Guess what? I am back at home after a few flight delays yesterday that really weren't so bad. And our house in Santa Barbara--where wildfires have been raging for a couple of weeks now--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. 

I want to mention a few of the classes that I attended and haven't spoken of yet: "The Science Behind Eating Organic" had a lot of wonderful statistics to back up what we all probably know to be true: industrial food isn't particularly good for us. But we were also presented with some evidence that supports the industrial food chain for environmental purposes. I think Phil Block did a good job of leaving opinions out and putting supported science in. As an editor I am always looking for accurate, referenced information. After the lecture I ran to hide my caramel popcorn (in my belly). Does that count as getting rid of stuff I shouldn't eat?

From there I switched classes from my planned schedule and took Zumba Gold with Joy Prouty and Josie Gardiner. Some of my older adult students have been asking about Zumba so I figured taking a class that was geared toward my group would be great. Joy and Josie are a great team, and have been so for over 20 years. They work well together and complement each other's strengths too. I enjoyed myself immensely.

Each year, the IDEA World convention is so much fun and such a great way to meet wonderful teachers, presenters, trainers and product reps that I know already I'll attend next year. But I might hide a soft cushion or mattress behind Carrie Ekins' stage!

Here are my Top Ten Reasons to Attend an IDEA Convention:

10. All the women are good-looking.

9. All the men are good-looking.

8. You learn lots of stuff and even retain some of it.

7. You get to meet lots of people from other countries and watch them sweat in a foreign language.

6. Photographers take photos during the sessions, so you might end up in a brochure.

5. You can wear all the wild and skimpy outfits you've stashed in the back of your closet.

4. You can ride Segways, surfboards, beer kegs, hobby horses and lots of elevators.

3. You can eat and drink free samples in the Expo Hall while checking out the latest equipment, music, apparel and information. Did I mention you can also win free prizes? And get seconds on the samples?

2. It's a good place to start planning for the presentation you'd like to submit.

1. You can whip out your disco moves at the IDEA party and it's cool.

Stay healthy and well-balanced until next year, when I hope to blog for you all again. Me, I plan to stay healthy and unbalanced--completely!!