What Happens in Vegas....

Me and Becky in Vegas!

I made it back from Vegas in one piece; a success in and of itself I think. I went with my friend (and former IFSA coworker) Becky for a long girls’ weekend. We stayed at the fabulous MGM Grand, and it was very grand indeed. We arrived Thursday night and spent that time touring our hotel, eating a late dinner and losing $5 in the slots. We spent Friday walking around some of the other hotels and doing a little shopping. I wish I knew how many miles we walked that day; it was a lot! We didn’t hit all the hotels because we just got so tired, but we saw Caesar’s Palace, the Bellagio, Paris, the Excalibur, New York-New York and Planet Hollywood. All were amazing in their own right. Each had a different feel that went along with its name. I think New York-New York was the coolest because it really did feel like New York City inside and outside the hotel.


New York-New York Hotel

One of the best parts of the trip was seeing the Cirque du Soleil show KA. It far exceeded my expectations. The stunning visuals and unbelievable acrobatics were just breathtaking. I was just in awe of the whole thing. The show had everything from superb dance to flying acrobats to battle scenes played out on a vertical (yes, vertical) stage with no safety wires. I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it for myself. Truly an amazing show.

We also spent some time poolside, and I’m happy to say I walked away without a burn. Cheers for SPF 45. The food was good, the drinks were strong, and the entertainment was amazing. I give Vegas two thumbs up!

You can view all my pictures (well, Becky's pictures actually) here.

The Strip at night

The Aunts Go to Florida

Well, I'm back from Florida after a week of baby snuggling. Jennifer and I had a great trip, although it was more laid-back than we had expected. We kept ourselves busy by cooking, bathing the dogs, going to the beach, watching the Olympics, and watching Braden sleep. Braden is such a sweet baby, and it was so cute to watch Jamie and Shan with him. They adore him so much and you can just see it in the way they interact with him. He's a lucky boy.

Bragging Rights

After six weeks of torture in the form of stock dividend theory, 5 million financial equations and a 5-hour project that turned into 30 hours of spinning my wheels, I can say it's over! I thought this day would never come, but I'm happy to say that I survived Managerial Finance. It was grueling and I didn't enjoy one single second of it, which is why I think I deserve these 20 seconds of bragging time. Grades were posted today; I got an A! After the midterm, I was seriously considering dropping the class and taking it again during the semester because I was so disappointed/distraught over my performance on the test. David talked me out of it of course, and with his help (and love, and support, and all that mushy stuff) I was able to get a 97 on the final exam (YES!) and a 95 on that stupid project (WOO HOO!). Despite my complaining and unusual amount of moping, I've learned something here: hard work pays off. People in my class would tease me and comment about how smart I am. Any time someone says that I reply, "I'm not any smarter than anyone else in here, I just work hard." As much as I hated these last six weeks, I'm glad I stuck with it because it proves that I really can do anything I set my mind to. And that's a great feeling.

Baby Braden

Braden David Smith, my sister Jamie's first child, was born yesterday morning. He weighed in at 7 lbs. 11 0z. From what I hear Jamie and Braden (and daddy Shan) are all doing excellent. We're all very blessed to have him as an addition to our family. My sister Jennifer and I will be going down to Florida next week to help out in any way we can. Can't wait to get my hands on him!

(Big thanks to Shan's dad for these great pictures!)