Hi from the Homeschooling Conference!

Good morning!

How's everyone doing?

I'm blogging from the homeschooling conference, holed up in the Radisson across the way from the Lansing Center. We're up on the 11th (and top) floor, which is kind of fun. In a look-out-the-window-and-see-how-far-down-things-are sort of way. We're up so high! The sun is rising over the city and the view out our East facing window is blindingly brilliant. This part of Michigan is flat, and downtown Lansing wouldn't win any awards for *pretty* but I still think there's something about looking out and seeing for miles, with the blinding sun washing everything with golden light through the haze ...

And my favorite building, the Water & Light Building, has sunlight illuminating it's windows ... I love the way this building was built on the river, with dark almost black bricks at the bottom, shades of purple and orange as you go up, to very light yellow bricks at the top, as if sitting along the river it has soaked up water over the years. I'll try to post a picture later.

The conference is good so far. I like conferences. I like speakers and talks and seeing friends in the hallway. I like staying in a hotel and drinking the free coffee with nasty powdered creamer (why don't I ever bring those little containers of liquid creamer that I like?) and being away from 'real life' long enough to think a little.

We don't go to ponder curriculum directions or to buy things. I know a lot of people come for the Exhibitor's Hall, to look first hand at the curriculums and to buy them (often at a discount) while here. But not me. I come for the talks and to be re-focused on God, and re-energized and encouraged. I usually need it by May! We do visit the exhibitor's hall, but my brain seems to shut down as soon as I walk in, even if I know what curriculum specifics I want to look at and buy. I walk in and am dazed and overwhelmed and just wander, buying my stuff later, from home, over the internet. But I love the speakers and the encouragement, the reminders of why we do this and what's really important.

At some point I'd like to blog those deeper thoughts of the why and what's important, but not today. I need to get on with drinking the not-so-tasty but well caffeinated coffee, and packing up our few belongings, so we can check out before the first session. The Grand Lunar is in the shower, and I'm just goofing off, here.

If I were ever holding a conference, I'd see about a late check-out time for attenders, like after the end of the whole conference, and a continental breakfast. At least for those on the 11th floor. Which is the 'concierge' floor here. Which is French for, "registered late enough that the only rooms left were on the expensive floor." -- you need to swipe your room card to even GET to this floor. So if it's soooo special, shouldn't a continental breakfast - just bagels and fruit would be fine - oh, and flavored non-powdered creamer - come with the extra price? I think it was $25 for this floor. I mean additional. So we should get some perks besides the closed-on-the-weekends conceirge room. Which, apparently, is a big empty room with lounge chairs. I'm not really sure the point.

The hotel is connected to the Lansing Center with this great long tube tunnel thingie. I love walking through the tube tunnel thingie. I'm easy to impress. But we always stay here instead of one of the cheaper but farther away hotels. It's a once-a-year splurge. We don't have to drive back and forth, we can walk to the car if we forget or need something, and we get to use that tunnel tube walkway several times.

There's also a Chinese restaurant within walking distance that we like. I'm having the steamed veggies and white rice, with hot garlic sauce on the side.

Not for breakfast. I'm just planning my lunch, already. We usually eat there twice, Friday night dinner and Saturday lunch. It's "our place" LOL.

Anyway. I'm rambling. I was reading recently that a good blog is succinct. Haha! Well, that just makes me One Bad Blogger.

HEY! I should've worn my HSB shirt, been on the lookout for other bloggers here.

Maybe next year I'll have a blogger workshop, LOL. The Workshop itself could be just sitting and giggling, really. Talking about what we like about blogs. Finding out which blog-reads we have in common. Meeting famous Michigan Homeschool Bloggers like ... um ... uh ... I guess I don't know any. Besides me. LOL!

Wouldn't that be fun?

I'm so full of good plans.