I admire brave people. The people who take chances and follow their dreams and do what they love. They don't over worry about the consequences or the "what-if's".
I am not brave. I am pretty much the biggest chicken shit ever. I'm afraid of EVERYTHING. Seriously, from scary movies to ocean creatures to failing at life, I'm afraid. I want to be brave. I get so worked up on what could go wrong that I don't go after the things I want. I think maybe I'm afraid that I won't be good enough and I'll fail and then I'll be embarrassed because I failed. Obviously I've failed in the past and I know that I'm not going to die if I fail but it still sucks.
But I wish I knew how people got over their fears. Where do people get the courage to do motor cross or to surf or start their own business or move across the country? How do people deviate from the norm without feeling like an outcast?
Could I just be a born follower instead of a leader? Is it just in my nature? Like the fabulous Britney Spears says, "There's only two types of people in the world, the ones that entertain and the ones that observe". I guess I'd fall into the "observer" category. But I don't want to sit on my ass admiring all these people doing cool things and say, "I wish I could do that". I want to have the guts to get out there and do it too. I don't want to look back in twenty years and say, "I wish I would've...". But the fear holds me back every time and instead of fighting the fear I just give into it and continue sitting on the sidelines watching other people live their lives.
Blech... I'm like the cowardly lion but there's no wizard here to give me courage. I'd probably be too afraid to follow that group of weirdos through the forest anyway.
P.S. Don't forget the MTV Movie Awards are on tonight!! Kristen Stewart, Rob Pattinson, and Taylor Lautner are going to be presenting a clip of New Moon! Plus, we'll get to see if Kristen and Rob bring dates or come solo. Hence providing us with more opportunities to speculate over their supposed relationship! Squee!!
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
It's my blog and I'll write if I want to
So, yeah... my life is pretty much back to boring. Not much going on around here, hence the lack of blogs. I honestly don't even know what to write now. So much for my big plan to blog this evening. I guess I can just fill you in on the latest happenings. Don't be surprised if this is a really short post.
It's been raining here. A lot! Like, all day everyday. We did get lucky and Monday was a beautiful sunny day. Joe and I spent quite a bit of time in the pool. I probably should have been more conscientious with the sunscreen because I got a little bit of a sunburn. But, honestly, when I was floating around on my raft sipping a beer the only thing I was thinking was, if sunbathing is wrong then I don't want to be right. It was a great day. It was the kind of day that makes living in Florida so awesome. My kind of day.
I wish I had more fun and exciting stuff to talk about. Joe and I are going to a friend's wedding in Longboat Key in two weeks. That's on the west coast of Florida, about 4 or so hours from here. We're actually really excited to go. We'll be staying on the beach and Joe's mom and sister will be there with my new niece, Riley. My out of town friends will be there too and I'm really looking forward to seeing them. It's been a really long time since we've been able to hang out and have fun together. I hope to hang on the beach, have some cocktails, and lots and lots of laughs.
I guess that's it. Sorry I'm so dull. I guess life can't be all vacations in Vegas and Snoop Dogg concerts. I was actually throwing myself a little pity party today, as I often do, and I got a nice email from a friend that made me feel better. I don't normally open the "inspirational" emails. I usually just delete them because the last thing I want sometimes is a generic forwarded email blowing sunshine up my ass. But I took the time to actually sit through this email slide show and it was really nice. One of the captions stuck with me. It said, "Life isn't fair but it's still good". That's very true. I get bummed out and complain about how unfair life is sometimes but I have a good life. I am a very fortunate person. Things could be a lot worse. It's really hard to remember that but I really need to make the effort to try. Even when life gets dull or when things aren't going my way.
It's been raining here. A lot! Like, all day everyday. We did get lucky and Monday was a beautiful sunny day. Joe and I spent quite a bit of time in the pool. I probably should have been more conscientious with the sunscreen because I got a little bit of a sunburn. But, honestly, when I was floating around on my raft sipping a beer the only thing I was thinking was, if sunbathing is wrong then I don't want to be right. It was a great day. It was the kind of day that makes living in Florida so awesome. My kind of day.
I wish I had more fun and exciting stuff to talk about. Joe and I are going to a friend's wedding in Longboat Key in two weeks. That's on the west coast of Florida, about 4 or so hours from here. We're actually really excited to go. We'll be staying on the beach and Joe's mom and sister will be there with my new niece, Riley. My out of town friends will be there too and I'm really looking forward to seeing them. It's been a really long time since we've been able to hang out and have fun together. I hope to hang on the beach, have some cocktails, and lots and lots of laughs.
I guess that's it. Sorry I'm so dull. I guess life can't be all vacations in Vegas and Snoop Dogg concerts. I was actually throwing myself a little pity party today, as I often do, and I got a nice email from a friend that made me feel better. I don't normally open the "inspirational" emails. I usually just delete them because the last thing I want sometimes is a generic forwarded email blowing sunshine up my ass. But I took the time to actually sit through this email slide show and it was really nice. One of the captions stuck with me. It said, "Life isn't fair but it's still good". That's very true. I get bummed out and complain about how unfair life is sometimes but I have a good life. I am a very fortunate person. Things could be a lot worse. It's really hard to remember that but I really need to make the effort to try. Even when life gets dull or when things aren't going my way.
Friday, May 22, 2009
New feature
Hey y'all. Since I've been talking about music so much on the blog recently I wanted to add a new feature. I've created a play list of all the songs that are in heavy rotation on my i-phone and in my car right now. They're just songs that I've been singing out loud recently for lots of different reasons. As my moods change, I hope to keep updating the play list. So, if you're interested, have a listen. I'd love you feedback on whether or not you like the new feature.
Have a great Memorial Day weekend!
Have a great Memorial Day weekend!
Thursday, May 21, 2009
She who procrastinates
... misses out on some cute ass shoes!
A few months ago I was flipping through a fresh InStyle and came across a shoe ad. In it I saw the most gorgeous pair of sandals. Nude wedges with a just intricate enough strap pattern and a sculpted wooden heel. The perfect, wear with everything, summer sandal. It was love at first sight. I immediately went online to get the details on my new must-have shoe.
I should have assumed, knowing my spectacular taste, that the shoes would be WAY out of my price range. I resigned myself to trying to find a "good enough" knock-off to take their place. I still checked in on the shoes every now and then to admire their beauty. Well, about a week ago when I checked in, I was shocked to see the sandals were on sale. Even though the were reduced, they were still more than I've ever paid for a pair of shoes. But, the price was now closer to what I considered do-able.
I started thinking of ways I could bring those shoes home where they belonged. I was adding and subtracting in my head (no small feat for me) and trying to decide what I could sacrifice on in order to make up for the cost of the shoes. I kept thinking and scheming and trying to justify the price to myself. Finally, yesterday, when I was almost 100% sure that I could make it happen, I checked in on the shoes to make sure they were still as perfect as I remembered them. But when I clicked on the shoes and practiced putting them in my online shopping cart (just to see how they looked there), they were SOLD OUT in my size!! Damn the luck!
I should've just bought them when I had the chance. Responsibility and sound decision making be damned! So now I'm on the hunt again for another "perfect" pair of nude sandals to compliment my summer wardrobe.
Even with the horror of sold-out sandals, the week in fashion news wasn't all bad. There is a girl here at work who I always admire for her amazing fashion sense. She is always so well put together from top to bottom. Everyday she kills it. She is the kind of stylish I strive to be. Well the other day I ran into her by the elevator and was about to compliment her on how cute she looked when she said to me, "you always look so nice; you have the cutest clothes". First, my jaw dropped, then I blushed with excitement at the thought of this very stylish girl complimenting ME on my style. It was a very proud moment for me and it really made my week.
