Viva Las Vegas!

Well I figured I better sit down and relive the Vegas trip in my mind before I forget it all.

Early morning flight.  It's funny how you can get up early to take a flight, but any other day your lazy butt is in bed until 9am.  On this particular morning we had to get up at 5am.

After a short layover in Phoenix and a quick snack of French fries, we arrived in Vegas at around 11:30am.  Yay.......lots of day left to have fun.

First stop was our hotel.  This trip we stayed at the MGM and what a great decision that was.  Love, love, love that hotel.  I apologize in advance that all of the pictures except for 2 of them will be borrowed from other people on the internet.  We didn't take any pictures.  Next trip we'll take an official photographer to document the event for us.

 

 

 We had the best room ever.  It was on the west side of the building and instead of having to walk down 3 miles of hallway we had a back elevator right across the hallway.  We also didn't have to walk all through the casino, we had a little back door that opened onto a side street and put us right on the strip in 2 minutes.  This dark picture was taken from our window at night.  We were on the 9th floor and could see all the gigantic signs down the strip from our room.

The first day consisted of gambling a little in New York, New York; eating; and getting a nap in since we had such a long day.  The show for the night was going to be Blue Man Group at the Monte Carlo, which lucky for us was right across the street.  We got dressed up all fancy and walked down the strip a little and ended up in the Aria casino.  Played a little and then headed for the Monte Carlo.  We ate dinner at a Chinese Restaurant in the Monte Carlo and since we had a 9:30 show......we took the time to leave a little money in their casino.

Blue Man Group was amazing and we were lucky enough to get 4th row seats.  Here's a valuable tip.....when you go to Vegas always go to the 1/2 price ticket place to get your show tickets.  You get good seats.....you get great prices!

 

The show ended bout 11:30 so after our short walk to the hotel.......it was bed time.  I know.....we're getting to be old farts.  We wanted to have lots of energy for the next day.

 

Our first full day in Vegas!  Time to walk the strip and go in every single casino on the way and leave a little money.  We hit: Planet Hollywood, Bally's, Cesar's Palace, Flamingo (stayed and played there for a couple of hours), Mirage (ended up playing Pai Gao Poker in there for about 4 hours), Paris Hotel, Venetian, Treasure Island......there might have been a couple of others that I missed.

 

We decided to take a cab back to the hotel (our feet were dead dog tired).  Had to make the plans for that evening.  Went to our favorite 1/2 price show ticket place and bought discounted buffet tickets for the buffet at Planet Hollywood and made the decision to see Zumanity by Cirque de Soleil that evening for the 9:30 show.  We got lucky again......it was at New York, New York.....right across the street again.

This show was a little racy and sensual with some topless girls.  Humorous and fun.  Had great seats......and enjoyed the performance.

I think Paul enjoyed these topless girls swimming in a giant champagne glass the best!

After the show we headed across the street to the Excalibur to see if we would win our riches there......we didn't.  Went to bed around 2am.

Day 3 of our Las Vegas adventure we decided we wanted to still see the rest of the casinos at the end of the strip and wanted to hit the downtown area.  We decided on taking the bus this time.  We bought an all day bus pass which allowed us to get off and on as much as we wanted.  First stop was the Riveria Hotel. 

We loved this place.  We stayed and played for a couple of hours and decided that this is where we want to stay the next time we come to town.  The smaller older casinos are so much better than those big fancy schmancy ones.

After playing there for awhile, we walked across the street to Circus Circus and Slots of Fun.  Both dives......but who cares.....we were having fun.

Hopped back on the bus and hit downtown.  First job was to find something to eat.  Ended up at the Plaza Hotel downtown at the Hash House A-Go-Go.  Luckily we decided to share this chicken and waffles......the both of us couldn't even eat it all.  Notice how the bacon is cooked inside the waffles.  It was fun to try something new and different.......but we decided that the chicken by itself and the waffles by themselves are way better!

Gambled in the downtown casinos for 3-4 hours and then it was time to decide what we were going to do for the night.  They had a 1/2 price show ticket booth down there so we decided we wanted to try and fit 2 shows in for that last night.  However, in order to get to the first one in time, we were not going to be able to take the bus back to the MGM.

