The EcoChic

Do you get the ecoStore USA monthly newsletter?  Did you see who was selected as the August Mom Blogger of the Month?  ME!!!  Here is a copy of what they wrote about your’s truly:

Adorable. Smart. Fun. Sweet. Four words that describe our new friend Calley Pate! Mama of two children who is passionate about doing her part to be green and role model for her children how to take care of Mother Earth! Full-time working mom who obviously has a ton to balance like all moms and she does it like a pro! If you read The Eco Chic (and you should) you’ll learn all about cloth diapering, making trash into treasures, politics and so much more! If you follow her on Twitter you’ll for sure learn all about what cloth diapers to use, how to wash them (she uses ecoStore USA laundry soap), how they save you money and why they’re good for the environment.
 
We met Calley in NYC at the Green Soiree and immediately clicked; she really is adorable, smart, fun and sweet! We love her passion and love for the ocean, the environment, her family and now blogging! Keep up the great work Calley, you inspire us to do better!

Didn’t get their newsletter?  Click here to read more and subscribe to get upcoming newsletters in your inbox.

I had the honor of meeting Vice President of Operations, Lyne Appeal Downing, at the Green Blogger Soiree (hosted by the fabulous Safe Mama and 3 Green Angels) in NYC.  Lyne has wonderful energy and I really enjoyed spending time with her (and her team of bloggers – Sommer and Maggie – who work with her on different projects).  This was Lyne and I at the Green Affair party later in the week – excuse the poor picture quality – it was taken on my iPhone.

Earlier in the day while touring the city with @LoneK8 we stopped in the Duane Reed <one of the retail stores that sell ecoStore USA on the East Coast/New York area> drug store across the street from the hotel and I took this picture – this was the first time I’ve seen ecoStore USA products in a real life store!  I know - I get excited over the strangest things!  After talking with Lyne at BlogHer it was exciting to hear that she wants to see ecoStore USA products in retail stores all across the US in the next three years.  I would LOVE to be able to purchase them locally.

But until then – we can all get their great products online at www.ecostoreusa.com.  As always they offer FREE shipping on all orders of $25 or more and if you shop during their Back to School Sale you can save 25% off your order. 

Have you tried ecoStore USA products before? Which items are your favorite?  My favorites include their ENTIRE line of baby care products, their laundry detergent, and dog shampoos. 

Disclosure:  ecoStore USA was a sponsor of the Green Soiree <and provided us with product samples in our swag bags> and has sponsored The Eco Chic blog by offering products for review in the past.  Sometimes I even purchase my own product from them – I guess that’s because I really like their products!

As the summer starts winding down and school starting back tomorrow I’m still coming down off of my BlogHer10 high.  I realized I never got past my first impressions of my arrival day and there is so much more to share with you.  During our shared cab ride to the Hilton @DebMomof3 and I learned that we were both going to the Martha Stewart Blogger’s Night Out later that first evening (Thur).  We had made plans to share a cab ride over to the event since it was several blocks away from the hotel. 

After arriving back at the hotel from lunch – I visited the registration desk at BlogHer and was on a mission to meet up with one of my new Twitter friendshttp://twitter.com/royaldixie <AKA Maggie or Dexter’s Super Savvy Mommy>.  Maggie and I ‘met’ on Twitter through my EcoStoreUSA partership <more on that in an upcoming post>.  Maggie and I did finally meet up and chatted for a while before we decided to head off to the Martha party. 

Once we stepped outside to catch a taxi to the Martha party we realized there were about 30 or more other ladies standing in the same line.  As luck would have it a nice limo driver found us and took a group of us to the party in style – in a nice white strecth limo!  What a way to start off an evening of fun!  We all exchanged business cards and laughs on the short trip. 

Here is a slide show of pictures I took over the next hour while we were spoiled by Martha and her team.

