Vegas Take Two

So, remember how the boyfriend surprised me with tickets to Vegas and a suite at the Luxor for Christmas/my birthday?

After I drug him all over that place last time we went cause I'm obsessed with ancient Egypt?

We went and it was awesome.

DAY ONE:
::"Move your little Versa!" "Oh my god would you people just drive."
- Okay, so my boyfriend rarely drives the speed limit. When I say that you assume that means he drives like a crazy person, no, he drives 10 UNDER the speed limit. It's a gas mileage thing, I don't know. However, when he's forced to drive the speed limit cause we're running behind his road rage is hysterical. Excellent way to start off a trip.

::Some planes, no trains, few automobiles
-The first flight was from Omaha to Denver and it was fine, the second flight out of Denver to Vegas was a completely different story. While in the airport I heard this kid screaming and jokingly said something like, "they're gonna be right next to us" and was horrified when I was right. Not only were they close by, they were directly behind us and the screaming kid was bouncing on the tray table the whole ride. Pretty sure the dad heard a few expletives throughout the trip.

::Landing
-So, I learned the best way to fly is to not check your bags because once the flight lands you're free and you don't have to wait for anything. This was beneficial because we landed at six and were going to a concert at seven. Turns out, the doors only opened at seven so even though we landed at six, ran to get a cab at 6:15, arrived at the hotel at 6:30, checked in at 6:45 and made it to the House of Blues by 7 we still had to stand in line for half an hour, and the concert didn't start for another hour after that. All that freaking out about us being late and missing stuff and it was all for nothing.

::Pentatonix
-The concert - once it got started - was awesome. But as mentioned, the line to get into it was huge, almost around the entire outside of the inner hotel. Fortunately we met a nice local who advised us on what to do and what to avoid. They sang some awesome stuff, but my favorite was their cover of Lorde's Royals, scroll, down, it's fantastic.
We got out of there around 10 - apparently if you have kids until 16 at the concert there's some sort of curfew that it can only go so late. Was fine by me, I was exhausted, though not as much as the boyfriend. He had been up for almost 40 hours already.


DAY TWO:
::Hoover Dam
-Originally we were supposed to go on a hot air balloon ride that morning, however it was cancelled that day (and the next because of weather, meaning we're going back in the fall to redeem our tickets) so instead we decided to rent a car and go out to the Hoover Dam. It was awesome, we had the best tour guide who had actually taken men who helped build the dam on a tour so he had a bunch of anecdotes from them as well. And of course, there were the dam jokes. "Did they tell you about the camera policy?" "No." "That's cause we don't have one, take all the dam pictures you want!" Hilarious. After touring the dam we walked all over - I drank some dam water out the fountain - and took a ton of pictures.








::Walmart
-Apparently when driving a rental car this is the appropriate way to park.

Or not. Smooth. But at least we didn't get door dinged. We stopped by cause he needed swimming trunks. While we were there we picked up some snacks - bugels, beer, flavored water, chips and salsa - and then headed back to the hotel.

::Hot Tub
-Did I mention how awesome our room was?



It even had a hot tub. Which was perfect after spending all afternoon walking all over the damn dam. After jamming out in there for a while he konked out on the bed. It was humorous cause it was like 9 and he was dead. But as mentioned, he hadn't exactly gotten a lot of sleep that week.


DAY THREE:
::Buffet
-So, when you're in Vegas, hit up a buffet. They are fantastic. This one wasn't as fantastic as the Wynn buffet - holy crap, read last time's post - but it had a ton of food and I could only eat like half of my plate.

::Walking through the desert in the rain
-Of course the day we decide to walk the strip it rains. In the middle of the desert. But it was okay, we just toured a bunch of the buildings to avoid the major pouring. Although so them pouring is like sprinkling in Nebraska. While we were touring we ran across Big Elvis - he was in fact very big and dressed like Elvis so it was a fitting name - and I drug him in circles around Caesar's just to find this massive mythology fountain.
Ancient Egypt isn't my only obsession, I'm also a Greek Mythology fan as well.

We also hit up the M&M's factory, and the Coke store. Have you been in that M&M's place? It's crazy!

Those are all M&M's in those tubes.

::More Hot Tub
-You can never spend too much time in a hot tub. Well, I guess, once you get all wrinkly then it feels weird, but we decided once we get a house we're getting a hot tub. Okay, I decided, but I'm sure he would support that.

::The Mix
-As part of going to Vegas I wanted him to take me out somewhere fancy. Packed a skirt and everything. Before Vegas he even went shopping to get new clothes - tie included. He picked the Mix which is one of the top 5 restaurants in Vegas (inside the Mandalay Bay hotel). The scenery was incredible,


view included:

I had chicken, he had cod, we agreed it was the best food we've ever eaten. My only complaint was that it was packed super tight in there so we were literally less than a foot away from the people sitting next to us.

