Vegas, Baby
ARGH!
Can I say it again? AAAARRRGH!
I typed a blog post on my phone about our trip to Vegas and I just came to upload the pictures and post. And. It's. Gone!
Gone.
So...here I go. Retyping. But the sequel is never as good as the original.
In a quick recap, Andy left for Vegas last Wednesday and left Eleanor, Oliver and I to fend for ourselves! We did pretty good. Thursday my parents came so that on Friday morning I could up and leave for the airport. My mom took Oliver to daycare and I said my good byes. Tearful good-byes. I couldn't believe I would be leaving both kids for almost a week!
I like to get to the airport with enough time, because I hate feeling rushed. Sure, it allows for a lot of sitting, but when you are leaving on vacation, it's a lot better then when you are flying for work.
I got to sit at the bar, enjoy a Bloody Mary and dive into an appropriately timed article from the Harvard Business Review (which, by the way, does not really suggest BLOWING UP HR...but more about reinventing it. And I couldn't agree more!)
I made my way over to the terminal, boarded the plane, secured my window seat and settled in for a long flight. Our pilot was pretty amazing and kept informing us of potential turbulence, the cause of said turbulence, and when said turbulence would be over. I also saw some pretty cool sights, including our house and our neighborhood (which, of course I won't post), the Rocky Mountains covered in snow and then the desert. I saw it all. One quick story - we were flying along and all of a sudden the plane dipped to the right and bounced around for awhile. The pilot came on, kind of laughing. He apologized and explained he thought he could go to 40,000 feet, but apparently, the turbulence was worse up there, so we went back to 38,000 feet.
Once we got to Vegas, I walked to baggage claim, got my luggage right away and then had to stand in the dreaded taxi line...in 110* heat. It went fast and I was on my way to The Flamingo! Andy met me in the lobby and our vacation started! (Can you believe I don't have a picture of our hotel room, the AMAZING view from our hotel, or the actual hotel?) Andy was so excited to show me around the hotel. We checked out the casino, the pool and the hotel.
We decided we wanted to grab a small bite to eat, as neither of us had eaten lunch. We walked through The Linq, which was right next door, but didn't really see much we liked. We found a little brewery, but didn't really like their food options either. Argh, nothing was seeming appealing and we were getting hot and hungry. We ran across a very empty Tilted Kilt and decided to, at least, stop in for a drink and figure things out. The France/Germany Women's World Cup game was on and we knew we wanted to get somewhere to watch the US/China game. We ordered some apps and some drinks. When the game was over, the bartender asked if we wanted another round and if we were staying for the US game. Um. We looked at each other..Sure! Why not! So we staid for the game and watched US WIN!
Then we headed back to the hotel to change so we could head downtown to Old Vegas. I had never been to Old Vegas and I really wanted to go.
OK, we didn't have the best experience. We went to the Golden Nugget, which was great to say that I saw. We sat and played my first rounds of Pai Gow poker. We had some fun and I learned a few things, but we decided we wanted to walk around a bit. We saw a cowboy in assless chaps, a bum asleep at a slot machine and some other freakish combos. And now we were getting STARVING! We ended up back at Golden Nugget and ate at some weird little burger cafe and then decided to head back to The Strip. Now...where to play?
Here's the best part. I. was. freezing. And tired. And if Andy wanted me to stay up and play any more Pai Gow poker, I needed a sweatshirt...and our hotel was so far away. We were at Casino Royal to check out their tables and to get $1 Michelob. Why? Why not! I also found some ghetto souvenir store...with an 80% off rack! So...I bought some sweatshirt for $15! It's probably from 1980, but that makes it vintage too! And can you believe it!?! There is NO picture of me in this sweatshirt!
But now that I was nice and warm, we found a Pai Gow table at Harrah's. It was a good table with a good dealer. We had some fun, lost some money...and well, around 1130 we headed back to our hotel.
The next morning we knew we wanted to get up early because we needed to stand in line for the pool. We didn't have to worry about waking up early, given that I was still on CST. We got dressed for the day and then headed down to the lobby to grab some coffee. I ended up in a Gift Shop (who is surprised??) and ran into some new friends.
Andy didn't believe I really ran into Donny Osmond OR Olivia Newton John. But...you never know!
We got in line for the pool around 815 and it was already around 100. It was hot! We saw some guy pass out. We met some new friends. And we were probably the 20th people in the pool. We secured our spots (Thanks for the recommendation Dick and Mary!) and got into the pool right away. I was pretty nervous after watching someone black out, so I made sure Andy and I got some water. Andy ordered 2 little bottles of water and paid $12 for the two. Then I wanted to walk around a bit and we found a little shop (yay!!) we bottles of water. They were bigger and so I ran back to get my wallet and bought two HUGE bottles of water for $9. Man we found this funny! But that was just the amazing thing about this trip. Just the two of us, being stupid, laughing at each other. It was so fantastic. I mean...who doesn't love spending some alone time with their best friend???
