A long road

We’re traveling 2,226 miles. With two cats. And camping along the way.

After a very successful morning of paneling it at the SMB Social Media Makeover Forum, my last in-person work obligation, Carlos and I finally left behind the rolling, green hills of Richfield, NC and took off towards flat, hot Phoenix, Arizona. We’ve secured an apartment- a small one bedroom in the heart of the Garfield historic district. Most importantly, it’s only 2 miles from the hospital, so Carlos will be close to work. His contract finally came, rerouted from N.C. to Tulsa, Oklahoma where we are spending a few weeks to visit family. Our next stop is Wichita Falls, Texas to visit the twin and my sis-in-law.

It’s a pretty funny sight, the two of us driving down the highway in caravan. The two cars are loaded with roof bags and trunk bags and bike racks and cats. We can only go about sixty miles per hour, but we keep ourselves entertained by chatting on our mini walkie-talkies. When we get tired, we pull over and, quite literally, camp on the side of the highway. Ok, so they’re KOA campgrounds, but they’re still right next to the highway. It’s quite an adventure. Our cheap little Wal-Mart tent is not so little and it really doesn’t feel that cheap either. Our next camping destination will be somewhere in New Mexico after we take off from my twin’s house in two weeks.

 

Interview with Listen Interactive about the SMB Social Media Makeover Forum

Interview with Listen Interactive about the SMB Social Media Makeover Forum

Check it out y’all!

Ay si, ay si, gran vaina.

That’s about how I feel right now.

Back to Venezuela

I’m headed back to my beloved Venezuela in a few short weeks. This is absolutely my first trip in seven years that is on a whim, last minute and doesn’t involve six months of planning or dieting. It is probably the most irresponsible decision that I’ve made in a very long time. It’s actually breaking a responsible streak that I’ve had lately. My Dad would say that I finally gained the adult-like quality of common sense. I’ve heard varying stories on at what age one usually receives this gift. Maybe it’s 28 and that’s why I’ve been making good decisions. Who knows. 

But alas, if something is going to break a responsibility streak, it might as well be a trip to Venezuela. Truth be told, it’s pretty exciting that at this young(ish) age I can decide to pick up and go abroad for two weeks without breaking the bank. Not everyone is too happy about the decision and in a moment of “oh my God, what have I done?!” I tried to cancel my ticket, though to no avail. So I’m headed to Venezuela on April 4th. Here we go again!

Saturday

It was peaceful on the farm this morning. I woke up late at 7:30. The horses usually eat just before that and I heard them nickering as soon as our creaky back porch door slammed. It was a balmy 35 degrees instead of yesterday’s 23 and the birds were all a twitter, chirping and singing. At one point our roosters crowed at exactly the same moment, which was generally awesome and hilarious- they sound so different. I still feel guilty taking the eggs from the hens. They seem to look at me and say “why?!” These are unusually expressive hens. As usual the goats were noisily following Winston, their guard llama around. He was equally noisy, humming impatiently for breakfast. 

Looks like it’s going to be a good Saturday! 

Wait, what?!

So there is a big marketing event coming up focusing on social media. They are holding a panel discussion in which successful companies will advise small companies on their social media presence and such. The list includes giants like Duke Energy, UPS, Wells Fargo and Chiquita Banana. Oh yeah… and Amelie’s. 

Really?! But… but… we’re a small little bakery. Ok, so our social media presence is anything but small (can you say ranked #1 for check-ins on Foursquare for the whole city? 20,000 Facebook fans?) but still, if someone had told me that I’d be sitting on a panel next to the big minds behind those big brands I would have fallen over with laughter. 

That’s right, I will be sitting on the panel. Why? Well, because I am in charge of all things social media (which basically means I tweet, Facebook and blog all day long… it’s a tough job but someone has to do it.) So as a result, I finally get to use my lovely and unusual head shots from that cover story I did way back when. But I also had to write myself a bio. Ok, so it shouldn’t be a big deal. But when your fellow panelists all have MBAs and PhDs and you don’t have much of an education to speak of (I’m an eternal student!) it feels like an awfully big task. So my solution was to do it Amelie’s style! Here is the bio I will be using, taken from snippets of various magazine articles and news broadcasts:

“As an echo boomer, Lexi St. Laurent understands the ins and outs of her generation’s unique online culture. Armed with a love of food, a keen intuition and a BlackBerry, she has led her family business to social media fame by encouraging meaningful conversation and real interaction. With an active following of nearly twenty thousand fans on Facebook by her side, Lexi has helped to establish Amelie’s French Bakery as one of the most followed, tweeted and “checked into” restaurants in Charlotte.”

See y’all on the flip side! 

FYI

In honor of my new MacBook Pro, I have temporarily switched to a wordpress iTheme… <3

28 Second Days- 02-08-12

 

Waking up, BBM chat, booger filled horse nose, driving, swinging, shopping, and our llama nearly runs over a chicken.

28 Second Days- 02-07-12

My first ever 28 Second Days video.

Good advice

From my BFF/Brother from another mother Gustavo:

“Make it conscious. Live it. Feel it. Release it. And cry if you want to.”

Thank you dear brother, I think I will.