What I loved and hated about the Healthy Living Summit 2010
The Healthy Living Summit this year was held in Chicago. It was my first time attending the conference, and I was excited. I am not sure what I was really excited for between the delicious food I knew I would eat, the friends I would make and see, and the things I would learn about food and blogging.
Over the past few years of blogging I have become friends with more than a few people attending the conference, some of which were even on the committee. I couldn’t wait to support my friends in this great adventure and get to be a part of it too. Here is what I loved and hated about the Healthy Living Summit 2010.
LOVED
*The hard work of the HLS committee members to put together a great weekend. It would not have happened without them. There are a few highlight conferences for me, and they would include the Foodbuzz Festival, Fitbloggin‘ (which I have yet to attend), Healthy Living Summit, and BlogHer. Each offers something unique to me, and I wish I could attend all four each year.
*The Open Sky cocktail party. It was fun to mingle with all of these people I know through my blog, and some who I did not know! It felt like an ice cream social the first week of freshman year of college.
*The Athenos snack break & the fun accessories for their photo opportunity (seen in yesterday’s post). I work with a few brands here and there that I really support and believe in. Athenos is a brand I really believe in. I think they maximized their opportunity at the Summit by having a well planned snack break with more than just hummus and chips. They created some great recipes using Athenos feta and hummus, and it sparked my creativity for dishes I now want to create at home. I also liked that they engaged us by having the photo opportunity. It was really fun to get silly with an olive helmet or a salad helmet and take fun photos.
*I can’t talk about the Healthy Living Summit without mentioning Evan of Food Makes Fun Fuel. I really loved meeting him and enjoyed his presentation on ethical eating. his co-presenter, Lin, also did a fabulous job. Evan shared with us the best and most ethical options for buying items like eggs, chicken and beef. I usually just kind of close my eyes at Whole Foods and pick the eggs that look to come from the most ethical and healthy place, but I literally was blind and didn’t know what the right option would be. Now I know!
*Another presentation I enjoyed was about time management and organization. All three women offered different perspectives and solutions, and it was very useful for me. I wished that PB was at this session so he could have learned some of their great tips too. The one I enjoyed the most was to prioritize. Think about what is important to you in your life and make those things your priority. I was surprised what my priorities were when I really thought about it, and I am ready to make a few changes in my life.
*Heather of Hangry Pants. She is just awesome. So is her sister! It was fun to spend a whole weekend hanging with them!
*On Friday before the Open Sky cocktail party I had dinner at Karyn’s on Green with Gena, Gina, and Angela. The food was delicious and the company was even better. It was so nice to spend time in a small group and get to know all 3 ladies better. And did I mention the food was fantastic?
*The swag bags. HA! The Acqua Panna water was fresh and refreshing all day, and there were Glo bars and Tide samples in the bags too. I guess I like yummy snacks and cleaning supplies? Oh, and Gina the Fitnessista (aka my roomie) gave me some famous macaroons!
*My new RhodeyGirl Tests bags! If you want one and didn’t get one, I can send one to you for $5 to cover shipping etc (unless you see me in person). Just email me and we will figure it out! (photo by Meghann)
*I gave a presentation on healthy entertaining, and I started sharing the first part of how to become a great entertainer. I will finish up the series within a week so everyone has access to it. It was really fun to share my love of entertaining with all the attendees that attended. If you were one of them and have any tips for me for future presentations, please share them! I can take constructive criticism and would appreciate any help in making future presentations better.
HATED
*The hotel. It was haunted. I am not joking. The worst moment of my day was when Tina of Carrots n Cake along with a few other girls came flying over. A few of them had been ghost hunting ON MY FLOOR and heard someone singing behind a nailed shut door at the end of the hallway. I already felt uncomfortable in the hotel and had not slept well the first two nights, but that was the last straw. True story- My first night at the hotel I woke up and the closet door was open. I went back to bed and when I woke up later it was completely shut. It was not an easy closet to open and close. My second night my roomie Gina was so uncomfortable she want to stat with Gena. My third night we both ditched the Congress Plaza and headed to The Westin, where I had a fabulous night of sleep in a heavenly bed.
Heavenly bed:
*The cabs. Anyone who lives in Chicago please confirm that this was not just my bad luck. Every cab I went in claimed that their credit card machine didn’t work. This is really annoying for someone who likes to keep track of her travel expenses via credit card. One driver even went so far as to push some foreign buttons and making me sit for 6 minutes before claiming there was nothing he could do. I wish I had stayed my ground and insisted to use his credit card machine- since I could clearly see it was working. Hogwash!
What did you love and hate?
