at least...

Cindy still comes to my blog. I guess I've lost all my readers from non-blogging periods. So, to keep Ms. Bryant from coming over here and gluing my butt down to the chair (kinky!), here goes...

xmas was pretty smooth. everyone liked their gifts. i got new rear brakes for my car and assorted dvds and cds as well as Target gift cards...and even a King Soopers gift card. lois scored with another dvd player, movies, a pump espresso machine, a media tower (i.e., dvd/cd/vhs bookcase), a watch, and a brand spanking new luggage duo (22" and tote).

as for the xmas dinner. that was surprisingly without drama. see, the past three years, it has been at the 'favorite' son's house. no big deal. he's usually a great host, but has a short temper and is known as the martyr of the family. so you get the picture...

also got to see a friend afterwards. Armando and Lisa live a couple miles east of favoriteson. geez, we hadn't seen them in a couple years. Mando was one of my best friends in high school. we double dated, shot pool, and went to concerts together. he moved away during our senior year and i didn't see him again for almost another five years, when he stopped by the house while on leave from the Navy. well, we had lost touch for another decade when he found me through his wife's classmates.com account. so, we've been in touch for the last three years...way cool. he was definitely a keeper as friends go ;)

it was great to catch up with them that night. they have two beautifully behaved kids, Nicholas and Haley. we even got to see their WILD italian greyhound (don't recall his name). whew! that guy is fast! he just whizzes around the house like a roadrunner. it was great fun to hang out and watch the kids try to catch the dog ;) hopefully, we can have them over for dinner this month or next. and they can watch the polar opposite of their dog; a fat, old, female silky terrier ;)

one note: we brought over a candy cane pie that we bought at Village Inn. ugh. don't bother. the cream topping tasted strangely artificial and buttery. and the filling? wa-ay too sweet. picture a whacked out french silk on acid...

off to Vegas the next morning...

remember, when i blogged about getting a cheap 4-night package to the Luxor in late october/early november? well, it was between 12/26 and 12/30 (lois' best friend, Peggy, had a surprise b-day party for her husband, Brian, on the 29th.

it was a bit tough to get up at 4:30 and get ready for our 7:00 flight. usually, if we've got a 6:00 flight to Mexico City, i stay up and sleep on the plane. it was strange to tell ourselves to go to bed early on xmas night...

not too much hassle getting there, with the exception of finding parking. for the past seven years, we've used diavaluepark at 32nd and airport blvd. they're open 24 hours, have both covered and uncovered parking (even though they used to have an indoor heated facility ;( and drop you off right at level five. for about $6-$8 a day, it's a much better deal than paying $15/day for DIA's garage or $5/day for the satellite lots that are a couple miles away and with too few shuttles.

well, the hassle this trip reared its ugly head when we tried showing up without a reservation. we weren't thinking that it was the day after xmas...duh. so, we were turned away at the gate. and the alternative? paying $15/day at the garage or missing our flight while we sought out a space at another parking company.

so...we bit the bullet and parked at the airport. we even got through check-in and security with 30 minutes to spare - whew!

Vegas was great...

got to see my friends, Earlene and Al. they used to live in Denver, but moved to Vegas for the lower altitude; Earlene has pulmonary problems.

shopped at the Aladdin marketplace(?) nice, but jam packed and the decor was too much like the open air shops/eateries/casino at the Paris.

stopped in at the Fashion Show Mall for a dress shirt and a couple ties. THAT mall (next door to the New Frontier) is really nice...and huge. it's like four levels and has 200 stores. a tiring day indeed.

slogged through the rain for a couple days...wotta muddy mess. Vegas actually gets cold and rainy...windy too. it's not a perpetually warm/hot place that people perceive it to be.

found a great Thai restaurant, Lotus of Siam. it's even in Las Vegas' Zagat Survey...which is pretty major.

saw Cirque du Soleil's second newest Vegas production, Zumanity, which is showing at NewYork, NewYork. two words...don't go. of the five Cirque shows that we've seen (Mystere, Dralion, Alegria, and Varekai, are the others), this wasn't that great. stunts weren't spectacular. and the emcee was a drag queen. weird. btw, i have nothing against drag shows, it's just that i would never spend $91.25 for one ;)

the newest Cirque show is at the MGM. it's called KA and tix are $150...right! next time, i'll have to get tix for the Blue Man show or Penn&Teller.

and now to the dinner...FREAKIN' WOW!

it was at Charlie Palmer Steakhouse, which is in the Four Seasons Hotel (within Mandalay Bay). geez! Peggy must've blown a few thousand dollars on this fete. exquisite appetizers, copious amounts of wine (pairings with each course too!), surf and turf (i.e., filet mignon and lobster tail)...with a generous tip, the bill was easily $3000 for our party of 20. and that was after drinks and appetizers earlier in the day at Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville...which was $600. must be nice to have money like that to burn...especially on us lushes heh.

god, i wonder what her husband is gonna do for her on her 50th... regardless, consider us there ;)

that's all for now, folks. i promise it won't be another three weeks and a reprimand from Cindy. and cindy, thanks for keeping me in mind...when are we going for philly steaks or pizza?