Viva La Vegas!

Just to keep everyone updated on the Vegas fun, I sent out an email to anyone who I know is going with hotel info, prices for your rooms and some thoughts on what we might be doing. Check out this site to see more attractions: http://lasvegas.com/attractions/?vc1=1&vc2=txtl_txt_atr_6

Please check your email if you've requested a room and I also sent the confirmation stuff for each one of you. You will have to bring this to check-in and I will have to be there. If anyone else is thinking of coming, let me know and I can reserve more rooms or just let you know where. Check-in time isn't until 3:00 pm so remember that when making travel plans! Here's the hotel info: http://www.barbarycoastcasino.com. Check out those plasma TVs in every room! Woohoo! Hehe. As I'm looking through the attractions, I've seen about 20 or so things I'd like to do, so I will have to narrow that crap down. Well, better get back to work! Can't wait until this vacation!

Love,
B

Insomnia...ain't it grand?

So, just can't really sleep so thought I'd update on several things. Trying to type "quietly" and it's making me make a bunch of mistakes so forgive if it gets jumbled. I have a friend staying here doing her internship and she's seeing all sorts of interesting stuff. Can't tell ya'll about it, but it's so far been a good experience for her and I'm now more excited than ever for my own internship.

Garden is flourishing. My zucchini plants were very crowded so I took a chance and uprooted two of them to move them to another part of the garden, figuring if they die, oh well. I still have two others to produce. Tomatoes (cherry ones) are producing flowers! Exciting stuff there. Herbs and lettuce are growing (well, most of the herbs anyway) but our record-breaking heat may start getting rough on everything so I'll have to be extra diligent in watering them.

Gave in and went to the doctor on Fri., hoping he could ease some of my allergies which have been awful. I'm already on two medications and they are helping, but still have sinus headaches, drainage (always fun to talk about) and feeling generally miserable. So, he checked me out and agreed that I'm still suffering and put me on TWO MORE medications. I pushed to see an allergist and get some testing done to see what I'm allergic to, but he wants me to wait until the season is over. I would have to go off everything for a while before the skin test (which sounds like tons of fun) and he thinks I'll be in trouble if I do that right now. Said this is the worst season for allergies he's ever seen. The clinic was completely out of samples so I had to get a prescription for one of the extras he wants me on. Thankfully, the combo of the four seems to be working since his next effort would be to put my on steroids. No fun. After the season, he'll send me to the allergist and we'll do a full skin test. In case you want to know about what it is, they basically stick you with a ton of different things, scratching the surface of your skin to get the offending bit into the dermis. Then you wait for 12-15 min. and if your skin swells up and gets really itchy, that's what you're allergic to. They then give you creams and cold packs to ease that reaction and you get to go back onto your medication. You have to wait in the office in case you have a severe reaction and go into anaphylactic shock, which is life-threatening. Fortunately, I don't think I have any really serious allergies, just a lot of little ones, so don't worry about me. But seriously, how barbaric! Don't they have anything better than that? There is a blood test but it's much less sensitive and pretty much worthless according to my general, but we'll see what the allergist says. Doctor also forbids us to open windows at all in the house and keep the air on for the rest of the season, limit my time outdoors, if I AM outside for any length of time, I am to immediately shower and wash my hair, wash my bed linens once a week, get my air ducts clean, etc., etc. Fun summer, hunh? I go back in two weeks for an update on if the combo is working and to get blood drawn for all sorts of tests. As in cholesterol, triglycerides, blah, blah, blah. I wanted a baseline when I'm in reasonably good health so we have something to compare to if anything happens. He also wants me to get a mammogram done when I hit 35 for a baseline on that too. Then I can wait until 40 to start getting them regularly. Maybe someone, somewhere suggested this, but I don't remember, so I'm urging all my friends to do it too. Sounds like a remarkably good idea to me. So, let's all remember to jump on the ol' Happy 35th B-day to Me...Let's stick our boobs in a vise!!" bandwagon. Then we'll go drinking.

