Vegas, baby part I

When I first heard about the blog conference that SITS was hosting in Las Vegas. I knew that I had to be a part of it. After our year of medical maladies. Topped with a cherry flood. A vacation for the grown ups was just the ticket. I have never been to Vegas. And I could not wait to soak up it's lights. Glamour. Nudie cards. And Kitsch.

Being the strange bird that I am. My first order of business was research. To figure out how early we might be able to fly out. To see what shows could possibly be in our budget. To find an inexpensive hotel on the strip for the first part of our week. To arrange a little off site travel. And to investigate the possibility of renewing my vows with Elvis. Well. Not literally with Elvis. Since I am not married to him in the first place. Nevermind.

My first exciting find was that I had enough credit card points for us to fly for free. Of course. We probably got all those points from certain medical maladies. Which begs the question of if there weren't medical maladies, would we have been able to go to Vegas? Which begs other questions. That I won't torment you with since it's enough that they keep me up at night.

Finally a few weeks before we were to leave. I finally decided where we would stay. And for the rest of our week. I decided not to plan at all. But to just see what each day would bring. And see if we could win big on the slots and supplement our plans accordingly. Because one should always plan vacations on a wing and a prayer. And the thought of hitting it big. Right? That is what everyone is doing these days. You heard it here first. Cause I just made it up.

We flew out of Atlanta on a Tuesday afternoon. Giving many thanks to Lizzy who graciously agreed to drive Michael and I to the airport. She had no idea that her graciousness would extend to a 3+ hour drive home due to an accident on the interstate. I am sure that she is still wondering where her tshirt is. We arrived in Las Vegas with much less pomp and circumstance.

We decided to stay at the Monte Carlo resort at the south end of the strip. I got us all checked in. When I noticed the strangest of things. We were assigned to a room on the 13th floor. The 13th floor! I thought that hotels skipped this floor. Evidently not. We had a no smoking room. Perhaps this was the floor the powers that be decided was best for us. Our room and floor did not smell of smoke. But it smelled like someone had spilled a whole bottle of cologne. Cheap cologne.

Don't get me wrong. The room was fine. The hotel was fine. Especially considering I only paid $59 a night. But do you know what is going on all around the Monte Carlo? They are building what is called "The City Center." It is a huge hotel. Casino. With restaurants. Shopping. Church. Synagogue. And even a school. And this complex is scheduled to be finished soon. But to finish it. The construction goes on 24/7. The city truly never sleeps. And neither does anyone staying at the Monte Carlo.

It was almost bedtime. But really, it was early in Vegas. My body says it is 11pm. My clock says it's only 8pm. And those peanuts on the airplane are a distant memory. So we went off in search of food. There is a food court by the casino and I found this place that made yummy guacamole. Where only the casino bosses behind those cameras might be able to tell you if the plate was licked clean.

With a little nourishment. We got a little energy. And decided to go and check out the strip. If we could figure out how to get there. We walked through the casino. And walked. And walked a little more. We passed the steakhouse. The cafe. The buffet. The magician's theatre. A bar. And more slots. And we walked a little further. Binoculars might have been helpful. And then we were out. I knew that the Bellagio was the next casino up the street. And that the Paris was directly across the street from the Bellagio. And look. The Paris is so close. So we decided to walk over to see those famous fountains.

Did you know that Las Vegas is in the desert? One of the effects of being in the desert is a mirage. Part of a mirage is the feeling that things are much closer than they appear. When they aren't. Kinda the reverse of your side view mirrors. (But the same sort of feeling you might get if you see in your sideview mirror a T-rex chasing you.)

So we walked to the Bellagio.

Have I mentioned that I don't walk? Besides being lazy and having zero stamina. I have horrid heel spurs. Which makes walking rather difficult.

And we walked some more. The Paris never looked any closer. It remained what seemed the same distance away. Even though we kept walking. And walking. And walking.

And finally. We were there. Without a sofa to crash into. Nary a stone bench in sight. So I leaned on the wall. And waited for the next show to begin.

