Seriously, Shelly

Baby Henry

2010-01-31T08:00:00.000-08:00

I babysat Henry a couple of times last week. He is such a happy baby and doesn't have separation anxiety yet--still is happy with other people besides Mom holding him!

Tug was trying to get Henry to play ball with him. Tug also tries to lick his tonsils so I have to keep a close eye on them.

I can see how mothers don't get a lot done with a baby in the house. He was sound asleep on my lap for quite a while.

Happy boy relaxing!

Experimental Hot Dog Night

2010-01-30T17:00:00.000-08:00

We decided to have an "Experimental Hot Dog Night" at Chuck's house. Yes, it was as scary as it sounds. There were some interesting creations coming out of Chuck's kitchen. I have to say I wasn't real adventurous when it came to eating them, but it was fun taking the pictures!

We have hot dogs wrapped with bacon and deep fried.

A hot dog wrapped in a tortilla shell with condiments and deep fried -- Chimichanga style!

Chuck was very proud of his mashed potato and gravy hot dog -- mashed potatos molded around a hot dog, deep fried, then topped with gravy, bacon, and chives.

I tried my hand at making a corn dog. It wasn't very pretty but this one actually tasted pretty good!

We have spam musubi and hot dog musubi. Not bad dipped in wasabi.

Brotherly Love

2010-01-30T15:33:00.001-08:00

When Willy was still alive he and Tug were best buddies (and brothers). I know Tug really missed him after he died, so it makes me very happy to see Tug and Mack get along so well and hang out together.

Natural Prozac

2010-01-29T19:00:00.000-08:00

Blue skies and sunshine. This is what I love the most about Las Vegas!

Girls Weekend!

2010-01-29T17:10:00.000-08:00

I had so much fun visiting Martini Molly in September that I went back a couple of weekends ago for a girls weekend. We saw the movie "Lovely Bones" that afternoon and then met up with Molly's friend, Meadow for Thai food. After that we hit the bar and flirted with younger boys, and Molly showed off her cleavage.

We went out to breakfast the next day and Molly tried to arguing with me about paying. Here is my "shut the hell up" look. I had some cash and I wanted to spend it!

On Sunday Molly's friend came over to the house and we watched the Golden Globes together and drank martinis. That night we had pumpkin martinis and chai-tinis. I left on Monday and it was a good thing too because it started snowing and I had forgotten my silk long johns. Can't wait for our next visit...

Book Club

2009-12-17T11:09:00.000-08:00

I am involved with the best Book Club ever! We have such a good time. We decided for the month of December to forgo reading a book entirely and just go straight to the party! Evan, our token guy, was kind enough to host the party at his house. A fab dinner was made, beverages were consumed and gifts were opened. Sadly, two of our members were sick and unable to make it. Any of you in the Las Vegas/Henderson area are more than welcome to join us. We are always looking for more members. Good times...

HO HO HOlidays...

2009-12-04T14:27:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it's been two months since I last posted. I think I have phased out a bit because you all reading this are probably friends with me on Facebook...redundant huh? However, a certain someone has been giving me grief about my lack of posting.
So Thanksgiving has come and gone and it was a blast being able to go back to Seattle this year and spend it with family. It was our first holiday back since moving to Las Vegas three years ago. I don't know if we will do it every year, but we will make an effort. Holiday traveling sucks though as we had to divert to Portland on the way down because of fog. We refueled and flew back to Seattle tacking on an extra hour and a half. On the way home Southwest Air didn't transfer our luggage from our stop in San Jose. We went home that night without our bags. Luckily, it wasn't lost and we had the option the next day of picking it up at the airport and getting a travel voucher or having them deliver it within a 6 hour time frame. Since we only live 15 minutes from the airport we chose to pick up our luggage and get the travel voucher.
Last year I bought a fake Christmas tree so I have already put it up and decorated the house. Enjoy the picture of Mack under the tree. That has been his favorite hang-out spot lately.

Pahrump Fall Festival

2009-09-27T11:35:00.000-07:00

The Pahrump Fall Festival was...interesting to say the least. The phrase "rode hard and put away wet" kept coming to mind when I was people watching...

Did you know prostitution is legal in Pahrump? Oh, also smoking anywhere outside and drinking. I have never been to a carnival with so much cigarette smoke. My two choices for alcohol were Bud and Bud light so needless to say it was a alcohol free evening. My friend, Nannette was a working at a booth promoting dog food so we went to hang out with her and baby Henry. I'm glad I went to experience the "culture" on the other side of the mountains.

PS. I fit right in with my tattoo.

RENO!!

2009-09-27T09:39:00.000-07:00

When I get the chance to meet my blogger friends in "real" life, I jump on it. Alan wanted to go to the Reno Air Races and meet up with his friend, Don from Alaska. I thought that was the perfect opportunity to meet Martini Molly!

We decided to make a road trip of it (8 hour drive from Vegas) and took Tug and Mack with us. We hit the road Friday morning for a long 4 day weekend.

Alan and I met up with Molly on Saturday and took a drive to North Lake Tahoe. What an awesome place!

Martini Molly & Shelly

Alan "King of the Rocks"

Later that day when we headed back to Molly's house she made us her famous martinis! Chai-tini and Godiva white chocolate martini were on the menu. Oh so good! It was a great weekend get-away hanging out with friends and I can't wait to see Molly and her son, Ned again!!

Why yes, a bachelor does live here...why do you ask?

2009-09-17T20:16:00.000-07:00

Our friend, Chuck's casa on the first Sunday football game of the season. I think he has it covered.

New addition to the family.

2009-09-12T20:00:00.000-07:00

His name is Whisper, but we renamed him Mack. He is a 10 year old, chubby, deaf Boston Terrier, but sweet as can be. His people needed to re-home him because of their situation. We weren't looking for another dog--we still really miss Willy, but felt like this was the right thing to do. He has lived with us for four days and we are all adjusting. First order is to get some weight off of him.

Tug

2009-09-12T18:00:00.000-07:00

Tug LOVES his new toy...

Lake Mead!

2009-09-12T16:00:00.000-07:00

Alan and I have lived in Las Vegas almost three years and we had never gone out on Lake Mead. Our friend, Kurt was nice enough to take us out on his boat.

Hoover Dam

Kurt & Shelly

Pretty sad how low the water level has gone down the last several years.

Alan

Sammy loves his boat rides!

Here is a picture of Sammy with a HUGE rock in his mouth. He paced up and down the beach with that rock for about 10 minutes.

It was a fun day but not a very successful ending. I thought I was being good and drinking enough water (even stayed away from the beer), but I ended up getting really dehydrated and had to go to the emergency room for a couple of IV bags. Alan said it was the most expensive bottle service of the night. Thinking about it later I think the reason I got sick and the boys didn't was because they kept jumping into the lake and swimming. I only did it a couple of times. It was to hard to haul my lard ass into the boat! :~) Lesson learned...

Baby Henry

2009-09-12T14:00:00.000-07:00

My friend, Nannette had baby Henry when I was out of town in San Diego so I didn't get to see the little fella until he was a week old. So cute!

Here I am feeding and burping him. Yes, I'm a natural with kids. Who knew?

Better late than never...

2009-09-12T12:08:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted in over a month--haven't been that motivated although there has been a lot going on! The girls and I all got together in San Diego. Melissa and Yolanda live there and were gracious enough to host all of us for an awesome weekend. The pictures below are in random order and I can say with 100% certainty that the weekend was a success! Can't wait to see them all again!

Melissa, Yolanda, & Katy

Yolanda, Shelly & Melissa

Since San Diego is a Navy town needed to take a picture of a big ship!

View of downtown San Diego from our hotel.

Katy being disrespectful to her stepmother.

Yolanda, Christy & Melissa trying to decide what to eat.

Yolanda, Christy & Melissa waiting for some adult beverages.

The view from our hotel room.

Pretty flowers at Mel & Yo's place.

The pool where we had fun drinking adult beverages and whoring it up!

Yes, I got a tattoo. Melissa's friend, Kurt's a tatt guy and he did an awesome job. I love my tattoo!

Woof woof!

Kevin...

2009-07-29T21:26:00.001-07:00

Or Becker as I like to call him...came to Las Vegas with his boss for a couple of days. Becker and I go waaaayyy back. Back to our years of working in the deli together in the 90's, and we have been friends ever since. He now lives in Palm Springs and we love to compare notes on the weather and how much we love the desert life and do not miss Seattle. We don't see each other nearly enough but have managed to keep in touch all of these years. Alan and I were talking just the other day about how a road trip to Palm Springs is in order this fall. Can hardly wait.

Two very catty biachtes with the same sarcastic sense of humor.

Provo, Utah

2009-07-26T15:20:00.000-07:00

I spent last week in Utah. I flew down on Saturday afternoon and stayed with my family in Roy until Sunday. Jake and family drove me to Provo to my hotel. I was there for four days of software training. While I learned a lot of what I needed to for my job I'm not going to write about that. How boring! However, the highlight of the week was making two new friends, Dawn from New Jersey, and Scott from Texas. The three of us hung out together from the first day of training until they dropped me off at the airport on Thursday night. We tore up the town in Provo, and did manage to get in a little bit of nature during our attempts to find alcohol. The proof is below...

Provo Canyon--the green and cooler temps were a nice change from Vegas.

Provo River

Here is Bridal Veil Falls in Provo Canyon. Pictures don't do it justice.

Scott and Dawn were a blast to hang out with. We had a lot of laughs!

I'm a guest blogger...

