What Happened in Vegas...

Will be posted on my blog!

So, Erik and I went to Las Vegas with his sister and her husband for the weekend. It was awesome. We had such a great time and I'm a little blue today that it's over. But anyways, here's a recap for my own memory and reading enjoyment for you.

We left Friday at 8:30 am. Our first stop (after Starbucks, of course!) was the Hacienda Casino on the other side of the Hoover Dam. (On a side note, that dam is AMAZING! I'm always so amazed at what those people did, how dangerous it must have been. It's an architectural and engineering marvel if you ask me. No, I've never taken the tour. But I have seen Vegas Vacation so I feel like I've been inside...) So, anyways, we stopped at the Hacienda Casino where Erik and Craig (my Brother-in-law) love to play $1 craps. You see, it's like the only place in all of NV that has $1 craps, and they like to play craps. So, we stopped. And they played.

We got back on the road and checked into our hotel. We stayed at the Planet Hollywood Towers. It used to be the Aladdin. I have stayed at the Aladdin, but it was sold to P.H. back in 2006. The hotel is super chic. We had a suite with a huge 100 inch projection screen, a jacuzzi tub, sleeping for 4, full kitchen. Just super swanky and cool.

After checking in we got ready and hit the casino. For the first time I decided I would play black jack. I've always shyed away from it because I don't like to lose money. But this time I thought I would relax about the money and look at it as purely entertainment. And you know what, it was a ton of fun. Of course I'm terrible at adding numbers up, so I was constantly asking the dealer "what is that?". Which is awesome. I felt so smart... And you know, that first night I came out ahead. In fact for the whole weekend my playing came out ahead.

Well, we had a ton of fun that first night. Ate a fantastic sandwich at The Earl of Sandwich. Discovered a new drink, a Tokyo Tea, which is a Long Island Iced Tea, only instead of a shot of Coke it has Midori. (I mean why not add more alcohol to that drink?) I probably had a couple too many of those, but they're free while your gambling so it's really really hard to turn down...

The next morning we hit the buffet for breakfast. But after the Tokyo Teas I was really only interested in coffee...

The biggest thing we did was on Saturday night. We ate at Craftsteak at the MGM Grand. It was by far the best meal I've ever had. I am going to go into great detail because I want to remember it. I wish, oh I wish, I could eat there all the time. The price was hefty, but seriously worth it in my opinion. How often do you get to go to Vegas? And eat at a serious restaurant?

We decided to go with the Chef's Dinner, which was a three course sampling of most things on the menu. (The menu changes daily, FYI, according to what they have and what's in season.) We had a frisee salad with a warm blue-cheese and bacon dressing. It was divine. Little melty bits of blue cheese with thick-chunks of bacon over frisee. And we had a watercress salad with little cucumbers and a lemon vinagrette and we had a Cesar salad with fresh anchovies. It was probably the first time I've had a fresh anchovy, and it was awesome. I loved it.

For the second course, we had four (FOUR) different steaks. A huge T-bone, a huge rib-eye, a dry aged steak, and the tenderest flank steak I've ever dreamed of. We had so much left over it was just a shame. I hated to see it leave our table. I kind of wanted to take it all with me to eat between black jack hands...

For the third course we were served five or six (I can't even remember!) desserts. My favorite was a monkey bread pastry with pecans and caramel drizzled served with a banana ice cream. YUMMMMM! And then there was the four different sorbets; Apple Cider, Orange Basil, Blueberry, and Grapefruit. My mouth is watering just remembering it. We also had a bittersweet chocolate lava cake, a lemon verbena cheesecake, and an apple thing, with shaved apple slices over a flaky pastry. Who even knows what it was called? It was flippin awesome.

I had a glass of a Parallel Cabernet Sauvignon which paired with the steak beautifully. I did not get to meet Tom Colicchio, but we did have three waiters and we felt incredibly blessed to be there and enjoy such an experience. Even the bathroom was amazing! :)

From there we went over to New York New York and happened to get in at a black jack table right when it opened. We had the BEST dealer ever. His name was Robert and he helped us have an amazing time. I'm telling you, with a great dealer you hardly even notice how much you win or lose. You feel good the whole time. He was a treat and I'm so glad we had the good fortune to play with him. I'm not kidding, we sat there for 6 and a half hours laughing and playing and I didn't even notice that we ended up with five more dollars than we went in with. Craig and Ash made out significantly better. But most importantly we had a grand time.

So, we came home yesterday and I went to bed at 7:30 and slept until 5:30. It was great!

Now it's off to my Bible study homework. God's timing is so great; we're reading 1 John. The first chapters about sinning and being in the light... Sheesh, Lord Jesus. We're good, right?

So, is it Team USA? Or Team Polo?

So, I like the Olympics. I don't watch every event, but I like watching what I do see.

