For an early birthday present, Greg took me to the Mall of America for the Stephenie Meyer book signing of her new book, The Host. When I started reading about it, I saw that the books went on sale at 8 am, so I thought we should get to Minneapolis on Monday night. So, as soon as we were done with work, we took off for the cities. It was an uneventful trip and we were tired, so we went to bed shortly after arriving.

 

We got up at 6 am the next morning and got showered and ready to go. We got in line to buy the book at about 7:40 or 7:45. We were about halfway around the circle that the Rotunda forms, we were by the elevators. Once they started selling the books at 8, it took us about an hour to buy the books and get settled. The mall didn't open until 10, so there was really nothing for us to do but read. We didn't bring any chairs along and I thought it would be OK. I was wrong. After about an hour or two of sitting on the floor, I strongly suggested that Greg go on a hunt for one of those camping chairs. My back and butt were killing me and we still had a good 8 hours to go. He found one at Sears for $25. We weren't the only ones that did that. People either bought new ones or had someone bring them some chairs from home.

 

Once I had the chair, I was set but Greg was in and out quite a bit (big shock). I finished the book I was working on and then decided to walk the mall for myself since Greg and come back and appeared that he was ready to sit for a while. I didn't find anything to buy. The mall has changed so much that most of the stores in there are clothing stores. I don't really like shopping for clothes and since I am losing weight, I really don't want to buy a bunch of clothes now that may not fit me in a few months.

 

I sat back in line and was ready to stay there until my book was signed. At about 4 pm, the security guards came around to everyone saying they needed to get as many people in as possible, so anyone with chairs had to pack them up. Greg ran the majority of our stuff to the car then. All we had left were our two books that were to be signed, some water, and my camera. We ended up standing for the remaining 2 hours. Things were so tight it would have been difficult to move around.

 

At about 5:45, the community relations rep for Barnes and Noble came on to let everyone know the rules again and to give an introduction for Stephenie Meyer. She came on and said that she was planning on reading from the book a little and had a presentation but when she heard that we had been standing for so long, she was just going to answer some of the questions that were asked of her. She was nice and funny. It was worth the back pain. There are a lot of videos on YouTube from her Q&A. Check them out.

 

Greg had been stopped by a reporter after his book was signed so I stopped to help him out. I'm not sure where that reporter was from, but she said she stopped him because he was one of the few men in the crowd. It is true that there were only about 15 - 20 men in the crowd of many, many girls and women. We were parked on the 4th floor of the parking garage. We stopped on each floor on the way up to take pictures of the crowd and of Stephenie herself. I got several good pictures of Stephenie during her Q&A. I have them posted to the right. It was 7:45 pm when we were leaving the mall. We headed home right away. It was a long drive. We were already tired and still had over 4 hours of driving. We got home at about midnight and went right to bed.

 

All in all, it was a great time. It was good to learn that I wasn't an adult in a crowd of teenagers. There were lots of people my age and older that loved the books as much as I do. I found a few people that updated their blogs before I did. Here are some links that I found:

 

http://www.twilightlexiconblog.com/?p=899 - Blog of someone that was there. Greg and I are in that first picture of the crowd. In the second row of people, toward the right, there is a woman in a lavender shirt. To the right of her are 2 people in white shirts, one of them in a black chair. That is me in the chair and Greg to the left of me.

 

http://twilightmomsforums.unrealblogs.com/187/stephenie-meyer-at-mall-of-america-i-spy-a-twilightmom/ - TwilightMoms is a group of women that got together because of their love of the Twilight series of books. Check out their story. Good stuff.

 

http://shinyvampireclub.blogspot.com/ - There are a few pictures on this one.

This is probably my favorite Cecilia Ahern book so far. I love how she takes reality and mixes it with a little fantasy and makes it seem plausible. In this one, a woman is obsessed with finding things and people that are lost that she gets lost. She ends up in the place where all lost things and people go. She meets a lot of the people that she has been looking for. The person whose case she was just working on tries to find her. I am not going to blow the ending for anyone that wants to read this, but it is a great book.

