Last night we went out to celebrate Papa’s upcoming 60th birthday. 
We had a fabulous dinner at Carrabbas. Sara
, Jacob, Joey
, Momo, her new boyfriend J 
, CSP, Gigi 
and I were all there. Continue reading “Birthdays and tickets and mayors, oh my!”
Tag: fun
Know when to hold ’em
We are seriously Vegas people. We don’t get to go nearly as often as we’d like (twice ever actually) but if we could go once a month we totally would. So you’d think that I’d be all over an online gambling site and online casino, right? But see, the fun for me is not necessarily winning (although of course I want to win) but my fun is in how long I can go before I lose my money. That’s why in Vegas I play the penny slots. I get 100 plays per $1 vs 4 if I played the quarter slots. Now I know that the higher the risk, the higher the reward, but I know my odds people. And they aren’t good. So I’m in it for the experience, for the entertainment. I like to hear the clink, clink, clink of the coins as they pay out. Now, though they don’t even use coins any more. So now that I think about it, online gambling wouldn’t be much different. At least online, in my own home, I wouldn’t end up smelling like smoke later. I wouldn’t get free drinks either.
The online casinos now have all the games you’d play in Vegas- right online! Roulette, slots, black jack, all kinds. 
CSP loves black jack and can make $10 last a good while on a machine. He doesn’t play blackjack on the tables because the minimum bets are too rich for our blood. I know that some of the games require and use skill, like poker and black jack, but frankly, most gambling is all about luck. And I’m thinking that if you are playing against a computer instead of people then luck probably is not on your side.
I have a feeling that online gambling can suck you in more quickly than real life gambling in a casino. If you’re at home on your sofa in your pajamas, it’s a lot easier to lose track of time than if you were sitting in a casino. I know there are no windows or clocks there, but at home it’s worse! I know I’ve lost track of time playing Facebook games online at home. I’m sure I’d really lose track of time if I were playing slots or roulette! Especially if money were involved!
I’m wondering if during this recession the online casinos are suffering? I know I can’t imagine spending any money gambling right now!
Park Pugs
While we were in Valle Crucis with CSP’s mom (MIL) it rained 90% of the time. As soon as it cleared up for a couple hours we jumped at the chance to take the pugs to the park. The park in Valle Crucis is CSP’s & my favorite place in the world. It’s just gorgeous. HUGE, with soccer fields, a field for families to picnic & play, a big playground, a sheltered picnic area, a fishing pond, and a walking path
that goes all around it and down by the creek 
where you can go tubing when it’s warm. Papa’s daddy has a memorial bench there and we go to visit it to say hi to him each time we’re there.
The pugs love it there too. 
As soon as Molly gets out of the car she about hyperventilates with excitement. 
So many things to smell & see. Kiki loves to bark at everyone 
& Zoe wants to give everyone kisses. 
More pics here.
Going to the lodge, the Great Wolf Lodge
A couple of weeks ago Gigi took a day off and we had a girls’ day. We started the day by meeting up at IKEA. We shopped and had lunch and shopped some more. By the time we made it to the warehouse, so close to the registers and the car, our knees had had it. So we picked a sofa, sat down and planned our next move. Luckily I pack my ActivOn. We applied liberally, I to my knees and Gigi for some reason to her forehead. Does she not remember the last time we made that mistake? Eventually we made our way to the registers. Gigi paid for her purchases (I was good and didn’t buy A THING. MIRACLE!) Then we piled into Q-Tip (CSP’s truck) and headed North. Continue reading “Going to the lodge, the Great Wolf Lodge”
Happy Birthday Gigi!
Busy weekend recap!
Ok so Friday night was movie night for CSP and me. We went to redbox and picked up Traitor and Pineapple Express. Traitor was serious, well acted (LOVE Don Cheadle), and really good. I was surprised to see that it was written and produced by Steve Martin! Pineapple Express was one of the funniest movies I’ve ever seen. We had to keep pausing it because we’d be laughing so hard I’d miss some dialogue. It had some of the best lines. Thug life!
Saturday morning we got up at the crack of dawn to meet up with the fam. It was Jacob’s first basketball game. 
OMG it was the cutest thing ever! A million tiny little 2 foot tall kids with those long shorts pulled up to their armpits running around trying to put the ball through the hoop. I wish I’d had my good camera because the zoom on my purse camera doesn’t cut it. Jake ran around the whole time with his arms up in the air like a redheaded orangutan. He’d get distracted by the scoreboard or would start spinning around in the middle of the court. 
And he could barely take his eyes off the cheer leaders. SO cute! 
After the game we split up. 
The boys all went back to Sara’s house and us girls went out to lunch for Gigi’s birthday. She wanted to go to her favorite, Red Lobster. At lunch Sara caught us all up on her medical situation. She has been diagnosed with Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia. Not fun stuff. Her spleen is still big, and she has more tests tomorrow. Hopefully she’ll be able to get her spleen taken out ASAP. She’s so pale, in a good deal of pain and discomfort, and is starting to look jaundiced. Please keep her in your prayers. She’s keeping a great attitude about it.
The staff at the Red Lobster heard it was Gigi’s birthday and brought her an ice cream and sang. 
Then after lunch we went for a movie. We debated between seeing the Unborn and Gran Torino. Thank goodness the ticket guy talked us into Gran Torino. The Unborn looked like it was just going to scare me into insomnia for months! I’m too old for all that public terror. Gran Torino was fantastic! I’ve always respected Clint Eastwood but didn’t really become a fan until Million Dollar Baby. Gran Torino was hilarious! And touching, and intense, and scary. We laughed, a lot (didn’t expect that), and we cried.
After the movie we went back to Sara’s then Momo went home with Papa & Gigi. She had to get ready to go back to school to start the semester today. I miss her already! But she’ll be home again next weekend for Joey’s birthday!
Today is Gigi’s official birthday. So 
to the best Mom & friend in the world! I love you! xoxo
Behind the scenes
Y’all are so sweet about this picture, thank you! Not bad for a self portrait, huh? What you can’t tell is that I’m wearing Christmas Jammies in this picture. 
There they are. Quite festive, no? I wore them all day Christmas. CSP came into our bedroom right after I pulled on the pants and stopped short in horror.
Really? You’re kidding right?
What? It’s Christmas! I’m being festive.
That’s one word for it. You look like you escaped from a mental institution!
Later as we were about to leave the house I asked him…
Do I look ok?
No.
Nice. Ok, so do I look ok minus the clothes.
I’m sorry. I can’t see past it. It’s blinding.
Yeah, I’m married to the king of Christmas cheer! 😀
Oh, and…it was so fun being in the store all alone. Just the 2 of us. CSP said he was gonna go in the next day and pull the security tapes so he could see a crazy woman in her pajamas riding around in the mart cart! At least I didn’t run into anything! 😀
Bless Your Heart 