A Contradiction of a LIFETIME!!!

Our lives are filled with contradictions.

Y "The early bird gets the worm"  Y "Good things come to those who wait."  Y

 Y "Look before you leap." Y "Two heads are better than one." Y 

Y "You can't tell a book by its cover." Y

Recently I was talking to a group of my friends about a contradiction that seems to be a reoccurring topic of discussion (and debate). Why is it, that a man who "enjoys the company of women" is considered a ladies man, a player, or a pimp? Mind you, all of these terms are used positively and as a compliment.  When on the flip-side, a woman who has the same desires and game is thought of as a slut, a whore, easy, or desperate? Obviously these are negative and HARSH!

It is in our genetic make up to do things we enjoy, and to not just try to survive. Humans are the only mammals (besides dolphins and the Bonobo monkey) that have sex for pleasure (and fun).  It seems so unfair that a strong and confident woman can be viewed in such a negative light.  Especially when the only thing that differs in the equation is what's found between each person's legs.

There is no difference in a man or a woman wanting to "have a little fun".  Aren't both craving the same rush? Why should it make any difference? Can't good game be considered good game (and if it was safe and fun) isn't that all that really matters?  A male gets respect for getting around but when it comes to a female, she is disrespected and seen as trash. Funny how that works right?

Oh, and it's not just the guys dishing the insults.  We've all heard the phrase, "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned."  The basic translation: a woman rejected in love can be very angry and dangerous.

Lets also not forget about the competition and jealousy from others.  Rumors sometimes get started and with that comes a tsunami of unwanted bs and gossip. And mind you, this isn't just restricted to women.  I have known a hand full of men who have bigger mouths then most ladies. Some people will try and start their drama and get the word around about business that nobody should be talking about except for the parties involved. Before you know it words like slut, easy, and desperate are thrown around as carelessly as an opened condom wrapper. 

One of my guy friends thinks women can without a doubt be bigger "players" then guys.  He has said that while a woman can just be herself, look nice, and have a good attitude...a man has a much rougher road ahead of him. Even at a very young age on playgrounds young boys are playing sports and enjoying outdoors.  Girls are talking to each other about the world (and developing better communication skills) and playing with dolls (understanding social relationships). Men are trained to be the pursuers which is often more of a disadvantage.

So if the playing-field is technically even (or if women have a slight advantage) my question is this: Is it possible to drop the negative connotations and encourage the use of positive/congratulatory expressions instead?  How about instead of pimp and whore...we use words like OVER ACHIEVER and ENTHUSIAST?

I end this blog the way I started...with contradictions.  And actually, some "food" for thought.  It is said that you can't teach an old dog new tricks.  But at the same time, it's never too late to learn.  So my dear readers, what do you think?  Can a woman be a player?  Are the names we use too harsh? How about some new words to throw into our vocabulary?

I can't wait to start using some of these new terms (Over achiever?  HA!).  How about you???

I'm Back!!!

Well, it has happened.  I hate to say it, but life has finally caught up to me!  Between class in the mornings, work in the afternoons, and an active social life....my dear blog has been neglected.

School is good, but I have so much reading that I have to admit it's kicking my ass a bit.  I am LOVING my new job and feel very blessed to have such great co-workers, amazing staff at my middle school, and a fun group of teens to work with everyday. And my social life? I have found that I don't have as much time to play as I did when I was "enjoying" my FUNemployment, but my social agenda is just as "interesting" as ever (my best friends can attest to that). 

The one thing that I have not made any time for is this blog.  I am actually disappointed that I haven't written anything since LAST Tuesday. There has been several times that I have turned on my computer, read my Huffington Post, and then fallen asleep before I had a chance to write a damn thing. 

BOO ON ME!!!

Is it sick to admit that I was actually going through a bit of withdrawals from blogging?  I have really begun to enjoy writing this little thing and I feel like a piece of me has been missing since I haven't been on here.  It is nice to be back.

To my loyal readers, I'm sorry to leave you hanging for the last week.  I'm a work in progress (as is this blog) and I will make a valiant effort to not let this amount of time lapse between entries again. As my blog is called "Bear-ing It All", I also hope that you all BEAR with me! 

My next blog is an interesting one (or at least I hope it is perceived that way).  And actually, after you read my next post, please comment!  I would love to hear your opinions.

So until then my dear ones....

A Whole New World...

