Let It Snow?

So, I’m posting early today because it was far too snowy outside for me to justify taking the bus to the museum and having no one there. It’s been coming down out there since Saturday night, and I couldn’t bring myself to go. I will have to venture out to go to the bank today though and deposit my paycheck.

So, big big shopping weekend in the U.S., Thanksgiving weekend. It was busy Friday, even more busy on Saturday, and the snow kept people away yesterday. Saturday we bought a few more Christmas gifts, and a tree. We decided to fake it this year, since we will be going to Victoria. We usually get a real tree, but we figured it would just be easier this way. We can a real tree next year with Elijah’s first Christmas. We’ve already settled on staying in Denver for next Christmas. So, back to shopping, I ordered some gifts online. So really, there are only like 3 more people left to buy for. I need to wrap and package up some of the stuff we bought. I still have to buy some of Geoff’s gift, and his stocking stuffers, but these are things that can wait. Due to our departure date for Victoria, we’ll be celebrating Christmas on the 20th just the two of us. Kinda fun, and weird to think about doing it early.

I’m still kinda going off a high from our Vegas trip. I can’t remember the last time I got to spend so much time with Lisa. And well, I’ve never spent that much time with Chad, he’s a lot of fun to hang out with. I like that I can look back on those moments we had to share a laugh. It really was a great trip.

What do I have going on this week? Working 3 days, I hope to make an appointment at the salon, and Saturday I think we may be going out to Mark & Shannon’s for dinner. We’ll have to see what the weather holds. If the snow holds out, I doubt we’d venture out to Elizabeth.

We rented Elf last week, and that was a pretty funny movie. So I’ll close with a quote from that.

Buddy: I passed through the seven levels of the Candy Cane forest, through the sea of swirly twirly gum drops, and then I walked through the Lincoln Tunnel.

Busy Beaver

Sorry I’ve been so quiet. A whirlwind few days at H&D. I will post tomorrow when I get home from the museum. Just know we’re all doing okay, we’re just slowly being buried in snow. 🙂

Viva Las Vegas

Sunday

Geoff is up way early (5am) because he’s so excited about Vegas. I get up around 7:30. We plan to leave some time after 12:30 for the airport. Our flight leaves Denver at 3:10. We get to the airport with no problems, and it appears our flight may be delayed. But we get to the gate and it looks okay. We find out the Las Vegas flight before ours hasn’t left yet. It’s been delayed, and is now just boarding. Geoff asks them if it will impact our flight, and they say yes, we won’t be leaving until 6! So he asks if there is room on this flight, and lucky for us there is. We get two seats together in the very last row of the plane. That flight leaves and we arrive in Vegas at nearly the same time we would have if our flight had been on time. Thank goodness. I really wanted to see Lisa!

It’s pouring in Vegas, and we’re kinda bummed. We meet up earlier than anticipated, but not by much. There is much rejoicing, and we come to find that Chad & Lisa also encountered flight problems. They were supposed to arrive around 12 or 1, but had delays in both Edmonton and LAX. But we’re all together now, and all hungry so we hit the buffet. It’s buffet food, so I don’t need to go into detail, but Geoff discovered they use pretty hot horse radish, and we talk about hockey, Canadian politics, and general catching up. Even though it was still raining and we couldn’t go to the strip, the hotel offered plenty of options. After dinner, we go check out Lisa & Chad’s room to see what the new tower looks like. They are on the 20th floor (there are 21 floors) and Lisa doles out goodies for me from her and my mom. The view from their window shows the Palms and the Rio. Hanging out in the room makes us tired, so we go downstairs to gamble. Geoff, Lisa and I hit the Blackjack table. Chad cheers us on, and after a few hours of play, I’m up $45, Lisa is up, and Geoff is up $15. We’re all pretty tired, so we decide to go to our rooms.

