So many people keep asking me how on earth have I been able to travel so much this year. And I have to say, first off that I didn’t really have any of it planned way ahead of time, it all just fell into place.  The only thing I sort of planned ahead for was the Photography conference I attended in New Orleans, but I didn’t really plan it until last minute.

First and foremost, I couldn’t have done any of it without Hubby and my Mom! We have a really awesome system worked out where he gets the kids off to school, Mom or their brother picks them up and Hubby comes home a bit early and gets them dinner.  Dinner can be anything from pasta to fast food, but I leave it to them to figure out while I am gone.  They miss me and I miss them, but our time away from each other seems to be good for all of us as I come back rejuvenated and they appreciate all I do for them all that much more.

I will start with the flying situation. No, I am not a millionaire, I do not make loads of money, I look for deals and use miles. Most often I try to fly for the least amount of money possible. If I can’t fly out of Ottawa, I fly out of Syracuse or Ogdensburg New York. I can usually save half or more of the price of a ticket. Worth it for me to drive a little bit to save.  Two of my three flights so far were on points, or miles. So I paid only for the taxes so my flights were around $100. The other one was a freak sale and my ticket was just under $500.  Whenever I am out shopping I look for ways to earn Miles, my two favorites are Airmiles and Aeroplan, there are also other points plans that you can redirect into either one of those. And when you travel… you gain more points!  And I should also add that I drive way more than I fly to things, any trip under 10 hours drive is easier and less expensive than flying, and if you bring more people with you the costs are even that much less.

Hotels aren’t always as easy, but I do try to use points where I can. Hilton Honors has a great plan, as does the Delta Family of Hotels and Novotel. So far, I have been able to use Hilton Honors towards one of my hotels stays to bring down the cost of the one where I traveled alone.  I try, when I can, to room with someone I know or find a travel buddy. This really helps keep costs down and even if you don’t hang out together the whole time, you have someone to chat with, share with, debrief with… and if you must, run through hotels in your jammies looking for lost things with.  I should also say that I also stay with friends when I can as well, get in some visit time as well as work time.

Food! Gah! I need to eat, for sure. Most of the Blogging and Social Media conferences I attend provide us with food for at least two of the meals (breakfast and lunch) and they always have appetizers at the evening receptions (or parties as they are called).  The photography conference in New Orleans didn’t even have coffee available, so that was an expensive trip. I tried to pick up a few things at a store to keep in my room, but in the end I had to spend quite a bit for meals. Add to that that I really do love to get a taste or flavor of where I am traveling by trying locals foods, I usually eat out at least a few times.

To sum it all up, each and every one of my recent trips, including ones I took last year, cost me $500 or less.  I am including the one with my $500 airfare as I worked while I was away so I am giving you what it actually cost me to go where I wanted to go after I was paid.  I do always try to incorporate work into traveling somehow, even if I don’t get paid in money, I may get some perks for volunteering or at the very least I can include my expenses on my taxes for work.  So if you were wondering how you can do it, then there is the breakdown.  Use your travel for work related to blogging, social media or whatever your business may be and you will find it very rewarding to get away, learn something and return home refreshed and renewed.

Now, the biggest question of all…. where am I going to be going in March? I have nothing booked yet, but you just never know where the wind might take you.

As I have returned to reality and the cold of a real winter, one with snow and below zero temperatures, I can still feel the Bliss that I experienced in Nashville this past weekend.  Although I am not new to conferences having attended both Blissdom Canada’s, BlogHer ’10 & ’11, Women in Biz, She’s Connected, Amplify Her Awesome and I am sure I am missing at least one in there… I came away with a little different feeling from Blissdom.  Despite being somewhat involved in the Conference as a Community Leader for Photography, I still felt I had time to connect and meet more people than I usually get to. Perhaps it was because of the location, perhaps it was because I forced myself to say ‘hi’ to everyone since I was wearing my Community Leader badge and perhaps it was because people approached me more too. I can’t tell you exactly why, I just know that I found a little more Bliss in Nashville and I hope that I get the chance to return.

I traveled with my girlfriend Krista, this is our third conference together both with the travel and as roommates. Krista and I seem to go well together with out travels. We are like opposites that attract, I am my beachy self, I play with light and cameras and Krista is my geeky (and I say that with the utmost love) girlfriend who plays with tech and apps and can make my mind spin when she talks about it all. And I love her for that! That and the fact that we can go out for dinner and before we even get to the restaurant we are sporting cowboy boots and fitting in with the locals. We laughed, we cried, we ate fried chicken and fried pickles, we experienced lots of live music and we danced the night away. We stayed up late chatting when we should have been sleeping and we ran through Opryland in our pj’s (our real pj’s not the pretty ones for the party) looking for lost items. I couldn’t have asked for a better roommate and travel partner. And I am already looking forward to our next adventure this summer with another of our girlfriends Capital Mom, can you say ROAD TRIP???

Blissdom was full of so much awesome, I don’t even know where to start. I should say that I only attended sessions in the Photography Track because I was a Community Leader  for some of the sessions and I wanted to hear all the good stuff from the other sessions that I wasn’t a leader in. We didn’t quite follow the new worksheet format due to the nature of the sessions, but it was awesome just the same. I got to meet and hear Me Ra Koh, so beautiful and inspirational, she has Best Seller out called Your Baby in Pictures. Me Ra reminded us to be proud when we “Shoot Like a Woman” as we do have a different view than most men do. Aimee Giese, she is witty and funny and I loved everything she had to share with “Capturing the Moment” if you wait for perfection, you may miss what is going on right in front of you. Diane Cu from White on Rice Couple, oh my (yes, she made me cry again!) with her “Storytelling and Bracing Imperfection”. Diane demonstrated how photos and video can be perfect even when they are not technically correct. And Ryan Marshall and fellow Canadian Jason Hudson discussed “Expanding your Brand: Mobile Photography with Microblogging and Instagram”. They discussed how you should have a purpose with your mobile blogging and instagram as it is still an extension of you. This is something I hope to work on more as I think I am lacking in this area.

And last but not least, the amazing Kristin Luna, who gave us great tips on getting better images and got us exploring our cameras, some of us worked on getting our cameras going and some of us went on a photowalk. Kristen is so lovely and it was such a treat to hear her speak.

And to top off all the awesomeness that was learning, we were treated to lots and lots of talented musicians (Nathan Pacheco, Joe Jonas, Rascal Flatts and Chris Mann) a few parties and plenty of time to network and visit the sponsor booths.

Whew!! I know I could share so much more, but I may have to save that for another post….

I do have one last fun thing though so don’t run off !!!

So many people asked me about my amazing Twitter necklace. You can see Krista and I wearing them in our red carpet photo below with Shannon and Tara, you can also see Alli Worthington wearing hers on stage in her opening speech. These necklaces are made by a local (to Ottawa) jeweler called Blend Creations and since they heard how many people had been asking about the necklaces they have offered to give one away to one of my readers! The winner will receive one @ Necklace with their twitter handle on it, shipped directly to them.
How exciting is that???  All you have to do is leave a comment telling me who your fave artist of Blissdom’12 is. Even if you didn’t attend Blissdom’12 you can still play along and win a necklace, just let me know who your fave artist is out of the four who played for us at Blissdom’12 and you will be entered to win.  Contest closes Friday at Noon (EST) and the winner will be announced later in the day.