What I learned this week: Quote me

Of all the things I learned this week, the how is nowhere near as important as the what.

So rather than explain the genesis of each lesson I recently learned, I'll simply share with you the bottom-line lessons themselves — via the words of folks who became wise in these areas long before I.

(One exception: the last lesson, which is in my words and my words alone.)

And my messiest lesson of all:

Seriously!

All of the above, my friends, is what I learned this week.

Enjoy the long holiday weekend. Best wishes for a safe and memorable farewell to summer!

Today's question:

What did you learn this week?

What I learned this week: Aha moments on ears, Tori Amos, and swingers

I like to learn new things all the time. Sometimes those things are big, sometimes not so big at all. This week what I learned leaned more to the latter — yet interesting to me just the same.

EARS
Did you know that your earlobes provide skin to be used to replace facial skin removed due to skin cancer? I did not know that, but now I do.

The story isn't mine to tell, so I can't share in full, but a loved one of mine had skin cancer spots removed from her face this week. Those spots were deep and wide and in need of skin to cover the (literal) holes left by removing the bad stuff. I'd been told the likely source for skin replacement was her earlobes. I imagined her having her face patched up but no longer being able to wear earrings as her ear lobe was cut off, split open like a chicken breast then the fillet stitched to her face.

Thankfully that's not how it works. Instead, small slivers of skin were sliced from her lobe — which remained fully attached — and carefully placed on the spots in need of coverage. Who'da thunk it?

TORI AMOS
I've never felt strongly about Ms. Amos one way or another. To be honest, I can't even think of a song title or even a snippet of a tune of songs that she's sung. That said, though, I've always thought of her — if I ever thought of her at all — as being much younger than me.

Well guess what? I learned (from AARP magazine) that Tori Amos will be 50 next Thursday. FIFTY! That's just too weird to me, for some reason. It's kind of like learning that Pee Wee Herman is, well, he's ... (Googling it real quick) ... Ohmigosh! Pee Wee Herman/Paul Rubens is 60! Sixty-one on the 27th, actually. Not that that's old, but so not what I expected for Pee Wee. Kind of makes Tori Amos seem such a baby.

SWINGERS
Jim has been trying his darnedest for years to attract hummingbirds to our yard. Considering how abundant they are in our area, you'd think we'd have at least a few stopping by our place. Nothing for years. Then last year we got one. ONE! All summer long we saw only one little guy sipping on one of the hummingbird feeders in our yard.

Because of Jim's determination to attract the hummers, Megan and her family gave Jim for Father's Day a pretty new hummingbird feeder, a book on attracting them, and a sweet little swing the birds would supposedly swing away on.

Well, the book helped, as we finally — finally — have several hummingbirds visiting not only the pretty new feeder but our old one, too. The swing? Meh... it's cute and all, but we never expected it to be much of a draw for the hummingbirds.

Oh my, were we wrong. Those little guys and gals love it. They're not only hummers, they're swingers, too. And one in particular swings long enough and often enough for me to get some pretty darn cute photos of her merrily swinging away.

 

As you can see, the lessons weren't huge or life-changing — well, the ear one was for one person I know — but they are indeed what I learned this week.

Enjoy your weekend! I look forward to connecting again come Monday!

Today's question:

What did you learn this week?

What I learned this week: I am blessed

As a long-distance grandma, there's this fact about me: I miss my grandsons. Daily. Sometimes hourly.

Thing is, despite missing my grandsons all.the.<cuss>.time, I have a pretty good life. I was reminded this week of just how good it is.

I have mornings that feature:

Hummingbirds on my deck...

 

Deer doing their daily doings while I walk my dogs...

 

And this heartwarming feeding I was thrilled to witness...

 

(Though I was chided for interrupting...)

All that while Pikes Peak keeps watch from the west...

 

And that's just my morning, just one small sliver of my day, my life. There's much more that's equally amazing, equally jaw-dropping awesome. How could I consider myself anything but blessed?

Though that's not really a lesson I learned this week, it's one I tend to forget. The sights above — all photographed yesterday morning — reminded me once more how blessed I am, despite missing my Megan and my grandsons. And reminders are nearly as good as a lesson, I think, especially when reminded again and again, just as I was yesterday.

