What are the OH Events like??? (xposted)

I say it every time I go to an event - I need more time to see the area we are IN.  I saw too little of Texas. I saw the hotel's immediate surrounding area and it's luxurious-ness and $11,000 couches, and also where they must film COPS. 

I landed Thursday after a too turbulent plane ride and a very poor Super Shuttle experience, BUT I MADE IT!  You know it's been rough when others are talking about it all the way to the baggage claim.  Twitch.

I quickly found me a Rachel.  Rachel had gastric sleeve surgery not long ago, and has been struggling, so to GET to Texas was a big deal.  I know she doesn't think so, but it was.  Rachel is pretty amazing.

Rachel lost her roommate at some point, so I shoved her into my room and we spent the weekend sharing with Andrea (my usual roomie).  This worked well, and I would suggest to anyone if you're hestistant on going to an event due to cost, room with some friends whose personalities and quirks you can SLEEP WITH.  Just saying.  I can sleep with several women. ;)

While in Texas we saw the Space Center, and ate way too much TOFU.  It makes NO SENSE, but that's the way it worked out.  If your hotel has poor restaurant service, walk to local food.  It was a noodle house, and Starbucks.  Fine with me.  However I wanted MEAT slathered in BBQ, I saw NOT ONE meat joint while there.  I assumed Texas would have more, maybe not in that area.  

(Taking a photo of this photo is a Federal Crime.)

What I did see:  the INSANITY and ONSLAUGHT of hundreds of quick-serve junk restaurants.  No wonder Texas has an obesity problem, and WLS Centers in STRIP MALLS.  Just. No.  We did indulge.  WHATABURGER.  Andrea, not impressed.  Beth, happy with buttery Texas Toast on my pickley bread, but I threw away the meat.  :x 

We spent probably $75 on espresso at Starbucks though, in the biggest SB I HAVE EVER SEEN with the worst customer service at a Starbucks that I have ever experienced.  But, addiction is addiction.  GIVE IT TO ME.

Friday night after sitting in traffic to get back to the hotel -- we met up with everybody at the reception.  It's always awesome to see new friends that you know only from avatars and photos and postings online.  People never match your impressions of who they are online.  No, I am not telling.  But, mostly good. 

There were some very notable missing peeps.  Know you were missed.

I was met by two amazingly cute women:  Connie and Rosemarie from Youtube.  Rosemarie said to me, "Nobody knows who I am."  But, I did, that's cause she's ROSE-MARIE!  (You have to watch her videos.)  Connie, her sister, who's receiving the inaugural grant from the Weight Loss Surgery Foundation of America for her weight loss surgery, was just beaming.  They are too cute for words.  (And, no, a photo?  I don't have one.  Someone does.  I'll steal it.)

Afterwards, instead of going out to find a bull, the Bad Girls retreated and weren't so bad.  I felt that I was too old and tired to go out and find a bull and potentially have to walk back with my hurt foot.  (I have a photo of that!)  We went to my room and had an almost sleepover party.  :)  No FUN AT ALL.  (We were warned not to have any fun.)

Early Saturday, we were up and filling a vendor table with BBGC T-shirts and WLSVitagarten Lab Tracker books.  I guess that makes us vendors now.  Heh.  Someone did ask me what I was selling.  I was like, "Well, I don't.  I don't want to sell anything. I'm better at unselling."  She might have been perplexed but she bought a tee shirt.

We, and I mean myself, Andrea, Shana, Kailtin, Rachel and some assorted Bad Girls *****ally rock... came by and had a table.  An impromptu table, and it was kind of cool, you know?  We didn't mean to be there, and we were, and so there we were. 

At least one video of the vendor space was created with a running commentary of every single table and vendor, and we were purposely avoided while we watched the video being filmed. 

Oh hai!  We are here too?  Nope.  It might be interesting to see how that video appears when edited.  But, to be fair, I realize my photos show a very slanted look at an event, because I was in a certain area for much of the time, surrounded by certain people.  I do understand that. 

We met lots of lovely Texas peeps, and interestingly lots of people who traveled in for the event! 

The vendors, lets see if I can remember, forgive me in advance for those I am forgetting: 

• Gotein
• Bariatric Advantage
• Building Blocks
• Celebrate Vitamins
• Dr. Alvarez (who also sponsored the PHOTOBOOTH, watch for THAT link soon.)
• Bariatric Eating (Appears to be morphing into a new company hawking vitamins?)
• Revival Soy
• IDS
• Arbonne
• Connie Stapleton, PhD.
• Flourish
• MaryJo "The Hotness" Rapini (did you see her tights?!)
• Chef Dave Fouts
• Bariatric TV
• Realize
• The Davis Clinic