As Time Goes By...

We celebrated an anniversary this week.  Our thirty-seventh.
Hubby actually took the day off!
We started off by going out to breakfast.  It took a while, because we had to drive around all over the place to find a suitable place that was nearby.  (And would still be serving breakfast - this granny doesn't rush anymore...)

We finally found a Denny's in one of the newer shopping centers to the West of us, it was nice, clean, and though the service was a little on the slow side, the food was comparable to our old favorite place back home.  :-)

After breakfast, we drove downtown.  We have tried twice to see the dancing fountains at the Bellagio - the only touristy thing down there that really interests me. 
Each time we've tried, the mobs of people and the traffic have made us change our plans...

After finding a parking place (Under Nieman Marcus - the closest to that store I'll ever be,) we hiked.
The sun was out in full force, and so was the wind!  But we continued down the strip, dirt particles pinging our cheeks, and stirring up our hair.  It was a longer hike than we anticipated, but we finally arrived, and then we waited... and waited... and waited.

After about half an hour, we began to wonder if we should venture on and see some other things, or stay there and wait some more.  While we were trying to decide, we were acosted by one of those street people who try to nab unsuspecting tourists and try to sell them things that they don't need and will never use.  We patiently listened to his schpiel, then finally we told him we were just waiting for the water show - to which he said, "Oh, they don't do that when it's this windy."
...Information we could have used eons before.

We excused ourselves, and continued down the street to see what else there was to see.
On previous drives down the street, I had seen an elaborate Pepsi storefront, and thinking that it might be one of those factory/distribution places, I thought hubby might enjoy it, (since he's a complete addict.)
Looks are deceiving here in sin-city - it was nothing but a decoration on the front of a HUGE casino.  There was nothing whatsoever Pepsi related on the inside.

So, we tried the other side of the street, where I had seen a large M&M building.  Fearing a similar let-down, but being there anyway, we checked it out.
That place wasn't a factory either - just a very large store where you could find anything on earth with an M&M logo on it - at an extremely inflated price.  They even go as far as to pipe chocolate scented aroma therapy type air into the place.  Wow.  But then, what can you expect from America's tourist capital?

We had enough let-down by then, and the crowds were starting to thicken, so we started back to the truck.  On the way, we found a McDonald's, so we took a break to rest our feet, and cool off.
Not the most tasty or romantic place to lunch, but I ordered a frosty lemonade and a hot fudge sundae to brace me against the wind and heat.

By the time we got home, we were exhausted.  We crashed on the couch for the rest of the day, not even finding the energy to make dinner.

Do we Taylor's know how to party or what?

*The photo above was taken a few years ago when we went to visit our son in Seattle.  It was our anniversary then too, so while we were running around seeing all the sights the town has to offer, the kids told us we should at least stop and take a commemorative photo.
We just happened to park next to this car in the parking lot of the art museum we were visiting, so we posed next to it.  (We are not old - we are classics, right?)

I had a friend show me how to do indexing (genealogy) on my home computer this week, and I picked up some projects to do to get ready for my visit with my grand-girlies next month.
(Going to make them some surprises - love my girls!)
...Also got a really good book in the mail.  - Don't you hate it when you get involved in a major page-turner, and you want so bad to plow through it, but at the same time you want to take your time so it doesn't end too soon?  (Knowing that it could be a while until you find another.)

Yeah.  Me too.

Anywho -  I am set with projects for the next couple of weeks, at least...

Here's to a strange Memorial Day - hubby's at work, and I'm here with no one to celebrate with.
*Sigh*
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Update 5/14/2013

We meet again, dear blog.  How you must miss me when I'm gone! (As if...) :)

Things have been crazy for a couple of weeks - hubby had 2 major events at the store last week, so he was crunching the hours again.  By Saturday and Sunday he'd come dragging home late at night, with a sickly grey color to his complexion.  He would eat just a bite and go straight to bed.

It always makes me crazy when it gets like that - it leaves me home on my own too much, with too much time to think...

Monday, he came home late after the big bus tour (Supplier's convention.)  He was wiped out, as usual, and ready for bed, but I just had to tell him what I had been thinking about all day - I had decided I was going to move back home with my girls.  I don't feel needed or useful here, and I felt like that was my only solution to feel like I have some purpose in life.

As I was telling him this, his speech started to slur a bit, and he crumpled to the floor!

From there it is a bit of a blur - I couldn't get any response from him, so I ran to the kitchen and grabbed the phone.  I dialed 911 and kept rubbing his shoulders and talking to him until he started to respond again.

The ambulance was there in minutes,  and they checked him out while I gave them all his information, and ran around trying to find his driver's license and insurance cards.  They loaded him on the gurney and wheeled him out into the waiting vehicle.

Meanwhile, a second wave of panic rolled over me - I have not driven down here, AT ALL!  Suddenly, I HAVE to, alone, in the dark!  I had to ask directions several times, and try to make sense of them - never having seen the area that they were talking about.

I climbed in the truck, and noticed that the tank was on empty.  Great.
I've never been so scared, driving down an unknown road alone at night - thinking, what if I can't find him - what if I get lost out here and wander around until I run out of gas...

