1.) Lunchtime tomorrow -- I am off of work and have a very special lunch date planned! I'm so excited and just can't wait! This will be the highlight of my weekend for sure!! :)
2.) Tomorrow night -- trivia night at MO's house. Craziness ensues when you put any number of us from the work crowd together and when you add trivia to the mix, who knows what will happen!
3.) Saturday afternoon -- B-day BBQ at my mom's for my Uncle's 50th. Not only that, I believe my cousin Mary will bring the one of cutest and sweetest babies I have seen over so I can get my baby fix in!
4.) Saturday night -- Nationwide race at Gateway with some of my friends. It will be neat to see Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch actually race in person.
5.) Sunday -- recovering from all of my fun.
6.) Next Tuesday night & Wednesday -- heading out to my Dad's for the fair and hanging out with my cousin Nicole for the day.
7.) Next weekend -- party at Ms. M's house Saturday night and finding enough to do to keep me out of trouble the rest of the weekend. ;)
8.) August -- We'll have all of the mandatory vacations done and over with so that we can finally get back to our regularly scheduled activities!! I like knowing that I will be back on track very soon!
I know as each day passes there will be more things to be excited about, but these are just the things floating in my head for now.
Hope you have a great night!!
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Friday, July 10, 2009
Vegas recap & more!
Well July has rolled in and my vacation to Vegas has come and gone. It ended up being a great trip for many reasons but I was still extremely happy to get home after 4 days in Sin City. We experienced a lot in a short amount of time. Thursday morning we left St. Louis at the crack of dawn and made it out to Vegas fairly early in the morning. Straight from the airport we visited Hoover Dam. AMAZING! I didn't know what to expect. Sure, I've seen a dam before but this was huge and Lake Mead and the Colorado River were spectacular! And for a few short minutes, I was able to say I visited Arizona. :)
Thursday night we casually gambled downtown and went to dinner with friends of my aunt and uncle and then just moseyed around Fremont Street. I didn't want to get crazy too early because we still had 3 full days and I wanted to be able to take in as much as I could the entire trip.
Friday, my Dad, Bro and I got up and gambled for a bit while having a few cocktails in the early hours of the morning before grabbing a quick donut for breakfast. Since I had gotten enough with the donut, I declined going to the breakfast buffet with everyone a few hours later and boy, I just might have regretted not going with the rest of the fam. I decided that since I didn't need another meal, I would just observe a few of the table games going on in one of the casinos. As I stood there, I could tell that there was going to be some sort of problem, but I never expected it to be because of me. Soon enough, one of the craps table workers comes over to me and tells me that I need to leave the casino. Looking at him completely puzzled, I asked why. He gives me a bit of a hassle and tells me that it's because I'm underage and it's illegal for me to stand anywhere near a table. I had to laugh but instead I pled my case and even showed him my ID to prove that I was 26. He quizzed me on my driver's license (Note to self: get that thing updated soon -- I am no longer 165 lbs and that pic is horrible!) and I passed with flying colors. Whew....dodged that bullet! So I decided I would just spend the next half an hour just walking around Fremont Street again trying to avoid any trouble I could possibly get into.
Friday afternoon Ryan and I decided to spend a few hours down at the pool of our hotel. We slid down the water slide and basked in the sun before heading down to the Strip with the rest of the family later in the afternoon.
I had experienced the Strip on my last trip to Vegas, but I wasn't able to see all of the resorts just because they are huge in comparison to the downtown hotels & casinos. I was able to walk through Treasure Island, Mirage, Caesars Palace, and Bellagio and see the dancing fountains before we headed back to the car and the local outlet mall to check out the Coach store. We made it back downtown in time for dinner at a seafood buffet and to gamble a bit more before calling it a night.
Honestly, I couldn't tell you how I spent most of my Saturday. Dad and I went and played Keno at Fitzgerald's early that morning and later in the day we all went and played Bingo at Plaza. Then I think we just jetted in and out of the stores and the casinos downtown for much of the afternoon. Late in the afternoon my Bro, Dad and I went into Mermaids and gambled and had a heck of a time! Mermaids is not a very big casino...in fact, it probably isn't bigger than some of the stores, but they have great waitresses and they are the only place to have machines that still pay in coins. We all sat down at nickel Deuces Wild Video Poker machines and we weren't there 2 minutes before we had drinks. 7 & 7's for Dad and Ryan and margaritas for me...both guys were holding their own with the machines and I sat there watching most of the time because I didn't want to spend a lot of money before I was able to play in a poker tournament. But, after watching both of them, I decided to just put $5 into the machine and see what happened. I figured I could spare 5 bucks. Well, I played a few hands and didn't lose a whole lot and actually won a few hands....then came a shock. I was dealt 4 deuces on the machine! I've never had that happen before and I was extremely happy! I carefully made sure I held each deuce and then pushed the button. I had just won $50! Go Linds! Everyone was excited even the waitress who decided that I needed a celebratory drink for my good work. So rather than giving me my normal margarita, she brought me a Mai Tai. What a drink! I love those things and in the end they loved me too as I had 5 or 6 of them in the hour or so I stuck around.