Imagine what she would have said if she'd seen me in those sold out sandals! Oh well...
A few months ago I was flipping through a fresh InStyle and came across a shoe ad. In it I saw the most gorgeous pair of sandals. Nude wedges with a just intricate enough strap pattern and a sculpted wooden heel. The perfect, wear with everything, summer sandal. It was love at first sight. I immediately went online to get the details on my new must-have shoe.
I should have assumed, knowing my spectacular taste, that the shoes would be WAY out of my price range. I resigned myself to trying to find a "good enough" knock-off to take their place. I still checked in on the shoes every now and then to admire their beauty. Well, about a week ago when I checked in, I was shocked to see the sandals were on sale. Even though the were reduced, they were still more than I've ever paid for a pair of shoes. But, the price was now closer to what I considered do-able.
I started thinking of ways I could bring those shoes home where they belonged. I was adding and subtracting in my head (no small feat for me) and trying to decide what I could sacrifice on in order to make up for the cost of the shoes. I kept thinking and scheming and trying to justify the price to myself. Finally, yesterday, when I was almost 100% sure that I could make it happen, I checked in on the shoes to make sure they were still as perfect as I remembered them. But when I clicked on the shoes and practiced putting them in my online shopping cart (just to see how they looked there), they were SOLD OUT in my size!! Damn the luck!
I should've just bought them when I had the chance. Responsibility and sound decision making be damned! So now I'm on the hunt again for another "perfect" pair of nude sandals to compliment my summer wardrobe.
Even with the horror of sold-out sandals, the week in fashion news wasn't all bad. There is a girl here at work who I always admire for her amazing fashion sense. She is always so well put together from top to bottom. Everyday she kills it. She is the kind of stylish I strive to be. Well the other day I ran into her by the elevator and was about to compliment her on how cute she looked when she said to me, "you always look so nice; you have the cutest clothes". First, my jaw dropped, then I blushed with excitement at the thought of this very stylish girl complimenting ME on my style. It was a very proud moment for me and it really made my week.
Imagine what she would have said if she'd seen me in those sold out sandals! Oh well...
Sunday, May 17, 2009
This and That
I guess the excitement was bound to end at some point. Joe and I had almost no plans this weekend and I was kinda bummed out by it. I guess I've been used to having lots of exciting stuff to do and wasn't prepared for the drop off just yet. We made the best of it though and, since it's Sunday afternoon, I'd say we survived.
Friday night was my Girls Movie Night. We watched Bride Wars. It was pretty cute. I won't spoil the ending for you, just in case you haven't seen it, but it was kind of annoying. Having the girls over was fun. I think we have more fun with the girl talk than actually watching the movie.
Saturday I was moody as hell. We had nothing planned and it pissed me off royally. I was not a happy camper. I kept wishing I had something planned or could figure out what I wanted to do. I kept hearing a lyric from a Harvey Danger song in my head, "If you're bored than you're boring". I don't want to be boring! I want to have fun and lots of excitement... always! Joe obliged my desire to get out of the house and, while our chores weren't exciting, I was at least not sitting on the couch pouting. We ran to Blockbuster and to get some lunch and to Target and The Wal-Mart.
When we were in the parking lot at Target we noticed a little puppy crying. Some dumb idiot had left the puppy in their car while they went shopping. It was a hot day on Saturday and even though the windows in the car were cracked, that little puppy had to be burning up. Joe and I were so pissed. We weren't sure there was anything we could do but we knew we couldn't do nothing. So we ended up calling the police and reporting it. We were thrilled when the cops showed up not 10 minutes later. We hung around to see what would happen and were thrilled when the owners of the car showed up and found a cop parked behind their car. We drove by and heard the cop giving them a pretty good lecture. We don't know if that's something you can get a ticket for but we hope that having a cop yell at them for a little while will make them not leave their dog in the car again. It was our good deed of the day.
After we got home from Target we took our little babies swimming. We played catch and swam around for a while. Poor Daisy played a little too hard though and ended up ripping up the pads on her two front paws. I feel so terrible for her. She can hardly walk! Joe's been carrying her between the bed and the couch. They're both spoiled to death but we love them and wouldn't have it any other way. It makes us happy that they have such a great life and that they don't have owners that would leave them in a hot car.
Today was fairly boring too. We've mainly been attending to poor Daisy. I did do a little shopping for some new work clothes. We played a little Guitar Hero and now are just hanging around getting ready for the end of the weekend. I've decided to start back up at the gym tomorrow. I am NOT looking forward to it but it's been six months and the muscles I worked so hard to get are now all gone and I really want them back. It's definitely easier to come straight home after work but I'm kind of disappointed in myself for turning into such a lazy turd. It's definitely time to get back on track. I'll keep you posted on how that goes. Have a great week!
Friday night was my Girls Movie Night. We watched Bride Wars. It was pretty cute. I won't spoil the ending for you, just in case you haven't seen it, but it was kind of annoying. Having the girls over was fun. I think we have more fun with the girl talk than actually watching the movie.
Saturday I was moody as hell. We had nothing planned and it pissed me off royally. I was not a happy camper. I kept wishing I had something planned or could figure out what I wanted to do. I kept hearing a lyric from a Harvey Danger song in my head, "If you're bored than you're boring". I don't want to be boring! I want to have fun and lots of excitement... always! Joe obliged my desire to get out of the house and, while our chores weren't exciting, I was at least not sitting on the couch pouting. We ran to Blockbuster and to get some lunch and to Target and The Wal-Mart.
When we were in the parking lot at Target we noticed a little puppy crying. Some dumb idiot had left the puppy in their car while they went shopping. It was a hot day on Saturday and even though the windows in the car were cracked, that little puppy had to be burning up. Joe and I were so pissed. We weren't sure there was anything we could do but we knew we couldn't do nothing. So we ended up calling the police and reporting it. We were thrilled when the cops showed up not 10 minutes later. We hung around to see what would happen and were thrilled when the owners of the car showed up and found a cop parked behind their car. We drove by and heard the cop giving them a pretty good lecture. We don't know if that's something you can get a ticket for but we hope that having a cop yell at them for a little while will make them not leave their dog in the car again. It was our good deed of the day.
After we got home from Target we took our little babies swimming. We played catch and swam around for a while. Poor Daisy played a little too hard though and ended up ripping up the pads on her two front paws. I feel so terrible for her. She can hardly walk! Joe's been carrying her between the bed and the couch. They're both spoiled to death but we love them and wouldn't have it any other way. It makes us happy that they have such a great life and that they don't have owners that would leave them in a hot car.
Today was fairly boring too. We've mainly been attending to poor Daisy. I did do a little shopping for some new work clothes. We played a little Guitar Hero and now are just hanging around getting ready for the end of the weekend. I've decided to start back up at the gym tomorrow. I am NOT looking forward to it but it's been six months and the muscles I worked so hard to get are now all gone and I really want them back. It's definitely easier to come straight home after work but I'm kind of disappointed in myself for turning into such a lazy turd. It's definitely time to get back on track. I'll keep you posted on how that goes. Have a great week!
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Frustrated
I always thought that once I figured out who I was that it would stick with me. That I'd always be self-assured because, deep down, I would know who I was. I would no longer have to answer the big questions because I would always have the self confidence to "just know".