I have mentioned before that I am slightly addicted to REALITY TV!  Usually I like the trashiest shows (Bad Girls Club, Real Housewives, etc) the most.  However, my newest addiction has much more of a redeemable value. 

Recently, I have become enthralled with a new show called "World of Jenks" on MTV.  At first it was the show's topic that drew me in.  In each episode, a 24 year old film maker named Andrew Jenks, spends a week with a person who lives a unique life -- be it a homeless woman, an NFL cheerleader, rapper Maino, a mixed martial artist, an army recruit, or a teen with autism.

My new FAV show!

Jenks (everyone calls him by his last name) takes his viewers on unforgettable journeys as he captures on film a wide range of voices and personal stories. He focuses his lens and creates a bond with his subject to tell the story of one person’s life, bringing viewers closer to understanding someone else’s reality. 

I find the show both inspirational and moving.  At the beginning of each episode Jenks meets each person as as a complete stranger. But after spending a week with that individual, he leaves not only as a close friend with that person, he also seems like he's a changed man. 

Besides the incredibly moving aspect of the show, it doesn't hurt that Jenks is ridiculously charming and good looking.  His adorable floppy-hair and long-nose reminds me of comedian Andy Samberg. And he has a perfect white smile that makes me want to smile every time I look at him. 

Andrew Jenks -- a TRIPLE THREAT: intellectual, articulate, and good looking!

So between his looks and his intellect, I have found myself smack-dab in the middle of another TV crush.  Move over Lane (CLICK HERE TO READ ABOUT REALITY TV CRUSHES OF DAYS PAST) make way for my Jenks-y! 

Andrew Jenks first got attention when he was a sophomore at NYU for his film "Andrew Jenks, Room 335." In the movie, Jenks moves into a retirement community and documented what it's like to be a senior citizen, and what they thought the "meaning of life" was.  Can you imagine being 19 years old and living with the elderly?  Talk about a life-changing experience!

At 21 years old, ESPN financed Andrew’s second film THE ZEN OF BOBBY V, which tracked Bobby Valentine, an American baseball coach who has become a national icon in Japan. The film premiered at the 2008 TriBeca Film Festival and, competing against 130 films, was in the top 10% for audience award voting.

Jenks kicking it with his senior friend in "Andrew Jenks, Room 335"

 Some of my friends think I'm crazy that I find Jenks ridiculously good looking.  Honestly, I find his looks only part of the attraction. His intellect, personality, and willingness to jump outside of his comfort zone to immerse himself in his subject's life is truly what draws me to him.

Each week I watch and DVR the new episode of "World of Jenks".  I then watch it again later on in the week and find myself just as impressed as I was on the first viewing. 

If you haven't seen this show, I highly recommend you give it a chance (Mondays on MTV at 10pm). I can almost guarantee you will find the show interesting, inspiring, and moving.  You too may develop a keen fondness of the talented Andrew Jenks.

INSPIRED!!!

I am writing today from the Reno-Tahoe Airport as I wait for my morning flight.  I am heading to Vegas (yes, once again) but this time for work.  I'm also happy I'm flying this time around.  As much as I truly enjoy the trek through the state of Nevada, I also like the prospect of being at my destination in less than two hours versus a tedious 7+.

As I enter my busy week, I'm glad that I was able to enjoy a fairly low-key and relaxed weekend.  The highlight was on Saturday evening when I drove up to Virginia City.  One of my closest friends was hosting an art exhibit with her father at the St. Mary's Art and Cultural Center.  I wasn't sure really what the whole event was about, but I was ready for a mini-excursion and to support my friend.

 

The sun setting behind V.C.

The evening was filled with wonderful surprises.  The St. Mary's Cultural Center was actually housed in the old St. Mary's hospital in Virginia City.  It was a wonderful old building that has been refurbished and restored into a great venue.  I'm a sucker for old buildings and I loved spending the evening in such a historic building. 

It reminded me a bit of being in Reno's Lake Mansion (if you've never been, go check it out). The Lake Mansion is an old historical building located off of Arlington and houses a non-profit called VSA (Very Special Arts). Just another example of how an old building has been given new life!

The next surprise was the exhibit itself.  My friend had told me that she and her dad would be displaying their art. What I didn't realize until I got there was that it was ONLY their work shown. The main floor of the old hospital was adorned with paintings, sculptures, drawings, photos, and mixed-media artwork all done by my friend and her father.  The theme of the exhibit was "Our World of Color" and it was truly phenomenal!