One of the things I really wanted to do on our trip was eat at a buffet. Andy and I have both been working SO hard to get really healthy and lose some of the weight we both gained during the pregnancy. I wanted to just be glutenous and reward ourselves! So, around noon we headed in for our buffet and indulge we did!
After TI, we went across the street to the Venetian. I looked up and saw a penny slot "Rock of Ages", which was the same musical we saw on our honeymoon in New York! We went to the "Rock of Ages" bar, got some drinks, and played some penny slots. And...Oh.My.Gosh...did we have fun! We actually won some money. Not a lot, but enough to keep playing...and we had NO idea how!
But...enough was enough...so we cashed out and left the Venetian. Of course, we had to walk inside as much as possible, because by now it was like 113*! We looked around and ended up a Casino Royal...but we kept walking through Harrah's...and kept walking...we walked past Margaritville and noticed two empty seats. And I mean...Who are we to deny two empty bar stools? We ordered up some drinks, were entertained by the bartenders and some sweet little southern girl with...eyes. Kinda creepy eyes.
We finally decided it was time to leave Margartiville...hard as it was...but we had things to do! I wanted to check out Bellagio...just because. So we found some more penny slots, but with little luck. We left Bellagio and went to Paris. Oh Look! A bar! We grabbed a drink and found some more penny slots. While we were looking, we found the drink lady, so we quick grabbed a slot so we could get a free drink (never mind that we had a drink in our hands!) I put $20 in some Napoleon slot, hit the button, got a free drink, hit the button, hit the button and won almost $100!! Once again, we had no idea what we were doing, but we were having fun doing it!
OK, with all this drinking it was time to eat. Andy knew of some Mexican place at Monte Carlo, which wasn't too far away, so we decided to walk there. Oh man, it was SO HOT!
Dinner was delicious and the blurriness of this picture is very apropos for the feeling we had! But I could eat that food again right now! And oh the laughs! He just always makes me laugh...ok and roll my eyes sometimes, but most of the time, laugh!
Next up...Penny Slots at New York, New York. But neither of us were really feeling it at NY, NY, so we left quickly. We headed over to MGM because I had never been and apparently we were on a penny slot tour! We sat at some slots, I played, but Andy decided to just watch. Finally, Andy decided to throw some money is his slot and ended up winning $100!! Dang...penny slots rock!
Now we had to start heading back...and we were going to go a stretch without any Casinos. But fear not...where there are no casinos...there is shopping. And what's better then two 1/2 drunk people shopping on the Vegas strip? Nothing. Nothing is better. In fact...Andy and I are laughing even as I type this!
Andy wouldn't let me buy and M&Ms from this wall of magic!
We finally made it back to the Flamingo. I'm not kidding - it was RIDICULOUS hot. It was late and was still 111* and my dogs were barking - Loud! But, it certainly wasn't bed time yet! We found...PENNY SLOTS! We played, got some drinks...and I lost. Andy won (or so he tells me...honestly...I'm not really sure ;-)
I cashed out my .05 and we headed back to our room. Proof that I did not really win at penny slots at Flamingo!
The next morning we were still up early and headed down to the lobby for some breakfast and coffee. It was hard to do much, knowing that Andy had to head to the airport at about 10:30. We had some great fun people watching in the lobby!
To say I was sad and miserable when Andy left, is an understatement. In fact, I didn't really know I was going to be so sad, but still, I cried most of the way from the Flamingo to Treasure Island.
I was sad because he was leaving to go see our amazing children. I was sad because I literally had the most amazing time with him. I was sad because Andy and I never really got that time to date, alone. Be married, alone. We've always been a family...and while, of course, I would never have that any other way...it's just SO NEAT when we really get some alone time. And I was sad because I was now left in Vegas...for four more days, all. by. myself (que the song now....)
I got to TI and checked into my hotel room. It was dark. It was small. It was miserable. I called Andy and cried. And then he cheered me up and I promised I would be happy for the rest of my trip. I just needed that one last call.
I needed to leave pretty quickly for my first presentation of the SHRM 2015 conference. One thing I don't talk about very often is the fact that I'm a total HR Nerd...and going to a 4 day conference on the profession just proves that fact. But man. What an amazing conference.
And it's not ALL HR Nerd stuff. After sitting through an hour and a half presentation on culture, I went to listen to Coach Krzyzewski. I mean. He was amazing. He shared stories from coaching Duke and the US Olympic Teams. He shared what it was like winning the 2015 championship game (Meanwhile...back in Wisconsin!) and he shared things about not making rules - making standards. Why? Because you obey a rule - you own a standard. And he encouraged us all by yelling "LET'S GO"! He was phenomenal!