I was so sure of who I was, what I wanted, where my life was going. And I was marching, in heels, up the hill towards that goal. But after everything that's happened over the last couple months, I feel like someone pulled the carpet out from under me and I tumbled all the way back to the bottom of the hill. Now I'm standing at a huge fork in the road and I have no idea which path I want or should take. None of the paths look particularly easy or comfortable. They all look hard and scary.
And I just don't know. It's so frustrating because I really JUST DON'T KNOW! I know that I can't turn back the clock but sometimes I wish I could just do it over. I wish that as a young person that I had more goals than just "wife and mother". I wish that I would've explored myself and my interests and that I would've had a "Plan B". A plan that I could turn to when that first, most coveted goal, fell through.
Because it has fallen through... fully this time. I have no hope left for a biological child. None. But the crazy part is that I'm starting to feel okay with it. I am not experiencing the longing right now. The overwhelming desire to continue treatments because we might get lucky with the next cycle. I feel okay right now with a childless life. I think, right now, I can handle it. I feel like I can be the "cool aunt" and be happy just being that. Right now. But the logical, responsible person inside me always has to think about the future. Will I feel the same way in ten years, when my chances of having a child are even smaller than they are now? That thought is what keeps me from just saying, "fuck it", and moving on with my life.
And I really and truly just want to say fuck it all. I keep having a fantasy of moving to California and starting over. I don't know why I've developed this love affair with California. I've never even been there. I don't know if it is because it's the farthest distance I can run to without having to cross an ocean. I don't know if it is because it is so different but still so similar to where I live now. I just want to go. I want to start new and fresh and get away from all the memories here. But I know I can't escape my problems. Moving to California, or anywhere else for that matter, won't get me away from the "axis of evil" that is my reproductive system. I'm stuck with this screwed up body and all the problems that go with it. I can never truly run away from this because it is in me... it is me.
Maybe I'm fortunate, in some backwards way, to have the opportunity to make a decision. If children would've come easy to me, I would've just been content to live the life of the mom. And I know I would've loved it. I would've thrown myself into the school projects, and extracurricular activities, and the messy craziness. I would've been the best mom there ever was. I would've loved my kids and supported them and been there for them every step of the way. I would've loved that life. But maybe there is another life out there for me. Maybe I'm meant to be more than a mom. Maybe I'm supposed to do something more important.
That's what I'm searching for. What other goal can I start working towards? Who am I? What do I want? Those are hard questions to answer when your brain keeps looking over her shoulder to "Plan A".
I was so sure of who I was, what I wanted, where my life was going. And I was marching, in heels, up the hill towards that goal. But after everything that's happened over the last couple months, I feel like someone pulled the carpet out from under me and I tumbled all the way back to the bottom of the hill. Now I'm standing at a huge fork in the road and I have no idea which path I want or should take. None of the paths look particularly easy or comfortable. They all look hard and scary.
And I just don't know. It's so frustrating because I really JUST DON'T KNOW! I know that I can't turn back the clock but sometimes I wish I could just do it over. I wish that as a young person that I had more goals than just "wife and mother". I wish that I would've explored myself and my interests and that I would've had a "Plan B". A plan that I could turn to when that first, most coveted goal, fell through.
Because it has fallen through... fully this time. I have no hope left for a biological child. None. But the crazy part is that I'm starting to feel okay with it. I am not experiencing the longing right now. The overwhelming desire to continue treatments because we might get lucky with the next cycle. I feel okay right now with a childless life. I think, right now, I can handle it. I feel like I can be the "cool aunt" and be happy just being that. Right now. But the logical, responsible person inside me always has to think about the future. Will I feel the same way in ten years, when my chances of having a child are even smaller than they are now? That thought is what keeps me from just saying, "fuck it", and moving on with my life.
And I really and truly just want to say fuck it all. I keep having a fantasy of moving to California and starting over. I don't know why I've developed this love affair with California. I've never even been there. I don't know if it is because it's the farthest distance I can run to without having to cross an ocean. I don't know if it is because it is so different but still so similar to where I live now. I just want to go. I want to start new and fresh and get away from all the memories here. But I know I can't escape my problems. Moving to California, or anywhere else for that matter, won't get me away from the "axis of evil" that is my reproductive system. I'm stuck with this screwed up body and all the problems that go with it. I can never truly run away from this because it is in me... it is me.
Maybe I'm fortunate, in some backwards way, to have the opportunity to make a decision. If children would've come easy to me, I would've just been content to live the life of the mom. And I know I would've loved it. I would've thrown myself into the school projects, and extracurricular activities, and the messy craziness. I would've been the best mom there ever was. I would've loved my kids and supported them and been there for them every step of the way. I would've loved that life. But maybe there is another life out there for me. Maybe I'm meant to be more than a mom. Maybe I'm supposed to do something more important.
That's what I'm searching for. What other goal can I start working towards? Who am I? What do I want? Those are hard questions to answer when your brain keeps looking over her shoulder to "Plan A".
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Like I'm 22
Joe and I decided when we were in Vegas that we've lived the safe and responsible way for too long and it is time that we get back to having some fun. So when the opportunity came up to see my favorite new band in concert, I jumped at the chance. I found out on Thursday that Flyleaf would be playing at a festival in St. Augustine the following day. Normally I would've said, "darn that would've been fun if we'd had more time to plan for it", and we wouldn't have gone. Not this time. Even though the concert was an hour and a half drive and on a Friday night, meaning I'd have to take off early from work, I just felt like I had to do it. So we did, and we had the BEST time.
We got to St. Augustine a little after 6pm. Flyleaf went on at 5:50 so we only missed a little bit. We picked up our tickets from will call and grabbed a beer on the way to the stage. Flyleaf were so good!! The lead singer has the most amazing voice. It's hard to believe that such a huge voice comes out of such a tiny person. They did all the songs that I knew from their CD, which has been on repeat in my car for the last couple of weeks, and also some new songs. It was so fun to see them play live. I did learn something I didn't know about the band. I had no idea they were a Christian band. Like I said in my previous blog, when you have something going on inside you, you can make almost any song lyric fit your situation. Little did I know that most of their songs are about Jesus. Oh well, they still have the same meanings for me.
After Flyleaf was done some other guy named "G-Love" came on. He was kind of a second rate Jason Mraz. We weren't really in to him so we walked around and got some food during his set. Joe and I each got a big ass corn dog and some fries and watched the sunset while we ate. We also did some people watching. That was hilarious. There was mostly college kids there but also some really weird people. We saw some drunk girls running around in bikini tops and cut off jean shorts, a mom and her probably 10 year old daughter dressed up like prostitutes, some girls that looked like they were straight off an episode of Candy Girls, and many more interesting sights. I guess it takes all kinds.
In addition to Flyleaf, we also got to see.... wait for it.... SNOOP DOGG!!!! I knew he would be there but I wasn't really that excited to see him. Well, that all changed as the night wore on. I'm not going to blame it completely on the two beers and margarita that I drank but I think it helped. By the time the sun was down and the stage lights came on, I was super pumped to see Snoop. I've always been a fan but have never had the urge to see him live. Now, I am so glad that we did. He was SO good. He played all the classics and some new stuff. I had my hands in the air and I was dancing and singing along to all the songs. It was a blast!
