retrospect

I'm here in Vegas for a conference, so all of my current "Thursday Thirteen" thoughts seem to be about this town...

1. I know people love this place, but there's something I just find so sad about it.  There are plenty of people who are having fun, but there's just as many sitting alone at game tables or slot machine looking sad and desperate.
2. I'm at the Flamingo, which is one of the older hotels.  It's perfectly fine for my purposes, but my window overlooks Caesar's and Celine Dion's singing head is running on the big video screen in front every time I look out the window - I fear it will give me nightmares!
3. Of all the shows to go see, my boss bought us tickets to see Gladys Knight (and the "pip") last night.  I mean it when I say "the pip".  The one living pip (her big brother Bubba Knight) is a silly part of her show.
4. I'm almost embarrassed to admit that I really enjoyed myself.  Who knew that I knew that many Gladys Knight songs?
5. Most of the people in the crowd were stereotypically what you would expect from a crowd at a Gladys Knight show.  Lots of people over 40.  However, there was one table that was an exception.  There was a table of black-dyed-mohawk-wearing twenty-somethings that were grooving and singing and clapping and yelling and having a great time.  I'm still trying to figure that one out.  The tickets were expensive, so they had to really want to be there.
6. Something that totally caught me off guard was all of the indoor smoking.  I live in an area that limits indoor smoking pretty much everywhere, so all of the cigs surprises and quite honestly, annoys me.
7. There are waaaaaaay too many restaurants to choose from when you're only here for a few days.  If anyone has any good ideas for a nice restaurant tonight, please offer it up in my comments.  I'll check it after my conference ends and before we hit the streets to figure out what we're going to do.
8. I  keep expecting to see famous people.  I know that's stupid.  But, I do.  I always feel the same way when I'm in NYC, but I never do.
9. I left my camera home and I'm mad at myself about that (sorry, J. Star)!
10. Spending the next two days at a conference about employment law makes me want to cry and it hasn't even started yet.   Just not my idea of a good time.
11. I've never seen a taxi line at an airport as long as the one we stood in yesterday.  I'm not exaggerating when I say it took us an hour in a long amusement-park-style line before it was finally our turn.
12. Any time my flight is over four hours long, it is a guarantee that I will sit next to a child, a talker, or a smelly large man.  Never fails.  This trip, it was the smelly large man who was a mix of bad cologne, morning breath, and the three gin and tonics he drank.  Plus, he was also a talker, so I got to hear about every trip to Vegas he and his wife have ever taken.  I also got to hear about professional bull riding tournaments (which was the reason for this particular trip to Vegas).  Ah, good times.
13. Off to take a shower to head over to the monstrosity and confusion that is Caesar's Palace.
14. Bonus #14 - does it make me a bad person and unamerican that I just don't really like this place very much?

Go see Leanne for her Thirteen.  She is the matriarch of this fun Thursday activity and her lists never fail to be more interesting than my own.  Plus, she links to lots of other fun sites that play along.  To all of my normal linkees - sorry I won't be around to link back to you today!

1. I stood up a friend this morning.  We were supposed to have coffee and I got hijacked by work (read the entry below for an extended explanation!)
2. It took me WAY too much time on the phone with my work's help desk to fix a networking problem to connect to work from home today.  Made me cranky
3. I went in to the office dressed WAY too casually for the office, then proceeded to run into just about everybody I knew.  Of course.
4. And every single one of them said "wow...dressed casually today, aren't you?" 
   