But I did find the hospital, and was so thankful to know that he was in good hands.
To make a long story short, (I know, too late,) they ran him through a battery of tests to find out what happened.  It was pretty much like I thought.  Exhaustion, dehydration, etc.

I hope we both take lessons from the experience - he needs to delegate more at work (and not be such a control freak) and I need to realize that I am needed here, and find a way to make the best of it.

Some lessons come the hard way.

The event on Friday was a bit of a bust, in my estimation.  The outdoor concert at the store didn't quite go as planned.  The singer, who was scheduled to be the headliner cancelled out at the last minute, so instead there was an endless string of skanky little stick chicks who performed.  They all looked and sounded exactly alike.

(One of the singing groups, playing around after their set.)

There was a booth set up selling hamburgers...

Back behind the show, there was a little area where kids & families could try out their calf roping skills.

It was a fun day for families, and it did bring in a lot of people who didn't even know the store was there, so in that way it was a success - I just had to be there too long...  Finished my book and retired to the truck until it was all cleaned up.

Wednesday, some kids that we both worked with at Walmart came through, on their way back from their honeymoon (Disneyland.)  Wayland showed them around the store, then brought them home to go to lunch with us.  They stayed and visited until almost 2. 
Always so nice to see people from home...

When we got back from lunch, this bouquet of roses was sitting on the porch waiting for me! (From my son and his family.)

Mother's Day was very different.  I've never had one so far away from my kids.
I was able to talk to them all though - even all the little grand girls.

That's the reader's digest version of my week.

I am done wishing for excitement!
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May the 4th Be With You...

I know, that's getting to be a really old joke, but it still makes me...  smirk.

Another month has gone by - and not much to show for it.  Read a couple of books, did some laundry, washed some dishes.  Wow.  Livin' it up in Vegas!

Yesterday was my husband's day off, and I almost had him convinced to take a drive out to the desert to hike - if it hadn't been for that darn movie he had to see. 

The newest Iron Man came out this week.  I'm not much into superheroes, and, like I tell my husband, Iron Man is my least favorite hero because he's not likable as a character.  He's a rich arrogant snob, so I have a hard time caring what happens to him...

In spite of that, I have to admit, I did enjoy the flick a bit.  If for no other reason than it was an outing.
Can't believe the price of snacks here though - for the cost of nachos and a drink, we could have gone out for a nice dinner.  Twice.  o.O

Meanwhile, things have been happening in the yard... (confession, I haven't been out of the house much this week, and wouldn't have even noticed if the wind hadn't been waving these yellow flowers in front of the craft room window.)

Blossoms everywhere;

Couldn't get a good shot of the tree in the front - the wind was blowing too hard.  (I'll try again later.)

Unfortunately, the flowers I planted aren't faring as well - my bougainvillea is drooping, and, you know I love my quail, but they get up on the table outside and nibble the buds off my petunias before they even have a chance to bloom.

Some thing's got to be done about that...

Creatively, this week's project was a bit of a bust...

My skills are embarrassingly rusty.  Do I keep trying, or just give up and move on to something that requires less talent?

It's a dilemma.

There's a craft fair somewhere in the community today - got to go walkies and see if I can find it.
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If You Build a Store in Hell...

You've got to learn to expect a little inconvenience.

The security alarm goes off almost nightly these days, and my husband has to drive down and check it out.  Sometimes it's just the wind blowing things around the motion detectors, but more often than not, someone is trying to break the lock on the front gate.

It always makes me shake my head - did the owners of the company even come down here and look the place over before they purchased the property?  It is a terrible location - in a really bad part of town.
There are so many better locations - places where it would be more visible and the business traffic would have been better.
I keep getting told that they picked it because it was the least expensive of the properties that they looked at, but you get what you pay for, especially in cities like Vegas.  It's an out of the way spot, in an area where there isn't really anything else to draw people - and the neighborhood is really rough.
...It's my husband who has to pay the price - putting his own safety on the line for the sake of his store.



Meanwhile, life goes on here at home.  We had a couple of visitors last night - a couple of my in-laws came through.  My sister in law's daughter is getting married - and the festivities are beginning, the daughter is at BYU, and her family lives in California, so we are the half way point in between.

The next time they come through, it will be for the ceremony in California, and there will be a bus load of them.  I hope I can handle that.  :-)

It's starting to get HOT here already - the last three days it has gotten up to 100 degrees.
My husband is loving it, and doesn't like me to run the air conditioner at all (electricity is really expensive here.)  But I don't do so well in the heat, and already I feel like I am melting...



I finally had a little social contact here - one of my neighbors came to borrow some boxes (she's preparing to move,) and in return, she invited me to go to lunch.
We went to one of the casinos closer to downtown, because she had 2 for one cupons...
We had a nice lunch, then she drove me to our subdivision's club house and showed me around.
She helped me get information about getting a card so that we can start using the facilities (pool, gym, etc.)

She also let us know that there have been some break-ins in our subdivision - one of them was just four doors down from her house - it happened in broad daylight!  ...And just when I was beginning to feel like we were secure here.

It's 1:30 - my husband is home - I guess we'll try sleeping again...
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