Vegas, Baby

A few months ago my dear Husband suggested that we take a trip, just the two of us. He thought Vegas might be fun, so I said sure. We didn't have much of a plan for the trip. We just knew we wanted to see a show, go Downtown, and relax. We managed to accomplish all three. For a gambler and a non-gambler, I think we did pretty well. I don't mind wandering around by myself, which I did a couple of times while Hubs was bringing home the big bucks. His itch for gambling also played well to my need to catch up on sleep. If he was much of a partier, I would have been a sorry companion. I was in bed by 10PM most nights!

The trip was certainly not short on interesting experiences. Here are a few things I learned:

*Each cab ride is an adventure. Our very first cab ride, the driver was playing a game on his phone while at a stoplight. He didn't even attempt to hide it by turning the sound off. This little distraction also prevented him from noticing the po-po that pulled up right next to us, who proceeded to give him a nice warning buzz when he broke out of that light like a bat out of hell.

*Massages are wonderful. OK, I didn't learn this on the trip. But I remembered it. On Monday I was treated to an 80-minute massage in the hotel spa. It.was.FANTASTIC. Like many of the things that require me to take time for myself, I was talked into it by Husband. He's cool like that.

*Be careful what you ask for. I wanted to see a Cirque du Soleil show, and our concierge fsuggested Le Reve. Husband politely obliged. I don't know if it was the total lack of storyline or perhaps the fact that the men were wearing less than the women, but he was not a fan. Days later I'm in still awe of it, but not even sure if I really liked it. Researching it when we got home, I discovered it was not an official Cirque show at all; rather it was created by someone with Cirque experience. Not a big deal, but a bit disappointing...and now there's probably no way in hell I'll get Husband to go to a real Cirque show.

*People don't dress up for shows. Regarding the above "experience," I expected the price of the tickets sort of dictated that this was not Casual Friday. Not so. You could even order tubs of popcorn and 22 oz sodas from the concessionaire. It just seemed weird to me.

*Downtown Vegas is awesome. This was my first time Downtown, and I loved the feel of it. The casinos weren't as crowded, and Husband and I bellied up to the bar for video poker and video blackjack (respectively) to take advantage of the free bar service. Husband was on the downside of his winning streak, so we didn't stay long, but it may have been my favorite thing that we did.

*Slots can be fun. I'm the relative non-gambling half of this pairing, and I've never been a big fan of slots. Put your hard-earned money into a machine, and piss it away on total chance. Not my cup of tea. However, upon returning from Downtown, I was still feeling the mojo so I went down to play slots in our casino home (Harrahs). Pulling $90 out of "Penguin Paradise" on a $20 investment may have prompted a change of heart.

All in all, a good trip that allowed Husband and I to spend a little quality time together, get some sun, and get away from the daily grind. What do you think, could this be us in 20 years? :)

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It's been a whirlwind couple of weeks, people. Over the past 10 days I have been in 3 states. Last week I was in Oakland, the armpit of California, for three days for work. I got there via Denver, and I can count that as a state because I spent unexpected quality time in the airport, and dammit, I earned it. I was home for 2.5 days and then Husband and I took off for a much-needed vacation to Las Vegas. We got back late lastnight and I was back to work today. We are home for 2 days and then off to my fourth state, Iowa, for our nephew's baptism. I have much to catch up on, but I can't make any promises on when that will happen. I've got work to do and a baby I was missin' that needs some huggin' and kissin'. That baby is also almost 9 months old, which is another post that needs to be written. Oh, and that baby starts "regular" daycare on Monday. So as you can see, there's nothing going on around here at all.

Stay tuned. I promise there's some good stuff coming.

Happy Valentine's Day!

A Girl and Her Dog

She doesn't mind when he licks her ears. He doesn't mind when she pulls herself up by grabbing fistfuls of his hair. Both like to stare out the window.

It's a friendship built to last.

Weekend Whirlwind

This past weekend Lucy and I headed down to Iowa to help my grandpa celebrate his 80th birthday, and also to see my dad’s side of the family since our Christmas with them got snowed out this year. We arrived in Storm Lake by about 1:00 on Saturday, and for the rest of the day Lucy got to play with her cousins, who were also staying at Grandma and Grandpa’s house for the weekend. It was crazy but fun; I enjoyed the time with my nephews as well. D is all over the place, and Little E is just as chill as can be. We did get him to giggle quite a bit that night – it was so cute even though he should have been sleeping!

Sunday the day started early…church at 8AM, followed by breakfast, pseudo-Christmas at Grandpa’s house, a brief break to load my car, then off to the Knights of Columbus Hall for a surprise cake reception for Grandpa’s birthday. Getting the Overmohle clan together is always a feat in itself, and makes me realize how deep our roots run, and how the branches of our family tree continue to grow. There are 34 grandchildren on this side of the family (no, that is not a typo), and we are well on our way to upping the ante with great-grandchildren. There was a mini baby boom in 2009 with six babies born, bringing the total to 20 great-grandbabies. The youngest is just days old and also made an appearance at Grandpa’s party. Over the course of the weekend, we discovered there are five more babies due in 2010! As the years pass this legacy will certainly continue to grow.

How satisfying it must be for Grandpa to look across that room and see all those little ones, some bearing his last name; others wearing Overmohle traits all over their sweet faces. It makes me smile just thinking about it.