Also, I have just a tiny bit of patriotism inside of me. (Just a little...) So I love to see the USA CLEAN UP at international competition. It shows our superiority. I like superiority.

Anyways, I was watching the opening ceremonies last week and in comes the USA Olympic team and they are wearing some rockin' Ralph Lauren duds. (Big fan of R.L. You know, he's the American designer if you ask me.) Except for one major problem.

There's a HUGE polo logo on the front of the Jacket, with USA on the back. Like first and foremost, Ralph Lauren, and then as an afterthought, USA.

So, I'm just wondering. Which is more important? The marketing of your clothes line? Or the promotion of the USA?

(This is not the actual jacket worn in the Opening Ceremonies. But a good example.)

Pity party, table for one...

Birthday Post (Word of the Day: Demoralized)

So, today is my birthday. And I am in a serious funk.

1. I gave up breastfeeding last week. Jack's happy. I just don't produce enough milk to make it a long time with nursing. (Please don't give me the it's-in-your-mind argument. I know it. He didn't fight me on it, that's for sure.)

2. I weighed myself, and I'm up three pounds. Why, oh why, did I get on the scale on my birthday? I pretty much hate not being pregnant sometimes. I know, Happy Fat Tuesday, Jessica! How's that for irony?

So, yeah for being 31. I feel like Sally Albright.

Sally: I'm difficult.
Harry: You're challenging.
Sally: I'm too structured, I'm completely closed off.
Harry: But in a good way.
Sally: No, no, no, I drove him away. AND, I'm gonna be forty.
Harry: When?
Sally: Someday.
Harry: In eight years.
Sally: But it's there. It's just sitting there, like some big dead end. And it's not the same for men. Charlie Chaplin had kids when he was 73.
Harry: Yeah, but he was too old to pick them up.

3. And then Bam! I find out Katie is giving up sugar. I just don't think I can do the whole Lent thing. And to know that there are people out there who truly do it, well, let's just say I hate being face-to-face with my own shortcomings, especially on my birthday. I mean, I love Jesus and all. Don't get me wrong. But for some reason I've yet to participate in Lent. Maybe it's because I grew up Bible-Belt Christian.

And on that note, why in the world have a birthday right before Lent? I feel totally dejected.

I know, I'm a barrel of fun today. Aren't you glad you checked in? :) Today the word is demoralized.

Word of the Day: Nettled

I am nettled. Definitely. I am incredibly frustrated at what is going on.

First off, unemployment is at 10%. One in 10 people are unemployed. One of which is my father. And FYI, men are the hardest hit with this round of unemployment.

Second, because the deficit (which is another word of the day-means DEBT) is so large, production is so expensive and manufactures have had to cut production, but they're doing it so creatively. Instead of a pound of pasta, you can buy 12 ounces for the same price. Instead of a 12 pack of Diet Coke, you can buy 8-packs for the same price. So, no, our grocery bills have not stayed the same. You now have to buy more to feed your family.

Third, because the most notorious bureaucrat in Washington, Nancy Pelosi, feel so entitled she has racked up over 3 million dollars in personal travel for her family! Non-Congressional trips. Just travel for her kids and grandkids. And she's very wealthy. She is one of the 15th richest members of Congress with a net worth between $33 and $95 million. She could afford to pay the way for her kids to fly commercial. (FYI, I don't have a problem with wealth. But I have a big problem with wasting money, spending money that does not belong to her. It's called theft, people. Taxpayer money is not her slush fund. But she's acting like it is.)

And they have the audacity complain about the economy. You've got to be kidding me. It's your fault, with all this spending, that the government is running in the red.

And to add insult to injury, President Obama has said that he intends to reduce the debt. With all due respect, you do not spend your way out of a debt. All of us know that. When the money is gone, there is no more money. When we spend our money on shoes, there is no more money for groceries. When we buy a car we don't need we don't have the money to pay for our electricity. We make decisions about what's important.

Priorities for the federal goverment should only be military, national security, and roads. That's it. I'm fine paying taxes for those things. But extending unemployemnt benefits indefinitely? No way. That's not going to get anyone employed. It just creates further dependence on the government. And it increases corporate taxes. Which causes employers to cut jobs, hours, or go under. Which leads to more lost jobs. The only way to stop this cycle is to cut all taxes and especially the corporate taxes.

So, yes, I'm incredbily nettled. And nettled is not nearly a strong enough word for it. I'm angry.

We should all be praying that this will not go on. I believe what the Bible says about praying for your government so that all may live in peace. I want that to be my heart. And it is. I'm angry because I know how much suffering these terrible tax-and-spend policies has created and will further. There is no freedom with government rule. Our government was originally designed to be restricted. Instead, it's been empowered by the people. We need to wake up from our apathy and start caring about how much our government spends. We need to pray that the right people are voted into government service.