The placard with the exhibits name

My friend's paintings on the left, her father's big one on the right.

There was a few things that really struck me as I toured the exhibit.  The first was how cool it was that my friend and her dad had collaborated to create such a wonderful event. Even though they had done their work individually, there was so much cohesiveness between their masterpieces. 

This made me long for something I can do with my dad.  While my mom is one of my best friends, I still see my dad as, well, dad.  He's an amazing man, who works hard, and is not only respected in his profession...he's considered a guru and is more-or-less worshipped (although he's so humble, he would never admit this). He and I have begun to start working on our relationship, and have started to find activities we can do together beyond just grabbing a bite to eat.  After seeing this partnership between father-daughter (expressed through art) it made me realize how much I would love to collaborate with my dad on something.  Not sure what that would be, but I know "it" would bring us closer and help us understand each other better.

Some of my friend's paintings and photographs

Another thing I realized while viewing the exhibit was how impressed I am that recently many of my friends have chosen to express themselves in a variety of different mediums. While this friend decided to pick up her paints and pastels, I have other friends who are expressing themselves through their writing, photography, etc.

I feel blessed that I have so many creative people in my life! It's fun to admire and appreciate their work.  And honestly, it motivates me to continue to CREATE.  My form of expression at this point in time is this little blog of mine.  I am loving the therapeutic aspect of expressing myself through my words.  I write for myself, but enjoy that I have a small (but growing) audience.  But seeing all this creativity flowing from my friends, inspires me to do more!

My favorite pieces of the exhibit!

I guess time is of the essence though.  With my busy daily schedule, all I really have time for is the hour or two each day that I commit to writing. And as for this moment, my time is up.  My plane has arrived and it's time for me to board.  Sin City...here I come!

Today is 10/10/10. But what does it mean?

Today is October 10, 2010....or 10/10/10!

When all three numbers in the date are the same I interpret it as a lucky day.  Studies show that marriages increase on days like this.  On September 9, 2009 (9/9/09) hundreds of thousands of people got married worldwide.  In China, more than 10,000 couples registered their marriages in Beijing and 6,000 more couples tied the knot in Shanghai. The Stratosphere, in Las Vegas offered a quickie wedding package. It was angling to marry off 99 couples at 9:09 p.m. for -- what else -- $99.09.

A mass marriage celebration in China

So this got me wondering is there any significance behind today's date?

As far as the biblical interpretation, focus could be put on the 10 commandments and the 10 plagues.  Both of these could point to rules or judgments.

In astrology, the number 10  represents completion - it signifies the end of one cycle and the readiness to begin something new. I found this interesting.  Especially in lieu of my personal quest to expand my horizons, try something new, and get outside of my comfort zones (FIND OUT WHAT SCARES ME).  I also thought this was interesting considering I'm in the middle of my Return of Saturn (READ ABOUT SATURN'S RETURN HERE). In the Tarot, the tenth card is the Wheel of Fortune: the knowledge that life brings unexpected occurrences over which we have no control. And supposedly the number 10 is connected with Capricorn, the tenth sign of the zodiac, and represents mastery and achievement.
October 10, 2010 does fall within the opening days of the Venus retrograde, and retrogrades are known to be symbolic!  Often issues of the past return for completion, and this becomes a great opportunity to grow and be in control of our own destiny! With Venus in retrograde one can expect that this time will be focused on relationships, perhaps on a personal level, but it could mean a global level as well.

So "the stars" tell me that today could mean mastery, achievement and controlling my destiny. And with the retrograde of Venus I can expect to focus on my relationships?  Ironically enough this all couldn't be more true for me at this time.  I don't know about accomplishing all of this in ONE DAY but these "factors" are are certainly things I'm dealing with in my daily life. Between my new job and being in the home-stretch of finishing my degree I am without a doubt starting to feel a sense of mastery, achievement, and controlling my destiny.  And the focus on relationships?  CHECK.  Totally doing that! Although this is for sure a different blog topic, I am in the midst of re-evaluating and re-focusing on many of my relationships in my life (friends, romance, family, and professional). 

