A few random things...

~Looks like we've got some exciting weather coming our way! Forecast calls for severe thunderstorms, possible hail, and a tornado watch. Nice... Jeremy's currently bringing in his "babies" (plants for the garden we haven't planted yet...) as the rain has just begun, with a few flashes of lightening in the background. Hopefully the thunder doesn't wake Jeremiah up from his nap...

Guess he won't be mowing the lawn today! (At least he got the front done earlier this week, so the neighbors can't be too upset with us.)

~Jess Jr. has been moving around a lot lately. She even kicked Jeremiah while I was rocking him to bed last night! Didn't bother him, but I thought it was cute... :) I think (HOPE!) she's settled into place, as I've been having a lot of kicks in the upper right side of my belly (same spot as Jeremiah--I'm waiting for the soreness to begin...) We'll see!

~Found out Thursday that I passed my glucose test (yay!) though my iron is a bit on the low side. While they're sure I can bring it up, they want to re-test me at 32 weeks instead of waiting until 36... Booo... Guess I need to start taking my prenatals... At least that'll be the last "stick" for me, so long as I do get my levels up.

~Wow... it just got so dark the light on the deck came on... Guess I won't leave my laptop plugged in after all...

~And there's the rain... Wow, it's really coming down. And we can see lightening strike in the same spot over and over again in the distance. Pretty cool.

~Finally, our ticker has moved us into the 7 month window! Woo hoo! We're just about a week away from the third trimester--the home stretch! YAY!

Still have Avent or Dr. Brown's bottles and want to go BPA-Free?????

Looks like companies are really starting to take this seriously!

Some Moms have reported luck returning their BPA bottles from Avent & Dr. Brown to Babies R Us stores and getting store credit, whether used or not. This is YMMV (your mileage/market may vary, in other words, not guaranteed for all stores yet,) but it's worth a shot. Here's a blurb from safemama.com:

~Call your local Babies R Us store and ask what their policy is on BPA product
returns

~Ask to speak to the manager to clarify what policy they are following
and what you need to bring to receive a store credit/return.

~Bring bottles and cups in the store clean and bring receipts if you have them.

~Bring our BPA Free Bottle and Cup Cheat Sheet with you to make sure
you’re buying BPA Free replacements.

I’m going off the assumption that they won’t provide this perk forever so I encourage you to get on it if you want to make a change to BPA Free.

This is great news--I guess they're starting to realize that people are really unhappy with the whole BPA issue, especially since Canada (and California, most recently!) declared it unsafe for use with babies under 18 months.

Also, if you choose to purchase the new BPA-free Dr. Brown's Polypropylene or Glass Bottles instead, you can submit 3 of the UPC symbols to Dr. Brown's and they will send you three more matching BPA free bottles (polypropylene only). So even if you don't have the BPA bottles to return, Dr Brown is going to reward you for buying their BPA-Free by offering buy 3 get 3 free!

To get your free bottles, simply mail your UPC codes (up to 3) to:Handi-Craft Company4433 Fyler AvenueSt. Louis, Missouri 63116

Part of me wishes I'd waited now to make the switch, but I got a good deal on my Born Free (30% off) and the nipples from Avent work with them, which saves me from having to buy all new ones. But for you Mama's (and Daddy's) that haven't made the switch yet, now's the time to do it!

Don't forget, if you're out shopping and are unsure about what is BPA-Free, or just partially BPA-Free (since very few products actually label as such, especially sippy cups), here are a couple of tips:

~Avoid plastics that are labeled 3, 6, or 7 (pretty sure those are the ones, but I'll double check and change if necessary.) You can usually find this on the bottle itself, on the bottom. It's surrounded by a three-arrow triangle, usually. All other plastics are generally considered "safe".

~Send a text message to "zrecs" with the company name (and item name, if you have it, such as "nuby sippy cups" or "avent nurser") to 69866. This is a free service run by zrecs.blogspot.com and will reply with a message on whether that item is BPA-free or not (as best as it can, at least. Sometimes you have to be more specific.)

~If you remember before you leave the house, print out the cheat sheet in the above quote, or use the one from zrecs that folds up into a wallet size card. It can be found here.

LOST Season 4 - Season Finale, Parts 1, 2 & 3

Obviously, there's no recap from part one of the season finale. Reason being: we were flying to Canada when it aired, and were only able to watch it via spotty download from a friendly fan's Torrent. So I really wanted to wait 'til last night to get it in its full HD glory, back to back with the finale it was meant to precede.

And now that that's happened, I'm here to tell you that I won't be posting a synopsis for a few days. This was a FULLY loaded episode, and there is just wayyyyy too much to cover all at once. So I'll probably take it hour by hour over the next couple of weeks. That will also give everyone who actually cares about LOST and what I have to say about it plenty of time to catch up and watch it all before I start posting spoilers about it ("Frozen Donkey Wheel", anyone???) And it's not like we'll have another episode again for a while--Season 5 doesn't kick off until Feb. 2009, barring anymore strikes.

