Viva Las Vegas!

Hellooo my lovely readers!

It's safe to say, I survived Las Vegas!  We had such a great time.  It was like a birthday and a long ass date rolled into one weekend.  I discovered that I suck at gambling lol  So to answer your question, we did not come home rich [boooooo].  

We spent the first day having me try out Roulette and Black Jack.  Then we met up with one of my old friends I knew back in NC who just so happened to be in NV at the same time.  He took us down Fremont St to check out what downtown was like.  They had this super cool zip line that stretched down the strip, which I REALLY wanted to do, but I talked myself out of it [heights just aren't my thing].  

And when they tell you you'll lose track of time while you're there - they are NOT lying.  We went to bed after midnight every single night we were there; my old ass couldn't believe it.  

I started off my birthday sitting at a bar drinking before noon [that was a first], just to kill some time while my Husband played Poker.  Later on we signed up to attend one of those lame timeshare presentations just so we can score some cheap ass tickets to see the Blue Man Group (#bluemangroup); which we got screwed over and didn't even get to see them [huge disappointment!]  My parents had attended one of their shows years ago and had highly recommended it.  The people who gave the timeshare presentation gave us the option that if we attended the 90 minute virtual presentation we could get:

• a free 3-day vacation and $50, or 
• free 3-day vacation and a free fancy dinner, or 
• free 3-day vacation and a discounted show.  

I chose the show, which they promoted had two different times for SUNDAY 2/5 NIGHT.  So as we hiked [because it was a lot farther a walk than it looked] all the way to the Luxor to pickup our tickets for the show, we were told there were NO SHOWS scheduled for Sunday because of the SuperBowl.  Makes sense.  So then we had to walk back, past our hotel, back to this place where they hustle tourists on the daily, so we can get our money back.  And of course they tried to convince us to pick another show or to take the helicopter ride w/ champagne over the strip, but this birthday girl was NOT feeling it.  I just wanted our refund.  Instead the guy who we spoke to hooked us up with a better refund.  I don't know why we even bothered participating.  We attended one of these types of presentations before and I had been super pregnant at the time, it was torture - AND we didn't even utilize the free vacation...  Never again.

We didn't plan it, but we ended up matching for the concert

Later in the evening it was time for the the Ariana Grande (#ArianaGrande) concert and it was awesome!  To be honest, a few times I almost forgot that that was the whole point of our trip.  Victoria Monet (#VictoriaMonet) opened the show -  her voice was amazing, followed by Little Mix (#LittleMix) - I loved their energy, and then Ariana came out and owned it.  The show was great and even the people sitting around us were pretty entertaining as well.  In other important news, I finished a beer before my Husband.  Why is that even important?  Well for one, I don't really like beer and two, he loves beer.  It was a good size beer too, but I drank it like a champ.  

Waiting for the concert to start

On our last day we sat at the bar and watched the SuperBowl.  Neither of our teams made it to the SB, but I was rooting for the Patriots.  How about that game though?!  I'm not into football like that, but even I paid attention to that game.  I also spent some time during the game learning how to play 5-card Stud at the bar.  When you play so many games on the machine, it spits out a free drink voucher.  So instead of paying $15 a drink, we got 6 vouchers after only putting $20 in the machine [aaaaay!]  Another highlight was their bomb ass chicken wings and fries they served.  They were so good and a delicious distraction when the Patriots weren't doing so well.

Super Bowl!

Sadly, Monday had arrived which meant it was time for us to go home.  It felt odd being away from the kids for so long.  I texted and FaceTimed my Little Big Man throughout our whole trip.  So although I missed the kids, I have to admit it was nice having some 'us' time for a change.  We don't have a babysitter nor know anyone well enough to leave the kids with overnight.

So would I return?  Sure.  But as a tip, if you ever do plan to go, it is NOT cheap.  We stayed at the MGM Grand, attended a concert with good seats [no nosebleeds over here], ate a lot of food, drank, and gambled.  You need to take into account that you'll need money for parking, or for taxis, tipping, and if you don't have a kitchen in your room you'll be buying food constantly.  So you definitely need to plan and SAVE SAVE SAVE!     