While we all expected the party to be on the roof top as the sun set over NYC – the weather had other plans that threatened rain.  Instead of taking their chances with the rainstorm the party was moved inside.  The area was packed full of blogger’s and representatives from Martha Stewart.  There was something there for everyone including several wedding tables, crafting tables, food displays and samples, pet products, and my favorite Whole Living!   Whole Living <the new name of the Body & Spirit magazine> has taken on a new look with healthy and environmentally friendly articles.  It was nice to see the Martha Stewart ‘clean’ line of products that are all natural and free of toxic chemicals – they even list their ingredients on the back of the label.  <Thanks Martha and OmniMedia for giving me a sample of the ‘clean’ hand & dish soap – and more –  to try at home in our awesome swag bags.>  I was also blessed with a copy of the September issue of Whole Living to read on the plane home – I think I found a new magazine to fall in love with!  And since I’m trying to eliminate the ‘trash’ in my mailbox I just subscribed to the digital magazine for only $5 for the year!  What a bargin!

Unfortunately I begged Maggie to leave early because I didn’t want to be late for the Green Blogger Soiree <stay tuned for my next BlogHer post> hosted by Safe Mama.  We heard that we left the Martha party right before Matha herself appeared – and right before they drew the winners from their table of goodie baskets.  Like every other aspect of BlogHer, the Martha party moved so fast I’m sure I missed more than seeing Martha.  It all seems like such a blur now.

To see more pictures from the Blogger’s Night Out visit the OmniMedia Flickr page. 

Thank you Omni Media and Martha Stewart for inviting me to the Blogger’s Night Out and for the fabulous bag of goodies in which we were provided. 

And a special thank you to my sponsors who helped me get to BlogHer this year.  Franklin Goose, Bamboo Bums, and Teething Bling/Smart Mom Jewelry all sponsored me financially.  Lillunia LLC and Rockin Green Soap both purchased ad space that I used to help with my trip.  Eco Chic Parties accepts payment for some parties – and that money has been used for trip expenses as well.  Mommy Doodles is my one and only graphic designer and technical expert.  Melanie is AWESOME and always willing to help me (sometimes I even pay her) with my blog(s).  She even designed my awesome business cards for me!

It’s Saturday afternoon and one little one is napping while the other one is playing on his laptop – and I can sneak back into my BlogHer memories long enough to write Part 1 (there will be several parts – but I promise there is a lesson for you in each one).  Today’s lesson is taking the first step.

I arrived in NYC on a plane all by myself with no plan on how to get to the hotel.  I had seen tweets all morning saying people were arriving and looking to share rides so I thought I would try it out.  I tweeted hopeful of finding someone to share a ride with – and to my surprise I found @DebMomof3 who was already at LGA and waiting on @ConnieFoggles to arrive.  Ironically @ConnieFoggles was on my plane from TPA – what a small world!  I had never met either of these women and didn’t even follow them on Twitter yet.  After mechanical problems we finally deplaned from the rear of the plane and found each other at baggage claim.  We chatted and learned a little about each other as we waited for a taxi and headed to the hotel.  I was so busy chatting that I found myself paying very little attention to the city around me. 

Then we arrived – to the Hilton NYC – and the sea of women bloggers!  It was all a little surreal actually – lots of women standing around the hotel lobby tweeting one another – trying to find a connection or a friendly face.  Luckily I’m a Hilton Honors member (I travel a lot for work) and got my room right away (most had to wait for a clean room) and escaped to my safe haven.  I tweeted a few times to see if anyone I knew (virtually) had already arrived.  Unfortunately I couldn’t find anyone - now what?

I was unpacked and starving – I had to escape my room and come out from behind my laptop.  I wasn’t here in NYC to sit in my room all weekend and tweet.  So I stepped out of my room, went down the elevator, and back into the lobby.  I tweeted a few more times looking for someone else who was starving – to no avail.  No one was biting at my pleas for a friend.  I finally tweeted about how insecure this was all making me and went outside to find food by myself.

I stopped to call my best friends back home – only to get their voice mail - now I was even more alone! 