So sit back, relax, allow it all to sink in, and I'll let you know my thoughts (if anyone cares :) soon.

I will say this, though: Holy crap! They finally give us a BOATLOAD of answers, and throw in almost as many questions. But that's LOST for ya. Hopefully the SERIES finale (in 2010) won't be so cryptic.

Too cool for words...

Finally! A real cleanin' machine!

Ah yes, the joys of housecleaning. Our problem has been not a lack of desire, per se, but a lack of effective technique. And by effective technique, I really mean, ya can't effectively vacuum a house with a vacuum that doesn't work!

We bought our vacuum back after Christmas two years ago, using some games we didn't want as store credit for Walmart. Bought ourselves a little Bissel and were on our way! (Hand-me-down vacs before that... just wasn't cutting it.)

That vacuum served us well until we moved here. Maybe it's just that this house is so much larger than our previous apartments that it wore the vacuum out, I don't know. What I do know is that the best time for a vacuum to break is NOT when you're trying to clean the house before your Christmas party later that night. We were able to get the downstairs done, and part of the upstairs, and that was it--the belt on the hose popped off and wouldn't spin the brush head anymore. BOO!

Well, it took us a good month or two to actually fix it. We thought the hose had snapped, so we had a spare on hand. Opened it up, and nope, it just needed to be refitted. Sweet. Simple, not too complicated (they don't make the covers for these things easy to get off, though!) and we were back in action...

....until we needed to vacuum again, before the window guy came by to measure our windows (we were getting quotes.) It conked out on us yet again, but at least we knew what was wrong this time.

Flash forward to Monday of this week (Memorial Day!) Jeremy's cousin Brooke, her son and Mom were comin' over since they weren't really doing much, and we weren't really doing much, and had been trying to have 'em over for a while now. Okay, time to clean up!

At this point, our floors hadn't been sufficiently vacuumed in over a month (probably longer, but you get the idea.) Yeah, it bugs me, but so does having to fix the vacuum every time you want to use it. Jeremy fixes the vacuum, for the third time, and brings it downstairs for me to use. I turn it on, nothing. No spinning action whatsoever! So our guests got to check out our beautiful house, and dirty carpets. Awesome.

Needless to say, we've had enough! That vacuum is going in the trash, and we're getting a new one! YAY! And not some cheapo piece o' 'crap-o' again. Nope, this time, we're getting.....

A DYSON! Woot! Frys.com had a refurb model on sale yesterday, so I ordered it and it should be here tomorrow! I would have preferred new, obviously, but it was half off, and every review I've read of the refurbs have been positive. So I'm taking the risk, and jumping into the Dyson world! I look forward to never losing suction, never having to touch the dirt (dispenses with the push of a button) and hopefully, cleaner carpets! YAY! I hope they're as awesome as everyone says they are.

Congratulations, you just read a whole post on vacuums! :) I'm sorry I have nothing else interesting to talk about, but I was getting sick of seeing the Vegas posts every time I pulled up the blog. :)

Wedding/BabyMoon/Anniversary/Business Trip, Part 5--The End.

Right now, we're sitting in McCarren Airport, here in Las Vegas, and we couldn't be happier! While we enjoyed our time away, we both agree that it was a day or two too long, and are anxious to get home. It'll be nice to not walk through hallways of smoke, rude people, ringing, beeping, drunk people, etc. And when I say "rude", I'm not just talking about the tourists (though they make up the majority...) I think that the staff that work in the casinos are just so used to rude customers that they don't know how to relax and be nice to those who aren't there to give them a hard time (I couldn't believe how many people I heard talking down to servers, hotel staff, everyone! Hopefully "bitterness" is one of those things that STAYS in Vegas!) And with the exception of the super expensive dinner we had Tuesday night, rarely would we actually want to the tip a full 20%, as many of the servers ignored us to the point where we had to ask for refills, and hope that at some point our food would come out. And I'm all about being a good tipper, but when the only time I see you is to take our order, bring our drinks, and then bring our food (and subsequently, the bill, though usually each part is brought by a different person, with little communication between them,) there's little motivation to be generous (especially when that soda costs $4, is the size of a juice box, and never gets refilled despite asking for one...)

Yeah, we're glad to be coming home!

So here are the last few pics from our trip!

The streets of Venice, inside the Venetian. It's much more bright when you're walking through it than it appears on film.

Street performers in "Venice"

Ditto.

Dude on stilts. Always fun and exciting!

Jeremy sporting his poncho at Blue Man Group. While we were in the "poncho" section, we didn't need them, but always good to be prepared, just in case.

Decked out in paper in preparation for the show!

"Rrrawwwr! I am the paper monster!!!"

Yeah, I got nothin'. (This was post-show... video coming soon...)

Jeremy trying to steal Mona Lisa's twinkie. During the show, they pull a female member of the audience on stage to have a "romantic" dinner (twinkies.) The poor girl at our show was MORTIFIED! You could see she was trying as hard as she could not to cry at times.