And I must say that we were rewarded. Handsomely. I knew the fountains were a must see. But I don't think I got the extent of how cool they really are. The fountains are choreographed to music. So every show is different. And the water really does move with the music. And the song we heard. It was fabulous. And oh so fitting: "Hey, Big Spender." (It's times like this that I wish I still had my playlist.)

And if the pictures aren't enough, I found a video of it on youtube:

And when it was over. I must have still been enraptured. Because we walked back to the hotel. Walked. And walked. And a little further. I even contemplated the bus stop. But I had no idea where it might let us off. So we kept walking. Back through the casino. Past the bufet. And cafe. And food court. To the cologne soaked hall. And into our thirteenth floor room. And right into bed. With the sounds of saws. Hammers. And construction detris lulling me to a peaceful night's sleep.

So...what about you? Have you ever been to Vegas? Favorite hotel there - or one you would want to stay in? Are you shocked that I have blogged two days in a row?

Halloween

We forgot. Ran out of time. Or ignored it. One of those. Or all of those. But there was no pumpkin in our house this year. No orange canvas for Michael to practice his mad skills. Last year he did the two-head kitty monster. Which showed the scariest thing to happen to us last year. Carving doctor bills on the pumpkin for this year might have been an interesting challenge.

And what did the girls choose for their costumes this year? Madalyn went through a long list of possibilities. Renaissance princess. Grecian princess. Egyptian princess. My mother took her to Target to pick something out. And she decided to be a skeleton. Princess? I think we should have given her a tiara.

Katie decided to make her own costume. So that she could be her absolute favorite thing. A pie. She had it all planned out. She would wear silver pants. For the pie tin. And a tan-ish shirt. Her words. So she would have the pie crust down. And then she wanted to make slits in the shirt to show the fruit in the pie. And then have a hat that looked like she was ala mode. Uh-huh. Have I mentioned that I am not creative? This was a project that firmly rested in her hands.

She knew. And I knew. That this project was a go when I found the silver leggings. The store clerk gave me an odd look when I told her the leggings were for a Halloween costume. I would like to know what occasion calls for silver leggings. Where would you wear silver leggings? The rest of the costume came rather easily. The brown hoodie was found in her sister's closet. She made the apple slices and slits for her shirt. And glued a hundred cotton balls on a hat. Refused to have a cherry on top. Because she doesn't like cherries. Marischino cherries actually. "Real" cherries are yum.So here they are. In all their independent glory.

Did you know that sometimes skeleton. Princesses? Like to snack on pies?

Do any of you remember what we found in Katie's bag last year? Someone had put in some fun dip. That was personalized. From Valentine's. Yep. Regifted candy.Shockingly. It happened again. This time to Madalyn. She got a peanut butter bunny. Yep. An Easter bunny. For Halloween. Now that is scary.

So...what about you? How did your kids dress up for Halloween? Did you dress up? What is your favorite candy to steal from your kids? What candy did you hand out?

Event Chasing Again

In the south, football is a big deal. In Georgia, rivalries are a big deal. And one of the biggest is between the Georgia Bulldogs and the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. I went to the University of Georgia. And Michael went to Tech. We are a house divided. Well. Not really. Because I really don't care. And Michael always roots for Georgia. Unless they are playing Tech.

We have Tech "stuff" everywhere. It's on our welcome mat. On our grill cover. On Michael's reusable grocery bags. It's on lots of ornaments on our Christmas tree. If we ever put it up again. We all have t-shirts. Sweatshirts. Even button down shirts with Tech emboridery. Katie has even gotten to the point where she refuses to wear the Georgia Bulldog shirt I got her. Or even anything in a red and black combo. It is disloyal to her dad. And she ingnores my cries of "hey...what about me?!"

And Madalyn learned the hard way to never wear her Bulldog colors. One day we were at the tennis courts and she was stung three times by a yellow jacket. And after she was soothed and loved. We pointed out that she had a Bulldog t-shirt on. And that the yellow jacket was just not going to take that from her.