Then...I got to head to the expo hall. Ha! What an experience that was! I mean 1,000s of people flocking into this hall to get a million and one free chotchkies. Little did I know, the even also provided free wine and beer. And who am I to deny a free glass of wine? And then I walked by a vendor that was giving out margaritas in these awesome wine glass sippy cups. Well....I mean...I had to - right? Eventually I made my way back to the bus and back to my hotel. It was so funny walking back into Vegas. After being so far removed from the hustle and bustle for the afternoon. I kind of forgot where I was!
The next morning I experienced a Las Vegas sunrise. It was pretty funny watching the sunrise and thinking there were several other people in this city watching the same thing...for an entirely different reason! They were coming into the hotel and I was leaving!
On Monday morning I got to see one of my professional favorites - Marcus Buckingham. He's written books like First, Break All the Rules and Now, Discover Your Strengths. His short movie Trombone Player Wanted is truly inspiring. So needless to say, I was pretty geeked to see him in person. His schnazy little British accent is super fun too! The rest of my day was filled with more HR nerdiness...Sort of like Wednesday! Did you know there were enough HR topics to fill a 4 day conference?
I got to see Dr. Oz on the final day. He was truly inspiring from a much more personal level and shared things like "Never leave home without nuts in your pocket"...which I found highly amusing, given that I had a bag of cashews and almonds in my bag...and I always do! He had so many inspirational quotes, but of my favorites "You are imperfect - and someone loves you for that" and "Your flaws are what make you beautiful". Again, he was much more personally inspirational...but love him or leave him, he was great!
My conference ended at 12:45 and I didn't need to head to the airport until well after 3. So, I did what any normal person would do and I holed myself up in a corner and worked changed into bathing suit and hung out by the pool for an hour. It was hot...but I tried to enjoy the final moments of total and literal freedom.
It was an AMAZING trip. Phase 1 was personally amazing, spending some much needed alone time with my best friend and Phase 2 was professionally amazing. But it is so fantastic to be home and I am SO happy that I don't need to travel again for a long time!
Can I say it again? AAAARRRGH!
I typed a blog post on my phone about our trip to Vegas and I just came to upload the pictures and post. And. It's. Gone!
Gone.
So...here I go. Retyping. But the sequel is never as good as the original.
In a quick recap, Andy left for Vegas last Wednesday and left Eleanor, Oliver and I to fend for ourselves! We did pretty good. Thursday my parents came so that on Friday morning I could up and leave for the airport. My mom took Oliver to daycare and I said my good byes. Tearful good-byes. I couldn't believe I would be leaving both kids for almost a week!
I like to get to the airport with enough time, because I hate feeling rushed. Sure, it allows for a lot of sitting, but when you are leaving on vacation, it's a lot better then when you are flying for work.
I made my way over to the terminal, boarded the plane, secured my window seat and settled in for a long flight. Our pilot was pretty amazing and kept informing us of potential turbulence, the cause of said turbulence, and when said turbulence would be over. I also saw some pretty cool sights, including our house and our neighborhood (which, of course I won't post), the Rocky Mountains covered in snow and then the desert. I saw it all. One quick story - we were flying along and all of a sudden the plane dipped to the right and bounced around for awhile. The pilot came on, kind of laughing. He apologized and explained he thought he could go to 40,000 feet, but apparently, the turbulence was worse up there, so we went back to 38,000 feet.
 |
| Flamingos at the Flamingo! |
Then we headed back to the hotel to change so we could head downtown to Old Vegas. I had never been to Old Vegas and I really wanted to go.
OK, we didn't have the best experience. We went to the Golden Nugget, which was great to say that I saw. We sat and played my first rounds of Pai Gow poker. We had some fun and I learned a few things, but we decided we wanted to walk around a bit. We saw a cowboy in assless chaps, a bum asleep at a slot machine and some other freakish combos. And now we were getting STARVING! We ended up back at Golden Nugget and ate at some weird little burger cafe and then decided to head back to The Strip. Now...where to play?
But now that I was nice and warm, we found a Pai Gow table at Harrah's. It was a good table with a good dealer. We had some fun, lost some money...and well, around 1130 we headed back to our hotel.
The next morning we knew we wanted to get up early because we needed to stand in line for the pool. We didn't have to worry about waking up early, given that I was still on CST. We got dressed for the day and then headed down to the lobby to grab some coffee. I ended up in a Gift Shop (who is surprised??) and ran into some new friends.