41 Responses to “What I loved and hated about the Healthy Living Summit 2010”
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Sounds like an amazing time….well, except for the ghosts and the cabs! Glad it was a blast. Hopefully, I can make it next year!
soooooooooooo i totally got goosebumps when i was reading that…after the first night i would have left, hands down. holy crap that’s scary!
what a fun time!!! I loveee that Feta too! haha.. π Do your bags ship to sweden? π … I can not believe your hotel was haunted.. wtf? You should have left the first night and demanded money back. blah!
I stayed in the Hilton, so I didn’t experience the haunted hotel. Too bad! I am sad that I didn’t get a bag! Can I pay through paypal? I would love one!
My favorite parts of the summit were the city (how amazing is Chicago?), the yoga class, and meeting some pretty great people. My least favorte part was how much it did, in fact, feel like freshman orientation. Kind of like a popularity contest. But that’s what you get when a huge percentage of the population is girls in their 20’s and early 30’s!
I SO wish I could have been at your presentation! As I always tell you- you are the queen of parties. Whenever I need a party recipe or idea, I open up your blog. Sounds like a great experience overall. I really want to go to one of these conferences
@Erica, THANK YOU!
Here’s the deal on the cab situation in Chicago:
Under the law, cab drivers who are part of a company (not independent ones who just have their own cab and that’s it) are REQUIRED to let you pay by CC. The machine works. Credit card companies, however, charge the cab companies a percentage of their sales that are paid for by CC (this happens at all companies that take CC – hence why some smaller ones have minimum purchases etc). Because the people that own cab companies are assmongers, they take what the CC company charges them out of the cab driver’s pay. Therefore, cab drivers don’t like you to pay by CC and will make up whatever excuse so that you don’t. I try to always pay by cash for this reason, but if I have to pay by CC, I try to give an extra large tip (if they are nice about it).
Fun fact: average pay for a cab driver in Chicago is about $4.50 an hour.
Hope this helps!
@Beth @ Will Run for Books, Thanks. I am actually aware both that the % is taken out of their pay and that they are required to take my credit card… however… 4 out of the 5 cabs I took claimed their machine didn’t work. I ALWAYS tip by cash, but I prefer to pay the actual toll by CC (especially from the airport- which was about $25) since I need to record it for tax purposes. I was SO frustrated that they kept insisting their machines weren’t working! That doesn’t happen in Philly!
@RhodeyGirlTests, Yeah, it’s a dick move. I’ve also heard “my boss won’t let me,” “i’ll get in trouble” etc etc. They will basically try anything.
They are required to take it though, but usually the only way you can get them to is to tell them either to take the CC or not get paid. The machines are SUPER old and take about 20 mins to process your fare, which sucks and is why I usually just pay cash because I only take cabs when I’m in a hurry. There is one company though that has machines like NYC, where you swipe the card yourself – genius!
@RhodeyGirlTests, I just moved out of Chicago a couple weeks ago and I had the exact same experience in a cab there recently. I really wish I had pulled the “take card or not get paid” move but I didn’t think of it and was really frustrated at the time.
Ahh, the haunted hotel. That place was so creepy! I’m glad you and Gina managed to escape and enjoy your last night. I also thought the cabbies were pretty ridiculous. One guy kept driving us around in circles acting like he didn’t know where the address was. I think he was just trying to buy himself some extra time! With the negatives aside, it looks like you had a great time in Chicago!
It was so nice meeting you, too! I loved the Rhodeygirl Tests bag as a carryon for my flight. I’m going to use it as a grocery bag at school and see if anyone says anything. I hope you’ll visit Providence some time this year!
Cab drivers in Chicago always claim their credit card machines don’t work b/c then they have to claim that income on their taxes. They are lying 99% of the time. You should say you don’t have cash or a way to get cash and you either pay with credit card or you don’t pay fare. It’s ridiculous and very annoying! Also the cab rides (in my opinion) are very scary!!! Glad you had fun!
@Kate, I think all cab rides are scary- in any city hahaha! π
Loved the recap! I would have LOVED staying in that hotel though. I think that stuff is really interesting.
@Scargosun, I think it would have been really interesting for a tour, but not to sleep there. In Philly we have an AWESOME ghost tour that I love!!! I just don’t want to sleep with the ghosts!!!!
@RhodeyGirlTests, Which tour? You know I am in the area as well. I have done ESP but not others…yet. π
I’ve heard tons of mentions of the haunted hotel but no specific stories. I would be so freaked out!!!
That is crazy. I am running the Chicago Marathon and that hotel was so cheap and we almost stayed there but my family said its kinda in a bad area so we went with the Hyatt! I am so glad..I wouldnt want to be up scared all night before my frist marathon! Glad you had an awesome time besides that! I really hope to attend a blogging conference soon!