2009-07-12T17:14:00.000-07:00

Check out my guest blog post at my friend, Yolanda's blog! She rocks!

sea change

Newest Family Member

2009-06-29T20:24:00.000-07:00

No, I did not get a puppy...

Presenting the latest addition to our family, my new niece, Joceleigh.

Notice in the above picture how happy the child looks with mom holding her.

Now notice again in the above picture how her Aunt Shelly has such a special way with babies!

This picture was taken immediately after I handed her back to her mom. She was screaming bloody murder in my arms and then was happy as can be with her mom.

This is a picture of Joceleigh's big sister. I can't believe Lileigh isn't the baby anymore!

The family came from Utah for a quick visit--it was nice seeing them and meeting the newest family member.

Good times in the ghetto!

2009-06-14T13:43:00.000-07:00

Alan and I went over to Chuck's house early Saturday evening to help build the ghetto deck that's right next to the ghetto pool. We have a pretty awesome view of the strip from the deck now that we can see over his fence. Obviously the deck still needs a few finishing touches, like sanding, so you don't get slivers in your arse. Stadium seating on the lower level. All the better to watch the UFC fight.

Sammy jumped into the ghetto pool to be with Chuck. He is standing on a chair in this picture. Good times!

Not quite the Sunday blues

2009-06-07T19:28:00.000-07:00

The weekend is almost over! Why does it have to go by so quickly? Friday night Alan and I are usually pretty beat from a busy week at work, but we decided to head to Sierra Gold, our local bar, for 1/2 price happy hour drinks. Well, as it turns out the waitress is our next door neighbor, so we had a good time gabbing with her and asking all the important questions like why have the school truant officers been at their house so much lately? After I drank about 4 margaritas (Alan only had 2 beers and was responsible), we decided to give Chuck a call. We headed over to Carmine's restaurant and spent the rest of the night there. Holy cow, there was a girl(?), well woman, okay old hag that WOULD NOT leave Chuck alone (I have photographic evidence but am not posting it here, if you want to see a pic or two email me). Of course, I DID ALL THAT I COULD to encourage her to harass him (mainly sexual). Apparently at the end of the evening (we left about 1:00 am) he finally gave her $60 to get a cab and get the hell out of there. I was just wondering though if Chuck will have to find a new hang-out? :)
Needless to say, I wasn't feeling my *best* on Saturday morning so we just layed low at home and wasted the whole day on the Internet. Saturday night we decided to go out to dinner again because god forbid one of us would cook, I called up Landon and we all headed to a local Mexican restaurant. It ended up being a fairly early evening even though he wanted us to go play poker. So, here we are on Sunday. I did get bills paid, signed up for twitter (follow me, I will follow you), and got a pedi. Landon came over again and we grilled steaks. All in all it was a great weekend and I'm looking forward to the next one!

31 days of blogging...

2009-05-31T19:33:00.000-07:00

I did it! Not that every post was exciting or drama filled, but I did prove to myself that I could post every day. I don't always have to wait for the "exciting" stuff to happen, and obviously it didn't the last few days! Still sick, but I do feel better which is a good thing since I will be back to work tomorrow. It's always a bummer though being sick on the weekend. I feel like it was wasted! But here is a picture of Willy and Tug when they were puppies that always makes me smile if I'm feeling down!

Still sick.

2009-05-30T22:12:00.000-07:00

I feel like crapola. On one hand, it's good I'm sick on the weekend, but on the other hand it's my weekend! I did manage to get out of the house and get my hair colored and eyebrows waxed. A girl has her priority's you know. I imagine it will be much of the same tomorrow--just laying around and relaxing. Maybe I will feel up for going out to breakfast. I'm thinking Blueberry Hill for their Mexican chilaques or the Coffee Cup Cafe for their huevos rancheros. Obviously my appetite hasn't been affected by this cold!

I thought I had avoided it...

2009-05-29T17:46:00.000-07:00

but nooooo, Alan had to share his cold with me. I woke up this morning with a sore throat and have felt progressively worse as the day has gone on. I don't have big plans this weekend, but I do have some and I hope to keep them. You know, important things like getting the gray roots touched up, the eyebrows waxed, and going to the perpetual party animal's house for a shindig. Perhaps, if I take it easy tonight and dose up on Nyquil and whiskey then maybe in the morning I will feel a tad better! If not, I will be walking around like this...

For the love of sports.

2009-05-28T22:26:00.000-07:00

Well, love of sports may be a bit of an exaggeration, but since moving to Vegas I have taken more of an interest. Maybe it's the fact that golf and tennis can be played outdoors almost year-round. Maybe it's because you can bet on anything and everything at the sports book. Maybe it's because every bar within a 100 mile radius of your house has Monday night football specials or maybe it's because there's always a party going on when a sporting event is on? I have watched more baseball, football, and UFC fighting since I moved here and have also played more tennis and Alan has played more golf than practically our whole lives put together. So, when my co-worker, Mike told me I would be joining him and two other guys from our company for a putt-a-thon I said okay without laughing too hysterically. Granted, I don't even know how to hold a golf club, but quickly caught on and while I realized I TOTALLY SUCK AT IT, it was a fun way to spend a few hours away from the office. However, I don't think I will be joining Alan anytime soon on the golf course. I will stick to tennis or the spectator sports!
Mike went to the University of Hawaii on a golf scholarship. Yep, he was good. Chester is on the left. We all had many good laughs at each other's expense.

After playing, I hustled all the way to the other side of the valley and did a quick change into jeans and flip flops. Alan and I headed to Cashman Field to see the Las Vegas 51's and to also hang out with our friends from Chicago. As you can tell it was a picture perfect night!

Picture perfect night except for this sad looking margarita. Sure it was $1 beer night, but was that good enough for me?! Noooooo, I had to have margaritas. I'm sorry Bud or Bud light just doesn't do it for me. Katy remembers (or maybe not) how good these margaritas are since we had one or two at the game the last time she was in town!

Our friend, Rose was trying to get on camera. She got up between every inning and danced and shaked her booty, but alas, no picture appeared on the jumbotron. The 51's loss because she is a very funny girl.

Quick, Cheap, and Easy

2009-05-27T18:18:00.000-07:00

And NO, I'm not talking about myself here. This was dinner on a night when motivation is at an all time low.

I love Mondays...

2009-05-26T21:04:00.001-07:00

when I don't have to go to work! Today, Tuesday, is the first day back after a three day weekend and it wasn't bad at all. I didn't feel evil and crabby like I often do on Monday mornings. Very busy day so it flew by and then I got to pick Alan up from the airport. In fact, it was my 2nd airport trip today. Dropped my sister off this morning and picked Alan up tonight. I was a little worried about getting him because President Obama is in town and traffic was messed up in a lot of places. I'm glad the President didn't inconvience me!
Alan spent the last 5 days in Seattle visiting with family. Unfortunately, he is still sick. He was just starting to get over the flu when he caught a cold, so it wasn't the best trip ever. Now he is back in the warm and loving embrace of his wife, so all is well...I can hear you all gagging...however, he is now coughing so this might mean sleeping in separate beds again because I can't have my beauty sleep disturbed--I already have to deal with Tug waking me up on a regular basis.

Memorial Day

2009-05-25T20:20:00.000-07:00

Happy Memorial Day! Erin and I had a mellow, but nice day. A little laying out in the sun, making monster cookies and out to Mexican food for dinner later. Now we are chillaxin' at home and will have to get up early tomorrow. I am taking her to the airport at 7:00 am and then heading to work!

Le Reve

2009-05-24T23:07:00.000-07:00

Erin and I saw Le Reve at the Wynn Hotel tonight. If you are a local now is the time to go because tickets are 2 for 1. Words fail to describe the brilliance of this show.

We had a great day. We went to the Coffee Cup Cafe for breakfast around 10:00 and then I showed Erin Lake Mead. Being from Seattle she was really impressed...not. We worked on our tans for a bit and then got ready to go to the show. After it was over I actually drove all the way down the strip so Erin could see what was going on.

Saturday Recap

2009-05-24T00:31:00.000-07:00

Erin and I headed down to the strip after laying out in the sun for a while and then getting lunch at In-N-Out Burger. We valet parked at Caesar's Palace and then checked it out and also the Mirage, Treasure Island, and Fashion Show Mall.

We were just down there three hours but we both were tired.

Ummm, yeah, I would say tourism is down a bit. It was Saturday afternoon about 3:00 pm on a holiday weekend by Treasure Island and we pretty much had this boardwalk to ourselves.

We were planning on going to Chuck's house aka The Perpetual Party Animal and stopped by Lee's Discount Liquor to get some beer. The cashier asked me if I wanted something "free". He gave me two pinatas. I was more than happy to give them to Chuck.
The UFC fight was on tonight. It was cool, cuz Chuck put one of his TV's outside and it was the perfect night to hang out since the temps haven't quite reached 110 yet!

Mellow Friday Night

2009-05-22T22:19:00.000-07:00

I was trying to post a couple of pictures that I took tonight, but blogspot is being touchy like it has been lately. Although, honestly the pictures weren't the best quality so I'm probably sparing you all. I had a busy, hard week at work, and my partner was on vacation so I was trying to do my job and his. I'm exhausted, so I was surprised I lasted as long as I did tonight. We headed over to Town Square and went out to dinner at Brio. It wasn't bad, but if I'm going to spend that type of money on dinner I would rather go to Ventano's in Henderson. After dinner we walked around and checked out stores. I went in to the Apple store and drooled over the iPhones for a bit. They are coming out with new software sometime this summer that will make the iPhone a little more user friendly. Can't wait. On the way home Erin and I stopped at Nielson's Frozen Custard. That place is evil, pure evil. Can't resist! Now we are home and I can barely keep my eyes open. Have big plans tomorrow. The strip and then Chuck's house for the UFC fight!

