VEGAS, BABY, VEGAS!

Jackson watching "The Hangover" on our way to Vegas

Since I am cheap and didn’t want to pay for internet access at Caesar's Palace, I will update about our entire trip to Las Vegas in one post. Here goes:

Thursday night we dropped off both dogs at their respective camps and headed to the airport. We had a short and enjoyable flight that evening. We got into Vegas and hailed a cab to the hotel. My Dad and Diana had already checked us in and met us at the taxi stand. Being checked in early doesn’t sound like much of a good deed unless you’ve been to Vegas and seen the check-in lines. The lines in Vegas are insane- not that we had to wait in any of them, but more on that later. Anyway, we marveled at the insanely gorgeous place that we’d be calling home for the next few days and then headed out to see some sights.

We went to the botanical garden at the Bellagio. They made the coolest scenes with flowers. The people watching in Vegas is top-notch. A lot of parents forget to teach their children (daughters) to wear clothing when in public. I will never understand this whole going out looking like you forgot the get dressed thing that women do. Moving on.

The botanical gardens

We were pretty tired that evening and called it a night at around 1 o’clock Vegas time. That’s beyond late for an old lady like me. Seriously. Friday morning we got up and met my Dad and Diana for breakfast. I think that getting to breakfast was half of the fun as we wondered through the Forum Shops en route. (If you’re not familiar with Vegas, the Forum shops is a super fancy mall that is just gorgeous! Vegas knows how to do shopping malls.) We went to a breakfast buffet at Harrah’s casino. We were greeted with a huge line for breakfast. My Dad looked at me and asked, “do you want to stand in line?” I shrugged, not wanting to be my typical difficult and impatient self. Then he continued with, “or do you want to come with us?!” As it turns out, they are members of this Diamond club that gets you privileges around the casinos. After that, we never waited in line. It was a pretty sweet gig and I loved the no waiting in line part. I’m also fairly certain that we got better service because of them which will also not cause me to complain. Anyway, back to breakfast. It was this grand buffet and we loved it. (Side note: we specifically asked if the french toast was made with cinnamon and we were assured that it was not. Then as I excitedly went to bite into it, I smelled the distinct stench of that wretched spice. It was a very near miss and one that I did not appreciate.)

The views from our room

Then we headed out to do my first round of gambling. I had been to Vegas before, but I was under 21 and could not gamble so this was my first crack at it. I won $5 and then lost all that I’d bet. Bummer. I did enjoy the slots, though. We went casino-hopping most of the morning. After getting spent on gambling (I’ve got NO luck), we headed back to Caesar’s to go to the pool. The pools at the hotel were nothing short of fabulous. I have never seen anything quite like the setup they had there. Complete with fountains, swim-up blackjack tables and waitresses to serve you. It was pretty awesome. It didn’t hurt that every single day it was well over 100 degrees so being at the pool felt great. (Side note: I DID wear sunscreen that I hand applied in Vegas. I’m not that ignorant.)

Me, with my head chopped off, gambling for the first time

Friday night we went to a dinner buffet at another hotel, Rio. It was slightly off “The Strip” so we took a taxi there. The taxi lines outside of our hotel were outrageous so it was nice to have the diamond card that allowed us to skip the lines and have a taxi right away. :) The buffet at Rio was e-x-c-e-l-l-e-n-t. We had a nice dinner and then headed over to the casinos. I won again on the slots. And then gave it back. I hate that. Jackson and I were able to play video poker for over an hour on one $20 bill. It was really fun and nice to have to make some decisions instead of just playing slots. We were bushed and headed back to the hotel for the night.

Saturday we woke up and headed to breakfast. We went to McDonald’s and felt like beggars compared to the morning before- ha! I showed Jackson the cool canals inside the Venetian hotel and then we placed our bets on the USA v. Ghana soccer match. We lost. BOO. I officially hated soccer again after that. We ate lunch at Margaritaville. That place was insane. There were people everywhere. The food was great, though. Then we met up with Dad and Diana. Jackson lost a bunch of money on blackjack and defeated, we headed back to the pool. $14 later we had more sunscreen and were ready to head out.

That night we went to see Jubilee. It was a Las Vegas showgirl kind of show that Dad and Diana got us tickets to see. They had some pretty awesome guys doing acrobatic acts that blew one’s mind. The stage changes and the costumes were definitely something to see. I also think that the 90-year-old lady next to me chanting “yummy” at all of the male dancers may have added something for me. Classic.

