Fill My Life With Song And Let Me Sing Forevermore.....

I can't get "Old Blue Eyes" outta my mind; it's like all of the sudden I've been turned into some crazy-assed Rat Pack member who is crooning and swooning Sinatra songs while I unpack and do laundry....ahhh, old smoothie.  Of course, it could be that our hotel room at Caesar's looked directly over the Bellagio and the dancing water/light show that plays every fifteen minutes and most of the time, it is accompanied by a song by Frank the Swank.  Let's see, what other nonsense is stuck in my head?  Ahhh yes, Celine Dion singing every time we turned on the TV and they were pimping her show, Elton John and his Red Piano and hoochies wearing things that I don't think even the slammingest of bodies should be wearing in public.  I'm sorry; there is a way to be sexy and a way to be a total trizzamp hoe-bag beyotch and those Vegas hoors are mostly the latter......but I gotta say, that is one of the reasons we love Vegas; no no, not the hoors but the fact that you can be, do, say and get away with so much and no one really cares.  Hrm, maybe they should call it "Sin City"?  OMG, I am sooooo going to suggest that the next time I am there and see what response I get ;).

Anyway, since I am sure this is going to be a potentially long post, go grab yourself a cup of coffee, tea, water, Wild Turkey or whatever it is that you are into right now....ok, let's rock this mother.....

When we arrived on Wednesday, we were thrilled to see that we had an excellent view of the strip; I had put in a request for a good view and getting there early really paid off for once!  After unpacking and making dinner reservations, we headed downstairs to Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill....uh okay, I am a connoiseur of fine cuisine and shit, but his southwestern "infusion" just did not speak to me; it was neither BAD nor GOOD....it just is something I don't want again, ya know?  I will have to say that the lamb shanks were tender and not too fatty at all.   Speaking of, score one for me...I only ate ONE of my shanks and half of the side tamale thing then gave the rest to Shawn.  Now take away the score for the lemon cheesecake infused with berry granita.....ATD*, beyotches!  After that we cruised across the walkway to the Bellagio and Shawn put his faboo new camera to work at the Bellagio Light Show, then we proceeded to walk around, checking out the construction (ahem, and new shops) at The Aladdin, the shops and fountains at Paris and then dum bum bummmmm.....we took the big gulping balls-of-steel test and bought tickets to ride to the top of The Eiffel Tower (the fakey, bien sur).  What is intersting about that is that Shawn is afraid of heights and I am claustraphobic and usually freak in elevators, but we managed to do quite well since it is a GLASS elevator and a caged observation deck....hell, Shawn even got his picture taking on again, so yanno.....see how happy we were???

Thursday night was sort of a free-for all as Shawn was in a poker tournament.  Yes, my sad and somewhat addicted ass ordered room service and watched Big Brother before going down to lose my ass on the slots....oh yeah, this may be the time for the honorable mention that my slot-luck days may be over.  I officially lost about $600 this trip, for fucks sake.  However, after losing money and deciding that I'd be better off shopping and getting actual THINGS for that money, I went to The Forum Shops at Caesars and Shawn entered a poker tournament....I dunno, I went to sleep way before he smoothed in the room at 5am.  In any case, Shawn won his first official tournament that night and made contacts in the meantime.  I am really happy for him and proud of him because he would love to play poker professionally and although he is far from that point, the first step is winning a tournament, right?  He also was talking to the pit boss and guy who took second in the tournament and they are huge WoW fans so hey....they should be hooking us up, mannnnn ;).

Friday was a kick-back day with me trying again at the Wheel of Fortune, Doubkle Diamond Deluxe with Cheese and Haywire slots and finally just giving up and uh....shopping.  I found a cute couple of t-shirts and a Babar In Paris Las Vegas book for Jacob and a birthday present for Karl, who will be 40 here shortly.  Then we got all dolled up and headed to the Skank Rio Hotel to see Tony-N-Tina's Wedding. Holyyyyy crap......for someone who has been burned and disappointed by many lame attempts at dinner theater (like Suspects in Old Sacramento or The Pirates Dinner Adventure in Buena Park, CA), I was in awe of how freaking fantastic and fun this show is!  We got VIP tickets which meant that we also got a front table, a gift bag from the bride and groom (hat, t-shirt and shot glass), free-flowing champagne and apparently a chance to be involved in a ton of the action.  The reason this "show" was so great is that no one broke character at any time....it really was like you were at Tony and Tina's wedding and reception and when dancing with or talking to "cast members" they stayed in character; seriously, I left there feeling like I had been at a wedding.....I also left there quite toasty but that is another story, heh.  There was everything: a pregnant bridesmaid, a nun that kept messing with Shawn by turning his head toward me when the slutty girls would dance or by leaving him bread-stick crosses on the table, a "caterer" named Vinnie Black who took my left hand and said, "hey, you got something on your hand there?  It's me so come dance!".  Shawn even got to be a part of the Village People Ensemble so it was good times all around.  It is the most fun I have had in ages and the most drunk I think I have ever been from champagne, hah.  It was like the trashiest Italian wedding ever and the most fun as well.