So, when I was contacted by Event Chasers earlier in the week to see if there were any events in November we would like to chase for them. I naturally HAD to ask if we could get tickets to the Georiga/Georgia Tech game. We made a list of several events we'd like to cover with that game as the number one option. I was not surprised by the email that said we could have tickets to any of the events except that one.

But then. I got another email saying that they could give us ONE ticket to the Georgia/Georgia Tech game. I think that Michael actually squealed like a little girl. He hasn't been to this big event since he was at Tech. I am so excited for him to go. And major thank yous to Event Chasers for making it all possible!

So...what about you? Is there a big game you would like to attend? Is football big in your area? If sports are not your thing...is there a show or concert you would like to see? Are you an event chaser??

The further misadventures of Hooligan kitties

I think I should write a book series. Maybe it will be a children's book. On the misadventures of sister kitties. Perhaps it will be a sweet compelling tale of humor and triumph ala "Marley and Me." More than likely. If I were to write a book. It would be of a self-help type. Explaining why you don't really want a cat. And especially why you don't want a pair of kitties.

I could start with the fact that you could end up with clever cats who turn on the faucets because fresh water is much better than the swill in the bowl.

Or clever might not be the word for kitties who get trapped behind bookcases.

I could also mention the possibility of ending up with chewers. Who could destroy your blinds.

Be attracted to the smell of crocs...which demand to be eaten.

Or really the scent of any foam. Which leads to things like intestinal blockages.

One would not want to end up with clever cats who like to chew. Because they might open your bathroom drawers. And feel the need to eat all the hairtyes in said drawer. Yielding yet another high vet bill.

I could also wax rhapsodic about those chewing kitties. Who insist on chewing. Climbing. And sleeping in your Christmas tree. Forcing you to put it away. And changing the face of your celebration forevah and evah.

And then. I could mention this day. Which started with an email. And a query. "Is there something wrong with your phone? I tried to call you this morning. It rang once and then nothing." After much investigation. Calling my own house. Having other people call. Calling the phone company. But being perplexed because the internet works just fine. We discovered the problem.

Every. Single. Phone cord. Has been chewed on. Every. Single. One. When your phone cords have been used for lunch. The phones no longer work. I am quotable. Just like Confucius. I am quite sure I have the makings of a best seller. If only the kitties would stop prying the keys off of the keyboard.

So. If you are trying to reach me. Don't call.

Where HAVE you been?

Has it really been a month since I have written? I haven't completely fallen off the face of the earth. Just a slight slide into oblivion. I keep trying to put on the brakes. But more and more seems to fall into my lap.

There was the kindney stone drama. Remember that stone that hit over fourth of July weekend? Well. It wasn't gone. I thought it was gone. Because it didn't hurt anymore. And then at the end of August I had what I thought was a bladder infection. That two rounds of antibiotics did not cure. Apparently it was my kidney stone. Knocking on the door of my bladder.

So my urologist decided to go in and get it. Yeah. Quite the visual. And just to make you squirm a little more. I had to have a stent put in to keep the tube open between my kidney and my bladder. And when did all this happen? The same weekend as our flood. The. Same. Weekend.

On Monday morning when we woke up to the floodwaters. And flooded basement. I had to get to the doctor to remove that stent. But most roads in the area were blocked. Including the ones that would have led me to the doctor's office. After many go rounds on the phone. The powers that be finally agreed to let me see a nurse at a different office. Thank goodness they did. Because within an hour of me coming home...the road was under water. So the stone is gone. And now we just have to wonder about the two other stones that are hanging out in my other kidney. Hopefully they'll agree to just hang out. And not try to move the party to a different location.

What else happened the week of the flood? Well. Four days later, we went to Disney World. Leaving behind a damp basement. With it's cement floors instead of carpet. And Lizzy. To stay and babysit the kitties. And breathe the nasty air. We brought her back a t-shirt.