Monday

Geoff and I go downstairs to the Courtyard Cafe for breakfast. We are able to find affordable food, and it’s pretty tasty. We go back up to our room, and Lisa had called to say they were going to the strip, and we’d all meet up at M&M World to see if we could get tickets to a show for that night. We had a 10am appointment at the spa, so we arranged to meet at noon. At 9:30, Geoff and I head down to the spa. We don’t need to bring anything with us, the spa provides everything. We go into our changing rooms, and I open my locker to reveal a robe, some sandals, and a towel. I take a shower in the large shower there. There are bottles of water chilling on ice when I get back to the sink area, and I grab one and go wait on the couch for Geoff. He took advantage of the Jacuzzi in the changing room, I only could have soaked my feet if I wanted to. Once he joins me, we have a few minutes before our masseuses come get us. We are led to our private room, and they leave us to get under the sheets. My table is all padded and I have a pillow to rest my head rather than the face hole Geoff has. The two ladies return and the massage begins. It’s so peaceful and relaxing. I didn’t know how tense my back and shoulders were, but it all feels so wonderful. The music playing reminds Geoff of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. The 50 minutes didn’t feel so short, which I feared it might. Once it’s over, we don’t want to get up. We just want lie there for a while. But we get up and go. We go back up to our room and get everything we need to head to the strip. We catch the shuttle and then book it to M&M World to meet Chad & Lisa. When we get to the half price ticket place, they have no tickets for the show we wanted to see. We shrug and then continue with our day. First stop is to find food. We’re all starving. After seeking out a few different places we settle on a food court in Excalibur. Lisa and I have McDonalds, and the boys have Quiznos. We then check out the Krispy Kreme, but the hot light isn’t on, and no one is up for donuts, so we make our way to the Luxor. After seeing the pyramid from the inside, we head back towards the strip so we can visit the Coca-Cola Store. My favorite. I offer to treat everyone to a Coke, and we sit for a spell and enjoy a nice cold Coke. I buy myself a little something, and then we head towards the shops at the Aladdin, where I promised Geoff I would buy him something if I had won $40. We seek out Hilo Hattie where I try to buy Geoff a shirt. We look and look, but there was nothing he really liked. I’m disappointed, since I planned this for a while. But I guess I’d rather buy him something he really likes, than something he just sort of likes. We are all feeling tired from walking, so we go back to the shuttle to get to the Orleans. Chad is debating going into the pool and hot tub outside. Geoff wants to get in some Blackjack before dinner. Chad decides against the pool, and we all head to the casino. We manage to convince Chad to play some Blackjack, but the cards are not being nice tonight. I get out while I am ahead (up $47), but everyone else is less lucky. For dinner, Lisa is keen on taking in the Player’s Choice at the Courtyard cafe, prime rib or 16 oz T-bone steak for $10.25. Geoff was able to earn the two if us free dinner there with all his gambling. We’re getting the hang of how comps work. Geoff and Lisa have the prime rib, I have the steak, and Chad has jambalaya. We decide that we are going to go 10 pin bowling following dinner. Lisa gets her shoes, and we all change into something better for bowling. The first throw of the bowling ball, I fall down. I didn’t think that trying to bowl like normal would be a problem. So now I have to adjust my bowling method. I am able to get the ball to go down the lane a few times, but my form is all awkward. This makes me sad. I love to bowl. Lisa is awesome (as always), Geoff kicks butt, and in the second game, Chad beat Lisa! We had fun, it’s nice to do something different. We go back down to the casino and play the slots before we all crash at 10:30.