After the show we walked all the way New York, New York casino. Things look close in Vegas because of all of the big signs, but that is an illusion. It was a long walk down there in our sandals and the still sweltering desert night. It was worth it, though. We had just seen a special on the NY,NY casino the night before we left for Vegas that left us wanting to dine there. I was NY style pizza and Jackson had a big corned beef sandwich. Both were worth the walk down there. We played our $1 bet for Susie-per her request- and she did not win a thing. Better luck next time, Susie.

Me, playing Susie's $1 bet

On our way back to Caesar’s we saw the Bellagio’s fountain show. It is definitely something to see. I loved how the water seemed to dance with the music. Fun! We then wondered back to our hotel as we were exhausted.

Sunday morning, I woke up and searched out the Germany v. England soccer match. I know. I hate soccer. I still had a bet going and needed to know how I was doing. Thankfully, Germany beat England 4-1 and we won $40! Woo hoo! Then we met Dad and Diana for breakfast again. We ate a buffet in the Paris hotel. I loved the Paris hotel as it was very reminiscent of the city itself without the language barrier. I tried a crepe at the buffet and hated it. I did try it, though, and of that I was proud. Jackson and Diana went to the top of the Eiffel Tower- Las Vegas for some cool views of the strip. They even got to see a fountain show from above. My Dad and I played some slot machines were I won $68 and cried tears of pure joy. I cashed out immediately, happy to be less wounded by our gambling. (If you’re wondering, we lost about $150 all-in-all which is not too bad considering how much fun we had doing it!) I’m pretty sure that my tear over $68 lead my Dad to believe that I was nuts, but it was an exciting time.

The view of the Bellagio and our hotel, Caesar's, from the top of the "Eiffel Tower"

Jackson and I spent the rest of the day at the pool. It was so nice just to relax and read a book for fun by the pool. I had just forgotten how good things like that felt. I love not having homework to do, but I miss being in school. Weird. I know. We wrapped up our time in Vegas by hanging out with Dad and Diana for a bit and then headed to the airport. We got to eat at Moe’s Southwest Grill at the airport which was a real treat. It is one of the restaurants that we miss the most from our Indiana days. Our flight was delayed due to mechanical errors (always comforting when you’re sitting out on the runway), but we are en route to Denver now. Yes, I am blogging in advance on my laptop from the plane.

The lobby of some gorgeous hotel. I forget which one.

We had a really nice time and would like to once again thank my Dad and Diana for hosting us. It was a real treat! :)

Rant

Today, I have a rant. It should only take me a few minutes to express my frustration. Thanks.

I have the day off of work today. It is Wednesday and I do not work Wednesdays or Fridays in the summer unless it is necessary based on my workload. I still receive work emails and text messages on my days off. I always answer them. I even take work-related phone calls. I know. That's dedication. ;)

Anyway, I'm off today so I am cleaning the house, doing laundry and packing for our trip to Vegas (tomorrow! Woo hoo!). I also got my haircut (shorter than I'd like, but a lot healthier looking) and bought a new pair of NAVY pumps! (Susie: I found them at DSW and had a whole 22 cents to spare after purchasing them! Woo hoo!!!) We're also watching Marla until tomorrow when we'll drop both dogs off at camp. When I returned home from running my errands, I went upstairs to get Marla and take both dogs outside. I decided to take the elevator down instead of trying to manage two wild pups on leashes down 4 flights of stairs. I ended up in the elevator with one of our older (50ish) neighbors. He looked at me and the 2 dogs and said, "I just HAVE to ask, do you and your husband even work?!" I looked at him shocked (I also wondered why me standing there meant Jackson did not work?). What a jerk. At this point about 90 things went through my mind, here are a few examples:

1. No, we're just independently wealthy and choose to live in a condo complex just outside of Denver, Colorado with one bedroom and annoying, nosy neighbors like yourself

2. No, we actually just both lost our jobs and are about to be homeless

3. No, we actually make counterfeit money in our bathroom to be able to pay the bills

4. No, we live off of the government and plan to start having a ton of children that you'll pay the health care costs for

5. Don't worry about it

6. No, we are stay-at-home parents to our dog, MacKenzie

I ended up with the old, "I work about 60 hours a week in the winter and therefore only work about 20-25 hours in the summer as I am a tax accountant and am at my office as the workload makes necessary. Thanks, though. Oh, and Jackson is at work right now. Gosh, I'm just so, so glad you could check in on us!"

