Me Too You

Continuing @GwenBell ‘s #best09 Blog Challenge…

Read all of my #best09 here.

December 26 – Insight or aha! moment

There are ways that I can do less while making more of an impact

Running around crazy doesn’t do anyone much good. On a crisp weekend last March, I was near Yosemite for my nephew’s birthday. My mom and I were talking about the book The Power of Less (my #best09 book). The previous week, I had been talking to some fellow board members at Explorer Preschool about the next year and what we were all up for. I was the membership chair and my thought was that I would continue in the position for the following year, since I felt like I had just gotten my head around everything and could now work on some improvements. But…as I talked with my mom that weekend I realized that if I stepped up to be President of the Board, I could actually do less (in terms of daily, administrative work), but have more of an impact at the school.

Aha!

Both paths would be valuable, but which would save my sanity and which would have more impact for the school and for me? (By the way, sure, I could have quit the board, but it is very important to me to give back to an organization that has had such an impact on me and on my family.) So I took the path that was less intensive hour-wise, but had more of an impact. Even though being President SEEMS like more work, it really isn’t (or, it doesn’t have to be). The hours that I spend are less in number, but have a greater impact and that feels good for me in my life right now.

December 27 – Social web moment

This was hard…since I work IN social web, there are so many social web moments. Going to conferences and events is one big, continuous social web moment. I often say in my head “She/he looks so familiar to me…oh, right, because I look at her/his profile photo on twitter every day. Oh yeah.” I suppose it has happened so much this year that I am starting to just get used to it. There are still some big moments that stand out for me in 2009, namely: $1 from Jessica Gottlieb during a cab ride after the Social Luxe Lounge party at BlogHer means all her secrets are safe with me, a lovely lunch with Ciaran Blumenfeld (@momfluential) at the lovely (did I already say lovely?) Ritz-Carlton Laguna Niguel (I think I could talk to her for hours, oh right, I did), meeting @DearBadKitty and immediately feeling at home with her, celebrating Stefania‘s birthday and signing karaoke to the Backstreet Boys, seeing all of the insightful, witty and fun Silicon Valley Moms Blog bloggers at our holiday party this year and feeling like at this point we are all old friends and family, seeing all my IRL friends join twitter after Oprah did, taking an awkward photo with @BackpackingDad at BlogHer’09 and then repeating it at the SV Moms holiday party. But the biggest social web moment for me of 2009 was…

Random limo reunion with moburns67 at BlogHer’09

After flying into Chicago for BlogHer’09 with my friend Carla, we waited outside for our pre-arranged car to meet us. We were both in a rush to get to different events and were hoping this limo would whisk us quickly to the hotel, so we wouldn’t have to, you know, stand in an annoying taxi line (which actually looked like it was going fast and not annoying at all). We waited and waited and waited. Soon we noticed that other people looked like they were waiting. Soon it was determined that the limo company had grouped us all together and instead of a private ride, there would be 14 of us in the limo together. No problem at all, the more the merrier. Except…not all of the 14 of us were there. Heavy. Sigh. Annoyed. Very annoyed.

Then I noticed that one of the people standing there waiting was someone that I knew. From a long time ago. 16 years ago, moburns67 and I worked together and were good friends. We had lost track of each other somewhere along the way. I walked up to her and said “Hi. I think I know you. Maura?” She said “Yes.” (Well, of course, we are in social web land, where of course she would have people coming up to her saying they “know” her.) “No, I mean I KNOW you. I’m Lin? We used to work together?” “Oh! Right! Wow! Hi!” It was quite random to run into an old friend like that. I was not surprised to find out that she is so active on twitter. After all, she used to play scrabble via email, I believe. So ahead of the times. Since then we’ve gotten together for coffee and talked tweetups. Hopefully another coffee date is on the books for this next week. It has been so nice to reconnect, virtually and in real life. Here’s to that terrible limo company who made it happen.

December 28 – Stationery

Well, it is not paper, it is Pingg.com

Now I am really thinking I should go look for some new stationery and write some handwritten notes. But…my find for the year for invites and ecards is Pingg.com. My friend Jane told me about this company and I used it to send Mother’s Day cards via facebook and email to all of my friends who are mothers (and to my mother, of course!). I love that you can upload your own photo (or choose one of their designs, which are so cool and varied) and use a lot more capabilities than evite has. You can turn RSVP on or just use it was a card. Happy ecarding Now I have to run to the stationery store (Paper Source anyone?)

December 29 – Laugh

TOP SECRET, CONFIDENTIAL

Many laughs I am thinking of from 2009 need to be protected. Seriously, I am under an obligation of confidentiality, which I take very seriously. So any retreat hairstyles and subsequent bar visits (shhhh….) must be kept entirely under wraps. ROTFL.

December 30 – Ad

Somewhere in my subconscious…

I think I largely avoid ads….TIVO and a crazy, busy life helps me in this endeavor. But, of course, I still see them from time to time. Wait, did I even watch the SuperBowl in 2009? I don’t recall…I think all ads are just fed directly into my subconscious, so that I am not even aware of seeing them. And I certainly can’t remember any. I will have to pay closer attention…

December 31 – Resolution I wish I kept..

Presence

I just went back and reread a post I wrote on Simplicity Sake (a blog my sister and I started last year, but haven’t kept up…hmm…this does not bode well, eh?) about New Year’s Resolutions from 2009. My resolution last year to be more PRESENT in my life.

While I feel like I made progress on this last year, I think this is always something I have to keep in mind. And I need to remind myself of it. It is easy to get sucked into this, that and the other thing. Especially as I take on new challenges with work and step up my travel schedule (which is definitely on the books for 2010).

The first thing that comes to my mind is being present with my kids and my family. Especially as the kids get older, it is easy to think they are ok, they are fine, they don’t need me as much. True, not as intensely and maybe not as much time, but still…they need my presence. I feel like this year I may need to build some things INTO the schedule. Things like:

• adjusting my schedule so that I’m working from 9-2 and then with (and PRESENT) with the kids from 2pm on
• making one-on-one time with each of the kids a priority
• getting a new babysitter so Jeff and I can have our alone time on a regular basis

Another resolution for 2010: Jeff and I have made a goal to run a half marathon in 2010 – we estimate that it is about 13.1 miles from our house to the Los Gatos Dam (and then there is the #tiarathon and #shredheads of course…). Yoga once a week should round things out. Hold me to it?

Happy 2010 and THANKS Gwen!

Happy 2010! And thank you SO MUCH, Gwen, for inspiring this series of posts. I am so glad I made the time to do this, to look back at 2009, to look at 2010 with this perspective. Now that I am done, I look forward to reading everyone else’s #best09 posts and learning from them as well.