Momma does 'Bama

Almost two states at once!
(Please pardon the dirty windshield.)

Wes and I have been on the road for conferences in the last week or so.  First I took a trip to the University of Alabama for the NCTE-AR Conference (that is, National Council for Teachers of English Assembly of Research).  I was presenting on a research study I did last spring for my qualitative methods class.  The conference is a pretty small one, which means it's easier to get accepted and meet some of the bigger names who do come to the conference (in this case, Ernest Morrell and Catherine Compton-Lilly).  I was fortunate that this year, the conference was being held in Tuscaloosa, which is around a 3 1/2 hour drive from Nashville.  It was a very easy drive, which I really appreciated since I did it twice in two days.  Since Wes was leaving for NOLA on Sunday, I drove down to Alabama on Friday afternoon, just in time to hear the keynote address, and then back on Saturday after my 3:30 presentation.  I stayed at the Hotel Capstone right on campus, immediately next to the Bear Bryant Museum where the opening reception was held.  (This is probably one of the few receptions held in this museum, which was open for guests during the event, where no one actually went in to look at anything!)  I wasn't really there long enough for form any thoughtful opinions about the place, but the campus was pretty, and I had some good catfish and okra the night before with two of my classmates.

The Quad

I got home around 8pm on Saturday in time to visit some with Wes.  He left the next day for New Orleans, where he had a conference tied to some of his funding.  He was there for three nights and came home on Wednesday evening.  Emme just stayed up long enough to get to see him and receive her gift -- a purple and gold feather boa (that subsequently littered feathers all over the floors).  Oliver also was delighted to receive his gift -- more beads for dress up -- as well as mine -- some special Vanderbilt beads.  Wes missed Mardi Gras, but, it seems, was able to bring home a little of the festivities to us nonetheless.

I think we're all home for a bit now.  I don't have any more conferences until the fall.  Wes has SAEM (Society for Academic Emergency Medicine) in May in Chicago, and as long as everything goes as planned (thanks, Mom!), I'll be going with him for our annual getaway.  I'm especially looking forward to this year's trip since I'm neither pregnant nor breastfeeding, not to mention -- it's Chicago!

The college of education at UAB.