no rest for the travel weary!

What a week! When I got up last Sunday morning there was no stopping until my head hit the pillow in Chicago that night! Had three great days at the Pampered Chef National Conference. Six of us stayed in the director's suite, situated in an ideal location on the 18th floor of the Hilton Chicago on Michigan Ave, with a view out our windows overlooking Grant Park and Lake Michigan beyond. The mornings were glorious, but the afternoons (when there was a sliver of time for photos) were stormy, dark and wet! I was having some trouble with my camera, so pictures I thought I had from the room are unavailable for viewing!

Our events took place at McCormick Place, Chicago's convention center, which is situated on the lake and consists of two massive, yet impressive, structures. There was a combination of general sessions for everyone and workshops focusing on specific aspects of the business. One workshop that I took stands out among the others with great ideas that I am working to implement! There was also an opportunity to tour the home office, which was interesting but incomplete as they are building a new distribution center and it was not yet ready for viewing. The picture above is of three of us posing in a test kitchen. The other was taken at our executive director's banquet on our last night. That's me and Stephanie, my ED!

Got back Wednesday night and plunged into a full Thursday that included a PC show that night! Friday I fiddled at the office without a computer (which won't boot up). Our tech support showed up two hours late to tell me that his assistant would be looking into the problem and would be right back after a trip to the bank, and two hours later there was still no sign of him. I had work to do, so I locked up and headed home to use my computer here! Monday will be another matter.

Friday night we joined friends for dinner before heading to the Nashville Palace to see my country music heart throb Ty Herndon in concert. It was a late night with the concert starting after ten and I'm glad to have seen him after so many years, but I was also reminded why I don't do this very often--LOUD!! The Palace isn't a great venue for music because the acoustics are so bad--low ceiling and lots of sound bouncing off too many surfaces. Still, Ty is my hottie and I will endure a lot to breathe the same air now and again.

A PC show this afternoon keeps me busy today, and blessedly I don't preach tomorrow. It's so nice to be the one who does the preaching schedule! I'm ready for a little rest and relaxation.

So, what have the rest of you been up to?