::Zombieland/Castle
-After dinner we headed back to the hotel and I crashed because we had an early flight in the morning. He konked out in the hot tub - again, would totally have support in getting one. I turned on Zombieland and made it through like five minutes before I was out. Aside from Zombieland we watched a ton of Castle. It was on during the plane ride out there, then that night after the concert, then the next day when we were in the hot tub, and now the boyfriend is hooked. Or I claim he is anyway. The last one we watched there ended in a cliffhanger - they were stuck in the freezer - so when we got back I put in my DVD and we watched the next episode.


DAY FOUR:
::4AM wakeup
-Flying out earlier in the morning is cheaper, but it sure isn't as fun, however, neither flight involved screaming or jumping children in my vicinity so I was okay with it.

::Home
-As soon as we got back we stopped at Amigos for food, he picked up this model train he was waiting on, and then we just slept the rest of the day. Very relaxing.


So that was Vegas take two. Hopefully take three will happen some time this fall cause hot air ballooning sounds awesome. Lots of fun, though it was nice to be back and not have to put on makeup every morning...


Song of the Trip:

Royals - Pentatonix


awesome harmonies

"What are you doing?" "Being nice." "You're not nice. And you're on duty." "Well, give me the afternoon off."

Today...

More supplies fun.

Made up a spreadsheet so everyone knows where to find stuff.

Yes, that has become my life.

Isn't it exciting?

I feel stuck.

There's so many changes being made and I don't know what to think about them.

Am I actually happy there?

Do I want to stay?

I have the degree, should I be looking around for other jobs?

Everyone keeps telling me to.

I don't know. Maybe it's just been one of those weeks.

I'm sure it'll be fine.

I like the people, I like the patrons - well most of them - I like the location, I don't mind the hours so I guess I'm happy.

I have TAB.

They make me happy.

It just sucks that all the girls my own age bailed on me. But that's okay, I still have friends there.

In fact, the New Guy and I talked about library staff hitting up Vegas sometime for a conference.

That'd be awesome. I can see us all walking the strip, playing craps, seeing shows.

It's making me look forward to the boyfriend and I's upcoming vacation.

Going to see Pentatonix and that's about all we have planned so far.

We'll probably do some gambling, but not a lot. Last time we went there the majority of our time was spent walking the strip, and it was a lot of fun.

Though this year I'll attempt to keep everything in my pockets.

Or get one of those cheesy fanny packs.

Apparently Drew loves them, who knew?

I'm back on the Closer. Up to season two.



Remember how I'm a nerd?

Anyway, I've got that and hockey to entertain me for the next 24 hours.

Bubby's singing the national anthem at tomorrow's game. Well, his school is. It always amuses me cause the boys always look like they're in pain whenever they're forced to do anything like this in front of people.

Reminds me of my directing musicals days.

Did I mention that? Used to help out at my old grade school. We did plays every year and they were awesome. Drug my college friends out to watch them and they would always laugh because my boys always looked like they were the worst thing in the world.

But the girls and all the younger kids loved them.

And the boys had fun too, it's just day of they had to be cool.

I miss those days.

Part of the reason I'm excited that TAB's gonna start filming a web series to promote library services. Get to write and direct every month. Huzzah.

Maybe that will bring the fun back.

Let's hope so.

Alright, music and I'm out.

Who I Am - Danielle Bradbery


you cried, don't even lie.

ironic song choice for the post, i'm aware. but it was stuck in my head all day.

legit pre-midnight, holy crap tag in use.

From now on our troubles will be miles away.

I love that someone got to my blog by googling "Monica Potter Tall Tall Trees Feet"

Yes, she is in that video, but what is your fascination with her feet?

So today was work - we closed at 2 - and then the boyfriend's family Christmas.

I like their traditions it's very relaxing with no tiny children running all over the place.

Though they did have two dogs there tonight that were really not friends at all.

One fell asleep on my lap, she was really cute.

Anyway, so I went there, we ate supper then went to church. Was a candlelit thing, pretty cool, and then opened presents back at their place.

Got some pretty cool stuff - some awesome Husker chairs, socks, a digital picture frame, giftcards, and a wicked awesome Darth Vader bag.

It's a bag.

Cause I don't wear purses.

And Craig called it a bag and since he's the one who bought it that makes it a bag.

Though that didn't stop my boyfriend from labeling it as purse and calling it that repeatedly.

Even coming up with a little song about it.

Nope. Not a purse. Cause I don't wear purses.

But it is wicked sweet man.

And then of course there was the present from the boyfriend.

He was really good about keeping it secret and had me completely fooled.

Remember a few months ago when we decided - on the fly - that we were gonna go to Reno to see one of his favorite bands play? The full story is on here somewhere - ha, found it. Anyway, he mentioned it once one night before he left for work and when I woke up the next morning he already had the flight and rooms all booked.

Turns out my boyfriend is full of crap.

Instead of taking me to Reno he's taking me back to Vegas.

