Tuesday, October 31, 2006

Halloween - VEGAS 2006

I have an addiction and it's called life. I try to live each day to the fullest. I've had my high points and my low ones, but I like reality.

I have another addiction, it’s called Las Vegas. I don't go for the drinking, the gambling, the smoking or the drugs. I go to live. I go to dance 'til dawn with my feet burning in my heels. I go to be with friends and celebrate life. To take pictures that soon get posted on the internet because what happens in Vegas never does stay there, as it probably should.

I’m an advocate that Vegas is about the people you go with and not always about the city itself. I have planned many Vegas trips as well as been on my fair share including 4 this year alone, so when I say this trip was one of the best EVER, you know I am not lying.

The weekend started off subtle. I met Jimmy and Martin at the airport. We checked our bags and headed straight for the bar. I forewent the drink with hope that our hour and a half plane ride would be nap time. It was. Jimmy was definitely drunk by the time we landed. We taxied to the Wynn and check in was no problem. We were staying in a Fairway Villa Suite. You would think that the chances of us getting the same room as 8 months prior, number 207, were slim. But sure enough we walked to the same door. Everyone bought a bottle for partying. Martin and I took an adventure to get mixers. Turns out if you leave the Wynn and head right there is a liquor store, Walgreens, 7-11 etc. Shortly after we returned Kelsey met me in the room. She was dumb founded about how amazing our suite was. We got into our going out clothes, grabbed a small bite and headed to Pure. Let’s just say everyone was well on their way by the time we arrived. They took us to our table which was nicely segregated from the club. Ordered 3 bottles, then Kelsey and I took off to the roof for some proper dance music. The weather was perfect! Back and forth to the table all night, we cashed all three bottles with no problem. Martin thought it would be a good idea to buy me a straight shot of vodka, thanks, I didn’t need that. The cameras were out in full force and we have some entertaining pictures.

I returned to the Wynn with Hardy and Kels. I dropped Kels off and Hardy disappeared, so I went back to the room, I probably should have gone to breakfast. My head was definitely feeling it the next day. The boys woke up at a decent hour and headed to breakfast. I rolled off the couch @ noon and convinced Jordan to grab a bite with me. We returned to the room for a nice 2 hour nap before the housekeepers kicked us out. The boys thought it would be a fantastic idea to take the chairs from the deck and put them in the steam shower. I made a quick call to Nate, but with too many interruptions, I was in my bikini on my way to the steam shower. We sat there bull shitting for a few hours. Slowly people disbursed, I took a quick shower and started getting ready for the night.

We went to SW Steakhouse for dinner. I am not sure if I looked out of place or lucky sitting with 7 guys. Again we returned to the room for pre partying before heading to Moon/Playboy Club. My costume turned out GREAT! I couldn’t have been happier. But Alysha could have stopped traffic with hers, and did. She only got one marriage proposal walking to the taxi line. I lost my sword as soon as we walked into the Palms, apparently there were “cracking down”. The dollar it cost me wasn’t important enough to go check it or even make sure I got it back. I handed it to the security guard and walked away. I think the guys were more disappointed than I was. The group gathered outside the club and we quickly got sat. We chose to be in the VIP room versus on the dance floor. I think that was the perfect idea!

The VIP room gave us enough room to move around without getting shoved or pushed by people. We were close to the escalator down to the Playboy Club, the bathrooms, and the dance floor. 3 more bottles, and it was on. My head still hurt from the night before, so I took it easy with cups of water all night long, but I know Kelsey made up for my lack of alcohol consumption. Moon was definitely AWESOME! Highly recommend. Our waitress was off the hook and I’ve decided I want her job. I wondered most the night, but it was always nice to have a table to come back to. Steve was dressed as a chubby playboy bunny and I have never seen a man get groped more in my entire life. Apparently I forgot I had his cell and money when Jim, Jordan, Martin and I left the club around 3 am because he had to hitch a ride home. Oooops! Made for an entertaining story though. I lied down for 15 minutes before it was time for me to hit my flight.

