BlogHer was swell!  The conference was huge (over 3000 attendees) and at times overwhelming, but I was lucky enough to be welcomed into the fold of the group of my most favourite bloggers, the ones I’ve been reading since 2005. They were my faces to look for in the throngs of high-heeled, cute-dress-ified ladies and thanks to them I didn’t have to eat breakfast all by myself and quietly whimper into the hole of my bagel.

Thanks, Linda, Leah & Simon, Sarah and Angella (the best roomie EVER who made sure I was never missing out on the fun). You guys are why I came to BlogHer.

Leah is the reason I initially started my blog. I stumbled across hers one afternoon during a misguided Google search, scoured her archives, loved her (and the notion of blogging) immediately and have been a loyal reader and friend for six years. Meeting her was one of the highlights of the weekend, as you can tell by my overeager embrace when we first saw each other:

She and Simon are every bit as wonderful as I hoped they would be and I loved the time we got to spend together.

San Diego was a lovely location for the conference and we meandered through the historic Gaslamp district, poked around cute boutiques and got a pedicab ride from a freaky preteen with a three foot-long mullet who almost killed us and then tried to charge us $45 for a six minute Ride of Peril through traffic.

The parties were loud and thumping and fun, but my favourite times of the weekend were spent sipping drinks and eating nachos with friends by the pool.

And now, for your viewing pleasure, some random photos of me with the cool kids.

Kristin blogged long ago and I followed her pregnancy, her relationship struggles, her amazing love story with her new husband, and I’ve always wanted to meet her. She is seven feet of pure goddess beauty and has such a warmth to her.

This one’s for my mom. She is in LOVE with Ree, the Pioneer Woman and when I spotted her coming out of the elevator, trying to quietly deke out of the hotel, I ran like a cheetah-chased antelope to awkwardly greet her and beg for this photo. She was kind and accommodating.

OK, I look like an albino in this one, but it’s the only photo I got of Sarah (Whoorl) and me together. We had our first kids around the same time and shared many late-night emails sharing breastfeeding woes and sleep deprivation questions. She is beyond beautiful, and so fun, too.

So there you have it. Lots of great times, lots of sun, lots of friends. But I took away much more than that from the whole experience and am just letting those thoughts percolate and process before I delve into posting about them. There is much to consider, so I’ll need some time. Stay tuned for Amanda’s Deep Thoughts: BlogHer Edition.

PS: All photos were taken by Angella, because she rocks.