And I’m ok with that.

Because had she been reading, I’m also pretty sure that the queen of all things put together, poised and polished would not have included the Queen of Quirky on her guestlist.

Let’s face it. I am most certainly not Martha Stewart material. That’s not to say that I can’t attempt to learn from her style and grace. But at the end of the day, I’m still going to find a way to be my own quirky little self, who might not be as put together…

Again, ok with that.

If you were invited to a Martha Stewart gathering, what mode of transportation would you imagine most suitable for your arrival?

Limo? Absolutely.

Taxi? Probably.

Subway? Maybe.

Rickshaw? (aka “Pedicab”) um…

This is the face of terror as I, along with my new friend (of about 20 minutes because that’s how we roll at Blogher. Hi, nice to meet you. Let’s get in this bicycle cab together and get to know one another a little better, shall we?) was careening through the streets of New York.

A few comments about this ride:

It was hot.

I was sweating.

I may have left sweat on the vinal seat.

It was terrifying.

Our driver was wearing flip flops.

He couldn’t have weighed more than a buck ten.

I seriously regretted not reaching my Weight Watchers goals.

I’m sure he also seriously regretted my Weight Watchers failure.

At times, he had to roll back and get a moving start to get us going again.

By the time we arrived, I vowed to never eat again. Which lasted all of 10 minutes because I was going to Martha Stewart’s party.

Duh.

That said, once I arrived, the party was nothing short of lovely (would you expect less?) and I was most certainly thankful for the invite.

So far, my recaps of Blogher have included making a fool of myself in front of a celebrity and showing up at Martha’s party sweaty, disheveled and in quirky form.

I promise there was more substance to my trip. (and I’m not just talking good food.)

Warning: this is where Queen of Quirky gets a little sappy.

I could talk about the fabulous panels, but that’s been done (well) by someone else.

I could talk about the swag. But I don’t really have much of an opinion on the swag. I got some. It was nice. I shipped it home. I don’t know how much it cost. (Thank you to all the gracious sponsors who once again made this conference possible. If any of you have any reason to talk to a quirky blogger such as myself, I’d love to chat. But I’m not a product review blog or a mommy blog.  As long as you know that, we’re all good.)

But what I want to talk about is the people.

I love them all.

The wonderful other bloggers who get me. And for whom I don’t have to apologize for being this weird quirky girl who loves to blog and talk about it.

The fantastic roommates who had me in stitches.

Amethyst of  Wicked Lovely Things

Rosemary of Sexy Geek Files

And one in particular who let me spoon her and snore in her ear.

To me, this conference is about friendships, camaraderie and good times.

It is the one time a year, I am empowered by thousands of other writers from around the country all doing this little thing called blogging.

 If only I could have met you all.

 And now that I’ve been rather cheesey.

I’ll leave you with my cheese from the photobooth at Cheeseburgher.

With my dear friend, Melissa.

In a little booth where we had no idea what was going on. (Do we push a button? Where do we look? When does it take the picture? Did it just take a picture? uh….)

But we had a good time doing it.

Until next year, Blogher. You stay quirky!

For two days now, I’ve been walking around with yipyipyipyipyip uhuh in my head.

And in a way, it’s kind of a great recap of my entire Blogher10 experience.

When you attend these massive shows, you do feel a little bit like an alien in a strange land.

But at the end of the day, we are all there to soak in the experience and the people. I for one, was overjoyed by everyone I met, and inspired by what I learned.

Only, I can’t seem to spit it out. So, for now….yipyipyipyipyip BLOGHER uhuh.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2cpqEqvryE]

As you can see, I made some new friends on the flight. Mad props to my new homies Nikki and Marissa for making a long flight such a great time and setting the tone for a great 24 hours.

Ah, it’s all such a blur. But the conference was fabulous. I met tons of new friends – too many to name them all, but you can rest assured I’ll be reading and cooking from their blogs very soon. I attended an amazing party thanks in part to this lady – a newspaper gal after my own heart, whose new cookbook is coming out soon.