Had a good cry today. Watched Baghdad ER on HBO on Demand. Everyone needs to see this HBO documentary. It chronicles an ER over in Iraq and shows the horrible injuries our soldiers face everyday they're over there. Made me cry it was so sad, but very, very good. Extremely graphic, but we should all know what they're going through, especially now.

Thurs. night we went to the Improv for open mic night and got to see the local talent show their stuff. Most were really funny, but this poor girl bombed the worst of them all. Here's a sampling of her "special" brand of humor: "So, the reason I'm a stripper? Because prostitution is illegal." Then there was a pause as though we were supposed to laugh. No one booed her, thank god, which I was grateful for, it takes guts to even try, so gotta respect that. But Paul and one of his work buddies, were rolling with laughter, not WITH her, AT her, if ya know whadda mean?

Last night, Paul and I were reminded that we're entirely too old to enjoy the nightlife on the Plaza. We met the friend that's staying with us and her fiancee who came down for the weekend at one of the pubs down there. Yikes. I felt ancient. So much silliness it was silly dammit. Paul and I were rolling our eyes, although when he hit the bar to get us a round, he found $80 laying on the floor. As no one was actively searching for it, he grabbed it and it paid for our night. I tell you this because karma is an interesting notion to me and I believe he is getting back $300 he lost to the wind in Nebraska one day before we were married. He was very philosophical about it at the time and figured "oh well, I guess someone else needed it more than I did." I was freaking out, not being as philosophical as he. Over the last year or so, he's been finding random money laying on the ground, a fiver here, a dollar there. I think he'll continue to do so until his $300 is returned to him. Nutty hunh? But, it keeps him occupied, continually glancing to the ground to see if there's a little gift for him.

I'm going to attempt to lay in bed and hope I don't just sit there like a log with too-open eyes and finally find some rest for the night. Busy day tomorrow of finishing laundry and trying to get Toby to see the vet. More on that when I know more. Sweet dreams all.

Love,
B

Garden Days

Here's some photos of my "ghetto garden." As you can probably see, there's a bunch of leaves in there. I did that temporarily until I could get some mulch to help with water retention. Also, can't hurt to get those rotting leaves in there. Yummy! This weekend, the plan is to side-dress the tomatos since they need all kinds of food that has probably already been leached out of the soil. I planned on getting a soil test done, but ran out of time, so it's a shoot and miss kind of game right now. The tomatoes are really happy in the ground and are doing some nice growing. The zucchini has just exploded as well. We've got three plants, which should be more than enough for the two of us, if they produce that is. The cucumbers are down to about 3 plants as well, which is honestly a miracle. You should've seen what I transplanted, sad, sad plants. The onions haven't resurrected yet, but here's to still hoping! The beans are growing again (new crop of seeds) and the canteloupe which died off once, has been re-seeded when I did the rest of the transplanting. Still nothing there yet. But it's been fairly cool, so I expected they wouldn't germinate.

Planted a bunch of herb seeds the other day, tarragon, sweet basil, italian parsley, curled parsley, cilantro and oregano. Unfortunately, it might be a little late for these little guys. But I might get lucky and the good thing is that a couple are perennials and I will grab some of those plants to keep in the house over the winter. All the herbs will stay in containers, so bought some more of those to get up to the right number to give these the room they need. We'll see how it goes. If all goes well, I'll be drying a lot of herbs and will send some to whoever wants some. I'll keep you posted!