We didn't get home until midnight and pretty much passed out right away. We're trying to be wild and crazy but it's going to take a little time to get used to the new hours. Saturday morning was rough. It definitely took a little bit longer to get going. Joe convinced me somehow to help him wash the cars. I haven't washed cars in quite a while and I guess I'm not used to the exertion it takes because I am very sore today. My arm and back muscles are pretty much killing me. After the several hours it took us to wash both the car and the truck, we were hot and exhausted. So we headed to the pool to relax and cool down. Now that is what summer's all about! God I love my pool in the summer time! After pool time we met some friends for a pretty gross Mexican dinner and then went to The Wal-Mart for some grocery shopping. Hey- one crazy night a weekend is enough!
Today we had Mother's Day breakfast at my mom's house then came back here for some cleaning and more pool time. Today my mom and Becky brought Pierce over. We hung out, read some magazines, and grilled out some hot dogs. It was the best. Having a pool in the winter sucks but when summer comes around, there is really nothing better! Now we're just relaxing and getting ready for the new work week. This Friday is Girls' Movie Night but I don't have anything else planned yet. I'll keep you posted if anything exciting pops up. Have a good week!
We got to St. Augustine a little after 6pm. Flyleaf went on at 5:50 so we only missed a little bit. We picked up our tickets from will call and grabbed a beer on the way to the stage. Flyleaf were so good!! The lead singer has the most amazing voice. It's hard to believe that such a huge voice comes out of such a tiny person. They did all the songs that I knew from their CD, which has been on repeat in my car for the last couple of weeks, and also some new songs. It was so fun to see them play live. I did learn something I didn't know about the band. I had no idea they were a Christian band. Like I said in my previous blog, when you have something going on inside you, you can make almost any song lyric fit your situation. Little did I know that most of their songs are about Jesus. Oh well, they still have the same meanings for me.
After Flyleaf was done some other guy named "G-Love" came on. He was kind of a second rate Jason Mraz. We weren't really in to him so we walked around and got some food during his set. Joe and I each got a big ass corn dog and some fries and watched the sunset while we ate. We also did some people watching. That was hilarious. There was mostly college kids there but also some really weird people. We saw some drunk girls running around in bikini tops and cut off jean shorts, a mom and her probably 10 year old daughter dressed up like prostitutes, some girls that looked like they were straight off an episode of Candy Girls, and many more interesting sights. I guess it takes all kinds.
In addition to Flyleaf, we also got to see.... wait for it.... SNOOP DOGG!!!! I knew he would be there but I wasn't really that excited to see him. Well, that all changed as the night wore on. I'm not going to blame it completely on the two beers and margarita that I drank but I think it helped. By the time the sun was down and the stage lights came on, I was super pumped to see Snoop. I've always been a fan but have never had the urge to see him live. Now, I am so glad that we did. He was SO good. He played all the classics and some new stuff. I had my hands in the air and I was dancing and singing along to all the songs. It was a blast!
We didn't get home until midnight and pretty much passed out right away. We're trying to be wild and crazy but it's going to take a little time to get used to the new hours. Saturday morning was rough. It definitely took a little bit longer to get going. Joe convinced me somehow to help him wash the cars. I haven't washed cars in quite a while and I guess I'm not used to the exertion it takes because I am very sore today. My arm and back muscles are pretty much killing me. After the several hours it took us to wash both the car and the truck, we were hot and exhausted. So we headed to the pool to relax and cool down. Now that is what summer's all about! God I love my pool in the summer time! After pool time we met some friends for a pretty gross Mexican dinner and then went to The Wal-Mart for some grocery shopping. Hey- one crazy night a weekend is enough!
Today we had Mother's Day breakfast at my mom's house then came back here for some cleaning and more pool time. Today my mom and Becky brought Pierce over. We hung out, read some magazines, and grilled out some hot dogs. It was the best. Having a pool in the winter sucks but when summer comes around, there is really nothing better! Now we're just relaxing and getting ready for the new work week. This Friday is Girls' Movie Night but I don't have anything else planned yet. I'll keep you posted if anything exciting pops up. Have a good week!
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Music therapy
I've been doing a lot of thinking. A LOT. Almost too much for my own good. My brain is being pulled in so many directions. Just when I think I've got things figured out, something else pops in and tears it all apart.
Music helps me. Listening to the words and letting my feelings out through the melodies is really like therapy for me. I can turn the music up really loud and scream the words and lose myself in the song. And it's funny how when you're really concentrating on an idea, you can make almost any song lyrics fit your situation.
I don't know if it is my state of mind right now but I've been IN LOVE with Flyleaf. The CD is like four years old but it has quickly become my new favorite. I can listen to it over and over again and be just in love as the first time I heard it. Joe and I are actually going to see them in concert tomorrow night in St. Augustine and I CAN NOT freaking wait!!! I'm so excited. Their music is definitely rock but the lead singer has the most amazing voice. She just sounds so haunted or almost in pain and you can't help but feel her pain too. And the lyrics to the songs are just amazing.
Another similar band that I'm loving is Paramore. They are also rock but more pop-ish I think. They have a great song called, "Miracle" that I can really relate to right now. The lyrics to the song just seem to fit where I am in my thoughts. So, in lieu of a full blog, I wanted to share the lyrics with you. Enjoy!
Music helps me. Listening to the words and letting my feelings out through the melodies is really like therapy for me. I can turn the music up really loud and scream the words and lose myself in the song. And it's funny how when you're really concentrating on an idea, you can make almost any song lyrics fit your situation.
I don't know if it is my state of mind right now but I've been IN LOVE with Flyleaf. The CD is like four years old but it has quickly become my new favorite. I can listen to it over and over again and be just in love as the first time I heard it. Joe and I are actually going to see them in concert tomorrow night in St. Augustine and I CAN NOT freaking wait!!! I'm so excited. Their music is definitely rock but the lead singer has the most amazing voice. She just sounds so haunted or almost in pain and you can't help but feel her pain too. And the lyrics to the songs are just amazing.
Another similar band that I'm loving is Paramore. They are also rock but more pop-ish I think. They have a great song called, "Miracle" that I can really relate to right now. The lyrics to the song just seem to fit where I am in my thoughts. So, in lieu of a full blog, I wanted to share the lyrics with you. Enjoy!
I've gone for too long living like I'm not alive
So I'm going to start over tonight
Beginning with you and I
When this memory fades
I'm gonna make sure it's replaced
With chances taken
Hope embraced
and have I told you?
I'm not going
cause I've been waiting for a miracle
And I'm not leaving
I won't let you
Let you give up on a miracle
When it might save you
We've learned to run from
Anything uncomfortable
We've tied our pain below and no one ever has to know
That inside we're broken
I try to patch things up again
To calm my tears and kill these fears
But have I told you, have I?
I'm not going
Cause I've been waiting for a miracle
And I'm not leaving
I won't let you
Let you give up on a miracle
When it might save you
It's not faith if, if you use your eyes
Oh why
We'll get it right this time (this time)
Let's leave this all behind
Oh why
We'll get it right this time
It's not faith if you're using your eyes
Oh why
I've gone for too long living like I'm not alive
So I'm going to start over tonight
Beginning with you and
I don't want to run from anything uncomfortable
I just want, no
I just need this pain to end right here
I'm not going
Cause I've been waiting for a miracle
And I'm not leaving
I won't let you
Let you give up on a miracle
Cause it might save you
Yeah, it might save you
Oh, it might save you
It's not faith if, if you use your eyes
If you use your eyes
If you use your eyes
So I'm going to start over tonight
Beginning with you and I
When this memory fades
I'm gonna make sure it's replaced
With chances taken
Hope embraced
and have I told you?