It was hilarious. :)

The BAND! Kinda goofy in regular light--freakin' awesome behind their instruments under a black light!

Chillin' with a Blue Man

The "Strip" at night. Well, part of it anyways.

Goodbye, Vegas!!!!

<100 days! Woot!

Just thought I'd point that out--this process started around t-273 days, and now we're down to t-99! Woo hoo! This week has definitely reminded me that preggers need to take it easy and not run around like when you're not. I was perfectly content just sitting around, relaxing, versus trying to do EVERYTHING on the strip. There were a few things I didn't get to do that I had wanted to, but that's alright. There's always next time!

Food for thought...

For some reason, anytime I post about food, we get a bunch of comments. So here's another food post! :)

This was from our dinner before going to see Blue Man Group Thursday night. It was mighty tasty!

The main reason I took pics of our dinner--Beef Carpaccio with wild arugula, lemon, capers, and parmigiano reggiano, the "undisputed king of cheeses"! For those of you unfamiliar with beef carpaccio, it's thinly sliced raw beef. Mmmm.... What d'ya think of that, Ali?? ;)

Beefsteak tomatoes, scallions, and buffalo mozzarella cheese 'insalata'. The buffalo mozzarella has so much flavor, it's so good! Not like the fresh mozzarella you buy at the supermarket, that's for sure!

Asparagus soup. Nothing weird, and it was good, but not mind blowing. It all came out at the same time, though, so I figured I'd snap a photo anyways.

Us, having dinner that night. Nothing exciting here either, but it proves I was there!

Wedding/BabyMoon/Anniversary/Business Trip, Part 4.5--Penn & Teller

Last night, we cabbed over to the Rio to take in a show. Penn & Teller, amusing and amazing, as expected. It was pretty neat, because before the show, they had a jazz duo playing, while everyone in the audience signed an envelope on the stage (which was later used in a trick.) Halfway through, we figured out that it was Penn playing the double bass (he had his hair down, with a hat on... looked very "Slash"-ish,) though we weren't completely sure if it was Teller on the piano (if you took away the dude's earrings and glasses, it could have been... but they appeared on stage at the same time a few times, so we don't know for sure.) Okay, I just googled it, and the piano player is, indeed, Mike Jones, but the bass player is simply known as the "Mystery Bass Player". So we're half right! Yay for us!

It was a cool show, and definitely funny at times, though I did find them a bit over the top at times with the commentary. Stuff like religion and politics don't need to be in a magic show, and in general, those jokes were the least well received by the audience. While no one "booed" there were definitely some, "Aw, no he didn't!" groans that answered.

Other than that, it was fun. It was neat how everynow and then they would explain how certain tricks were done, and even show ya how to do it, albeit in a rushed and confusing way. It's unlikely anyone will actually be able to go home and reproduce them, but ya never know. Jeremy was happy to get his pic with Penn, and Penn was happy he could actually stand up straight for once (he's a tall dude!)

I will say, though, that the Rio is a dump. At least compared to the Pallazzo and the Venetian. Basically, off strip, everything is a dump. It almost feels like leaving the tourist resort in a 3rd world country--the resort is beautiful, but then you see how the locals live, and it's like, blech. Only this is Las Vegas! I'm sure there are nicer areas off the strip besides those that we saw (we were only a mile off...) but man... it was depressing. I'd rather leave here thinking it was all glitz and glam, so we'll have to tour the strip tonight after dark (THE STRIP, not off the strip... you just don't go there....) Even the Tropicana, which was built in the 50's, was wayyyy nicer than this place, which is a lot newer (1990's...) It's part of the Harrah's family, and isn't too far from the Palms (which, from what I understand, is a nice hotel.) It was really dumpy, though... The people who gambled there were all smoking endlessly, and obviously lost all their money there, since they were dressed like bums. The waitresses were dressed especially skanky (all waitresses around here wear short skirts and low tops, but these were made of lace, didn't cover them completely, with thong bikini type coverage underneath... And most were older, or at least, looked older... At least they were really nice.)

In their masquerade village area (where all the restaurants were) they had a open floats suspended from a track on the ceiling, where girls (and guy) would dance as loud music played. For some reason, there were lots of families with babies there, most younger than Jeremiah, and they stopped to watch the "show", while standing amongst a cloud of second hand smoke (some were smoking as they held their babies... so sad.) The worst meal of the week was had there, as some Japanese place. It was a "good deal" for Vegas--$16--but it was TERRIBLE. It was worse than food court food... Yuck. The service was even worse, so Jeremy left the smallest tip I think he's ever left. Oh well.

And that's about it. Today is our last full day here, and it's kind of rainy, so who knows if we'll get to venture outside the resort at all. We've got Blue Man Group tonight, Mystere (Cirque de Soleil) tomorrow, and that's it! So this will probably be my last post from Vegas. See you in VA!

Wedding/BabyMoon/Anniversary/Business Trip, Part 4?

I've lost count...