So there you have it: I am blessed. And that is what I learned — or re-learned — this week.

(Now if I could only learn how to not miss my grandsons.)

I'm off for the weekend! Best wishes for a lovely one for you and yours. I look forward to seeing you here again Monday. Cheers!

Today's question:

What did you learn this week?

What I learned this week: I shoot now, tweet later

Not long ago, I had a telephone conversation with a wise and wonderful entrepreneur with whom I hope to partner on some projects in the future. She asked me how I feel about my proficiency on a variety of social media platforms, one of them being Twitter.

Now, I feel like I'm pretty good with Twitter. No, not the best, but certainly not the worst either, considering I'm less than 20 followers away from crossing the 5,000-follower mark. I'm pretty good at Twitter parties, and I do a dandy job of connecting with and promoting brands and friends on Twitter, too. So I told her that.

"And what about live tweeting?" the wise entrepreneur asked.

First, let me explain to those who may not know what live tweeting is. It's sending out tweets on Twitter during an event, letting your followers know all about — via texts and often photos, too — the event you're attending or participating in or watching (yes, live tweeting is done during television shows, too). This is quite useful for brands and PR folks when hoping to generate interest and see a specific hashtag for their cause trend on Twitter.

So I told the entrepreneur I have indeed live tweeted but to a fairly minimal degree, explaining the live tweeting I did while at the Lifesavers Conference a few months ago.

"But you'll be live tweeting at BlogHer, right?" she asked. To which I enthusiastically responded, "Oh, yeah, definitely," because I had every intention of doing so.

Well guess what? I didn't do much live tweeting at BlogHer. To be honest, I'm not sure I did any. I meant to. But then I realized after each event, after each opportunity, that I completely let the opportunity to tweet live pass me by. I'd been too busy living and photographing the moments to live tweet said moments.

I should have been better at remembering to live tweet, considering the first event I attended — within an hour or so of me landing in Chicago — was filled with folks live tweeting the event. I'm willing to bet that's what at least a few of these GenFab friends of mine were doing at this captured moment:

Alas, it didn't lead to me tweeting. Just picture taking. Opportunity missed.

I took pictures during the Lean Cuisine luncheon I attended Friday. Did I tweet during the event like I probably should have? Nope. Opportunity missed — unlike these live tweeters who seized the moment and raised their smartphones with pride:

 

Friday night featured yet another missed opportunity. As the crowd of bloggers anxiously awaited Queen Latifah's arrival as emcee of the Voices of the Year ceremony, time ticked and ticked and ticked on. The Queen was late. Then later. Then later still.

As I looked around, I noticed nearly every single person in the crowded ballroom tapping away on their smartphones. I chuckled, nudged my buddy Ruth, and we agreed I should take some photos of all the lovely ladies bent over their phones. I didn't though, figuring that might be kind of rude. (Man, am I kicking myself for that missed opportunity, for what a great photo that would have been.)

It didn't dawn on me until later that what Ruth and I snickered about was mass live tweeting. All those bloggers tired of waiting for the show to get on the road were sharing and airing their grievances with their followers. Live. Were preparing to tweet details of the event to their followers. Live.

And all I considered doing was taking photos to share with my followers. Later.

Clearly, live tweeting isn't really on my radar. Does that make me less of a social media master? Probably. Which saddened me upon first realization because I like to be good at everything related to my job. In the end, though, I'm not. And to be honest, that's okay with me. Live photography fits me; live tweeting not so much.

That said, I could be pretty good at live tweets, though, if only I could take the nightly talk show approach and simply attach a disclosure to my post-event tweets. I'm thinking something along the lines of This Live Tweet Broadcast Previously Recorded.

There'd certainly be no lack of photos to go with those pre-recorded live tweets — especially considering I'm clearly, by nature, a shoot now, tweet later kind of blogger.

Which is just fine with me — and the most liberating thing I learned this week.

Farewell for the week! I look forward to seeing you Monday!

