i'm a big fat liar. :P
i said i'd take the month of august OFF with blogging, but i just felt like a quickie tonight (ha ha), so here i am...a new banner AND a post. wheeee! ;)
took braxton to football again tonite; i'm so excited for him...WITH him. he's such a different kid when he's playing. so much more confidence and control. so much happier. hungrier. more deliberate. more thoughtful. AND he got the good news tonight that he has been moved up to CENTER! he's pretty excited about that. i'm so proud of him. and thankful. thankful for this good thing for him and how it trickles down to the entire family in a good way. that, and the part about watching late night rainy outdoor football games with a cup of hot cider cupped in my hands as i hunker down under a woolen blanket. yum. love that stuff. :)
back just 2 days ago from vegas. spent the weekend there with mom, dad, and siblings con spouses. celebrating my dad's 55th birthday!!! good times, man. good times. saw Phantom at the Venetian....OH my holy musicals, was that awesome?! of course, it didn't hurt that our seats were directly underneath the chandelier that plummets on cables down from the ceiling with a smoke of pyrotechnics in its wake. it was such a rush! stayed at the JWMarriott Spa/Resort off strip. HOLY SPA! had my first ever facial (a combination of OUCH!!! and AHHH!!!) and have the shiny happy face to prove it. she recommended i do it every month. uh, DUH. like, i WISH i could do that every month! LOL! someday when i'm rolling in disposable income and excessive time.....! getting past the 'i hate my body in a bathing suit' demon was a bit rough, but the euclaptyus steam room finally convinced me to let go. it was dreamy. :) Then after 2 days there we jettisoned off to the Bellagio for a couple days. oh my holy heaven. so wonderful. the view from our room:
i seriously wanted a picture taken in the evening; but to my utter dismay realized after arriving in LV that i'd not only left my battery charger at home, but only had 1/2 a battery left! URGH!!! so i missed a million shots i wanted. BUT. i spent more time savoring everything and just enjoying BEING there with my family. so that was a good thing. :)
flying out the day after all the new airport security regulations was daunting at first....felt like we had to fly naked...but it turned out to be pretty easy, afterall. not too rough. in fact, i should pack that light ALL the time. it was a good excercise in realizing what all i could easily do without. :P lines weren't that bad, either. i love the advance boarding passes with Southwest...made it a lot easier all around. :)
my brother directed us to an indoor go-kart track by the Rio; i was doubtful at first but quickly changed my mind when i saw the track...and the 40mph karts! we had to totally suit up in our 'driving gear'...and having JUST seen "Cars" and "Talledega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby" the weekend before, we were totally in the mood for some down and dirty asphalt eating. i totally have this dream to drive race cars in my life. someday. i will do it; just wait. formula one is my ultimate dream....i just like to go FAST. fast fast fast FAST! but i'd take a nascar or a rally stock car too. :) when i heard that research had proven that people with a third (ring) finger that is longer than their first (pointer) finger have an aptitude for driving very well, i was not surprised to see that mine is, indeed, longer. HA! now to fine tune the skillz.... :P LOL but out of all of us racing, i only came in 4th. and that's cause my brother cheated on one lap (NO PASSING till GREEN, nerd!) and my dad is a professional driver, and i LET my hubby win so he'd feel tough (snicker), so i really actually came in first in my own little world. ROFL!!!
don't laugh. it was very serious stuff. ;)
i love the smell in the bellagio. it is such a gorgeous hotel. each of our rooms were these little mini masterpieces. and the pool was a DREAM. or, should i say, poolS...! so many pools all together...and the staff there is SO nice. we had wonderful service everywhere we went...i LOVE that about the bellagio. OH, and the food. the YUMMMMMMMMY food....went to FIX (at the Bellagio) one night, Spiedini another, an AMAZING irish pub in the Marriott Resort the night we arrived, breakfast at Hash House a GoGo one morning, the Grand Lux Cafe in the Venetian the night of Phantom, and i know there was more but my brain is fried....so amazing!!! thankfully i kept my portion sizes in check and didn't come home with extra poundage...WHEW. of course, james and i have been running every night, too...SO glad for that. feels so good to be so active again...it's been hard getting back on track after the c-section, then the car accident, then the other health stuff...yikes. but there's always an excuse if you look hard enough. gotta just DO.
i was so sosososososo SO thankful for wonderful places for my kiddos to stay while i was gone; all 3 went to different friends' houses and all 3 had a good time and did very well!! such a relief; such a blessing!!
and now we're heading full on into 'getting ready for school' mode. we're switching schools this year; lots of paperwork and last-minute checking and such to do on that. also have to get all our supplies and....ugh...and clothes. last year we were at a uniform school which made it SO easy. not so this year. gonna be a different beast, LOL! brax is pretty much done, i think, thanks to ccs.com ... he's all about his skater gear. ;) love shopping from home...especially when you have free shipping sales going on this time of year; so much easier than tracking them all around the malls and stores with fights and hunger and stress and parking and traffic and and and....i just love the internet! :)
okay speaking of internet...here is my shopping shout out. how much am i in LOVE with this stuff???:
Caudalie Beauty Elixir
sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo in love. want the grape water next. Yummmmmmmmm. my facial is making me all beauty-product infatuated. LOL. which is normally SO not me. i am lucky if i wash off my mascara at night normally. heh heh and now i'm oogling beauty elixir and eye liner. i'm such a nut. :P
but let's not forget the necklaces and handbags i'm swooning over, as well!
dang. i'm turning into such a girly-girl!
a girly-girl that wants to race cars, though. ;)
okay...carson is on...conan is over....that means i better go to bed!
okay...but for the record...you supernova watchers...i TOTALLY LOVE ZAYRA! i'm sad to see her go...but only cause i will miss seeing her perform. i hope she does something else with a recording company...she just amazes and inspires me...so committed; so gutsy and full of artistry. yes, i think dilana should win Rockstar...cause she'd rock the supernova style....but Zayra is my FAVE. :) rock on, z.