I quickly exited the elevator and made sure that I shot him a dirty look on my way out. I am not sure why people do not think before they speak!

Another example: A male client honestly came into the office yesterday, saw my pregnant boss and exclaimed "you're HUGE!!!! You've got to be more than 6 months along or you need to stop eating so much." Really, sir? Really? I thought she was going to cry on the spot. Every pregnant woman carries differently and I'm sure all of you mothers reading this remember feeling like a whale and didn't need a reminder from some careless man. I don't even love my boss and I still was upset for her. (She consoled herself with a candy bar after the meeting. I kid you not. Classic.)

Moral of my rant? Think before you speak. Understand how what you are saying is going to come across to someone. And when in doubt of how it will be perceived, keep your commentary and questions to yourself. After all, most things are not your business anyway.

End of rant. Thank you.

"I'll have a hot fudge sundae!"

I'm not one to admit my shortcomings, but I will admit that there are two things that I am horrible at dealing with: death and illness. I must still be young because the thought of being ready to leave this planet has never crossed my mind. I've had discussions with people about if I were ever diagnosed with an illness whether or not I'd seek treatment. My friend, Kate, who is an oncology nurse says that she would skip all treatment and die without all of the pain of treatments. That terrifies me. I know that I would do whatever it took to stick around with my loved ones for even just one more day. It all comes down to preference, I suppose.

I'm also an emotional basket-case when it comes to anything illness or death related hence the tears dropping on my keyboard currently. I am just a weenie about these matters.

My Great Aunt, Phyllis, has decided that it is her time to go be with the Lord. The final preparations are being set for her. She has decided to discontinue blood transfusions that help her blood's oxygen levels. She is going to have her pacemaker stopped. She's fought the good fight and she's ready to go see all of her treasures in Heaven. Phyllis' parents, husband and many dear friend have already been preparing a spot for her to join them up there and she's ready to go.

Phyllis has been an absolute angel in my Mom's life. I do not think she will ever know how grateful my Mom is for all that she's done for her. I know that her good deeds will not go unnoticed when she arrives at her destination.

There will never be an Easter that I don't think about how awesome the egg hunts were at Aunt Phyllis and Uncle Burr's house. We had so much fun at their house as they had a tire swing! Seriously, it was the best.

My Mom went to go see Phyllis today and called her to see if she'd like anything. Phyllis excitedly proclaimed that she'd like a hot fudge sundae with all the fixings from Ivanhoe's (only the best ice cream place on that planet conveniently located in Upland, Indiana). My Mom happily obliged. That's it. That's all she wanted. She's completed her mission here. She has raised wonderful children, been influential in the lives of her grandchildren and has adoring nieces, great nieces, etc.

I'm so proud of the woman that my Aunt Phyllis is. I rarely hear stories about people who are so sure of where they're going that they have no fear, but this is one of them. She knows the Lord and knows that He has a spot for her. While selfishly it is always hard to let go of the ones we love, I wish her the absolute best in her new journey.

I love you, Aunt Phyllis. I mean that from the bottom of my heart. Thank you for just being you.

Swimmer

It was a gorgeous day in Denver so we decided to take MacKenzie to her old swimming spot to take a dip. That splash you see with the speck of white is our little dog. She LOVES the water.
She could swim after the ball all day if it weren't for swallowing too much water in her frantic attempt at swimming. She's so funny. She had a fantastic time. :)

Ms. Marla

Our neighbor, Bri, is about my age and we really like her and her little dog, Marla. Bri is a nurse practitioner at University Hospital in Denver and works some crazy long days. On those long days, we usually let Marla out and let her play with MacKenzie. Marla is a little crazy, but she's still fun.
Marla loves beer. It is so funny. Bri gives her bottles (plastic) that entertain her for hours.
MacKenzie and Marla just play and play. MacKenzie is OK with having Marla around for a while, but she is always happy to be the only dog again!
Marla will just sleep on the floor like this. It is so funny. MacKenzie does not ever lay on anything that isn't cushioned and comfortable.
We got both of the girls "pawbenders" (puppy ice cream treats) so they could cool down during the warm afternoon. They were so content!