By Saturday, I was done; I think Plunky Deb had even said that about three days in Vegas is enough and she is right.  We ended up going to explore the newly rennovated Downtown Vegas which led to Shawn calling me a "princess" when I said that I did not like my meals with a side of "vagrant".  It was all in good fun, but seriously....I don't like my meals that way ;).  They've done a great job with The Golden Nugget and making downtown look nicer but the caliber of people that hang there are still iffy, so yanno.  In any case, we decided to leave a bit early (Sunday instead of Monday) and I was actually glad to have all of Labor Day to catch up, do laundry, watch Tivo and various relaxing things.  Vegas is a definite blasty-blast but there really is a level of how much smoke inhalation one can handle....oooh that reminds me, I almost got clocked for asking this snatch-basket to blow her smoke the other way....yes patrons, I realize smoking is legal in Sin City but uh....common curtosey here - if the aisle and seats to your left are blank and there is one person next to you on the right, blow to the left you white trash bitch, sheeeesh.  Ahem, anyway had loads of fun and really did not eat too poorly at all.  I'm pretty stoked about my choices and although I did not count points or even worry about dieting, I never felt as if I pigged out just for the sake of pigging out and what more can one ask for?  Oh yeah, more booze.

Thanks for sticking with me to the end of the post, if you have and if you have not, well there's a special place in my heart for people like you...the dark place ;).  I know I got linky with tons of pics because Shawn TOOK over a million of them (slight exxageration) so, if you are bored and want to see all of our pics, here is a link to my Flickr Album.  If any of them strike your fancy as a desktop or whatever, let me know and I can email you the OG size.  And now, I must get back to my frozen yogurt addiction and chill on the typing for a bit!  Postcards are on the way for those who asked and this blog will resume its regularly scheduled programming at some point this week!

Mad Props To Dave2 At Blogography Kisses,
Me

*ATD = Absolutely To Die For

Comments

[Dave2]

Glad to know you left the city in one piece. ;-)

[Neil]

What fun -- and that was a great update. It was like we were there. The only question I have is that Shawn won a poker tournament and all we get is one sentence? Is this like a usual thing for him, so it doesn't merit much more? Isn't winning a poker tournament a fairly big accomplishment? Did he cover your losses? (sorry to bring that up...)

[Hilly]

Dave - thanks and thanks for babysitting lil Snackiepoo.

Neil - I wasn't there so I cannot give the blow by blow but will link it when he does in his own blog. People always make fun of how long my posts are so I tried to condense the shit out of this thing.....in any case, that is a HUGE accomplishment that has him jazzed up and uh I think all-in-all we left a bit down, but he covered most of my losses, thank GOD!

[Sarah Living to Feel Good]

Loved looking at the pictures. Now you got me excited for when we go. 17 more days!!

[Dagny]

First of all, I have not been in Lost Wages since 1988. I have friends that go there all the time but their descriptions pale to yours.

I am sure I would have skipped the elevator trip. Glass elevators make me think o ftaking the trip to the 36th floor of the St. Francis Hotel in SF -- a common occurrence in my childhood. Just the thought of those rides sends chills through me -- and that's on the mildest of days. Maybe I can fogive my dad for his freakish dislike for ferris wheels. Not.

Oh, and you watched Big Brother? I called up Jade after Thursday night's episode to say that I think that Erica and Jannelle are the studpidest hos who have ever walked the planet. Ummm. Yes, the show makes me feel passionately.

[beee]

Sounds like you really had a great weekend :) You've made me want to visit there again.. but next time, hopefully i'll take someone with me... Vegas on your own isn't fun.

[javajabber]

Three days...I know how you felt! We used to drive up to Vegas on a Friday night after work and leave Saturday night. If we were winning, we'd stay until Sunday. That was just enough time to get in a little debauchery, booze, and gambling without losing our asses!

Shawn's new camera takes great pics.

You didn't mention how hot it was out there, but I heard it was unbearable.

And who the hell makes fun of you for long posts? Point them out to me and I'll kick their ass! The nerve...

Welcome back. Dave was great, but he's not you.

[Karl]

*I* make fun of her for long posts. Come on, come kick my ass, Java! KIDDING! Please don't kick my ass.

Great post. I so wish I could have gone. And big props to Shawn for his tournament win! Wow. You guys'll be LIVING in Vegas soon.

[Anneke]

I've always had a blast in Vegas. Of course I have only ever gone with girlfriends, and we got silly and stayed up all night...

[Anomie-Atlanta]

As a self-appointed princess, I too do not like my meals with a "side of vagrant". Hilarious!

[Aim]

Yay! It sounds like you had a great time and I'm so happy Shawn won a tourney!! Fun times! Drinks? Did someone say drinks?! Ya gotta drink in Vegas... I heart the pics, by the way :o) You had an awesome, awesome view!!!

[duenneschen]

sounds like you had such a great time!!!

and the pictures.....i wanna go to Vegas!!!

glad to see your back safely!!

[francesdanger]

It sounds wonderful!

I would think that a side of vagrant would help you control your appetite. ;-)

[DutchBitch]

OK, next time... TAKE ME WITH YOU Puh-LEASEEEEE!!!!

[Mr. Fabulous]

Outstanding! We'll be there next month, you have whetted my appetite even more!

[javajabber]

Karl...isn't that like the pot calling the kettle black (or some other metaphor)?

And you KNOW you so want your butt kicked ...

(Hi Hill) (and Shawn) (I so want his camera!)

[Plunky(Deb)]

I did say that. So true too. Did you go play the Monopoly slots at the Aladdin?? If not, you have to do that next time. Oh and I also like the Munster ones at Paris.

Glad you had fun! I wish I was there! Boo hoo!

[christie]

Wow it sounds like you had a great time, Hilly!!! Next year I want to go!! :) heheehe