What can I do to make today a day of fortune and grace, rather than unfinished business staring me in the face? An article on CNBC has a few suggestions.  Here were a few of my favorites.  I left a few of them off because they were totally MATH related and not only did they not interest me, it was like reading a foreign language (TO READ FULL ARTICLE, CLICK HERE) :

10. Kiss your iPhone. 10/10/10 is a binary number (all ones and zeroes) and without binary code, none of your digital dreams would come true.

9. Count your digital blessings. A website has dubbed 10/10/10 "Digital Day," a day for you to share your pre-digital, “Back in my day” stories via blog post, tweet, photo or YouTube video. CHECK OUT THE PAGE HERE

6. Get married. If you tie the knot on 10/10/10, that’ll knock one battle off your “Future Fights” list — because you’ll always remember your anniversary.

5. Throw a global warming party. The site www.350.org is urging people to attend or throw environmental-awareness parties on 10/10/10. If green felt old and busted before, doing it on 10/10/10 gives it a fresh spin.

4. Submit a Top 10 List to Letterman. Dude, you’re so much funnier than those lists! It’s about time you were recognized for your comedic abilities.

2. Throw out 10 things. Seriously, what are you waiting for — to wind up on one of those clutter shows where they have to intervene before you’re buried alive? Say it with me, "I will NOT need this someday ..." Ah, ah, ah! Say it with me ...

1. Make a list of 10 things to do — and do ONE. Lists are helpful but they can also be overwhelming if they’re too long. Make your list, but just do one. Spend the rest of the day doing a victory lap.

So...what should I do to make the most of my 10/10/10?  Kiss my iPhone?  DONE!  Don't think getting married is in my plans.  But evaluating my relationships?  OK! I like the idea of a global warming party, but that's just not going to happen today.  I also like the idea of a Letterman Top 10 List (maybe I'll work on that one later).  I REALLY LIKE #2 and #1 though.  Throw out 10 things....I'm totally going to do this.  And I'm not talking stuff like garbage.  I'm thinking of removing 10 items from my closet and throwing them away (GASP...is it possible?).  And the to-do list?  LOVE THIS!  Although I'm going to be ambitious and try to tackle all ten items. 

Now that I have my day planned out.  How are you going to spend your 10/10/10? 

Spooky Isn't It?

Well...the countdown has begun.  We are officially 24 days away from my favorite holiday, Halloween!  And with this turn in weather (how did we go from sunny, hot, and in the 90s last week to chilly and rainy this week?) it has put me in the Halloweeny mood.

I have always loved Halloween. As a kid I loved going to the pumpkin patch and picking out my pumpkin.  I would always look for some specific "pumpkin trait" each year (one with a long stem, a white one, a tall and skinny one, etc).  I loved carving my pumpkin even more.  While some people hate getting all goopey from the pumpkin's "guts" I loved the feel, the smell, and the satisfaction of getting the insides clean.  I loved seeing my finished creation lit up by a candle.

Decorating for Halloween thrilled me.  We would go all out at my house with our decorations: lights, garland, spooky faces for the trees, shadow creatures to hang in the windows, doormats and other electronics that would make noises, shake, or light up.  I'm convinced that we were so thorough with our decorating to compensate for the fact that we don't decorate for Christmas.  Yes, there are Chanukah decorations but nothing like what's offered at Halloween.  Halloween was our chance to light up our house and go crazy with the decorating.

As a kid I also loved to dress up.  When I was young, my mom would make my costumes.  I remember her making the most amazing Glenda the Good Witch costume that was pink, poofy, and sparkly.  In middle school a group of my friends and I went as a box of crayons.  We each chose a color and interpreted a crayon in different ways.  I remember loving my blue crayon costume because my mom had made it out of sweatshirt material.  Halloween's are infamous for being chilly (and sometimes rainy) here, so having such a cozy, comfortable outfit made trick-or-treating a pleasure.

Oh! And trick-or-treating.  We all used pillow cases as our bags so we could collect more goodies.  We would always walk or neighborhood first.  I loved the people at the end of the street who would give out King Sized candy bars.  And I waited all year to get a cinnamony candied apple from the old woman down the street.  She made them every year, and passed them out to adults and kids alike.  You would never see something like this happen now. Everyone is so fearful of the potential razorblades inside the apple or antifreeze in the candy mix.  Makes me miss the "simpler" times.  After hitting up everyone in my neighborhood we would pile into the family Suburban (we were a Suburban/SUV family not a minivan one) and my dad would drive us to other neighborhoods in town where the reputation for large candy payouts were high!

