Haven prep

I just got back from Haven which is a DIY conference held in Atlanta.   I’ve been blogging for almost 4 years and I’ve been to my share of blog conferences.  I’ve met TONS of other bloggers, made friends and  learned how to be a better blogger.  At Haven, half the sessions focus on bettering your blogging skills and half are a place to learn DIY skills.  I went to Haven last year and enjoyed it very much.

But this year — this year Haven was different for me.  In fact Haven 2013 was different than ALL the others that I’ve attended.  Know why?

‘Cause this girl was a teacher at this conference– Boom!

 

Usually the most prep I do before a conference is decide what to wear and get my toes done.

 

Not this time!  This time I pulled my hair back, rolled up my sleeves and prepared for some hard work , sweat and tears.

 

I packed LOTS of tools and workshop supplies.  Way too many!

 

I cut and labeled templates and lots of material for my class.   Way too much!

 

My packing list was significantly different for Haven this year!

 

I packed my earplugs and platform work boots and headed to Atlanta.

 

I spent the next 3 1/2 hours as I drove to visualize my class.  I might have practiced out loud and with BIG hand gestures putting together a little something to say at the beginning of class to break the ice.  A car passed me at one point and a kid turned to me and started making gestures — like he was mimicking me.

 

As the weeks leading up to Haven approached, I kept realizing that I wasn’t feeling nervous yet and that completely surprised me.  I am NOT a fan of standing up in front of a group of people and just talking.  I kept expecting to have a wave of panic set over me but it never came.  I know it’s because I’ve spent the last 6 months coaching/helping/teaching women over Skype.  One on one and not big groups — but it still helped.

 

That and the fact that I had NO idea how many people would actually show up to this trim molding class.  I might have subconsciously hoped that only 2 people would show up.

 

Next:  Let’s Case this Joint — Haven 2013