Obsessed

2009-05-21T21:20:00.000-07:00

Erin and I went and saw the movie Obsessed. Beyonce was a serious kick ass bitch in the movie. Check out the link below.

I'll call you back...

She's here

2009-05-20T20:08:00.000-07:00

Erin has arrived.

Not much going on tonight since I still have to work the next two days, but watch out this weekend!

Sunset in Vegas

2009-05-19T20:41:00.000-07:00

My camera doesn't do the sunset justice. It was a very pretty shade of pink. I guess you will have to take my word for it. Or come visit me. Speaking of visiting, my 21 year old sister is coming to town tomorrow to stay with me over the weekend. She has never been to Vegas, so I will be showing her the sights. I have lots planned, so stay tuned...

Bizarro Weather

2009-05-18T18:32:00.000-07:00

We woke up to sunshine and blue skies. Then all of a sudden this afternoon the winds started picking up and the cloud cover came in. What made it really strange was walking outside and it was still over 100 degrees!

Decided to take a couple of photos out of my car window when I was heading home from work. Nothing like trying to drive and take pictures at the same time.

Getting on the freeway. The palm trees in the distance were being blown around.

Nothing much...

2009-05-17T18:56:00.000-07:00

When I made the decision to post every day for the month of May I figured the weekends would be the easiest because there is always something going on. Well, not this weekend. Alan has been sick in bed with a mild case of the flu (no, not swine). He obviously hasn't done anything and I haven't done much either. Things like cleaning the house, or wasting time on the Internet or playing with the dogs don't make for great bloggable moments. On the plus side we didn't spend any money going out to eat or drink! I seriously, think this is the first weekend since we moved here over two years ago that we haven't gone out to eat at least once. It was nice to hang out at home because I have been battling exhaustion lately and I know it has to do with my sinuses. I'm trying to figure out what is going on there because I'm tired of being tired all the time. This next week is going to be a busy one with my sister, Erin coming into town. She has never been to Las Vegas, so that means I will be taking her to the strip. I told her to bring comfortable walking shoes (hello Christy)! We are also going to see Le Reve at the Wynn Hotel. One thing about this crap economy is most of the casinos are offering great deals for locals. I was able to get the tickets 2 for 1 and while they are still expensive I heard the show is worth it. Now that will make a bloggable moment!

Scrapbooking

2009-05-16T19:00:00.000-07:00

The mess that is my scrapbooking table, but a mess is a good sign because it means I have actually been scrapbooking. I have probably done more the last couple of months than I have the last couple of years. I got burned out on it for a while, but now I have a new goal. I want to finish up my four albums I have and then move on to digital scrapbooking. I started taking pictures with a digital camera the end of 2004. Right now I am nearing the end of scrapping the pictures from 2005 (that I had to go get printed at Costco) and then I'm going to go back and scrap the 80's and 90's pictures. When the albums are complete I will call up my local Creative Memories lady and have her show me the ropes with the digital stuff. I have seen some of it and it's pretty freaking cool! This is a good activity to acomplish when the temps are 100+ during the summer.

Lola

2009-05-15T19:12:00.000-07:00

Lola went to work with me today, and all day long I kept thinking I need to take her picture but would get distracted. After we got home tonight I realized that I didn't do it so here is a shot of her on the couch. It looks like she had a rough day hanging out in the office with me. Actually, I think she likes my last place of employment better because she had more room to run around and didn't get under foot, she had big picture windows to look out, and best of all she had Tracy feeding her little snacks all day!

Meat...its what for dinner.

2009-05-14T18:55:00.000-07:00

Mama steak for me and papa steak for Alan.

Blind Boy

2009-05-13T19:25:00.000-07:00

I love this dog, I really do (and I love how "dum" he looks in this picture), but he seriously tests the limits of my patience. As many of you know he is going blind, I mean it's fairly obvious since he only has one eye but Tug is starting to lose vision in the remaining eye--a combination of prior surgery with scar tissue buildup and a cataract. We have made several adjustments in the household to accomodate him which hasn't been a problem, but all of a sudden the last few nights Tug has decided he can't see to go outside. Every morning between about 3-5 am he starts whining and since he sleeps in a chair right next to my side of the bed I'm the one who wakes up first. I have to pick him up and carry him to the doggy door and from there he can see to do his business. When he is done he comes back in and I have to carry him back to the chair. Now, I don't think his vision has suddenly gotten worse, I just think he is playing me for the sucker I am when it comes to that dog and boy am I tired this week.

Book Club

2009-05-12T21:45:00.001-07:00

We had book club tonight with Kim hosting. It was an interesting evening as we had the author attending and got some insight into her book "The Man In The Woods". She had quite a story to tell. We all enjoyed listening to her while drinking red wine and eating homemade red velvet cupcakes (thanks Nannette)!

Monday Blahs

2009-05-11T18:03:00.000-07:00

What do you write about on a Monday? Especially, when you have made a committment to post everyday for the month of May and nothing exciting has happened today? I was going to make peanut butter cookies for my book club meeting tomorrow, but don't have any eggs in the house. We are never out of eggs, but I'm to tired (lazy) to go to the store. That was going to be my post complete with a picture of a plate of cookies and now my mouth is watering so bad. Dang. Instead I will sit here and surf the Internet all night and watch the season finale of "House".

Pool Time!

2009-05-10T17:04:00.000-07:00

It's that time of the year where we can start enjoying our pool again. Today the water finally got up to 80 and the outside temp was about 100. We didn't spend a long time outdoors today but still managed to get burned, and I'm feeling it right now. It's nice getting back into a weekly routine where we clean off the deck and just enjoy a little time outdoors. I have my eye on a couple of patio chairs at Costco that I want to get soon. We don't need anymore repeats of the cheap chair fiasco like last summer where Alan almost broke his chin because the thing folded like wet cardboard!

It will be weird this year not having Willy around. He and Tug really liked hanging out together although they weren't that crazy about "swimming" in the pool, and Lola just likes to stay indoors. Any of you that know Tug realize how obsessive he is. Well, he wanted Mr. Ducky in the following pictures, and he was trying his hardest to get him without actually falling in. The duck is like a bobble toy and will tease Tug by just staying out of his reach. Tug doesn't give up though. Not that crazy dog. He also managed to stay on the top step this time and not fall in either. I didn't make Tug swim in the pool yet because 80 degree water isn't as warm as it sounds! There will be plenty of opportunities for swimming in the next 4 months!

Can you hear me?

2009-05-09T17:51:00.001-07:00

We went to Alan's company picnic today and I finally got to meet Lui! Lui is Crystal's puppy and is the cutest damn thing I have seen in a long time. Did you notice those ears?? Yeah, look again. Those are the biggest ears I have ever seen on a dog and the pictures don't do him justice. Those ears come from the Daschund in him but the reason they stand up is because of the Chihuahua in him. We all had a good time at the picnic. Great catered lunch and lot's of prizes given away. Of course, we had to dodge water ballons being thrown but that happens every year!

It's Clean!

2009-05-08T20:33:00.000-07:00

Las Vegas has plenty of places to get your car washed like Seattle has espresso stands on every corner. For $15-$20 you can get your car cleaned inside and out. I never used to care about a clean car. I was lucky to get my car washed twice a year, but now it's done on a regular basis and my husband doesn't call me a "car pig" anymore.

To Tired to Cook

2009-05-07T19:43:00.000-07:00

So, we headed down the street for half price beer and pizza...

BBQ'ing

2009-05-06T20:54:00.000-07:00

Hottest day of the year so far. Enjoy it while we can cuz it's gonna be hotter than this for the next 3-4 months.
Alan grillin' the steaks. It was me, Al, Landon, Chuck and Josh.

Pretty flowers in our back yard actually about the only flowers in our backyard.

Fullish moon--would explain the weirdos--oh wait, that was us.

Game, Set, Match...Not.

2009-05-05T21:12:00.000-07:00

Tracy and I try to play tennis on a somewhat regular basis. I was excited to get a picture of her in action but nooooooo she wouldn't let me take a picture of her!! No fair. Instead you are stuck looking at me. I made sure this picture was taken from far away.

Looks like Seattle...

2009-05-04T18:45:00.000-07:00

Feels like Vegas...

The Coffee Cup Cafe

2009-05-03T16:32:00.000-07:00

There seemed to be a lot of eating going on this weekend and Sunday was no exception. We took James and Aimee to the Coffee Cup Cafe in Boulder City. Boy do they have some grubbin' Huevos Rancheros. We arrived at the restaurant and had to wait about 40 minutes for our table but it was worth the wait.

After waiting out in the brutal hot sun we had to quench our thirst with Bloody Mary's and beer backs. Notice the eight drinks for four people--it worked perfectly to wash down the Huevos Rancheros Aimee and I had, the breakfast burrito James had and the chili burger Alan had. MMMMmmmmm.....good times!

Ventano's

2009-05-02T22:49:00.001-07:00

My brother James and sister-in-law Aimee are in town. We went out to Ventano's Italian restaurant for dinner. If you live in the Vegas/Henderson area and have never been give it a try. Dinner was awesome as usual, we sat outside and had a fab view of the strip, enjoyed a bottle of wine or two and had a great time catching up!