Trick or Treat!!!!

Once at home, my brother and I would empty our bags on the living room floor and would begin to separate our loot.  Favorite candy in one pile, second favorites in another, and stuff my brother liked (and could be traded) in another.  There was always a little pile of candy for my mom and dad (and if Grandma Pearl was in town, Almond Joys were put aside for her).  The last pile was the discard one. You know, the stuff that people should have saved their money on.  Who in their right mind give kids RAISINS on Halloween? 

As I've gotten older, the fun of Halloween hasn't left me.  I have had a countdown going for my favorite holiday for months now.  I still love everything about Halloween, it's just the way that I celebrate that has become a bit different.

Decorating my house has become something I look forward to.  I'm actually surprised that I've already made it seven days into October and haven't pulled out my boxes of decorations.  Usually I have to restrain myself to hold out until the 1st. Looks like I have a weekend to look forward to, of hanging up MY garland, spooky tree sculptures, pumpkins, candles, skeletons, and  plethora of Halloween themed lights. 

I usually don't carve pumpkins anymore, basically because I have no one to do it with.  I know I can do it on my own, but it's so much more fun with a group of people.  I'm thinking of hosting a pumpkin decorating contest at my work.  I think my middle schoolers will enjoy it, as will the teachers I work with.  The school I work at is geared towards the teens excelling and thinking towards higher education and universities.  I see a university mascot pumpkin decorating contest in the very near future!!! 

Hands down, I would DEF have to say that dressing up is still my favorite part of Halloween.  I love that for one night you can be someone completely different.  I like being a character, and enjoy ones from fairytales the best.  In the past I've been: Red Riding Hood, Goldilocks, Dorothy, a pirate, a dinner girl, a flapper, Marilyn Monroe, and the list goes on. I usually start looking for my costumes MONTHS in advance.  It's not untypical of me to have my costume delivered the first week of October.  I'm usually the one who is organized and has everything pre-planned.  On the other hand, my Bestie doesn't usually go looking for her costume until a few days before Halloween.  I honestly love going from one packed costume store to the next.  It just makes me more excited for my favorite holiday. 

I'm not sure what's wrong with me this year though.  Not only have I not decorated my house yet, I haven't found a costume!  OY VEY!!!  Don't get me wrong, I started looking in August.  But nothing is really shouting at me this year.  I'm not sure what/who I want to be.  I found a few costumes that I kind of like: Queen of Hearts, Superwoman, Robin Hood (a female version).  But I want to LOVE my costume.  Ugh!!!  Hopefully inspiration will strike me SOON because I'm running out of time to get a costume ordered, delivered, and if need be; exchanged...all before the Halloween festivities begin.

And OH the festivities!!!! For obvious reasons I don't go trick-or-treating anymore.  I do look forward to the day I can dress my children up and take them from house to house asking for candy.  I like being home on the 31st so I can see all the cute kids in adorable costumes come to my door.  But when I celebrate now, I celebrate with Jello Shots and cocktails instead of caramel apples and candy (although I have been know to take caramel apple SHOTS before). 

Halloween falls on a Sunday this year, which means that we will do our big celebrating on the 30th...a SATURDAY NIGHT! Plans this year are to go back up to Tahoe for South Lake's big Halloween bash.  We had so much fun last year, we're going back for more.  And the party may start earlier this year.  As a Nevadan, I get Friday the 29th off for (yes...oh yes...wait for it) NEVADA DAY!!!  All of you from other states can just shed a tear right now.  While you work, I will be enjoying my day off celebrating the day that Nevada became a state. Yes, I know the Silver State's Anniversary is on the 31st but the state holiday is celebrated by taking the Friday before off.  Gone are the days of having Halloween off, but I will take a three day weekend ANY DAY!

And now for a confession: writing this blog has just re-inspired me.  Maybe I just needed a little spark to light that Halloween candle that's inside of me.  Wowza...only a mere 24 days til Halloween? Now if I can only make it through my day so I can start decorating once I get home.  I don't think I can wait until the weekend....

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner: The Final Score of the Nevada vs UNLV game!

Well...I'm back!  After a long weekend in Vegas and two insanely busy days of school and work, I am back on my blog and couldn't be happier.  It's amazing how in these few short weeks I've really become addicted to writing on this darned thing! I was actually going through withdrawls from lack of writing.