Tuesday

We all manage to sleep a little better, and Lisa, Geoff and I meet up at the Courtyard Cafe for breakfast. Chad doesn’t feel like eating, he spends the time walking around the casino. A quick bite to eat and we head back out to the strip. Before we leave the hotel, Geoff calls Top Of The World (the restaurant at the Stratosphere) to make reservations for lunch. We head in the opposite direction of where we went last time, but this time Geoff and I get to look around the Forum Shops at Caesars. We make our way to the Venetian, and I cannot convince anyone to go on the gondola. But I don strike a deal with Geoff, he owes me a gondola ride. Either on a future trip to Vegas, or he takes me to Italy. The shops here are so upper class, we feel underdressed. We hop in a cab to go to the Stratosphere, knowing we’d never make the walk there. It’s only $10. Once there, Geoff takes advantage of some coupon and plays 2 hands of Blackjack. He wins $15. We check in for our reservation, and have to pass through a security check before we can ride the elevator to the restaurant. Top Of The World is a revolving restaurant at the top of the Stratosphere. The views are amazing, and the food was pretty good. Lisa, Chad and I have cheeseburgers, Geoff has the Ahi Tuna. I am almost willing to forgo lunch and head straight for dessert. They have a chocolate Stratosphere for $15. It looks divine. I had to take a picture. As soon as we finish lunch, we take two flights of stairs up to the observation deck. It’s a hazy day, but you can make out the strip. We congratulate ourselves on planning a lunch here, because it’s something like $10 just to take the elevator to the top. It was free for us because we had lunch there. We take some pictures, and watch people scare themselves on the rides at the top of the Stratosphere. We hop in a cab back down the strip, getting off at Treasure Island. On the cab ride, we pass by the Crazy Horse Too. I nudge Geoff and we share a chuckle, and wonder if Charmaine is working. At Treasure Island, we look around the pirate ships, and then go next door to the Mirage. We try to peek around and see what there is to see for free, but it’s only a sleepy white lion. We go back through the Forum Shops at Caesars so Lisa can buy her girls some souvenirs, and then we visit the conservatory at the Bellagio. We hope to catch the 5pm fountain show. We stake out a great spot, and wait for the show to begin. It has gotten dark, so Geoff and I are happy to see the show at night. This is Lisa & Chad first chance to see the show. The pop music stops, and the fountains start to rise. The music begins. It plays

The Vice Of Killing from For A Few Dollars More.
It’s fantastic. It plays so well with the dancing water. It’s far too short, you want the magic to continue. We leave the strip, and catch the shuttle back. Lisa & Chad plan to leave the hotel by 9 to catch their midnight flight home. Geoff and I play some Blackjack together, and end up getting the fun dealer from 5 months ago. Lisa plays at the $3 Blackjack table, and seems to be doing well. Chad goes between the two and roots for us. Geoff and I quit while he’s up $65, and I’m down $10. We grab dinner at the buffet since all of Geoff’s playing the first night won us our meals free. We meet up afterwards with Chad & Lisa to take them to the door to say our goodbyes. Geoff and I decide just to turn in, since he’s starting to feel under the weather. I stop in at the gift shop to buy us each a litre of water to drink. His throat is starting to bother him.

Wednesday

Geoff is full on sick. I go downstairs to get him some orange juice, and I grab myself a croissant. We leave the hotel at 9:30 to make our 11:30 flight. When we get there, we find there is an earlier flight for Denver leaving right then. We get on it, and head home. I drive home from the airport since Geoff is sick, and even at 2pm, the traffic is crazy on the 225. We get home, Geoff goes to bed, I take care of laundry and calming the cat down. She is trying to tell me she needs food, but the neighbors already told me they fed her that morning. That’s it, that our Vegas story. We had so much fun, but it’s great to be home, and it was nice to get in one last trip before Elijah comes.

I’m closing with a great quote from Futurama.

Nibblonian : You are the last hope of the universe.

Fry : So I really am important? How I feel when I’m drunk is correct?

Nibblonian : Yes – except the Dave Matthews Band doesn’t rock.

Blogging From Vegas

I am going to try to blog from Vegas, so you all will know we’re doing okay. We leave tomorrow afternoon, and we return Wednesday afternoon. Until then, remember you always split aces and eights.

Something Like Life

What’s new? Well, Rod was scheduled to come to Denver to visit, but his mother-in-law isn’t doing so well, and his wife is out of the country, so he stayed in Texas to be in proximity should something arise. We’re both bummed, but I’m sure we’ll be able to reschedule. We’re so excited at the idea of a California friend coming to visit, and because it’s Rod. He’s like family.