31 Posts 31 Days...

2009-05-01T23:00:00.000-07:00

I'm going to attempt to post every day for the month of May just because I need a challenge. It may not be anything more than a picture but at least it will be something. I have been getting lazy with my blog.

The boss took us all out to lunch on Friday. We were going to have a BBQ at work but John decided Memphis BBQ would be easier. It was a great way to spend a couple of hours on a Friday!! Yes, I'm the only girl that works there.

Weekend Recap...

2009-04-26T16:38:00.000-07:00

We met some of Alan's co-workers Friday afternoon at the One Six Sky Lounge. It's located on the 16th floor of the Eastside Cannery in Las Vegas. Amazing views of the whole valley. Unfortunately, it was SUPER windy so we didn't stay outside for very long, but we still had a great view from our seats. The party progressed into the evening with everyone enjoying half price Martinis. The best part was the people watching after the sun started to go down. There are some different characters that come out and play at this night club and I now know what my Grandma meant when she said you should always dress age appropriate.

Sally giving me a smile.

Rainy, Casey, and Nena

Neal, our waitress Sarah, and Landon trying to act like he was bored. He got Sarah's phone number later.

The two of us mugging it up for the camera.

Alan and I left first about 10:00 and met up with Chuck for some dinner. Everybody else went to see a band play but knowing we were hosting the poker party on Saturday night there is no way I can stay up that late two nights in a row!

Alan and I haven't posted a poker party since we had some lovely lovely friends in town. Actually, only about 13-14 people showed up which is a smaller turnout than normal, but quite comfortable for our small house. Alan was the grill master and cooked hamburgers and hot dogs and we all started playing poker about 8:30.

Landon got a ROYAL FLUSH!!! It's never happened at any poker games I have been too. I bet he wishes he was playing in the casino rather than at our $10 buy-in!

The happy boy and all of his chips. Needless to say he won the first game.

I was pretty happy though as I came in 3rd place and won back mine and Alan's buy-in.

I brought out the "party foul" hat as a joke but Crystal liked wearing it (and looked cute).

Sunday I made a goal for myself...don't get out of the pj's. It's been quite a while since we have had nothing going on Sunday and it will be quite a while until the next time. I decided to make a double batch of Monster cookies. These delicious cookies have peanut butter, oatmeal, peanut M&M's, chocolate chips and lots and lots of butter and sugar in them. I am bringing cookies to all of my co-workers tomorrow and I made up baggies of cookies for all of my favorites at Alan's job. Of course, to be fair he will also be bringing in two plates of cookies so everyone will be able to have one if they want.

Miss USA 2009

2009-04-26T09:41:00.000-07:00

My boss asked me if I wanted free Miss USA tickets (he gets them as partial trade for renting the pageant a copy machine during the weeks leading up to the event). I politely turned them down and later mentioned something to Alan about the event. Holy cow, you would have thought I turned down a million bucks or something. He couldn't believe I said, NO to free tickets and the chance to see 51 gorgeous women in their bikinis. Okay, I admit I wasn't really thinking about it from a guy's point of view, so being the good wife I called my co-worker and he was able to get us tickets. I'm glad we went. The event was on a Sunday so we got all gussied up and met the rest of my co-workers at Planet Hollywood at 3:00 in the afternoon. We had awesome seats, I saw Donald Trump (and yes, that hair is just as hideous in person), and one of my favorite celebrity bloggers was a judge. If any of you follow your gossip the way Alan and I do you know all the controversy surrounding his question and Miss California's answer. There was much booing from the audience. As a side note, I apologize for the quality of the pictures. You weren't supposed to take pictures during the pageant even though everyone was, but we didn't want to use the flash.

Alan and I waiting to get to our seats.

My co-worker Mike and his beautiful wife and daughter.

The opening act.

The swimsuit competition with swimsuits designed by Jessica Simpson. Kevin Rudolf played his hit, "Let It Rock", and honestly it was all a bit cheesy, but that's probably the point?

Next up was the evening gown competition and the Veronicas played their hit, "Untouched". They were actually pretty good.

Narrowing down the field. The suspense was to much...not.

All the girls had a chance to come back on stage in their evening gown. Not just the top 10. We are getting closer to a winner.

And the winner is...Miss North Carolina which wasn't a surprise at all after Miss California's answer and the audience reaction. It was a fun way to spend a few hours!

Easter Beer Hunt '09

2009-04-15T19:44:00.000-07:00

Easter wouldn't be complete without a 'beer hunt'. Why should the kids get all the fun? So, we headed over to Chuck's house (also known as the Perpetual Party Animal, so nicknamed by Katy) for a day of food and fun. He had an Easter Egg hunt for the kids (yes, there are actually parents that let their kids come around Chuck's house). I helped dye the Easter eggs and had Tug coveting every single one of them. I took pity on Tug and let him eat one of the plain eggs, and boy was I sorry later (you will know what I mean if you know Tug at all). Phewwww.....

Chuck may be the ultimate bachelor but that boy knows how to cook. He set up his turkey fryer and in addition to ham, he fried 2 turkeys, made clam chowder, turkey stew, biscuits and gravy, creamed corn, and baked beans. I'm sure I'm missing something that he cooked. This was in addition to all the salads and assorted desserts that people brought over with them.

There's the Perpetual Party Animal being his social self.

It was a hot beautiful sunny day. We had to hide in the shade of the yard to keep cool.

About 3:30 they decided to get the beer hunt going. Everybody gathered outside with Easter baskets (thoughtfully provided by Chuck) and waited for the instructions.

Tug is trying to drink out of my cup again...what a shock.

We moved around the corner in the neighborhood while several people hid the beer. There were probably 50 or 60 people participating in the hunt with dozens and dozens of assorted beer cans, bottles, and kegs hidden, and it wasn't all cheap domestic crap either. Chuck really outdid himself.

For some reason Animal Control showed up. They got a complaint that somebody in the neighborhood was letting their "vicious" dog run loose. We think Animal Control was talking about Sammy who is a lover, not a fighter, and the sweetest lap dog around. I'm sure the Animal Control guy was freaked out when he showed up because we had JUST started the beer hunt and there were crazy people running all over the neighborhood with Easter baskets and they were filling them with beer. Dude didn't stick around long.

Alan with his baskets of goodies. I don't know if Landon or Eddie found any beer. Or maybe they already drank it?

Yep, that's me in front of a police car--I'm lucky the Henderson police didn't shoot--okay if you are a Henderson cop reading this just kidding. Anywayyyy...some jackass called the cops on Chuck's neighbors who live across the street. They were having a HUGE party of their own and had a DJ. Somebody complained about the music at 5:00 in the afternoon. Well, the police office showed up and went right into the house (after Chuck schmoozed with him--I thought it was his friend?) anyhoo, it was a perfect photo op for us so we took advantage.

Here is a pic of Kurt, Chris (who was in town for a visit), me and Tug.

The cute little fella' coming back to his car. Hard to believe that the police uniform store has a little boy's department, but the picture proves it. He locked the doors of his car when checking out the noisy party so I couldn't check for blocks on the pedals, but hey, they had to be there, look at the size of him. Chris towered above him. He was actually really cool and thought it was pretty much BS to have to come out at 5:00 in the afternoon. He also told Chuck he was trying to buy a house in the neighborhood (several cops live there which in Chuck's hood isn't necessarily a bad thing).

He gave the kids a "light show" on his way out of the neighborhood. Alan, Chris, Tug, and myself left shortly after since we are all responsible adults and had to work early the next day! Another party in the 'hood this weekend. We may or may not go...

Baseball & Beer

2009-04-07T20:50:00.000-07:00

Katy, Abdi, and Alex came into town to see the Seattle Mariner's play their last spring training game of 2009. They play every year at Cashman Field and Alan and I have gone ever since (well, 3 years). To say we had a good day was an understatement. Chuck and Landon also joined in the festivities.

Cashman Field on a BEAUTIFUL day!

Katy & Shelly in our matching Seattle Mariner's hats.

Alex, Katy & Shelly (notice the cups? those were filled with delicious margaritas)

Landon & Alan

Abdi & Chuck

Shelly & Landon

Alex & Katy

After the game the fun continued, and we headed to Chuck's house for the rest of the evening. Chuck lives in a friendly neighborhood, so pretty soon we had a house full.

Abdi is enjoying the sun since he sees so little in Seattle this time of year.

Alex (while he was still standing) and his dad.

Some of the gang.

Chuck makes a mean carne asada that is why Tug is standing at his feet waiting for him to drop some!

The cute couple

Chuck has a great view of the strip but I have a crappy camera so you will just have to take my word that it's in the distance!

Sammy is one of my favorite dogs and he also thinks he is a lap dog.

Landon playing tug of war with Tug. He is a strong dog.

Some of the gang hanging around the 'bonfire'

Katy & Chuck getting their drink on.

Landon & Lola

Abdi

I put this picture in because not only is the fire out of control and unattended, but check out Katy's tongue.

And last, but not least, Alex...that's about all I will say about that. He just better remember who has pictures of the evening, and who has a birthday coming up in less than two weeks.

Granddaughter comes to town

2009-04-01T19:14:00.000-07:00

Oh my holy hell have I been busy!! I started my new job two weeks ago and while I really like it I am going non-stop from the moment I get there until I go home. Which leaves me very little time for blogging, reading friend's blogs, Facebook, and email. I get home and I'm exhausted and after spending eight hours a day on the computer I don't always feel like getting back on it. Well, tonight is a different story. My lovely, lovely stepdaughter is coming to visit this weekend and I have her permission to NOT clean my house, but was told I better update my blog since her daughter (my granddaughter) came for a visit this past weekend! So, with margarita in hand here we go...