And we're staying in the Pyramid Suite of the Luxor Hotel.

aka my favorite cause I'm an Egypt nut. I literally drug him all over that hotel and photographed everything when we were there in November. Check Facebook, you'll see the pictures.

So he's really sweet.

And a punk.

First cause he lied. And second cause the tickets were in a box underneath a bag of coal.

Yes, actual coal from a train.

But he wrapped the present himself - which never happens. And I knew it was big cause his sister was there and she told me to sit down before I opened it.

Best boyfriend ever.

See what happens when I don't give him a list? It really works out in my favor so I'm going with it.

Anyway, so that was my day. I hope you all had a rockin' Christmas Eve.

Tomorrow is Christmas morning with my parents, then lunch with his extended family, and then hopefully supper with my parents. More on that later.

On to the music.

Christmas Music that Doesn't Suck: Day Eleven

Carol of the Bells - The Piano Guys


pretty cool. almost makes me want to learn cello. almost.

2012 was Pentatonix, 2011 was Home Alone soundtrack


Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas - Christina Perri


it's hard to beat judy garland, but this comes close.

2012 was Xtina with Brian McKnight, 2011 was Judy Garland


Oh Holy Night - Jordis Unga


are you really surprised? she's still who i associate with the voice because she was my favorite for the first season i watched it ever. but this is great, she recorded it with an iphone so it's got a unique sound quality.

2012 was Hey Monday, 2011 was Glee



2011 Day Eleven - Let all within us praise his holy name
2012 Day Eleven - To the Moon, Alice

nothing left for me to do but dance.

Okay, so one thing I neglected to mention in the previous post is yet another big thing from this week.

Family pictures.

Not my family, his family.

Which of course turned me into a nervous wreck cause it's like a serious thing.

And I know we're serious, but this is like serious serious.

But when I tried explaining that to Girlscout Cabin Fever went, "but didn't you almost get married in Vegas?" "yeah." "isn't that more serious?" and then something about how there should be many more serious events before the actual wedding.

Weird thing, didn't miss a beat during that entire 5 minutes of, "oh yeah, let's get married" in complete seriousness. Not sure what made me nervous about the pictures, his family is great and we get along really well.

Just the nerves of dressing up and wearing makeup and OH MY GOD, so I was in the staff restroom putting on the makeup on break and one of the aides walked in and like this look of pure shock came over her face.

Not sure if she wasn't sure what to do in the situation or that she'd never seen me in makeup let alone applying it.

Either way it was humorous.

So I got all maked up - is that a phrase? I'm making it one - and met up with his family to take the pictures. Quick and painless as was dinner afterward.

Today was as well, it seemed to fly by. Coffee/meeting in the morning with the Library Goddess about the newsletter which I had copy and pasted about 90% already so that was fast, then work and training yet another volunteer. So I'm at 4 go-po's, though last week I was at 5. Then I have like 3 new adult volunteers all coming in at different hours and all that. I think that's all I can handle at the moment or I will go insane.

But I get to jam all day tomorrow with the family. And I get to sleep in, before I have to wake up, get dressed and be conscious enough to pick up my great aunt around 11:30.

Mom says it's either pick her up or cook the food and as I cannot cook the food I'm going with picking her up.

The boyfriend is sick so I'm bummed about that. Hopefully he can get some actual sleep tonight and will feel better tomorrow or the day after.


Alright, on to the music rec. Got a classic one for you tonight.

Canned Heat - Jon Heder's incredible dance moves.
Think someone choreographed this or is he making it up on the fly?

I actually have a video of 4 of my best friends from high school doing this dance but they would hunt me down and kill me if I uploaded it.

nothing left for me to do but dance.

can i borrow some chapstick?

What happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas: Day Four

:: Last night in the big city
- I'm including this in Day Four because by the time we got back to the hotel is was about 3AM. Not so genius when we needed to be up and ready and packed and checked out and in the lobby by 9:30. Though we ended up checking out at 9AM through the TV - who knew?! Yeah, easy enough. Though I went to the lobby to get a printed receipt just in case. Though every time you turn on the TV you hear Steve Wynn ramble on repeat about how great his hotels are and how every single part was picked out specifically because of something or whatever and it was on multiple channels. Good to fall asleep to, actually the first night there was this weird cheerleading movie with Deeks - well, not Deeks, Eric Christian Olsen but he'll forever be known as Deeks.

:: Airport Security
- Going through the security at airports is always awkward. Gotta take off your shoes and belt and if you've got sparkle-butt jeans you beep, like I said awkward. But the joy of repeating the same things over and over can sometimes give employees a sense of humor. Some quotes overheard by the dude in charge were: "no liquids allowed on the plane. if you have vodka there's a pickup in the employee parking lot." "if you're still comfortable then you're wearing too many clothes."

:: Jammin' at the Airport
- BK for breakfast/lunch. The pattern continued where I would order something, eat three bites then he would finish it. Though it must just be a vacation thing cause we went to BK last week and he only got through his own. After BK came the flight to Denver. Immediately after landing we had to speed walk - well, speed ride the moving walkways to the next terminal cause our flight was supposed to leave immediately after. Thankfully they were delayed which gave me time to check Facebook - cause I mean, what else does one do whilst waiting at the airport?

