Ah, my first day back from my fabulous trip in Amsterdam!  I am still getting used to being back on the East Coast, but that is all good!  🙂 It was a busy day for me – I had to get a few things in order for my upcoming trip, but I also had to make sure that I mailed off my gifts to Mom, Dad, and Karla from Amsterdam.

Before I left for the Netherlands, I had asked my family members what exactly they would like in terms of gifts from the Netherlands.  Dad said that he wanted a cookbook, Mom wooden shoes, and Karla wanted something with animals, and Kristin wanted a gift from Heineken.  Well – I was very successful in this task!  I actually got Dad two cookbooks – one in English, and the other in Dutch.  I am definitely looking forward to what Dad will make – I am sure that it will be fabulous as always!  I got Mom her wooden shoes – but I also brought back some speculaas (her FAVORITE cookies) and some Gouda cheese (YUM!).  I got Karla a couple of items and Kristin a couple of gifts from Heineken.  So, hopefully everyone will like the gifts that I got them from the Netherlands! 🙂

I am still amazed with all that I did while I was at the Reputation Institute Conference.  It was absolutely amazing – I got to listen to many fantastic presentations and meet new friends from all over the world – it was a wonderful opportunity.

Now, I will be leaving to present at my third conference in three weeks (wow – that is a lot of traveling and presenting!) in Athens, Greece.  I am very excited about this wonderful opportunity.  I will first be flying to Munich and then to Athens.  I will be presenting on the first day of the conference, so that will give me a chance to play tourist for a couple of days around the historic and beautiful city of Athens.  I will be in Athens with Mom for a week for our conference – so exciting!!! 🙂

Another reason why I am very excited about this trip is that I am going to be seeing my sister Kristin.  It has been since October that I have seen her since she left for her second tour in Iraq.  She has always been one of my heroes and I look up to her for her bravery, kindness, and generousity.  She is truly an inspiration to me – and I am really looking forward to seeing her in a few days.

Well, I better go and start getting packed!  Hope you all are having a great day!

Best Wishes,

Karen