The Las Vegas airport is ALWAYS a zoo in the morning. I think most their flights take off before 10 am. Needless to say I recently got upgraded with United because of my trip to Italy as well as all the jet setting I do. It is well worth it to be a premier member. You get to go through the first class line for both check in as well as security. I fell asleep as soon as I hit the flight. Nate picked me up and it was good to be home in my own bed. What a weekend!

No drama, lots of drinking, and I danced my ass off, I couldn’t have asked for a better time!

Monday, October 09, 2006

Boulder, Colorado

The thing I miss most about Boulder besides my mountain, my friends, and the good ol’ college days is WALNUT! I used to live at this restaurant. My freshman year of college we went once every two weeks, at least. As time went on, that never got much better. When Nate asked if I would join him on a road trip from CO to CA the only think I could think of, besides being a good girlfriend, was the Walnut Brewery.

Since graduation I have been privileged enough to return to Colorado every two to three months. My last friend graduated in May of this year and since then I hadn’t been back to Boulder. Needless to say, I was quite excited!

Lindsey was kind enough to pick Nate and I up from the airport. We got a late start seeing our flight was delayed. Our 6 person dinner party had grown to 10 by the time I landed. We called and put out name in on our way into Boulder. Thinking we may be cutting in close, we forwent the change of clothes and went straight to dinner. Our wait, seeing we had 10 people, was an extra hour from our arrival. I must admit, the food, company, and atmosphere was definitely worth it. Unfortunately we realized that none of us have a free place to crash anymore in Boulder, talk about sad.

The girls had their limited drinks at dinner to ensure they were able to drive home. Hawk was quite a few deep but still wouldn’t do the booty dance. He claims he isn’t a monkey! After dinner we headed to the Foundry for more cocktails. It pays to have an old roomie that works at a bar. Drinks definitely weren’t as much as they should have been.

Dom and Dan came by to say HI! My few last friends left in Boulder limits. The night ended early with Linds dropping Nate, his brother and I off at his bro’s house. We got settled and tried to get some sleep besides the usual Boulder chatter outside the window.

The next morning the alarm started going off @ 7 am. Of course I didn’t get out of bed til 8 am. We met up with Jonathon and headed to Le Peep to breakfast. I still think they have the best pancakes in Boulder no matter what. Nate and I were on the road by 11 am and I was out about 20 min later. Took the diagonal out of Boulder to I-25 then to I-80 once we hit Cheyenne, WY. We followed I-80 all the way home to SF. 2 shifts each later and we arrived in Reno. I took the last shift from Reno home and we were home just barely before 6 am. The idea of soccer at 9 am crossed our minds, but needless to say it didn’t happen. It was all in all a fun weekend, even with the 18 hours spent in the car.

Saturday, September 30, 2006

CU v CSU Game Sept 8-10

I probably should have blogged this earlier, but I will admit that the whole weekend is a little hazy and discombobulated. Brandi picked me up from the airport like a good friend. We headed straight to Old C’s. My friends are so sweet to put up with my “needs” for food. Hawk was the token guy as always with Brandi, Susan, Christine and me. He fits in so well as long as we aren’t discussing menstrual cycles and make up. After Old C’s we all went home to get ready for a night on the town.

Hawk, Jen, Christine, Brandi, Susan, and I all met up and went to Public House. After being there for a bit we headed to Downtown Tavern. I ran into an old neighbor and Lesley Horton who just say happens to live in DC. Talk about missing her by a week!!!! The posse had left by 12:30 am and Brandi and I decided to head home and prepare for a crazy Saturday at the CU v. CSU game.

Saturday morning started by waking up to Miss Brandi on the phone. We told everyone that we were meeting at Sports Column at 12 noon. Brandi and I only thought it was polite to show up on time. We arrived by 11:45 am and had a beer in hand when the first person showed up. Slowly everyone came and met us. We found out there was a shuttle from Sports Column to the stadium for free if you had bought something. Around 2 pm we decided to head to the bus. We met up with some friends that were tailgating in the parking lot. We were all standing in line at kick off to get into the stadium. It was a bummer to find that they were not serving an alcohol at the stadium. Although you could get alcohol on the Club Level. Within moments of sitting down, half the crew was gone to meet up with the boys on the club level. I didn’t see most of them for the rest of the day/night.

