Girlfriend therapy

What more could a girl want than to be with two of her besties for her birthday? It certainly was a treat for me. HH & I left for Sioux Falls early Friday AM to meet LR, who was driving up from Omaha. We took time for lunch and quickly worked on catching up on one another's lives. We went to a salon school and had pedi's. Needless to say, the pedi-performers could use a little more "training". We sure got a lot of laughs out of it, but doubt if we will ever repeat it. Next we got in a little retail therapy. I had forgotten how great it is to get honest opinions about how things look. I love my peeps! Supper was downtown at the Phillips Avenue Diner. Delish - plus the pumpkin cheese cake was the best birthday cake I could have ever wanted! Yummers. We stayed up very late talking and laughing until we cried. Seriously - HH & LR are hILaRiOus!! Saturday started out with treasure hunting {Savers} and more retail therapy. By mid-afternoon, we were ready for school. Our schooling consisted of a private class to learn how to make bracelets and earrings at the Bead Company. HH & LR caught on WAY faster and completed more projects than I did, but they still let me hang out with them, so it's all good. By the end of the day, it did get a little sad because we know our time together would be ending soon. Our final splurge was the Sin Of The Day at Sinful Things Gourmet Desserts. Oh my! WOwwY-wOw-woW! I went for the Ultimate Sin... strawberry cheesecake sandwiched between rich chocolate cake. Yup - I ate the whole thing. It was the first time in my life that I ate cake for my supper and I don't regret it a bit! I came home with my spirit lifted, my energy replenished and with a very happy heart. Thank you so very much HH & LR!

Girls Weekend in Vegas

You know the feeling of planning and planning for an event and then when it finally happens, it feels surreal and you almost need to pinch yourself as a reminder that it IS real? That is how I felt on Friday morning as I was boarding the flight in Sioux Falls to go to Vegas for our Girls Weekend.

I would like to set the stage a little bit. The idea for the Vegas trip started being kicked around back in March. The last girls weekend that we (Kathy, Sherri & I) had been on together was November 11-12, 2004.... over 4 1/2 years ago! Although we did try to get together one weekend in March of 2007 in Minneapolis, Kathy ended up in intensive care due to a severe illness, so our trip was postponed. It ended up being postponed for 2 years and 3 months! As to why we chose Vegas? Well, I was just throwing out destinations and this is one of the ideas that stuck. We worked out the date for our trip fairly quickly and decided to go 4 days. Flights were booked by the end of April, but the question of where we should stay took much, much longer. With barely a week to spare, we settled on Mandalay Bay.
The main reason for Mandalay Ba was the beach... given the fact that all three of us are land-locked (2 in MN and 1 in CO), the thought of even a man-made beach is appealing. Being right on the strip - another reason. Plus the fact that the SUN doesn't want to shine very much in MN, I was certainly looking forward to some time in the desert.

Sandy toes... I never get tied of them.

I got a new beach hat and cover-up... had to try to look as stylish as my peeps. But I digress, back to the trip highlights. Sherri and I were on the same Alligent Air flight Friday AM, but were not able to sit together. The attendants were pretty fun and gave us the opportunity to do some gambling on the flight. To play, you put your seat number on the back of a 5 dollar bill. If your seat number was drawn out of the bag, then you got to have the whole bag of cash. I figured this was going to be the best odds I would ever have, so I marked my 5 dollar bill and added it to the bag of cash. I was so sure I was going to win. Turns out, the seat directly behind me won the $360 bag of cash. Rats! Lady Luck was still with me when I pulled a super dumb move exiting the plane in Vegas. I left my very, very nice SLR camera under my seat. I didn't realize it until Sherri and I were about to board the tram to get to baggage claim. Suddenly, my heart skipped a beat or two and I shouted, "I left my camera!" to Sherri and sprinted back to the terminal. Luckily, they hadn't started boarding the next flight, so the attendant was able to go back to my seat and retrieve my precious cargo. I figured that was my WIN for the trip and didn't do any more gambling. Zero, nadda... nothing!
I was, however, still willing to ask for a room upgrade at our hotel. Previously, I had called Mandalay directly and gotten 30% off of our room rate. When we went to check in, I also asked for a room upgrade and what do you know? A very nice man helped us to get a fabulous suite at The Hotel at Mandalay Bay. Two bathrooms, plus two rooms.... 750 square feet of fabulousness. We felt like royalty and it was so nice to have extra room.
One thing about my girls... they are simply a riot to be around. More than once, we laughed until we cried. Plus, as much as we try to stay connected, there are just things that are not shared unless in a face-to-face situation. So, it was like a three-day therapy session just to be able to talk. We kept our schedule very loose. Our mission was just to spend time relaxing on the beach, check out the strip, see a show (comedy was the preference) and hang out together.
Check, check, check, check... did all 4 of those things.

