What's Happening Wednesday #9 -- MomCom Edition

On Sunday, I shared a few pictures from my fabulous Saturday spent at MomCom. For those of you not familiar, MomCom is a day of celebration and inspiration bringing together Moms who blog, Moms who run their own businesses, or Moms who want to expand their horizons, whatever they may be. (I certainly fall in that last category!) I attended the one in January and it was a watershed moment for me. Despite my crazy-busy life of late, I had been eagerly anticipating this event.Surrounded by the beauty of the Oasis on the lake, I communed with some of my favorite Austinites. Let me tell you, there are some awesome women in this city and to use a very over-used phrase, "they are making it happen". We caught up on each others' lives, celebrated successes, and in some cases, shared some hard times. Is there anything more powerful than women coming together to support each other? I don't believe so!The host of this fabulous event is the indomitable Trish Morrison, often known as Mama on the Verge. A busy wife, mom, and writer, she has managed to create an ensemble of speakers, sponsors, and attendees that amaze me. I felt honored to be among this group. (BTW, she's a very cool chick!)Some speakers made me laugh and some speakers made me think. To start, Tiffany Harelik from Trailer Food Diaries kept me laughing as she shared her American Dream story. Not a foodie per se but a great lover of things fun and yum, she has crisscrossed the nation (and Austin) following the unlikely stories of the rise of the food truck industry. She is making her dream a reality by focusing on others. I was truly inspired!There was a panel -- Stefani Zellmer, Creative Director and Queen Zee of Zeehive,  Carlotta Stankiewicz, Creative Director at GSD&M (AKA Well Versed Mom,  and  Rachel Clemens, Founder of Creative Suitcase --that discussed VERY frankly how the advertising industry views the female demographic and consumer. While the ad rooms still seem to house more mad men than women, they did stress that we have a voice and should use it. I appreciated their honesty and the expertise they brought to the subject.And for my blogging friends who want to be taken seriously as writers, I was very impressed by Addie Broyles from the Austin-American Statesman. A career journalist, she reached out to the food bloggers of the city. Unlike some of her peers, she respects the work of bloggers and those who write via social media. On a personal note, I spoke with her about my discomfort with the word writer to describe myself. When people ask me what I do, I often use the term blogger as a shrug-off much like saying "just a mom". She encouraged me to embrace the term writer; even suggesting that I print writer rather than blogger on my business cards. finally, if she looks a little familiar, she survived Stacy, Clinton, and an overused flat-iron on TLC's "What Not to Wear". She writes about her experience here.The key note speaker was Sabrina Parsons is CEO of Palo Alto Software, She gave the rare presentation wherein she was both sensible and inspirational. She focused on women respecting themselves enough to ask for what they need, not apologize for being a mom, and pricing their work to demonstrate value. A CEO who is actually a mom first, her true stories about breast-feeding in a sling while interviewing a new vice-president gives me hope for the role of women in the workplace.Marissa Vogel started Little Helping Hands as a way to support her family and make the world a better place, one pint-sized volunteer at a time. She shared her experiences as a successful corporate businesswoman becoming a non-profit entrepreneur. It clearly was not easy but obviously was well worth it. I hope one day to leave a legacy like hers.Candace Avila served as both a sponsor and a speaker. She works with young girls in promoting self-esteem and ending bullying with her program Girl Power. I was personally excited by this idea, so please check it out here. She also works as personal consultant focusing on making dreams actualities. This may sound like something you have heard before but rather than simply handing us a sheet of paper to list our goals, she led us through a series of group exercises that encouraged brainstorming and accountability. I actually named a thirty day goal and began naming the steps to complete it. (Now truth be told, it won't likely be this 30-Day period but that is no fault of hers. I have to dust out the cobwebs from this blog and from under my bed before I can tackle a lofty goal, but I'll let you know when that clock starts ticking...)Our final speaker is a bloggy hero. Her name is Wendi Aarons and she is freakin' funny! Her blog is They Are Not All Gems which may be the most ironic title ever, but alas. (If you haven't checked her out, leave me now. I mean it... go.) She is a brilliant writer who makes me want to make my blog better and if I can't do that, at least learn to tweet -- she raises it to an art form.So thank you, ladies, for making me want to better at everything... yet allowing me to laugh along when it was hard to feel better at anything.There were many great sponsors, please check them out here. I have to, however, give a huge shout-out to my gorgeous friend, Nicole, and her website HER Social Network (where you may or may not find a post from on this Friday -- sorry shameless self-promotion!). Seriously, though, she is lovely inside and out (and if you saw how well she rocked her black shorts and heels on Saturday, you would know what I mean!)Finally, in the world of "OMG! That never happens to me!" I won. I won big time! I won THE door prize. Texas MILK (A lovely spin on the less than lovely term MILF -- it stands for Mothers I'd Like to KNOW) offered the most amazing basket that is filled with so many gift certificates that the list is too long to list here. I won jewelry and tickets and ice cream, so I will keep you posted as I take advantage of this amazing gift crate. Here's a preview, however...Am I a lucky girl or what???I hope your Wednesday is treating you as well as mine! What's Happening for you today?