And then. The week after Disney. What did I do? Michael and I took yet another vacation. This time to Las Vegas.

OH. And I almost forgot. In between the surgery. And vacations. I have been diagnosed with skin cancer. And if you have seen my pasty white skin. And my industrial size jug of 50 spf sunscreen. And my lack of time in the sun. It's almost comical. So. I get the area removed tomorrow. It's just a little spot on my back near my shoulder. But let me tell ya. I am so over doctors. And especially their bills.

So. I am up to my ears in insurance claims. School work. And readjusting to the Eastern time zone. Hopefully. Sooner rather than later. I'll be back to regale you with stories of Disney and Vegas. Rebuilding. Homeschooling. And whatever other nonsense I move from my brain to the computer screen.

So...what about you? Have you ever taken a big break from blogging? Disney or Vegas?

And the rain came down, down, down…

“Water, water everywhere, and not a drop to drink…”

I was startled awake about 1am Monday morning. Startled is quite the word. The thunder rolled and rolled and rolled. My windows rattled. The house shook. The floors vibrated.

By 2:30 am it was a house party. With everyone awake. Except my husband who could sleep through anything. And does.

The thunder was deafening. But what was scary was the lightning. It felt like the storm was right on top of our house. The lightning strikes were so close. And they were so frequent. And bright. That our light sensitive street lamps went out in a confusion over daylight and the light from the lightning.

The thunder. The lightning. And then the rain. Wow. The rain. Normally when you think about thunderstorms. They are often gone as quickly as they pop-up. The down pour might be torrential. But it’s over pretty quickly. But this rain. Unreal. There was no wind to drive it on. It – again – seemed to sit on top of our house. And sit. And sit. And sit.

For five hours it sat. Sat so loudly no one could sleep. And just when you thought the storm was dissipating. The thunder and lightning seeming to get further apart. It didn’t. And it seemed like a new wave had arrived. But the wind that was non-existent didn’t blow it in. It just kept coming. Down, down, down.

The ferocity must have died down around 5:30. That is the last time I recall looking at the clock. Until 6:45 when Michael woke me up to say that our county had delayed schools by 90 minutes.

When he told me that. I really could not comprehend WHY schools were closed or delayed. It was just a horrid thunderstorm. That kept me up all night. I was curious to see what our creek looked like in the light of day. But school closing did not make sense.

Until I turned on the news. And saw some of the same images you have probably seen by now. Of neighborhoods underwater. Of neighborhoods cut off because of washed out roads. Of amusement parks underwater. Of major highways under water. Disconnecting people in this HUGE metro area.

It even made hummingbirds think that they were moths.My little city in the ‘burbs got almost 12 inches of water in a six hour period. 12 inches! That number is still astounding to me.

So what does 12 inches of water do? Well. Let’s have a little perspective. We live on a pretty big piece of property. And at the border is a creek.

This is what it typically looks like.

And this is what it looks like after a lot of rain.
And this is what it looks like after 12 inches of rain.
The girls have a red playhouse. It is on stilts. Cemented into the ground. With a slide coming out. This is what it looked like after 12 inches of rain.
But those waters. Well. They kept rising. And by the next morning. Well. That inundated playhouse. I actually thought it was washed away. But it was just completely under water.

We have a shed (it's the green building on the left of the above photo). Fine Monday morning. But by Monday night. Had about 5 feet of water inside. With a slight recession this morning. (you can see the flood line on the side of the building)I haven't brought myself to even go in there yet.

And our neighborhood. Well. The creek crosses the main road twice.(see those three figures in the water? Three boys. Playing in the nasty flood waters. MRSA cases in waiting...)Both areas unpassable. Except by boat.(the above picture was taken Tuesday and you can see that the waters had receeded alot already. Look at the mud line on the hedge on the right side of the photo...)

