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Saturday

Disney On-the Road Social Media Moms Celebration


A couple of weeks ago I had the opportunity to attend the
Disney On-the-Road Social Media Moms Celebration in Seattle.  #DisneySMMoms
This free, half day event was held in NYC, Washington DC, San Francisco and Seattle this year.
The Seattle location was only minutes from where I live, so I signed up here and they sent me an invite to attend.



It's always a bit scary walking into a situation where you know no one and you have no idea what to expect.

Thankfully, I met Stephanie from modernparentsmessykids.com in line and we ended up sitting together with Keryn from walkingontravels.com. 
Both of these ladies are 'big-time' bloggers with amazing blogs--check them out.



Bloggers always seem to have plenty to talk about...plenty!




Lots of business cards were exchanged with other bloggers.
Some were 'Disney' bloggers.  Many were 'big' bloggers with thousands of followers.
I'm just a tiny little, craft blogger, so I felt a bit out of place with the big names!  Thankfully, everyone was very nice and friendly.
And it was perfectly fine to be a little fish in a big pond...I mean, ocean!


These little morsels of sweetness were set at each place.  Mmmm!


I learned all about the new attractions at Walt Disney World and Walt Disney Land.
The new Cars Land looks amazing!  My kids would love it...actually I would love it!
I also learned about the new Fantasyland expansion.  Very nice.
And of course, we all wanted to hear more about the Disney Cruises
and the  Disney Hawaiian Resort, Aulani!  Sign me up!





The keynote speaker was Mindee Doney.
Mindee (from Portland, OR) co-founded Boogie Wipes in 2007. (Wet wipes for noses.)  The company had over $20 million in sales the first 3 years.  Now, Mindee runs her own company, Juicebox Idea Consulting, where she mentors other inventors with their ideas.
Mindee was a great speaker full of honesty, wisdom and inspiration.
I enjoyed listening to her story of success, loss, divorce, finding peace and starting over.

Her message--  Embrace, Empower and then, Expect.

EMBRACE:
Embrace who you are and what you do.
You cannot be supermom at everything.
-Accept your responsibilities.
-Rock your talents.
-Believe in the Big Picture.

EMPOWER:
-Know when to say 'no'.
-Nurture what resets you.
-Ask for help specifically and honestly.
-Believe in your village, their way works, too.

and then, EXPECT:
Expect life to go on.
-Cherish the highs, be in the lows.
-Guilt trips are your gut check.
-Start as you mean to go.
-Set regular goals.
-Be grateful.
-Choose a pace that balances needs vs. wants.


There was also a mom entrepreneur panel full of great local ladies running successful businesses online.
Mindee led the discussion and questions were asked from the audience.



Keryn went home with Mike from Monsters University.  Her boys will be excited!



I went home thinking about how grateful I am.
Grateful for my faith, my husband, my kids and my family.
Grateful that blogging is just a small 'fun' part of my life, not a stressful job.
Grateful for the opportunities and friendships blogging has brought me.


Thank you, Disney.

Now, about that Hawaiian Disney Resort......









Linking up to CraftOManiac,



6 comments :

  1. Looks like it was an awesome experience! It's difficult to go outside our comfort zone, especially when we're with no one we know, but it looks like you got along smashingly! :)

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  2. Michelle, so good to see you again at #DisneySMMoms! It's always difficult to come into a room not knowing many people, but I'm really glad it ended up being a wonderful experience for you in the end. I really hope we keep running into each other at Seattle events so you can teach me how to be crafty, too!

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  3. How exciting! What a great lesson for your kids too, seeing you go somewhere you don't know anyone and ending up having a good time.

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  4. Great Recap! Love the details! Thank you for passing along my story so well! Great to know you!

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  5. Love your takeaways! Thank you for being so honest with the details and paying forward my message. Happy to know you!

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  6. How fun. Great reminder to try something new, great things you take away from the event. Thanks for sharing.

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