Meeting Gabby

I've never met a famous person before. I saw Rupert Grint in an airport once on a layover to England during the height of the Harry Potter craze, within minutes he was swarmed by a mob of girls. I remember thinking back then, that must be so obnoxious.

A year later we moved to China, a year after that we had our first kid. And it was then, I got a taste of celebrity life. People were always staring, taking pictures, and touching my blond blue-eyed baby boy. It got really old, really quick. So, I guess, in the back of my head- if I ever saw a celebrity in real life, I'd want to just let them be. Except I didn't!

I was beyond thrilled when I had heard that Gabby Reece, the professional volleyball player, would be speaking at  #Blogher17.  During the keynote session, I was just tickled to be in the same room as THE Gabrielle Reece, my childhood hero.

Seeing her reminded me of my big dreams of being a professional volleyball player.

With the exception of volleyball, I don't care much for sports. I don't root for teams or players, I don't watch it on tv, or go to games. In the nineties, Micheal Jordan was everywhere. My brother's room was covered in Chicago Bulls paraphernalia. Full disclosure, I don't think his 8 year old self actually watched basketball once. But it seemed that every little boy looked up to Michael Jordan for more than his athletic ability. Michael Jordan represented persistence, hard work, and success. Where was the girl version of that?


In 4th grade, I started playing volleyball and FELL IN LOVE. Volleyball was life! How can I do this forever? Can volleyball be a job? I wondered. And then, I discovered this female athlete named Gabrielle Reece. She was beautiful and strong and SO good at volleyball. She was breaking records, pushing boundaries, and being amazing. I wanted to be just like her! In volleyball practice, while running laps, thoughts of Gabby kept me going. Gabby wouldn't complain about these laps. Gabby would keep going. So I did.

source: Gabby Reece/Instagram

Me, dreaming big in '95

Fast forward 20 or so years later, long after I changed my career path from professional volleyball player to teacher to stay at home mom. I'm walking through the Hilton lobby in Orlando and there is FRIGGIN' GABBY REECE!!! No big deal, just casually having lunch with a crew of famous female athletes after her keynote panel discussion. About ten feet away, I stopped with my jaw dropped, looking at Gabby, questioning if this was real life. Pro surfer Jessi Miley-Dyer (also NBD, right!?) motioned for me to come over and talk to Gabby, "Come on, you should do it," she whispered across the table. Like the biggest fangirling nerd, I told Gabby I loved her before I even introduced myself. I felt like I shrunk into my ten year old self (and because she's so tall, it seemed like I was a little kid) She put out her hand, with a flattered smile she said, “Hi, I'm Gabby.” I briefly explained how I looked up to her when I was little, thanked her, and apologized for interrupting her lunch. And we hugged and took a picture!

Clearly I'm excited. Thanks for making time for me, Gabby!!!

It had been years since I thought about volleyball and Gabby. After meeting her, I kind of wanted to see what she had been up to. Go figure, on social media she is still being awesome: being a wife and mom, writing books, creating a new fitness program, hosting a podcast, all while advocating a healthy lifestyle. It's kind of EXACTLY what I need at the moment.

 In the #winningwomen keynote session Gabby said, "Be the person you can feel good about. Be loving, be strong, badass women."

Once again, like the 10 year old me, I find myself asking what would Gabby do? She would keep going! I guess she'll always be my number 1 role model. Thank you Gabby. You're still the best! 💛

#BlogHer17 Reflections

or, feeling like a human for a second.

I think it was about seven months ago when my longtime friend and fellow blogger, Bri suggested that we go to a blogging conference together. It sounded quite appealing to me, first and foremost because it was held in Orlando, an easy three hour drive for me. Early bird prices were affordable enough, and once I committed Hubs to rearranging his work schedule so he could take care of the rascals, I was in. Sure, why not?

Once I made the big purchase, I began to feel completely intimidated. I'm not a professional writer, photographer, or video editor. I don't know the ins and outs of the world wide web and HTML. This is going to be such a waste of money. I'm bush league! What the heck was I thinking?

I immediately had to change my outlook. There were three huge reasons that this was so awesome and TOTALLY worth the investment.

1. Learning. This entire thing was new to me. Speakers, sessions, networking, expos, being a professional: I learned every step of the way. The speakers inspired me to really figure out my purpose in blogging. The sessions kind of clued me in to so many elements of content creation that I hadn't considered. And the networking, oh man! Talk about a self confidence boost. How completely refreshing it is to have someone ask "What do you write about?" instead of, "How old are your kids?" It felt AMAZING to be Brittany, and not Mommy for a weekend. And I met so many amazing women that I realized after the fact that they were are a pretty big deal! The expo was fun. I had absolutely no expectations for partnering with sponsors, so I just observed and snagged freebies. I'd say the biggest lesson I learned about blogging is that I should not give up. It's hard work, but possible to be successful. And, success looks different for everyone. I have no interest in having ten million followers on social media. That freaks me out actually. I need to figure out what success of The Flip-side of Zen looks like for me.

Chelsea Clinton and Cecil Richards

2. Reunion. Bri and I go way back, maybe we weren't BFFs back in grade school, but we found ourselves together in two very intense, life changing times. First we were roommates in college. Personally, I went through my awkward junior high stage late, like in college. So there's that. And Bri was testing the waters of college romance. You really get to know someone when you live with them (Sorry Bri!). Nearly 10 years after that, we happened to both be living in Shanghai, China,where we both had our first babies, and the crazy birth stories to go with them. How great it was to start from right where we left off, not missing a beat. So now, after having an amazing weekend with one of my forever friends, and no kids to worry about..... can we please do this every year!?

Thick as thieves

3. ME time. I got to do what I wanted ALL WEEKEND LONG! I got to pee alone, I got to eat food that wasn't cold, I got to sleep in my own bed and wake up at a decent hour. I got to float down the lazy river with an overpriced beverage in hand. It was GLORIOUS! (Do you hear a choir of angels singing? Because I totally do every time I think about it.) So yeah, I definitely think this needs to be an annual thing.

No fights to break up or butts to wipe, a real vacation.

I am so glad that I stepped out of the mundane not only to do something new, but to do something new for me. I've been in such a rut with this blog (and let's be honest: life). When I used to see all these professional "mommy blogs" I'm over here like, who is watching their kids? When do they sleep?! But they've managed it somehow. And I can too. I didn't even realize it until I got that weekend to think, breathe, and only worry about myself as a human being, not a mom.

Tune in next time for an exciting blog on SELF CARE! ;)