I picked up another shift at work this week, so I worked Monday & Wednesday. Now I’m off until after Thanksgiving. It’s been really busy at work, which is good. But I’m very pooped by the end of my shift.

In Vegas news, Lisa got the scare of her life. She called the hotel to confirm their reservation, and she was told it was cancelled! When Lisa booked the reservation in September, she asked to be sent an email as to when a deposit would be needed. No email came, and so according to the lady Lisa spoke to, she lost her reservation by not doing the deposit in time. They told her they could offer her the only room they had left, a $229/night suite! At some point Lisa got to book with one of the Orleans sister hotels, but it wasn’t for the price she wanted. She took it, and then started looking online for a better deal. When she found one, Lisa called back the hotel to cancel. They said, but you just made this reservation. When Lisa explained the story to them, they said they would honor the original reservation, 2 nights at the Orleans for $20/night. She even gets to stay in the new tower they just built (I don’t know where we’re staying). Poor Lisa! A half an hour of drama, and I wasn’t home to talk her through it. Naturally Geoff made me call to confirm our reservation, and it was okay. Thank goodness. I’m in no state to deal with that kind of garbage.

So we’re almost set for Vegas. The neighbors are going to look after Honey, I made up my packing list, and I started doing some laundry. All we need now is for the snow coming on Sunday not to delay the plane.

Yesterday I had a really bad allergic reaction. Very similar to the one that hit when Heather visited. Ugh, I hate feeling like that. Right now it’s slowly dying down. I don’t need to carry the kleenex box around with me, but I feel all red and blotchy. I don’t know what brings it on.

I finally made it to Hobby Lobby this week to check out fabric. I want to make a table runner for Christmas, so I picked out the fabric I like, I will go buy it the first of December. Need to hold off on spending money. We had to buy a new power adapter thingy for Geoff’s laptop, his adapter died. That was a $80 expense we weren’t expecting. Also at the beginning of December, I need to get my hair cut and highlighted. It’s been over a year since I had it cut, and even longer since it had highlights. Unless I kick butt in Vegas, then I’ll get it done sooner. 🙂

Did you know BBQ-flavored peanuts is a Canadian thing? I had a craving for some, and when I asked people if they had seen them, no one had seen them. They thought it was weird I thought I could find that at my local Safeway. On a BBQ related note, I can’t wait until next summer to go to Edmonton, and be able to get some flavored popcorn from Too Corny. My favorite? Getting a bag of half bbq, half pizza. Gross? Mmmm, not to me. 🙂

So we’re hoping to catch The Incredibles next week. I already know tons of people who have seen it, and I certainly didn’t need their approval to go see it. It’s Pixar, that’s enough for Geoff & me. I will need more time to get sold on Cars, but they have time to sell me on that. In other Pixar news, Disney has decided to go ahead and make Toy Story 3, without Pixar. Since they own the Toy Story franchise, they can do what they want. But I hear they are having a hard time selling Tom Hanks & Tim Allen on coming back. Good on them!

So AFI is putting together ANOTHER list, like that’s what the world needs. This one is 100 best movie quotes. I’m going to close with one of Geoff’s favorites, from The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly.

Man With No Name: You see, in this world there’s two kinds of people, my friend: Those with loaded guns and those who dig. You dig.

In Dreams

A few nights ago I couldn’t sleep so well. I was thinking about this couple I know whose marriage has ended. While we weren’t close, I still felt a connection to them. And it pains me to think the marriage couldn’t be saved. I don’t know any of the details, all the info I get is one sided. In a dream I had, maybe that night, maybe the night after, I tried to speak to the wife. To ask her what was so wrong that couldn’t be fixed. She just smiled she didn’t say. I am almost compelled to try to email her, find her email first, but I likely won’t. It isn’t my place.

