When I became a blogger way back when, I did it not with hopes of becoming filthy, stinking rich or gaining any kind of celebrity.  I admired the discussions and community women had built simply by sharing a bit about their lives, their opinions and their dreams.  For a long time I wrote not really knowing if anyone was reading (it took forever for me to get on the stat tracking train) so I measured my “success” via the number of comments.  I’d get elated over one comment (I still do).  However, I finally felt like I’d reached some level of community on my blog when these posts generated not only great comments but fired up an interesting and friendly debate on Twitter.  It is the kind of connection I had always hoped to build on my blog.

Small moments like those really encourage me to keep on blogging.  Another source of inspiration is the vast number of blogs I learn from everyday.  I’m not just talking about random facts or geography and history facts but useful, help my family out kind of facts.  Take for instance the parenting, product review, and consumer advocacy and research blog Z Recommends which was a reference tool for me to figure out what kinds of bottles and sippy cups to get Dessa.  It may not seem like much but it made a world of difference and gave us great peace of mind that there was one location online that we could go to to figure this stuff out.

Thanks to Z Recommends and the parents’ giveaway and sweepstakes hub PRIZEY, I may get a chance to take my blogging to the next level and go to this year’s BlogHer conference in Chicago IL.  They are offering one lucky reader a free pass to the weekend event.  Having been at this blogging business for over a year, I really believe it’s time I stepped up my game and went to a conference where I can meet and mingle with the folks I admire from my little computer screen.  I’m not only excited to meet other bloggers but also learn so that I can continue to grow my little piece of the blogosphere and generate more great conversations.  I think it would be an amazing experience and give me a wonder opportunity to really fuel myself to make the most of Mama Hearts Baby.  If you’d like to learn more on how to enter to win a ticket to BlogHer ’09, visit this post for all the details.

I’ve admired the blogging conferences from a variety of different blogs I read.  While I admit some seem a bit overwhelming, BlogHer has always been at the top of my list.  Between their great sessions and their flexible learning opportunities throughout the event, there’s a lot of value to gain from attending.  Not to mention that it seems to have a varied audience in terms of not just focusing on a specific type of blogger (mommy bloggers, personal finance bloggers, social media bloggers, etc.); it reaches out to everyone and has speakers that cover just about everything.  I thought about going last year but as a first time mom, I felt overwhelmed and I threw the idea into my list of wishful thinking for another life.  This year, however, there’s no holding back; there’s no time like the present.  I’m going to try my darndest to get myself to BlogHer ’09.  I’ve applied for sponsorship from one company  and this contest is my second attempt at getting to Chicago this summer.  So cross your fingers that this mama makes it to the windy city this June!