@Ashley N @ Getting Stronger, Burning Fat,
It’s located on Michigan Ave. which is definitely NOT a bad area of Chicago. It’s in River North which is one of the nicest neighberhoods in the city…
Who says “Hogwash?” MY WIFE!
I think the thing that made me laugh the most was that the hotel was haunted. Gotta love that, part of the experience!! So glad it seemed like a great event!
I loved this personal review of the HLS. I would love to attend next year if I can and getting folks’ perspectives has been great. After a while though, they were all the same. This personal touch was classy and succinct. Thanks!
cab drivers in chicago reminds me of the cab drivers here in the philippines…you have to be really alert not to be taken advantage of π
woah…creepy hotel…what more if you’re alone in the room…eeh…
I hated missing your presentation! Boooo! The cabs were pretty outrageous too. I felt like I was being taken advantage of by the cab drivers when they seemed to be driving really out of the way to drive up the price.
I loved ….the food! And also the fueling for fitness presentation. They gave some really helpful tips.
I hated the hotel as well. The entire staff was very rude.
And as for the cab drivers, I’ve had crazy drivers and then I’ve had really nice ones who will joke with you. And I too have been told their machine doesn’t work. When they told me that, I sort of just stared at them for a good couple of minutes in complete silence until he started fidgeting with the machine, and magically it worked!
I live in Chi and ALLLLL chicago cabbies will pull that move on you – esp if they know you are an out of towner. It’s illegal for them not to accept credit card. If they tell you it’s broken say “oh well – all I have is cash”. It’s ridiculous…I hear ya though…SO FRUSTRATING!
Looks like so much fun! So many young forward-thinking women! Although I do have to say something in defense of the Congress Plaza – this is not the first hotel that you claimed to be “haunted”!
I thought everyone was exaggerating a bit about the hotel being haunted, but your story is crazy! Otherwise, looks like you had a fabulous time at the HLS.
I stayed in the Hilton down the street! Good thing too b/c I am not a fan of haunted places…
I lived in Chicago for 9 years and I can tell you with confidence that the cab drivers are a bunch of assholes. lol. Their claim the machine doesn’t work – WRONG! They can call it in to their company, they just don’t want to use cards because they lose more money on it. I had a friend who would literally get into arguments with them and say “THEN I’M NOT PAYING YOU” until they took her card and oh wow it magically worked. As a pedestrian, bicyclist or fellow driver in Chicago, it’s war against the cab drivers. I once had one purposely cut me off while I was on my bike and then say “that’s the way it goes, Bambi!” Who calls people Bambi, first of all, and why would you TRY and get a bike to run into your car?! Psychos. As you can tell it’s a subject close to my heart. lol
I don’t believe in ghosts and that sort of thing, but I get easily scared and there is no way I could have slept in that hotel!
You are so right about the cabs. I live here and 9 out of 10 times the drivers give me attitude if I pay with credit card. Many have told me the machine doesn’t work but then I tell them I don’t have any cash. It is amazing how fast those “broken” machines start working after I say that.
We never said we heard noises behind the door, we heard noises near the stairwell at the other end of the hallway but we couldn’t see if people were there. Still creepy, but not THAT scary! Sorry you had such a scary experience that you had to leave though. :-\
In less creepy news, it was SO nice to meet you in person. You’re so sweet! Thanks so much for the bag! π
You forgot to add to your “Hated” list:
*The fact that Mama Pea didn’t go
π
Happy weekend, Sabrina!
She has a point. π I hated that about HLS too!
Hi Sabrina! I also attended HLS and loved your presentation, and doing Zumba with you.
For your presentation – will you be doing a separate post recapping and maybe providing bullet points? I think that it was so great, the rest of the blogosphere would love to hear about it in more detail.
Also, if you could share with us where you bought the placemats that you gave out as prizes? They were super cute!
I did score one of your bags and have been using it frequently since last weekend π Thanks again!
Loved the recap – and, obvs, the presentation! You are right on about Chicago cabs drivers. They constantly bs about their card machines being broken, and they also aren’t afraid to hit peds. I know 3 people who have been nailed by them – they’re ok now, but seriously. I avoid the cabs here at alll costs!
I LOVED your presentation! You did a fantastic job. It was very well organized and you presented it nicely. I also liked your giveaways/quizzes. For general HLS, I also liked the eats, the swag, being around so many like-minded people, and making new friends! π
what i loved about the hls: YOU π obviously.
i had so much fun with you last weekend!! thank you for escaping the haunted hotel with me π
xoxo