Teena, Michelle and I enjoyed the game which is what we came to see. We caught the bus back to Sports Column and all separated to get ready for the night except all my stuff was at Brandi’s house and she was MIA. Linds and I had dinner at Cheesecake Factory. We met up with Christine who was about a bottle of wine deep. Michelle and Derek met us at Sports Column for my third time that day. We went to the roof and I started breaking it down where there was room. Some dude would NOT leave me alone. What part of I don’t want to dance with you, don’t you understand?? Seriously WEIRD! The night finished up with Chrstine and I going back to her place. She has a COMFY bed, I highly recommend it.

I briefly got to meet Brandi’s new man when he picked me up from Christine’s. We packed at Brandi’s, hit up the store, and she took me to the airport. Another weekend in CO survived.

Tuesday, September 05, 2006

DC

Another successful weekend with too much drinking, new friends, and 100+ photos. The weekend kicked off with an uneventful flight to Baltimore, MD. I managed to leave all my "liquids" at home and back just a wheelie. Mackenzie picked me up from the airport and we head back to her humble abode on Capitol Hill! We decided to hang out low key Friday night having a couple beers and watching "About a Boy" because of Mack's infatuation with Hugh Grant. Good movie!

The morning started off with Jimmy T's, a hole in the wall diner not too far from Mack's. Her roommate Crissy joined us as well. I will admit my pancakes were a little toasted, but good nonetheless. Amanda came down from Delaware for the afternoon. It'd been 2 years, and it felt like yesterday. We retreated to the apt and go ready to go to the Rhino Bar in Georgetown, it was barely 2 pm. We arrived a few minutes before the OSU kick off and just in time to get a pitched of beer. We were all toasty by 4 pm… and continued drinking through the entire game. The pitcher was never dry for more than a few minutes. We headed back to Mack's after that game to "pre-party" for the Notre Dame game. I started on the water for the lull. Amanda took off because she had to work the next morning. Crissy, Mack, and I decided it was going to be a dress night.

The Notre Dame game had barely commenced and we took off to the Metro. There was a cute guy that the girls were talking to, too bad neither one of them gave him his number. I was definitely close to doing it for them, but decided it wasn't my business. The walk from the Metro was a little further than I was expecting, although I have done worse. We went to Blue Gin and all got cocktails. Needless to say, those were our last cocktails of the night being barely 10 pm. We danced our tooshies off. Mack and I were on the table for a spell. Some of Mack's guy friends came and met up with us. Good times. Around 1 am we decided it was time for "dinner" – Johnny Rockets, here we come! Food never tasted so good. We cabbed it back to the house, and pasted out.

Sunday started later than Saturday. We took the Metro to China Town and had lunch at Clyde's. We walked around in circles for a while and headed to the Portrait Museum. Definitely some cool pictures, although my fav would have to be the license plates that were all run together to form a version of the Preamble to the Constitution. After some more circles we all decided it was time for a nap. We napped for about an hour and started getting ready for another night on the town.

Sunday night was a clear 72* and just perfect. We heard to the Georgetown Harbor and hung out at a bar along the waterfront. Having not eaten since lunch, again, Crissy and I started with cocktails. After the first, we were both feeling it a little. Mack quickly switched from beer to catch up. Around midnight we decided it was time to switch locations… we were off to Adam's Morgan. We went to Tom Toms for some dancing and more drinks. I ended up in a dance off with some chick, had to show her she wasn't as good as she thought. At the end of the song, all HER girls were like "you won, you won"… the guy closest to me put up my hand and the rest of the crowd cheered. Wonder who the real winner was? ;) Crissy's friend Clint came and joined us at the bar for some good times. Bar closed at 2 am and it was time for JUMBO SLICE!! The pizza slice was HUGE! I would say the equivalent of 3 "normal" slices, although grubby after drinking. Clint thought it was funny to put Parmesan cheese on our slices, with the first bite we found out it was actually GARLIC! DOH… I am sure we all had lovely breath.