Anyways, here're some more Vegas pics from my excursion on our Anniversary (little did I know it was a 1.5 mile walk to CVS/Walgreens.... it looks a lot shorter than that on a map, or looking down the strip. At least the weather was BEAUTIFUL!!)

The Coca-Cola & M&M store on the Strip--I haven't actually had a chance to go in, yet, as I was a woman on a mission that day and didn't have time. Hopefully we'll have a chance later today.

The Fountain in front of the Forum shops at Caesars Palace.... These two guys walked with me up and down the strip, carrying my bags so I wouldn't have to. Sweet, huh?? I'm just kidding... I have no idea who those guys are.

South Strip--that's Toni Braxton up there on the side of the building. And you can see the Eiffel tower, in the distance.

*sigh* Ignore the showgirl next to the Bally's sign... There's stuff like that everywhere.

Planet Hollywood! They have the Mile Shops within it--1.5 miles of shops and restaurants, all indoors. Crazy.

The Eiffel Tower and Paris Hotel & Casino. It's pretty neat, they have all these famous french monuments, including an Arc de Triumph, though I didn't take a pic of it.

The gondola's at the Venetian (our hotel is part of their resort.) I don't have a pic of it, but will have to get one--inside the Venetian, they have this "city square" complete with stone floors and a faux sunny sky. It's very surreal... You go in there, and it does feel like daytime, and then you realize it's really 11 p.m.... The gondola's take you right through there and back. Pretty neat.

The Phantom tower outisde of the Pallazzo.

Outside the Venetian.

Treasure Island. They've got a pirate ship and stuff out in front. I'll have to go walk by it later.

Wedding/BabyMoon/Anniversary/Business Trip, Part 3

Well, the past couple of days have been fairly lo-key. Nothing too exciting, just the same old, same old, at least for Vegas.

Jeremy had to work Tuesday, so I only saw him briefly throughout the day. I mostly chilled in our hotel, trying to recover from walking the strip in 100+ temps the day before (it just sucks the life outta ya.) I tried going out for lunch, and was pretty beat afterwards, so that was the end of my excursions for the day.

Decided to check out the pool, in hopes of finding a decent cell phone signal so I could call Jeremiah at Grandma's. No luck. I have yet to find a place on the strip, whether inside or outside, where my cell phone would have a full signal and KEEP a full signal. It starts out good and strong, but usually by the time the other end picks up, the signal is all but gone, and then, *beepbeepbeepbeep!* So we continue the practice of "ringing" my parents, and they call us back in our room. Very annoying.

Tuesday night was interesting. :) Jeremy ran into some of his clients while visiting me at the pool, and they invited us to tag along for dinner. That was fine with me, as I'd rather go to a business dinner with Jeremy, than dinner by myself. So he was able to skip most of the "closing ceremony" for Tuesday night, and we met this "colorful" group at Carnevino, Mario Batali's steakhouse here in the Pallazzo (I say colorful, because they asked Jeremy if I would be uncomfortable, as their conversations could be considered, to some, "offensive".... Well, I've had dinner with some pretty interesting folks before, from my days with EB and Sony, so I was game. And for the record, they weren't that bad. A few remarks here or there may have been unnecessary, but as the only sober person there, it was understandable.) One look at the menu let us know that this would be the most expensive meal we have ever eaten--ever! We didn't really want to spend a lot of money, so we tried to stay on the conservative side as much as possible. But, yet again, it was good.

I was a bit disappointed, though, with the appetizers. We ordered these fried duck eggs, and I don't think they tasted all that different from a regular chicken egg. But hey, for $19, it must be good. Our salad was great, though, as I have never had mozzarella cheese that was so tasty! I mean, I've had fresh mozzarella before, but this was in a league of its own--it actually had flavor! So good!

Our entree was a bit disappointing, too. It is a steakhouse, but the cheapest steaks started at $35. Most were $50 or $75. Plus, that didn't include any sides, just steaks. Sides were all a la carte, and that adds up. We ordered a pasta dish to split, and I swear, they charge at least a $1 PER PIECE of pasta. Yeah, we had maybe a dozen shell type pastas (handmade by 4 guys all week) each, and that's it. Everyone else ordered steak, and were stuffed as a result. Yeah, we weren't stuffed. We didn't leave hungry (though the meal was over 3 hours long!) but we definitely weren't stuffed.

Surprisingly, the clients we were out with picked up the tab for the whole thing, which was great (though we had planned on paying for ourselves,) as the tip alone was almost $200 (20% charged automatically for groups larger than 6 people... there were 9 of us... you do the math. At least they said, "hey, that's not bad," when they saw the check...) It was good, but I don't feel the need to return. :) I can't say Morton's was as good, but at least you get your money's worth in food. You know portions are going to be meager when your server tells you over and over again, "small portions but big flavor." Ah well. It was still quite the experience, one we would never have on our own.

