Vegas Recap in Ten Tips (Fun Stuff)

As I mentioned in my last post I thought it would be fun to give y'all a detailed recap of SDE's I Teach First conference. Today's post will be about all the fun stuff and some random tips that may make your visit better. Tomorrow I'm thinking I'll share what I learned or struck me most from each of my sessions. This is not to say it the sessions weren't fun, because they totally were but after four days of presentations my head was and still is spinning a bit. All the ideas, the inspirations, the potential I just need a bit more time to process it. 

So any who, I was lucky enough to go to Vegas with two of my best coworkers.  While I saw a lot of people who went alone I would not recommended it.  Thankfully my girls Sharon and Meghan were just as pumped about the presentations and trip as I was. 

They were quite sweet and let me be all fan crazy when seeing the blog hoppin' ladies I read so much from. They also weren't too bothered by my 5 am wake ups. I had such an amazing time with these two girls. I'm not sure my trip would have been as fun without them. So my first tip to anyone considering going next year go with at least one teacher friend. 

Tip 2:  Bring your own snacks!! I'm not ashamed to say that I thought Vegas was more than a bit expensive. Thankfully I packed granola and Kind bars for each day of the trip. It allowed me to not spend $ on snacks between meals. 

Tip 3:  Stay at whatever hotel the conference is held at. We stayed at the Palazzo and man was it beautiful. It allowed us to sleep a little longer, offered plenty of entertainment, shopping and having everything in one place made it even more convenient. We actually only left the hotel one night. I'm sure I'll venture out more next year but for my first time it was perfect. 

The gondolas in the Venetian were my favorite. 

Tip 4:  Do plan to attend any blog meet up the Blog Hoppin girls host. Let me tell you those ladies know how to throw a party!! They had so many freebies and swag it was a teachers dream. I got to meet the author of Teach Like a Pirate 

AND I won a Tieks gift card!! 

Tip 5:  Bring nice, cute, colorful clothes and dress in layers. On the day I met Hope King I was wearing workout clothes and felt way underdressed.  It is also FREEZING in all the conference rooms so bring a sweater or long sleeves. 

Tip 6:  Bring more $ than you think you'll need!!  Even if you don't gamble you're going to find stuff in the exhibitors hall you never knew you needed. I waited till the last day to buy a t-shirt and stamps but if I'd known all the great stuff people would be selling I'd have gone better prepared. 

Tip 7:  Bring a large suitcase so you can take all your goodies home and not be forced to leave some behind, it's hard.  

Tip 9: Don't be shy!! Make friends with the other teachers in your sessions. Chances are they're a lot like you and who doesn't need more friend who just get it?  

Tip 10: Make it happen. Save up, write a proposal or start fundraising, whatever you need to do to be there next year start now. It's so worth it! 

Sunday Smorgasbord

I'm baaack... Or at least I am for today. 

So we can all conclude that teaching and blogging don't mix in my world! It's clear I can't handle both. So now that I've have had a couple weeks to rest up and enjoy some of my summer I think I'm ready for a little Sunday Smorgasbord. 

School ended for me June 13th and since then my focus has been the following: 

Spending time with my lovies: 

Somehow no matter how hard I try these three just won't stop growing!! Next year my AJ will be in FOURTH grade!!! How did this happen?  She continues to be a sweet, loving smart girl who loves to read and be outside. Koey will be going into first. I'm so excited to share my love of first grade with this little man. He's such a lovie who's obsessed with all things sports related.  My sweet sweet Ellie will be finally be joining us at HR as a PreKer in fall. She's so excited and so ready for school. She's my sweetest kid and at the same time the most ornery child ever. Channeling her passion will be the my hardest task for the next 15 or so years. 

I've also spent a lot of time tutoring three of my students from this past year. I'm loving spending one on one time with these cuties.  I tutor about 5 hours a week and it's just enough time to do what brings me great joy and purpose while not feeling guilty about being away.  Wouldn't it be cool if our school years were like that?  

My next summer focus has been getting fit!  I started going to Pure Barre classes on April 11th and have been attending 4-6 classes a week since then. I go at 5:30 in the morning and some days I go at 8:45 at night it really doesn't matter to me. The truth is 

Sometimes I get real luck and get to go with my favorite guy. 

Kev has been such a great sport, so supportive of my desire to get fit. He even knows how to make it even more fun. 

Tomorrow will be my 50th class. If you've never heard of Pure Barre let me just tell you, google it and find yourself a studio to attend a class at. It's amazing!  It's the hardest, most intense yet low impact workout you will ever do!! I still try to run a few times a week because I don't get as much cardio as I need a PB but seem to end up only running about twice a week. So it's my hope that now that it's summer I can commit to 3 runs a week. Here's a littler progress shot for you. 

These are April 13th, May 13th and June 27th. I'll post a pic comparing 2nd-20th and 50th class tomorrow.  One of the things that has me most motivated is Instagram. I've made some great "Insta-friends" who are constantly keeping me going. If you're also working on your fitness I highly suggest following, Katie King, Rachelle, and Katie. Katie has this great daily photo prompt that will really keep you interested.  You can also follow me, Racey7. Here are the prompts for July 

My last focus?!?! VEGAS!!  This year I'm going to SDE's I Teach 1st conference in Las Vegas!!! Are any of you going??? I'm so excited. I'm beyond excited. I'm going with two of my awesome friends/coworkers. We cannot wait!! I am so pumped to know I will be meeting so many of teachers who inspire me. I get to take sessions from the teachers I've dreamed of being when I walk in my classroom!  Sooooo awesome. I am a bit nervous and scared of leaving my littles for 6 days but everyone assures me I'll be ok a few hours after arriving in Vegas. I'm also sad to leave my sweet hubby behind but once again he's being so great saying someone's got to take care of the kids. 

So there you have it, my Sunday Smorgosbord.  Oh but I do have one finale question, if you're going to Vegas for any of the SDE conferences want to join me at the Pure Barre Las Vegas studio for a little LTB?  I've got the class times and am just looking for some workout buddies, so if anyone's still reading my blog and is interested let me know.