Vegas vacation

Our second year of marriage wasn't always an easy one. We faced some unexpected challenges and things weren't always rosy. Determined to start off year 3 on a better note, B entirely planned an anniversary vacation on his own (the first time he'd done such a thing). To celebrate our second anniversary we spent 3 nights and 4 days at the Wynn in Las Vegas. Somehow we scored a GREAT deal in the mail ($299 for 3 nights, plus 2 tickets to Le Reve), and we had a fantastic time.

We started off the trip with me scoring us an upgrade to first class. Although the flight isn't long, the snacks and free alcohol were nice :)

The room was beautiful:



We wandered around in the sun, and enjoyed bare legs and arms for the first time all year, since Portland hasn't yet gotten warm. We posed in goofy ways using the hotel props.



We made wishes in the hotel fountains:



We took cheesy photos in the casino:


We spent the second night getting all fancy, going to the Wynn buffet, and seeing Le Reve. The show was fantastic, and it was fun to dress up and look like grown-ups for a night.




While Vegas is a ton of fun, we both agree that it can get overwhelming. B had smartly arranged for a rental car for a day so we could go check out the Red Rock area. It was beautiful, although a bit chilly compared to the Strip. Of course, being the fatty food lovers that we are, the day trip began with lunch at In-and-Out. We don't have those here in Oregon, so it was something we had looked forward to. It was pretty good, although Burgerville gives it a run for its money - especially in terms of the novelty food since In and Out only has burgers and fries.




We're total cheapskates, so we each had only budgeted $80 for gambling (money we'd made by selling a camera we rarely used on Craiglist before we left). We tend to like the penny machines and bet the lower end of the bets (9 cents-25 cents depending on the machine). We found this fun fishing game that we played several times over the trip. B accidentally hit the max bet button on one spin, which was $3. Luck was on his side, because that was the winning spin where he got to "go fishing." At this point we were both about even in our winnings, but he had the chance to actually win some real money. He ended up catching fish worth $118, which was pretty exciting on an accidental spin! All in all, that put us up about $60 for the trip right before we were leaving. Despite not losing any money, we earned enough points for a free buffet each (worth $38) right before left. Winning on the slots and a free buffet was a nice way to end the trip.
Us at the buffet:

Winner, winner, chicken dinner:


We had a fantastic trip and really needed that time to reconnect as a couple. Our daily lives can be very busy and stressful, and we both enjoy time away from life to just enjoy each other. I'm confident that year 3 is going to be much better, and this was a perfect start to it.

Stretching the truth

Admittedly I'm someone who stretches the truth for emphasis, even when I don't need to. My commute home might have been an hour and five minutes, but I might say an hour and twelve minutes, as if the real number wasn't already super long. Or I might say I emailed someone 4 times with the same request, when it was really only 3 (still excessive). I have no idea why I do it, but I do know I never do it in a time where the exaggeration is harmful.

Yesterday I was caught in a truth stretch before I even knew it.

We are selling our house. Yes, we've only owned it since September, but with my new job I have to commute an hour. B is also thinking of going back to school, so having less debt would be great. We've also realized we really would rather use our money to travel.

I went to the paint store to get some touch-up paint for our walls. I was chatting with the guy and told him I needed the paint since we were selling. He asked why we were selling such a new house, and I told him we decided we wanted to travel the world. While not a true lie, he clearly took it as "sell everything and backpack across Europe for a year." He asked where all we were going to travel, and rather than correct him, I said "oh, parts of Europe, maybe Taiwan and Singapore, definitely S. America." Sure, we'd love to see those places, but the likelihood of making it to all of them in the near future is slim to none. I have no idea why I was stretching the truth with the paint guy, but it was harmless, and fun to dream about where we would go if we had no debt, no kitties to worry about, and money wasn't an object. Does it really matter if the paint guy thinks I'm actually going to live a free-wheeling life? :)

Watching what you say

The blog world is such an interesting place. A blog sort of feels like a diary. It's easy to forget that the world is reading. It's especially easy to forget that people might be reading that you have NO IDEA are reading. It feels like you're spilling out thoughts to strangers in the blog world, but then you hear from someone who knows you in real life that they were upset about something you said. WHAT? How did you find my blog?

I know that most bloggers struggle with anon/known and how much to say if they blog as themselves. After finding out I'd upset many people, I've done some editing. Here is a public apology to my old co-workers. I don't feel badly about expressing my sadness that they weren't there when I needed them. We were very close, and I felt completely abandonded when I needed some support. I DO feel badly that I said some things on my blog out of anger that I didn't entirely mean. Thankfully at least one co-worker had the balls to call me out, allowed me to apologize, and we moved on.

The parts I haven't edited include the behavior of my nephew and some of the struggles with my in-laws. I stated nothing that wasn't the truth, and I'm okay with people knowing I think my nephew is a spoiled brat. I'm not the only one that thinks that, and I feel badly that this poor child is going to have to enter the world thinking that it revolves around him. Telling your child "no" actually helps them. Really, it does.

We'll see how often I can blog, but I certainly have lots to catch up on. Thanks for hanging in there while I took a break and cleaned house a little bit!