We went on a gondola ride at the Venetian. Santo was an amazing singer and made it a lot of fun.
I wish I would have worn my pedometer because we did a ton of walking on our first day in Vegas. I would bet we walked 10 miles if not more. We went to the Luxar, Caesar's Palace, Hurrays, Flamingo, Bellagio, Venetian and more. Of course I took lots of pictures and the good thing is that I didn't forget my camera anywhere else! Check out this cool looking Las Vegas chopper. It was sitting in front of the Harley Davidson cafe and I just so happen to be wearing my "Love & Pride" Harley shirt. What a coincidence!
On Saturday night after spending almost the entire day at the pool, we got all dressed up and went to a comedy show at the Flamingo. It was Vinnie Faborito and he worked the crowd so well. I was just glad I didn't get picked on. It was definitely adult humor so we all were shocked that one couple brought their 14 year old daughter to the show! What were they thinking??
The night-time view on the strip was spectacular especially with the nearly full moon in view. I need to work on my nighttime photography though.
I did get one thrill ride in on Sunday. I rode the roller coaster ride at New York, New York. Met a really nice couple from Australia while waiting in line, who held my place after I found out that the credit card machine was broken and I needed to get cash. That was one of the interesting things about Vegas... it is a people watching haven! People were friendly, nice and helpful.
This post has been taking me days and days to write and I don't think I am doing a very good job conveying the fun atmosphere of the weekend. But trust me... it was spectacular! I have lots of memories tucked into my brain and if I work at it, I bet I could make myself laugh until I cry again. Thanks for the awesome time, Kathy & Sherri!

Look who's forty and FABULOUS!

Cheers to you, Kathy! You are seriously, one-in-a-million. Enjoy your special day!

Girl In Training

Here is the deal. I am not very good at being a girl. I have to work at it. I take advise from my girlfriends & ask lots of questions. I guess it has something to do with the fact that I am a tomboy at heart. I grew up on a farm with two brothers for pete's sake, so who was I going to learn how to be a girl from? I have a picture of me during the summer when I was 11 at my older brother's birthday party, without any shirt, just wearing shorts and as brown as all the other boys. I did learn how to throw a mean punch, burp really loud, finger whistle, drive tractor, race around on a motor cycle... just not a lot of really girly-girl things.

Without a sister for guidance, what do you expect?

Thankfully, I have a lot of girlfriends who are professional girly-girls. They consistently go to a salon; they know how to fix hair and deal with unique hair issues; they go in for pedicures and manicures; they wear jewelry and accessorize every outfit; they read Style & People magazine and know all the latest and greatest; they know how to do fancy make-up...

One really big thing my girlfriends are into are shoes. I mean shoes for every occasion and outfit! And many have different shoes choices for the same outfit {GASP}. I can honestly say I am just not that into shoes. My shoe collection used to consist of 5 choices... black heels, black flats, sandals, brown loafers and cream heels. I think my husband had more shoes than me for the first 10 years of our marriage. My girlfriends were always talking about shoes, shopping for shoes, wearing different shoes. I felt like I was missing out. Gradually, I began expanding my shoe choices. I am no Imelda Marcos, but I do have have a 12-pair shoe-rack in my closet that is full!

In planning last week for my girls only weekend in Las Vegas, I wanted to get a pair of new shoes, just so I could feel girly-girl and at least look like I belonged with my girlfriends. So, I tried on some shoes at Herbergers 2 days before I left on the trip. I found the cutest pair of 4 inch peep-toed-heels that I REALLY, REALLY liked. Only problem, they didn't have any small enough for me. Rats!!! The Herbergers' sales person tried to find the right size at any stores within 60 miles with no luck. The more impossible it became, the more determined I was to get those shoes. I even called the Herberger's store directly in Baxter, MN because my sister-in-law was going to be driving through there the next day... no luck.

So I turned to Google... and what do you know. I found an on-line store called Endless.com which had free overnight shipping and free returns. AND I found the exact same shoe that I wanted for my trip to Vegas.
So, I took a chance and placed the order. At 9:00 AM the next morning, UPS delivered the package.
I was nervous... I was doubting myself... I didn't need these shoes... was this a mistake?
I comforted myself with the knowledge that I could return them at no extra charge.
Madden girl... they even sound girly, don't they? Pink inner soles... definitely girly-girl. But how would they feel?
Oh - goodness, they make me feel so tall! They feel wonderful. These shoes are completely frivolous, but I feel good wearing them! Although I am still a girl in training... I have come so VERY, VERY far! A huge thank you to my girlfriends. The next thing you know, I'll be buying purses for every season or outfit. You never know....

Headed for the Strip

Las Vegas, Baby!! Four days with my BFF's Kathy & Sherri. No husbands, no kids, just GIRL time! Shoppin', talkin', sunnin', walkin', people watchin', sight seein'... you get the picture.

We'll be kickin' back on the beach at the Mandalay Bay Hotel & Casino.


This Lady GaGa song just makes me think of Vegas... "Can't read my, can't read my poker face!!" I'm hoping that Lady Luck will be with us!



Maybe I'll be able to talk the girls into going to the Stratosphere and taking in some rides... X-Scream, Insanity, or Big Shot anyone?? Oh how I looovvveee those tHriLl rides!

We will also be celebrating a milestone birthday for Kathy... who will hit the big 4-0 on the 14th. This trip just keeps getting better and better!