5. I am way overdue to get an oil change for my car
6. It is raining here for the first time in what seems like years...I mean real, earth soaking rain.  Slow, steady, long-lasting rain.  It's a beautiful thing.   My grass looks greener already.
7. My children don't seem to know how to fold the throws that I have on my couch and chair in the living room.  Every morning, they throw them in balls on the floor.  Every evening, I refold them and put them back where they belong.  It's like water torture.
8. I tend to like people who are sarcastic and give me a little shit (as long as they can take it in return)...The verbal sparring is fun to me.
9. My hair gets ridiculously curly when it rains.  I kind of forgot about that since it's been so long.
10. I'm searching for the perfect kitten to replace Sly when we have to give him back to his family.  My kids want a grey tabby cat that will grow up to look just like him.  Haven't found it yet, but I'm looking diligently.
11. I hate pro basketball
12. I'm trying Dream Dinners meal #2 tonight - Aroz con pollo - hope it's better than the calzones were.
13. It's picture day at the kids' school...They looked really cute when they left this morning, but they both always end up with really bad school pictures. Carson's smile is always way too toothy and Nic never shows his teeth.
    

• Nearest Distant Shore
• Crusty Crone
• Interstellar Adventures
• Uzi's Musings
• Keb
  

1. I took the day off work today to go do dream dinners with a friend of mine.
2. It was lots of fun and I now have thirteen really yummy looking meals in my freezer.
3. I thought I was going to have the afternoon to myself once I got back, but we drove up to find my in-laws in my driveway - here four hours earlier than expected.
4. There's a special place in hell for me because that made me want to cry.  It took every ounce of my energy to put a smile on my face and look welcoming when I got out of the car.
5. My mother in law is completely incapable of entertaining herself and follows me around the house like my older and more feeble shadow.  And she can't talk to me without grabbing my arm - every.  single.  time.  Argh.
6. I'm blogging, but pretending like I'm working from home so that she'll leave me alone for a few minutes.  Like I said...special place in hell...
7. My younger son has around 500 Yu-Gi-Oh cards and they are all spread out on my living room floor
8. I already ran this morning, but I'm thinking about going again so I can be alone for a few more minutes when I finish blogging.
9. Sly, the cat, is the most vocal cat on the planet.  He follows me around, much like my mother in law, meowing constantly.  The only difference between him and her is that he doesn't grab my arm when he meows.
10. I'm really hungry and there isn't a single thing in my kitchen that sounds good for lunch.
11. My husband is going out of town this weekend again and I am looking forward to being a single mom for a few days.  Yes...I know...I'm crazy.
12. I love being alone in the house at night after the kids are asleep.  That's the main reason I like when he goes out of town.  I can sit in the dark and play on the computer and watch chick-flicks, drink wine and IM with friends without guilt or interruptions.  Yes...I have quite the active social life! 
    
13. My kids have discovered the game of marbles and we've been having very competitive matches at night.  It gets downright ugly when we have to choose our marbles!

1. I finally got to move to a new cube at work today, but my computer hasn't moved yet.
2. I got four inches cut off my hair last Friday and nobody at work noticed
3. I have a ripped fingernail that keeps getting caught on things.  It's driving me nuts.
4. I have received the worst customer service imaginable from a certain soccer supply company located in NC and I will never order from them again.
5. Adelphia charged us for pay per view po_rn, claiming someone called from our home phone # to order it...and we weren't even home the night of said phone call.  When we called to complain, they said their computers don't lie and they couldn't credit our account.  We immediately filed a complaint with the Attorney General's office.
   
6. My older son has decided to join both the chess club and the recorder ensemble at his elementary school...one day, he'll look back on his late elementary school days and realize how dorky he is.  But for now, he thinks he's really cool.
7. I love college football.
8. I love Thursday nights because they are the only night during the week that we are all at home, there is no soccer practice, the kids have very little homework, and we all actually eat dinner together at a reasonable hour.
9. I'm going out to fill up my gas tank in a few minutes before the prices go back up.  Damn Rita.
10. Until today, I never realized how close Houston is to the coast of Texas.
11. Nothing goes better with college football than a really cold beer.  Sierra Nevada is my personal favorite.
12. You find out how many "friends" you have at work when you post an opening for a position on your team.  All of a sudden, they come out of the woodwork.  Kind of funny...
13. There is a particular friend who, every time his name pops up on my cell phone caller ID, makes me smile.  Without fail.  I love friends like that.