*********10 Stars

 

This isn't the best Princess Diaries book, but I like where she is going with the story. Mia is growing up and has adult problems, not just the problems that are in her head. I found out after reading this that there will only be one more book after this. I can't wait to see how it ends.

*******8 Stars

 

I know, high school required reading, but I never read it. This was a great book. I've seen the movies and the biggest difference between the book and the movies is that after Jo turns Laurie down and he goes away and comes back married to Amy, the movies make it seem like Jo is in love with Laurie and is hurt that he is married. In the book, she sees it as a possible missed opportunity, and kind of sad that he has grown up but she is happy that Laurie is happy. If you've never read this book, I highly recommend that you do.

********9 Stars

 

 

This is one of those books that I kept seeing everywhere and just never picked up. I had loaned some books to some ladies I work with and this one was offered as a loan. I decided to check it out. This was good. It was about an overweight woman who broke up with her boyfriend only to have him write about it in a national magazine. The article he wrote is called Good in Bed. That's where the title of the book came from. It isn't one of those slutty romance novels. After she breaks up with her boyfriend, his father dies and she goes to the funeral. She ends up having pity sex with him and winds up pregnant. She decides to keep the baby. After that, she goes down a long path to realize that her size and herself in general are OK and she doesn't need to justify anything to anyone. Great book!

********9 Stars

So, I started watching Dancing with the Stars because Penn Jillette and Monica Seles were on there. I really love Penn. After the first show, I was desperately hoping they would get kicked off first. I hate this show so much. The band is horrible. They take songs that are good and make them terrible. They should be banished to high school proms, not showcased on a highly rated television show. A DJ would be so much better. At least I could stand the music. Fortunately, I don't have to watch anymore because the two people kicked off last night were Penn Jillette and Monica Seles. I will keep an eye on who gets kicked off, but you could not pay me enough to keep watching that. It felt so good to delete the series recording off of my DVR.

I never thought books would play a big part in my life but here I am. I never leave the house without a book and am generally reading every free moment of the day. For the most part, I enjoy what I read. Here are the latest reviews of the books I have read recently:

 

Annabelle Granger is a matchmaker that took over her grandmother's matchmaking business when she passed away. Her business was mostly for seniors so there wasn't much money in it. She wanted to expand to younger and higher paying clients. That's where Heath comes in. He is a top sports agent and a very eligible bachelor. She gets a meeting with him through a friend. She charms him and he gives her one chance. She cheats a little, but he agrees to let her try to find him a wife. He insists that she be there during his meetings since she has a knack for picking up his body language and she can get rid of the women quickly if he isn't interested. After a little time, she begins falling for him. He just has to figure out who he will fall for. This is good for what it is. It's not War & Peace or Pride and Prejudice but it is a fun little book about love and romance. 6 Stars

 

This is a heart wrenching book about a girl who was basically born so she could save her sister. Her sister has leukemia and needs a lot of transfusions, stem cells, and donations. When the time comes that she needs a kidney, Anna puts her foot down and says she won't do it. She is tired of being the spare parts child. Her parents are only concerned with Kate's health and don't pay attention to Anna and her brother until they need something from her. This book has a lot of controversial subjects that could be argued forever but you never know what you would do until you are put in that position. This book had me crying to the point that I could barely see what was on the page. I won't give away the end but this is such an amazing book, everyone should read this. 9 Stars.

 

Heather Wells seems to be a magnet for murder. She is the assistant dorm advisor at a college in New York. She is a former pop princess whose mother ran off with any money she made and her father is in prison. She was dating boy band member Jordan Cartwright until she caught him with the latest pop princess. She now lives with Jordan's brother Cooper. She is in love with Cooper but he does not seem interested. Her father just got out of prison and is crashing with Cooper and Heather. This is the third book in a series. Because of all the murders in the dorm, it has been nicknamed Death Dorm. Another boss gets killed and a student is arrested for the murder. Heather again gets sucked into trying to solve the murder. She tries to get passed Cooper by dating her math teacher. She gets quite nervous because she thinks he is going to propose. I love these books because it isn't all just romance, it is drama and romance. 9 Stars.

