#30Lists: List 7 - Blog Goals!

It's so funny that just yesterday I was working on cleaning up this blog... laying out a plan for it... and eventually by the end of the day I somehow ended up with a mission statement!  One of my major goals for this blog/vlog/YouTube endeavor is to really put myself out there (something that I am not normally super comfortable doing on such a large scale) and meet as many people as I possibly can who have similar interests and goals as I have.

Over the past few years I've been one of those secret followers...  One of those people who kept trying to start up a blog but never really kept with it.  So you can say I've been doing quite a bit of researching and reading... and I've pretty much figured out which types of blogs spike my interest and which ones don't.  Now at a point in my life where I am very happy and comfortable with what I want... And I'm no longer afraid to share it.  I don't know if it's because I'm a few years older and have learned that, heck, I have a lot to offer the world!  Or perhaps it's because we've moved away from home and I have a new found sense of self?  I'm not entirely sure... But I'm liking this change!

Anyway... A few months ago I somehow stumbled across Amy & Kam's 30 Days of Lists.  The concept of 30 Days of Lists is to simplify journaling while allowing the writer to be as creative as they want.  I received an email this morning encouraging us to select one of the list prompts from their May 2011 list of prompts and to post it in a blog post to share in a blog hop!  Ironically enough, one of the prompts was to list out your blog goals.  Well, hello, I was just working on a list of goals yesterday!  Not to mention one of goals was to take advantage of every opportunity to put myself out there...

So... Here you go!  Here's my list of blog goals!

Thomas has been encouraging me to aim high... So that's what I'm going to do!  I look forward to reading what the rest of you have come up with!  Stay tuned for today's vlog!

Simply Real: VloggerFair 2014

I started watching vlogs (video blogs... kind of like a video diary) about three or four years ago.  My sister had told me about a makeup guru, Judy Travis, who was just starting to get into daily vlogs with her (at that time) fiancé.  The two of them had just moved into their own place and Judy was in the middle of planning her wedding.  She recorded her journey to her wedding day in a mini Wedding series.  Through the years viewers have watched them bring their three beautiful daughters into the world, build their first home together, travel the world, and so much more.  I have to say... these YouTube vloggers are really going to give reality TV a run for their money.

I believe this was the line to meet Charles Trippy.  According to his Instagram, it took 3.5 hours to meet everyone!

This past Saturday, the second annual VloggerFair was held in Seattle.  Nearly 2,000 fans and vloggers packed the exhibition hall on Mercer Street to share tips, motivate, and meet each other.  The fair was held in a Q&A format where the vloggers took the time to answer questions from the audience.  The first group were the "Family Vloggers" (such as Shaytards and Sam & Jennika).

This was perfect time for us to be at the fair.  There were so many babies and kids everywhere!  It was very inspirational to hear the different vloggers talk about how it isn't always easy to vlog but that being able to look back at the videos really made all the work (and sometimes criticism) worth it all.

We took a little lunch break and decided to explore Queen Anne.  We stumbled upon the Metropolitan Market... and we fell in love.  I joked with Thomas that we could probably survive off of what we could find at Uwajimaya and the Metropolitan Market.  We explored the market and decided to take advantage of the awesome selection of hot items and sandwiches.  Thomas settled for a sandwich and some california rolls, and I opted for a salad.  Chloe and I also shared a bowl of tomato bisque.  Yum!

We headed back to VloggerFair, where we finally got to meet Judy and Julianna (we had run into Benji earlier in the day at Uwajimaya ^_^).  It wasn't as crowded so we really got to enjoy talking to everyone!

We had an awesome and fun-filled day.  I couldn't help but feel so blessed as I was falling asleep... and a lot of it was in large part due to Thomas.  I posted the following on my Facebook page that night:

Over a year ago, Thomas told me that I would have the chance to meet Judy & Benji.  From having the small, intimate dream wedding I never knew I truly wanted to moving our little growing family to the beautiful PNW.  Thomas never ceases to show me that he's not only the man of my dreams, but also the one who makes them come true.  I can't help but feel more and more blessed as each day goes by. ♥  

If you know me... My phone never has any memory in it because I'm constantly taking pictures and videos to capture all of life's precious moments.  Over the years, Thomas has bought me an array of cameras and even a laptop.  He has truly given me everything to pursue my dreams of recording and saving all of our family's memorable moments.  I think I can finally say that I have received the final push and motivation that I needed to actually sit down and get to work.  I want to make it a point to compile the pictures and videos that we've taken over the week... and put them together so that we can look back on them later down the road.  Maybe I'll post these videos along with my blog updates.  I already [try...] to make it a point to print my pictures and put them into my Erin Condren planner... So maybe I can share that as well.  I want to invite you all along on another journey with us, as I venture into the world of truly becoming our family's historian.

[PS] Any helpful hints and resources would be greatly appreciated. I have a MacBook Air and will probably be using iMovie to edit videos.  I've played around with Photoshop and I am thinking of also checking out LightRoom at the recommendation of my SIL. What are some of your creative ways of preserving your family's memories?

Photo Dump from VloggerFair 2014!


It was so nice to meet Shayt and Colette from Shaytards! Chloe juuuuust missed it but that's okay, they thought she was adorable even though she was asleep!


It was nice talking to Amy and Julian from AdenturesWithAJ.  Thanks for the road trip recommendations... we'll definitely keep an eye out on your vlogs for more tips!


We each got a hug from DearMamaSal! She's so sweet!


I hope Thomas and I have the chance to cook with you guys one day!  Checkout BenjiManTV for lots of food related videos!

And of course VloggerFair wouldn't have been complete without a picture with Judy!  Here entire family really is as down-to-earth as you could ever have imagined.  Julianna loved Chloe... She was trying to bring her a long.