:: The Pervy Old Dude
- We sat by an interesting group of characters throughout our four flights but I think King of Useless Knowledge's guy was the worst. Felt sorry for the flight attendant. At least mine was silent and on his laptop the whole time. But I missed the Sky Mall magazine...

:: At the airport
- Well, after we made it back we hit up the baggage claim and went our separate ways. After of course the topic of Thanksgiving was brought up. That has yet to be decided but hopefully I'll get to spend some time with the boyfriend.

I went out there tonight and we watched the original Red Dawn, well, he watched the original Red Dawn, I fell asleep.

And that's pretty much Vegas, minus some minor details I forgot to write down. But if I think of them later I'll add them in.

Song of the day:

Everybody Talks - Michaela Paige cover on The Voice

listened to at 400 mph in the sky.

What Happens in Vegas Stays in Vegas: Day Three

:: The buffet to eat all buffets
- Met up with the gang for breakfast at the buffet. Holy crapola was that a lot of food. The line was pretty substantial but once we got in I realized why. I think there were like 8 different sections of food. Basically, you sat a table then went in to pick what you wanted. I had fruit, biscuits and gravy, bacon, sausage, scrambled eggs, toast. The boyfriend had all that plus about 2 other plates full of food. Big brother had some sort of beef or steak or something, it was amazing the variety.

:: Starbucks vs. Walgreen's
- You know the Starbucks theory? How there is one every other block? I have a new theory. It's called the Walgreen's theory. Whilst in Vegas I saw only one Starbucks the entire time I was there, however, it seemed like there was a Walgreen's everywhere! It got to the point where - and I've watched this skit far too many times this is proof - every time I saw one the phrase "would be like a Walgreen's, there would be two on every block and four in every airport..." would pop in my head.



:: Roller Coaster in the Sky
- So remember the boyfriend's obsession with roller coasters? And how we rode on them for 10 hours straight at World's of Fun? If not, read this: The difference between "if" and "when" Anyway, so he decided that he wanted to ride on the roller coaster on top of the New York New York hotel. As did my brother-in-law. Since my stomach was still iffy from the flights/elevator that went to high so fast that it literally made your ears ring/ginormous breakfast I happily let them go together whilst I tagged along. So they rode it while I played this ridiculously addictive Saturday Night Fever quarter game. I'm not sure what the game had to do with John Travolta or the movie but it had his picture on it. This is the same game - minus John Travolta - that the boyfriend got me hooked on this summer at the fair, go here: 2012 skits, sickness, olympics and a giant guitar. Anyway, the tickets I got from the game I gave to a kid on the way out. Not like I needed a prize out of their cheesy stash. Plus I'd have to carry it all the way back to the hotel.

:: Camera Drama
- This is where the trip went downhill. Everything was all fine and dandy and then somehow I left my camera in a taxi. Fell out of my coat pocket. Me of course being the over-reactor that I am totally flipped out. We talked to this hotel dude who checked the security camera and gave us a list of taxi cab companies that we could call, but of course when you don't plan on leaving something in a taxi you don't really pay attention to your surroundings as well as you should. Luckily my boyfriend is a car expert so he knew which company to call so we called and left our information. But it's a big town with a lot of cabs and interesting people so we have yet to hear back. I called again once we got back but still nothing. Eh. But it's fine, at least it wasn't my wallet or my phone.

:: My boyfriend is sweeter than your boyfriend. 
- Remember my segments about how my boss is cooler than your boss? or my coworkers are cooler than your coworkers? New one for you, my boyfriend is sweeter than your boyfriend. So, since I'm me, I wanted to stay in the hotel room for the rest of the day drowning in misery. If you know me and picture you would understand. I think I have over 60 albums uploaded to Facebook, not to mention multiple computers filled with them. The boyfriend then suggests we go to Best Buy and get a new one but I was having none of it. Favorite Sister-In-Law was also present. Next thing I know he's gone so I turn on Friends and start watching that. Then get a text from Second Sister claiming she misses her kids so I needed to meet her at Treasure Island to distract her. Since we were going to the show right after dinner I figured I would get changed first but didn't have enough energy to put on the makeup as was originally planned.

Oh yeah, forgot to mention that in yesterday's post. The night before the girls gave me a makeover with the makeup, I walked into the room and the boyfriend went Whoa. And that was it. There were no other words used. So I took a picture - I'll get back to that later.

So meanwhile, I changed and went down to meet Second Sister in front of the pirate ship - the red one, not the blue one. And I texted the boyfriend as I was leaving cause he told me to text him if I was going anywhere. Told him where I was going then called Second Sister cause our hotel is huge and without the boyfriend apparently suddenly I lose all sense of direction and can't find the correct exit. Except I did. But she was trying to convince me that I was wrong. Which didn't help things. I get out the back door, can literally see the pirate ship and she tells me I'm going the wrong way. Woops. Anyway, met her there and the boyfriend said he would meet us where we were having supper aka Phil's Italian Steakhouse. Someone did some massive planning on that one since some people wanted Italian and others wanted steak. Perfect.