 

Bella is a junior in high school. Her mother has just gotten married to a baseball player and wants to travel with him so Bella makes the decision to move in with her father in the small town of Forks, WA. She isn't looking forward to her new life there but has to do it nonetheless. When she starts school, she seems to catch the attention of most people there, including a young man that everyone else seems to stay away from. She finds out that his name is Edward Cullen and most people don't think much of him. She has to sit next to him in Biology and during that class, it seems he hates her. He stays as far away from her as possible and seems extremely tense. After a few days of this, he is suddenly gone for quite a while. She tries to figure out what she may have done to cause such a reaction. Suddenly, he reappears at school and wants nothing but to spend time with Bella. She is still trying to figure out what is different about him. Someone gives her a hint and it turns out to be true. Edward and his family are vampires but not the typical kind. They are sort of "vegetarians". They do not drink human blood. They only drink the blood of animals. Edward and Bella continue to get closer and fall in love. There is an encounter with another group of vampires that do not share the same diet as the Cullen family and immediately want Bella. One of them could give it up but the other man sees a challenge and wants her no matter what the cost. The Cullens start planning on how to save her and come up with a good plan. I won't give away the ending but this is an amazing book. I read all 3 books in this series in about 1 1/2 weeks. These are more than just for teens. I am well passed my teen years and loved these books. 9 Stars.

 

This is the follow-up to Twilight. In this one, Edward feels that he is putting Bella in too much danger by being with her. He tells her that he and his family are leaving and convinces her that he does not love her and he leaves. He has also gone into her house and removed anything that he gave her or anything that might remind her of him. Bella is left heartbroken. She goes through the motions of life (school, work, friends, etc.) but never really feels any of it. One night while out with a friend, something happens that puts her in possible danger. When she is doing this, she hears Edward's voice in her head and she wants more. She goes to her friend, Jacob, and he starts working on a couple of motorcycles that she got. She thinks that if she puts herself in more danger, she will hear his voice more, which she does. This all works up to the point when she goes cliff diving alone and nearly dies. Edward hears about the cliff diving and then calls Bella's house. He asks for Bella's father and Jacob says he is at a funeral, which he is for a friend of his. Edward assumes it is Bella's funeral and decides that he is going to do what he can to kill himself, not an easy task for an immortal. Edward's sister Alice comes to Bella to tell her this. Bella and Alice jump on a plane for Italy and try to get to him before he does anything stupid. They do get to him in time and save his life but they have to do some bargaining to save Bella. This one was a little harder to read because Bella was without Edward for so much of the book and you can feel the pain that she feels through the whole thing. We also find out that Jacob is a werewolf and werewolves and vampires don't get along at all. 8 Stars.

 

Edward and Bella are back together and inseparable most of the time. She keeps sneaking away to spend time with Jacob, but other than that, she and Edward are together. Bella has an agreement with the Cullens that she will be turned into a vampire after graduation so she and Edward can be together forever. Edward would prefer that she stayed human for a little while longer so she can experience things like going to college but she won't listen. There are no specific threats toward Bella right away, but there are things that are making them all nervous. The mate of the vampire they killed in the first book is still after Bella but they cannot find any trace of her. Things start to come to a head and the werewolves and vampires make a pact to keep peace against the things coming after Bella. Jacob is in love with Bella and tries to convince her that she is in love with him. Eventually, she sees it but it is nothing compared to the force she feels with Edward. She is going to marry Edward and be turned into a vampire. The battle in this one didn't last very long but it was good. I can't wait for the next books in this series. I am so addicted to Edward and Bella's story. 9 Stars.