Upland wedding

My Mom and Guy hosted a wedding for one of my cousins today. How great does the place look?!
They got married under this little arbor. It normally has a swing in it!
Look at the photo and you'll see why Upland is also known as "God's Country." The gorgeous green grass and cloud-peppered sky it all just looks gorgeous!

Summa time

This is what I did today. (This is not my photo.)

Today was my day off of work so I relaxed by the pool with our neighbor, Bri (Marla, the dog we puppysit for sometimes, is Bri's dog) who also had the day off. It was so nice to lay by the pool and read gossip magazines. I had not done that in what felt like years. Yes, I did get a little toasty as my spray-on sunscreen wasn't as awesome as advertised. I love summer!

MacKenzie

Since not a lot has been going on around here- just enjoying all of this spare time that has suddenly been heaped upon me- I decided to put up some photos of MacKenzie. The second photo above was her tonight after having Marla over to play all afternoon (see Mac and Marla digging for toys in photo 1). We played ball, went for walks and played more ball. She is beat!

After her ball game this afternoon, MacKenzie took a break with Jackson. I think they're so cute!

The little bear that is in a heap on the floor is a bear named "Jackson" (named by the manufacturer- not us) that our friend Carla once got for MacKenzie. We thought Jackson was too cute to be a MacKenzie toy so we put him on a bookshelf. I guess MacKenzie disagreed and pulled him down for a little game. I love the look on her little face like, "what? He is my toy!" This was a few days ago, but the photo was too cute not to share.

Finally, this was MacKenzie greeting us for bed the other night. I love how wherever the blankets have been turned down automatically becomes her spot for the evening. She's such a good little dog and we just love her (I'm sure none of you could tell that we adore her or anything).

"Happy Birthday, Aunt Ninny"

This just might be the cutest photo that I have ever seen! My sister calls me "Ninny" because when I was a little girl I had a hard time with Jenna and reverted to calling myself "Ninny." It made sense back then. Now? Not so much. Anyway, Ninny stuck and she's pretty much always called me that. She then decided that Alex would call me "Aunt Ninny." When she writes thank you cards from Alex she always makes his handwriting really funny. This photo is just priceless. Alex is just the cutest baby. I cannot take it. I miss him so much!

Yes, this is me admitting that yesterday I turned the big 2-6. Gasp. Tear. Scream. Thank you to everyone for the phone calls, cards and facebook messages. I had to work and had class until 10. Happy birthday to me! ;) Today I had to work again and then Jackson and I went to dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. It was delicious. I had a very chill birthday and that was fine with me. Let's hope that 26 is a good year!

Rainy days

Well I haven't blogged much this week because I was sick for most of it- yuck. Work has been insanely busy. I had a make-up class on Saturday afternoon due to Memorial Day. That was annoying, but at least it was cold and rainy so I was not missing out on anything.

It has been insanely cold here this weekend and we are so glad that graduation was last weekend. We have not gotten out of the low 50's here. Crazy. We've also had some horrible storms that have caused MacKenzie to decide that she's now afraid of thunder. GREAT.

That is about it. It is has been pretty boring around here this week. I've done a lot of reading for fun- that's been great. Jackson has not been able to play golf or go to the range all week. We want summer back!

Whitewater Rafting

The view from the river.
Grace and I helping Susie get her life jacket on. Those things were so tight that it was pain in the butt to get them snapped.
Grace after we finished the ride.
Susie and Jackson on the boat.
Kathi helping Grace into her wetsuit. She was COLD the entire trip (it was seriously 95+ every single day) so we made her wear a wetsuit, a splash jacket and her life jacket. She STILL complained that she was cold. ARG.
We loved the rock formation on the left in this photo because it looked like a gorilla.

We had so much fun. I obviously took photos when the river was not raging. We got an old school waterproof camera that Susie had to take to get developed- imagine that!

Success

I'll never forget the Full House episode (side note: Full House has always been my favorite show. Always.) where Danny (the Dad) is teaching Stephanie (one of the daughters) to spell success. He tells her, "double the 'c' double the 's' and you'll always have success!" I still think of that every single time that I write "success."