Sunday night and last night I dreamt about Colin. We were just hanging out. Sunday nights dream lead me to a building which a fabric store, but before that it was the school where I took dance (not in reality, just in my dream). I am trying to use my walkie-talkie to tell Colin to come help me because there is a wild ferret trying to bite me. The ferret is green, and larger than normal. At some point there is also some animal that is a cross between a badger and a bear. I am able to lock that in a room to get away. I have some really weird dreams.

Last week, courtesy of the library, I watched Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star and The Butterfly Effect. The former was a better movie. I laughed a lot, and it was pretty harmless. TBE was darker than I anticipated it to be. I don’t know why I thought it would be lighter than that. I didn’t stop thinking about it the rest of the day. But I’d be reluctant to recommend it to anyone, only because it dealt with such dark issues. The acting in it was pretty good though.

Speaking of good acting, I love Scrubs. Last week’s episode provided a hilarious scene where Turk was white. In the episode Turk got a new phone number, and if you called it that night during the show you could speak to the cast and crew. I wasn’t aware of that, but I called the next morning and got to hear a message from “Turk” (Donald Faison), urging fans of Scrubs to vote in the People’s Choice Awards for which Scrubs has a few nominations, and Zach Braff is up for favorite movie actor. I’m excited to see that Matthew Perry is directing and guest starring on Scrubs in 2 weeks.

Speaking of Matthew Perry, Celebrity Poker Showdown finished up another tournament Sunday. The championship game had Matthew Perry, Kevin Nealon, Neil Patrick Harris, Mekhi Phifer, and Dennis Rodman. They will be taping another tournament the next few days, there may even be a taping the day we arrive in Vegas, but since we get in late afternoon, I doubt we could get tickets. I will settle for the hope of running into Phil Gordon or Dave Foley. 🙂

Yep, Vegas is just days away. Let me tell you how the level of excitement plays out. Geoff is the most excited, followed quickly by Lisa, then me, then Chad. It’s going to be so much fun!

I’m going to close with a quote from last week’s Scrubs.

Cal Turk: Cal Turk here. We don’t sell insurance, we sell peace of mind. But only to white people (Winks). Would you like some milk?



Christmas With The Ladies

A pretty good album. If you can get past the first track (Jingle Bells), which I thought was awful (and may be why Kelly thought I was talking about Steven Page (see November 4th post)), Barenaked For The Holidays makes for a great addition to your Christmas music collection. Favorite tracks for me were God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen/We Three Kings with Sarah McLachlan, Sleigh Ride, and I Have A Little Driedel. Their original songs are also really good. Geoff thought their effort on Oh Holy Night was pretty poor, and I didn’t mind so much.

Mostly RIYL Barenaked Ladies. If you don’t, you probably wouldn’t like the album.

Scott Peterson Guilty

I’m happy with the way the trial has ended, I suspected he was guilty, but was glad the jurors found it to be so in their eyes. Now they have to decide whether to give him the death penalty or not. I do not envy them, that is not a decision I would want to make. I think it’s fitting to close with a quote from Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring.

Frodo: It’s a pity Bilbo didn’t kill him when he had the chance.

Gandalf: Pity? It was pity that stayed Bilbo’s hand. Many that live deserve death. Some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them, Frodo? Do not be too eager to deal out death in judgment. Even the very wise cannot see all ends.

So Go To Canada You Big Whiner!

Rich and I sort of had it out yesterday. He was being really obnoxious, and I was getting tired of it, so I let out that biting side of me. I can say things sometimes and it comes out much harsher than I intend. I’m not saying he didn’t deserve it, but I was just getting tired of him bringing down my natural high. I should start at the beginning.