The reason for this trip to Vegas was for the annual North (Nevada) versus South (UNLV) football game.  The location switches locations every year and this year it was in Sin City. (CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ABOUT THE RIVALRY) I went on the trip with a group of my closest and bestest friends.  We all know each other through years of work at a local youth service agency in town.  Most of these ladies I've known for over six years, and honestly they're more like sisters than just friends. 

Vegas was a whirl-wind of fun, laughter, craziness, relaxing, dancing, recuperating, drinking, sleeping, eating, football-watching, and an endless supply of mayhem and foolishness.

Our t-shirt design!

 The football game was amazing!  Arriving to the game hours in advance we had plenty of time to get some tail-gating time in.  The jello shots? Outstanding, as was the blue electric lemonade.  And we all looked super cute wearing the matching tshrits we made.  Our boys played a great game, and even though we knew we were going to win it didn't stop us from shouting louder then any of the Rebel fans that we were surrounded by. 

Blue Electric Lemonade

Pack Blue Jello Shots

One woman sitting in front of us asked me to quiet down a bit.  I remember just rolling my eyes at her.  She then asked if she gave me some of her Red Vines if it would quiet me down.  I told her I didn't like Red Vines.  She then asked if some of her peanuts would quiet me down.  I told her I didn't want her peanuts.  Then she asked if a beer would do the trick.  By this time I realized she had a good sense of humor, and rather then being bitchy (which I initially thought) she was really just feeding into all the craziness my girls and I were bringing.  I told her beer wasn't really my thing and declined.  She then upped the anti and offered all of us a round of shots if we all settled down a bit.  Of course we accepted THAT offer, and in a mere minutes she was back with Jager (my FAVORITE) for all of us! After the round of sweet, licoricey nectar we all became great friends and it didn't matter that we were in Pack Blue and they were in Rebel Red.

Like I said, we (obviously) won the game.  That makes Nevada UNDEFEATED so far this season!!!  (IS IT NEVADA OR UNR? CLICK HERE) It also means that we get to keep the Fremont Cannon (a cannon that is used as the game trophy) in Reno. Since 1969 (when the first rivalry game was played) the cannon has changed hands twelve times with the current holder being Nevada, following Saturday's 44-26 victory. This was the SIXTH STRAIGHT YEAR in a row that we have won, leaving us with an overall record of winning 21 out of the 36 games played between the two teams.  

The Fremont Cannon stays in Reno!

Besides the football, Vegas didn't let me down at all.  This will be the third time I've been down south since May (and I'll be back next week for a conference).  I've realized that I have really come to enjoy Nevada's largest city.  So much to do, so much to see, SO much bigger than Reno.  I've also realized that as much as I like it there, I could never live in Vegas.  Great for a vacay, but after a great trip I enjoy returning back to reality.

And after such a FANTASTIC blur of a weekend, reality hit HARD yesterday.  We didn't get home until after 1am (I guess that happens when we didn't get on the road until after 5pm).  We stopped at the Goldfield Hotel again to find ghosts. (CLICK HERE TO READ ABOUT THE HOTEL) One of my girls swears she saw something (it could be possible?) while all my other girls thinks she was seeing things.  It drizzled, rained, and monsooned almost the whole way home and when we got back to Reno I was happy that I had left a sweatshirt in my car.  We left with it feeling like summer and arrived home to a full-blown Fall!!! 

We LOVE our Smartfood White Cheddar Popcorn!!!

I'm sad that this vacation had to end.  I rediscovered how much I love my friends and how fortunate I am to have this amazing group of women in my life.  I mentioned earlier that it feels more like we're sisters and this trip just reaffirmed this.  Seeing what we packed was just validation enough...we had multiples of IDENTICAL items. Of course we all need deodorant, but that almost all of us used the exact same kind?  Silly!!!  And it didn't stop there: same (newly bought) shirts, white cheddar popcorn, shaving cream, razors, hair spray, etc.  And the stories and inside just were endless.  I will never think of pepper jack cheese without laughing.  Whenever I hear the song "Toot It and Boot It" I'm going to smile.  And if for some reason I lose an arm or a leg I will make sure I keep it in a pickle jar in case the Messiah comes or in case my other limbs have separation anxiety and need to talk to the one that's detached (of course you won't understand this unless you came on this trip). 

As I return back the craziness that is my week, I'm left with nothing but amazingly priceless memories that will no doubt last me a lifetime.  Now it's time to give my liver a break, return back to reality, refocus....and leave me dreaming of my next adventure....