Today's question:

What did you learn this week?

10 non-blogging things I learned at BlogHer '13

BlogHer '13 offered multiple and myriad sessions for gleaning new tips and tricks for the business of posting and publishing. I learned much beyond nitty gritty techniques to add to my blogging toolbox, though, things such as the following.

10 NON-BLOGGING THINGS I LEARNED AT BLOGHER '13

1. Don't be afraid to look foolish. BlogHer sponsors offer plenty of opportunities to look like a fool. I say "Do it!" Once you've donned fisherman gear or kicked back on a mattress in the center of a crowded conference hall, there's nothing else to fear others might see you do.

(One caveat: With all the free booze flowing, you don't want to look foolish and passed out in the hotel lobby for all to see. Pacing yourself — or abstaining — is key.)

2. The coolest swag comes from unexpected places. Brands offer more than ways to look foolish. They hand out piles and piles of goodies (so much so that yes, the second suitcase is a necessity for the trip home). While the big brands hand out must-have items, I found my favorite to be from a pest control company. Yes, you read that right. Pest-control company Rescue! gave out mini kaleidoscopes. I love kaleidoscopes. Kaleidoscopes are cool.

3. Brands are becoming more receptive to the baby boomer demographic. Speaking of brands, I was impressed by the number of brands who seemed sincerely excited about partnering with me — a baby boomer, empty-nester, grandma blogger. The most enthusiastic responses came from Manilla.com, FoodSaver, Bernina (at a non-BlogHer event), Serta, Chuck E. Cheese's, Cosmo Camp (also at a non-BlogHer event) and the reps for the National Restaurant Association's Kids Live Well program, to name just a few.

4. Lean Cuisine rocks frozen meals in unexpected ways. Still speaking of brands, I was invited to a luncheon sponsored by Lean Cuisine in celebration and promotion of their new line, Honestly Good. All I can say is Wow! And Yum! I'll say more later in a longer post specifically about Lean Cuisine's incredible chefs (real chefs, restaurant-owning chefs!) and dedication to fresh and healthy ingredients. It was an impressive luncheon accompanied by an informative — and tasty — presentation.

 

5. Next time, arrive the day before the conference begins. I didn't do this, which meant I had no time to experience what Chicago — a city I've never been to before — has to offer. Which meant other than photos taken of the Chicago River from my hotel room, this is my only touristy shot:

6. The best sessions have little to do with blogging and brands. Time with friends provided the most memorable moments.

 

7. Don't be afraid to go it alone. I chose to arrive late to breakfast one day and was a bit anxious about taking the shuttle without my friends and arriving late to the conference hall by myself. Going it alone, though, turned out to be unexpectedly rewarding when my shuttle seat mate turned out to be among the most enjoyable of women I met all weekend. Karen Malone Wright and I talked all the way to the conference hall, and we shared a breakfast table. We then ran into one another again at a party the next night, where Karen proceeded to be forever in my favor thanks to her gushing about how much I looked like Andie McDowell in Groundhog Day. How could I not forever appreciate such flattery?

8. The BlogHer Voice of the Year signs cost more to ship home than it would to make your own. The late-night antics that led to that realization? Priceless and memorable — and unmentionable in a public forum.

9. I want to be Tracy Beckerman. With her syndicated column running in 400 weekly community newspapers and her book, Lost in Suburbia: A Momoir, climbing the charts, what freelance writer and blogger wouldn't want to be Tracy Beckerman? Alas, I settled for her session on syndicating your work — one of my favorite sessions of BlogHer '13, in which Tracy explained how to be just like her. Stayed tuned for my transformation.

10. Conferences — and life! — are so much better when enjoyed with friends. Especially when those friends are (left to right) Jane Gassner, Sandra Sallin, Cathy Chester, Connie McLeod, Ruth Curran, Lois Alter Mark, Helene Cohen Bludman and Janie Emaus, all of whom — along with every other #GenFab member I hugged while there — made my BlogHer '13 experience so much more delightful than I ever hoped it might be.

Today's question:

Which of the points above would you like to hear more about? (I just may write a separate post based on your interest.)