I wanted to read this because I have watched several versions of movies and wanted to read the book it was based on. It was good if you can get passed the language of it. Thither and fortnight; I just don't understand it all. Let's just say I used a lot of dictionary.com while reading this. The romance is still there. That translates no matter what the language. Great book but it does take some patience. 7 stars

 

This is a book about a city girl that got married, had kids, and then moved to the suburbs. She is bored out of her mind and feeling invisible. Then a neighbor gets killed and she's the one that finds the body. Since it's a small town, the police force consists of about 3 people. The murder is not getting solved. So, she ends up looking into things on her own. I won't spoil the ending, but it is a good read. 8 stars

 

This is the second in a series of mysteries centering on Heather Wells, a former pop star whose mother stole all of her money and fled the country and her dad was in federal prison for tax evasion. Heather is now the assistant director of a dorm at New York College and living with her ex-fiance's brother. People keep dying in her dorm. This time a girl's head is found boiling in a pot on the stove. For some reason, she feels the need to get involved in solving these crimes instead of letting the police handle it, but she's good at it. There is also the hint of a romance because she is in love with Cooper, her roommate, but he doesn't know. I love Cabot's writing style. It is a quick read, but it is fun. 8 stars.

So, we went to Las Vegas for a few days. We really wanted to see Star Trek: The Experience and just experience the city. I will try to detail our time there.

 

Day 1, Thursday, 9-6

 

We had to have Matt take us to the airport and he had a class at 8:30, so we had to get up about 6 and be ready to go at about 7:30. We got to the airport at around 8 and had over 3 hours before we could board the plane. We went to the cafeteria area and had a little breakfast. By the time we were finished, the ticket counter had opened. We checked our bag and got through security and waited at the gate. It wasn’t too bad. It went faster than we thought it would. The flight was pretty bumpy, which I could have done without, but it was over soon enough. I got quite a bit of reading done. We got our bags, found our shuttle to the hotel. We stayed in Circus Circus. It was decent, but we went for inexpensive, not luxury.

 

After we dumped our bags at the hotel, we walked to the Greek Isles hotel to get tickets for the haunted tour around Vegas. It was so hot out that I had to rest a while at the Greek Isles. We walked back to our hotel and by the time we got there, I was exhausted. The heat and the walking took it out of me. We rested at the hotel until it was time to leave for the haunted tour that night. We walked back to the Greek Isles where we had to wait a while before getting to go. It lasted about 2 hours. There was lots of cool stuff in this tour, including celebrities and regular people that haunt regular places, hotels, and businesses. We visited Redd Fox’s home and were told that on several occasions, when the bus was out front, 3 of the vertical blinds would open and there was no one there. Bugsy Siegel haunts the Flamingo Hotel which he started to build. Elvis is said to haunt the Las Vegas Hilton where he spent a lot of time. He had the entire 30^th floor to live in and after his shows, he would take the freight elevator and hang out with the backstage crew until he could safely go back to his room. The creepiest thing was not a celebrity at all. We were taken to a park where 2 young brothers were killed. There is also a woman from the 1800’s who is seen sitting at a picnic table crying. We were given these metal rods, I can’t remember what they are called, but if you hold them level and move slowly around where spirits are supposed to be, sometimes they will either cross each other or they will turn outward. There were 8 people on the tour and all 8 of us had the same thing happen. We would move slowly toward where these boys have been seen and they rods would cross. We would step away and they would uncross. Everyone did this over and over again and had the same results every time. The tour guide said he has seen activity before, but rarely that strong. After the tour, we walked back to the hotel and crashed.

 

Day 2, Friday, 9-7

 

There was a comic and collectibles shop that I found on lasvegas.com that we wanted to check out. It was a few miles walk but we figured we could make it. So, we got up and walked there to try to get there when it opened at 10. It was super hot out, so I was beat by the time we got there and then, the shop wasn’t there anymore. It was closed and there was a Sci-Fi shop opening in its place, which would have been fine except it didn’t open until Monday, September 10. I was a mess, so we started back toward the Las Vegas Hilton where Star Trek: The Experience is. I was exhausted, so we stopped at a record store to try to cool off a little, but the air conditioning wasn’t great in there, so it didn’t work too well. I decided to suck it up and keep going. I had to slow it way down because the heat just zapped everything from me.