Yesterday was nice, for the most part. Jeremy played hooky in the morning, and we had a nice breakfast together. That was about all I saw of him after that. I took a 2.5 hour nap, which was desperately needed, and then had to leave so the cleaning crew could come through. Feeling re-energized, I decided to hit the strip again for some souvie shopping. Stepped outside, it was sunny, high 70's/low 80's, with a nice breeze. Perfect! I felt like I could walk all day! And then I had both arms full of bags, all the way down the strip... Suddenly, walking was exhausting again. Ah well. It's amazing how heavy t-shirts, a few mugs, and a stuffed bear can get! But I made it back okay! Took a quick bath (had to use the garden tub at least once!) got dressed and tried to figure out dinner plans.

I had hoped Jeremy would have been able to get out of working so late, but that didn't happen, so I had dinner by myself in the Grand Lux. I was trying to be good, so I ordered a pasta with lots of veggies, but it's not what I really wanted (should have gotten the shrimp pasta... the heck with veggies.) It was still good, but not good enough for me to sit there and stuff myself with it, so I brought it back to the room (not sure why... it just sat there all night... can't fit it in the fridge, because of all the booze in there... And it's weight sensitive, so you can't take stuff out to make room, or you'll get charged for it.) I should probably eat it for breakfast, but I dunno... I guess we'll see.

That brings ya up to date! Jeremy got me a spa gift card for our anniversary, so I'm having a pregger's massage and pedicure today. I'm not real big on massages, though, so I'm a little nervous... I dunno, the thought of being naked on a table while some stranger rubs oil into your skin kinda weirds me out... But I was beat from walking when I booked it, so it sounded better than paying the same price for a facial. Now I wish I'd gotten the facial. Oh well, too late to change it now. Guess I'll have to be brave!

I think tonight we're seeing Penn & Teller. Tomorrow's Blue Man Group, and then Cirque de Soleil's Mystere on Saturday before we leave. And then we come home! Yay! Jeremiah's been getting spoiled with Grandpa, so I'm sure he'll be disappointed we're home, but oh well! :)

Breakfast

Fried chicken and waffles, with pecans and honey butter syrup. Mmmm... I couldn't eat it all, but it was good.

Because he's my baby...

And I miss him, though being away from him out of town is easier than being at home--there aren't constant reminders everywhere that he's not there!

Wedding/BabyMoon/Anniversary/Business Trip, Part 2 - Vegas, Baby!

Hello again, folks. I'll try to keep this a bit shorter than the last entry. This is what happens when I don't have good, reliable, fast internet access for a few days--it all stockpiles. Luckily, we are in a beautiful 4-star resort suite now and it is definitely the fanciest hotel I've ever stayed in. I mean, there's a guy who walks around the pool offering sun bathers chilled cucumber slices for their eyes! And then he came around again with orange slices (not sure if they were to eat, or put on your face, so I politely declined...) Crazy...

You know you're in Vegas when a bottle of water sets you back $3 (unless you buy it from someone selling out of a cooler... then it's just, "One dolla! Ice cold water, one dolla!" Looking back on it now, I wish I had stocked up on the dollar waters, but oh well.) And we can't even move stuff around in the fridge, because it tracks it based on weight, and you'll get charged as soon as something moves... Booo! At least the ice down the hall is free. I've been noshing on it all afternoon, since I can't bear to bring myself to shelling out as much for a water as I do for Starbucks...

Thankfully and sadly, Jeremy's conference (the whole reason we came) started up today, and they have drinks available to attendees. So he's starting a little room stock for us, which should help keep me hydrated (I woke up at 4 this morning, PARCHED! I had to drink lukewarm tap water--it was all we had, but boy did it taste good.... Jeremy says it has a funny chemical taste, but y'know what? When you're thirsty, it's the best water you've ever had.)

Sadly, though, he's gone most of the day so I'm all by my lonesome. I thought I'd be okay with that, since this city is cool to just walk around in, but we did that yesterday, and boy, I'm still beat. Walking around in 100+ degree temps (35+ for those who prefer Celsius) just sucks the life outta ya. We kept ducking into casinos for drinks and a few pulls on the penny slots (Jeremy won $6 playing $1 on the penny slots! Woot! We promptly spent it on Starbucks. Well, at least I was able to get a drink with that. :) Our whole goal for going out was to hike to Tropicana, which is only a couple of blocks down the strip on a map, but it took us over 2 hours to get there. Why did we want to go to Tropicana?? Because they're the only casino left on the strip that dispenses coins when you win. Everyone else gives you a voucher that you can then use in another machine, or cash out for cash. Really, though, who's going to play the penny slots, win, and cash out their $.20 winnings? Well, not us. :) But if it's in nickels, then you're more likely to keep your winnings instead of playing them away.

Well, wouldn't you know it... After all that walking, we found out they too had switched to a voucher system... BOOO! Not all was lost, though. They had cheap souveniers at least (even cheaper than what I was going to buy at CVS! Score!) And then we had to head back, because....