Weeping Willow


Shed

Also, wanted to share a couple of more pics. The first is of our little ol' weeping willow that is the happiest tree. He's just growing and growing. We're getting some beautiful weeping out of him! The second is just to show the shed with its new clothes. Paul re-sided it and put a new roof on a while ago, just haven't taken a recent pic of it. He did a remarkable job and if we didn't have that shed, one whole bedroom would be filled with storage tubs. That's about it for now! I start the internship soon, but a friend from class starts her's here on Sunday. She has to go in at 7:30 am!! Yikes. No, but...YIKES. That's mighty early for me, so looks like I'll have to start retraining myself on how to go to bed at a reasonable hour. I've been cracking on those papers, so I've gotten a couple of the six outlines done so far. So many to go, it's a little depressing. But it's all good, I can do it (just keeping saying that over and over again and it will come true).

Love,
B

Better late than never...

Here's the promised pic of the new car. In this pic, it's already been tinted (pretty dark too!) It's much, much cooler with that black leather interior. It's so damn adorable, I can't STAND it!! lol ;)

Love,
B

Wedding Site!

Here's the gazebo where the wedding will actually take place. They were setting up for a ton of weddings that night, so try to imagine it at night, lighted with white X-Mas lights!



Hey! How the heck did I get in that one? Hehe. Beautiful place! They set up everything for you and although it was pretty steamy (103 degrees), I bet it will be gorgeous in Nov.

Love,
B

P.S. will have to wait on the car pic, looks like I deleted it :(

Whew!

What a fantastic visit with the padres. But entirely too short. I blinked and I was back on the plane heading home. So here's the full rundown on what all we did. Arrived 11-ish Wed. morning (tired from staying up too late playing games--check this site for great Mac games: http://www.macgamestore.com/) Dad picked me up and we waited for my one RED bag. Then after standing there for a good few minutes, 7 or 8 red bags get dumped off at the same time. I could almost hear the laughter of the sado-masochists at the other end. Dad and I drove back to Kingman, passing on the Hoover Dam again. Pretty amazing structure and the bypass they're building is going to be just as amazing. Here's some pics, they are keeping a journal with pics--this is what we saw: http://www.hooverdambypass.org/Const_PhotoAlbum.htm#Feb2006

Dad was hoping they'd be keeping track and I guess they are :)

Continuing on to Kingman, we hit up a Wendy's and had some lunch. Then stopped at the house, dropped off luggage and went and saw Mom at work. She didn't get any of the days off since she was off for so long with the "damn feet" so she was pretty bummed. Did a bit of shopping for SB requirements (crap I can't live without). After that, Dad and I stopped off at his work and I got to see my cousin Kenny who works there and everyone else. Someone had baked cookies, but I just didn't look over there at all. Entirely too much temptation! Then went home, relaxed, mom cooked up fajita-like things (only bad thing was the type of tortilla used, so figured I'd live with it).

It was GORGEOUS there the entire time I was there. Just had to throw that in. Left K.C. at 58 degrees, cloudy, landed in Vegas, where it was a perfect 98 and super sunny. That was pretty much the weather every day. Sunny and in the 90s. Didn't get a lot of sun since I didn't take the time to lay out and get fried, lol.

The next day, Dad and I had originally planned some stuff, but the temptation to be lazy was entirely too much for me and I didn't even get out of PJs until mid-afternoon (after enjoying a wonderful three-hour nap). Unc Tom and A. Elaine came by for dinner and Kenny and Shawn showed up after work. Mom allowed me to help make the enchiladas. Okay, okay. All I did was throw 4 or 5 into the microwave and warm them up for her. Yeah...big responsibility there. Although, I did get yelled at for not getting it hot enough, haha.

We ate, then bullshitted for a while, then everyone headed home. Friday was a busy day. Dad and I got up and went to the shooting range they have outside of town. He got a yearly family membership and showed me how to shoot the two new guns he got. I liked the Glock much better than the dinky .380, but got better as I practiced. It only sucked because my hand would get tired before the 9 rounds were gone and it would start shaking. Dad was awesome at hitting the target! Kicked my ass and not for the last time that day.