 

We got to the Hilton and bought the tickets for the package we wanted. It was sort of the full experience. It included tickets to the rides, a behind the scenes tour, a meal at the restaurant Quark’s, photos taken on the bridge and in a Borg regeneration chamber, and free gifts from the gift shop. Since I was so hot and sweaty, we decided to get food so I had time to cool off. Part of our package was free pilsner glasses from the restaurant. They brought us those and we decided to get the other free gifts and have Greg run them over to our hotel so we didn’t have to carry them around. So, Greg left me with some cash to play the slots while he ran over there. I started by taking some pictures around Star Trek: The Experience. It really is amazing there. I will post some pictures that will show that.

 

Then, I sat down at a Twilight Zone penny slot machine and put in $1. After playing for a little while, I was over $1. Then, I hit something that got $10. That put me over $11 total. I continued to play until I was down to $10 even and I cashed out. I then took another dollar and played a Star Wars penny slot machine. This one was not so good to me. I lost that dollar pretty quickly, but that’s OK. I was bored with slot machines, so I started looking around some of the shops in the Hilton. That’s some neat stuff, but it was kinda spendy. Then, I just sat on a bench waiting for Greg.

 

He got back and we decided to go through the Behind the Scenes tour first. This was pretty cool. They let you in on some secrets that you wouldn’t know otherwise. We then went through the Borg 4D ride. While we were waiting, there were 3 Borg statues behind glass. One of their heads moved. He kept looking at me and it was freaking me out. Then, we went on the ride. It was a great ride, can’t say much about it, but it was fun. We then went to get our photos taken. On the bridge, we could be in each other’s pictures, we had one with Greg in the Captain’s chair and I was in Counselor Troi’s chair and another with me in the Captain’s chair and Greg in Commander Riker’s chair. We then each got one taken in the Borg regeneration chamber. That room is cool because they have 2 Borg statues on each side of the one you stand in, but they also have sound effects going the whole time. This is an actual set piece from the movies. Very cool. We then went through the museum and took some pictures there. They have some very cool stuff in there. The pictures should show that as well. We then went on the Klingon Encounter ride. This is awesome because you get to go on a transporter ride. I don’t know what Dr. McCoy was complaining about all those years. It was pretty cool. We then went through the gift shop and spent some money. We were in geek heaven, how could we not? We then went to the Rio to get our tickets for Penn & Teller the next night. We then went to our hotel.

 

Star Trek: The Experience is great. If it was just a restaurant, a couple of rides, and some decorations, it wouldn’t be as cool. They have actors walking around made up as some of the aliens. They have a Borg, an Andorian, a couple of Klingons, and a Ferengi. Not the nicest species. We didn’t experience this, but we were told that if you antagonize them, they will not be nice about it. If you ask them, they will allow you to take pictures of them and with them. The Ferengi was funny while we were eating. He thanked Greg and I for not sharing. Then, he was barely looking over a glass partition looking at a table of ladies. They started laughing because they were kind of startled. I don’t know what was said, but he started snarling at them and walked away. I had my own startling experience. We were eating and I suddenly heard something behind me. I glanced around and there was a Borg standing behind me scanning the area. It kind of scared me. Even if you only sort of enjoy some of the Star Trek shows, I think you’ll have a great time here. You just have to let yourself get into it and you’ll love it.

 

Day 3, Saturday, 9-8

 

We had found an outlet mall on the lasvegas.com site and thought it might be interesting. We got ready to go and when we were ready to go, there was still about an hour before the mall opened, so we went downstairs and played some penny slots. All Greg had were $5 bills and couldn’t figure out the bill breaker machine, so we each put in $5 and just said we’d watch what we spent. My machine didn’t seem to like me being under $5. If I went under, it would give me 40 points to push me over $5 again. I was getting bored, but Greg was still going. Once I hit $4 left, I cashed out. Greg on the other hand, blew all $5 one penny at a time. When I cashed out, Greg only had about 30 cents left. He didn’t have the luck on his side. He also doesn’t know when to call it a day on a machine. All in all, we ended up with 25 cents more than we spent gambling. So, technically, we made money gambling in Vegas.