We picked Granddaughter up at the airport on Friday night about 8:00. Miracle of all miracles the plane was on time. On the way back home we went to the new BJ's restaurant (and NO it does not stand for Blow Jobs you perverts) that opened in Henderson. This place makes the best pizza (more than just a pizza place though). When we first moved here we would go to the BJ's in Summerlin. That's about 25 miles from our house. So needless to say, we were happy to have this location open up. Alan and I had worked a full day and were tired so we made it home about 9:30 and went to bed shortly after. I think Granddaughter never went to bed this whole trip before 3:00 am. She is quite a night owl. Saturday we got a late start (I think we finally drug the kid out of bed around noon) we headed down to the UNLV campus. Granddaughter is 14 (well 14 going on 25) and it's not to soon to be thinking about colleges. While it would be nice to have her go to school here I'm not so sure about the college and also the surrounding neighborhood is pretty ghetto (the show Cops?? Well, that is filmed around that area and north of town). Headed over to the strip after that. Many of you know Alan and I aren't huge fans of the "strip" but we did have fun walking around with Granddaughter plus we were promised a dinner at Margaritaville so that kept us going. Granddaughter wore really cute thongs, but soon found out you shouldn't wear new shoes for the first time when you want to do a lot of walking (thank god Grandpa had the bandaids in his wallet for the blisters). Here are some pics that we took.

Granddaughter and Shelly...too cool for words.

The new City Center is behind us

Posing in front of the Paris Hotel (remember the Paris Christy?)

A nice lady took our picture after we took a picture of them

We made a quick trip over to France to check out the Eiffel Tower

Granddaughter and Shelly waiting for our table at Margaritaville

I love posing teenagers

Grandpa also known as Alan

Granddaughter taking a picture of herself. I love how self-absorbed teenagers are--sorta reminds me of me! :)

Sunday after another late start (see a pattern here?) we met up with my FUN friend Grant. We headed over to Town Square for a little retail therapy then had lunch at Claim Jumpers. Grant suggested we get an adult beverage. He is such a bad influence especially offering one to Granddaughter (we kid, we kid). Next on the agenda was the movie "I Love You Man". It was a good movie to see at matinee price but not sure I would want to pay full price, however, I did acquire a new guy to add to my "Laminated List" and his name is Andy Samberg. Monday, Alan came home at noon and got Granddaughter out of bed so she could enjoy some of the sunshine she was missing. After he came home from work that day he was the good Grandpa and took her to Dairy Queen and down to Fremont Street so she could see the light show. Tuesday morning I took her to the airport and she safely made it back to Seattle. Now we are looking forward to visiting with her Mom, Dad, and Uncle this weekend! More posts to follow....

Aching buttockular region and other unrelated topics

2009-03-15T09:42:00.000-07:00

We have 'desert' landscaping. So, grass/weeds shouldn't grow up between the rocks if it was done correctly. Now I'm annoyed at myself for not taking a before picture because you can't fully appreciate how much freakin' grass was growing. Let me tell you it took me HOURS to weed it all out and now today I can barely walk. We are just renting this house, but I still believe in taking care of business, so I didn't want to look like the white trash renter who doesn't give a crap about their yard. Although after writing that last sentence I had to laugh because this is the backyard that only Alan and I see. The front yard is bad, but I have sprayed the crap out of it several times with assorted poison and it is starting to do the trick. I just didn't want to poison my dogs in the backyard so I had to weed by hand.

A few weeds left that I need to tackle next weekend when I can walk and bend.

The front yard is completely covered in this grass/weed stuff. C'mon Round Up do your magic!

When Willy was sick we bought a doggie door to put in the slider, so the dogs could go out as needed. As many of you know Tug is starting to go blind and after falling in the little pool twice I knew we had to do something to 'babyproof' it. This netting does the trick. Now I don't have to worry about my little dog drowning when I'm not home.

A gratuitous picture of Tug soaking up the sun.

The Ultimate Bachelor Pad

2009-03-10T08:45:00.000-07:00

Our friend, Chuck has the ultimate bachelor pad, and likes to host parties. Here he is posing with his new "fridge" he recently acquired.

Another angle. He had to remove one of the tvs to make room for the fridge, but he put that tv in his "beer pong" room.

Chuck, Shelly, and Landon.

Notice behind my head all the tickets on the wall. Those are all the losers from the sports book from the past football season.

The occasion for this party was two birthdays. Landon turned 23 and Chuck's brother, Jimmy turned 42.

Here are the birthday boys.

I love this baby. He is the sweetest, happiest baby.

Alan and Landon

Jaime and Shelly

The beer pong table. This game grosses me out. I don't think it's very sanitary throwing a ping pong ball that lands everywhere and then when it lands in your beer you take it out and drink. Yuck!

Marty and Brian are the beer pong champs for the evening.

We always have a good time at Chuck's. He is a great cook and we have met a lot of fun people since moving to Las Vegas. Always a lot of laughs!

Bark in the Park

2009-03-01T11:17:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure what the deal is with the look on my face, but it's a cute picture of the dogs. It was the annual "Bark in the Park" and Alan, Tug, Lola, and I decided to check it out. There were so many cool dogs and different breeds. I was also surprised at how many Boston Terriers I saw. We walked around a couple of times and checked out booths, dogs, and people. I ended up carrying Tug most of the time since he can be so dog aggressive, and Alan ended up carrying Lola since she is so slow!

I think this was the funniest looking dog we saw (or possibly have ever seen). Seriously. This dog had a HUGE lab looking head and tail and the shortiest stumpiest legs like he is part Corgi or Bassett Hound. Definitely an ODD and humorous combination!

This bulldog was awesome. He had the most severe underbite I have ever seen.

Death Valley

2009-02-23T16:34:00.000-08:00

Alan and I have been talking about camping at Death Valley since we moved to Las Vegas over two years ago. We actually had reservations to camp last October, but it was still way to hot so we had to postpone the adventure. I got on the computer a couple of weeks ago to check out reservations and this last weekend was the only time available until the end of March and by the beginning of April it would be to late to camp until early winter. The first year we moved here we took a day trip to Death Valley in the beginning of April and it was 111 degrees! Yikes.

We stayed at the Furnace Creek Campground, but there are quite a few campgrounds you can stay at. We were surprised we had trees and full shade--not that it would help in the heat of the summer, but the weather was a nice 60 degrees during the day.

This was our first camping trip without Willy and it was weird. We all missed him.

There are a couple of old Borax Works ruins. Borax was the big industry back in the late 1800's and we checked out the Harmony Borax Works.

The scenery at Death Valley is something that really needs to be appreciated in person. It's hard to convey the sheer size and beauty of the place.

Hanging out at the Devil's Cornfield

Death Valley is an impressive 282 feet below sea level at the lowest point.

Anybody that has ever gone camping with Tug knows what a little lush he is. He was trying to slurp up the last of the margarita.

I also found out he likes Red Bull. Like that dog needs ANY more energy!

All the driving around on Saturday made for two very tired puppies.

Another spectacular shot of the Valley.

We were hoping to go on a couple of small hikes, but dogs aren't allowed on any trails. Here is a shot of Mosaic Canyon. You have to travel almost 3 miles on a dirt road to reach the Canyon.

We packed up Sunday morning and hit the road. We decided to go check out Scotty's Castle. It was quite a bit out of the way but we had plenty of time and it was worth the drive.

The weekend is here...

2009-02-19T07:52:00.000-08:00

After months of talking with my girls we all finally got to meet! Christy flew in from Ohio and sisters, Melissa and Yolanda, drove in from San Diego on Saturday. I had a poker party at my house that night, so before the festivities started we decided to go down to the local bar to start the weekend off right. We all hit it off right away!

Melissa, Yolanda, Shelly, Katy, Christy

Katy and Christy

Melissa and Yolanda

Christy

Melissa, Yolanda, and Shelly getting our drink on

So, we had the poker party at our house with friend's from Alan's company. It was a pretty packed house and a good time. The margaritas were flowing!

Margarita glasses for the girls!

Sunday night we had two rooms at the Paris hotel on the strip. Yolanda and Melissa decided work was more important than hanging out with us so they left late Sunday morning. We were sad, but made the most of it! We drank, we ate, we walked, we gambled. Katy helped both Christy and I at Blackjack and we both actually won a little money.

Katy let some random dude take our picture. We had a blast. Monday afternoon I was sad to take Katy and Christy to the airport, but we all have plans to meet again. Christy will be moving to New Hampshire beginning of March and I love it there. Most certainly see a trip in my future. Yo and Melissa are 5 short hours away in San Diego. Woo hooo! My girls are awesome (even if they are all short and younger than me), and I am happy to have made some new friends for life!

Friday Night Fun!

2009-02-19T07:48:00.000-08:00

Katy's visit wouldn't be complete without a trip to Chuck's house. Katy came to town on Friday afternoon, but the rest of the girls didn't show up until Saturday. So, we headed on over to his house Friday night to see what was going on and there was plenty.

As the evening progressed the helium tank came out. Katy was sucking it down and had to call her friend, Robin to demonstrate the amazing powers of helium.

Landon was there with his friend, Taylor. I think he was having a little to much fun with the ballon.

Hanging out

Alan

One of my favorite dogs...Sammy

GTHAFR09!!