I'm not going
cause I've been waiting for a miracle
And I'm not leaving
I won't let you
Let you give up on a miracle
When it might save you
We've learned to run from
Anything uncomfortable
We've tied our pain below and no one ever has to know
That inside we're broken
I try to patch things up again
To calm my tears and kill these fears
But have I told you, have I?
I'm not going
Cause I've been waiting for a miracle
And I'm not leaving
I won't let you
Let you give up on a miracle
When it might save you
It's not faith if, if you use your eyes
Oh why
We'll get it right this time (this time)
Let's leave this all behind
Oh why
We'll get it right this time
It's not faith if you're using your eyes
Oh why
I've gone for too long living like I'm not alive
So I'm going to start over tonight
Beginning with you and
I don't want to run from anything uncomfortable
I just want, no
I just need this pain to end right here
I'm not going
Cause I've been waiting for a miracle
And I'm not leaving
I won't let you
Let you give up on a miracle
Cause it might save you
Yeah, it might save you
Oh, it might save you
It's not faith if, if you use your eyes
If you use your eyes
If you use your eyes
Friday, May 1, 2009
Whirlwind
I'm still nursing a jet lag/end-of-vacation hangover this morning. Uh, actually I just realized it's 5:30pm, so make that "this evening". I'm exhausted. Vegas wasn't the typical relaxing vacation that I'm used to. We were on the go from the moment we landed. We had one hell of a time though. This blog will probably be very long as I have lots of pictures to share.
My first impression of Vegas was that it seemed fake, like a Universal Studios sound stage. Everything was just too big and too beautiful to be real. The hotels, all crammed onto one street, seemed like facades. Like if you looked behind their glitzy, beautiful exteriors, you'd see wooden braces holding them up. It amazed me. I kept wondering how one would even come up with the ideas to build those grand buildings. Where would you even start? And even though my first impression was during the day, before I could be blown away by the "lights of Las Vegas", I was still awed by the glitz and glamor. I guess I'll start with our hotel. The beautiful and amazing Bellagio:
The hotel was gorgeous. From the Chihuly glass exhibit in the lobby to the botanical gardens, the jasmine arches and rose gardens leading to the pool, and of course the fountains, everything around you was just breathtaking. When we checked in I asked, as I always do, if they had any upgrades available. We had booked the least expensive room, which was probably a highway view or something. We were very fortunate to be upgraded to an 8th floor, fountain view room. Here is the view we had from our room:
And now, at night, with the fountains:
UH-MAZ-ING!!! Seriously, any time you travel, ALWAYS ask for an upgrade! What's the worst that could happen, they say no? I feel very fortunate to have had such an awesome view. They even had a channel on the TV that you could turn on to hear the music that corresponded to the fountain show. It was very cool.
Our flight got in around 10:30am, too early to check in to the hotel, so we checked our bags and set out to explore. We walked next door to Caesar's Palace which, by the way, is freaking humongous! The place takes up like 4 blocks. It's beautiful too. We walked through the casino and through the Forum shops. We were kind of hungry so we sat down for lunch at Chinois by Wolfgang Puck. For an impromptu "light" lunch, it was delicious! Joe had Pad Thai, I had a shrimp and tuna roll and we shared some pot stickers for an appetizer. It wasn't cheap, nothing in Vegas was, but it was SO good. The restaurant was very pretty too and had an awesome lounge upstairs but we never made it back to enjoy it.
After we checked in and got cleaned up, we headed down the strip to New York New York. I was expecting it to be one of the cheesier hotels, but it was actually pretty neat. The inside looks like an old street in New York city with store fronts and restaurants. We popped into a Mexican restaurant called Gonzalez y Gonzalez and had some pretty good Mexican food and a couple of drinks. Joe stuck to rum and coke while I enjoyed a mighty fine margarita.
From there we headed out to a piano bar near the casino. We had a couple more drinks and watched some very drunk patrons dance their asses off (and fall on occasion) to the pianos. It was quite entertaining and we had some pretty good laughs. Things got a little fuzzy after that but I'm pretty sure we hit up The MGM Grand (which didn't impress me), the Palazzo, and the Venetian. The Venetian was beautiful, everything in it was decadent and perfect. We found a little bar off the casino floor that had a live band and we stopped for a couple of drinks there. All in all, not a bad first day in Vegas.
Day number two was very different but no less amazing. Not fully adjusted to the three hour time difference, we were up at 5am wide awake and ready to go. We'd planned on picking up our rental car around 7am, so we just got up and started getting ready. Joe had rented a Cadillac for our trip to the Grand Canyon but when we got there, they had no Cadillacs left. So we settled for a Hummer H3. It felt very pretentious driving a Hummer... almost a little embarrassing, but it was comfortable so who cares. We rented a Garmin GPS or, as I pronounced it, much to Joe's amusement, Garamon. At first the thing confused the hell out of us but once we figured it out, we were headed to Arizona.
The drive shocked me. I thought it would be highways with rest areas or at least exits with food and gas. No. The drive was like "The Hills Have Eyes". God forbid you break down out there as there is NOTHING for miles and miles. We were shocked to see trailers sitting out in the middle of huge valleys with nothing around for like 50 miles or more. Where do those people eat/work/shop? Crazy. But, even though it was a little creepy the drive was beautiful. The mountains were overwhelmingly gorgeous. I couldn't get over just how amazing they were. Different from any mountains I'd ever seen.
It took us almost 5 hours to get to the Grand Canyon, factoring in a stop for breakfast and gas/snacks. Even though the drive was long, it was so worth it to see the Grand Canyon in person. I knew it was huge but I honestly had no idea how big and just truly overwhelming it would be. I know my pictures won't do it any justice, but here are my favorites:
I have so many more, so I'll post them in the family album. They are mostly landscape shots because I was just so mesmerized by what I was seeing that I couldn't help snapping about a billion pictures. We didn't do any of the tours while we were there but we did walk a little way down into the canyon. I'm talking a VERY little way down. The elevation was kind of messing with us. That, and the fact that we are both very out of shape. It was hard to breathe and I kept getting light headed. But, we walked the path a little way down and actually got to see some petroglyphs carved into the rock face. They were too far away to tell what they were, but it was still cool to see. I can't even imagine how long they've been there.
We stayed at the Grand Canyon for a couple of hours, just taking in the sights, before we headed back. We stopped at the Hoover Dam both on the way and the way back. Unfortunately, our timing was wrong both times to do a tour, we were too early in the morning, then too late on the way back, but we did stop to take some pictures. The dam was pretty impressive. But, there was a construction project going on that really caught my eye. They are in the process of building a new road through the mountains and there is a new bridge being constructed over the Hoover Dam. I can't even begin to estimate how high the new bridge is over the water but it looked terrifying. The men and women working on that thing get major props from me for being that high in the air everyday. Here's a picture of the dam and the crazy new bridge:
When we got back we were tired but soldiered on, not willing to miss anything Vegas had to offer. We decided to walk up the strip and see where it took us. Where it took us was one of the funnest nights I've had in a long time. We started out at a dive casino called O'Sheas. We grabbed a quick slice of pizza and a couple of drinks and kept on walking. We were handed two free passes to a bar called, Rockhouse and figured what the heck. Oh my God you guys, I had so much fun! The music was great, the drinks were strong, and I was having a blast. It was there that I actually rang in my 30th birthday. Or, as the picture implies, my 03rd birthday. Joe even showed off some of his dance moves. Oh, and it's been so long since I've had an entry stamp on my hand, I had to commemorate it in picture form.
