Guess what? I am back at home after a few flight delays yesterday that really weren't so bad. And our house wasn't burned down. If any of you readers are firefighters, I want to publicly state that you all are the only reason we still have a home. So, moving on with my life....I still need to cut the wrist band off my arm (the one that proves I am a convention attendee). Once that's done, I really am done with the convention, I suppose.

After wandering late into the reception for the International Attendees, I made up for lost time by meeting an entire group of very gracious instructors from Japan. Almost all of them have come to at least 10 conventions (that's a lot of jet-lag), but the youngest, Kayo (forgive any misspellings), was here for the first time and had come all alone. What a brave soul!

Late yesterday afternoon I went to watch the Culture Shock presentation. I think "wow" is the word of this convention, and it applies here. Those kids are so talented and their dance moves defy gravity and anatomical laws, I'm sure. I opted out of the chance to take the master class out of an instinct to preserve my dignity (which means my 14-year old son would have disowned knowledge of me if he'd heard I'd tried to do hip-hop or anything like it).

Last night was the IDEA-sponsored party.

Last night I talked Gus, the intrepid I.T. guy from IDEA, into sitting with me while I ate dinner. I believe he was on a medically supervised diet that required him to just have sake!

I flew in yesterday afternoon from Santa Barbara, which means I left a city still in the midst of a wildfire in the hills above town. Las Vegas is about 110 Fahrenheit so it sizzles in a different way!

Sometimes people associate the IDEA convention with workshops and the Expo, but it’s just as much about friends. In less than 24 hours I’ve met up with all kinds of great people.

Oooh la la, I have about 10 minutes to get over to my BOSU Block Party. I just finished Kari Anderson's hi/lo class and she is still the queen of choreography and dance. I almost felt clever once or twice! Time to go to the last event for the day, but I'll give a full rundown of this afternoon's excitement in the morning. Must keep moving (say that like Frankenstein with his arms out front).

The alarm went off at 6:00 AM, which was very unfriendly of it. Luckily the radio was playing a good song, so I woke up in a more approachable frame of mind. I can't speak for other fitness pros, but I am not what you'd call a "morning person."

Oh, it is so very hard to wake up zippy on the 4th morning. But, there are such good selections on the morning schedule that it's worth the effort to get my self up and out of bed. As a kick-start, I will take a step class this morning that should completely pep me up. It's a better plan than joining those long lines of people who have to have their morning coffee. read more >>

Sea, sand and a face full of salt water—what class do you think I took this morning? Did you guess kayaking? I had signed up in advance for one of the Adventure Experience courses, and it was completely worth the effort. My kayak partner Julie was very strong so we were very into the paddling. We even got to go inside a cave at La Jolla Cove that was guarded by a very vociferous sea lion. We even stayed fairly dry until the very end, when we got turned sideways by a wave and knocked over.   read more >>

Great Balls of Fire! Can you tell I took two ball classes in a row? I had better be buff! You know, it’s not so hard to get up for a 7:00 am class when it’s “Laugh your abs off.” Tim Wilkins and Mike Morris were having what I can only call a ‘Joke-Off,’ while Stephanie Morris kept trying to stay on task while flashing her beautiful smile. I was laughing so hard that I fell off the ball. read more >>