H&M Store in Ceasar's Palace Mall - Amazing!

Things to Do!

The things you do to occupy a child's time so he don't cry; like the photo booth! This photo booth was within the Rain Forrest Cafe in the MGM Hotel and Casino.

What a Scene on the Vegas Strip!

In front of the Venetian Hotel & Casino, while I was in Vegas, you could see Garfield and Mickey impersonators that had drunk a little too much. The sad part was that there were so many small children outside the Venetian ice skating, watching performers, and checking out the Christmas decorations. Of course the older visitors were laughing, and even giving them tips.

I don't want to name any names that put money in their buckets, but one person was Robin. Hopefully Debbie rolled Grady away in a hurry so he didn't see. I think they probably should wait until after dark to do this demonstration.

I did think it was funny though; forgive me!

Mandalay Bay Headless Statue

Vladimir Lenin (1870-1924), who was one of the leaders of the Soviet revolution, was a controversial figure in history and there is a statue of him outside Red Square restaurant. It initially caused quite a stir when it was unveiled in 1999. Mandalay Bay received complaints about having a statue of a Soviet leader in its hotel, and after finding out that heads were being removed from many Lenin statues in Eastern Europe, the hotel decided to decapitate the Communist leader’s likeness and stain the shoulders and shoes with simulated bird droppings. The head was originally hung from the ceiling above the statue, but in a strange twist, it was stolen and was missing for several weeks before finally turning up in a large pile of items donated to a local thrift store. The 250-pound head is now safely encased inside a block of ice within Red Square’s walk-in freezer. Only the visitors that purchase the expensive vodka can see it in the freezer if they ask, or that's what they say.

Las Vegas Baby!

If you want to exercise, you must go to Las Vegas, NV. Robin and I were missing our niece, her husband and their little boy. So we booked a plane to Vegas to see them.

The first night we arrived at 11:30 p.m.; our family picked us up at the airport, and our adventures begun. We walked from Excalibur all the way to Mandalay Bay; we saw the pyramids, Egyptian statues and everything in between. We got back to the hotel at 3:30 a.m.

Next morning; we were off to the breakfast buffet at Circus Circus, it was the cheapest. Then onto the Adventuredome. All the rides you could imagine; they were a little pricy at $5 a ride, but you're in Vegas. I was talked into going to the Sponge Bob Square Pants interactive movie. You wore 3D glasses; things happened that was on the screen. The pirate who introduces the shows spits, and water is spurted out at you. The only part that was yucky was they showed a massive pack of rats, and it looked like they were coming after you. Amazing film, even if I am an adult!


Below is a picture that was taken at the Adventuredome: front row - Robin, Penny and Debbie, Back row - Jim, Mike and my Grady Man. Grady is two and a half years old; he did really well sight seeing with us. I did realize that I'm not as young as I used to be. :-)



Then we spent some time with our family at their home; we went to Oat man, AZ where the burros roamed free, and watched a live gun fight with blanks in the guns of course. Laughlin, NV is another gambling strip; we walked the River-walk, rode on the Riverboat and had a strawberry daiquiri. I did a lot of drinking; I don't know if that's good or bad.

We also went to a In and Out Burger joint; I have a shirt to prove it, and it was really good. The staff were all so nice, the restaurant was so clean, and my niece said that the employees got at least $10 an hour. They even went to Hawaii once a year, and it's hard to find a job there. No one wants to leave.

Our last few days we were in Vegas; we walked from The Excalibur to the Venetian and back. Boy were we tired, but there were some amazing things to see. The lion habitat, flamingo habitat, Caesars Palace was my favorite. The Bellogio was really fancy, everyone was rude. I don't want to stay there. One man even ran over me while I was walking in the front door. We even got to go into the "Kardasian Chaos" store in the Mirage Hotel.

Unfortunately we had to leave on Monday; our plane left around 3 p.m., it was delayed due to the arriving flight had to be deiced in Denver. Of course that made our connection delayed, and we didn't make it home until almost midnight. I'm so tired, but it was so worth every minute with my family.

My Birthday 2011 - Better than I Thought!