So......we hailed a cab and got to the MGM.  Another lucky coincidence.  The first show we would be seeing that evening was at the MGM.......David Copperfield!

This was the BEST show we saw in Vegas.  This guy is amazing and you seriously cannot figure out how the heck he does it.  He is still as good looking as he was the last time I saw him perform over 20 years ago!

Our next show was going to be at 10pm.....so we headed over to New York, New York to find something good to eat for dinner.  Paul opted for a fish place and I opted for a meatball sub.  That hotel has the most awesome good court.  You feel like you are sitting outside in the streets of New York.  Love it!

 

Last show on this Vegas trip was going to be at the Luxor.  We really hit the jackpot on seeing 4 shows all within walking distance from our hotel.  We had some time to kill so we left a little bit of money over in the Luxor before we saw this:

More topless girls!  Hey if you go to Vegas......you need to do the showgirl thing :-)

After all that stimulating showmanship.....we headed back to the Excalibur to finish out our night of leaving money in the casinos.  I think we made it back to the MGM around 3am.

 

Last Day......last day!  Checked out of the hotel and didn't have to leave for the airport until 3pm.  We decided to check out the other casinos on our fabulous corner before heading out.  Not much impressed with the Tropicana or the Hooters Casino.....so we ended up at the MGM and gave them some more of our money.

 

Had a great flight home with a short layover in Phoenix again.  Arrived safe and sound in Houston around 11:30pm........another wonderful trip to remember with my honey!

Just wish we could have made it more profitable!

 

 

Paul & Debbie's secret trip Hint #5:
Our destination this time is for business reasons and NOT a personal vacation!

 

 

No autographs please!

It might not be much to you, but it's always a big deal for me when we get asked to be a part of an article in the pizza trade magazines.

This month, I have a small piece in an article about delivery bags.

If you are so inclined, check it out here on page 48.  Clicking the link should take you right to the page where the story is.  By doing so, you will feed into my over self-inflated ego and have made a contribution for me to enjoy my 15 minutes of fame.

http://www.pmqmag-digital.com/pmqmag/january_february_2014#pg48

Paul & Debbie's secret trip Hint #4:

Our destination city is the 3rd largest city in the state where it is located.

Product endorsement

Well in the blurry month I was sick, my birthday, Christmas, and Paul's birthday came and went.

I spent most of the time in bed and watching my house get further and further into clutterdom.

Even though I told Paul not to get me anything for Christmas, he did anyways.  But it really is a couple's gift so I guess it doesn't count.

He got us one of these:

A Soda Stream!  We had looked at them before Christmas trying to decide if it was something we would like and use.  We LOVE it!  The flavors we've tried have been delicious:  Root Beer, Orange soda, Pink Grapefruit.

Right now we an assortment of fruit flavorings to make just flavored Sparkling Water.  This week we bought Ocean Spray Cranberry-Raspberry and Tonic Water.  Both delicious and so easy to make.  We're looking for Ginger Ale now and haven't been brave enough yet to try Cola.  Less sugar in the Soda Spray drink.  But I've been replacing some of the Coke with the sparkling waters.

 Be warned:  when sampling new Cranberry beverage, don't spill it all over yourself.

 Seriously, if you have stains in clothing you have to get this stuff.  I haven't seen a stain it couldn't remove yet.  Even old greasy stains in Pizza Zone t-shirts.  It's the best.  ***you can go back and repeat this whole paragraph in a women from a TV commercial voice.....(it will make it more interesting)

 I thought I would just share a couple of pics from my first Thai Cooking experience was happening.  We went to the Chinese Market and bought the necessary ingredients. 

Since I'm sure most people have no idea what Lemongrass is (or have ever even heard of it), this is Lemongrass.  Not what I had pictured in my mind.  It's almost like little stick stalks (say that fast 3 times).  When you cut into it, it had a very aromatic smell of lemons.

Here's the star ingredient........Fish Sauce.  I actually cut back a little on the portion of that in the recipe.  But in the whole grand scheme of things you never really taste it in the soup.

 Here's the final product.  We added shredded chicken to it as well.  This recipe is a keeper!