Anyway, so we get the the restaurant - yes I did just spell check that as always - and he shows up with a new camera and memory card. Apparently, whilst still in the room he signaled Favorite Sister-In-Law that he was going to get the camera, found the address to Best Buy then took off with Brother-in-Law to go get one - same model and everything. Pretty sure all the women swooned and said something to the effect of "why can't you be that romantic with me?!" to all their husbands. But it wasn't just the camera, it was also the fact that he volunteered to go all the up and down the strip again just to retake all of the pictures that we had taken the night before.

So the only original pictures I still have left were the ones from my phone - including the makeover pictures that made him go Whoa, label me as stunning and claim to be able to look at that all day.

See, sweet.

Anyway, somehow my brother ended up seeing that picture and legitimately said "who's that?" and had no clue, then didn't believe it was me.

Perhaps I'll upload them later, if not I'm sure they'll surface on Facebook eventually.

:: Shared entree and salad
- Remember yesterday about the food pattern? I would order something, eat three bites then he would finish it after eating his own meal. See, we rarely eat when we're together. Unless there's someone with us. But since the buffet was giant we weren't really all that hungry so we shared some sort of fancy salad and shrimp scampi entree.

:: Beatles Love
- We saw the Beatles Love circ du soleil show at the Mirage on Monday night, it was fantastic. We had excellent seats right up front so we could literally reach out and touch someone if we wanted to. But that would be frowned upon. There was so much going on at once it was like you didn't know where to look. Tons of acrobats jumping and spinning and dancing and singing. Awesomeness.

:: Strip Take Two
- So we went all the way from the Wynn to the Luxor and back. Gotta be like 5 miles at least. Think I actually lost weight on that vacation, and when does that happen ever? We retook our pictures and even a few more - especially of the Luxor but I rambled about that fascination yesterday.

:: Shotglass Collection Continues
- So I have this thing where I collect shot glasses whenever I go on a trip. I got it from my brother. Anyway, the one I snagged and brought home I got this night on the street at a convenience station of sorts. I think around 2 or 3 in the morning. Was cool to see the strip at night but it brought out the creepers, though not as many as I thought. Had some well-placed security guards.

Locked Out of Heaven - Bruno Mars


the boyfriend is now obsessive with this song

Legitimate pre-midnight post. Holy Crap tag in use.

What Happens in Vegas Stays in Vegas: Day Two

I won't say what time it actually is, though the stoplights were flashing by the time I left the boyfriend's place. For those of you not familiar with small towns their stoplights - or stoplight singular if you're g-town, though I don't think they do this - start to blink so you can fly through them instead of waiting. Just gotta check both ways.

:: Belgian Waffles at Terrace Point
-There's a difference between Los Vegas cold and Nebraska cold. For instance we went to breakfast at this awesome place called Terrace Point at the hotel and the boyfriend was in jeans in a t-shirt so when we asked if we could sit outside the lady went "are you sure?" We walked outside and it was like 60 degrees. That's like paradise for November in Nebraska.

I had Belgian waffles, well one - see here is where a pattern started. I would order food and eat like a third then he would eat his entire meal then finish mine. It was nice to eat outside and actually amusing cause there were birds everywhere stealing sugar packets three at a time.

:: "First off awesome sign, secondly what the hell are you doing in that department?"
- Day two we split up and did our own stuff. The boys went to car museums and slowly got addicted to craps while the girls went shopping. Well, most of the girls shopped. I bought makeup - yes makeup - and then took pictures all over Caesar's Palace. The makeup was enough for me. Apparently, according to Vegas rules you're supposed to do something you wouldn't normally do. As I don't buy makeup, like ever, apparently that was my thing. Well, there were more things, but I'll get there. My downfall was sending a picture of a sign I found to Juwanna cause it had her name on it, BUT there was makeup in the background so I knew I was screwed.

Even worse I got stuck trying Justin Bieber's perfume cause Oldest Sister's arms were already covered with other sampled. "why do I have to sacrifice?!"

As drama-filled as that part was, there was even more when it came to purse shopping. Not for me, thankfully. But Oldest Sister decided to get Squirt a purse for Christmas. Don't worry, she knows. But, which purse? After working with the saleswoman for like 20 minutes she then sent a bunch of texts and phonecalls back and forth with Squirt deciding which one.

MEANWHILE I get a call from my dorm mom, "What are you doing in Denver?!" Cause we're friends on Facebook and I mentioned landing there in a snowstorm. She was in Denver, I was not.

After the purse was picked I took a bunch of pictures of an awesome Greek figured fountain - Zeus, Poseidon, Athena, all that - while they looked at shoes, jeans, other girlish stuff.

