I am a Sales Manager....

After working all these days, nights, and weekends... I am tired. Very tired. And cranky. So, I found this little poem that perfectly describes how I (and I am sure I can speak on behalf of ALL sales managers at hotels around the world) am feeling......

I am a Hotel Sales Manager...

I have unlimited resources at my disposal.

I always keep at least 10 meeting rooms under my desk.

I can make any of my rooms larger or smaller, depending on your program needs.

I will naturally remove any supporting pillars from your meeting space and will install windows in every room as needed.

Unfortunately the 'river view' is not scheduled to arrive until Day Two of the program for which I sincerely apologise; however, I will move the convention center two feet to the left to accommodate your request by the end of Day One, although I realize the event is only next week.

I can only throw myself on your mercy and grovel at your feet; I completely agree that it is inconceivable that we should have any other groups booked into the hotel during your event. And the additional breakout rooms you asked for this morning for tomorrow's conference will be added to the hotel by the end of today.

Naturally it will be no problem to turn the plenary session for 200 (classroom style) into a hollow square for 300 with rear screen projection, simultaneous Japanese translation and satellite hook-up during the 15-minute coffee break.

Unfortunately, due to space constraints, and the fact that the final program bears no resemblance whatsoever to the initial program that we contracted the space under, I'll have to suspend the lunch buffet from the ceiling above the plenary session, then suck the gravity out of the ballroom - not a problem.

I've located the boxes that the sponsors sent last month under their mother's maiden name to the other hotel down the street, and again I apologise for not having found them sooner.

In answer to all your questions, it is of course, understood that I am telepathically aware of all your speakers needs and I'll set up an overhead, LCD panel, dual slide projectors, two screens, laser pointer, podium microphones, two table top microphones, podium knock-out switch, timer and blue M&Ms in each room, which I've negotiated at no extra charge, just in case they are needed.

Additionally it goes without saying that an A/V technician, engineer, baby-sitter and I will be underneath your head table for the duration of your event, in case you need anything else.

It has been great working with you on this event and every other just like it and I can't wait for the next one!!

Ohhhh I had to pick myself off the floor after reading that hilarious poem - love it! It might sound crazy, but believe me, those hilarious situations didn't come out of thin air.... trust me.

Love is in the Air...

Ahhhhh I LOVE Weddings! Have I mentioned that before? Of course I have! Only several dozen times :) Jess and Dan got married this weekend in Maumelle and had their reception at the Foster Robinson House (where I had my bridal portraits!) and it was so much fun!!
Somerset and Steven came into town from Tulsa and stayed with us this weekend. Saturday was the wedding day and it started at 5:00 pm at the Methodist Church in Maumelle. The ceremony was beautiful and Jess looked absolutely stunning and SO happy. Jess is one of the sweetest, most caring girls I have ever met - seriously. She has the kindest heart and is super outgoing and fun to be around and she just has this amazing aura that surrounds her. She walked into the ceremony and let out a huge happy sigh and giggled as she saw Dan for the first time - so cute!


Somerset and Steven


Me, Somer, and Hannah


Trey and I

Jess and Dan cutting the cake

Jess and I

Hannah, Jess, me and Somerset

So then, at the reception we ate yummy food and drank some fabulous rum punch and sat outside on the deck to enjoy the cool, crisp spring weather. It was a perfect day for a spring wedding. Then, the party continued inside with the DJ and we all joined in on the dance floor!

Hannah and Trey dancing it up!

Hannah and Somer

Slow dancin' with my Boo

The Bride and Groom surrounded by bubbles on their way to their surprise Horse and Carriage! It was so much fun and I am sure they will have a fabulous honeymoon.

Today, we all went to the Greek Food Festival that LR has once a year at the Greek Orthodox Church in west LR. We always look foward to this yummy event and we also picked up Lauren to join us. Vivian met us there and we sat down to eat the delish food. Once again - we had super nice weather and it was a perfect day for the festival.

Lauren and Somerset

We went inside to buy Baklava and then waved goodbye to Somerset and Steven. It was sad to see them go! Then, Trey took me and Vivian to see the Star Trek movie on the IMAX which was awesome - I am not a Trek fan, but this movie was amazing - I was impressed :)

Back to work ALREADY???