And Paul whipped up a batch of home veggie fried rice to make the meal complete.

 

 

Paul & Debbie's secret trip Hint #3: 

Our destination city had a high temperature of 16 yesterday and will probably be just as cold when we visit.

 

Yes. We are taking another trip.

I can imagine what everyone is thinking now.  "They just got back".

Well this one was planned spur of the moment this past Monday.  Of course, all our trips are always planned spur of the moment.

Not going to reveal our destination yet.......but will drop a hint or two off each day and see if you can figure it out. 

Hint 1:  Travel dates are February 8-February 11.

Hint 2:  We're going somewhere where no one will probably be able to guess where it is.

Onto other news:

Cooking!

I've been cooking again lately.  Yay!

Here's a couple of pictures to imprint the occasion in our memories.

The best and easiest chicken in the world.  Chicken breasts sprinkled with Salt, Pepper, Lawry's Seasoned Salt, Garlic Powder, and Onion Powder.

Fry them up in butter until they are done.  Your chicken will turn out nice and juicy!

Serve them with a side of "special" rice.  Boil regular rice in Chicken or Beef Broth as the liquid.  At the end mix in sliced green onions.  It's good just like that, but this last time I also threw in some chopped Cilantro.  This was the easiest darn dinner and tastes so so good.

The other night I made the Green Chile Chicken Salad and wrapped it in Spinach Tortilla Wraps with lettuce and avocado.  Served with a side of chips and a dill pickle.  Oh my......it was delicious.

The next evening, we didn't have dinner plans.  As we were talking we both came up with the weirdest thing we wanted.  What's even funnier is why we would even choose this?!?!?!?!?!

Yes.  We actually had Manwich for dinner.  And it was very very delicious.

 

Tonight's challenge will be new recipe.  We've recently discovered Lemongrass Soup and it's so yummy (we are talking really really yummy).  So I'm making a trip to the Chinese market today to get my ingredients:  Lemongrass, Ginger root, Red Chiles, Fish Sauce, Chili Paste, Tomatoes, Mushrooms, and Cilantro.

I can honestly say that I could never imagine myself saying I need to get Lemongrass and Fish Sauce for dinner tonight.  Crazy stuff starts happening to you after you turn 50!

Okay, time to get the day started.  And just for the memories.....it's a crazy iced over city kind of day and the news is filled with all the accidents and people stuck on icy bridge stories.  Glad I get to work from the comfort of my own toasty home wearing comfy clothes.  Ahhhhhh.......what a life!

P.S.  Did you figure out where we're going yet?

Itty bitty updates

Well now that I'm back I'm filled with so much news.  Can't wait to get it all out.

Today's post will be brief since I've got a busy day planned. 

1.  Having lunch with "adopted" son
2.  Working on getting quotes for driver, worker comp, and business insurance.  Renewal time.
3.  Getting last week's paperwork done.
4.  Cleaning off all the miscellaneous"ish" mess on my desk.

Pizza Zone news:  not moving our location.  Working with current landlord and architect right now to draw up plans based on expansion at our current location.  We are going to get estimates of what the work will cost and go from there.  We might only be signing a 1 year lease there with the hopes of trying to move out again next year.  We'll see.

Well I was going to post some pictures, but I really need to get cracking.  Maybe later today during end of day stuff, I'll get you some pics.......so you can really see what we've been up to.

Anyone still checking in here?

Actually, I'm feeling my blog mojo coming back.

I want to post pics of some yummy things I've been cooking. 

I want to post our fabulous (but BIG losing) trip to Las Vegas.

I want to tell you all about what we've been doing and how my husband has been sick the last few days.

I also want to tell you about our latest trip that I just booked.

Do I have your interest yet?  Send me an e-mail or post on Facebook that you've been here and I'll try and get things posted starting tomorrow.

Just checking to see if my audience is still around!

The flu ate my creativity

2 weeks ago today, I caught the dreaded flu.

And now it has eaten my desire to write, doing anything crafty, or do anything period.

You won't be seeing he here for awhile.  I have nothing in me to write.

Maybe I'll find it all again someday and come back and share it with you.