1. My allergies are going crazy and my nose is running nonstop
2. It kind of feels like I have ants crawling around inside my nose (eeewwww!)
3. I have two memes that I've been tagged with and, so far, I'm doing a miserable job at both of them (hang in there with me, J and Blond Girl...I'll get to them, I promise!)
4. I can now run two miles without stopping and my ankle seems to have healed...the toe, well, not so much
5. My comments and site visits seemed to have dropped dramatically this week and I can't figure out if it's me, what I'm writing about is boring, people are just busy, or I've lost my "blog friends"...
6. My house is constantly a total mess and I can't seem to stop the cycle
7. Crystal Light pink lemonade is really yummy and we always have a pitcher made in the fridge
8. My husband made banana bread last night just because he didn't want to throw away all of the over-ripe bananas we had - gotta love that!
9. Every time it's my husband's turn to get the kids in bed, he falls asleep in my younger son's room
10. I found out this week that they are moving me to another cube that is further away from the front door!  Sometimes the squeaky wheel DOES get the grease.  Read here and here if you don't know what this is about.
11. I have a stack of magazines a mile high that I haven't had the time to read - or I guess I should more accurately say I haven't TAKEN the time to read...
12. I hate plucking my eyebrows, but I hate waxing them worse
13. Dean & Deluca makes a great salad and they're not nearly as expensive as you would expect them to be.

1. I'm about to lose a toenail due to my running efforts in not-too-good shoes
2. I have bruises all over my legs from the ladder when I was painting my guestroom - I look like I've been beaten and, as a result, I won't wear shorts right now!
3. I hate to blow dry my hair and sometimes leave for work with it wet, drive with my window down to air dry it, then brush it when I get to my parking garage
4. I am much harder on my younger son than my older son - and I hate that about myself
5. I am totally non-confrontational and will avoid a fight at all costs
6. Most people who know me think I am ultra confident, but really I'm not.  I am full of self-doubt.  I just don't let people know that about me.  (Until now, of course...)
7. I hate to wash my car, hence it's nickname of "the traveling landfill"
8. I hate to go shopping unless it is for household items
9. I am a horrible singer, but when I'm alone, I sing at the top of my lungs anyway!
10. My kids say I'm "the nice one" as compared to Mike who, well...isn't.
11. I'm reading the Harry Potter series for the second time.  The first began when Carson was in first grade and I had to read them to him.  Around book 3, he took over and I was left to read on my own after he finished them.  Now, Nic is in first grade and we're starting again!  Gosh, I love those books.
12. I am holding my pants up with a safety pin today, since the hook broke on my way in to work today.  damn.
13. I'm tremendously proud of the heart my company shows in times of disaster and hardship - both financially, policy-wise, and the spirit of the employees who work there.

1. I have blue paint under my fingernails from painting my guestroom that I haven't been able to scrape or wash out.
2. I haven't run in a week due to a weird, swollen ankle problem...Not sure what I did, but it hurts. 
   
3. I tracked paint around my house today because I had some on the bottom of my foot when I walked to my bathroom...oops
4. I made my kids a full breakfast before school this morning...something I NEVER do.
5. I have a weird, school girl crush on a friend of mine...it's innocent and I would never act on it, but it's a crush nonetheless.
6. I have been avoiding weeding my yard because I don't feel like talking to my neighbors.
7. I never answer my phone when it rings...I always screen my calls.
8. I have started reading "Cold Mountain" six times and have never made it past page 100.
9. I went to see "Sky High" with my kids yesterday and I think I enjoyed it more than they did.
10. The color blue calms me.  I have always kept a blue bottle on my window sill and I stare at it when I'm stressed. 
    
11. I hate to wash my car.
12. My constipated cat finally pooped.
13. My husband has really been on my last nerve tonight.