I attended sessions and  learned that I pretty much suck at SEO, and that no one will probably ever find my site if they are looking for a recipe for dumplings. But that’s ok. I also learned some tricks that might help that. But what do you care about that? YOU know how to make the dumplings. (Or at least how to get me to come to your house and make them for you – Kevin!)

And I guess that’s all that matters because if anything came out of blogherfood, it was having a passion for your blog. Boy do I ever. And some of the other talented bloggers I met this weekend share my enthusiasm for the craft. That’s what makes these events so much fun to attend — because suddenly you are not just the weird girl in your circle of friends who has that blog and won’t shut up about it. You are one of them.

Bottom Line: Whether you are as popular as  The Pioneer Woman (and yes, I got to meet her!) or simply aspiring to be 1/14 as popular as her, you just have to love what you are doing. After that, everything else is gravy.

Hmmmm….speaking of gravy. 

But I understand that not everyone has something to say on every subject. Which is why I like to give you options:

• Subject #1 FOOD

Last night I made the not-so- famous dumplings for Roomie, the fiance and DD Girl.  I decided I needed to play with a new dipping sauce so I mixed up soy sauce, rice vinegar, hoisin sauce, siracha sauce and some diced onions. I’m not going to lie. I was kind of in love with it.

Last night was also a foodie heaven night because my Pampered Chef party shipment came in. I was excited to play with my new Food Chopper. As much as I hesitated to buy it for the “gadget” factor, it’s kind of great. The only thing is, you still have to cut things into managable chopping size. So it probably really doesn’t save you a whole lot of time. But what I love is it gets things nice and small. Which is perfect for dumplings.

I’m also looking forward to trying this new cookbook I bought.  Everything in it looks very tasty with a minimum number of ingredients. Perfect for my budget!

• Subject #2 RUNNING

I still run, you know. For a while I was doing some longer distances (tackled 8 miles), but the heat is really messing with my motivation lately. I have no idea how I ever trained for a marathon during the summer.  I’d really like to do another one, but the thought of doing long runs drains me. It’s nice to go home, throw my running clothes on, grab the dog and knock out two miles.

• Subject #3 BLOGGY FRIENDS

I’m counting down the days until Blogher. But I’m finding it hard to explain to my friends who don’t blog or care about blogs why on earth I’d be so excited to spend a weekend in Chicago, sharing a room with another blogger I have never met, learning more about, well…blogging.

Meanwhile, I’m reading some great stuff out there in the blogosphere. Unfortunately, one of my favorite writers won’t be at the conference this year. But you should read thisfunnyobservation of what happens to your parents when you have a kiddo.

• Subject #4 (speaking of kiddos) FAT BABIES

Love them! I mean who doesn’t love a fat baby? So last Saturday the fiance and I were hanging out at his parents’ house. His cousins brought their 15 month son over. And let me tell you – he’s a big boy, a rolly polly, smiley, happy big boy! And it’s odd because his parents and his four-year-old sister are all petite.

Fiance’s Mom gave the baby a plastic bowl and a wooden spoon to play with, thinking he would use the spoon to bang on the bowl. But no. This was a fat baby. He had other things in mind. He turned that bowl over and started stirring the air with his spoon. A-dorable! I foresee a Top Chef in our family’s future!

• Subject #5 FOURTH OF JULY

Wow, last year I had all these plans and then I ended up crashing my car . What a weekend. (Talk about trama for Gertie who was in the car when we wrecked and was so scared that she pooped a little on the seat. Then, later that night she had to endure fire works. Poor girl!)

Things are a little more calm this year (I hope?) but one thing I didn’t write about from last year was on July 3, the then boyfriend and I said three little words that we will be saying to one another for the rest of our lives. God bless America! (Oh wait, those weren’t the words. )

It’s the f irst time for me to attend and the more I read blogs and get to know the fantastic women networked via Blogher, the more giddy I become.

It’s really hard to explain my excitement for this event to non-bloggers.

You are going to Chicago to sit in sessions about blogging with other bloggers?

How exciting can that be?

Um, actually, I think it’s possibly the most exciting thing I’ve ever done.