We saw Phantom last night! This is the "Vegas" version, so it was different than the Broadway show. Different doesn't necessarily mean better... Being a Phantom purist (I grew up listening to the Michael Crawford/Sarah Brightman version) the changes were kind of annoying... The big changes included moving the "chandelier" crash to the end of "Don Juan Triumphant" (and so the lyrics in "Masquerade" were changed from "to a prosperous year! To the new chandelier!" to something else...) cutting out the rehearsal completely for the "Don Juan Triumphant" (the scene right before we see Christine go to the cemetary to sing to her dead father,) and rushing what dialogue their was. At least, it seemed rushed to me. Reactions that would normally take a few seconds to give were given immediately, and it sucked some of the magic out of it for me.

Couple of good changes, though. Since the theater was designed to be a "Phantom" theater, the sets were larger and more brilliant, the chandelier being raised to the ceiling at the beginning was awesome, as it was in 5 different pieces that all swung around above your head before settling into its final position at the end of the overture. And more pyrotechnics. Lots more than on Broadway.

Was it good? Yes. Better than Broadway? No. But I would have probably enjoyed it more had I not seen it on Broadway previously. I tried taking some pics after the show (none allowed before or during, obviously) but it was really hard to get a good shot of the chandelier, with the lighting as it was. But it gives you an idea of how much work went into the theater itself.

We've definitely been eating better since being in Vegas. They have a cafe called "Grand Lux Cafe" that is a spinoff of the Cheesecake Factory, and it's definitely a great bang for your buck. I had a Tuna Niciose Sandwich with Cauliflower Cheddar soup, and a "small" salad with REAL blue cheese dressing. And it was SO GOOD! I couldn't finish it all, there was so much food (hence the "small" salad... it was NOT "small" by any stretch of the imagination... unless you're used to eating the whole salad at Olive Garden, or something.) Only $11. I paid that today for a less than impressive chicken philly with fries. Needless to say, I'll be having my lunches at the Grand Lux from now on. Ya can't beat the deal, and I'm sure it was healthier.

Last night (and apparently, tonight as well, since we'll be dining with some of Jeremy's clients,) we ate at one of Mario Batali's restaurants. Normally, I would never consider it, since those celebrity chef restaurants tend to be really pricey, but we were satified with the pricing options, and ended up getting a lot of food for a decent price. And it wasn't stuff we'd normally order, either--walnut salad, lentils, aparagus (raw) w/ ricotta cheese (not the stuff you buy in the store, that's for sure!), marinated olives, and a pancetta arugula pizza (very rustic, stone oven style.) It was so good! And we managed to spend less than $50 before tip (this is Vegas, remember...) Now the question is, do we get the same thing tonight, or try other things on the menu.... Hmmm....

That's been our trip, thus far. Getting here wasn't too bad. Remember I said I had planned on blogging on the plane? Well, that didn't happen, because the stupid people sitting in front of us chose to put their seats back. No way I could have the laptop open on my lap like that. I tried sitting sideways, but that was even more uncomfortable. At least we got our headsets for free (and more snacks than everyone else... HAHA!) since the attendants (and pilot!) were very appreciative of the Lindt truffles we brought them (I didn't think we'd get anything, since you can buy Lindt bars from them as a snack, but I guess those are off limits to the crew...) One of the attendants even told the other who was passing out the headphones, "We won't charge them, they brought us chocolates," right in front of the other passengers! They gave us a look as they handed over their $3 each for their sets. :p It pays to show your appreciation!

Oh, and going through customs in Canada vs. once stateside was so much easier. They even have their own security checkpoint, so there was NO wait at all! And I learned that Canada doesn't consider the US an "international" destination, but a "trans-national" or something. I was confused because they kept telling me to go somewhere else when I would get in line for WestJet's international check in, and they kept saying, "No, you have to go over there." I know now, though. Next time, I'll get it right. :)

Arrival in Vegas was crazy, though. We waited in line for an hour to get a cab (only option, shuttles had stopped shuttling by the time we got there, and we didn't want to pay $70 for a limo,) which would have been less had I not gotten the bright idea to try to walk to the domestic terminal instead, but I digress... At least we made it to our beautiful room, with a nice view, and expensive water. :)

You wanted it, you asked for it---PICTURES!

Our Hotel suite (there are no "rooms" just suites...) Yes, there are steps there leading down to the sitting area. (Not shown, 32" LCD HDTV in hutch.)

Jeremy wasted no time trying out the bed after traveling for 8 hours... It may have been only 1 a.m. here, but we were on Eastern time, so it was 4 in the morning! (Not shown, 42" LCD HDTV on wall.)

The bathroom, complete with double vanity, a dressing table and bench, and separate toilet room. I plan on trying out that tub at least once before we leave! (Not shown, 19" LCD HDTV on wall, in case you want to watch the news as you shower... Or something.)

Las Vegas Blvd, a.k.a The Strip, as seen from the southern end. Our hotel is that pale building right in the middle of the pic, to the left of the "Eiffel tower" at Paris.

The statue of liberty, at New York New York, and yup, that's a roller coaster.

New York New York, one of the gaudy, but cool, hotel and casinos.