Day 8 - Back Home

Wow - 8 days and it felt like we were only gone one! This was seriously one of the best trips we have been on and we saw so many great places in our week vacation. We got up on Wednesday and stopped at Central BBQ for lunch which turned out to be pretty amazing (to die for ribs!) and then we headed back to Little Rock...

Home Sweet Home. We arrived safely and turned in the rental car. We picked up Sophie and went home to collapse because we were exhausted!

Is it too early to start planning our next road trip??? :)

Day 7 - Memphis, TN

We drove to Memphis on Tuesday and immediately did a tour of Graceland. Trey and I have both seen it before when we were much younger, but we did not remember it and they have added quite a lot to it!

This plane was crazy - the bright colors and the setups were hilarious!

The plastic was in place so no grummy fingers touched the furniture. I am sure many people were tempted - but no one broke the rules during our tour - ha!

This is Trey outside of the Elvis Car Museum.

Isnt this purple car a classic?! It was very pretty...

But NOTHING compares to this PINK old car! Ohhh I wanted to run up and jump in to take a pic, but the Security would have not-so-nicely escorted me out. Boo.

Front of Graceland...

Pretty horses were grazing during our tour

Can you imagine hanging out in a room decorated like this with fabric covering the walls and ceiling?? Whoa!

We stayed at the Hampton Inn basically on Beale Street - you walk out the front door that there you are, a few steps! We ate at Dyers for dinner - it was sooo yummy! Apparently, this restaurant has used the same grease since it opened in 1912! This is from their website: "This famous grease , strained daily, has continued to produce juicy Dyer's Burgers for almost a century now." Okay - so if you don't think about how OLD the grease is, it is fantastic! ;)

After Dyers we walked around on Beale Street for a while and then stopped at a Daiquiri placed that housed at least 10-15 frozen machines. They were good - but STRONG! I ordered a Pina Colada for my first drink and it nearly knocked me over - whew.

Here are our puckering faces - ha!

Then I ordered a Chocolate daiquiri and it was delish!!

Day 6 - Knoxville, TN

Today, Monday, we drove to Veritas Winery in Charlottesville before we left and had ourselves a little wine tasting of reds and whites. I admit it, it was like 11 am in the morning, but hey, it's always 5:00 somewhere right?? ;)

We ended up buying 4 bottles of delish wine to take home and we got a tour of their winery facilities






After the winery we drove to Knoxville and stopped at this ice cream parlor along the way.

It was a sweet little small town ice cream parlor and it was yummy!

We were in the middle of a very foggy area while we drove and it was crazy to see this white nothingness when we knew there was a huge valley/cliff off to the right. Kinda creepy!



We ate at this Downtown Brewery for dinner in Knoxville. It was recommended and turned out to be good. After dinner, we went to the movies (right next door to the restaurant!) to see the new X-Men movie.

Day 5 - Charlottesville, VA

We drove to Charlottesville on Sunday and ate at a little diner with yummy hamburgers and fries for lunch. Then, we did the tour of Monticello - Thomas Jefferson's home which was very cool. Yes - it was rainy ALL day and we were not prepared - or should I say I was not prepared for the crappy weather. I wore my white skirt and flip flops because when we left Norfolk it was nice and sunny. Then, we got to Charlottesville which was rainy and cold. We didn't have time to change so I just sucked it up (which for those of you who truly know me that is HARD for me to do sometimes, but I put my "big girl panties" on and had fun anyway!)


Good ole Thomas Jefferson and I had a moment with one another. I think I was way more into it than he was...shame. (that is trey's coat hanging on my shoulders - i was freezing!) ;)


Trey and Mr. Jefferson were having a very intellectual and serious conversation.

Jefferson's grave site

A very large area in which the estate grows everything you can imagine! Veggies, herbs, and all sorts of neat items.

Gorgeous flowers in the garden area

I want these in my front yard!

The back of Monticello

The front of Monticello

Front...

We took Kaitlin's suggestion and ate at Escafe for dinner which was fantastic (we did not have a single bad meal on our trip - pretty amazing!)

We tried their version of Mint Julep and it was to die for - we ordered two each! Mmmm...