A Belated Happy Birthday to The Fishbowl

So apparently in my oh-so-busy life (ha!) I failed to remember that Friday was the blog's "birthday."

A blog's birthday...also known as the Blogiversary - is defined by the Urban Dictionary as 'the yearly anniversary of someone's (web) blog.'

The 'birth day' of this blog was September 6, 2005. If you want to go way, way back to my very first post...you can. Right here. My first post happened after I sat glued to the television watching the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

I had been blogging at my "other" blog - which was originally called Toddler Timeouts and was all about life with my then toddler, Olivia. After Emma was born I changed the name to The Olivia and Emma Show. And I haven't blogged over there since 2011. Oh, and I also have a blog called Travels with Kids...which I also haven't take care of since 2011. Although I think that blog might be seeing its resurrection VERY soon. I have lots of travel posts I can add over there.

Anywho....the reason I started The Fishbowl was because I wanted to write. I've always loved writing. I am a writer (at least that's why my LinkedIn profile says). Writing makes me happy. It makes me feel whole. It makes me who I am.

When I started this blog I wasn't writing for anyone but me. Hell, for a while I didn't even tell anyone I had a blog. Then I shared the link with my family. And then I connected with other bloggers. And then Twitter and Facebook happened. And then BOOM. The Fishbowl got its own Facebook page. And well, the rest is history.

OK. Not really. I like to think of this blog as "the little blog that could." I don't have big sponsors, I don't make money off the blog. But every now and then I get to do something really cool, like visit Put-in-Bay or write about a cool event or stay at an awesome vacation home or become part of a great group because of connections I've made thanks to this little ol' blog. I've also met some amazing women because I blog.

For me, it's never been about the numbers or the stats or my page rank. It's not about how many Facebook fans I have or how many people follow me on Twitter.

I write this blog because I love to write. I love sharing stories, and every now and then sharing a great giveaway with my readers. If I get invited to "the" social media event of the year, great. If I don't, it's not the end of the world. I'm not writing this blog with the thought that I'm ever going to be one of the "big blogs." The Fishbowl is just my little window on the world.

I'm heading to a blogging conference next weekend and I'm hoping to come away from it with some valuable knowledge and insight. But in the end, I'm selfish about my blog. I'm still writing for me. I'm writing about what I want to ... not what I think might bring in the most readers. If you're still visiting every now and then to read my ramblings, I thank you.

So, happy blogiversary to The Fishbowl. After 1,162 posts I'm still happy that I started this little blog that could. Here's to another great year.

My vision board for 2012 (and beyond)

Last week I had an amazing and incredible opportunity to attend the Conversations with Coca-Cola social media conference in Atlanta. While I'll be blogging more about the conference as a whole in another post (really, I will!), I wanted to share a little bit about one session that hit home for me in a big, big way.

Megan Calhoun, the founder and CEO of SocialMoms.com was the keynote speaker for the conference and she talked about branding and creating brand pillars for our blogs. One thing she said that resonated with me (and probably many other bloggers in the room) was this: Think of your brand as leaving a legacy for your kids. Every tweet, every post, every Pin is something your kids will see.

In all honesty, I hadn't really thought about it like that before. When I started blogging way back in 2005, I was (selfishly) doing it for ME. I was blogging as a way to get my thoughts out there and if people were reading what I wrote, well then, that was OK too. But I never thought of myself as a "brand." Hell, I'm still not sure I see myself as a brand. I'm just me. Traci. A wife and mom who blogs. Am I a brand? What do I represent, other than snark and pithy comments on the status of my never-ending job search? I'm still trying to sort that one out.

After the discussion about building our brands, we started talking about our vision for ourselves, our blogs, our lives. And we got busy creating a vision board. Now, I've never done a vision board before but I can guarantee I'll be doing this again when the need arises. Who would have thought that leafing through magazines and talking with other bloggers could be so, um, therapeutic?

I really didn't know what my vision was for my life or my blog ... I just started cutting words and phrases out of the magazines and it slowly started to take shape. My vision for this year started to look a lot like what I've been blogging about since last spring - finding and following my passion, finding a balance, dreaming BIG, telling the truth, writing more, finding my true calling...and the list goes on. (And a big thanks to old issues of "O" magazine for providing many of my "inspirational" words!)