Anyway, what is success? Dictionary.com defines it like this:
1. the favorable or prosperous termination of attempts or endeavors.
2. the attainment of wealth, position, honors, or the like.

I think success means something different to every person. Sure, we can agree that something or someone is a success, but what it means for us differs. Maybe for some people a success is graduation from high school. Maybe a success is raising happy children who are productive members of society. Maybe success is opening an orphanage in Africa. Perhaps a daily success is something as small as getting a stranger to smile or laugh. But what is the kind of success that leaves one on their death bed knowing that their life was not in vain? I do not know what that is for me yet. Do you know what it is for you?

I've always thought long and hard about how I want to live my life. I think about which things I want to focus on and which things are OK to somewhat ignore. I, for one, love being educated. It is just something I am passionate about. I would go to school forever if it paid me and not the other way around. I'm interested in so many things. That is not realistic, though, so I'll have to join the "real world" sooner or later. Sometimes I feel conflicted about my choice of careers. Let's face it, no matter where I go I'll be dealing with people who simply do not grasp how fortunate they really are. I currently deal with wealthy old men who whine when the stock market dips their assets' value to below $1 billion. If I get the IRS job that I want I'll still be dealing with them, but on the other side. (Which I think has got to be more fun. Right?) I always feel a little empty in that my job doesn't really help anyone who needs it.

When we were whitewater rafting, our guide told us how his sister is a nurse and his brother-in-law is a dentist. They moved to Africa 2 years ago to open up a clinic and are going to serve there for the rest of their lives. I looked at Jackson and told him that we had no services that were useful to anyone but wealthy Americans. It makes me sad. (I know people say we could build houses, etc. Maybe Jackson could do that. I cannot. I'm just not handy. I do think I could teach mathematics. That's universal, I think. Jackson assured me that if you have no food or healthcare then math does not matter. Shoot.)

I do not feel any closer to my goals for my life by finishing my graduate degree. I feel like I have so much more to do. I always thought I'd feel a little closure when I finished, but I just do not. I honestly feel a bit empty. I'm guilty of identifying myself as what I do: "I'm a graduate student." "I'm a tax accountant." instead of who I am. I'm working on that.

I tell myself that once I finish the CPA exam that I will feel successful. I won't, though. I may feel like quite a success if I can get into an Ivy League law school. (Are you listening Columbia, Cornell, Harvard, Yale and Penn admissions boards?) Still, some people would look at my life and think that all of my schooling was a waste and they prefer their success to mine. That's fine. You cannot please everyone. There is always someone doing more than you. There is always someone better than you. I guess part of being a success is being OK with that fact.

I wrote all of this to say that I do not know what a success is to me. I'm going to work on figuring that out. I do know that at the end of my journey that we call life I would like to hear, "Well done, good and faithful servant." And maybe that is all that I need to know.

Ms. Grace

I loved this photo of Grace wearing my hood before graduation. She's so funny.
We told her to pretend that she was really going to jail. She really did it up!
She got her face painted at Texas Roadhouse. She looked awfully cute to do her birthday shopping with Aunt Jenna.
She's always down for a silly photo.
Grace just could not stay awake after whitewater rafting. Poor Kathi's arm was falling asleep.

Thanks for coming out to play, Grace. We are ALL (MacKenzie included) exhausted from keeping up with you! :)

The jail

On our way to the Royal Gorge today we passed a correctional facility with a museum next to it so I decided that we had to stop in on our way home. It did not disappoint. ;)
Jackson just outside of the prison walls. There was a guard in that tower with a huge gun keeping a watchful eye on the inmates on the other side of the wall. Creepy.
In the "museum" there was a real life gas chamber that had been used to kill 8 inmates. I was beside myself on how very spooky it was so be so close to a place where 8 people died.

Yes, that is a real gas chamber. (I'm really against the death penalty so it was really hard for me to see this thing.)
Of course they allowed us to pretend that we were in prison. "I'm innocent!"
Kathi telling the warden her sob story.
Susie was awfully bummed to be in the slammer.
Jackson just looked angry about his sentence.
Grace and I pleading with the officers to let us out. :)

We had a lot of fun being silly at the jail museum. It was only slightly alarming that we could hear the prison's intercom system giving the inmates instructions. And then there was the armed guard thing. But other than that it was a really cool place. ;)