Vegas BABY!!!!



Vegas BABY!!!



"Come on and shake the glitter off your clothes now.  THAT'S WHAT YOU GET FOR WAKING UP IN VEGAS!!!"

After driving all night through the state of Nevada, and arriving in Vegas about 3am, we are finally here!

When I tell people that I drove down to Vegas they always say something like, "Oh, I'm sorry you had to make that drive."  The truth of the matter is not only do I not mind it, I actually enjoy it.  Of course your travel companions always influence and make a difference when it comes to the 7ish hour drive down south.  My friends and I always make an adventure out of it.  We have been known to do a variety of scavenger hunts, taking pictures and documenting our journey along the way.

The trek was a little bit different this time because we drove at night.  There's not much to see during the drive in daylight (except for little sleepy mining towns, a variety of brothels, expansive sky, and high mountain desert that turns into deserts filled with cacti and Joshua Trees). When driving at night there was even less to see.  It almost felt as if we were in that WINDOWS screen saver where those stars are coming at you (a la Star Wars).  It was pure darkness except for the occasional cars and the twinkle of street lights from the tiny towns we drove through. 



Nothing like a little RENT to get you through the drive!

  Because of our night travel, a scavenger hunt was out of the question.  But as always, the trip was entertaining.  The soundtrack to the Broadway Show RENT played on the stereo and we belted out our favorite songs in the most amazing, off-key, way.  This continued until one of my friends couldn't take the rest of our singing anymore.  We were greeted by a fireworks display in Hawthorne, and decided to take a stretch break as we watched the colors light up the night sky. 

And as part of our travel tradition, we stopped in Goldfield to pay a visit to the abandoned Goldfield Hotel.  Whether you believe in ghosts and spirits, or not, you can't deny that there is something about the Goldfield Hotel that can't be explained.  They say it's one of the most haunted places in the world and that this old, abandoned mining hotel is built on one of the few "gateways to another world".  Supposedly there are spirits of a midget, two children who like to play pranks, a man called "the Stabber" who is said to have been seen carrying a knife, a woman named "Elizabeth" who cries over the death of her child, former Goldfield Hotel owner George Wingfield who still smokes his cigars and terrorizes visitors, and a variety of other ghosts of men who jumped out the hotel's window to their death and women who have hanged themselves. 

The Goldfield Hotel

On this trip we happened to be in Goldfield right before midnight.  As we got out of the car to look around and peek through the windows, I felt a great tension take over my body.  This always seems to happen when I'm there, and I'm not the only one who has felt it.  One of my friends yelled at the hypothetical ghosts to come out and show themselves.  We snapped pictures of the windows and the building hoping to see an image or an orb or something that would show us the spirits do exist.  Unfortunately (but not surprising) we came up empty handed.  One day I hope to actually tour the INSIDE of this historic building.  But seeing as the building is locked up, and tours are no longer offered, this may be a dream that is never fulfilled. 

The rest of the drive to Vegas was uneventful, besides the random orange "lightening bolts" that seemed to appear on the horizon out of nowhere.  My girls and I had great conversation, many laughs, and a great iPod soundtrack to keep us going until we hit Sin City.

As I sit comfortably at my Bestie's "Aunt's" house this morning and write this blog, I can't help but think that this is the calm before the storm.  The rest of the weekend is going to be so crazy with the anticipated Nevada vs UNLV football game, going out and hitting the clubs on the strip, and the general nonsense and foolishness that comes along with a trip to Vegas. 

Today's going to be a day of relaxation, pool-time, tail-gating prep (we have jello shots and tshirts to make), and the traditional trip the the infamous Cheesecake Factory (YUMMMMMMMM).  Weather is unusually warm here, especially considering it's the first day of October, and the temperature is predicted to be in the high 90s/low 100s all weekend.  High on my priority list is soaking up some rays and getting what will probably be my last tan of the season in.  Unfortunately, a morning shower is predicted and the cloud cover looks dense.  I'm hoping my friend, Mr. Sun, will snap out of his "bi-polar-ness" and grace us with his presence.  Pretty please Mr. Sun?  I will love you forever!!!!

There is no doubt that the rest of this weekend will be a memorable one.  Here's to almost three days in the City of Sin! Only time will tell what kind of adventures and "trouble" we will be getting in to....