Which way should I walk?  Walk around the building and stop to breath – trying not to cry with insecurity.  Then it happened – I saw her – another young woman staring at her phone and staring at the big city trying to decide where she was going. 

So I did it – I stopped her and asked her if she was with BlogHer – I guess we’re not hard to spot with our phones stuck up our noses.  I asked if she was hungry and if she would like to grab a bite to eat – thankfully she said YES!  So @LoneK8 and I walked to the nearest pub and sat down to regroup.  While I had made friends in the cab I finally felt like I had make my first ‘real’ friend  at BlogHer!  Kate and I chatted about our blogs, our families, and this madness that was BlogHer! 

This is a picture of Trump Tower which Kate and I found on our walk!  We liked the trees growing on the side of the building.

Registration didn’t begin until 4pm so we had plenty of time before we had to step back into the Hilton.  We decided to walk the city for a few blocks – and I think we even ended up on 5th Avenue.  We were actually looking for a drug store which we finally found – across the street from our hotel!  LOL!  We passed each other a few more times during the conference and both said hi as we continued on our way but we didn’t really see each other the rest of the weekend. 

My first experience was well tweeted by another woman blogger at BlogHer …  “It’s like showing up to the prom….alone!”  It was exactly like that – showing up at BlogHer, not knowing anyone, just trying to find a friendly face.  I don’t do well being alone so I’m very thankful to Kate for joining me at lunch that first day. 

Next time you find yourself at the mall, or park, or conference alone (or with your kids) look around and see who else is around – chances are that someone else is alone just waiting for someone to make the first move!  I’m so glad that I did! 

This is Kate after our hot and sweaty walk around the city!  Still beautiful despite what she thought!

To follow my new friends:

@DebMomof3 Blog:   http://www.momof3girls.net/ 
@ConnieFoggles Blog: http://brainfoggles.com/businesscard/
@LoneK8Blog: http://www.lonek8.com/

And a special thank you to my sponsors who helped me get to BlogHer this year.  Franklin Goose, Bamboo Bums, and Teething Bling/Smart Mom Jewelry all sponsored me financially.  Lillunia LLC and Rockin Green Soap both purchased ad space that I used to help with my trip.  Eco Chic Parties accepts payment for some parties – and that money has been used for trip expenses as well.  Mommy Doodles is my one and only graphic designer and technical expert.  Melanie is AWESOME and always willing to help me (sometimes I even pay her) with my blog(s).  She even designed my awesome business cards for me!

Hey! It’s me – The Eco Chic – did you miss me last week?  We went on a fabulous family vacation for a few days to Disney World before I jetted off to the Big Apple for BlogHer!  As soon as I got home I had a minor medical procedure scheduled and that is why you haven’t heard much from me this week.

See a year ago after we had Lil’ B we KNEW that we were done with the childbirthing.  We’ve always wanted 2 kids – no more – no less!  I made dear hubby an appt to have IT done – and then I cancelled it.  WHY?  Because the baby that he is wouldn’t schedule his own appointment and wasn’t happy with the place I chose (they didn’t do laser) – so I told him he could find a place and set up the appointment.  Then I had my follow up/annual OB appointment and we discussed other options.  Seeing how we were totally happy with our family of 4 – she mentioned Essure to me.  It’s a permanent birth control option that is done in the office with minimal side effects and minimal pain.  Where do I sign up?  It’s so much easier than having to hold his hand while he sat on his butt NOT making his own appointment – so I booked my procedure.  A little over a year ago I had the Essure procedure done and was suppose to follow up with a scan to make sure it was effective within 3 months. 

A year goes by – (seriously this is very typical of me to procrastinate!) – and my annual appointment was due again.  So I decided to have the scan done before I went in for my appointment.  To my surprise they told me that one side of the Essure did not implant properly and wasn’t working!  I’m the other 0.20% of the population where a procedure DOESN’T work properly!  Yeah me! (Yes – I’m very sarcastic today)

Of course my appointment with my OB had very little to do with the annual poking and proding – and more to do with scheduling a time to fix the Essure.  How do you fix a botched Essure?  TUBAL LIGATION!