Dad had left Mermaids shortly after my win so it was Bro and I left to explore more of Vegas. We were both feeling extremely happy and slightly intoxicated and I'm sure it was a sight, but we had fun. I still had to register for that night's poker tournament so I took off to Fitzgerald's to get my name on the list.
Bro ended up going back to the hotel room and I met up with my aunt and uncle and went to find something to eat. There was no way I could play poker half-toasted and I wanted to be able to play my best and win some cash so off to the Coffeehouse at Binions we went for prime rib.
The poker tournament did not turn out the way I wanted it to. In fact, I played so aggressive and completely opposite of my normal self that it ended up costing me the tournament in the 2nd hand. 10 minutes in and I was already done for! I left the poker area dishearted and feeling like a complete loser. I had waited so long to get that opportunity and I blew it! Poker in Vegas is nothing like it is at home and I learned that lesson the hard way. So off I went to check out more of the slots in the other casinos and to watch the light show.
Sunday morning we got up and got organized for the trip home. We all had breakfast together and then went to play $2 Blackjack at Fitz's before we made the trip to the airport. By that time, I was ready to get back to reality and everything I had missed back in St. Louis.
Work came early that next day and I had a lot to take care of from being off for two days. I made it through most of the week and was ready for the 4th of July holiday weekend. That Thursday (7/2) I was invited by SS and MO to play poker at the casino with them that night. It sounded like fun but after my showing in Vegas, my confidence was next to nothing and I didn't know if I could commit to playing in the tournament here. In the end, all of their prompting paid off and I entered the tournament here. I was nervous and scared and I figured I would just lose my $50 and watch them play the rest of the night. I did decide that I was going to go back to playing poker the way I know how rather than that agressive play I put on while in Vegas and you know what?!? It paid off!!! I ended up finishing 4th in the tournament and I won $440! What a boost of confidence!! It also helped that I had some very good coaching that came when my head was starting to get off of my game. I was so excited! Sure, I know how to play poker and sure, I can hold my own when playing with my friends but playing with people I don't know and learning their styles of play and actually winning against them...that's awesome!
My 4th of July weekend got started off with a bang and it ended up being a great weekend overall.
I went back to work this past Monday on another short week. We're all required to take a week's vacation during our slow month and I decided that I would take Thursday and Friday off this week and next week and one other day to use up a week of my vacation time. I busted butt Monday through Wednesday and then spent most of yesterday trying to relax and get caught up on some errands. Today ended up being a spectacular day and I'm so glad I took the day off!!
I'm not sure what's going on the rest of the weekend yet. Of course I have normal stuff like laundry to do and I'm going to try to work out but other than that, I'm just going to try to enjoy the weather and take it easy.
Hope you have a terrific weekend as well! I'll update again soon!
Thursday night we casually gambled downtown and went to dinner with friends of my aunt and uncle and then just moseyed around Fremont Street. I didn't want to get crazy too early because we still had 3 full days and I wanted to be able to take in as much as I could the entire trip.
Friday, my Dad, Bro and I got up and gambled for a bit while having a few cocktails in the early hours of the morning before grabbing a quick donut for breakfast. Since I had gotten enough with the donut, I declined going to the breakfast buffet with everyone a few hours later and boy, I just might have regretted not going with the rest of the fam. I decided that since I didn't need another meal, I would just observe a few of the table games going on in one of the casinos. As I stood there, I could tell that there was going to be some sort of problem, but I never expected it to be because of me. Soon enough, one of the craps table workers comes over to me and tells me that I need to leave the casino. Looking at him completely puzzled, I asked why. He gives me a bit of a hassle and tells me that it's because I'm underage and it's illegal for me to stand anywhere near a table. I had to laugh but instead I pled my case and even showed him my ID to prove that I was 26. He quizzed me on my driver's license (Note to self: get that thing updated soon -- I am no longer 165 lbs and that pic is horrible!) and I passed with flying colors. Whew....dodged that bullet! So I decided I would just spend the next half an hour just walking around Fremont Street again trying to avoid any trouble I could possibly get into.
Friday afternoon Ryan and I decided to spend a few hours down at the pool of our hotel. We slid down the water slide and basked in the sun before heading down to the Strip with the rest of the family later in the afternoon.