 

Then, it was time to grab a cab and head to the Las Vegas Outlet Mall. They had all sorts of different stores, but we didn’t spend a lot of money there. The best thing about this mall was that it had a Disney Outlet Store. This is where they send the stuff that was exclusive to the Disney theme parks when it has been around for a while. This was a cool store. We found a few cool things there. There was a Fedex Kinkos out there too, so we decided to ship our purchases home because we knew we’d be close after the stuff we bought at Star Trek: The Experience. This would just give us a few less things to worry about packing. Then, we walked back to the main entrance of the mall to catch a cab to the MGM Grand hotel.

 

At the MGM Grand, we ate in one of their restaurants. Then, we checked out a little of the Lion Habitat. Just walking into the entrance, there were 2 lions lying on top of the clear hallway coming in. That was a really weird thing to see. We then went out and continued to walk up the strip. We stopped into one souvenir shop and kept going until we hit the Bellagio Hotel and the Dancing Fountains. I had started not feeling so well shortly after leaving the MGM Grand and thought I would be OK. We caught the last few minutes of the Dancing Fountain show that was going on, but not much. Once it was over, they announced that it would be about 20 minutes until the next show started. I knew I couldn’t make it that long and I didn’t want to go into the hotel to get sick, so I asked Greg if we could go back to our hotel. He wasn’t thrilled about it, but we went. Since I was hanging out at the hotel, he decided to head back to the Hilton. On Friday, we saw that someone from Star Trek: The Original Series was going to be there signing autographs, Beverly Washburn. She was also in Shane, Old Yeller, Spider Baby, The Lone Ranger, and Superman and the Mole-Men. Greg said that since there was no one else around, he got to stand and talk to her for several minutes. He got autographs for both of us and headed back in a much better mood than when he left. We relaxed for a while and then got ready to go to Penn and Teller.

 

At 7:30 we went to get a cab and head to the Rio Hotel. We wandered around looking for the Penn and Teller Theater. After a while, we found it, but there was a gate up, so we couldn’t go in and we couldn’t look at their gift shop. So, we went back out to the casino and found some more penny slots. I played $1 for a while and got bored so I went and watched Greg. He played $1 on one machine, got sick of it and moved to a different machine. He cashed out with $1.50.

 

Then, we went searching for water. We were both really thirsty, but couldn’t find a shop open. Finally, we went to the bar and asked if they had bottled water. They did! Yay! 8 oz. water for $3. We were going to make that last for a while.

 

When we headed back toward the Penn & Teller Theater, we saw that they were just letting people in. We first got our books that came with the tickets we purchased. Then we found our seats. We were in the 4^th row off to the side. There was a guy playing piano and Penn was playing the stand up bass. They were pretty good. We thought for a long time that the guy playing piano was Teller but then looked through the book and found that he was listed in there. The show was amazing. There are too many things that they did that boggled my mind to go into too much detail, but just know that if you are ever in Las Vegas this show is well worth the price of admission. It is not just a magic show, it is really funny too. After the show, Penn and Teller were out signing autographs and taking pictures with people. We didn’t have a camera, but we both got autographs. They were great!!

 

After the show, we got in line to get a cab and headed back to our hotel. Once at the hotel, we had to get our stuff packed and get ready to go because our shuttle was going to be there to get us at 3 in the morning. Our flight was at 6:25. We got all of our stuff together and tried to get a little bit of sleep. It didn’t work because we were afraid the alarm wouldn’t work. We had set it on the first day and it didn’t go off. So the few hours that we might have gotten to sleep were spent tossing and turning and watching the clock.

