Week 24 Highlights

Not even gonna lie- at 10pm on Wednesday- I was getting into the shower (yeah, I'm one of those shower at night people)- I realized it was Wednesday. So I hurried up- put on my belly picture clothes. And did the weekly photo shoot.  And here I am on Thursday with my puffy feet up posting about the week. It went by so fast, I didn't even remember that it was the end of the week!  I was also in such a daze yesterday that I had an open tab with a draft of week 23, I pushed publish and totally wiped out the whole week 23 post. I was and am SO sad. I will work to recreate it; but it just isn't the same. You can kind of see in the picture that I was typing that post.  I've tried all my geeky thoughts and I cannot find the post.

I'm gonna keep sulking but I'll move on.

Thursday I worked on the blog, and then I packed for the big trip. I was pretty excited to head to Las Vegas for an EdTechTeam Summit. Its not the first summit I have attended; but it is one of the first summits outside of Colorado.  This sweet snuggle from Sass makes it hard to leave though. If its hard with her snuggles- baby snuggles are going to be awful hard to leave.


Friday the whole day was a build up to leaving. Once Julie and I got out of the school and to the airport, we only had about an hour before boarding. Julie had surgery and is in a boot, so it wasn't as easy for her to navigate. We made quite a pair- the preggo and the boot. I rushed inside to get to the ticket counter thinking there would be a wait- nope- none at all. My thought was get there and Julie would be able to catch up and get in line. No need- then we had almost no line to get through security. That was nice. So we made it to our gate with enough time for a snack and probably 3 or 4 bathroom breaks.  Flight was good and navigating to the rental car was easy. I was nervous to drive in Vegas.  We did end up on the penthouse floor of the MGM Signature.  It was a really nice room and I was happy there was a couch to sleep on. That extra back support makes me sleep so much better.


Julie and I grabbed some food at MGM and her sister and niece  visited. I sat and worked on my slides; because I wasn't quite happy with them just yet.  We didn't get to bed super early but I slept good. Saturday we got ourselves to a grocery store to stock up on water. Yes, I am weird about water. Thanks college biology for ruining me for life.  We made it to the summit and I was happy to see some of my favorite EdTechTeam people. I was also happy to drop my stuff in the first session room and go eat breakfast. Panera caters breakfast and lunch and I was ready for bagels and orange juice and fruit. I also am a connoisseur of bathrooms. Poor Julie had to hear the word bathroom so much I think she would have been drunk if it was a drinking game.

The first presentation had a good turn out--- People were nice enough to take some pictures. Well, it was also part of the badge challenge as well. The day was a good mix of learning and sharing and the weather was great!I also got to see someone from the California summit that I had met.  At the end of the day we joined the rest of the presenters for a get together. The appetizers were delicious and I had some cranberry juice. Very exciting. I did get to meet some new fantastic people. One of which, a canadian, was at the same hotel so we took her back. Poor thing, I took a wrong turn and we ended up doing a loop around the air port- I felt so bad. Its embarrassing.


















When we ended up back at our hotel safely- I decided we should go to Carlo's bakery for dessert. So we took a cab down the strip and thats what we did. The carrot cake was amazing. So was the people watching. A Saturday, in Vegas, when the adult entertainment awards are in town-- good people watching.




After sugar overload we walked the strip and did a little gambling. I won 900 pennies. So exciting. I left the casino with an extra 85 cents! Big winner. I did wear a jacket on the strip for fear that weird people would be well, weird with my belly. I was thankful you couldn't notice.  The end of the strip tour was seeing the Bellagio waters, synced to Elvis. If you didn't know, Elvis was my grandma's favorite, and is also one of mine. Since pregnancy started- I hear Elvis almost everywhere- believe in signs of not- it makes me smile and think of her.

By the time we got to Planet Hollywood- I was ready to get some sleep. I also noticed all the salt I have been eating catching up with me.  After two laps around part of the casino- we got to the taxi stand and off we went. I slept well just not long.

Sunday was another great day with the last presentation of the weekend. One of my favorite summit moments is when they share Julie's photo of her students during our first lesson with tablets. I also love that they had her stand up and share her story, and that someone said she is the reason they were there and tried chromebooks! That's awesome.



Just to give you an idea of the size- it was about 200 people.


One of my super favorite moments of the whole summit was the 70 degree weather that I was able to enjoy. The session I wanted to go to was full and she live streamed. So Julie and I went out and streamed and we soaked up the sun. It. was. awesome.



The photobooth was almost shut down so we made our own. It was so much fun for those two days to talk about the things I love to do in education. It is always really sad to see the end of a summit.

After the summit, Julie and I headed to sushi for dinner before leaving Vegas. It was good but the service was slow. We got to the rental car place, and to the airport.We experience several rude people along the way.  I still had some water left, so I wanted to chug it before security... especially since there was seriously no line. So I did. And I felt pretty awful with such a full belly. It got to the point I was deep breathing and had to sit. I was fine later but it was not fun for a while. Several bathroom breaks later, it was time to get on the plane. We sat close to the bathroom- surprise. I was tired and ready to sleep on the plane knowing we would be up late. It wasn't that easy.  A poor little kiddo was crying through most of the flight. The new mommy ears had a rough go with that. There was also a group of people on the back of the plane that were loud and obnoxious.  All said and done- it was 2 am before I got home on Monday morning.


Monday at 10, I also had the neurology appointment I had been waiting to have. The Dr. was VERY good. In the end she thinks it could be related to sinuses and is watching to see if a sinus infection is the culprit.  Simple solutions like claratin and saline nasal spray are where we are starting. She also gave me some Tylenol3. I haven't tried the Tylenol3 just yet. I have seen a decrease in headaches but as I type this- my neck hurts and I have a twinge of headache. The DR also wants to continue to follow and will do so by phone because of my busy schedule. I feel like she is going to be super helpful and I am happy to have that support.

I did have to work the whole day and I was tired. I didn't feel as terrible as I thought I would.  I have noticed that my ankles have disappeared. So I have been trying to put my feet up as much as possible and cool down on the salt consumption.   The kitties have been very snuggly since I got back. Can you tell- they never are this lovey.


Tuesday was just as busy of a day and a bit more tiring. I am still hooked on this show Reign on Netflix and have been watching all the episodes. So dangerous.  Tuesday I also decided it was time to start looking at coupon deals to stock up on things before day care takes over our lives. So I found a great deal at target and got a few boxes. I don't know why I feel that have to do that, but I do.... so I am. It feels good to get some things together.

Wednesday was a blur- and I didn't even remember it was Wednesday. I did get some news about some potential work leads- not leave my job; but some interest in me doing some things. Its exciting there could be an opportunity to bring in a little more income.  Wednesday I did something I haven't done in forever.... use the stove to cook dinner. I made sloppy joes. I was a little rusty and messy; but it sure has tasted good.

So once I realized it was Wednesday it was late and the staying up late feels to be catching up. I'm glad I scheduled my world for the next 6 weeks to have an open weekend in between the busy. I'm looking forward to a mellow weekend and the week ahead seems to be on a good track. Now, I have the task of trying to remember LAST week. OY!