I lived on an island until late Tuesday night. And now the clean up begins. We were fortunate in that we are all fine. Our yard is a big sludgy mud puddle. Our basement is damp. But hopefully with some blowers and dehumidifiers the smell will disapate. I am ready for the drama of this year to be over.

So...what about you? Have you had to deal with flooding? Other natural disasters? General drama??

The Library

For anyone who has been reading my blog. For anyone who knows me. For anyone who did more than take a quick glance around this spot. It's quite obvious that I am a reader. An avid reader. Sometimes even a book a day reader.

I am in two book clubs. Most of my choices are not high brow. I am a huge fan of pop fiction. I love smut. I like to escape with pure entertainment.

But my book reading habit. It wouldn't be a habit without the library. I rarely buy books. I prefer to get them from the library. In fact, even with a gift card, I am hard pressed to purchase a book when I know that I could read it for free. Or rather when I realize that through my tax dollars, I have already purchased the book that I want to read.

We use the library a lot. When the girls were little, we would go to storytime. To movies. Puppet shows. I have gone to neighborhood meetings. Girl scout meeting. And to vote at the library.

We are there often for homeschooling. Katie does research. We use the encyclopedias. We ask questions of the reference librarian. We use the computers.

It's an amazing resource. But. Our local libraries have had to make huge cutbacks. The tax base is just not what it was. The hours are shorter. And now they are only open 5 days a week instead of 7. There is talk of branch closings. And their purchasing department is losing funds. All of these events have led to much whining and complaining from me.

But then I heard last night that the city of Philadelphia is closing ALL of their public libraries. ALL of them. In the city of the very first library - there will no longer be free lending libraries. It is a travesty.

So...what about you? Do you use the library? Have the libraries in your area been affected by the economy? Had you heard about Philadelphia's libraries?

Event Chasers

A few weeks ago I told you about signing up with Event Chasers. We got tickets to go and see the Atlanta Falcons vs. The San Diego Chargers for a pre-season game.

Well. Then my plans changed. And I spent the weekend with Lizzy, Angie, Shannon, and Kori.

And I sent Michael off to watch the game. Write about his experience. Without me. Event chasers were very understanding about the change of plans. And the change of correspondent. However, I don't want to be left out all together. So I suggested that Michael and I work as a team. They LOVED the idea. And we are now their first couple chasers! (Does that sound dirty?)

And I am thinking I have had a stroke of genius. Because now I can send him off to watch sporting events. And I can bide my time for some "Wicked" tickets.

Be sure to check out the link - and leave Michael some comment luv!

Friday Follies

In honor of my camping trip. (Ya'll will pray for me, right?) Let's talk about traveling:

plane, train, or automobile?

East coast or west coast?

Hawaii or Caribbean?

Mountains or beach?

Favorite vacation spot?

Dream vacation spot?

RV or tent?

Lake, pool, or ocean?

Where did you go on your last vacation?

Where will you go on your next vacation?

Tuesday Ten

I got my Entertainment Weekly today. It is supposed to come on Fridays. But I think that my mailman enjoys it first. Do ya'll get your subscriptions when you are supposed to - or is there a delay?

Anyway...EW has inspired today's blog post. And if I remember. It might become a weekly feature. For me. It's already weekly for them. Unless they are having a double issue. And then you have a week on hold. But I digress. The feature is the MustList. Or the Top 10 things that they love for the week.

So...I thought I'd tell you my top ten things for the week. Although top is a loose word. Maybe it should be just the ten things that happened over the week. Without the top part. Maybe I should just call it a random post. Now my memory is getting foggy. I am not sure how EW inspired me. Except for the 10 part.

1. Friends! Not the tv show. But my friends. And. Most likely. Your friends, too. I had a fabulous weekend with friends. Shannon, Angie, Lizzy (and even Mr. B) got together for a road trip to Alabama. To help Kori celebrate and remember her husband Richard. We laughed. Compared outfits. Admired our pedicures. And had many conversations way too inappropriate for a family blog. Or for a discussion in the house of the Lord. We are lucky that lightning bolts were not involved.

