*I will be updating this post as the day goes on. I’ll also upload pictures as the day progresses…

6:00 pm

The end of Day One has arrived. I missed the “Momosphere” session. As you can see, it was JAM PACKED because mommy bloggers are where it’s at. Doesn’t that just make you want to go out and have a baby?

It’s now time for a party on the roof! The sun is shining and it’s a gorgeous day to be in the windy city overlooking the lake and the skyline. I’m meeting so many fascinating people. People who blog about their lives, their fitness, their children and so on. I love being surrounded by individuals who are as passionate as I am about blogging.

5:00pm

I’m finding this tech info very interesting. I really love all of the little gadgets that help make a blogger’s life a little quicker and easier. Learning about some tools that I was unaware of in regards to posting to my blogs. I could sit and listen to this kind of techie talk all day long. Does that make me a super geek? If so, I’m proud of it.

Side note…I love being in a room with other techie/bloggy geeks just like me. It’s refreshing. I feel like I’m with my own kind. Other people are just as obsessed with blogging as me. THERE IS A GOD!

4:30pm

The review session was great. We basically discussed staying true to yourself when you’re reviewing products. It’s really up to you if you want to publish negative reviews or positive ones. I’m one who believes you should really at least have something positive to say about the product you’re reviewing. I do think that constructive criticism is beneficial, however, the rules are “different” for bloggers and professional critics. I DID speak up and ask a “reviewing” question. Someone was live blogging from the session, so maybe I’ll be quoted. However, I can’t seem to find that post.

Now on to the Technical Tools To Build Traffic session. This session will cover all of the neato things we can do to attract people to our website. This session is equally as important to me as the review session. We LOVE traffic at MumsTheWurd. The more people who read our reviews, the better for our exposure as review bloggers and the better for those fabulous little boutiques we review!

*I forgot to mention that I’m now flying solo…MJ left me. She had to go home and be a “mother”. AS IF! I was totally snubbed by Jill from the CMB as well. I suppose trying to talk to someone when they’re on the phone isn’t the best way to get someone’s attention either. Oh well.

2:45pm

I’m at the Review Session right now. This is going to be beneficial for mine and Laura’s review site, MumsTheWurd. There seems to be some pretty interesting speakers here and I’m anxious to hear what they say. I’ll be back with the scoop soon!

1:30pm

We are now at the “Web Standard” session. This session is basically about making your site look “pretty”. If you’re looking to monetize your site (make money), you want to have a website or blog that is pleasing to the eye. We weren’t really interested in any of the other sessions that are happening right now, so we ended up choosing this one. It is helpful, however. I’ll definitely take away some good info.

12:00pm

Done with giveaway browsing, time for the “Birds of a Feather” lunch! When we received our registration badges, we had the opportunity to sign up to sit at a table with other bloggers like ourselves or sitting with bloggers that blog about something you’re interested in. I believe I signed up for a parenting table but MJ and I didn’t feel like searching for that table, so we chose the “3 Hours of Sleep Last Night” table since there wasn’t anyone there.

Yeah, I know, we’re anti-social. : ) Others ended up joining us though. I have to say, lunch left a little to be desired. The bbq beef was ok but the grilled mesquite chicken was too dry. The apple crisp-type dessert was good and the cheesecake was SUPER good. That’s all I have to say about lunch.

11:00am

MJ and I have been milling around and on our way to a session, ended up getting sucked in by all of the giveaways. So we ended up spending our morning, browsing all of the companies here at BlogHer, promoting themselves. I have made quite a few new acquaintances and look forward to a relationship with them in the future. We even stopped at the AOL Body video booth and recorded videos for our friends and family. My video can be viewed HERE.

10:00am

We just had a meet and greet and I met SO MANY amazing women bloggers! So excited to learn more about these fabulous people. I want to know one thing though…WHERE IS ANTIQUE MOMMY AND DOOCE???

9:00am

I’m blogging from the Grand Ballroom on Navy Pier. This place is in fact, “grand”. I’ve already met several women bloggers, with interests different than my own. One blogs for her community, one blogs for the “baby boomers” and so on. All seem like very nice ladies. I’m very much looking forward to meeting a TON of new and seasoned bloggers today and tomorrow! Hooray! BlogHer is finally here!

There are over 700 attendees this year…possibly hitting 800 tomorrow. The BIGGEST blogging conference ever! I also just learned that 83% of the blogosphere are WOMEN! Go us!

*My commute into the city took about two hours…to be expected. It’s a rainy, hazy morning here in the windy city but it’s still a lovely place to be!