Overall, that had to be one of my BEST birthdays ever.  My Husband went above and beyond to plan it and made sure I had a great time.  I know it wasn't cheap, but he didn't complain.  It's definitely one for the books.  I don't really care for super expensive things, hence why I was so surprised about the trip, but it was worth it.  I don't know how he could ever top this.  

I love you honey!

Positive vibes.

xo,

sss

February

Hello and YAY for February!

Why 'yay' for February you ask?  Well hellurrr - it's my birth month!

COUNTDOWN: 3 MORE DAYS!

Not only that, but this year my husband is doing the most for my birthday.  I have never ever been to a concert or to Las Vegas.  So my husband decided to treat me to BOTH for my birthday!  I'm so excited and somewhat shocked that he pulled this off because he isn't one for thoroughly planning anything [hahaha seriously].  He bought the tickets, asked my in-laws to watch our kids, and booked a hotel - everything!  I'm so damn excited I could go streaking [it's still up for debate].  We'll be seeing Ariana Grande for her #DangerousWomanTour - I like some of her music and I'm not some obsessed fan [I tend to cringe at her stance when it comes to politics], but regardless I can't wait!

Being that I've never gone to a concert, I ended up looking up on Pinterest what to wear...  I felt like an old person Googling some slang words to learn what they actually mean.  I guess it's fitting being I am getting older -- I'm turning 28!  I can hear myself from years ago making fun of my sister as she was getting closer and closer to her 30th birthday, now here I am.  And I've noticed that as you get older, you get less presents...  #SorryNotSorry but I haven't grown out of the presents phase.  That makes getting older kind of depressing.  So let's just say that I'm turning 21 again, I like the sound of that a lot more.  

Anyways, there is still no news on the status of my Husband deploying; typical of the military.  So we get to play the waiting game again [this won't be the last time] until they decide what's to come.  I've been trying to not think about it too much; you can't stress over the things you can't control, right?  Like I said before, it was inevitable that this time would eventually come.  Every once in a while I start to think "what will I do while he's gone?" or "how will the kids feel?" or "should we go home for a bit since there's nothing here for us?" - etc.

It would be nice to visit home though, especially since my older brother and my SIL welcomed their first baby to our always expanding family!  She is so precious and I cannot wait to meet her!  She arrived a little earlier than expected, but I'm sure her Daddy/Mommy couldn't wait to hold her!  It's still so crazy for me to picture my brother as a Dad.  He's had the 'Uncle' label for quite some time now, but I have no doubt she'll have him wrapped around her finger in no time; if she hasn't already.

I don't know if I ever shared it on my blog, but in December we FINALLY bought a brand new BIGGER vehicle!  My husband sold his car awhile back so that he can buy me a bigger car - since I'm the one who usually drives the kids around while he's busy working.  So in the meantime, he drives my car until we sell it, then he'll get a motorcycle.  I love it though, it's so spacious and comfortable.  It's a 7-seater so if we ever in the future future future decide we want more kids, we'll have the room available!  [don't get any ideas, no babies for us this year]

In other news, my kiddos are busy growing!  Last month we celebrated both of their birthdays.  My Little Big Man turned 11 and went paint balling for the FIRST time ever.  He invited two of his friends [prices out here don't play] who ended up not showing or RSVP'ing [so annoying], so it ended up being a Daddy/Son date.  They had a blast and have already been planning their next visit.  They even got my Dad on board discussing how they plan to buy their own equipment, etc.  Meanwhile I'm over here wondering where the hell am I going to store all of this shit...  My Toddler turned 3 and has been overwhelmed with toys and clothes galore!  He loves it.  All he had asked for was some ice cream cake [and I wasn't objecting].  I just realized that seemed to be our theme this year - ice cream cake; I almost forgot how yummy it tastes, especially mint chocolate chip or cookies 'n cream.

Until next time, positive vibes -



xo,
sss