Footprints on the Moon

This is the picture I would have used for my Self Portrait Sunday post this week if I had managed to blog on Sunday… or even yesterday. So, how about Self Portrait Tuesday? Even though this picture was taken on Friday… by Colleen… and not a Self Portrait at all? Details, details.

Obviously, I’m back home in Indiana now, and back to work. It’s cold and rainy and just two days ago, I was dying in the heat in Orlando! Maybe that’s why I’m feeling like I might be getting sick…

Cold weather notwithstanding, it is nice to be back at home. Traveling is always fun, but I’m always glad to get back home to my own bed. And the kitties were definitely glad to see me when I got in!

The rest of my trip that I haven’t written about yet was great! Saturday night, Colleen and I went out to dinner with Trevor and Andrew. Then it was on to Howl at the Moon, a piano bar similar to Rum Runner’s for those in the area.

We hung out, used up our free drink tickets and then turned in relatively early to prepare for the big day at SEAWORLD! Yes, that deserves all caps. I’d never been to Seaworld before, and I was pretty excited about it.

I think I grinned through the entire dolphin show, I felt like such a little kid. I kept telling Colleen, “That has to be the greatest. job. ever!”

Then of course, we had to go see Shamu. You can’t go to Seaworld and not see Shamu!

We rode the coasters in the park– Manta and Kraken. Manta is their new, very hyped up roller coaster. After you get strapped into the ride, it rotates you so you are laying on your belly. There’s nothing below you throughout the ride. That was pretty cool, but I think Kraken was better. It had a much better first drop, but I enjoyed all the rides we were on this weekend, both at Busch Gardens and Seaworld.

Then we decided to head for Tampa. Colleen was ready to head for home, and I was grateful. I was having a blast, but this Indiana girl just isn’t used to heat like that in October and my feet were screaming at me too. I spent the rest of Sunday night at Colleen’s house, with her family, trying to figure out how I was going to steal her dog.

Monday morning, I packed up all my stuff and got ready to head home. Colleen dropped me off at the airport so I said goodbye to her (*sniff*) and started the process of flying home. I was not crazy about my seating arrangements on the flights, but I complained enough about that yesterday that I’ll spare you!

All in all, I had a fantastic weekend. I enjoyed the weather, the theme parks, the parts of the conference I didn’t nap through, and of course getting to see and hang out with Colleen!

(Photo shamelessly stolen from Colleen’s flickr stream because I somehow did not get a single picture of us on my own camera)

Is it bad when you go to Florida in October and still need a parka and gloves?

Yesterday was the first day of the conference at Izeafest. Which I obviously blogged in the middle of (and, incidentally, am doing again RIGHT NOW). There were some very interesting and humorous moments, but Colleen and I ditched a couple hours early to go take a nap in the hotel room. It was very much needed!!

Once we got back up and around, we went to dinner at Uno’s for deep dish, Chicago-style pizza. Yum! Then it was on to the Icebar. They had a whole section that was just a normal bar, but they also had the Icebar. You got a parka, and a pair of gloves, and then headed inside to the 27 degree bar of ice.

The glasses themselves were made out of ice, as were the chairs… and the walls… and the tables…

Even the fireplace was made out of ice! (And the decorative dude, whose ice boogers are being picked by Colleen.) It was a lot of fun, and made for some really great pictures… but I just can’t help but think– if I wanted to be cold, I could have stayed at home! lol After sitting on an ice bench (with a fur on it, of course), my butt was cold for the next half an hour!

Tonight is the IzeaHunt, and then the after party at Howl at the Moon, which is a piano bar. It should be a lot of fun. We’ll be at Seaworld tomorrow though so might not be able to update with pictures or anything until later. Sorry, I’m not dedicated enough to type out a blog entry from my phone.

Hey guys! I made it to sunny Orlando, Florida. I have to tell you, I’m loving it so far. Of course, that’s not so difficult… it’s 54 degrees and rainy back home, and 80 degrees and sunny here. I’m currently sitting in a conference room at Seaworld for IzeaFest. I’m paying attention. No, really.

I actually flew into Tampa yesterday afternoon, and Colleen picked me up at the airport. The flights were okay… Delta didn’t hold on to my seat requests, so I ended up with inside seats on both flights. Yeah… I get claustrophobic. Luckily the flights were short so I didn’t have too much time to sit there and freak out. We went to dinner at Applebees, and then met up with the group at Busch Gardens for Howl-o-Scream. Mostly, we walked around and rode the coasters that were available. Colleen’s a bigger wimp than I am for the scary stuff so we didn’t do any of the haunted houses.

Finally made it into Orlando and to the hotel room closer to midnight. Right now I’m working on about 5 hours of sleep or so… I’m thinking this might be a great day to break my ban on caffeine. It just might be necessary.

I’ll try and keep you updated on the shenanigans this weekend, but no promises. I’ve not been doing good at taking pictures so far, but I am updating on Facebook, if you are a friend there. I’m also posting things to my twitter page, so check there if you’re wanting to keep up “in real time.”