This is the longest blog ever. I can't believe I'm only two days into our trip...
Tuesday, my actual birthday, was my spa day. We hit the buffet at the Bellagio before I headed over to Qua spa at Caesar's Palace. I know that I'm over using the word "amazing" in this blog but there really aren't many words strong enough to describe how awesome this spa was. It was dim and decorated in taupe's and blues and stone. It was like something you would see in a movie, just absolutely gorgeous. I went early in order to take advantage of their facilities before my massage. When I checked in, I was given my spa slippers and a quick tour, then shown to my locker so I could change. I started out in the Roman plunge pools (big ass Jacuzzis). There were three, in a huge room, all different temperatures. There was one big waterfall in the center of the room, then two smaller waterfalls falling into two different plunge pools. I alternated between the warm and the hot pools. They also had heated stone lounge chairs around the room so when I wasn't in one of the pools, I was relaxing there. It was not busy at all and I had the room to myself for a very long time. It was so relaxing to sit and just listen to the water.
I had time before my massage to take advantage of the saunas as well. There was a cedar sauna, a steam room, and an arctic room. The cedar sauna was what you would expect, nothing too fancy. The steam room was a little scary, as it was so dark you couldn't see across the room, but it felt so good I didn't care. After the steam room, I gave the arctic room a try. Talk about invigorating! It is really cold in there and it actually snows on you! It felt really good going from the steam room into the arctic room. I did it several times before leaving the spa.
I went back to the tea lounge while I waited for my masseuse to come get me for my stone massage with aromatherapy. I was a little disappointed there was no one there to make tea for me (you're not supposed to do it yourself) but I didn't have to wait too long before my massage so whatever. The girl doing my massage came to get me and led me through a long maze of treatment rooms before we got to mine. My massage was amazing. The hot stones felt so good being massaged into my muscles. After hiking up the trail in the Grand Canyon, my legs definitely appreciated a good rub down. The massage was very relaxing and I was floating when it was over. I had use of the spa facilities all day so I took advantage of the plunge pools and steam/arctic rooms again. Then, I headed to the showers for one of the best showers I've ever had. Rain shower head, shower heads on the wall, and fancy spa products at my finger tips, I didn't want to get out! But, I didn't want to leave Joe alone all day so I wrapped up my spa excursion and headed back to our room.
Joe had a little fun of his own while I was being pampered. He found a gun range that lets you shoot machine guns and shot guns. So he played there for a couple of hours and had a really good time. I consider that his "spa day".
We tried to hang out by the pool for a while but it was a little too windy and chilly to sit out there in a bathing suit so we decided to get out and walk some more. We headed up the strip again and visited the Wynn. Seriously, one of the most beautiful hotels I've ever seen. The Bellagio is gorgeous, but the Wynn is unreal. Steve Wynn really knows how to build a hotel. We had lunch at the buffet and WAY over stuffed ourselves. We were almost instantly regretting it. But, we were on a mission, so we kept walking. We visited the Ferrari dealership that's in the Wynn and saw some really amazing vehicles. We saw a $995,000 Ferrari and a 2010 model that isn't even available for sale. Unfortunately, there were no cameras allowed so I have no pictures to share but here is my favorite sight from inside the Wynn:
That night we had my birthday dinner reservations at Sushi Roku. It was in the Forum Shops at Caesar's also so we got dressed up and walked over. I, unfortunately, don't have any pictures to share as Joe was very camera shy on this trip. I think that's one of the draw backs of vacationing by yourself, not having anyone to take your picture. Anyway, dinner was very good. The restaurant was beautiful, we had a great view of the strip. We were still pretty full from lunch so we shared some lobster tempura and a crunchy spicy tuna roll. Both were excellent. Being that it was my birthday, and being that I love cake, we also split some chocolate lava cake. Yum!!
We called it a night after dinner. I think our partying the night before had started to catch up to us. The next morning we got up and hit the Cafe Bellagio for breakfast. It sits in between the indoor botanical garden and the outdoor rose garden. Beautiful. After breakfast we hit the strip again walking in and out of Paris, Bally's, and the Flamingo. We ended up at Madame Tussaud's wax museum. We honestly only went in as a joke... and because I had a coupon. We were hoping they'd have a wax figure of Miley Cyrus that we could take a picture with and tell my niece, Sarah, that we'd met her in Vegas. We didn't know that Miley is currently on display in New York. Oh well. Ok, the wax museum has got to be one of the creepiest things I've ever done. The place is seriously frightening. Joe and I were standing in a room that seemed to be filled with people when we realized it was just the two of us, and a bunch of creepy ass wax statues. SCARY! I kept thinking one of them was going to come alive and snatch me. We also walked (ok, more like ran) through a haunted house thing on our way out. I was shaking for an hour afterwards. Here are some of our favorite wax people:
After our scary trip through the wax museum, we walked through Treasure Island and the Mirage. The Mirage was another beautiful hotel. Lots of really pretty restaurants and neat bars. We stopped in for a drink at Rhumbar, which had a really nice outdoor patio. It was nice to get off our feet and relax for a little while. When we were done there, we headed back to the Bellagio to try the pool again. This time it was much nicer. We lounged for a while and had a drink and went in the pool for a bit. It was a little chilly but felt good after walking around in the hot sun all morning. Once we'd had our fill of the pool, we had some lunch and went back to our room to relax while deciding what to do for dinner. We knew we wanted something nice for our last dinner in Vegas and we had seen a really neat looking restaurant while at the Mirage.
We started getting ready for dinner and headed out around 8:30 to Stack. The restaurant was gorgeous! The most beautiful restaurant I've ever seen. The walls were kind of curvy and had strips of woodwork that followed the curves. It was very dim inside and very romantic. As per our usual, we spared no expense on dinner. We started with calamari that was delicious, then I had the surf and turf, Joe had a sirloin steak. We also ordered a side of the "adult tater tots" that were a fancier version of Burger King's cheesy tots. (Let the Napoleon Dynamite jokes begin...) These tots were filled with brie and bacon though and were pretty good. But they had nothing on the other food we got. My lobster tail was delicious and my steak was cooked perfectly. Joe's was also delicious. We decided since everything else was so wonderful, we had to try desert. We ordered the key lime pies with margarita sorbet. OH MY F-ing GOD!!! Talk about delicious! The desert was three mini key lime pie "tarts" with a scoop of sorbet that tasted just like a frozen margarita. I was wolfing the pies down so fast Joe made a Godzilla reference. Actually it went like this, "Oh no, it's Godzirra, run for your rives". If you knew how many Asian people we encountered in Vegas, it would be way funnier. Anyway, here's our post dinner picture, taken by the waiter, much to Joe's dismay:
After dinner, we headed back to the Bellagio to the Fontina Bar to sit on the patio, have a drink, and watch the fountain show. It was gorgous. I was mesmerized everytime I watched the show. It never got old. See for yourselves:
I did learn something very interesting in Vegas that I had no clue about before. You can buy day passes to spas that allow you to use their facilities all day for a very minimal price. I discovered that for $45 I could've purchaed a pass to Qua that would've allowed me to do everything I did there except for the massage. After I found out about that neat little idea, I called down to the Bellagio spa to see if they offered anything similar. Low and behold, they did... for only $25!! So I decided on our last day in town that I was going to enjoy the facilities at the Bellagio spa before we had to check out. Unfortunately, I think I'm forever spoiled by the Qua spa. The Bellagio spa was very nice and relaxing and I enjoyed their facilities but it didn't hold a candle to Qua. Not even close. But, I had a steam and a soak and a shower and did relax before having to pack and board a plane back to reality. My new mission is to find fancy spas around here that offer the same deal. I actually already found out that the Ritz in Orlando offers a pass for $40! Woot Woot!
