Another BlogHer has come and gone: amazing, overwhelming, encouraging, and EXHAUSTING. Every year is a slightly different experience, and this year was my first without being pregnant or bringing a baby. As a result, I stayed up waaaay too late dancing and eating and talking (ok, and drinking…) with women I only see “in real life” every 1-2 years, and some I had actually never met before, except on Twitter.

While I was in New York City, I also took the time to take a Megaformer Pilates class (the kind I teach in Plano) at the SLT NYC studio. Because a 50 minute hardcore strength and cardio workout is definitely what you need after you’ve eaten crap for 24 hours and drunk sodas to stay awake (I don’t normally drink soda at all).

>Unlike last year, I did remember to take actual pictures this year. Not many, because all I had was my iPhone, but I think they are representative.

First, one of the things I was so excited about: President Obama addressing the BlogHer attendees on Thursday afternoon.

Sure, what he said was pretty campaign-y but if you look beyond that, I think what is obvious is that he (and presumably more and more politicians) acknowledged the power of our voices as bloggers. What we say matters in the larger sphere, even when we’re “just” blogging about our families or our individual efforts towards sustainable living.
Takeaway: Those in power are taking notice of what we do as women and bloggers, and that is encouraging.

Thursday night there was a party for “green” bloggers hosted by Stonyfield and Healthy Child, Healthy World>.

Following that party, we had the opportunity to view a wonderfully educational film, Toxic Baby, produced and written by Penelope Jagessar Chaffer. It contains a lot of great information on the toxins that surround us in our everyday lives and how they affect our bodies.

I enjoyed the movie and a wonderful discussion afterward between Penelope, Gigi Lee Chang, CEO of Healthy Child, Healthy World, Dr. Shanna Swan, Vice-Chair for Research, Department of Preventative Medicine at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, and Dominique Browning, co-founder of Moms Clean Air Force.

Takeaway: A reminder from the ladies that we have to combine our personal purchasing (or NOT purchasing power) with legislative action to speed the process of making the world a safer place for our children. “Safe until proven dangerous” is not the right approach to take when introducing new chemicals.

Wow, this post is long and I haven’t even gotten to the parties or the sessions. I’m exhausted already. How about Part 2 another day?