When I woke up this morning, I just wanted the day over. I've always spent my birthday with my Mom and Dad, or at least one of them. This year was the first birthday without being with my Mom, and being without my Dad since the year 2000. My thought since I was off work today was that I would get some items done that I needed to, like calling to find out about insurance policies that my Mom had left within a filing cabinet. I just found the papers while cleaning last week. Of course after calling, now I have more work to do.

Then I thought I would visit my Internist to get some blood work done while I was off; that was fun, they were not able to draw my blood. It kept clotting to fast, and the vein would quit supplying blood. Now I have to go back to that office to get blood drawn.

Well now let me tell you the things that made it a good day!

• Anna: an old friend that I haven't heard from in a while texted me Happy Birthday while she was on her way to work. She said it always made her feel better when she talked to me.
• Robin, my amazing sister, texted me Happy Birthday.
• Kevin, Paulette, Steve, Brooke and Vicki from work texted me Happy Birthday. Kevin even remembered today was my birthday all by himself.
• I had 59 Happy Birthday messages on Face Book from all my friends; it was so touching, and I just couldn't believe they took time to do that for me.
• My unbelievable friend and co-worker Abatha emailed me last Friday to wish me a Happy Birthday and a fabulous weekend. So sweet!
• My Internist, which I think so much of, gave me a birthday hug. He said he would sing to me with the help of his staff when I left. He would have too, if he wasn't in another patients room. Thank goodness, that would probably have embarrassed me. I love him for the hug and the thought; he's the best.
• I got a birthday card from my chiropractor for a free visit; he forgot to tell me Happy Birthday when I saw him today though. He needs to do better, but his nurse told me Happy Birthday.
• I got to have my favorite chocolate cake at Stoney River Restaurant in Cool Springs with my Sis.
• I get to see my niece Debbie, her husband Mike, and my great nephew Grady very soon; I even got to talk to her on the phone Sunday until Grady decided to stand up in the car while it was moving. :-)
• Presents!

Thanks to everyone for making my Birthday this year so special; you don't know how much it meant to me, I think someone above must have been looking out for me. He worked through all of you. I'm so lucky to have you all in my life!

Opryland Hotel - Remembering the Flood of 2010 at Christmas

Walking through the Opryland Hotel at Christmas is a little melancholy this year; I keep looking at each area to see what's new, and what was saved from the flood of 2010. Below is a picture of the front desk, registration area. This was updated with all this new technology; nothing like it used to be.

Below is a picture of the lights outside; the tree looked pretty much the same, but I did notice a few lighted items missing. I believe there was a toy soldier that wasn't anywhere to be seen. They did have the nativity scene outside though, with its story being said through speakers.

Here is a covered gazebo within the Cascade area; it looked the same, just a little more shiny and less flowering vines.

Here is in the Delta area; it does look different, no fountain. The fountain, I believe, is where the Christmas tree is located right now. The Delta is where the waterways take visitors on tours of the hotel.

Good things can come out of bad situations; they were able to save the beautiful staircase, it reminds me of the staircase within the Tara mansion in the "Gone with the Wind" movie. Then the new glass scultpure within the lobby adds a beautiful touch.

Many of the businesses have reopened within the Opryland Hotel area; there are still a few that haven't reopened, they were devastated by the flood. One business that hasn't opened back up is the wax museum; many of the wax figures floated in the water during the flood, and many of the emergency personnel thought they were victims. The emergency personnel put theirselves in harms way to try and save these figures they thought were victims, but turned out to be a wax figure. So many of the wax figures were damaged beyond repair.

I overheard a person talking about the mall the other day; they were wondering what happened to the aquatic life that lived within the mall. There was a petting zoo of sting rays, a restuarant with fish, sharks and such within a huge tank. They were worried that if they went to a movie that they may look down and see one of these creatures. People think of everything!

This really taught Nashville that you never know what will happen tomorrow; we didn't ever in a million years think that there would be a flood that would cause the Opryland Hotel and the Mall to close for almost a year. So don't take things for granted; enjoy the holiday season one day at a time, and hold onto those memories. They could last a lifetime.

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!

Doesn't Look Like My Childhood Library!