Las Vegas - an Acrostic

L: Lights - I'm a sucker for fame - famous people, famous stories, famous sights - and Las Vegas satisfied my every need. The strip glowed with famous signs, from MGM Grand and Mandalay Bay to Caeser's Palace and Treasure Island, I made sure to see it all. We stayed at the Flamingo (home to Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville), and walked the strip every night, stopping in any place we felt drawn to. We also took a cab to Mandalay Bay and hopped on the monorail on the ride back to make sure we didn't miss anything.

A - Astronomical prices - I paid $4.00 for a bottle of water. No kidding. And $20 for a Long Island (granted, it was huge... and it did it's job). Prices are not posted anywhere, and I paid out the nose the whole time. Luckily, our conference provided a continental breakfast of sorts, and we each took about 6 water bottles each day after we learned about the price of H2O.

S - Strippers - I really wanted to see a "real" prostitute. I know, that's probably messed up. I think I may have seen the beginning of one transaction in a parking lot, and the end of another (the walk of shame) early one morning. I won twice while gambling (keep in mind I only gambled three times), and each time I won it was at a table where a beautiful semi-nude woman was dancing. So be it.

V - Virgins - Of the 8 staff members who attended the conference, 3 of us (those under the age of 30) were all Las Vegas Virgins. And the *ahem* more "experienced" ladies were so excited to show us all the sights that we were well taken care of. They kind of prodded us in the right direction and then let us be on our way. Us "kids" as they called us, spent time at the pool and just wandering around Vegas trying to fit it all in. One of us was designated "Mama" for the evening, and was in charge of the purse holding water, cameras, wallets, cell phones, etc. That way the rest of us had our hands free for gigantic drinks if we wanted. It worked out pretty well.

E - Education- yes people, this WAS a conference. We paid for it with the money we raised at Saturday Live, and I did get a lot out of the conference itself, which went from 8-4 M,T, and W. So, while it sounds like we spent a lot of time enjoying the sin of Vegas, in all honesty, we spent most of our time in class, and were in bed by 11 every night. The conference was on Professional Learning Communities - a focus on collaboration. It's strange that most major businesses and hospitals place a huge emphasis on collaboration, while most teachers are shown their rooms, given a stack of curriculum and told to "teach it", with little to no guidance. The conference taught us ways to create common assessments, tightly align teaching to standards and curriculums, and get reluctant teachers on board - all to improve student achievement.

G - Great company - I attended the conference with my Principal, and one teacher each from grades 2, 3, 4, and 5. We also met up with a lady who used to teach with us and will be a principal next year. These gals were amazing. We learned a lot about each other during the conference, and we laughed a lot outside of it. I had such a great time talking in depth about education with these bright women, and had even more fun talking about non-school related things in the evening. I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know the women with whom I work.

A - Afterward - As much as I enjoyed the sun, the pool, the company, and the vacation, I was so glad to come home to Seth and my heavenly bed. Jenn and Beckett picked me up, I came home to a clean house, and spent the weekend with my husband. I love my life here in B-town, and wouldn't give it up for the bright lights of Vegas for anything. Plus - FREE WATER!

S - Sidewalks - I loved the use of moving sidewalks and escalators in Vegas. The streets were so congested with pedestrians that a lot of intersections require people to go up an escalator, across a bridge and down another escalator - just to get across the street! My feet were blacker than the devil's soul when I returned and it took a good long soak and scrub to get them back to normal after all the walking I did. Luckily, despite the drinks and food in which I indulged, I didn't gain one pound - thanks to the walking I'm sure!

And that, my friends, was my time in Vegas. :)