There is a rather large amount of professional associations one can choose to be active in if education is your career. The acronyms are worthy of the best tongue-tying competitions! I've only dabbled in a few, but my favorite is the Association of College Unions International (ACUI). When funds are tight and you can only choose one conference to attend, or I'm looking for a volunteer experience, I choose ACUI. It feels like coming home- I love these people! There is something to learn for anyone, not just union peeps. It's pretty awesome.
Recently I was asked to volunteer at the IPDS conference. (Yay, more acronyms!) Long story short, it's a summer conference hosted by ACUI for people who are relatively new to student affairs or student unions. It's a week long crash course with people from all over the country. I was so excited and honored to be invited to participate!!
I made a new friend and colleague in Vinny from University of Delaware. We co-presented a session on programming and operations, encouraging ways to develop better relationships between the two areas. Our session rocked!
The conference was held at Purdue Memorial Union this year. Silly me did not take many pictures at all. If you're interested in the beautific majesty of their facility, I suggest you google it and check out their website. Matt and the girls joined me, we took a mini road trip since my only requirement was to be present for our actual session. We arrived Wednesday, beating the wild weather of rain, hail and tornadoes! Took a nice swim in the hotel pool, then the next day Matt and the girls toured campus while Vinny and I dazzled at our workshop :-) After the session, we walked campus a little before heading to Cracker Barrel for lunch. DELICIOUS and fun. That place delivers every time. Then we headed home. Originally we were going to hit up a state park nearby, but the previous night's weather ravaged the area a bit. So here are the three pictures I actually took! I could have taken more, but we were having so much fun I honestly forgot....
In other news, being at home is better than I could have ever dreamed. On a workout morning run with my friend Bridget ( who also happens to be Matt's boss) she asked me if it was really great and I said I could not tell a lie, it's fantastic! To which she replied that out of everyone she has ever met who left a job to spend more time with family or pursue something different, not one person ever said they regretted it. So far, that holds true! I just didn't fully understand how much I was missing!! Good grief they learn a lot when they are so small. The developments, physical and emotional and mental, just keep coming. Savvy is uber mobile. Thank you Tasha for those kneepads! We are settling into a routine and schedule. And seeing friends more. Matt and I took our friend Elizabeth up on free tix to the Chicago Symphony and during one of the intermissions she asked what we were doing about music. I told her we have a piano, clarinet, guitar and baritone at home to which she asked, "What are you waiting for?" I looked at Dr. Smith, he looked at me and we both had that parent moment of, gee-why-we-didn't-we-think-of-that-aren't-we-silly? So Matt started piano with Cass for about 15 minutes at night. We alternate our nighttime routines with starting to teach her to read. She's really into it! I think it's especially helpful since she isn't in a classroom right now and that's the environment she is used to. So the learning continues :-) I can't recall the book he is using for piano, but we're using Reading Reflex for reading and really like it!
In other news, I have been a craigslist fiend! Found a beautiful twin bed with trundle for Cass, and a new stroller for Savvy. Our beloved Joovy double could no longer sustain the two of them- Cass is a big girl! So we sold it along with a few other items and have turned a small profit! Wahoo! I know I have said it before, but there is so much of baby/kid stuff that is reusable out there in great condition. And cheaper than buying retail! Ecofriendly meets thrifty.
That's the end of this story ladies and gents. I don't have a tidier, witty way of wrapping up today.
Bye!
Recently I was asked to volunteer at the IPDS conference. (Yay, more acronyms!) Long story short, it's a summer conference hosted by ACUI for people who are relatively new to student affairs or student unions. It's a week long crash course with people from all over the country. I was so excited and honored to be invited to participate!!
I made a new friend and colleague in Vinny from University of Delaware. We co-presented a session on programming and operations, encouraging ways to develop better relationships between the two areas. Our session rocked!
The conference was held at Purdue Memorial Union this year. Silly me did not take many pictures at all. If you're interested in the beautific majesty of their facility, I suggest you google it and check out their website. Matt and the girls joined me, we took a mini road trip since my only requirement was to be present for our actual session. We arrived Wednesday, beating the wild weather of rain, hail and tornadoes! Took a nice swim in the hotel pool, then the next day Matt and the girls toured campus while Vinny and I dazzled at our workshop :-) After the session, we walked campus a little before heading to Cracker Barrel for lunch. DELICIOUS and fun. That place delivers every time. Then we headed home. Originally we were going to hit up a state park nearby, but the previous night's weather ravaged the area a bit. So here are the three pictures I actually took! I could have taken more, but we were having so much fun I honestly forgot....
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| Memorial Union |
In other news, being at home is better than I could have ever dreamed. On a workout morning run with my friend Bridget ( who also happens to be Matt's boss) she asked me if it was really great and I said I could not tell a lie, it's fantastic! To which she replied that out of everyone she has ever met who left a job to spend more time with family or pursue something different, not one person ever said they regretted it. So far, that holds true! I just didn't fully understand how much I was missing!! Good grief they learn a lot when they are so small. The developments, physical and emotional and mental, just keep coming. Savvy is uber mobile. Thank you Tasha for those kneepads! We are settling into a routine and schedule. And seeing friends more. Matt and I took our friend Elizabeth up on free tix to the Chicago Symphony and during one of the intermissions she asked what we were doing about music. I told her we have a piano, clarinet, guitar and baritone at home to which she asked, "What are you waiting for?" I looked at Dr. Smith, he looked at me and we both had that parent moment of, gee-why-we-didn't-we-think-of-that-aren't-we-silly? So Matt started piano with Cass for about 15 minutes at night. We alternate our nighttime routines with starting to teach her to read. She's really into it! I think it's especially helpful since she isn't in a classroom right now and that's the environment she is used to. So the learning continues :-) I can't recall the book he is using for piano, but we're using Reading Reflex for reading and really like it!
In other news, I have been a craigslist fiend! Found a beautiful twin bed with trundle for Cass, and a new stroller for Savvy. Our beloved Joovy double could no longer sustain the two of them- Cass is a big girl! So we sold it along with a few other items and have turned a small profit! Wahoo! I know I have said it before, but there is so much of baby/kid stuff that is reusable out there in great condition. And cheaper than buying retail! Ecofriendly meets thrifty.
That's the end of this story ladies and gents. I don't have a tidier, witty way of wrapping up today.
Bye!
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