So a week before we leave for vacation I scheduled my second procedure to prevent us from having more kids.  This time it was going to be an actual surgery and I was NOT looking forward to this.  So I jet off to Disney and NYC only to come home to a pre-op appointment and surgery.  Hence – why I’ve been out of touch this week.  On Tuesday I checked in for the procedure and spent the entire day at the hospital waiting – and waiting – and recovering.  The only time I’ve ever been in a hospital as a patient was for childbirth – so this was a new experience and one I’d not like to redo. 

Three days later I’m still in minor pain – my stomach is bruised – and I ache in my neck and shoulders.  They say this is normal after having air pumped into (and out of) your body.  All I know is that I don’t slow down and I don’t take days off to mend well.  My parents were here to help out the first night and then everyone left and went back to work.  I attempted to go back to work (from home of course) the next day and found myself unable to focus much on the projects I was working on.  Yesterday and today have slowly gotten better but I’m still not back to my SUPER MOM capacity! 

The kids will be home in a few minutes so I should probably go change out the laundry and do some dishes before they start hanging off my leg again.  See – being a mom doesn’t ever stop – even when you have surgery.  As soon as I get caught up with PTA projects and Chruch projects I’ll be happy to tell you all about BlogHer - maybe by then I’ll be a little less sarcastic!

What about you?  Are you done having kids?  Have you made it official?

The answer SHOULD be YES!  As I began planning for my #BlogHer10 experience I had originally planned on bringing the entire family along with me.  I researched NYC diaper services and had set up a batch of diapers to be delivered right to our hotel.

Over the past month our plans changed.  We were still planning our family trip to Disney (before our annual passes expired) but then the family was going in many different directions.

We packed up last weekend and headed to Orlando – complete with our stash of cloth diapers.  My first trip to Disney with the baby we packed disposables, hybrids, and cloth because I really didn’t know HOW to travel with cloth diapers.  I found out quickly that it’s NOT much different than at home.  This trip to Disney I only packed the fluff!  The only time it was a little less than pleasant was the 3rd day (when my DD had held her bowl movements for 3 whole days) when she decided to poo while at the water park.  Thankfully cloth holds in the solids BUT the water parks are NOT known for having great changing stations.  In fact they down right SUCK! So on a small bench in the changing room I changed a gross, nasty, 3 day poop that had just been mushed in by a baby sitting in the pool!  Anyways – as gross as it sounds it was actually quite painless – after I changed her we walked across the room to the toilet and dumped the evidence!  FLUSH!  Stuff the cover in the wetbag and then back in the locker – now back to playing.

After our Disney adventure it was time to leave the DD at Camp Grandma/Grandpa.  I even left my mom the bag of dirty diapers – which she called to tell me were all clean again.  I’m sure like last time she won’t be able to figure out which insert goes with which diaper but that’s not really too important.  And like last time the snaps will sit in the bag unused while Grandma prefers the velcros!  The point is that Grandma does cloth diapers and is just as proud as I am about it.

Really – traveling with cloth diapers isn’t much different than at home.  But if you aren’t lucky enough to have a Grandma to do your diaper laundry check out these great tips for the Real Diaper Association’s (RDA) Travel Tip Sheet.  The RDA is still fundraising for their $3500 in 35 Days campaign to keep their Executive Director.  For more information on the RDA please visit them at www.realdiaperassociation.org.  If you like their tip sheet or any of their other work please consider donating to the $3500 in 35 Days campaign so they can continue to advocate for cloth diapers on every baby – all the time!  And if you join the RDA (as low as $25) you will receive a quarterly newsletter and a great button to show your support!  I’ll be wearing my button this week while at #BlogHer10!  If you see me don’t be afraid to “Ask me about cloth diapers!”

