Update from San Antonio

I'm in San Antonio at the moment for TCDA (Texas Choral Directors Association) Convention. I came down yesterday with a couple of choir director friends, and today has been the first full day of reading sessions, clinics, etc. I've missed the convention for the last couple of years, so it's good to be back.

This morning, I visited the hotel fitness center.

Side note: Dallas Cowboys Training Camp is happening in San Antonio right now, and the team is staying in the same hotel that I'm in - but no, I haven't seen any players yet, at least not that I recognized. There were some pretty big dudes in the fitness center this morning, but they may have been (a) players I don't know, (b) coaching/training staff, or of course (c) normal people.

Regardless, I went to the fitness center this morning, and I have good news! I jogged two miles in just under 30 minutes. This means that the winner in the battle of treadmill accuracy is my preferred treadmill at home! The treadmill that I was on at first, the one on which I ran from Satan, moves faster than the display screen indicates. At least, that's the explanation I have for all of this. If someone else has another explanation, I'll entertain that as well. All I know is that on the Evil Treadmill, I can't go more than 3 or 4 minutes at 4.0 mph. On the Nice Treadmill at home, as well as the treadmill here at the hotel this morning, I can go for 20+ minutes at 4.2 mph. Actually, this morning I went 20 minutes at 4.3 mph! Big doings! Here's hoping that was enough to burn off my four glasses of wine from the previous evening. =)

Tonight, I plan to be a homebody. Convention living can get pretty expensive pretty fast, and my goal is to be frugal enough during this convention that I am able to buy a new Vera Bradley bag when I return home with leftover money. The bag I have my eye on is called the Metropolitan, and I like it in the fabric called Barcelona:

My plan is to walk to school at least a few days a week this school year. But of course, I tend to need a lot of stuff at school - and while I'm willing to walk to school, I'm unwilling to be mistaken for an actual middle school student any more than is unavoidable. I like that this bag has a shoulder strap, which should be very walking-friendly, and it also has a padded compartment for a laptop, which I often take to school. The bad news is the bag is pretty pricey, but the good news is there's a sale on August 4th that will save me 20%. So, hopefully a night in tonight will put me a few steps closer to my goal!