special Saturday post!

I'm back from Tampa with a tan and a big weight off my shoulders - I finally got to do my presentation at the NALP conference and it went great! The program was called "Re-Tooling the Traditional Recruiting Model: Break into a Cycle that Works!"

Here I am after it's all over:

Yes, I was still stuffy and congested and had to fight back some coughing fits, but still got through it. It actually went by really quickly. Throughout the program there were several questions from the audience, everyone looked like they were alert and interested in what my co-presenter were saying, and one person came up to me afterwards and sort of talked through a problem she was having and in speaking to her, she then said "ok, I have an idea now!" which was completely the point of the program! I'm so jazzed that I could help someone think through some other options for their recruiting initiatives.

When I wasn't in a double room talking to about 150 people, I was hanging out here:

On Friday I even got to see my uncle who drove all the way from Orlando to have lunch with me! I was so excited to see him because I hadn't seen him in forever and he was unable to come to the wedding. So awesome! Before I met up with him I was sitting outside here:

Tampa was really nice - I was starting to feel better because their pollen wasn't nearly as bad as it was in Germany or MD. After my program I went for a walk and got a yummy frozen coffee drink and sat outside here, which I considered to be a really neat urban oasis that all the office workers were taking advantage of:

So yes, it was a worthwhile trip. It was outstanding to see my work buddies and although I didn't get to see everyone I wanted to, I can still continue catching up with them virtually, especially when all of our stuff gets to our apartment.

My view at the hotel was stellar as well:

I have to say though, after being at a Hilton for so long, I consider myself a Hilton snob now, and this was a Marriott. The horror! :-) The room service I had the night before was delicious though.

Anyway, I land in Germany around lunchtime on Monday, so no posts until Wednesday. I can't wait to see the progress hubby has made since I've been gone. I've been told there are more lights up, the bedroom has been painted, and he even has mirrors up! The highlight though will be the air purifier he got since he saw how miserable I was when I was there. I'm looking forward to that most of all since I'm back to feeling crummy since landing at Dulles last night. The air is chock full of pollen and dust and as a result, so is my throat. Bleh.

Oppenheim Wine Walk

Okay so not yesterday but Sunday last week, the hubby and our friends met up in Oppenheim, which is a few towns over to do their wine walk. The concept is simple: in the town center, buy yourself a glass, including a starter glass of wine, and follow the trail which spans the town through the vineyards. Along the way, get your wine refilled at designated stands, and grab something to eat as well.

Add in some perfect weather and sunshine, and you're bound to have a great time.

The town itself is the epitome of quaint. Here is the group after we've gotten our glasses and are getting ready to start!

Susan, who used to live in Oppenheim, pulled us off the path briefly to show us an awesome crypt:

The views were great:

Soon we came upon a cool burned down castle and the first station. We hung out here for awhile.

Then we made our way up and over to the next station that boasted some impressive views. (In the distance in this first picture is the Rhine):

Here's the hubby. Looks happy to be out in the sun with some wine :-)

We hung out here where hubby and I shared a sausage and roll. Look how freaking long my hair is! I just got it cut on Saturday so luckily it's tons lighter now.

We kept walking to the next station where things started to get a little loopy, and by loopy I mean that people stopped ordering glasses of wine and started ordering bottles of wine to pass around. Here is our traveling group:

I also took the opportunity to take a short video.....

And get some shots of the pretty purple along the vines....

And be a creeper with the zoom lens....

A station later was for flatbread so some people stayed to wait (they take about 30 minutes), and some of us continued on... (and by then, hubby didn't care that I was making him carry that floral bag)

We could also see Frankfurt in the distance!

Things were getting out of hand. Hubby was buying bottles....

....and Germans that I didn't know were posing for me......

....and then hubby was drunkenly chatting with said Germans.....

 

Even though I got super burned and all the sun and wine ended up contributing to my current nasty cold/allergy combination, we had such a blast!

 

new apartment pictures!

We got a late checkout from the hotel today because we are still struggling to move after yesterday's insane wine hike adventure. I'll post about that on Friday. (PS: no post on Wednesday since we don't have internet in the new place yet).

Speaking of the new place, this is our new home!

Entryway:

First floor hallway:

First floor small bedroom (probably the office):

First floor (master) bedroom:

First floor (master) bathroom:

SAUNA in the master bathroom!!

Second floor living area:



Kitchen:

Probable dining room:

Guest room, second floor:

Guest bathroom, second floor:

One of the balconies:

And there you have it. It's about 1800 square feet, so just shy of twice as much as we had in MD. We're 4 blocks from the Rhine, 4 blocks from the city center, and less than a block from a grocery store. The main train station is about a 10 minute walk. Really great location all around. Since taking the pictures, we (and by we, I mean hubby) has hung up 5 light fixtures so we won't be totally in the dark until our stuff arrives. We have a loaner bed and that's about it, so hopefully our stuff will be here soon! Can't wait to get everything setup!!

Alright - time to pack up out of the Hilton and head over. I'm traveling on Thursday so my plan is to write a short post on Friday if I'm not too jet lagged. Bye for now!