On Sunday night, I cleaned dog poo off of my son’s Crocs. It was a brutal return to reality for me, having just stepped off a train from London where I had spent the weekend attending Cybermummy 11. To say it was overwhelming was an understatement: with over 400 fellow bloggers in attendance, this tongue-tied self-conscious gal really had to step out of her comfort zone. But. Still. I did it. And I learned a lot. I learned that meeting people that you have been tweeting with for ages is easier than you think. And that with some, it is like running into an old friend – you just click. However, I also learned that meeting up with a few fellow tweeters in person and beforehand helps to build confidence. Many thanks to Sarah (@mostlyyummy) and Beth (@jamandcream) for the Friday night moral support and not making me walk into a crowd of bloggers – some who already knew each other – alone. I learned that Sarah Brown (wife of former PM Gordon Brown) is lovely, funny, and engaging, and I left quite impressed with her. I attended a workshop that was meant to be about writing and learned that not all speakers “get” their audience. And that Twitter really is a pretty damn immediate form of displaying one’s disappointment or annoyance. (FYI to my lovely friend Kat at 3 Bedroom Bungalow – for all my tweeting in that session, I forgot that there was a Twitter board in Cybermummy Central as well. Oops. ) I did stay for the entire session, but rest assured I won’t be blogging in limerick form OR TYPING IN ALL CAPS or not using any punctuation or maybenotevenusingspaces because that would be annoying. And I’d hate to scare away my 11 loyal readers. However, I will try writing in a different place (be it a room, or outside, or the coffee shop), or listening to music when I write in order to get the creative juices flowing. I will also start carrying a proper notepad on which to jot ideas, rather than try to remember them. I went to a photography session and had a blast taking pictures of my pal Amy (@theBitchinWife) from The Bitchin Wives Club; and learned that Jay (aka @cosmicgirlie), lovely woman and blogger and fantastic photographer that she is, has a hard time with the not-swearing-on-stage bit. A gal after my own heart, dammit… Now if she could teach me to get this damn camera off of automatic…. I went to a session on vlogging and learned that I can’t write as fast as I used to – as well as a bevy of other vlogging tips and ideas. Now I need to learn how to be less self-conscious so that I can record a vlog in under 20 takes. I was surrounded by funny, vivacious, lovely bloggers, and I met about 75% of the ones I wanted to (and couldn’t get up the nerve to introduce myself to others.) I met a lot of company reps and passed out a few business cards. I amassed some amazing goodies from the conference sponsors, particularly Crocs (can’t wait to talk about my new Crocs Toners), DisneyUK, and Boots. (Is it wrong that I’m nearly as giddy over the Electronic Lice Comb from Boots as Pea was with her Tangled stickers from Disney and the stuffed Hippo from HP?) But quite possibly the best bit about the conference? I got a bit of “me-as-an-individual” back. Once upon a time, I worked with a hedge fund. I talked to private clients and wealth managers all over the US and Europe on a daily basis; now, I argue with my daughter that her socks are really not wrong/too tight (or some other bizarre issue) and we-just-need-to-get-to-school-NOW. But this weekend? I was a blogger. This weekend was about for ME. Oh, sure, we talked about kids, but I had regular small talk, a few drinks, and got to take off the hat that says “I’m just Pea & Boo’s mom.” (Or mum. Whatever.) I’ve come to the realization that I’m not going to monetize my blog. My goal is not to make money from it – I want it to remain mine (although I’m sure I’ll continue to do a product review or two of things that I really love). Due to a busy week at the Hay Festival (which, ohmygod, I haven’t even blogged about yet), then a house move accompanied by an unwelcome chest infection, my blogging had taken a back-seat. However, thanks to Cybermummy, I’m re-motivated, enthusiastic, and inspired. I have a backlog of ideas that I want to write about. Just as soon as I get the poo off of Boo’s favorite shoes. Duty calls.