One of My Favs ...

You know how sometimes you see a picture, and it makes you smile? That's this one. I have a digital photo frame at work, and this one came up today ... and I smiled. My boss was in my office at the time, and he did a double take. This is my Uncle Norman, communing with nature.

New York, Part II

Here's our TAC group on Gala night. As I've mentioned before, most of the participants attend every year, so I've gotten to know them over the years. What a great group (at least for the most part ... :-)!

We had a band that was comprised of various individuals who normally are in top name bands or shows, but in their "off" time get together in this band. They were great. However - for whatever reason - people really didn't stay and dance this year ... except for a hardy few.

The next day was more or less completely free, so Jennifer, Kris and Sterling and I went to Central Park, had a horse and carriage ride, and a great lunch at Jackson Hole. That night was when we went to the shows (9 to 5 and Shrek).

Friday evening was the grand finale, with a dinner cruise on the Hudson/Manhattan Harbor. The views could not be beat, especially with the full moon!


My gal pal and best TAC buddy, Jennifer. Jenn is the Marketing Director in our Canada office. We didn't get into too much trouble!

A Day at the Zoo

After not seeing Kaiya and Teague for nearly two weeks, I was itching to get a fix! So today we visited the zoo. It was perfect weather. We saw the new baby giraffe, but the baby elephant has not arrived yet (expected this week). We just missed getting into the bird show, which my friend Debbie helps with.

We also had lunch at the Blue Plate Diner. Good, moderately priced food. You know, the kind of local place that serves breakfast all day. Then home to read a couple of books before nap time. I'm still not unpacked completely, but this day was worth it!

Oh, and Steph was with us too ... she just didn't manage to make it in any of the pictures. :-)

New York City

It's been a very busy week so far in New York, and this is the first chance I've had to catch up. Even so, I am basically passing time until I can go downstairs and close up our Gala event. We have about 175 people in from 17 countries. It really is a great group.

I've been here since last Thursday, preparing for the groups' arrivals on Sunday. On Friday I had "pre-con" meetings most of the day. Saturday was "work day" which means we had to organize the various things that participants would be receiving, plus our signage, awards, products, etc. One box of shirts didn't arrive, so we had to make a new plan for that. Luckily, they did eventually arrive. We took a small break for lunch, and then later went to Wicked. What a fabulous show!

In case you're wondering, this is a trick that Gayle's husband Kimbal showed us. I'm not sure if you can tell, but this is two forks on a toothpick, balancing on the very tip of the toothpick. Very weird, but also impressive.

On Monday, we went on a helicopter tour over Manhattan. What a way to see the city!


Then to lunch at the South Street Seaport. I had a PERFECT lunch, all by myself, overlooking the Manhattan harbor. It was bliss, a heavenly reprieve in the midst of a busy week.

The site of the World Trade Center is very eerie, though this is about as much as you can see ... unless you fly over it in a helicopter! New Yorkers seem very cynical about what - if anything - is going to be built in this location.

On Tuesday, the group went to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island ...

... and then to Phantom of the Opera that night. We had a "meet the cast" party after the performance. It was interesting to see the real people behind the costumes (they never look like you think they will) and hear some of the "behind the scenes" stuff that goes on. Can you imagine doing a full length Broadway show six to eight times a week? I think it would be exhausting.

Well, just a bit more to go before this year's event is over. Tonight Jennifer and I are going to the musical "9 to 5" and Kris and Sterling are going to "Shrek." We spent a good portion of today waiting in the half price ticket line. Tomorrow is another free day, and then the last thing of the event, the Farewell Dinner, which is a dinner cruise of the Manhattan Harbor. Then departures, then home sweet home. I always dearly love coming home! I'll tell you one thing ... New York is the most fabulous city ever for eating out. We have not had a meal yet that wasn't divine, and I don't think it's because I'm so terribly good at picking out restaurants. As someone told me today, the competition here is so great that restaurants have to be good to survive. I may have gained a million pounds .... then again, it's possible that I've walked off every calorie.