Oops I ate too much

Who would have thought it? We seem to have eaten too much.

Mother's Day was a lovely day for us all. Kirsty spent time with Craig and Mary's family, while Maurie, Sally, Sarah and Caroline joined Peter, Fred and Agi at Fred and Agi's daughter's place. Sharon and her husband Phillip are fabulous cooks and fed us too much but hey, as Agi says, "Eat! You diet when you go home!"
(Thank you Sharon, Phillip, Marcus and Ilan, and Phillip's parents and Molly who we hope to see in Australia SOON.)

Back to work on Monday 10 May - how rude! But oh my gosh, what a day.

At the Phoenix Convention Center we were hosted by Cynthia, who has been a GSE team-member herself. The Convention Center in its current structure is only a couple of years old and is a really beautiful facility. We were impressed by the public art, the environmentally sustainable practices and the decor. But most of all we were impressed by the philosophy adopted by the management and staff. How refreshing to find a government 'office' that is so focused, not only on customers but on its staff. Regular Line-ups for networking, sharing good news and recognising one another are only one aspect of the operation. Really fantastic, place - thank you to everybody who joined us and showed us around!

The BEST bit, however, was the element that sets the facility apart from other convention facilities - the Innovation Kitchen! Clients are invited to this secret hideaway for tastings and sampling to select menus for their events. We too were treated to the experience, with renowned Chef Jesus Cibrian. You would not believe the food we were served! They said it would be a Continental Breakfast, but it was three courses and hot; and served by the man himself. A lovely, funny, entertaining, clever man - no wonder he has a regular television segment. Thank you for your hospitality, Jesus!

Not full enough from Mother's Day and breakfast, we moved on to Moses Anshell, dynamic advertising agency... where we were served lunch while we met with many members of the big team. We wished we could spend more time there - even if only to shoot some hoops in the inhouse basketball court... But no, we had to move on again...

To the Arizona Office of Tourism. We were honoured to meet with The agency Director and several members of the AZOT team, who gave us so much time and were happy to answer all our questions. Brian, we got your email already, thank you so much. Yes, yes, we want to keep in touch, keep exchanging information and would LOVE for you to come and visit us some time too.

A huge day, but not over yet... Last night we were joined by many of our Phoenix friends for dinner at a hot Chinese restaurant named George & Sons. [Andrew - from the team that came here last year - we hear you "went nuts" about this place and we can see why!!] The food was AWESOME. We waddled home and rolled ourselves into bed last night, sobbing, "No more, please, no more."

Everything is going well. I am travelling with some of the funniest chicks I have ever met. If only I could get Sally to laugh with one of my brilliant jokes. She's a hard nut to crack, that one. Just saying.