I went with the trout

I know you've all been wondering, what did Freakmom get for dinner at the hotel Monday night? I went with the trout. The thing that won me over was the side of sweet pea risotto that came with it. And gosh, that risotto was good. So was the trout. I suspect all the dishes were good at the restaurant. I also had wild rice with root vegetables soup. My only complaint about the meal was that the soup bowl could have had a bit more soup in it.

Anyway, the trip is over. I'm home until at least April. There's a maybe one-night trip then. I've decided I like everything about these trips except the getting there and back. I like the conferences. I like the people who attend. I enjoy attending sessions as well as speaking. I like staying in the hotels (we always get our own rooms). The 4 to 7 hour drives, I could do without.

The hotel was nice. It was on the campus of Michigan State University. But I have to say, the shower was too weird for me. There was no tub or shower stall. Just a nozzle hanging down from the ceiling and a shower curtain. You could sit on the toilet and shower at the same time if you wanted to (for the record, I didn't). The floor got all wet. Now tell me, how do you keep your socks from getting wet when the floor is soaked from your shower? I mopped the floor with towels. (I shower at night and I was going to be wearing my fuzzy socks and making trips in the bathroom to pee, so I couldn't think of any other options.)

So, I'm staying in a fancy hotel, mopping up the bathroom floor. Doesn't add up in my book. I was only there one night, but they had those signs about reusing your towels to save the planet. Now I'm all for saving the planet, but I'm sorry, if I have to use a towel to mop the bathroom floor in a hotel, I'm not drying off with it the next night. I want a fresh towel.

You can take the girl out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the girl. I'm just not sophisticated enough for funky showers.

Today I was off. Thank goodness. I can't say why without talking too much about work, so I'll leave it as, I'm glad I wasn't working today. I kept plenty busy with unpacking, laundry, figuring out what we still wanted to do for homeschool this year, planning some cookies to bake. Actually, I'm not really sure what I did all day. Doesn't seem like much when I think back on it.

While I was gone Violet and Mr. I. put the tree up. Tonight the lights went on (Mr. I. bought us some new LED lights on his way home from work today - see I'm Ms. Tree Hugger). The ornaments will get on soon. We're having a laid back Christmas. Actually, I think it is just sneaking up on us too fast.