Another fabulous weekend in Vegas (or more reasons why every hair on my mother’s head is white)

Hey, I think I might be able to get through an entire post without complaining about something. (No promises.)

Well, I had a fun, fun time last weekend. I started my weekend party mode early—my friend Gail and I went to see the greatest classic rock tribute band of all time, Yellow Brick Road, at Green Valley Ranch on Thursday night. I know I’m always spouting off about this band, but they really are fantastic. I mean, how often do you see a band perform Hocus Pocus by Focus? (Classic Rock Girl, I hope you come to Vegas when you finally turn 21—I want to take you out on the town!)

On Friday night, I went to the Luxor to meet my old friend Jeff Fox, whom I know from way back in the days of Hackett Junior High School. He was in town for the Consumer Electronics Show (CES). Jeff was so polite to pretend not to notice that I’ve put on close to 35 pounds since high school. But the truth is, if I weighed 103 now, there’d be something horribly wrong. Plus now I have boobs, which I didn’t have in high school when I was the president of the IBTC (Itty Bitty Titty Committee).

Anyway, I don’t have a picture of the two of us (well, I do, but I look ghastly and God knows I post only flattering pics of myself—duh), but here’s one of Jeff. So wonderful to see him!


Saturday night was a freakin’ blast. Mike was tied up and I had nobody to play with, but you know me, I don’t mind making the scene by myself. You music lovers who live here and visitors who are looking for non-tourist types of activities HAVE to check out the Las Vegas Blues Society’s monthly jams. All the local blues musicians show up and it’s hours and hours of continuous music. Mark your calendar—it’s the first Saturday of every month, starting at 5 p.m.

Everyone at these blues events is super-friendly. Look at this nice biker guy. His name is Richard; I made friends with him like two seconds after I walked into the place. (Relax, Mom, he wasn’t scary or anything.)


This girl is named Kelly. She sat on the other side of me and said, “You look like someone I want to know” and I was like, “Oh, if you knew me, you would love me!” (So full of myself, but it’s true.) She was really nice.


The music, as always, was incredible. These guys were amazing. I wish this picture came out better.


I probably shouldn’t say this, but whenever I check out music and see a bunch of black people on stage, I’m always psyched. (I told you before it’s perfectly okay to stereotype if you’re saying good things.)

Locations vary for this monthly jam; last Saturday it was at The Bunkhouse on 11th Street in downtown Las Vegas. I’m not big on downtown—if I never set foot on Fremont Street again, that’s okay with me. But I’ll definitely go back to The Bunkhouse. That is, as long as I can find a place to park in front of the place—the neighborhood’s kind of iffy, and though I sashay around pretty confidently, I’m not crazy and never put myself in a situation where I don’t feel safe. (Aren’t you glad to hear that, Mom?)



I love it when my mother says, "Always check the back seat of your car before you get in, in case someone's hiding there." I tell her my car is the size of a friggin' coffee table; only a preschooler could fit back there, and in that case, I'm pretty sure I could take him.

Safely back in my car, I was still in a picture taking kind of mood, so I took this one of the dashboard. (That's what it’s called, right?)


Nothing screams success like over 205K miles and a flashing “Service Engine Soon” light, huh? Don’t worry, Mom, it’s been on for months. Anyway, define “soon.” Yep, with three-quarters of a tank of gas and that new tire I bought last week, I betcha my car's worth a good two hundred bucks now.

On to Sunday… It was a gorgeous day here in Vegas, and Mike and I took a little hike up a hill here in Green Valley.


Sunday night we had a dinner-and-a-movie date. After some good old barbecue at Lucille’s in The District, we saw Up in the Air with George “I Am Truly the Most Perfect Specimen of a Man on Earth” Clooney. I loved it—reminded me of my life on the road before I moved out West. I’ve told you before Mike’s a freakin’ genius, and it was brilliant of him to take me to that movie because after two hours of looking at George I was pretty heated up and ready to pounce on him before we left the theater.

Aaah… life is good. And hey, I did it--no complaints!