I leave today for Chicago with this gal.

This is not my first rodeo…er…BlogHer.  I went to San Diego in 2011 too.

I was in my first trimester of pregnancy with Charlie, horribly sick (and on some major prescription anti-nausea meds), tired all the time, and just started a downward spiral into antenatal depression.

I was good times.

This year I hope will be different, but I need to warn any of you who are all squee-ing about meeting me…I have a case of Mad Head.

It’s true. I first realized it back in college.

I was walking from my car to my apartment and I didn’t realize my boyfriend was sitting on our balcony watching me.  When I got up to my apartment he said, “What’s wrong? Why are you so mad?”

“What?” I asked, smiling because he was early.

“Oh. Maybe that is just what your face looks like when you’re walking places. Yikes. You look…ragey.”

Huh.

Since then I have had students approach me cautiously asking, “Um, Mrs. Sluiter? Are you in a bad mood?”

“No. Why? What’s up?”

“Oh. You just look…mad. Anyway…”

So yeah.  I have Mad Head.

I don’t want anyone to feel like they can’t come talk to me though because they see Mad Head and think that I, in fact, do not want to talk to anyone. That is probably not the case at all.

So I am presenting you with the various faces you may see on me at BlogHer (or anywhere you may meet me) and what they probably mean.

This is my blank stare. Seriously…it’s my at rest face. I don’t hate you, I’m probably just waiting for an elevator…or for a session to start…or pumping gas. You get it. It’s my nothing face.

I will probably forget my glasses. This is me either trying to read something or trying to decide if I know that person across the room. Just come help me.

This is my “um..I don’t really understand” face. You probably just told me who you were and I can’t place you and I feel like a jerk. It’s because I am overwhelmed…bear with me…I don’t want to be a butthole, I want to be friends.

I just heard/saw something disturbing.

OMG! IT’S YOU!!!

This one is happy…for real.

So if you see me, please come say hi.

I can’t promise I will remember my own blog name when you come up to me, but I will say hi. And then I will get uncomfortable because I will start wondering what to say next and if you’re expecting me to be a certain way and DUDE did I just fail at being what you expected?

I will be awkward.

But I won’t be mean. At least not on purpose.

I promise.

*note: I did not include any of my teaching faces. That is for another post because I can apparently look at kids like their mothers do. Boom.