I had experienced the Strip on my last trip to Vegas, but I wasn't able to see all of the resorts just because they are huge in comparison to the downtown hotels & casinos. I was able to walk through Treasure Island, Mirage, Caesars Palace, and Bellagio and see the dancing fountains before we headed back to the car and the local outlet mall to check out the Coach store. We made it back downtown in time for dinner at a seafood buffet and to gamble a bit more before calling it a night.
Honestly, I couldn't tell you how I spent most of my Saturday. Dad and I went and played Keno at Fitzgerald's early that morning and later in the day we all went and played Bingo at Plaza. Then I think we just jetted in and out of the stores and the casinos downtown for much of the afternoon. Late in the afternoon my Bro, Dad and I went into Mermaids and gambled and had a heck of a time! Mermaids is not a very big casino...in fact, it probably isn't bigger than some of the stores, but they have great waitresses and they are the only place to have machines that still pay in coins. We all sat down at nickel Deuces Wild Video Poker machines and we weren't there 2 minutes before we had drinks. 7 & 7's for Dad and Ryan and margaritas for me...both guys were holding their own with the machines and I sat there watching most of the time because I didn't want to spend a lot of money before I was able to play in a poker tournament. But, after watching both of them, I decided to just put $5 into the machine and see what happened. I figured I could spare 5 bucks. Well, I played a few hands and didn't lose a whole lot and actually won a few hands....then came a shock. I was dealt 4 deuces on the machine! I've never had that happen before and I was extremely happy! I carefully made sure I held each deuce and then pushed the button. I had just won $50! Go Linds! Everyone was excited even the waitress who decided that I needed a celebratory drink for my good work. So rather than giving me my normal margarita, she brought me a Mai Tai. What a drink! I love those things and in the end they loved me too as I had 5 or 6 of them in the hour or so I stuck around.
Dad had left Mermaids shortly after my win so it was Bro and I left to explore more of Vegas. We were both feeling extremely happy and slightly intoxicated and I'm sure it was a sight, but we had fun. I still had to register for that night's poker tournament so I took off to Fitzgerald's to get my name on the list.
Bro ended up going back to the hotel room and I met up with my aunt and uncle and went to find something to eat. There was no way I could play poker half-toasted and I wanted to be able to play my best and win some cash so off to the Coffeehouse at Binions we went for prime rib.
The poker tournament did not turn out the way I wanted it to. In fact, I played so aggressive and completely opposite of my normal self that it ended up costing me the tournament in the 2nd hand. 10 minutes in and I was already done for! I left the poker area dishearted and feeling like a complete loser. I had waited so long to get that opportunity and I blew it! Poker in Vegas is nothing like it is at home and I learned that lesson the hard way. So off I went to check out more of the slots in the other casinos and to watch the light show.
Sunday morning we got up and got organized for the trip home. We all had breakfast together and then went to play $2 Blackjack at Fitz's before we made the trip to the airport. By that time, I was ready to get back to reality and everything I had missed back in St. Louis.
Work came early that next day and I had a lot to take care of from being off for two days. I made it through most of the week and was ready for the 4th of July holiday weekend. That Thursday (7/2) I was invited by SS and MO to play poker at the casino with them that night. It sounded like fun but after my showing in Vegas, my confidence was next to nothing and I didn't know if I could commit to playing in the tournament here. In the end, all of their prompting paid off and I entered the tournament here. I was nervous and scared and I figured I would just lose my $50 and watch them play the rest of the night. I did decide that I was going to go back to playing poker the way I know how rather than that agressive play I put on while in Vegas and you know what?!? It paid off!!! I ended up finishing 4th in the tournament and I won $440! What a boost of confidence!! It also helped that I had some very good coaching that came when my head was starting to get off of my game. I was so excited! Sure, I know how to play poker and sure, I can hold my own when playing with my friends but playing with people I don't know and learning their styles of play and actually winning against them...that's awesome!
My 4th of July weekend got started off with a bang and it ended up being a great weekend overall.
I went back to work this past Monday on another short week. We're all required to take a week's vacation during our slow month and I decided that I would take Thursday and Friday off this week and next week and one other day to use up a week of my vacation time. I busted butt Monday through Wednesday and then spent most of yesterday trying to relax and get caught up on some errands. Today ended up being a spectacular day and I'm so glad I took the day off!!
I'm not sure what's going on the rest of the weekend yet. Of course I have normal stuff like laundry to do and I'm going to try to work out but other than that, I'm just going to try to enjoy the weather and take it easy.
Hope you have a terrific weekend as well! I'll update again soon!
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