So, there you have it. Tricia and Joe's Vegas vacation. I've been writing this blog for 2 and a half hours now! Yikes! We had a fantastic trip. We definitely ate too much, drank too much, and spent too much but Vegas is all about the excess, right?! It was nice to get away from it all and live in fantasy land for a while. I'm glad we've got two more days to recover before having to go back to work. Boo! Where should we vacation to next?
My first impression of Vegas was that it seemed fake, like a Universal Studios sound stage. Everything was just too big and too beautiful to be real. The hotels, all crammed onto one street, seemed like facades. Like if you looked behind their glitzy, beautiful exteriors, you'd see wooden braces holding them up. It amazed me. I kept wondering how one would even come up with the ideas to build those grand buildings. Where would you even start? And even though my first impression was during the day, before I could be blown away by the "lights of Las Vegas", I was still awed by the glitz and glamor. I guess I'll start with our hotel. The beautiful and amazing Bellagio:
The hotel was gorgeous. From the Chihuly glass exhibit in the lobby to the botanical gardens, the jasmine arches and rose gardens leading to the pool, and of course the fountains, everything around you was just breathtaking. When we checked in I asked, as I always do, if they had any upgrades available. We had booked the least expensive room, which was probably a highway view or something. We were very fortunate to be upgraded to an 8th floor, fountain view room. Here is the view we had from our room:
And now, at night, with the fountains:
UH-MAZ-ING!!! Seriously, any time you travel, ALWAYS ask for an upgrade! What's the worst that could happen, they say no? I feel very fortunate to have had such an awesome view. They even had a channel on the TV that you could turn on to hear the music that corresponded to the fountain show. It was very cool.
Our flight got in around 10:30am, too early to check in to the hotel, so we checked our bags and set out to explore. We walked next door to Caesar's Palace which, by the way, is freaking humongous! The place takes up like 4 blocks. It's beautiful too. We walked through the casino and through the Forum shops. We were kind of hungry so we sat down for lunch at Chinois by Wolfgang Puck. For an impromptu "light" lunch, it was delicious! Joe had Pad Thai, I had a shrimp and tuna roll and we shared some pot stickers for an appetizer. It wasn't cheap, nothing in Vegas was, but it was SO good. The restaurant was very pretty too and had an awesome lounge upstairs but we never made it back to enjoy it.
After we checked in and got cleaned up, we headed down the strip to New York New York. I was expecting it to be one of the cheesier hotels, but it was actually pretty neat. The inside looks like an old street in New York city with store fronts and restaurants. We popped into a Mexican restaurant called Gonzalez y Gonzalez and had some pretty good Mexican food and a couple of drinks. Joe stuck to rum and coke while I enjoyed a mighty fine margarita.
From there we headed out to a piano bar near the casino. We had a couple more drinks and watched some very drunk patrons dance their asses off (and fall on occasion) to the pianos. It was quite entertaining and we had some pretty good laughs. Things got a little fuzzy after that but I'm pretty sure we hit up The MGM Grand (which didn't impress me), the Palazzo, and the Venetian. The Venetian was beautiful, everything in it was decadent and perfect. We found a little bar off the casino floor that had a live band and we stopped for a couple of drinks there. All in all, not a bad first day in Vegas.
Day number two was very different but no less amazing. Not fully adjusted to the three hour time difference, we were up at 5am wide awake and ready to go. We'd planned on picking up our rental car around 7am, so we just got up and started getting ready. Joe had rented a Cadillac for our trip to the Grand Canyon but when we got there, they had no Cadillacs left. So we settled for a Hummer H3. It felt very pretentious driving a Hummer... almost a little embarrassing, but it was comfortable so who cares. We rented a Garmin GPS or, as I pronounced it, much to Joe's amusement, Garamon. At first the thing confused the hell out of us but once we figured it out, we were headed to Arizona.
The drive shocked me. I thought it would be highways with rest areas or at least exits with food and gas. No. The drive was like "The Hills Have Eyes". God forbid you break down out there as there is NOTHING for miles and miles. We were shocked to see trailers sitting out in the middle of huge valleys with nothing around for like 50 miles or more. Where do those people eat/work/shop? Crazy. But, even though it was a little creepy the drive was beautiful. The mountains were overwhelmingly gorgeous. I couldn't get over just how amazing they were. Different from any mountains I'd ever seen.
It took us almost 5 hours to get to the Grand Canyon, factoring in a stop for breakfast and gas/snacks. Even though the drive was long, it was so worth it to see the Grand Canyon in person. I knew it was huge but I honestly had no idea how big and just truly overwhelming it would be. I know my pictures won't do it any justice, but here are my favorites:
I have so many more, so I'll post them in the family album. They are mostly landscape shots because I was just so mesmerized by what I was seeing that I couldn't help snapping about a billion pictures. We didn't do any of the tours while we were there but we did walk a little way down into the canyon. I'm talking a VERY little way down. The elevation was kind of messing with us. That, and the fact that we are both very out of shape. It was hard to breathe and I kept getting light headed. But, we walked the path a little way down and actually got to see some petroglyphs carved into the rock face. They were too far away to tell what they were, but it was still cool to see. I can't even imagine how long they've been there.
We stayed at the Grand Canyon for a couple of hours, just taking in the sights, before we headed back. We stopped at the Hoover Dam both on the way and the way back. Unfortunately, our timing was wrong both times to do a tour, we were too early in the morning, then too late on the way back, but we did stop to take some pictures. The dam was pretty impressive. But, there was a construction project going on that really caught my eye. They are in the process of building a new road through the mountains and there is a new bridge being constructed over the Hoover Dam. I can't even begin to estimate how high the new bridge is over the water but it looked terrifying. The men and women working on that thing get major props from me for being that high in the air everyday. Here's a picture of the dam and the crazy new bridge:
When we got back we were tired but soldiered on, not willing to miss anything Vegas had to offer. We decided to walk up the strip and see where it took us. Where it took us was one of the funnest nights I've had in a long time. We started out at a dive casino called O'Sheas. We grabbed a quick slice of pizza and a couple of drinks and kept on walking. We were handed two free passes to a bar called, Rockhouse and figured what the heck. Oh my God you guys, I had so much fun! The music was great, the drinks were strong, and I was having a blast. It was there that I actually rang in my 30th birthday. Or, as the picture implies, my 03rd birthday. Joe even showed off some of his dance moves. Oh, and it's been so long since I've had an entry stamp on my hand, I had to commemorate it in picture form.
This is the longest blog ever. I can't believe I'm only two days into our trip...
Tuesday, my actual birthday, was my spa day. We hit the buffet at the Bellagio before I headed over to Qua spa at Caesar's Palace. I know that I'm over using the word "amazing" in this blog but there really aren't many words strong enough to describe how awesome this spa was. It was dim and decorated in taupe's and blues and stone. It was like something you would see in a movie, just absolutely gorgeous. I went early in order to take advantage of their facilities before my massage. When I checked in, I was given my spa slippers and a quick tour, then shown to my locker so I could change. I started out in the Roman plunge pools (big ass Jacuzzis). There were three, in a huge room, all different temperatures. There was one big waterfall in the center of the room, then two smaller waterfalls falling into two different plunge pools. I alternated between the warm and the hot pools. They also had heated stone lounge chairs around the room so when I wasn't in one of the pools, I was relaxing there. It was not busy at all and I had the room to myself for a very long time. It was so relaxing to sit and just listen to the water.