2009-02-12T19:19:00.001-08:00

WOOOOO FREAKIN' HOOOOO!!!!

I got me some friends visiting this weekend, and we are gonna have ourselves a good time. One of them is my stepdaughter, Katy, but three of the girls I have NEVER MET in person (hell, for all I know they could be men). They are my "bloggy" friends, Christy and Yolanda (and Yo, is bringing her sis, Melissa who I can't wait to meet either). You get a sense about a person reading their blogs and I sense that this weekend is going to be one good ol' time with lot's o' laughing! I'm not worried about what to talk about because I don't think there will be a SHORTAGE of things to talk about!
I will be posting more soon--check back!

Okay, so technically I live in Vegas, BUT I am getting the hell away from my responsibilities for a couple of days and I like it!

GTHAFR09!!

Willy

2009-02-07T12:44:00.001-08:00

Willy was a goofball and great dog. He never met a person he didn't like and would try to greet you by licking your tonsils. However, a dog or cat was a completely different story and he would go crazy. Not good crazy either. Alan and I had been embarrassed by him more than once out on walks. He would make this weird high-pitched screeching and go bonkers. Despite this he was a very loving, cuddly dog and not only did he love his people but he and his brother, and littermate, Tug were best buddies.

Rest in peace Willy. You will be missed.

12/10/01 - 2/5/09

Willy is on the left (he was twice Tug's size). They are about 8 months old in the above picture.

More puppy shots. They were both damn cute (Tug even has two eyes in this pic).

He got something good to eat.

Matching jackets I made for them Christmas 2002. They were just over a year old.

They both seriously hate cats. I loved this picture of Willy trying to get the cat on top of the fence. That dog had serious jumping skills. It was no problem for him to jump in my arms and he even once jumped on the kitchen counter (got in big trouble for that one).

Summer of 2002. He had a blast playing in the sandy muddy water--not so much fun trying to clean him off with cold water from the tap (we were camping).

Camping in Stanwood with the crew from Seattle. He didn't like the creek very well and didn't go in here on his own!

More camping--he loved it!

Christmas card 2004--Lola, Willy, Tug (notice Lola and Tug's ears are down? They can't stand being near each other).

One of Willy's favorite pasttimes. Humping other dogs. Poor Samson, he didn't have a chance between Willy humping and Tug trying to bite him.

Camping at Valley of Fire State Park--that is a picture of a happy dog!

Willy loved his tennis balls.

Sweet Face

Willy loved cocking his head to the side like he knew what you were saying.

What you lookin' at?

Loved the wind in his face!

Mommy holding him at Valley of Fire.

Probably looking for a dog to hump.

The boys hanging out at Lake Mead

Christmas 2007

Final picture of Will-dog. We love you buddy.

Here I am...

2009-02-07T12:26:00.001-08:00

I have been getting some crap for not posting more which makes me happy that I have a reader or two. I just haven't had a lot to say lately (hard to believe). I'm still unemployed, although I do have a job interview on Monday. It's with a company that worked with my last company. I don't know what I want to do, but I figure it won't hurt to talk to them. I seriously haven't even updated my resume yet (will this weekend though). I guess after being laid off again in less than a year my motivation is somewhat lacking. The thought of having to put myself out there all over again really bites especially with this economy and all the competition. I don't think I do very well in interviews. I have a hard time getting my point across clearly and concisely. So in the meantime, I will enjoy this housewife gig, but I feel like I can't be too picky right now because what if I get so desperate for a job that I have to go back into retail or make $13 an hour again? The horror.

Also, as many of you know, Willy, our Boston Terrier, died on Thursday. It's been tough around here, and we really really miss him. My next post will be about him, so you can all see his cuteness.

On a more positive and cheery note, I have some visitors this next weekend. Christy, Yolanda, and Katy will be coming into town for a girl's weekend. We are all blogger friends and have never met (well, obviously I know Katy since she is my stepdaughter). It's going to be a great weekend and I'm sure we will all have fun things to post to our blogs or Facebook. Hmmmm...maybe blackmail pics? Nah.

Betty Freakin' Homemaker

2009-01-28T10:31:00.000-08:00

Yep, that's me while I am unemployed. Out of sheer boredom I created a dinner menu* for the rest of the week...

Tonight:
Baked salmon (Costco sells WILD salmon in their freezer section--we won't eat any of that crap farm raised stuff and yes, I am being snobby about it).
Salad
Bread

Thursday:
Cranberry apple pork loin roast (crockpot baby!)
Rice
Salad or veggies

Friday:
Going out to dinner (what? You didn't really think I would cook ALL week)!
There is an Italian restaurant that my friend Tracy keeps telling me is good and we have some friends coming into town next month, so we must preview it.

Saturday:
Swiss Steak served over egg noodles and actually Alan is going to make that--it's very yummy!
Salad or veggies
Rolls

*subject to change depending on the mood of the cook.

Hmmmm....what will I come up with next week.

Back from Seattle

2009-01-28T09:34:00.001-08:00

I went back to Seattle last weekend for my Grandma Lorraine's memorial service. Grandma died in November, but the family decided to wait until after the holidays to hold the service. I last saw her at my brother's wedding in August. I realized when I went to post a picture of her I didn't have any on my computer. I stole this one from my sis-in-law's Facebook page. I am trying to get my brother to send me the really good one of her.

Grandma was a avid quilter/seamstress and had explicit instructions for the way her service was to be carried out. She wanted it to be more like a celebration. There were many samples of her quilting work, the fun crazy dolls she used to make, lots of articles on her grocery store she ran in the 60's and 70's (one of the first women to run a grocery story by herself) and tons of people there. I think she had 14 grandchildren (I saw so many of my cousins I hadn't seen in YEARS), and about 19 great-grandchildren.

I arrived in town on a Friday morning. I tell you flying out first thing has its advantages. There was a total of 20 passengers on the plane, so I was able to have a whole row to myself. My aunt Becky picked me up and we hung out with her and my uncle Dale. Always a good time with them and my aunt Kathy came over for dinner. The next day they took me to meet up with Katy. We had plans for a night out with friends, and had previously decided on Billy McHales, it turned out to be a very fun, very loud evening.

BFF - Shelly & Danielle

More BFF's - Robin & Katy

Erin, Sandra, Dianne

Allison

Stepdaughter and Stepmonster drinking together--shocker!

Levitta, Dave and a really yummy margarita

Shelly & Robin sitting in the bar after dinner.

I saw several friends that night that I haven't seen in years. I wish I would have had more time to visit, but it was already so cold in Seattle that I didn't want to extend my stay even though I am now jobless. Speaking of cold, imagine our surprise when we walked out of the restaurant and it was freakin' snowing!! I do believe several cuss words were uttered by several members of our party. Of course, where Katy lives always seems to get way more snow than anywhere else, so the next morning I had to snap some photos for proof!

I sure as hell wasn't sorry to leave that winter wonderland, and Katy was kind enough to drive me to my brother's house in Seattle where they had NO snow. My mom, sister, brother, and sister-in-law had plans to go out to brunch before we headed over to my grandma's service. We decided to splurge and go to Saltys on Alki. If you have never been there you need to go. It was expensive but well worth it. It's all you can eat and while they have all the traditional breakfast items they also have a huge variety of seafood. Some of you know how much I LOVE crab and don't eat it here in Vegas. I didn't waste any time on crap like bacon (sorry Aimee), but went straight for the crab legs, clams and shrimp. My mouth just waters looking at the picture of my plate (I think I had 3 plates of crab).

We got a great table and had this view of downtown Seattle

My mother

My sister

My sis-in-law posing for the picture (no really, she was)

My brother showing off his plate of crab goodness. I think he likes crab as much as I do. He didn't waste his time on much else.

And finally (I know you are saying, "thank god", that is if are still reading), no blog posting would be complete without a picture or two of DOGS! Here is Gordo and Jelly Bean. They are James and Aimee's dogs and I wish they lived closer so I could babysit (notice how I said THEY can live closer to me not the other way around--yeah there is a reason for that and it's called SNOW, GRAY, RAIN and GLOOM)!!

May I whine for a moment?

2009-01-22T07:37:00.000-08:00

I love living in Las Vegas, I really do. I love the sun, the warmth, the new friends we have made, all the restaurants (but not the weight I have gained), the fact that we can be in California, Utah, or Arizona in no time at all, the sparkling lights from the strip, the red rocks--you get the picture. The downside, and it has been a big one, is my inability to keep a job longer than 10 months! Seriously, we have lived here 2 years and 1 month and I just got laid off from my 3rd, yes 3rd job!! Now, I realize it's a sign of the times with the shaky economy, and the industries I have worked in (real estate, development, and construction) have been hit hard, but it's still damn discouraging. This will be my 3rd February in a row without work. I'm concerned about how spotty my resume is starting to look. I'm not a job hopper, really! Anyone that knows me can attest to that! In fact, I even had one job for 13 years. Sigh.

Well, on the bright side, Alan's job is pretty secure (thank God), and having some time off will allow me to play housewife and also work on losing some weight. I am hoping to be called back to my old place of employment if things pick up, but I need to be prepared for the possiblity that I won't be. I guess it's time to try and figure out what I want to do with my life.

Grandma...