Went home, packed up some snacks and water, got the walking sticks and headed up to the mountains. This hike made me realize how very out of shape I've allowed myself to get. Yikes. Seriously. My ol' man laughed at me. Not in a mean way, just laughed WITH me. Well, I was laughing when I could actually BREATHE!! I ended up going all of nearly a mile before calling surrender. We headed back down and went home.

Mom and I then headed to Laughlin and gambled a bit. (Okay, until 2:00 am, I could barely outlast my mom either). Ended up winning $50 on a quarter machine (woohoo). Actually ended up winning even more than that after I sat down and thought about it. But it's all good. Wanted to get the nuts to go play blackjack, but am a puss, so skipped out. The crowds surrounding them intimidated me. I want Paul to take me himself and get me acclimated so I feel comfortable trying it on my own. Only place to really have a shot at winning are the tables! Not that I'm a big gambler, but it would be nice to have another option besides throwing money at the slots.

Sat. we were planning on going to the Arts and Crafts Fair at a local park, but once again, laziness overwhelmed me. We did manage to move and get to Bullhead City to see my Unc's band play. Then to dinner where we had Mexican (again). I'm pretty well Mexican-ed out for a while :)

Sun. got up early and went to breakfast for Mom's day. Had given mom her gift Wed. so nothing fun to open. Good eats though! If you're ever out that way, hit up Mr. D's on historic Route 66. Yum. Got back to the house and read for a while, then showered, packed up. Hopped in the car to hit Vegas. We ended up going to the Apple store there which is in this huge mall that is on the North end of the strip (didn't even know it existed--Fashion Show Mall). They really did have a fashion show too. Mom watched, but Dad and I were busy ohhhing and ahhhing in the store. Realized I really, really want a big ol 60GB iPod, but just can't swing the $379 right now. Maybe I'll get it from Santa (hahahaha!)

Went to the place my niece was thinking of getting married in Nov. Very pretty. I'll post some pics that we took. She went and booked it (actually I think her mom did). So, as long as Mitch stays in line we'll be fine, haha. Just kidding Tash. Got to the airport and enjoyed a Starbucks Frappacino (definately NOT okay on the diet). But damn, it was good. Anyway, better get back to work! Oh yeah, will also post pic of the car if I can find it.

Love,
B

Where to start?

Lots of stuff has happened and I haven't had a moment to catch my breath, much less do a proper update. I'll try to add pics as soon as I take them.

Most exciting first. I bought a new car :) Not new, new. Just new to me. A 2005 Mazda3 hatchback. All loaded up and everything. I'm loving it, but I hated signing over all that cash, lol. The more I drive it, the better I feel about it. Took it to NE this weekend and everyone there said it was really cute and they liked it. Everyone wanted to drive it, hehe.

New great-niece is doing well, murmur still there, but so tiny, they swear it'll close up soon. Isn't slowing her down. She's gaining tons of weight and my niece tells me she sleeps pretty much through the night, only waking once. Lucky!! If we ever have children, my mom assures me they will not sleep at all, just to get back at me. I was apparently a devil child who thrived off no sleep.

Had my final on Sat. so if I did okay, I'll be done with my first year of graduate school. WHEW! Hope I did okay, I was sorta bad and didn't get as much done as early as I normally would have. It just seriously snuck up on me. I think I did okay, but I don't want to jinx it!

Wednesday I leave to go visit Mom and Dad and get in some R&R. Since Mom was off over 2 months with her surgeries, probably won't get any time off while I'm there, so it'll be dad and I bumming around. I want him to take me to the shooting range since it's been an awfully long time since I've fired a weapon and it will be fun to do it at a target. See how bad I really am. Other than that, no plans set in stone. Sorry it took so long to update, I truly have been crazy busy.

Internship starts in June so I want to try to take some time during my vacation to get a few of those 16 papers done to get a head start. I won't be taking any extra time off work, so I really need to get as much done as I can now to help me out. So evil that they assigned us those papers. ARGHH!! 16 papers. Yikes. Well, better get back to work. I'll post pics of the car soon.

Love,
B