I had time before my massage to take advantage of the saunas as well. There was a cedar sauna, a steam room, and an arctic room. The cedar sauna was what you would expect, nothing too fancy. The steam room was a little scary, as it was so dark you couldn't see across the room, but it felt so good I didn't care. After the steam room, I gave the arctic room a try. Talk about invigorating! It is really cold in there and it actually snows on you! It felt really good going from the steam room into the arctic room. I did it several times before leaving the spa.
I went back to the tea lounge while I waited for my masseuse to come get me for my stone massage with aromatherapy. I was a little disappointed there was no one there to make tea for me (you're not supposed to do it yourself) but I didn't have to wait too long before my massage so whatever. The girl doing my massage came to get me and led me through a long maze of treatment rooms before we got to mine. My massage was amazing. The hot stones felt so good being massaged into my muscles. After hiking up the trail in the Grand Canyon, my legs definitely appreciated a good rub down. The massage was very relaxing and I was floating when it was over. I had use of the spa facilities all day so I took advantage of the plunge pools and steam/arctic rooms again. Then, I headed to the showers for one of the best showers I've ever had. Rain shower head, shower heads on the wall, and fancy spa products at my finger tips, I didn't want to get out! But, I didn't want to leave Joe alone all day so I wrapped up my spa excursion and headed back to our room.
Joe had a little fun of his own while I was being pampered. He found a gun range that lets you shoot machine guns and shot guns. So he played there for a couple of hours and had a really good time. I consider that his "spa day".
We tried to hang out by the pool for a while but it was a little too windy and chilly to sit out there in a bathing suit so we decided to get out and walk some more. We headed up the strip again and visited the Wynn. Seriously, one of the most beautiful hotels I've ever seen. The Bellagio is gorgeous, but the Wynn is unreal. Steve Wynn really knows how to build a hotel. We had lunch at the buffet and WAY over stuffed ourselves. We were almost instantly regretting it. But, we were on a mission, so we kept walking. We visited the Ferrari dealership that's in the Wynn and saw some really amazing vehicles. We saw a $995,000 Ferrari and a 2010 model that isn't even available for sale. Unfortunately, there were no cameras allowed so I have no pictures to share but here is my favorite sight from inside the Wynn:
That night we had my birthday dinner reservations at Sushi Roku. It was in the Forum Shops at Caesar's also so we got dressed up and walked over. I, unfortunately, don't have any pictures to share as Joe was very camera shy on this trip. I think that's one of the draw backs of vacationing by yourself, not having anyone to take your picture. Anyway, dinner was very good. The restaurant was beautiful, we had a great view of the strip. We were still pretty full from lunch so we shared some lobster tempura and a crunchy spicy tuna roll. Both were excellent. Being that it was my birthday, and being that I love cake, we also split some chocolate lava cake. Yum!!
We called it a night after dinner. I think our partying the night before had started to catch up to us. The next morning we got up and hit the Cafe Bellagio for breakfast. It sits in between the indoor botanical garden and the outdoor rose garden. Beautiful. After breakfast we hit the strip again walking in and out of Paris, Bally's, and the Flamingo. We ended up at Madame Tussaud's wax museum. We honestly only went in as a joke... and because I had a coupon. We were hoping they'd have a wax figure of Miley Cyrus that we could take a picture with and tell my niece, Sarah, that we'd met her in Vegas. We didn't know that Miley is currently on display in New York. Oh well. Ok, the wax museum has got to be one of the creepiest things I've ever done. The place is seriously frightening. Joe and I were standing in a room that seemed to be filled with people when we realized it was just the two of us, and a bunch of creepy ass wax statues. SCARY! I kept thinking one of them was going to come alive and snatch me. We also walked (ok, more like ran) through a haunted house thing on our way out. I was shaking for an hour afterwards. Here are some of our favorite wax people:
After our scary trip through the wax museum, we walked through Treasure Island and the Mirage. The Mirage was another beautiful hotel. Lots of really pretty restaurants and neat bars. We stopped in for a drink at Rhumbar, which had a really nice outdoor patio. It was nice to get off our feet and relax for a little while. When we were done there, we headed back to the Bellagio to try the pool again. This time it was much nicer. We lounged for a while and had a drink and went in the pool for a bit. It was a little chilly but felt good after walking around in the hot sun all morning. Once we'd had our fill of the pool, we had some lunch and went back to our room to relax while deciding what to do for dinner. We knew we wanted something nice for our last dinner in Vegas and we had seen a really neat looking restaurant while at the Mirage.
We started getting ready for dinner and headed out around 8:30 to Stack. The restaurant was gorgeous! The most beautiful restaurant I've ever seen. The walls were kind of curvy and had strips of woodwork that followed the curves. It was very dim inside and very romantic. As per our usual, we spared no expense on dinner. We started with calamari that was delicious, then I had the surf and turf, Joe had a sirloin steak. We also ordered a side of the "adult tater tots" that were a fancier version of Burger King's cheesy tots. (Let the Napoleon Dynamite jokes begin...) These tots were filled with brie and bacon though and were pretty good. But they had nothing on the other food we got. My lobster tail was delicious and my steak was cooked perfectly. Joe's was also delicious. We decided since everything else was so wonderful, we had to try desert. We ordered the key lime pies with margarita sorbet. OH MY F-ing GOD!!! Talk about delicious! The desert was three mini key lime pie "tarts" with a scoop of sorbet that tasted just like a frozen margarita. I was wolfing the pies down so fast Joe made a Godzilla reference. Actually it went like this, "Oh no, it's Godzirra, run for your rives". If you knew how many Asian people we encountered in Vegas, it would be way funnier. Anyway, here's our post dinner picture, taken by the waiter, much to Joe's dismay:
After dinner, we headed back to the Bellagio to the Fontina Bar to sit on the patio, have a drink, and watch the fountain show. It was gorgous. I was mesmerized everytime I watched the show. It never got old. See for yourselves:
I did learn something very interesting in Vegas that I had no clue about before. You can buy day passes to spas that allow you to use their facilities all day for a very minimal price. I discovered that for $45 I could've purchaed a pass to Qua that would've allowed me to do everything I did there except for the massage. After I found out about that neat little idea, I called down to the Bellagio spa to see if they offered anything similar. Low and behold, they did... for only $25!! So I decided on our last day in town that I was going to enjoy the facilities at the Bellagio spa before we had to check out. Unfortunately, I think I'm forever spoiled by the Qua spa. The Bellagio spa was very nice and relaxing and I enjoyed their facilities but it didn't hold a candle to Qua. Not even close. But, I had a steam and a soak and a shower and did relax before having to pack and board a plane back to reality. My new mission is to find fancy spas around here that offer the same deal. I actually already found out that the Ritz in Orlando offers a pass for $40! Woot Woot!
So, there you have it. Tricia and Joe's Vegas vacation. I've been writing this blog for 2 and a half hours now! Yikes! We had a fantastic trip. We definitely ate too much, drank too much, and spent too much but Vegas is all about the excess, right?! It was nice to get away from it all and live in fantasy land for a while. I'm glad we've got two more days to recover before having to go back to work. Boo! Where should we vacation to next?
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