The Glittery Side of BlissDom ’12

I’m just back from Nashville, Tennessee, y’all. Like, seriously. Just back.

I got home around 6 pm and was so, so happy to see my honey and my baby boy. And more importantly, they were so happy to see me.

I spent 3 days enjoying my “first bliss.” And remember when I told you I was a Community Leader? I was a little apprehensive about all things sparkly and glittery that seem to represent BlissDom. And now you want to know if it’s all true. If there’s room for at BlissDom for people who like earth tones and quiet conversation.

Instead of telling you, I thought I’d just show you.

It starts with glitter. In my case, I thought glittery nails would be the best way to add a little sparkle to my personality.

Upon arrival, I wasn’t disappointed in the glitter either. We were greeted with balloon arches and surrounded by elegance like the crystal chandeliers.

The opening reception didn’t disappoint either. Not only was it held water side (yes, there is an indoor river in the Opryland Hotel), but there was custom lighting reminding us why we were there.

The parties were lavish and full of creativity. I loved the Lorax themed party complete with Truffula trees…

And gorgeous flowers along with flowing drinks.

We walked past the waitstaff ready to serve us…

And sat down for a lovely plated lunch.

It was all beautiful and lovely but I kept thinking something was missing. And then it dawned on me.

CELEBRITIES!

Celebrities were missing from the equation but I didn’t have to look too far to find some. This furry guy was only too happy to pose with me but I kept feeling like he was giving me a blank stare.

I ran into my old pal from BlogHer ’11. I think he remembered me but it was hard to tell. I went to shake his hand and it was pretty clear that he was unable to do that. So instead, we shared an awkward high four.

Oh wait. These weren’t the type of celebrities you were expecting? You expecting famous people to show up and for me to actually have photos of them? And you want to see photos of me with those celebrities? Who do you think I am? A celebrity whore? Okay. You be the judge.

Ladies and gentlemen, Nathan Pacheco. I know I didn’t know who he was either but his operatic voice is beautiful. Seriously beautiful. As he left the “stage” I shook his hand and briefly pretended to be a groupie.

Not to be outdone, we listened to more opera, among other music, from Chris Mann. He’s kind of a big deal with the BlissDom crowd and apparently he’s a big deal on “The Voice.” Problem: I’ve never watched the voice and really had never heard of him.

However, that didn’t stop me from hunting him down at the Girls Night In party and taking a picture with him while I was in my pajamas. I’d like to say it was a tad inappropriate but I rather like the monkey in the shot.

But I sense you’re still looking for the big names. Names of people who are practically famous on the Disney Channel. Names like Joe Jonas. I got close enough to the stage to say he was rather hunky. And then I heard his mother graduated high school three years before me. Yeah, that put a damper on things.

Again, none of that stopped me from getting up close and personal with Joe along with @CourtneyRix @CraftyMamaof4 (and I forgot the lady on the left but I did give her my autographed picture of Joe Jonas!)

Maybe you want bigger than a Disney Channel star. Okay, fine. Here’s Rascal Flatts.

I didn’t get my picture taken with them. The line was kinda long and (shhhh) I’m not really a fan.

So it sounds like the glitter is starting to wear off. And it was. I had my first glitter tragedy.

While I enjoyed my celebrity encounters (and if you know me, you know I always do), I found the real glitter was in the people I connected with.

I met @Amber_Doty and @BlueViolet at the RDU airport and forced them to sit in a row with me while I talked the entire flight. Amber said it distracted her from nervous flying but really, I even annoyed myself. Right in front of us on the plane were @heirtoblair @carolinegbows @K8_smallthings.

I couldn’t help but hang with some of my Carolina gals @CarolinaMama @OneMomsWorld and honorary North Carolinian @AMomBlog.

One of my very favorite times was hanging with some of the @beEverywhere team in support of the @HeartofHaiti cause. Especially lovely to meet were @DanicaKombol, @JeannetteKaplun, Monica (@Blueprint4Style), Britton (@Brittont13) and Ana (@laflowers), among others.

Later on that evening, I seem to remember having a good time. A really, really good time and capped off the night with Duong (@DuongSheahan), Christine (@YoungMommy), Meredith (@hoo_dee_hoo), Danielle (@DanielleSmithTV), Carole (@Carole_Baker), and ME!!!

After I recovered 24 hours later, I had an incredibly amazing and inspiration dinner put together by Stephanie (@Socialologist) who always seems to connect great people. Tired of my namedropping? Well, I’ve got more. I got to spend an awesome dinner with my roomie Beth (@BethCordi), Melanie (@chilihead), Heather (@HeatherSolos), Amy (@TheAmyTucker), Jane (@ohanarama), Joey (@JoeyFortman), Carol (@CarolSchiller), Krista (@BookingAuthors), and Kim (@KimMoldofsky). Umm, yeah. That was quite the powerhouse of women.

But the real bliss comes in connecting and reconnecting with the friends we’ve made all over the blogosphere. One of my absolute favorites is Nicole, who most of you know by @ByWordsMusings.

And of course, I was reunited with my Philly buddy, Julie (@DutchBeingMe). She graciously let me share her room along with Beth (@BethCordi) and Jen (@MrsJenBardall) and I’m SO mad we didn’t get a group picture together.

I was able to talk with SO many people and then even able to have a little down time to myself. I think my favorite moment came on the last night. I was sitting in my jammies for Girls Night In. I found a comfy chair all to myself and sat there sipping my water and watching some awesome karaoke singing (by some of my favorite bloggers – side note – @frelle KILLED it!). I grabbed a fortune cookie and opened it expected to have some fun little fortune.

And here’s the message I walked away with.

Thank you Barbara, Alli, Paula, and so many others for letting me experience what blogging bliss feels like!