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.