:: "Let's play war, Asians are wild."
- It seemed like everywhere we went on the strip there were people handing out hooker cards. Apparently that's legal there - and if I wasn't aware by the many cards I'd collected by the end of the week there were buses that traveled up and down the strip constantly was pictures of them on the side of it. We were curious if they were actually in the bus because every once in a while they'd flip a u-turn and speed off. Anyway, but they would snap the cards and hand them out on corners. Apparently Kayla had a quality to her so while the rest of the women avoided it, she had a bunch of them shoved in her direction. The boys were enjoying this and built up quite the collection.

:: Down the strip
- While everyone else went out for sushi the boyfriend and I walked down the strip to see the sights and take some pictures. I really wanted to hit up the Luxor cause I'm such a nerd for ancient Egypt. The first minute we were there we were already getting the sales pitch that if we signed up that day and put down some money we could stay at their new building for free - well, basically - and while it was awesome I don't think we'll be going back in the next year. But it was amusing cause after we heard her schpeel another chick approached us and then later she attempted to approach us again, saw it was us and stopped talking.

On the way to the Luxor we met some interesting characters such as Chewbacca - oh and earlier Kayla, Oldest Sister and I walked passed someone in a Hello Kitty suit but Kayla decided it looked more like Hello Dirty Kitty cause the suit was gross - and a rapper named LOVE. She's from Texas and Nevada and all over. I bought her CD - she signed it and everything - she told me to bootleg it to get the word out. I still have yet to listen to it - though King of Useless Knowledge bought one on Fremont Street.

Oh, and I played a Mummy slots game at the Luxor, though it wasn't as good since the machine had Maria Bello on it and not Rachel Weisz. Just not the same.

:: Fremont Street
- Fremont Street is basically the old Vegas strip. It's sweet, like a third of the size of the new strip, well more like a fourth, with a giant TV screen taking up the entire ceiling. Lots of cheap gambling. I finally tried out some slots while the boyfriend played roulette. I made 24 bucks on the slots and 50 on roulette but since the boyfriend wanted to keep gambling I blew it all on roulette. It was amusing though, he was sitting at the same table for over an hour, I was in for one play and got the 50 bucks. After all that we jumped in a cab, got back and crashed.

Song of that day:

Single Ladies - Beyonce


played while we were shopping Sephora.

remind me to post about the QofA meeting the boyfriend, "in your face" "on your shoes!" and hazmat suits later when i do a summary post of the after vegas effect.

What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. Well, mostly.

Day One:

:: "I wanted to punch that Sooner Boomer lady."
"It's Boomer Sooner."
- It was the boyfriend's first trip on a commercial airline. Which is ironic since he builds airplane parts for a living. Bummer I can't use the anecdote anymore. He did okay, aside from the crazy lady sitting next to him. Apparently she and a group of friends were excited about their game and really hated Texas. The ride itself went smoothly and we landed safely in Denver. Oh and I need luggage for Christmas. I mean, I don't need it specifically for Christmas, I mean that I'm putting it on my list for Christmas.

:: Delayed Flight = Loitering Around the Sports Bar to Watch the Husker Game
-The joy about flying planes is that their schedule is dependent on the weather. On this particular day there was a bit of a snowstorm so we spent a few hours jamming out in the airport. So I posted some random stuff on Facebook - and continued as the weekend went on - and got continuous game updates from Mom. Meanwhile the boys all stood outside this sports bar watching it on their big screen and screaming for every big play.

:: Big Bang Theory & Hot Tea
-Since there was a snowstorm there was a major delay in takeoff so they could de-ice the plane. For this reason - I mean, I'm assuming it's for this reason - we got free cable on the way from Denver to Vegas. I watched the Big Bang Theory marathon on TBS. Every time the boyfriend catches me watching it he refers to it as "that show again". But it's just that good. And I got hot tea. Which is my secret stomach settling drink. Well, any type of tea anyway. No idea why, think it's all a mental thing. But I got hot tea on each of the four flights we took.

:: Slots At The Airport
-Yes, immediately after getting off the plane there were slot machines. So, just in case you couldn't wait until the hotel you could start early. The King of Useless Knowledge was the first and lost his dollar. Bummer. Would have been amusing if he did one buck and then won on the first try.

:: Mandatory Resort Fee
-Check-in was a little scary. We changed our reservations so that we'd all be on the same floor. In the end I only paid about 80 some bucks cause I'd already paid for everything else. Though the majority of that 80 bucks was what they called a "Mandatory Resort Fee" which brought up the comment, "you can't put a price on fitness." "Yes, you can, it's 25 dollars." Another weird thing brought up at check-in? They use the weight system so that if you pick up one of the snacks you are charged for the item if you don't put it back in the exact location within a minute of moving it.

