Back to reality... once again

Man, I have been having a lot of fun lately!  (As you can probably tell by my nonexistent Saturday post.)  Courtney and Hazel flew back to Albany yesterday afternoon, and now I must once again face reality.  Deep breath...

You KNOW we had an incredible time.  I have to admit that since my last post on Thursday, yes, we did hit a couple more Ross stores--it's been a week of power shopping!  But it hasn't been all about bargain hunting and watching season 1 of Kath & Kim.  Thursday we took a drive up to Valley of Fire.  It's only about 45 minutes north of Las Vegas, and totally worth the trip.  If you visit, I highly recommend you check it out.

Here's a picture of Hazel in the car on the way.  How much do you love that red hair?

That night, Courtney did an open mic at Money Plays, which looks like it's becoming quite a scene. It's on Flamingo, west of The Palms, and I hear they have an incredible selection of beer.  Their recording equipment is pretty impressive and they have a professional photographer taking complementary photos.  I also like the fact that they strongly discourage cover songs.  I stayed home with Hazel so Mike could enjoy the show, and he said she was fantastic.  You can hear Courtney's songs here.

Getting some help with the equipment before her set

We had an early birthday celebration for Mike while Court was here.  She made him dinner and painted this cool pot.

No mystery where she gets her artistic talent--remember the lion I painted in my yard?  Just for the record, Mike's birthday isn't until Friday, so he's still 53 and he won't be 54 until Friday, did you get that?  He is definitely still 53.  Six months younger than me.  Which he won't let me forget.

On Day 7 of her visit, Courtney finally made it to the Strip.  It's true--locals rarely go to the Strip, and Courtney isn't into all that, but she does love the lounge at The Peppermill, so we sat around the flaming hot tub with some friends on Sunday night.  If you've never been there, you HAVE to go next time you're in Vegas.  It's a unique place--the front of the building is kind of like a Denny's, and then there's the lounge in the back.  My iPhone takes shitty pictures in the lighting there; I took this one off the Internet.

The video displays you see play a good blend of music, and a lot of classic rock.  I like this place because it's the only lounge I know of that's not pulsating with that goddamn house music or whatever the eff it is, excuse me for sounding old.

Courtney at breakfast -- her last day in Vegas

 So now it's back to reality.  After Courtney and Hazey left, I headed over to the dance studio and took in back-to-back Dance Fusion and Showgirl 101 classes, which means I'll barely be able to walk later today.  OMG, after three weeks of having fun with family--including my time in Albany--I can tell I have a little catching up to do in the fitness and low carb departments.  That's okay, I know how to approach this.  Tonight I'll be working off some of that mother-daughter partying at my ballet class.

Speaking of... it's never too early.

Hey, thanks to all for reading these posts lately; they can't possibly be interesting to anyone except my mother.  My blog is a slice of life--my life--and I'm thrilled to share it with you.