My favorite part of my vision board is the list of purple letters smack dab in the middle of the board (I labeled it "The Bullseye"). It lists words such as driven, passionate, impulsive, optimistic, sensitive, creative, focused, persistent, curious ... all of the words in the bullseye are words I want people to think of when they hear my name or read my blog. They are words I want to associate with myself when I'm feeling down in the dumps or beat up by the world or completely defeated on any given day.

I had a hard time getting through the description of my board - I felt the tears welling up and quickly wrapped up before the floodgates opened. It's been a hell of a year and creating this vision board really made me think about what I want out of my blog, my life, my career. And quite frankly, it was a bit overwhelming. Right  now it feels like I know what I want (what I really, really want!), but I just can't get there. I keep hitting roadblocks and obstacles and instead of having a sense of accomplishment and success, I'm just feeling frustrated and defeated.

But, in a true testament to following my vision board...I am attempting to be more positive. And so, I'm going to take a deep breath, find my true calling, make life go MY way, and eventually the planets will align and I'll find that spark again.

Until that day, I will keep on keeping on. I've got my vision board to give me that little boost I need - it's a positive reinforcement and vivid reminder of a wonderful learning experience last week in Atlanta and a road map for where I want my life/blog/career to go in the next year or more.

"When you're honoring your calling, there's an undeniable sense of stimulation and exhilaration. It just feels so right." - Oprah

Disclosure: Coca-Cola provided my travel and accommodations for the Conversations with Coca-Cola conference, in addition to admission tickets and other gift items. I am not required nor asked to blog about the conference. All opinions are mine. #cclp #hosted

So tired, but it was so worth it

I'm home.
Atlanta was amazing.
The Conversations with Coca-Cola social media conference was, in a word, incredible.
I'm still pinching myself...just to make sure I wasn't dreaming it all.

I promise I'll be posting more soon about all the exciting, inspiring things I learned this week.
But right now, I need a nap.

Happy weekend!

Disclosure: Coca-Cola invited me to attend Conversations with Coca-Cola and paid for my travel and accommodations. All opinions in this post are mine. Conference attendees were not required to blog about the conference.

Leaving on a jet plane...Atlanta bound!

I'm leaving on a jet plane.
Atlanta is calling my name.
My bags are packed.
Sort of.
I'll finish packing tonight or tomorrow.
I hope.

Tomorrow I'm headed down to Atlanta for the "Conversation with Coca-Cola" social media conference. I'll be joining a couple dozen other bloggers/social media moms for a couple days talking about blogging, social media, branding and more. And, we get tour of the World of Coca-Cola.

And, I'm going to be meeting some pretty awesome bloggers.

Did I mention how excited I am about this?

I can't wait to share my adventures with all of you!
Keep watching the Fishbowl for photos and blog posts.
And, if you want to follow along on Twitter, you can follow me (@TraciLeigh) and the hashtag I'll be using all week is #cclp.

Disclosure: Coca-Cola is paying for my travel and accommodations for this event. I am not required to blog about the event. All opinions in this post are mine.

Atlanta, here I come!

In two weeks, I'll be boarding a plane headed to Atlanta to spend two days at the "Conversations with Coca-Cola" conference for social media moms.

Holy Toledo.
I'm a social media mom!
And Coca-Cola wants me to hang out with other social media moms and learn more about blogging, branding, social media and the like.

I have to admit, I nearly fell out of my chair when I received the initial "are you interested" email. And when the actual invitation appeared in my inbox...well, I might have let out a "squee!!!!" and then jumped up and down for a few minutes.

Friends, I'm so excited about this opportunity, I can barely put it into words. First, I'm going to Atlanta - a city I've only ever driven through on my way to Florida. Second, it's Coca-Cola people. I mean, seriously. Coca-Cola. 

For two days I am going to have a chance to learn from other bloggers and social media types. I have some details of the conference so I know we'll be hearing from a blogging expert, and participating in a brainstorming session, and we get to see some awesome behind-the-scenes stuff at Coca-Cola. And so much more.

I am so excited about this opportunity and I can't wait to share my Atlanta adventures with all of you!

Disclosure: Coca-Cola is paying for my travel and accommodations for this event. I am not required to blog about the event. All thoughts and opinions are my own.