Florida Bites

We ended up not having time to drive over to the beach while I was in Florida. Nor did we go to Disney World. As we were riding the airport shuttle today, on our way out, a recorded announcement said, "Chances are, you didn't see and do everything there is to do while you were here..." My co-worker and I had to laugh. Yeah, we didn't see or do very much at all except work. However, we stayed at a very nice resort, and the convention was at yet another nice resort, so there were a few photo ops.

I arrived on Wednesday afternoon and "had" to wait at the airport a couple hours before going to the condo. As you can see, waiting at the airport was a real hardship for me. I staked out one of the benches by this gorgeous fountain and read through several of the Psalms while I was waiting. It was a unique place to have devotions. I needed some alone time that time, so that served the need nicely.

Late that evening, after we had loaded and unloaded some of the convention supplies and taken care of grocery shopping for the weekend, one of my co-workers, Sherry, and I explored the resort a little bit. We were tickled to discover that the smoking area was called the Cigar Deck. So pretentious! No one was smoking cigars (or anything else), and it was actually a very nice deck overlooking the lake.

Another thing that cracked us up was the Sensory Garden, which was a nicely landscaped, short garden path. Sherry struck a yoga pose long enough for me to take a picture. I'm not sure she got the full sensory effect in that length of time, but we aren't real sure what that was supposed to be anyway.

The convention was busy. We worked long hours and talked to lots of people. 

It was held at the Gaylord Palms resort, which has alligators in the atrium. They weren't in the wild, and they weren't very big, but still, it was cool to see them. There were turtles in with them.

On Saturday evening my cousin, Kerry, who lives there, came over to see me. We went out for a quick dinner. It was fun to see her again. It had been several years. We were too busy talking and catching up to think about taking pictures.

And that was the extent of my adventure in Florida this past weekend. I've been to Florida twice now, and have yet to see the Atlantic Ocean. 

Someday we'll go back for a vacation. At least, it's on my bucket list.

Going to Florida

I'm headed to the airport this morning for another convention trip. I'll be assisting at the Sonlight booth at the Florida Homeschool Convention this weekend. The exhibit hall will be open 5 to 9 p.m. on Thursday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Friday, and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday. I'll be working with several other Sonlight reps for this event, most of them long-time friends, so that will be fun. Also, Sonlight's owner, Sarita Holzmann will be speaking. I'm hoping to be able to sneak off for a bit to visit a beach, but I'm not sure if we'll have time for that or not. In any case, it's sure to be a great weekend!

Homeschool Convention Season 2015

This weekend started my 16th season as a Sonlight Convention Representative. I was at the Home Instruction Ministries Spring Curriculum Fair in Loveland, Colorado. This is my 6th year to be at this event, and I always love starting off the season here, because it's small and friendly... and now that we live in Colorado, close to home.

Sonlight is celebrating their 25th anniversary this year, so our booths have a new look with a blue and silver color scheme. Actually, we are trying several new things this year so it was interesting to see how they worked out... some better than others.

I have a break of a few weeks between conventions before my travel starts in late April. Here's my convention schedule for the rest of the season:

• April 29. IDEA Curriculum Fair. Kenai, Alaska.
• April 30 - May 1. IDEA Curriculum Fair. Anchorage, Alaska.
• May 4 - 5. IDEA Curriculum Fair. Fairbanks, Alaska.
• May 16. FWAHS Resource Expo. Fort Wayne, Indiana.
• May 21-23. FPEA Homeschool Convention. Kissemmee, Florida.
• May 28-30. TTD-CHEO Homeschool Convention. Sandusky, Ohio.
• June 19-20. OCEAN Homeschool Conference. Portland, Oregon.

I'll be flying to most of these events, but Lyle and I plan to drive to the one in Indiana. Yay! Road trip! Flying in and out doesn't allow for much sight-seeing, but I'll try to post something interesting from each trip. After all, life is an adventure regardless of how you travel.

How Not to Decorate

Disclaimer: I'm not a decorating snob. I promise! I don't have a degree in interior design, nor is my home professionally decorated. Now that we are clear on that, I just have to show you the decor of the vacation home in Florida where we stayed a few weeks ago.

The first thing I noticed were the Disney posters on the wall in the living room. Very cute posters and the house was near Walt Disney World, so I can see why these were chosen. You can't tell from my pictures but they weren't hung straight, or even next to each other. It was as if they just kinda randomly happened to be on the same wall...
The opposite wall was graced with this eclectic grouping... 3 exotic leopard prints, flanked by 2 Monet-looking landscapes....
By this time I was rubbing my eyes in confusion...

I turned to the dining room. Five framed Wimbledon posters with one cheap print of a country kitchen scene mixed in for good measure...
The bedroom I shared with a friend had sweet Winnie-the-Pooh comforters. It was obviously a children's room, so I didn't have a problem sleeping with Pooh. High above the beds was this retro print of a 1950s family scene...
...and then on the opposite wall was this lovely entertainment center, enhanced with posters of Scooby-Doo and Minnie Mouse. On another wall of the bedroom were posters of Winnie-the-Pooh (to go with the bedspreads), and the fourth wall was a single poster of Kim Possible. I can see where a child might choose to decorate her bedroom this way, but for a vacation rental you would think it would be a little more professional.My friends and I decided that the place had probably been decorated by a man. Or a European. Or possibly even a European man!

In any case, I spent most of my time out here...
...so the decor didn't bother me. Much.

Learning and Lounging in Florida

No time for sight-seeing. No time for fun. It's just all been work, work, work.

Too bad "work" can't be this relaxing every day!

Ramblin' Update

It's been a busy week!

Today is the last of the 6-week ski lessons that the girls have participated in this winter. They have made wonderful progress, thoroughly enjoyed it, and are already looking forward to next winter!

Tomorrow I get to go to Florida for a few days! I am very excited! Some of the other Sonlight consultants and I are getting together for a few days to do some training/brainstorming for the upcoming homeschool convention season. We usually do this about every-other year, but other times it's been in Denver. I've never been to Florida before... and with big piles of snow still surrounding me, I am really looking forward to warmer temperatures and sunshine for a few days.

I posted a list of homeschool conventions where I will representing Sonlight on my sidebar. If you homeschool and live in the northwest, I'd love to see you at one of the conventions. Stop by the Sonlight booth and tell me you read my blog! That would be fun!

My husband and his brother are hoping to finish up their construction project tomorrow after I leave. Someone asked what "we" are building and someone else wanted to know why we needed to put a beam up. They are expanding the print shop to make room for a very large piece of equipment that they are in the process of buying. They are extending the current press room into an adjacent garage, and so they needed to put in a ceiling, insulation, and drywall. The beam is to support the ceiling joists. My brother-in-law has construction experience and my husband is a pretty handy electrician, so they save a good bit of money by doing their own construction. When my granddaddy visited us several years ago he said they reminded him of his "boys"! I took that as high praise, indeed!

And now some "shout outs"! A few people took me up on my invitation to post the "Getting to Know You" quiz on their blogs. Check them out:

Dori @ A Moment in Time
Katey @ Crazy Homeschool Mama
Ramona @ The Rose in Winter

Nicol @ Classy and Sophisticated honored me with the Premio Dardos blog award. Premio Dardos means “prize darts” in Italian. It is given for recognition of cultural, ethical, literary, and personal values transmitted in the form of creative and original writing. Wow!! Really?Thanks, Nicol!

My aunt, Aliene @ Meditations and Memories, is celebrating her 100th post today. She started blogging last March. She loves comments, so pop over and say hello!

I guess that's it for today. I hope to have internet in Florida, so hopefully I can post from there! Stay warm!