I had consciously packed most of my stuff before we left for the bars. I changed when we got back to the apt and we continued to drink beer. I got the call at 3:45 am reminding me that my shuttle should be there in 30 min…. we played iPod DJ for a while and sure enough I had just finished brushing my teeth after my final beer at 4:15 am. Whoa, I was still definitely drunk! Lol I made it to the airport and through security with no problems. I was home by 10:30 am and I must admit, food tasted good! GREAT weekend! 3 more days til COLORADO! :o)

Tuesday, August 29, 2006

Jet Setting

The weekend vacations began last Saturday with our crazy 9 hour trip to Vegas! Kels and I had a BLAST! The next escapade will be Washington DC this weekend to visit Mack. Luckily enough I got ahold of Miss Amanda and hopefully she will be joining us in DC for at least an afternoon seeing it has been 2 years since I have seen her.

The weekend after that I am headed towards my alma mater, University of Co, Boulder. We won’t venture back to Boulder, but will be showing some team spirit at Invesco Field in Downtown Denver on Saturday afternoon for the CU v. CSU game. Fuck em up Fuck em up GO C-U! I am sure we will act silly and pretend we are in college again, only to not want to move from the couch the morning after. Definitely looking forward to seeing all the CO kids and celebrating Christine’s b-day (although a few days late).

After three weekends of travels I will be settling down ‘til the end of October when I run off to Vegas, again, for Halloween. That will be a night to remember... or maybe not.

The multi year tradition of West VA will be continued this year for Thanksgiving. December will bring a year end trip to Salt Lake City for skiing making it back just in time for a ball drop in San Francisco. January will kick off visiting Jackie and Jenn in St. Thomas.

Basically, it’s going to be some crazy busy months to come! Catch ya during my downtime. :o)

Monday, August 28, 2006

One Night, No Hotel

If you know me, you know I love Vegas. I am constantly getting questions asking where people should go, what clubs are good, and what sights should be seen. I have planned 4 successful birthday bashes in Vegas with the last one being the best. I think I have officially mastered the art. The birthdays have become a full production, planning starts 4 months in advance, but you can almost guarantee a year out, that there will be another one the next year. Having all my friends in Vegas with me is a treat I can't explain, however the spontaneous trips are an experience of a lifetime.

I surprised one of my guy friends with a 12 hour trip to Vegas for his 29th birthday last year. I thought it was a little bit crazy, but it was well worth the cost. Kelsey and I were out at Ruby Skye a month ago talking about how it was sad that she couldn't come to my birthday. She said she really needed to go to Vegas and more so WE needed to go to Vegas. One thing led to another and somehow we were talking about doing one night in Vegas, balls to the wall (of course that is if we had balls)!

We started checking ticket prices and each day we waited ticket prices went up. We finally said forget it, let's book it! We're going to VEGAS! The adventure begins…

Having no idea what I was going to wear on top, I had picked out shorts and heels. The plan was to wear flip flops, bring heels, and change at our leisure when we got to Vegas. Kelsey showed up at my house a little late due to some traffic. I printed out our boarding passes and my brother drove about 90 to get us to the airport "on time". Luckily there was no security line! We hit up BK for dinner. Not exactly my first choice, but hey, greasy food before you drink was a great idea. Our flight was delayed a few minutes, but nothing major. I decided that See's Candy was in order about midway through the boarding process. The damn lady couldn't move fast enough and I swore I was going to miss my flight because of chocolate. Kels and I were bouncing off the walls when we got on the plane. The flight attendant inquired as to why we were so happy. We explained that we had to be back on a plane in 12 hours… she told us we were whimsical. WTF?! I think of fairies and shit, but whatever.

The flight to Vegas is about 1.5 hours, however 1.5 hours of anticipation doesn't exactly go quickly. We broke out the headphones and found a dance station! A beer for me and a Vodka Cran for Kels, we were starting to get a little silly with the altitude. As soon as the fasten seat belt light went off, we jumped out of seats and managed to squeeze our way up 7 rows! That means a lot when you were sitting in row 21. That's 42 extra people you don't have to wait for! We booked it to the taxi line of which there was none! J Going to the Wynn, no freeway, don't take the strip, please take the side roads. Think I've been here before? Kels whipped out her phone and immediately started texting people.