MGM Grand. They have a lion habitat inside, though I have yet to see any lions during either trip to Vegas.

Excalibur Hotel and Casino. They have a Tourney Dinner Theater every night here. Definitely one of the more gaudy places to stay, but fun.

The Chandelier at Phantom. That was the best I could do, sorry.

The Phantom theater, complete with dummy patrons in the box seats.

Ditto.

Wedding/BabyMoon/Anniversary/Business Trip, Part 1

Well, it's been 5 days since we waved goodbye to Jeremiah and flew off into the sunset... Actually, we flew off into the drizzly night sky. And not without a few bumps along the way.

Our flight to Toronto was originally set to depart at 10:25, with an 11:40 arrival time. For some reason, the flight coming in from Toronto was delayed by a few minutes, so we didn't get to board until 10:50. That wasn't the only hiccup, though...

Apparently, (we're still learning these things ourselves) when you're travelling with an infant, even if he's a lapper, ya gotta have a boarding pass for him. Normally, you don't, but since it was an international flight, not only did Jr need a passport, but also a boarding pass. Well, for some reason, United let this family through without one (parents with three kids, the baby being the same age as Jeremiah, so they only needed 4 seats total, and that's all the boarding passes they had.)

So while we waited to board, United decided they would check passports for everyone on the plane. When this family went up, the gate employees realized they were missing a boarding pass for their little youngin'. OH NO! HUGE SECURITY THREAT HERE, PEOPLE! Let's hold up the plan for an hour until we get this family a boarding pass!

And that's what happened. We took off at our 'arrival' time, and didn't get into Toronto until around 1 a.m. It's not like we had to get there any time in particular, y'know, like to rent a car or something..... <~sarcasm

The boarder.... that was a whole other story. Normally, we get through the boarder just fine. They ask a couple of questions, and you're on your way. Nope, not so easy this time. I personally think the guy was just in a pissy mood to begin with because Jeremy crossed "the red line" without being called up first. It's not like the dude was doing anything else besides waiting for people to check in! That did it though. "What is your business in Canada?" Wedding. "Where's the invitation?" Uhh... we don't have it (we copied down the info and left it at home, so we wouldn't have to worry about losing it... silly us, huh?) "What's your friend's name?" "What does he do?" "What do you do?" "For what company?" "And what do you do?" (looking at me...) Uhh... I'm a housewife? "Where are you staying?" "How long?" "What is the air speed velocity of an unladen swallow??" (Okay, he didn't really ask that, but at that point, he might as well have!)

FINALLY, we get though, get our bags, and are on our way. We were able to get our car, drive to our hotel, and finally got to crash around 2:30-ish. Sheesh. The shortest part of our trip ended up taking just as long as the next part (which started at 8 p.m. Sunday, and didn't end until 12:30 a.m. PST. Okay, maybe it didn't take as long as that, but geez... the flight itself was only 50 minutes [normally 95, but they hooked us up and flew a little faster to make up for the silly canadian family and their bay-bee.])

Friday day, we hung out in Toronto with Jeremy's buddies from high school, including the groom to be. Lunch was at the worst pasta joint I've ever been to (okay, I know I ordered a highly complicated spaghetti and meatballs, but seriously... how do you screw that up?! It's freaking spaghetti.... meatballs... and sauce... How do you make the sauce taste so bad, you don't want to eat it. And then they put that same foul tasting substance in the meatballs themselves. I have never EVER sent something back because I didn't like it, but it was either that or not eat any of it. So they brought it out just with buttered noodles, and I still could only eat the spaghetti itself. At least we had ordered some mozzarella sticks, so I wasn't starving afterwards... Very disappointing. If you're ever in Toronto, stay away from the "Old Spaghetti Factory" Not worth it.) After lunch, we stopped at the St. Lawrence Market, and got some souvies for "the kids" (my brothers.) And thankfully, there are Tim Horton's along the way, everywhere you go. Their Timbits cannot be topped (they are gooooooood, but only when they're fresh.)

That was Friday in a (large) nutshell. Saturday was the wedding, which we arrived late for, so we missed the entire ceremony. How late were we?? 10 minutes. No joke. Jeremy was pointing some hill out, and accidently drove right past the exit. The next one was 5 miles away. Grr... So by the time we got there, we got to witness the prayer (which no one had their heads bowed and eyes closed for, so we didn't know that was what was going on until we sat down and the priest said, "Amen.") and the signing of the marriage certificate/license, whatever. And that was it! Wedding over! Short and sweet, I guess.

That was the only part that was short and sweet, though. There was a two hour break between the wedding and the reception, so once again, we ventured to Tim Horton's, after a brief stop at The Beer Store for some Rickards Red.

The reception was nice. Good food, lots of drink options, good times with our table (it was us, Ben & Emilia, Jeremy's buddy from HS and his wife, and a buddy of the bride's with her fiance.) Dessert was lacking, but everything else was really good (the best part of the wedding cake was the fondant, at least in my opinion. They had other desserts available, too, but I wasn't in much of a desserting mood.) We left around 11:30 (yes, it took 6 hours to get to dessert, and the party wasn't over yet,) and crashed in our room.

