SEOchat that you will all be on! 7 pm. I’ll “see” you there!

After re-reading this post I see two recurring themes. Monica and Kirtsy…. And I cannot think of any two themes I’d rather have.

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3 Responses

  1. Go ALL you guys! Mom 2.0 rocked! And Kirtsy is the best there is!

  2. magsmac says:

    Thank you Katherine!!!! We are glad you could be a part of it :) Everyone is Beautiful ROCKED by the way. I finished it in a day. Loved it!

  3. gwenbell says:

    I miss you. Come to Boulder.

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