2009-01-18T14:50:00.000-08:00

That's me, Grandma Shelly, and for those of you that say "you are FAR to young to be a Grandma"...well you are correct. However, I did marry an older man with an adult daughter. She was pregnant with the first kid on our wedding day (14 loooong years ago). Anyway, one of the kids, (she calls him Thing 2 on her blog) and my 93 year old mother-in-law came for a visit this weekend. It was decided that on Saturday, Alan would take Nannie on a long drive to Lake Havasu, and Thing 2 and I would go down to the strip. Alan had previously won two tickets during Monday night football at the local casino to the "Bodies" exhibit at the Luxor, and he had no interest in seeing it so Thing 2 and I went. We both found it to be very fascinating, and I would recommend it. I had to laugh when we were walking through the casino because Thing 2 wanted nothing to do with the cigarette smoke and had his shirt covering his mouth the whole time, there was no way he was going back into a casino because of the smoke. Fine by me, so we walked down to M&M World and checked out all four (yes four) levels. Anything that you could possibly want they have, you could seriously furnish your house with all things M&M. Thing 2 wanted some peanut M&M's (go figure), so they managed to part him from $16 of his own money for a pound and a half of bright blue and red ones (what a racket). We are still enjoying the rest of our visit with them, and Thing 2 spent the better part of Sunday in our little poverty pool, while Nannie soaked up some rays!

Getting in touch with her inner wolf...

2009-01-10T17:35:00.000-08:00

Lola

Tagged

2009-01-08T20:20:00.000-08:00

I was tagged by Vegas Dad for an easy meme. Here are the rules:

Go to your documents
Go to your 6th file.
Go to your 6th picture.
Blog about it.
Tag 6 friends to do the same.

I had to improvise a bit on my folders, so I went to the year 2008 and picked the 6th picture. This is what I came up with:

How freakin' cute is the burro???!! On our way back from the Red Rock Canyon we came upon a herd of these wild burros. Alan wanted to take one home as a pet. I didn't disagree although the landlord would have probably frowned upon it. For real though you can adopt one.

Now I get to pick six bloggers to tag. I don't normally tag people but this one is fun and easy and I love looking at pictures...

1. Whatever, Katy

2. Write on, Yo

3. Heavy on the Caffeine

4. Constantly Relocating

5. Nannette Steve and the Creatures

And crap, I can only think of 5 people, but there ya go!

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T17:11:00.000-08:00

Time sure does go by quickly! I realized that I haven't posted in a couple of weeks, and even worse, I haven't taken many pictures. I have no new Christmas pictures, but really, how many do you need to see of me and Alan? It was just the two of us here for the holidays and we had a blast. We started the celebration off by going to the Ruskinski's Christmas Eve party. It was an evening of eating and drinking, and laughing our butts off. There is also a "white elephant" gift exchange and that was competitive as usual. Christmas day we went and saw the movie, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button". The movie was long but really good. We went out to dinner after that and had filet mignon. Damn good day.

Monday after Christmas my brother, his wife, and kids came to our house on the way to Disneyland. We had an awesome dinner of salmon (thanks Jeanne), and the kids opened their gifts from us. We got them educational ~~loud~~ musical instruments, cuz we are the loving Aunt and Uncle. Their Puggle, Chase is here with us for the week until they come back. I feel sorry for Chase because none of our dogs will play with him. Here is a picture of Jake and Rikki. She is due in about four months.

Jaxon and Tug

Lileigh with her new tamborine

New Year's Eve we went to Chuck's house. Even though he wasn't having an "official" party it was still quite a party. At midnight we went to his neighbor's house and watched the strip fireworks on one side and Lake Las Vegas fireworks on the other. Pretty cool and I was NOT happy that I didn't have my camera! Today I spent "recovering".
Wishing all of my friends and family a happy 2009. Going to be quite a ride this year with all the economic and political changes.

Christmas Bash

2008-12-21T11:18:00.000-08:00

We went to Alan's work Christmas party Friday night that was held at the Green Valley Ranch. It was a nice affair with an open bar and delicious buffett. Here are some pre-party shots of Alan and I. Alan looks very dapper in his suit while the look I was going for was "tarty". I think I pulled it off.

I didn't get as many shots of my friends as I would have liked. Here are a few though. This is Sally and Nena and we were all having a good time!

Landon and Danielle

Sally and her husband Jim

Thom and Michelle--they didn't stay at the party long as they had a flight to catch to Philadelphia. I didn't envy them!

After the dinner, everyone went up to the casino. About 20 people or so each pitched in $21 bucks for a chance at the Mega Millions slots. Needless to say, we were losers like we were last year but it was still fun. Lot's of partying going on and Alan and I didn't make it home until after 1:00 in the morning. That is LATE for me because I can never sleep in anymore and I felt it the next morning when I woke up at 7:00! Alan really works for a an awesome company, and I have made some good friends with his co-workers--we have lots of laughs together.

Sweet Baby

2008-12-21T11:01:00.000-08:00

Erica came into work last week to visit me and Tracy. We all worked together at our last job that ended up going belly up, and I have missed working with Erica. She had her sweet baby a few months ago and this was the first time I have seen him in person. Such pretty blue eyes!

Proud mommy and baby

So cute!

Shelly holding him--not quite a natural but it was fun...until he started crying. By the way, the warm and fuzzy outfit he is wearing is courtesy of me. I may not be a natural with babies but I can buy them cute clothes.

Snow? In Vegas???

2008-12-17T17:29:00.000-08:00

Yep, it snowed and it stuck. I was shocked I tell you--I really didn't think it would. We have lived here two years now and while it snowed once (tinylittlebit barely stuck), this is considered MAJOR snow accumulation in this neck of the woods. Here is a picture of me and Tracy's car. I realize this isn't much compared to some other parts of the country but for the desert? Hell, yeah!

The view at my office complex.

Another view from the office. Poor sad palm trees. It's just not right.

Cuz, I can't drive worth crapola in the snow I got my car stuck in our driveway. When Alan came home he was able to back it up into the garage. Another sad thing was the windshield cracked all the way across. I have had a ding in it for several years with no problem. I guess the combo of me CRANKING the heat and the frigid temps outside was too much for the windshield to handle. What a pain, I just got my windows tinted and now I will have to have them redo the strip across the windshield. I know waa waa waa.

The view looking down our street.

The front of the house.

Our poor little spa. I actually thought about heating it up and then remembered we had a major windstorm on Monday and there is a buttload of leaves and various debris in the bottom of it. What? No, I'm not cleaning it--to freakin' cold out.

BBQ'ing anyone? I am making steaks for dinner tonight but don't think we will be using this!

Well, my friend, Tracy and I had to go to Costco today because we are (hopefully) having a work party luncheon tomorrow. I spotted Maker's Mark which Costco carries only once a year, and I actually like it, so I was a good wife and brought some home to Alan (the tequila is always a necessity--we live in the desert--margaritas duh). Must stay warm...

What a difference a day makes!

2008-12-16T08:06:00.000-08:00

Sorry about the crappy picture quality. I took these photos with my cell phone. The point I am trying to illustrate here is how 24 hours can make such a huge difference in the Vegas weather. While we did not get snow like the other side of the valley, we got lots and lots of rain and gloom. Reminded me of living in Seattle. However, this morning when I woke up the sun was shining! Happy Day!! We still have some rain in the forecast and cold temps for the next few days but I can handle it knowing the sun will be back soon!

Catching up.

2008-12-06T16:35:00.000-08:00

Aunt Jeanne and cousins Aaron and Mat came to Vegas for the weekend along with a couple other friends. We met up with the family at the Yard House in Town Square. I hadn't seen Aaron in several years and it had been quite a few months since I last saw Mat and Jeanne, so it was fun catching up with everyone.

Alan and Jeanne

Aaron and Mat

Cousins

Aaron, Jeanne, Mat

We had a couple of cameras pointed at us so wasn't sure where to look. I think I look cross-eyed in this picture.

Don't know what these were--some sort of fish mobile thingie, but they were pretty cool.

More mobile thingies

The old lady went out.

2008-12-02T19:13:00.000-08:00

Saturday night we decided to go down to old Las Vegas (downtown). We wanted our guests to see the light show at the Fremont Street Experience. We wandered around and decided to check out the Golden Nugget. My aunt, Jeanne, has been telling me about the cool pool and fish tank they have so I had to see it for myself. I want to come back and go swimming when the weather is warmer!

The tube you see in the fish tank is a water slide!

Seriously, do these fucktards think they are going to "save" anyone with their message of hate and fear. I loath people like this. You should have seen the other side of the red sign. Completely offensive and racist. They are lucky they don't get their asses kicked. Most people just ignore them like I did.

I think this was called the "Globe of Death". It's hard to tell in the picture but there were three motorcycles racing around the inside. Sorry about the shot of the bald guy below!

We left downtown and decided to stop by a neighborhood bar to see if our friend, Chuck was there. He was, so we drank. Here is a great shot of Lauren, Kate, and Alex.

We came home and played some music. Kate made Alex dance with him and it was cute.

Not more pictures of red rocks...

2008-12-01T19:27:00.000-08:00

Yep, we had to make another trip to Valley of Fire State Park. We brought the dogs along this time and they were happy to get out of the house!

Alan and his son, Alex

Our visitors from Australia, Kate and Lauren

Lauren

I'm not sure what kind of face Lola is making but I thought it was pretty funny.

Lola and Alan standing by more red rocks. Imagine!

Shelly and the "kids"

Exploring

There is a staircase going up the side of a huge rock. When you get to the top of the platform you see all these petroglyphics the Indians carved.

Yes, that is a freakin' spider. I thank my lucky stars that I was at the suv with the dogs and missed it! I don't know who that guy is in the picture but he is a fool for sticking his hand that close to the MONSTER.