I got to work and was in a great mood. My iPod was playing some great tunes (Bobby Brown, Tom Petty, 10,000 Maniacs, Guns N’ Roses), and I had baked a cake for break time because it was Jeff’s 50th birthday. Well Jeff was kinda grumpy, and Rich seemed to be a little grumpy. I was able to keep the mood light with everyone, making up songs (Melissa, huh! What is she good for? You know the song that goes War, huh! What is it good for). anyways, 10 o’clock comes, and we go to break, and we eat cake, and Rich starts going off on the election, and how he wants to immigrate to Canada. I’m like, see ya! Bu-bye! So I’m trying to change the topic, since everyone is sitting around looking uncomfortable. Rich is still going on about how he hates Kerry and Bush, and then big closed minded jerk says the “A” word. (The “A” word is in reference to the President.) That just gets me really upset. And he’s saying how he doesn’t morals, and he doesn’t like Bush making decisions based on morals. Now in my head, I’m thinking of the conversation I’d have with him if there weren’t 7 other people sitting around the table. So I’m still trying to change the topic, and every topic I hit, he’s got something negative to say. I finally get tired of it all and I say to him, “Oh my eyes hurt so much looking up at you on your high horse.” Everyone started to laugh, breaking the tension a little. Thankfully it was 10:30, so break was over. But when I left for the day, he had the nerve to say he expected me to bring him chocolate next week (since Harry & David truffles are amazing). My response was,” I expect you to have an open mind next week. Which do you think is going to happen?” He proudly declared he isn’t changing his closed mind.

I like Rich, he can be a lot of fun. And I can be friends with people who have a different opinion than me (I learned that at KUCI). But I think we need to sit down and have a serious talk. He was out of control with his attitude, and it did not make for a comfortable nice break for all. I’m debating whether I should email him, or if I should talk to him next week.

I was so pooped yesterday, working at the museum in the morning, than H&D in the afternoon. But it was good. Thank goodness Geoff came to pick me up from the mall, since the sun is setting here at 5pm, it would make a dark walk home. I do have the option to take the bus, so don’t feel bad for me.

I’m still having weird dreams. I dream about people from my past life (by past life I mean high school, or B.G.- before Geoff). Last night, I dreamt I was still living with my mom and Hans, yet I was married. It was 3am, and I couldn’t sleep, so I got up and my mom was awake, watching tv in her room. I unlocked the door, and left the house, going next door where someone from the past was living. I just knocked on the door, and was let in. For whatever reason, I figured the solution to my not being able to sleep was to talk to this person. The weirdest thing is whenever I speak to this person in my dreams, one of the first things I say is why didn’t they acknowledge my father’s death? I’m not sure why this bothers me so in my dreams. I’m a weird person. That’s pretty much the dream.

I was speaking to Lisa this morning, and telling her this, and I guess I expected people who knew me would have responded to my dad’s death. Do I honestly believe people read the obituaries everyday? I did, when I lived in Edmonton. But when I hear about the death of someone I know, I try to send a note, even if all it says is I’m sorry. Maybe it’s all just residual anger or resentment I felt at the funeral. I was angry, I was mad that I didn’t register on people’s radar. That all they talked about was Colin, and Dylan. I wasn’t mad at Colin and Dylan, but part of me was mad at myself. For not being around the last 4 (now 5) years. I hated that it was like I wasn’t his child. I guess I have some issues that time needs to heal.

Sunday at church we sang I Can Only Imagine, and I couldn’t sing it. All I could do was stand there and cry. It’s funny because I can hear the song on the radio, and I’m fine. But being in worship, the emotions were too raw. Plus I’ve been thinking about Grandpa Jim, Grandma Bessie, and Auntie Pearl. I miss them so much. They were just so loving towards me, and making me feel like I was truly their family.

Alright, I’m done. I’m going to close with a quote from Wag The Dog.

Stanley Motss : Why Albania?

Conrad ‘Connie’ Brean : Why not?

Stanley Motss : What have they done to us?

Conrad ‘Connie’ Brean : What have they done FOR us? What do you know about them?

Stanley Motss : Nothing.

Conrad ‘Connie’ Brean : See? They keep to themselves. Shifty. Untrustable.