Mutterings & Musings

Here's a run-down on some of things that I have either said out loud to myself or thought.

1. I wish I were a compulsive cleaner. I have a feeling that perhaps my dear darling husband wouldn't mind if I was a tad compulsive about clutter, bathrooms, vacuuming, dusting, laundry. But I'm not. I'm perfectly fine with piles on my counter (at least there's only one!), and my desk completely covered with coupons and notes (my desk closes up!). And laundry, once one of my pepeeves, now I am absolutely unfazed by piles of clean clothes folded and not put away all over the house. However, it does bother me, kind of. Just not enough to make me all Sissy Spacek from "Blast from the Past" with rubber gloves and sofa plastic.

2. I am surprised by how thick a Chick-fil-A Peppermint Milkshake is on carpet. My dear second born spilled hers back before Christmas and I am just now trying to clean it. Ugh. I think a visit to Danny's may be in order. Or Cobblestone. Yeah, Cobblestone. They have Dunkin Donuts... :)

3. Dude. The Murad free sample is run out. I'm so bummed. I've wanted to try their line but don't want to splurge on it myself.

4. Curse you, Jillian Michaels. Curse you. (Not really. I hope you get to know Jesus. But your workouts are going to be the death of me. Or maybe the skinny of me...)

5. I think Kate and Sawyer are a much better match then Kate and Jack. It's like Kate and Jack are trying to be something they just are not. In a sad way, Sawyer and Kate are equals and Jack is just a little too good for Kate. It's like Jack is slumming for Kate.

6. I have been watching too much Lost. (Instead of cleaning, or putting away laundry...)

Sorrow & Suffering

So, I only made it through two weeks of regular posting in December. No where near the goal of posting everyday I was hoping to accomplish. Well, Christmas kind of surprised me. Sleep deprivation.

Anyways, now that Jack is sleeping through the night (Glory Be!) I am getting more sleep. My only problem now is that the wonderful Erik and I are trying to catch up on Lost before the season starts in February. So, we're staying up late watching that!

That is not the point of this post... :)

I am reading Hinds Feet on High Places by Hannah Hurnard. It was recommended to me by my sister-in-law's mother, as well as my own. And I would have to say that it is a great read. I have enjoyed the quiet pace of the book, as well as the content. It gives me hope that within me is growing a quiet and gentle spirit. And even in the midst of trials, I can be submissive to the Lord who is my Shepherd and will only lead me through things for His Glory and my growth.

One of the most profound ideas in this book is the companions the Shepherd gives the main character, Much-Afraid.

"Here are the two guides which I promised," said the Shepherd quietly. "From now on until you are over the steep and difficult places, they will be your companions and helpers."

Much-Afraid looked at them fearfully....They were so silent, so strong, and so mysterious. Why did they not speak? Why give her no friendly word of greeting?

"Who are they?" she whispered to the Shepherd. "Will you tell me their names, and why don't they speak to me? Are they dumb?"

"No, they are not dumb," said the Shepherd very quietly, "but they speak a new language..." "But as you travel with them, little by little, you will learn to understand their words."

"They are good teachers; indeed, I have few better. As for their names, I will tell you them in your own language, and later you will learn what they are called in their own tongue. This," said he, motioning toward the first of the silent figures, "is named Sorrow. And the other is her twin sister, Suffering."

Poor Much-Afraid! Her cheeks blanched and she began to tremble from head to foot. She felt so like fainting that she clung to the Shepherd for support.

"I can't go with them," she gasped. "I can't! I can't! O my Lord Shepherd, why do you do this to me? How can I travel in their company? It is more than I can bear. You tell me that the mountain way itself is so steep and difficult that I cannot climb it alone. Then why, oh why, must you make Sorrow and Suffering my companions? Couldn't you have given Joy and Peace to go with me, to strengthen me and encourage me and help me on the difficult way? I never thought you would do this to me!" And she burst into tears.

You can imagine from the above quote that the Shepherd gave Much-Afraid exactly who she needed to make the journey. It could not have been any other way.

So often we fight against God's ways. So often I cry out to God, "Why this way, Lord? It would be easier if..."

I find myself asking God to make our lives easier so I would reach the "high places" (those places close to God) faster. More money, less debt, fewer personal hang-ups, etc. But if God were to just give me Money & Spiritual Health as my companions, what need would I have of the Shepherd? Would I ever cry out to Him to come to my aid? Would I ever receive His loving hand through the tough places if I was self-sufficient? I have to answer resoundingly, "No!" He knows that I need Suffering in life. He knows I need Sorrow. Maybe it's the humbling aspect of Suffering and Sorrow that is necessary in our walk. I wonder, even, if I must embrace Sorrow and Suffering, not just walk with it. I tend to think so.