Another closeup. Alan said it was really big! Getting goose bumps thinking about it!

No trip to Valley of Fire would be complete without a shot in front of the "beehives"

My baby

For those of you that know Tug this picture won't suprise you. Mr. OCD Dog is trying to get the road bumper up off the pavement. He saw that thing and started scratching it like crazy.

Contortionist

2008-11-30T09:09:00.000-08:00

No wonder this dog had a "tweaked" neck recently. He gets himself in some crazy positions to sleep.

Thanksgiving!

2008-11-28T10:33:00.000-08:00

We had an awesome day despite the gray, rainy weather. Alex came down from Berkeley and brought his girlfriend, Kate, and her sister, Lauren. Kate and Lauren are from Australia and have never had an American Thanksgiving. It was fun to cook dinner for everyone and I must say it turned out quite fabulous!

Lauren and Kate helping out in the kitchen. The boys had to do the cleanup.

Mmmmm...the Feast!

Lauren, Kate, and Alex--I think the tryptophan kicked in

Willy and Tug keeping watch over the neighborhood

Alan chillin'

Willy is so cute!

Who me?

Puzzled

2008-11-20T21:29:00.001-08:00

Why does time seem to go by quicker the older we get? I remember when I was a teenager I couldn't WAIT to move out and it seemed to take FOREVER before I turned 18 (and I moved out 3 weeks after graduating from high school). Then, I couldn't wait to be 21 and now allofasudden I'm 42 and I'm wondering where the hell the time has gone?? My baby sister just turned 21 this month. I was 21 when she was born. What?? I remember last New Year's Eve with my aunt and uncle like it was 2 weeks ago and it's been almost a year. I remember waking up Monday and thinking how tired I was and now tomorrow is Friday and I'm still tired. I'm not really bummed by all of this, and there really is no sense in getting all worked up since time is going to fly by whether I want it to or not. I just need to try and remember to "live in the moment". Life is pretty good, and I want to enjoy it!

Poker!

2008-11-16T18:20:00.000-08:00

It has been a while since Alan and I have hosted a poker party. We moved into our house in June and didn't think it would be big enough but hey, we got 13 people in there and it wasn't too bad. Several of Alan's co-workers get together on a semi-regular basis to play Texas Hold-Em. I never played poker before I moved to sin city and it's pretty fun although I still have no clue what I'm doing (although for having no clue I did come in 3rd place out of 13 for the first game and won mine and Alan's money back). This first picture is of Alan and his boss, Neal. Neal is a smart-ass and a lot of fun to mess with.

Everybody brings food of their choice and I made an awesome pork chili verde (thanks Tracy for the recipe). We ate before we started the games.

Landon, Jim, and Vicky.

Nena is Neal's wife and a saint for putting up with him for 20+ years.

One poker party table--we had Joe, Neal, Sally, Eva, Angie and Vicky at one table for the first game.

Shelly and Peter at the second table. We were just getting ready to kick some butt!

The second table was Shelly, Peter, Nena, Martin, Alan and Landon.

Couldn't do a post without at least one picture of the dogs. Tug was no doubt focused on the food in my hand. I have three major class scrounges.

We also did the pay-per-view on the UFC fight between Couture and Lesner. Talk about testerstrone. It was interesting and I'm sure the boys enjoyed it but whatever.

The Future's So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades

2008-11-14T09:34:00.000-08:00

Well, at least in my new office it's bright. We don't have blinds yet!

I'm here!!

2008-11-13T19:51:00.000-08:00

I haven't posted in a little bit. Feel like I have been slacking on my blog, and paying more attention to Facebook. My friend and co-worker, Tracy teases me about being so connected with the Internet. She is probably right, but I would never say that to her face (so Tracy if you read this don't rub it in). Speaking of Tracy, she gave me the lovely margarita glass (love the cover with the hole for a straw) pictured below. I think she thinks I'm a lush?? (No comment from you Katy). I had to put the bottle of tequila next to it so you could get an idea of how big that glass really is! Gonna have a poker party this Saturday at our house. Maybe I will use my new glass...

Go Obama!!!!

2008-11-04T20:50:00.000-08:00

I'm excited to witness the election of the first African American President of the United States. Let's hope we can get some real change in this country. I am a bit cynical because after all he is a politician but let's hope he can point this country in the right direction!

Halloween Hockey

2008-11-02T07:24:00.000-08:00

Our buddy, Joe works for a company that has this awesome boxed area right behind the goalie. We saw the Las Vegas Wranglers kick the Stockton Thunders ass (5-1) at the Orleans Arena. I have never been to a hockey game before where I was front and center for action. It was a little intimidating during their practice when the pucks would come and slam into the plexiglass right at your face. However, as the game progressed and the free drinks were flowing we all got more rowdy and would slam the glass and yell things at the opposing team. One of the highlights of the game was seeing some guy's face squished against the glass 12 inches from us with the other players hockey stick around his neck. Nothing like a little violence for your Halloween night! This first shot is before the game started. We made it to our seats and started the parytin' right away (okay, we had started the partying before we got to our seats and continued long after the hockey game).

The game starts.

View of our little room.

Glenn, Wendy and Shelly

Alan and our host, Joe

Vicky and Karen

Glenn and Wendy

A hockey game wouldn't be complete without a fight. I guess the rule is the fight can go on until one of them falls to the ground and these guys were duking it out! Didn't see much blood though!

One more action shot. Notice all the scuff marks on the plexiglass, and the red marks weren't lipstick! It's pretty trashed. What was cool about the Wranglers winning 5-1 is every game they get 5 goals the crowd gets a coupon for a free Del Taco. I love me some Del Taco!!

A whole lot of nothing.

2008-10-30T19:39:00.000-07:00

Well, Alan and I were going to go camping at Death Valley this weekend. We have been talking about camping there since we moved to Las Vegas two years ago. We thought for sure the weather would be cool enough but NO it's still in the low 90's. Camping when the weather is above 85 is not fun. You don't have any energy and all the alcohol you consume is just wasted because you sweat it out right away. So, instead we are sitting home Friday night, dressed up in costumes and answering the door for all the little darlings that are showing up for free candy...NOT! Anybody that knows us wouldn't have believed that. What we are doing for real is going to a hockey game at the Orleans Arena. We got free tickets and are going with some peeps from Alan's work. Should be fun as we are sitting in a special section for special people (some company's boxed seats). I just hope there are some good bloody fights and cheap beer! No other major plans for the weekend. Probably a whole lot of nothing. Maybe I will take some pictures of the dogs and post those. We can never have to many postings of my dogs!

Tall People

2008-10-25T19:27:00.000-07:00

My brother James, and his friend Scott came in to town on Thursday night for a quick trip. We went out to dinner with them and had Alan take our picture. I'm a big girl at 5'9" so seeing James next to me makes me feel like a little person. :)

Hanging out.

2008-10-18T16:11:00.000-07:00

If you look closely you can see a bit of Tug under the blanket. I marvel at the dogs' laziness, and their ability to sleep for hours!

Lola hanging out on a couch. Notice the wet spot on the pillow. No wonder our stuff isn't nice anymore. What? I could make the dogs stay off the furniture?? Yeah, right. That would require consistency and discipline on my part. There's a reason why I never had kids!

Pickles

2008-10-12T11:33:00.000-07:00

My friend Nannette had a party Saturday night, it was a lot of fun but Pickles, the pig, stole the show.

Here I am trying to bribe Pickles with food!

He wanted a belly rub. I was only willing to rub his belly with my foot.

Pickles plays the piano, and he will only do it for chocolate M&M's. He has even won a talent show.

red hot!

2008-10-11T11:23:00.000-07:00

I haven't had red highlights in my hair for a while and thought I would change it up for Fall. Actually, I don't really care what color my hair is as long as it's not GRAY!!!

tagged

2008-10-05T19:20:00.000-07:00

I was tagged by Vegas Dad. So the idea is to write a meme and it's an easy one.

Here are the rules:

1. Link to the person who tagged you

2. Post the rules on your blog

3. Write six random things about yourself

4. Tag six or so people at the end of the post

5. Let each person know he/she has been tagged

6. Let the tagger know when your entry is up

So, I won't tag anyone but I would love to hear back from you all and see what crazy and random things I can learn about my Internet friends!

I love reading really trashy romance novels but don't put it on my Goodreads because I'm embarrassed (btw if you love to read and aren't on Goodreads--join!!!)
I CAN'T live without salt
I am obsessed with blogging and reading people's blogs
I am always picking at my dogs (ears, skin, ect.) and they hate it
I love puppy breath and will act like a fool when I get to smell it
I am a huge coffee snob

Las Vegas Wash

2008-10-05T19:04:00.000-07:00

So we headed over to our friend, Chuck's house, on Sunday with Chris to watch football. We got to talking later on in the afternoon and Chuck told us about the Las Vegas Wash near his house. We headed out there to check it out and it was pretty amazing. Now water in Seattle wouldn't have been a big deal but out here in the desert is another story. The runoff of water eventually makes its way to Lake Mead. Actually, the water was pretty nasty looking. Chuck said he fishes but just does catch and release. I can't imagine what type of mutant fish are growing out here!

We had to bring beer...we were on dirt roads.
You can see the strip in the distance.

i like big red rocks

2008-10-05T18:54:00.000-07:00

Our friend Chris came in to town from Seattle and no trip to Vegas would be complete without going to the Valley of Fire State Park. I seem to be on a big red rock theme lately!