MASB Conference

**Me and Kurt at Barktoberfest with the pugs....

So, have not posted because I have been out of town and pretty busy. I attended the MASB Conference in Grand Rapids, MI. Jeff (the school board president) and I were the only two board members who attended. I left on Thursday afternoon from work. Trip went pretty quickly, only hit one traffic jam from an accident on I-96. Got there, checked into the Amway Grand (which is super nice) on the 10th Floor. Called Jeff and we headed for dinner at The Chophouse. The food service company our school uses was hosting a dinner, so Jeff and I decided to check in and take advantage of it. It was nice. I had two drinks(which is totally rare for me), and had blackened salmon with asparagus and rice.......Creme Brulee for dessert. The lady next to me had never had it AND had never had tiramisu. She is seriously deprived, LOL. After that headed to bed. Got up the next morning and met Jeff after he had breakfast. I had a bagel and frappicino from Starbucks and we headed to a couple of clinics and lunch at the conference. The first clinic was about communicating your budget issues to the community and was interesting. The second we took was on food allergies of students in the schools and I really learned a lot at that one too (www.foodallergy.org). The class I took that night was on Change and Transition: Managing People and Issues. That night, we had dinner at a place I found called Charley's Crab (Chuck Muer place) on the water in GR. Loved it. I had blackened tuna oscar with mashed potatoes and rice. Super good. Highly recommend the place.

That night, I woke up with a migraine, which I tried to sleep off and did, but it required sleeping in and missing breakfast. Met Jeff for lunch at this fun diner downtown and had mahi tacos that rocked. Went and heard a speaker at the confernece next, and then since we had a break, we watched the State/Michigan game and then headed to the next class. Mine was called Ethical Challenges and I really enjoyed this one a lot. Really interesting and it was fun to get perspective on some issues I have from other board members across the state. Went to dinner that night at a place in GR called Vitale's (Italian). We then decided to drive home that night instead of staying the night again. I was glad to be home and not driving straight from GR to my sister's wedding shower on Sunday.

**my sister, pregnant....she is due on 2-24-08

Sunday was my sister's shower in Farmington Hills. It was a lot of fun and nice to see my family. I always love seeing my cousin, Carolyn. She is in 6th grade and we always have fun together.....I bought my sister a crib, and she really liked it. She got a ton of other things she wanted as well. Everyone had a good time (I think). We watched the Lions game during the shower and it was awesome. I am still in shock we are playing so well this year, I keep waiting for the bubble to burst, really. :). Got home after that and spent the rest of the night making dinner, working out and watching DH. I will post more pics of the shower once I upload them...

AMANDA! I got my purse. I was so psyched, and it is beautiful. The materials are gorgeous and I am in love. I am psyched to have something so unique and highly recommend this site to everyone. :). I posted a pic above.

Kurt got his new computer too, which is awesome. It is actually really nice (despite the cheap price I paid) and it's great to not hear him bitch about his old one not working, haha.

**Me and Carolyn, my fav 6th grader....and my cousin! :). We were holding the string we used to guess how big around Christie has gotten......

Work has been crazy. It's said that I miss ONE day of work, and come back to true madness. I am hoping to calm things down a little bit tomorrow since today was practically all catch up.