I remember about a year ago when I first joined the Twitter community seeing the numerous tweets about how excited everyone was to be going to BlogHer 9.  Each year 1000-2000 women (and yes some men) come out from behind their computers and meet one another.  As a newbie to all the madness I just watched from behind my screen as the events of the weekend were revealed.  There were parties (and a ton of them), there were giveaways, there was swag, there was controversy, and there were friendships formed – all while networking and learning the tricks of the trade.  

As the year went along I kept seeing announcements about BlogHer 10 hitting New York City in August.  I would read them and keep going to the next blog without giving it much thought.  As I continued to grow my blogging empire (ok – my online persona) and with the introduction of Eco Chic Parties I continued to yearn for more knowledge.  None of my friends are bloggers so I don’t have anyone to reach out to locally when questions arise - I just kinda learn things as I go.  In January of this year I obtained an invitation to the Disney Moms Social Media Conference which sound like fun – especially since it was only an hour away.  The price kept me thinking about it during the day wondering if I should attend.  By the time I sat down with my husband to discuss the opportunity the event was SOLD OUT!  In a matter of just a few short hours the extra tickets were gone.  I watched the events of that weekend unfold from behind my computer screen as well.

Now I was officially excited about trying to attend a blogging conference and I continued to watch the tweets about BlogHer 10 and the early bird specials.  By registering early you save a ton of money and the deadline was fast approaching.  In mid February I had to make a decision that will change my life as a blogger.  I kept seeing other bloggers looking for sponsors – and thought why can’t I do that?  So I reached out to those companies I had recently worked with on blog reviews and asked for help.  I was happily surprised when several of the companies said YES!  I had raised enough money in two days that I went out and purchased my very first BlogHer ticket!

It was official – on February 24th, 2010 I was committed to my blog and going to a conference.  Now what?  I’ve spent the last few months trying to figure it all out.  I haven’t even gone to the conference yet and I have a list of lessons learned a mile long.  But why am I nervous?

Maybe because I have to step out from behind my computer and let others see the real me.  As a blogger you can choose what you reveal to your audience.  In real life your flaws can been seen.  Nonetheless, I’m excited about the opportunity to meet some of my favorite bloggers, some of the companies I’ve blogged about, and some of my own readers.  I’m excited to meet new bloggers that I don’t currently read and companies I have never had the pleasure of working with.

If you are staying home with your families this weekend please don’t delete me as your friend on Twitter because you are sick of hearing about BlogHer – it’s only one weekend out of the year.  Watch the Twitter streams if you want and you may get some free lessons without having to leave your family.  There will be live blogging, tweeting, and video streams from myself and other attendees to share all the information we are learning.  

I will also have a few surprises from my sponsors (Bamboo Bums and Franklin Goose) just for my readers who are snuggled up at home.  I hope you stay tuned to see what they have to offer.  And while I’m away the mice will play…my daughter is at Camp Grandma/Grandpa while the hubby & son are in the air on their Roman holiday!  The boys will be joining me in NYC later in the weekend so they get the best of both worlds.  Is it OK that I’m a tad jealous of their adventure?

And a special thank you to my sponsors who helped me get to BlogHer this year.  Franklin Goose, Bamboo Bums, and Teething Bling/Smart Mom Jewelry all sponsored me financially.  Lillunia LLC and Rockin Green Soap both purchased ad space that I used to help with my trip.  Eco Chic Parties accepts payment for some parties – and that money has been used for trip expenses as well.  Mommy Doodles is my one and only graphic designer and technical expert.  Melanie is AWESOME and always willing to help me (sometimes I even pay her) with my blog(s).  She even designed my awesome business cards for me!

Every morning (afternoon and evening too) I flip through blog after blog looking to see what’s new in the world.  Looking to connect – looking for find people with similar interests.  One of my favorites recently has been tout-est-des-roses.  Sara Sophia and I met on Twitter and her writing is so beautiful – so poetic.  You know me – I’m not really a writer – I just blog!

Anyways – please go read her post from today “Crazy Hippie” and see why she is one of my favorite reads!  Her words have set the course for my day.   