Are ya still with me? We're almost done so hang in there! :)

Lastly, Sunday. Went to a yummy breakfast/lunch place with another of Jeremy's buddies (I had a tuna sandwich with a huge side of fruit, and a choco banana crepe.... Mmm... So good.) I was able to experience "Canadian Tire" which is not a tire shop, believe it or not. They're a really random homegoods store (really random... like, chocolate fountains, next to flashlights, next to weed killer, incase you want to dip the weeds you're killing at night into some liquid chocolate?) It was a dump, even moreso than Walmart, and now I never have to go back again. :) The curiosity has been quenched!

Final stop was at the mall for some poutine from New York Fries (supposedly, it's the best you can get without driving to Quebec.) We were still kinda full, so we walked around a bit, only to find out that the mall closed at 5, and we missed our opportunity to get the poutine that we had gone there for... Booo... I did get some, though, from KFC, but it was just okay (it's best when the cheese is melted, and it wasn't here.)

That's 'bout it for Canada. Part two will cover our trip to Vegas and beyond!

Oh yeah, and I have no pics. Sorry. :)

The view from our suite.

Not too shabby... Current temperature, 93 degrees at 11 a.m.

And now, off to find brunch!

Off to Vegas!

We are currently sitting in Toronto's international airport, waiting to board our flight to Vegas. We should be arriving around 10:45 local time. Yay! I plan on "blogging" whilst en flight, so I'll probably have more info to post upon arrival.

Oh, and I've been informed by my Mom that Jeremiah doesn't miss us at all. yay.

New Haircut!

Last week was the "Week of Haircuts!" in my family--Jeremy got his cut, then I got mine cut, then we took Jeremiah to get his cut----duhn duhn duhhhhhhhhn.....

Yeah... it was a bit crazy.... He screamed the ENTIRE TIME! You'd think he were being attacked by something (I guess in a way he was--scissors and shavers...) We tried giving him lollipops (he knew something was up, since he had one in each hand and didn't taste either of them,) sitting on Daddy's lap, being held by Mommy, sitting on Mommy lap... That last one broke my heart. He kept putting his head on my shoulder, trying to calm down, and then the shaver would be back, and he'd pop up, screaming again, while we tried to hold him down. Ugh, it was terrible. I think we're just going to invest in a really good shaver, and do it ourselves from now on... Maybe we'll have to take him to space "where no one can hear you scream..." :)

I must say, though, he's pretty darn cute now (not that he wasn't before!)

Before:

After:

Such a handsome young man!

Happy Mother's Day!

Just wanted to wish a Happy Mother's Day to all the Moms out there--did you try to take today "off", only to find yourself still doing as much (or almost) as you normally do?? :) Good times, eh?

Hope everyone had a blessed day, and remembered to do something nice for your mother, too! Don't forget to tell her that ya love her (I know I don't say it enough!)

This year marks the 100th Anniversary of Mother's Day--the traditional gift to give back then was a single, white carnation. And there were no "cards"--they wrote their own letters! Moms really dig that kind of stuff. :)

Happy Mother's Day!

Someone woke up on the wrong side of the crib!

Jeremiah never has "good days" on rainy days... And the rain isn't going to let up anytime soon! :(

This morning, he was really whiny, getting mad at me for not letting him play with the straw in my drink, or the cd's in the Office 2003 case (I was trying to install it this morning...) When he's in that kind of mood, I let him watch a little more TV then I'm normally okay with. Not that he actually watches it... more like watches it, then walks around and finds something to play with, then glance up at it again, then find something else to do, etc. You know he's having a really rough day when he'll actually sit with you and watch it completely still. Yeah, we had a few of those moments today.

I tried giving him his lunch, but he was more interested in his milk, and throwing his sandwich on the floor rather than eating it. All he would actually 'eat' were some crackers that he likes to stuff in his mouth, chew, then spit back out again. Oii...

Okay, fine, naptime, then! He whined through his diaper change, even though he had his bottle, and then whined again when I tried rocking him--he just wanted to go in his crib! So I put his blanket down, and he laid down on it, sooo happy!

Of course, he didn't fall right asleep. Nope, Jeremiah is notorious for pooping when he should be trying to nap. I can hear him "pushing" over the monitor, so I gave him a few minutes to wrap it up, and went to check his diaper. Well, he did NOT want to be bothered. As soon as I stepped in his room, he started whining at me (he was laying down with his eyes open, though they may have been shut before I opened the door...) As I got closer, he scooted away, still laying down, and whined even louder. I got the picture, and left, and now he's sound asleep. I guess he's more interested in sleeping than having a clean diaper (of course, he may not have been dirty, either... his nose is stuffed up, so his breathing can sound more forced at times. Guess we'll find out when he wakes up!)

Hopefully he wakes up on the GOOD side of his crib after his nap. Speaking of naps, don't mind if I do... :)