We got in line for the pool around 815 and it was already around 100. It was hot! We saw some guy pass out. We met some new friends. And we were probably the 20th people in the pool. We secured our spots (Thanks for the recommendation Dick and Mary!) and got into the pool right away. I was pretty nervous after watching someone black out, so I made sure Andy and I got some water. Andy ordered 2 little bottles of water and paid $12 for the two. Then I wanted to walk around a bit and we found a little shop (yay!!) we bottles of water. They were bigger and so I ran back to get my wallet and bought two HUGE bottles of water for $9. Man we found this funny! But that was just the amazing thing about this trip. Just the two of us, being stupid, laughing at each other. It was so fantastic. I mean...who doesn't love spending some alone time with their best friend???
 |
| My water is better! |
2
We literally had ONE day in Vegas together and we had a lot to do! I also needed to head over to TI so check-in to my conference. You see, this entire trip really started on the fact that I was going to head to Vegas for the SHRM 2015 Conference. Yup...me and 15,000 of my closest HR friends. One nerdfest of HR professionals. After TI, we went across the street to the Venetian. I looked up and saw a penny slot "Rock of Ages", which was the same musical we saw on our honeymoon in New York! We went to the "Rock of Ages" bar, got some drinks, and played some penny slots. And...Oh.My.Gosh...did we have fun! We actually won some money. Not a lot, but enough to keep playing...and we had NO idea how!
But...enough was enough...so we cashed out and left the Venetian. Of course, we had to walk inside as much as possible, because by now it was like 113*! We looked around and ended up a Casino Royal...but we kept walking through Harrah's...and kept walking...we walked past Margaritville and noticed two empty seats. And I mean...Who are we to deny two empty bar stools? We ordered up some drinks, were entertained by the bartenders and some sweet little southern girl with...eyes. Kinda creepy eyes.
We finally decided it was time to leave Margartiville...hard as it was...but we had things to do! I wanted to check out Bellagio...just because. So we found some more penny slots, but with little luck. We left Bellagio and went to Paris. Oh Look! A bar! We grabbed a drink and found some more penny slots. While we were looking, we found the drink lady, so we quick grabbed a slot so we could get a free drink (never mind that we had a drink in our hands!) I put $20 in some Napoleon slot, hit the button, got a free drink, hit the button, hit the button and won almost $100!! Once again, we had no idea what we were doing, but we were having fun doing it!
Next up...Penny Slots at New York, New York. But neither of us were really feeling it at NY, NY, so we left quickly. We headed over to MGM because I had never been and apparently we were on a penny slot tour! We sat at some slots, I played, but Andy decided to just watch. Finally, Andy decided to throw some money is his slot and ended up winning $100!! Dang...penny slots rock!
We finally made it back to the Flamingo. I'm not kidding - it was RIDICULOUS hot. It was late and was still 111* and my dogs were barking - Loud! But, it certainly wasn't bed time yet! We found...PENNY SLOTS! We played, got some drinks...and I lost. Andy won (or so he tells me...honestly...I'm not really sure ;-)
The next morning we were still up early and headed down to the lobby for some breakfast and coffee. It was hard to do much, knowing that Andy had to head to the airport at about 10:30. We had some great fun people watching in the lobby!
To say I was sad and miserable when Andy left, is an understatement. In fact, I didn't really know I was going to be so sad, but still, I cried most of the way from the Flamingo to Treasure Island.
I was sad because he was leaving to go see our amazing children. I was sad because I literally had the most amazing time with him. I was sad because Andy and I never really got that time to date, alone. Be married, alone. We've always been a family...and while, of course, I would never have that any other way...it's just SO NEAT when we really get some alone time. And I was sad because I was now left in Vegas...for four more days, all. by. myself (que the song now....)
I got to TI and checked into my hotel room. It was dark. It was small. It was miserable. I called Andy and cried. And then he cheered me up and I promised I would be happy for the rest of my trip. I just needed that one last call.
I needed to leave pretty quickly for my first presentation of the SHRM 2015 conference. One thing I don't talk about very often is the fact that I'm a total HR Nerd...and going to a 4 day conference on the profession just proves that fact. But man. What an amazing conference.
And it's not ALL HR Nerd stuff. After sitting through an hour and a half presentation on culture, I went to listen to Coach Krzyzewski. I mean. He was amazing. He shared stories from coaching Duke and the US Olympic Teams. He shared what it was like winning the 2015 championship game (Meanwhile...back in Wisconsin!) and he shared things about not making rules - making standards. Why? Because you obey a rule - you own a standard. And he encouraged us all by yelling "LET'S GO"! He was phenomenal!
But man oh man was I getting homesick! So on Day 4, I loaded up on a Venti iced coffee from Starbucks and headed into the last day!
Comments
Post a Comment