“Like my gramma always said, pretty is as pretty does.” – tout-est-des-roses

This guy knows how to have fun! Join us Thursday night at Eco Chic Parties for a Rump-a-Rooz Twitter Party where the winners of the YouTube video contest will be revealed.  Have you sent in your video yet?

Are there products out there that you just can’t get enough of? Products or brands that you HAVE to have in your house? Products that you whole-heartedly stand behind? I know it’s hard to tell when a blogger really likes a product because they were given the product for free – or because they REALLY like the product – like it enough where they would spend money to replace it if it were empty!

I REALLY love EcoStoreUSA!  I was first introduced to them in March 2009 right after Lil’ B was born and I’m still in love!  You can read all my previous mentions of EcoStoreUSA by visiting the archives (http://www.theecochic.com/?s=ecostoreusa). 

Here are some NEW reasons to love EcoStoreUSA:

- They are now made in the USA!  They now manufacture products in their Michigan facility so it no longer has to be shipped from New Zealand. 

- Four baby products (baby wash, nappy balm, sleepytime bath, and moisturizer) have earned a score of 0-1 on the Skin Deep Cosmetic Safety Review by the Environmental Working Group.  Now there is scientific proof that their product is as good as they said it was – not that I ever doubted them – but some people like to see numbers. 

- It’s BOGO month again!  If you don’t know about their BOGO sale you really need to go shop NOW!  I mean – quit reading this and go shop now!  **OK you can wait until you’re done reading – because I enjoy your time here!  What is so special about their BOGO sale?  Any product that you order during the month of July (2010) you will be sent TWO of!  I actually shop only during the BOGO because I can stock up for the entire year.  I still have baby body wash, nappy balm, pet shampoo, and dish detergent from the last BOGO!  It lasts that long – their products are concentrated so you use LESS!  I love their Nappy Balm (diaper cream) so much that I have extra on hand to give as baby shower gifts. 

I just tried two new (to me) products this past week (thank you EcoStoreUSA for sending them out to me for review).  Their Baby Moisturizer and the Sleepytime Bath now sit proudly amongst their sibling products in my house.  My baby is going to have to fight me for the moisturizer though because I love it!  It’s a very light product and has a nice sweet fragrance that’s not overpowering.  The Sleepytime Bath is similar to their baby body wash which has always been a favorite in our house. 

Want to know which products I 100% honestly love at EcoStoreUSA – so much that I purchase myself?

-Baby Nappy Balm - the best diaper rash cream ever!  I even use it with my cloth diapers but only with a flushable liner to keep the cream from staining the cloth.

-Baby Body Wash – I love the smell of eucalyptus on my baby.

-Laundry Detergent (Liquid) - super concentrated and lasts a long time.  Another great eucalyptus fragrance.

-Powerdered Dish Detergent – now if only we would install a water softner so I could see the true cleaning effects!

-Dog Shampoo – have you ever looked at the ingredients on the ‘other stuff’ that you wash your dog with – scary!

-Baby Moisturizer – my new favorite – I think I may need to stock up during BOGO!

What products have you tried and loved?  What products are you dying to try?

Shop:  http://www.ecostoreusa.com
Tweet:  http://twitter.com/ecostoreusa
Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/ecostoreusa?ref=ts

I hope that for my readers you don’t get sick of me talking about BlogHer 10 for the next month.  In August I’ll be celebrating my 3rd year Blog-iversary and this will be my very first blogging conference ever!  A little over a year ago my blog took a turn in a new direction when I decided to sign up for Twitter – and my life hasn’t been the same since.  I’ve met so many wonderful readers, bloggers, companies, and more – I feel so blessed to be where I am today. 

Why do I want to go to BlogHer?  I have had so much fun this past year with my blog, Twitter, and especially with the creation of Eco Chic Parties that I want to see what else is out there.  What am I doing ‘wrong’?  What could I do better?  What are other bloggers doing?  In past years I’ve read blogs and tweets about others experience and the wildness that occurs when 2000 mom bloggers unite. 