:: "Don't lick the apparatus." 
-So, you gotta know that my family is highly entertaining. Some in particular say anything that comes to mind outloud. Over the next few days you'll get a lot of random quotes that I'll attempt to explain but most likely the majority of them are better left unexplained. This particular one came after my brother said he would never go on the zipline because some dude who did got a staff infection and lost a bunch of limbs. But maybe that's what caused the problem in the first place.

:: To Get Married or Not To Get Married, that is the question. 
We had dinner at Gilley's, a cowboy resteraunt where all the waitresses are decked out in cowboy boots, hats and spurs. There was even a mechanical bull in the room next door. At one point the topic of marriage came up - we were discussing when to take our picture in front of a church and send it to our parents prank that my siblings had been plotting. I said something about how it would be easier to just get married to which he agreed. When I said he was joking but I was serious he said he was serious as well so there were about 30 seconds that we were going to get married. We had enough family there to be witnesses and the rest could throw us a reception later. Part of me wishes we did, just cause I want to be with him. But the other part of me knows that our parents would kill us, and of course Sketch as well. She would have driven all the way to Vegas to kick my butt.

Song listened to on the way to the airport?


Only a few of the highlights of the day. Tomorrow is all about Day Two. Stay tuned.

"look, sparkles but no pink" "you know me so well already"

Vegas tomorrow so the countdown is officially down to 1 day.

Went shopping tonight with Oldest Sister after working 9-6.

I packed my massive bag. Cause my regular sized one is broken. So now I'll have room for souvenirs. Not that I was planning on getting a lot of them.

I'll should bring The Princess Bride with me tomorrow. For some reason I was reading it both times I flew to Chicago. Could keep the tradition alive, but I'd rather read Castle so I'll take that instead.

Was pretty progressive tonight.

That's not the word I'm looking for but since it's the only one that comes to mind I'll stick with it.

Anyway, I got a lot accomplished so I can relax for the weekend. I was told to go away and forget about school and life.

And Mom will be here so she gets to take care of my big fat cat.

Which means it'll be an actual vacation. Which I haven't had since Sketch and Edit's Excellent Adventure in January. And that was a barely a weekend and I was sick for most of it.

Realized yesterday that I totally missed out on Remember Remember the 5th of November.

aka the second year anniversary of this blog.

Last year I made a big deal out of it but this year I've been so crazy busy or half asleep when I post that I just plain forgot. As I'm still busy I'll come up with something next week.

Alright, so I'm all packed, now gotta get some sleep. Get to sleep in - barely - though I probably won't cause I'll be way to amped.

But I should attempt anyway.

So this will be the last you hear form me for a while. I'm sure it will be a well-deserved break for you.

heard this song tonight whilst shopping.

thought it was a bit early, but maybe not so much.


Our salesperson was great, she picked up on the "I hate pink" thing fairly quickly. was very determined so I got far too much.

Yes, I'm aware this boring, I'll be more exciting after Vegas.

I'm not much of gambler but a coworker did give me a quarter and told me to try out the slots. Of course I'll have to remember which one is hers so if it wins she gets the prize. We'll see about that.

So I'll be taking my new camera, woohoo! And my new clothes and all that so I'm mostly packed. Maybe take my ipad and play some angry birds in the airport.

Alright, I'm out for the weekend. Have a good one.

there's nowhere to hide since you pushed my love aside...

Am I the only one that needs a beverage nearby whenever I eat anything with peanut butter in it? For fear of choking?

Awesome night with the boyfriend.

We were talking about Vegas - because I talk about that a lot - and what to pack and all that and his plan is jeans and t-shirts.

Knew there was a reason I love him.

That and he doesn't care what I wear.

So I love him more.

This was after an interesting day at work.

I mean, it started out that way. A lot of changes being thrown at us, but I guess adjustment is necessary. As I  was told today you can either adapt, migrate, or die.

By a patron, not a staff member.

After the morning was lasagna for lunch, after lunch was stocking supplies, then dinner with the boyfriend, now the Voice. Well technically Burn Notice but I just finished the Voice and switched over.

Tonight's episode was great. Amanda, Bryan, Trevin, Melanie, Adriana and of course my favorite Cassadee are moving on!

So my top 10 looks a bit like this:

Cassadee Pope

Trevin Hunte

Nicole Nelson – knocked out by Loren

Aquile – knocked out by Sylvia

Avery Wilson – knocked out by Cody

Bryan Keith

Brandon Mahone – eliminated after first battle

Michelle Brooks-Thompson – knocked out by Amanda

Adriana Louise

Collin Mcloughlin – knocked out by  

Terisa Griffin – knocked out by Trevin

Suzanna Choffel – knocked out by Cassaddee

Nelly’s Echo – eliminated after first battle

Melanie Martinez

Gracia Harrison – knocked out by Liz

Celica Westbrook – knocked out by

Mycle Wastman – knocked out by Nicholas

Mackenzie Bourg – eliminated during playoffs

2Steel Girls – eliminated after first battle

Joe Kirkman – knocked out by Bryan

That's basically all for tonight. More tomorrow and then VEGAS! The countdown continues 1 more day until we leave!

