I Quit for LIJIT...

Chicks Who Click--Kansas City Style

Back in January, I was asked to take part in the first ever Chicks Who Click. It was a one-day conference happening a block from my office in downtown Boulder. I wrote about the event on the Lijit company blog and mentioned some of the many amazing women I met that day. It turned out to be a fantastic event and it was definitely a no-brainer for Lijit to be involved.

Flash forward two months. I receive an email from Denise, the mastermind behind the conference, telling me that Chicks Who Click is going on the road. And? They want me to join. A traveling road show of hands-on learning and the opportunity to meet even more cool chicks? Count me in. The tagline of the conference contains three of my favorite words starting with C...create, connect, & collaborate. (Fortunately, my other favorite word, chocolate, will also be available courtesy of Denise, who knows that everything is better with chocolate.)

In two weeks, I'll be heading to Kansas City to speak at the second Chicks Who Click. There are two main reasons I'm excited for this trip. First of all, the ladies are to die for. From Celeste Lindell, who I met at BlogHer 07, and Zena Weist, the pocket-sized social media nymph, to the Queen of them all, Erin Kotecki Vest, I can't wait to (re)connect with so many friends. And let's not forget that one of my writing heroes, Rita Arens, is going to be there as well. (I'm going to try not to salivate on her, but no promises, Rita.) Just like the first CWC, this conference will be chock full of inspiring women who will be sharing their knowledge and teaching me many things.

The second reason I'm excited? The food. I've never been to Kansas City but have heard many tales of the tempting BBQ to be found there. As a big fan of trying local cuisine, the above pic makes my mouth water. For those counting, that's the second reference to my saliva in this post, which might be a new record for me.

(And I almost forgot...I was recently interviewed for the Chicks who Click blog, and should you really not have anything better to do, you can check out my answers and see that I am really serious about this BBQ thing.)

If you're interested in attending this Chicks Who Click, you best get on it. Early-bird pricing ends today. Register here and leave a comment on this post to let me know that you're going. I guarantee* that it will be worth the time and money spent.

*This is not a legally binding guarantee, but a very truthful testimonial.

[photo credit: monkeysort ]

BioBeers and Startup Drinks happening tonight!

Okay, okay, so call me short notice Sally, but I wanted to be sure to help spread the word about a community event with promise. Or at the very least, with beer. Two of the local drinking groups with entrepreneurial problems, BioBeers and Boulder Startup Drinks, are joining forces tonight at the Foundry for a night of networking and commiseration. If you're interested, the festivities will start around 6:30ish.

Many of the attendees will actually be meeting up before heading to the bar to hear Jason Mendelson give a crash-course on raising venture capital at the Wolf Law building on the CU campus. To see more details about Jason's presentation, check out the Silicon Flatirons site for specifics.

Nerds + Geeks = BioBeers + Start-up Drinks

When: February 24th @ 6:30pm
Where: The Foundry, 1109 Walnut St. Boulder 80302

Also, just a quick note to prevent any awkward confusion--the drinking is happening at the The Foundry bar, not the VC firm. Although I guess that's one way to get your foot in the door.

RMBB 5000...A Party for all Political Viewpoints

Last Thursday, some big things happened in downtown Denver. One of them you may have heard about (a certain acceptance speech by a certain Democratic presidential nominee), but the other was almost as inspiring. A Blogger Bash like no other took place in a dark wine bar across from Union Station.

Bloggers from all over the country (in town for the DNC) and lots of local Colorado bloggers gathered to watch Obama's speech and talk about the passion we share for blogging. In addition to the free food and drinks, there was much friendly conversation to be had amongst the geeky-types, regardless of party affiliations.

Lijit was happy to sponsor such an event, since bloggers are our people. We had the opportunity to meet publishers who were already using Lijit and many that were excited to hear about what we're doing.

Our new friends include: Amber of Crazy Bloggin' Canuck, Heather of A Mama's Blog, Laura of LaLaGirl (who has TWO sets of twins...gulp!), Amy of Crunchy Domestic Goddess, Melissa of Nature Deva, Aviva of Parentopia, The Crunchy Green Mom, Hubs of Artifacting, Rosie of Rosalicious, Tessa and Michael of My Left Nutmeg, and Kath of A Likely Story.

There were many FOL (Friends of Lijit) from the Denver and Boulder area that showed up to attend their FIRST ever Rocky Mountain Blogger Bash, including: Aimee of Greeblemonkey and her awesome husband Bryan, Julie of mothergoosemouse, Geekmommy, Jeremy Tanner, Dave Taylor of Ask Dave Taylor (who was kind enough to give me a ride home), Robin from CopyDiva, Gerhard and Kary of Fling it Girl, Kit Seeborg, and the fabulous Deb in Denver.

And let's not forget the old pals I've met from past Blogger Bashes: Molly, Wheels, Left off Colfax, and Andy of The World Wide Rant (pictured above) who, I'm sad to report, is no longer blogging. But his widget is still the best ever...

A big thanks to the organizers of this fantastic RMBB: Mr. Lady and Zombyboy, who pulled off a great event on what some called "a crazy day to have a party in downtown Denver".

You can read other recaps of the event here, here, here, and here. It was a pleasure having the opportunity to meet so many other bloggers and we're glad that we could play a small part in making the evening happen.


[Photo credit: Greeblemonkey, who also designed the awesome RMBB logo]

My attempt at food porn...

At work recently, I've been knee-deep in the land of the food blogger. And what a wonderfully delicious world to be visiting! However, the term "food porn" keeps popping up on various blogs and having seen some of it, I can attest to its' greatness. (For the uninitiated, food porn is best defined as appetizing pictures of yummy food--the juicier, the better!) This past weekend, I decided to have some fun with my new camera in the kitchen, trying my best to emulate some of the luscious food shots that I've been drooling over lately. Here are the results....

Margaritas + Cupcakes= Happiness....Two great tastes that have to taste great together!

A "during" shot. The recipe called for me to drink a marg whilst preparing the cupcakes (I swear). This turned out to be a good thing because my frustration levels were pretty high due to the lack of a good "zesting" tool. Notice the many scratch marks on the limes...I almost considered using my fingernails instead of the inadequate equipment that I had laying around my kitchen. (No offense meant towards my roommate and her cooking utensils!)

Besides the frosting looking like little piles of white poop, the cupcakes turned out quite tasty. This experiment proved to me three things that I already knew: my kitchen is too small, the lighting in my kitchen is horrible, and baking is always better with alcohol. (Unless you're a minor...in that case, hand that bottle and wooden spoon over to an adult!)

I think I'll continue to play around with taking pictures of cool stuff that happens in the kitchen, but don't expect my blog to go foodie anytime soon. There are more than enough capable food bloggers out there and besides, I have my hands full with Lijit issues.