But doesn’t it cost money to go?  Yes, it’s not a cheap trip.  The conference ticket alone was a few hundred dollars + hotel and expenses.  Thankfully we have connections and don’t have to pay to fly – just have to fly standby with our fingers crossed that seats are available. 

AND – I’ve had a little help with my expenses.  I have a few sponsors that I’d like to introduce to you – and officially THANK for their contribution to my trip. 

1.  Franklin Goose, Bamboo Bums, and Teething Bling/Smart Mom Jewelry all sponsored me financially. 

2.  Lillunia LLC and Rockin Green Soap both purchased ad space that I used to help with my trip.

3.  Eco Chic Parties accepts payment for some parties – and that money has been used for trip expenses as well.

4.  Mommy Doodles is my one and only graphic designer and technical expert.  Melanie is AWESOME and always willing to help me (sometimes I even pay her) with my blog(s).  She even designed my awesome business cards for me!

Why did I get sponsors?  I’ve worked with these great companies over the past year with blog reviews and Eco Chic Parties and have formed a great relationship with these ladies.  Their sponsorship will allow me to take my blog to the next level.  During BlogHer there are 2 FULL days of workshop sessions and I will be B-U-S-Y from 9am – 5pm each day + networking with new companies, companies I’ve already worked with, and other great mom bloggers.  I hope to bring back some valuable information that will improve our relationships – and better the quality of my blog. 

What does this mean to you?  I have some surprises in store for you during BlogHer – including a few giveaways from my sponsors.  Giveaways will be for both BlogHer attendees and those of you who can’t attend this year.  I’m super excited to share my experiences with you - afterall why should I keep all this knowledge to myself?  I want to see each of you grow your blogs and achieve your goals too!   

I’m on the BlogHer Green Team.  That’s right – I decided to join the Green Team and help ensure that the founders and organizers implement environmentally friendly elements to the conference.  In past years green bloggers have been upset because of the excess waste and bottled water – I’m happy to announce that the organizers are addressing these (and other) issues.  There will be water refilling stations throughout the event for bloggers to refill their reusable bottles at.  There will be a swag recycling event to recycle (donate) unwanted swag – I hear there is a TON of swag!  Other Green Team members include Summer from Green and Clean Mom, Beth Terry from Fake Plastic Fish, Jennifer from Naked Jen, Lisa from Condo Blues, Diane MacEachern of Big Green Purse, and Jenny from Conscientious Confusion.  I feel so honored to be part of the team and can’t wait to meet these influential green bloggers at BlogHer!   

Isn’t BlogHer sponsored by some BIG non-green and controversial companies – like Nestle?  Yes – like any conference they need sponsors to keep the prices reasonable – and companies like Nestle are sponsoring the weekend.  While I haven’t personally jumped on the Nestle ban I do understand the controversy – and respect your feelings towards this and other sponsors.  For me the biggest sponsor of interest is Proctor and Gamble – the makers of PAMPERS!  As a cloth diapering advocate I’m using BlogHer as a platform for me to share cloth diapers with other moms who might not know who easy they are.  Not all attendees are green bloggers – and if I can reach just one more person with the cloth diapering message my mission will be accomplished!  I’ll even be wearing an “Ask Me About Cloth Diapers” t-shirt that will be provided by the Real Diaper Association – a non-profit cloth diapering advocacy group.  I’m even bringing my family along with me to show just how easy it is to travel with cloth diapers – I’ve decided to use a local cloth diaper service while we’re there. 

What can I do for YOU?  As my loyal readers I wanted to ask YOU what you want to hear about?  What other green bloggers would you like me to interview or meet?  How can I help you improve your own blogs?  This isn’t just an opportunity for me – it’s an opportunity for me to share with you!  AND – are you going to BlogHer?  If you are – I would love to meet up!  Let me know and I’ll be sure to hunt you down!