This weekend was nothing like I expected it would be. The city, the Blathering, the people, even the beignets.
There were so many people I expected to hang out with that I didn’t get a chance to. And people I didn’t expect to hang out with who ended up being just about the best people ever.
People who I thought would be in-your-face-loud were reserved and people who I thought would be shy were the ones attacking me with hugs.
The city was dirtier, more full of personality, and more crowded than I expected and the beignets were heavy, not light.
And I totally didn’t expect to see a guy from 1930s there:
I don’t know that I can capture the weekend adequately in words (or in photos, though I will show you those tomorrow). Instead, let’s go with a few bullet points:
The Good:
* Hanging out with Amy in person for the first time. And SO MANY MORE PEOPLE. (I kept leaving off someone, so I stopped trying to make a list.)
* Laughing my face off constantly. [Insert several inside jokes here. Probably inappropriate ones.]
* Feeling soul-connections to several people.
* A six-hour drive with Kat from New Orleans to Birmingham, chatting the entire time.
* Powdered-sugar covered beignets and amaretto coffee.
* Blog gossip. I was unaware it was A Thing but many other attendees filled me in. Now I get why people read Us Weekly – juicy!
The Bad:
* Insomnia. I had a hotel bed and my child was several states away. And YET I couldn’t sleep. WTF was that about?
* I think time flew faster this weekend than ever in my life. I blinked and it was Sunday morning.
* The lack of vegetarian Cajun food (though I did try some creole cream cheese that was delicious…and basically just veggie cream cheese).
* The lack of hanging out with some people. When there are sixty women and less than three days, there is a math problem = NOT ENOUGH TIME.
The Ugly:
* My flight was delayed Friday night and I didn’t get in until 3 AM my time after having woken up at 6 AM. It was not pretty.
* Overwhelm. THERE WAS OVERWHELM. The city was intense and being at a party with several dozen strangers was also pretty insane. I kept my awkwardness to a minimum, but I’ll be honest: a lot of people is a lot of people.
All in all, it was really a great weekend with some pretty fantastic women, women who kind and sweet and inspire me and make me laugh. Next year’s location is Charleston – if you’re looking to hang out with some great people and lie to your family and coworkers about a ‘girls weekend with college friends!’ you should probably think about going.
I love the coworker lie. ;)
Glad you had fun! Sounds great.
Oh you were one of my absolute favorites. I’m so thrilled to have met you. THRILLED. I hope I get to see you next year or the year after.
Yes it IS very dirty here in NOLA. My son says the French Quarter smells like someone forgot to change their poop diaper! The only city I have found to be dirtier is Washington, D.C. and that is sad. And as a vegetarian I agree with you, not much to choose from. Maybe that’s why I went pescatarian, seafood is plentiful here. Beignets are definitely “heavy!” I can only eat one or two at a time. My 85 year old grandmother can eat 3 orders (as in 9 beignets) at a time and that is her claim to fame.
Can’t wait to see your pictures tomorrow.
So glad you enjoyed your time away! From what I gather, The Blathering is the perfect mix of bloggers, hanging out and going out. Not sure my heart could stand to be away from my boys for a weekend, though I’m sure if pushed out the door, I’d have a blast. =)
I am going to seriously consider going–I’ve been to Charleston and loved it, plus my aunt & uncle live within driving distance. I’d love to meet some people. :)
I loved meeting you. I kind of want to go back and do the whole thing again this weekend. I need to talk more!
I loved, loved, loved getting to meet you, and only regret that we didn’t get to talk more. I am dying to chat more about Catholic-y stuff, which only means that you’ll have to come again in 2013, yes?
And a fun tidbit for you: I had your blog categorized under “Mom Blogs” in my reader, but just got to move you to my “The Blathering” category. I may have done a little fist pump at my desk just now when I realized I got to do that. :-)
It WAS an overwhelming weekend. The whole thing, from the city to the people to…everything. I’m sorry we didn’t get to talk more–that seems like all I’m saying today!
I think we did some Blog Gossip when we were in Indy, maybe? Or maybe we started it ;) (I kid!) Glad you had a great time. One thing is decided. We need to get together again, pretty please. You and the fam are always welcome in STL. We have bedrooms and things for Gabe to do including our super awesome zoo. Or I’ll have to go the Blathering next year to see all my awesome blog friends. (And I laughed cause I totally tell people that my blog friends I met in college. So far no one has questioned me.)
I saved ALL these posts so that I could comment when I was done. :) I am so sad that we did not get to chat a little more and play with our cameras and talk in exclamations (I think you probably ALSO talk a lot in exclamations). Hopefully we will have more chances!
Aw, this is a fun little post. I have never been to NO, or anywhere in that area, and I always love seeing little glimpses of places I can only imagine for now. I’ll get there soon enough though!