Las Vegas!

Mike and I are in Las Vegas, again! Mike is doing work at The Venetian and has to stay for three weeks. We decided that I would come out to spend eight days with him. I arrived Saturday, at about 10:00 am. We had a wonderful time on Saturday and Sunday. The weather was gorgeous, too. After he picked me up at the airport, we headed straight to our favorite Chicago restaurant, Aurelio's. The pizza was delicious and we split an Italian beef sandwich, but that wasn't quite as good, since they way overcooked the beef. True Chicago Italian beef is not cooked within an inch of it's life!

After Aurelio's, we came back to the room to drop off my suitcase. The room is awesome! Mike made me wait in the hall, while he went in and "prepared" the room for me. He turned on all the cool lights. They have a long table in the bedroom that has a transparent slab of marble on it, that lights up. It is really pretty and he knows how much I love light up things! There are also some really cool lights next to and above the bed, as well as some pretty sconces in the bathroom that are on a dimmer switch.

This hotel is an all suites hotel. The entry is large and so is the bathroom. Actually the bathroom is really large. They both have beautiful marble floors that have an inlaid pattern. There is a roomy tub and large shower, as well as a double sink vanity and a make-up vanity with a lighted mirror. Talk about luxury! The bedroom is also large, with a super comfortable king size bed. Next to the bedroom, there is a sunken living room with an L-shaped couch, desk area, and a dining table. All of the room have their own television. We have a decent view, as we are able to see mountains all around and some of the strip. We have a great view of the volcano show at The Mirage, which is right across the street.

Back to Saturday. We took a nap, after returning to the room, since neither of us had gotten much sleep the night before. I had to get up at 2:00 am Virginia time (11:00 pm Vegas time), in order to get to the airport for my 5:40 am flight. Saturday night, we met with two of Mike's co-workers and went to dinner in a nice restaurant, The Grand Lux, in the hotel. After dinner, we headed down the hall to see Jersey Boys. It was excellent! Mikey and I both loved it! I felt fine until after the show, when I suddenly started feeling completely exhausted. I then realized that other than the nap I had taken earlier in the day, I had been up for 24 hours. I am thankful that the bed is so comfortable because that helped me get a great nights sleep.

On Sunday, we went for a walk on the strip and Mike took me to see some pretty fountains. They were turned down, though, due to very high winds here. We walked through The Mirage atrium, which is absolutely gorgeous. The flower arrangements there are spectacular. We went to the laundromat to do Mike's laundry for the week and did some shopping. I needed some bandages for my finger and a few other necessities. For dinner we decided to get some gyros, since we can't get them in Virginia, but the place we went to was closed on Sundays. We headed back to the hotel and got carry out from the same restaurant that we went to on Saturday. They make a BLT that is so delicious, I could eat one every day!

On Monday, our day sort of sucked. Mike had to work from 8:00 am until 9:30 pm. We met at lunchtime, but only had about 45 minutes together. It was a pretty boring day for me, but also relaxing. I missed Mikey, though.

Tuesday was a bit better, as Mikey got off work at around 8:00. We met three of his co-workers for dinner at First Food and Bar. The restaurant was very interesting and probably not one that Mike and I would have ventured into on our own. It turned out to be very good and we both enjoyed it. I got fish and chips, which is weird for me, but it was so good. They served soft pretzels with fancy dipping sauces instead of rolls. We had a nice time. Mike's co-workers are fun to be with and made me feel very comfortable, even though I don't work with them.

Today Mike has a break between classes/meetings, so we went outside and checked out the hotel pools. WOW! The pool area is gorgeous. The landscaping is breathtaking and the jasmine is blooming and it smells heavenly. I think I will go sit out there and read a book when Mike leaves later this afternoon to go to a meeting. I will take pictures and post them later. We went and picked up another delicious lunch from one of the hotel restaurants and brought it to our room to eat. The fresh strawberries here are really delicious. Speaking of strawberries, I wonder if mine at home are setting fruit yet. Hopefully, the dog hasn't eaten them all!

The kids seem to be doing great at home without me. That is good because I was a bit worried about being gone for so long. The longest I have gone away for before was about five days.

Medical Woes

I have a staph infection in my finger. I have no idea how I got it, just that I first noticed it at work. I went to the doctor about a week after it started, as it has started to get itchy and grow larger and I had a bunch of puss filled pockets. Yuck! The doctor lanced the pockets and squeezed out as much infection as he could. Yuck, again, and Ouch! He put me on medication to treat MRSA, as he thinks that my infection could be MRSA. I am still waiting for the biopsy results. MRSA or not, this thing is painful and itchy and annoying.

On a good medical note, I finally went to the doctor. I am a doctor-phobic person so I avoid the doctor whenever possible. I haven't had a pelvic exam or pap smear since 2001, which was also the time of my last physical. I did go to the doctor when I had a kidney/bladder infection, back spasms, and the torn hamstring. I feel so much better now that I have made myself go. I had to get a TB test for work, but I could have gone to the local health clinic and just gotten that done. I decided that this would be a good reason for me to go to the doctor for a full exam, instead. Everything checked out so far, except for my high blood pressure. He put me on a sample medication and I go back in three weeks to see how that is working.