We got to the Wynn and headed to Lure… quick stop in the bathroom to change our shoes and get beautified. We were expected at Lure and Drew wasn't as surprised as Kelsey had hoped, but sure enough he hooked us up with drinks anyhow. Kels decided she was getting me FADED! With an open bar tab, that wasn't hard to do. lol We danced our asses off for a while. No dance floor needed, we had all the room we wanted by the door. Hardy came and hang out for a while, met a white boy that could dance. At some point it was time to move on, probably when our open bar tab got cut off because we ran it up to $200… ooops!

We went to catch a cab and go to Jet @ the Mirage. The first cabbie told us that he wouldn't take us because it was within "walking" distance. I bet that asshole has never walked a Vegas block in heels. Oh well! The next cabbie definitely got the benefit of a nice tip because the first one sucked. We walked right up to Jet, saw Larry, he immediately escorted us in, free. We got a shot, which Kels was not about to finish in the same two swigs I had. Danced for a few min on the pole and decided we were WASTED and it was time to go back to Lure.

Walked out of the Mirage to a long taxi line and decided to swap shoes and walk. Got back to Lure, danced, hung out for a bit, said our good byes then walked to Venetian for breakfast @ the Grand Lux. Kels took a nap for a while as Hardy and I ate. At 6 am we caught a cab to the airport. We were running a little late. So late in fact, we couldn't get a boarding pass for our flight, we were wait listed for the next. However instructed that they don't CANCEL reservations, so if we got to the gate on time, we could get on our flight. Let the running begin. We started asking people in the security line "7 am flight, mind if we pass". Most people were nice but there were a few downers. My favorite was the lady that said, you should've gotten up early like the rest of us. I looked at her and politely said, I haven't been to bed yet. Caught the tram to Gate D. We ran from the tram to the gate and somehow BARELY made it on time. BEDTIME!

Back at SFO we landed in the international terminal and water had never tasted so good to Kelsey as she drank from the water fountain. Mom picked us up and I crashed out. Kelsey headed home because she started work at noon, OUCH! What a fuckin night!

Monday, July 17, 2006

Vegas 2006

Lots of pictures, may take some time to load...

Friday July 14, 2006 started off with the thought of alcohol, 115 degree heat, pretty blue pools, and short tight skimpy outfits. I am talking about VEGAS! I had 4 hours of work to get through before I was released for what would be the best Vegas Birthday weekend yet!! Of course with myspace down, those 4 hours didn't fly like I had planned. I have planned this trip 4 times, and I think as time goes on, I get better. I start 4 mos before giving people time to figure out their plans and save some money. Although now, you just know the next trip is a year away. We had room for 16, but ended up with 11 on Friday night and 10 on Saturday night. Crystal came for one night due to family commitments the next.



Crystal, Lindsey, and Jackie arrived first @ 9 am. They were drunk by the pool by 10 am. I got the crazy phone calls and sure enough the pool bartender had cut Lindsey and Jackie off by 2 pm. LMAO By that point Brandi and Susan had met up with them. My flight got in at 3 pm. I crashed on the plane for a short siesta and before I knew it, mom, dad, Poopsie and I were off to Hertz. Check in took a while, but somehow we managed all 3 rooms on the same floor. If you have never been to the Wynn Las Vegas, it is GORGEOUS!!! The rooms are very spacious and the beds are quite cozy. After two unanswered calls, the girls found the lot of us in the lobby. We divided rooms and keys and a small group of us headed to Albertson's to stock up for the weekend. I think we were all hungry because we definitely got a bunch of munchies. 4 bottles of alcohol along with some mixers and we were set to pre-party for the weekend. The drunks had passed out for naptime, so we met Michelle and Christine in the lobby on the way back from the store. Jessica was on her way over to the hotel as well. And I finally heard that Ahna was getting off of work soon. 3 of us went down to return my mom's key and say hi to the fam at their dinner! Sure enough we walk up to my uncle describing these girls getting cut off at the bar in front of them, I think we know who they were. What are the chances?!?! The girls decided on the food court across the way for dinner. It is easier to divide a bill if everyone is paying for their own food. :o) Michelle was the last to get in, but took an earlier flight because she got off work early. It worked out perfectly. Now it was time to get ready for the night! Pre-drinks were taken from my room and everyone was looking for their slutty outfits.

