19 April 2013

Things I'm Loving - from Around the Table



I wholeheartedly believe that no matter what is happening in your life, there is always something you can be thankful for..no matter how simple it is.

This week I'm still loving so much from last weekend's blogging conference that this week is dedicated to more of the awesomeness that was!

An unexpected seat mate
I flew down to Christchurch mid-afternoon last Friday on a plane that was only half full. As I was walking down the aisle I caught a glimpse of the guy sitting in the window, but it wasn't until I had finished putting my camera bag in the overhead locker that it finally dawned on me WHY he looked so familiar. He was my girlhood hero - the one and only Chris Cairns (if you don't know he's one of NZ's best ever cricketers). My heart immediately began to pound and I got a dry mouth. I even sent a sneaky pic to Mark to ask if he thought it was him too. Would I be brave enough to talk to him? I asked myself. I didn't want to make a nuisance of myself, and he seemed pretty keen on sleep (even snoring a little during the flight). But when the flight landed I knew I had to seize the moment.


I leaned over and said "you look really familiar?" All the while thinking to myself what a dumb ass way to start a conversation but it was the best I could come up with with my heart pounding like it was. Anyway, he was kind enough to appear interested while I rambled on about how at age 14 I'd watched him playing for Canterbury against Central Districts at Pukekura Park (he'd have been 20 at the time). My younger brother Nic and I had lined up with heaps of other hopefuls and had managed to get his autograph AND get our picture taken with him. I laminated both the photo and the autograph and had it up on my wall for years! It was quite possibly the best start to the weekend I could possibly have hoped for!

Rasta Beanies
Loving that my 2 cuties thoroughly enjoyed mummy coming home with a prezzy each from Christchurch. These alpaca beanies were only $5 each at the ReStart craft markets, awesome value! And if their mouths look kinda full, it's cos they were in the middle of scoffing down a cream egg each too!


Penny Scallan Thank You!
You might remember The Adventures of Wheelie Bag post that I wrote a couple of weeks back. So what you may not have known was that there was actually a competition for those who were writing reviews on different Penny Scallan and Stuck on You products with the winners announced at the blog conference.



And much to my surprise, I won the Penny Scallan $250 prize! Eek! It was yet another awesome thing that happened last weekend, amongst all the other fun happenings. And you, my lovely readers will have the chance to win 5 x $50 Penny Scallan vouchers in the very near future - so keep an eye out for that!

Solidarity
One of the things I loved about seeing 60+ women gathered together last weekend was the solidarity, the friendship, the inclusiveness of so many strangers getting together with a common theme - our passion for blogging. Whether we came as mama bloggers, crafty bloggers, real-life bloggers, business bloggers, occasional bloggers or no idea what kind of blogger we were, it didn't matter.




What mattered was that we turned up. With an expectation that real-life connections were going to be even better than virtual ones. And I think it is safe to say that not a single person left disappointed.

Saying YES
The other thing I cannot go without saying is the amazing energy and effort that went into making Around the Table such a huge success. And it was only a success because so many people said YES. Every person who showed up to the conference said YES. They said yes to overcoming their nerves about meeting new people and coming to the shaky city. The panel and workshop hosts said YES to getting up in front of people despite their nerves.


But even more awesome was that way back in the beginning these lovely ladies in Christchurch first said YES to the crazy idea of pulling off the entire weekend. Talk about stepping out of the boat! So right here I salute you. Miriam, Treena-MarieJuliet, and Sophie, thank you for saying YES.

Here's how you can join in this week:

Link up below with your blog post telling us what you're loving, and grab the Things I'm Loving button below for your post too. Don't forget to share the love by visiting all the other lovelies who have joined in - the linky is open till same time next week!




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8 comments :

Leonie said...

Loving your sneaky photo on the plane!!

Cat said...

Love that photo of Chris :)
Gutted you are out of town the weekend I'm in Wellington - but - we WILL make another coffee date :)

Miriam said...

Thanks Meghan for your high praise. I assure you there was a wonderful team with us that made it happen too. Love all your lovings - as always and congrats too on the PS win - well deserved x

Ange - Tall, Short and Tiny said...

Love that you won the PS competition - a very deserved win! And tee hee at the sneaky sleeping idol photo!!

Have a great weekend xxx

Leonie said...

Yes yes yes - love it all x

Melissa @ www.thebestnest.co.nz said...

Ahhh fab! The famous silent photo, good on you - the first brave moment of the weekend?

Bron said...

How many fun things happened to yu this week......the weekend sounds like it was a blast...funny I assumed that you would all know each other ....silly me.
xxx

Nikki said...

The bloggy conference sounds like it was such a fun time! A bit jel hearing about it all! Maybe one day... And how choice is it that you won from your review?! Well done!! x

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