So my only fears are that I may be a bit of an outsider. See, I’m not a mommy blogger (really?!) and I know a lot of attendees will be. I just  hope they can accept me as a single, non-child toting member of the pack. I think I have a lot to offer, even if I’m not able to swap child stories.

I’m surrounded by them. It’s like my friend, J said the other day, “Babies are to 30 as weddings were to 25.” I kind of agree.

The facts:

• Two of the work girls are pregnant
• One of them is due REALLY soon
• The other one is having her second baby
• Another person who is very close to me is also pregnant 

To top it off, now that I’m going to Blogher,I’m starting to read a lot more “mommy blogs.” If you haven’t gotten the memo, there’s like a gagillion moms who blog out there and they are  this huge viral marketing/word-of-mouth marketing/public relations/product reviewing machine – talking about everything from nursing bras to (ahem) intimacy enhancers. Quite candidly, I might add.

There are single moms and working moms and nursing moms and stay-at-home moms and funny moms and crafty moms and cooking moms and probably even MILF’s but I haven’t found any specific blogs for that yet…

 (There was  a time when I just read running blogs. What happened to that? Oh yeah, I “stopped” running. That’ll do it.)

These new blog reads are in addition to the  mommy/parenting  blogs I was already reading:

Theirs & theirs

Hers

This one

And this one.

How did I get sucked into this again?

Then just minutes ago Workgirl #2′s first baby dropped by with her husband for an impromptu office visit. She is almost 3 and is all curly haired cuteness, not to mention a magnet for the Aflac toy duck in Workgirl #2′s office. (Yes, THAT duck. And boy don’t you know her husband was thrilled  when darling daughter left that duck behind as a special toy for Mommy’s office.)

She was so adorable, even with that stupid duck, that I just wanted to grab her up and cuddle her. I became this weird, creepy co-worker, awkwardly walking behind her husband and daughter, as they toured the office, so proud that this cute little girl came to vist us her.

What is WRONG with me?!

I think I’m a glutton for punishment, really. I do not need a child.

Observe the following way more important facts:

• The boyfriend can attest to the fact that at least 4 times a day, I will lose my phone in my purse. Oh yes, I know it’s in there, but I can’t find it because my purse is too flipping big. And I’m a spaz. So I make him call me so I can look for the phone to light up. I’m kind of thinking it would be a bad thing if I lost a baby in my purse.
• Even more often than I lose my phone (in my purse), I misplace my keys. This event requires everyone to stop what they are doing RIGHT NOW and participate in Stephanie’s Key-Finding Scavenger Hunt. Oh yeah, and half the time, the keys are in my purse, hanging out with my phone. Imagine if I had bottles and binkies and diapers to manage. It would be a disaster.
• This is my typical schedule: 6:45 a.m. wake up, 8 a.m. go to work, noon lunch, 5:30 p.m. happy hour, 8 p.m. dinner and wine,  11-11:30 sleepy time. Find me a mom with this easy of a schedule. I double dog dare you. You will, however, probably get knocked out for suggesting it is even a possibility. 
• I just took Gertie to get her annual vaccinations – oh about six months later than I should have. (I’ve been busy, ok? And it’s not like I have a lot of rabid animals running around my apartment.) You probably shouldn’t do that with a kiddo, huh?
• I’m a HUGE hypocondriac. Every day, I can find something on Web M.D. that I am certain I have come down with. Polyps – check. Cancer-check, Brain tumor- check. I don’t know if I could oversee both  my list of disseases and my child’s.
• I’m out of space for additional items in my bedroom and I don’t think Roomie has any room left either, although I haven’t broached the subject with her…
• My car always has a bunch of junk in it. (ha ha, I have junk in my trunk.) No room for a car seat. (Although, I did find out by default last weekend that my child locks work just fine. And by default I mean, when I got locked in because I gave up the passenger seat to G-Man and the boyfriend was driving.)
• Speaking of driving, I’m a horrible driver. I would never put a kid in the car with me.  That would be problematic.
• And, I have the dreadful feeling that Gertie would LOVE diapers. I’m just saying…