I'll be home soon

The last couple of weeks for me have been busy with travel.  Here's an overview:

Indiana

It started with a 2 day road trip to Bloomington, Indiana.  I was part of the judging panel for the business case portion of the Indiana University Young Women's Institute.  The YMI is a program for bright, over-achieving high school girls.  In the week-long program, the young women learn about business, and work on a business case.  At the end of the week, the teams present their business case in front of their parents, friends, and panel of judges.

This is my second year to help out, and I LOVE it.  The young women are driven, smart, dedicated, and impress the heck out of me.  I hope that all of them join the business world.  We need them!

Germany & The Netherlands

I was home for one night, then off to the airport for a trip to Germany.  The hightlight of my trip was a day trip to one of our factories in The Netherlands.  I'd never visisted the country before, so I talked my colleagues into taking me somewhere "Dutch."

Here's what I saw:

The center of town in the middle of the day.

Lots of pedestrians and cyclists.

The old town hall building.

The bottom floor is now a restaurant.

So why not stop for an afternoon snack?

Apple cake and coffee.

My colleagues tell me this is a traditional Dutch afternoon snack. 

It was yummy and I'm not even a fan of apple-y pastries.

This day-trip convinced me that - on my next work trip to Germany - I need to fly into Amersterdam and spend a couple of days before starting work.  Apparently it's only a 3 hr train ride away from the office.

Des Moines

The day after I got home from Germany I got up early (4am) to drive to Des Moines.  Rip and I are attending a 3-day Laura Romanik obedience seminar.  I've picked up a couple good tips so far.  I'll do a post in the next couple of days to share some of what I've learned.

I'm looking forward to heading home tomorrow night and sleeping in my own bed for a change!