Songs of the night:

So Glee did Grease.

And even though I don't watch it anymore because of the suckish storylines the music is still fantastic.

Hopelessly Devoted to You

may be ever better than the original.


Hand Jive

i was like, is that trouty mouth? yep, he's still in it. awesome.


......


but
now
there's nowhere to hide
since you pushed my love aside
i'm out of my head
hopelessly devoted to you
hopelessly devoted to you
hopelessly devoted to you

yep, had to play it again so i could scream the lyrics along with him. my neighbors love me.

Mitt-Bama Style

Okay, thing I forgot to mention in yesterday's post?

I listened to Mitt Romney Style whilst voting for Mitt Romney.

I'm aware that the song is supposed to deter people from voting for him, but I totally jammed to it whilst filling in the circles anyway.

For those of you who have yet to watch it....

WATCH THIS FIRST

Then go here:


this is by far my favorite video of the moment.

had to buy the song on itunes cause it was stuck in my head after watching it like 20 times.
notice all the references?

go behind the scenes here:


Mitt Romney Style is much more catchy than Obama Style:

yeah, no.


while not as impressive as that one attempted to be these actors could totally pass for obama and michelle

yeah, that's mostly dancing and that's all. but they're dead on appearance-wise.


okay, i take it back, this one's pretty good

hey, romney's shady.


I don't remember what I was actually going to talk about today. Had 3 go-po volunteers come in at the same time for training. That was interesting. What else? Um, oh, finished two major homework assignments. Which means I can actually take time to pack for Vegas either tomorrow or Friday. Depending on which night Oldest Sister is taking me shopping. For clothes to wear to Vegas. And then we'll buy more in Vegas. But I don't plan on gambling excessively so I should be fine. I mean, I will, just attempt to keep it under a hundred.

Alright, that's all I got for today. Glad I'm done with the assignments. Just gotta post to a discussion board later and that's it for the ones due before Vegas.

And you got the song, well songs, of the week so I'm out.

Notice the lack of Voice ramblings? Not really impressed with the artists on either of these teams aside from Trevin, Adriana and Mackenzie. Oh well, another episode tomorrow.

Vegas countdown 3 days and counting.

Out.

help me Rhonda, help, help me Rhonda.

Interesting day at the farmhouse.

This morning was church, Second Sister and family came down so we all went together.

After that we hit up a local restaurant for lunch buffet. Super small town but famous for its Wing Wednesdays and all that. Basically on those night there are no plates, just plastic tablecloths. But this morning it was buffet so had some salad, potatoes, corn and all that.

Older brother and his family met up with us there so following lunch we came back to the house where the men proceeded to take naps while the women sat on the couch and watched a Royals game.

Amusing, I know.

All the while talking about my wedding, no he didn't propose but they were giving me crap cause there are these giant wedding pictures of my siblings on the wall behind us. So since we're going to Vegas we joked about having Elvis marry us. My brother was having none of that and everytime he'd drift off to sleep they'd ask something about wedding colors or number of bridesmaids and he'd wake right back up to yell "don't be talking about that!"

But I'm used to the crap being thrown in my direction, I am the youngest afterall.

Actually we jokingly said that we should act like we got married and take a picture with Elvis at a church then text it to my parents saying, "Congratulations we got married" just to see what the reaction would be.

Speaking of the boyfriend, he stopped by tonight on his way back from riding his motorcar in Kansas. Dad showed him all the buildings and a bunch of old cars and train layouts and that stuff.

You have to remember that he knew my dad before he knew me so it wasn't a foreign concept, but they talked cars and trains for about an hour and a half, re-bonded you could say. It was amusing.

And I know nothing about cars so everything they said about engines went straight over my head.

So they planned future stuff with trains, think he's gonna buy some sort of trailer thing from me dad. That's all I need, more bonding. Now they'll probably start investing in motorcars together or something and I'll never escape.

Not that I want to, I'm a fan of both of them.

So tomorrow is Memorial Day, going out to lunch with the great aunt and Mom and then over to the cemetery. Clean up the stones and all that. After that who knows.

I'm out for the night, throw in a disc of Leverage and konk out.

Music Rec:

"Help Me, Rhonda" Beach Boys


Oh yeah, and how could I forget about the Swamp People marathon this afternoon, we watched 5 and saved some for tomorrow.

I added "Duck Dynasty" to his DVR list, assuming it's something he would enjoy. Now watch, next time I come home there will be a bunch of episodes of that he'll have saved for me too.

But it's good, I enjoy watching those shows with him. Gotta get my Reality TV fix. Aside from Swamp People all I really watch that's "real life" is The Voice.

And they're bringing it back in the fall but it'll probably have different celebrity coaches, then the regular ones will pick it up in the spring. But it's not The Voice without Adam and Xtina bickering, Blake's southern charm and Cee-Lo hitting on all the women.

We'll see where that goes.

I'm out!