The BlogHer '10 Serenity Suite

(Grandma, I'm about to make no sense to you. So please don't feel bad if you don't get what I'm talking about. I love you!)
~~~~~

"Now this is a story all about how my life got flipped, turned upside-down, now I'd like to take a minute, just sit right there, and I'll tell you how I became The Prince...."

Oh wait...I love that song, but it's just (sadly) not my story...

Actually, this is a story all about how The Serenity Suite at BlogHer '10 came to be. It's actually more exciting than "shootin' some b-ball outside of the school..."

Maggie and I were talking about BlogHer '10 on the phone one night right after we quit drinking, "when a couple of guys who were up to no good, started makin' trouble in my neighborhood...."
Or wait....okay, um...we started talking about how Maggie is speaking at the conference this year and then I was being a selfish friend and refusing to support her by showing up because I was scared of the booze at BlogHer. I was all, I don't knoooow, it sounds so stressful...all the booze around... (whine whine fuss fuss)

I said something about how I might consider going if I knew there were meetings for we recovering addicts on hand, or something like that, a safe place to go and hide, basically. And then Maggie said that she and Stef had just been talking about that, brainstorming ideas on how to make people in recovery (or anyone who may need a reprieve) more comfortable in an often overstimulating conference environment.

Long story short, I ended up emailing Lori at BlogHer. And I'm writing this today to say thank you to her and her team for supporting this idea so earnestly. I'm not kidding when I say that it took Lori less than five minutes to respond to my initial request for a safe haven for people struggling with anxiety, sobriety, etc. while at the conference. She was on it, immediately, and has brought our vision to a reality. Thank you, Lori!

So, Maggie, Lori and I put our heads together and had the idea to have a suite available throughout the conference, a low-key environment with the purpose of allowing anyone, not just we recovering addicts, a reprieve from the beautiful mayhem that is the BlogHer conference.

So today, with a hugely grateful heart, I introduce, The Serentiy Suite. (click for all the details)

If you're going to BlogHer, please make a note of Room 4307 and stop by to take a break while chillin' with these inspiring bloggers:

• Maggie of Okay,Fine,Dammit and Violence Unsilenced
• Cecily K of Uppercase Woman
• Casey of Moosh in Indy
• Jenny, The Bloggess
• Ellie of One Crafty Mother
• Corinne of Trains, Tutus, and Tea Time
• Jessica of BernThis
• Lisa of Smacksy
• Anna of Adbpbt
• Anissa Mayhew of Free Anissa and Aiming Low
• Cyn of The Nap Warden and NW Designs
• Ann from Ann's Rants
• Karen from Worn Off Novelties
• Stacey from Is There Any Mommy Out There?
• Samantha from Temporarily Me
• Joanne from Pundit Mom
• and more, to be announced
  

(Not all of these fantastic people will be there all at once, mind you, but on a rotating in and out sort of basis.) (So when you stop in, it'll be kind of like pin the tail on the donkey, seeing who's there when you open your eyes. Or maybe kind of like roulette. Or like spinning that wheel on The Price is Right. Or something.)

(Suite (and sweet) buttons for your site will be available later on today-hopefully. If you're going to BlogHer, you can spread the word about the suite by letting people know you're planning to visit it while you're there...you'll be letting them know with a button. On your site. That's what I meant by that...but you knew that. You can find it right here on this post, later, or on the BlogHer community page. The button, that is. But you knew that. Bye.)

P.S. Please come. I promise not to sing The Fresh Prince of Bel Air theme song if you do.