We kicked off the weekend with Jet Nightclub on Friday night. I had made arrangements with a manager to get right in. Took us all of 5 min to drop the name, get free passes, and walk past the line to the front. That was easy! I was buzzed most of the night, a shot and half later with Jackie and I'll admit, things are a bit hazy and I was CAMERA HAPPY!!! Breakfast was back at the hotel @ 5 am - 6 of us left, not too shabby! Although 3 of the girls had run off with the boys they got their free alcohol from (sorry guys, that's what you were good for).


























By the time I woke, half the girls had been at the pool for 2 hours. We got a Cabana, 117, poolside! We basically hung by the pool all afternoon, people slowly left to take naps to get their bodies functioning properly. A group of the girls went over to the European Topless pool. They say it was quite invigorating. But with my parents, uncle, grandma, and aunt walking around, I wasn't about to take the chance. They are damn lucky my dad and uncle didn't see them on their way over to the pool.








Dinner was at Capital Grille @ 6:15 pm. Talk about DIVINE! We showed up to individual rounds until they switched to tables to one long one. The laughs were so good I think I definitely started to cry. The speeches started with Jessica, Poopsie, Mom and finished with Uncle Brooks. Mom's final words were "here's to sex" although I am sure there were more to the speeches then that. My uncle stood up on his chair and did a little booty shake. He said he learned that from the porn stars at the pool. With that in mind, the family started talking about the Adult Entertainment convention and told Hardy he had to forewarn them when that was exactly because they are going back! Dinner took 3 hours, but was well worth it. :o)













Saturday night we spent at Tryst Nightclub inside the Wynn. We had 25 min to get ready after dinner and open presents. We walked straight to the front to get our table. They put us in the supreme VIP section with our own security guard. My g-ma, mom, and Aunt joined us for a drink as well. After a little difficulty with the bottles, we finally got everything settled and started the boozing. Michelle H. made friends with the guys next to us. Although that didn't last long because her and I ran off to the stripper pole to do some dancing. People were back and forth and everywhere. It was an awesome time! Couple people stumbled out drunk at 3:30 am. There was a group of us that stayed til 4:45 am when the shitty music wouldn't change. After party was moved to my hotel room. Michelle, Susan, Ahna, Jackie, Hardy, Hardy's roomie, 2 of Ahna's friends and I returned to the room. We had an iPod set with fun Vegas music. People immediately took over the bed's and somehow we went from 2 people crashed in my room to 5 (plus the 2 of us that were awake). Michelle was adamant that she wanted Pizza, so we called room service. Everyone was out but two people, although Jackie came in and out of consciousness with some great comments. We woke everyone up for at least a slice, except Michelle wouldn't budge.
































Hours later 7:30 am rolls around and I decide it is time for bed. I kicked Susan and Michelle out of the bed so that I could get some zzz's. Michelle walked into the bathroom, but somehow returned without a shirt on. I handed her a towel, her purse and she went to her room. The next morning, she didn't remember any of it! I kicked Jackie out at 9 am, so she could make her flight. I was woken up by food goers at 11:30 am. The lack of sleep was a bit rough. We bummed around a bit then went to the room to pack. Packing took longer than I thought and somehow our luck panned out that everything from packing to check out to arriving at the airport went smoothly. Michelle and I finished up with a milkshake, onion rings, and cheese fries at the airport. We SURVIVED!




Quotes: "If I could, I'd fuck Vegas every night of the week" Michelle H. Vegas Virgin

"..here's to sex" Mom's Birthday Speech

"I have a menu in my crotch and I drooled on Ahna" - Jackie

"I don't care what you say about me, I love you all! You're all invited to my funeral" - Poopsie

Which one do you want as a new wife?? "I want all of them!" Can you afford that? "If I get rid of your Aunt Marilyn, then YES!" Uncle Brooks

Thanks Girls for an AWESOME trip!!!



Back Row: Michelle M., Jackie, and Christine
Middle Row: Susan, Brandi, Paige, Lindsey, Michelle H., and Ahna
In Front: Hardy