2. Hangover! Nope. Not an alcohol induced one. But the movie version. At least this time all the laughing did not contribute to a kidney stone. Do you think it's possible that Angie, Shannon, and I are the only ones who have seen this movie after coming from a funeral? AND still in our black duds? We laughed. Hard. Stomped our feet in addition to our laughter. Exclaimed disbelief. And laughed so hard we cried. Again.

3. Eight year old girl children. I am not sure where the one that lives in my house came from. And the fact that she keeps Justin Timberlake in her panty drawer should have given me a clue. But tonight she wanted to discuss with me the intricate details about kissing boys. And she flat out refused to listen to my sage advice of no dating or kissing for a very long time. Like college. When I won't have to know about it. Or even high school. When I might be able to accept it. Nope. She is aiming for 8. And next Friday. At the elementary school dance. (And the child even has the nerve to lament the lack of slow dances. Like she even knows how to slow dance!)

4. Do you know where I will be next Friday during said elementary school dance? I will be on the beach. In Panama City. Camping. Did your world come to a halt as well? I am not so sure about this. And my foggy memory is not cooperating. But I believe I heard beach. And am blocking out the camping part.

And my friend Michelle is going to have to take the shotgun to the dance. Or maybe we should be warning the parents of third grade boys to come prepared.

5. Do you know what is going on in my town while I am camping? The Decatur Book festival. Where I will miss the chance to mix and mingle with Sara Gruen (who wrote "Water for Elephants"); Kate DiCamillo (Because of Winn Dixie); my hero Diana Gabaldon (who writes the Outlander series); and Charlaine Harris (of Sookie Stackhouse fame). I need to clone myself.

6. Speaking of Sookie. Do you watch True Blood? I absolutely love the book series. But the HBO show. Wowzers. There are the men.Which is often reason enough. But this show. It's sexy. Campy. And so much fun. There are MANY deviations from the book series. But it works. The changes they have made are great. And the additions. Perfect. Sigh. Eric.7. Let's take a 180 from True Blood. I have been reading a GREAT children's series. It's kinda fun to have the word "JUVENILE" stamped on my books from the library. It's Suzanne Collins' (yep. That Suzanne Collins who wrote "The Hunger Games") series "Gregor the Overlander." I am only on book three of the five part series. But I cannot wait until the library opens tomorrow so that I can my hands on the last two.

8. Many, many thanks to Tressa who kindly agreed to take Madalyn's Flat Stanley on a tour of her Norwegian town. Should I mention that Madalyn wants to be penpals with Tressa's son Dane? Yeah. I thought I should leave that out.

9. When I was in school, I was not a fan of history. It was dry. Boring. And simply a regurgitation of facts. But. When I was in college. I managed to minor in history. Mostly because I had some great professors. Who made history interesting. The homeschool curriculum that we use is history centered. So I have to make sure that Katie has a positive experience with history. And hopefully my enthusiasm will be contagious.

This year we are studying the Middle Ages. I thought it would be fun to throw some movies into the mix. Like: "Monty Python and the Holy Grail." Or "A Knight's Tale." Or "The Lord of the Rings trilogy." But I thought we ought to bring in some nonfiction as well. And I began to scour netflix for shows from the History channel. That hopefully would be interesting.

And I found a gem. Terry Jones of Monty Python fame has done a series called "Medieval Lives." Where he discusses: the monk, the damsel, the peasant, the outlaw, and other characters. The episodes are fun. Hilarious. Cheeky. And most of all - educational. If you have netflix you can watch them online. And I encourage you to check it out!

10. I have been caught up in the train wreck that is the Duggars. I even tivo their show. But mysteriously, it stopped being taped. Genius that I am, I figured it out. I had set "17 kids and counting" to record. But after they had a baby, the name of the show changed to "18 kids and counting." I am going to have to be on my game now, though. Cause they are pregnant again. Again. Child number 19 is on the way. How DOES her bladder still function? Inquiring minds...