 

Day 4, Sunday, 9-10

 

We got up at 2 to get dressed and make sure we had everything together. We were in the lobby at about 2:30 waiting for the shuttle. At about 10 minutes before 3 we went outside where the shuttle would be picking us up. There was a group of people sitting out there already. Greg says one of them was Flavor Flav, but I didn’t see him. That guy and another guy left on one of those little motorcycles (crotch rocket). The shuttle was about 25 minutes late because it had other people to pick up from other hotels. It doesn’t matter; we got to the airport in plenty of time. The airport ticket counters didn’t open until 4 and we were probably 20 minutes early and just got to stand in line waiting for it to open. We got through security and found our gate. Greg grabbed some Cinnabon for breakfast and we grabbed a newspaper. Otherwise, we just had to wait for the flight to start boarding. What was weird is someone kept coming over the intercom and telling jokes like if you have lost $5000 with a yellow rubber band around it, we found the rubber band and stuff like that. That catches you off guard at that odd hour of the morning.

 

Greg and I both tried to sleep on the flight back, but were unsuccessful. Greg kept waking himself up. I kept waking up because of noise around me. Every time I was almost asleep, a door would slam or someone would close an overhead compartment. Even with my ipod, I couldn’t drown it out. Plus it was super cold. It was so cold that I had to buy a blanket to cover up. The great part of the flight was that I kind of overcame the fears I had of flying. On the flight out there, Greg was next to the window and he was feeling claustrophobic, so I offered to sit next to the window on the way back. I watched us take off and once I figured out that I wasn’t going to be able to sleep, I left the shade open and watched the flight. There were quite a few clouds, so there wasn’t much to see. I wanted to see us fly through the clouds and that was awesome. Then, I was fixated on the farmland and the little houses and stuff like that. Then, when we came closer to the city, I was trying to figure out where we were. I found that and before I knew it, we were right over the runway. It was really cool.

 

We arrived to the airport early but there was another plane at our gate, so we sat on the runway for about 25 minutes waiting for this plane to move. As soon as we landed, I had texted Matt to let him know we were early. Even though our plane landed 20 minutes early, we got off the plane about 10 minutes late. Matt and Crystal were waiting for us. We loaded our carry on stuff into his car and went back in to wait for our bag. The temperature was about half of what it was in Vegas. If was only about 52 and we were used to temps over 100. It was chilly. We got home and showed Matt and Crystal the stuff we bought. Once they left, we crashed for a while. We were exhausted. Thus ends my epic tale of our trip to Las Vegas.

 

Random Observation: I enjoy people watching. One thing that I noticed is lots and lots of women running around the city in high heels. Running around a casino is one thing, but walking down the strip is another thing. I wore tennis shoes the whole time and my feet and legs were a mess. I have blisters on blisters and my legs are so stiff and sore it isn’t even funny. I know I weigh more than most of the women in Vegas but I saw some larger women wearing them too. In my opinion, they should only be worn for very special occasions, not every day. 

So I finished the new Harry Potter book last night. I stayed up way too late doing it, but it was worth it. There are no spoilers here. I don't want to do that to anyone who may want to read it. I will say that this is a fitting end to an amazing series of books. This was a series of books that I thought was for kids. I kept hearing about it and how awesome it was. Then, my mom and brother read them and loved them. I had to see what this was all about. I borrowed my brothers books, that was when the first four were out. I was hooked by the first chapter of the first book. This book is probably my favorite. I wish I would have had the time and patience to just sit and read it straight through without stopping, but I didn't. Instead it took 4 days, which is fast for me. There was no good stopping point. When a chapter ended, it was usually on some kind of a cliff hanger, so I wanted to keep reading to see what happened next. I highly recommend this book as well as the rest of the series. What else could get millions of people (not just kids) to sit down in the middle of the summer and read a 750 page book. Not just read the book, but be excited about the book. That is a miracle. I know J. K. Rowling probably has more money than God and the Queen put together, but she deserves every penny she has made on this series. I can't say enough good things about this, so I'll just stop now by saying how much I loved it.

 

*********10 Stars

I had my surgery today. It wasn't too bad. They told me they were going to sedate me while doing the surgery just to relax me. I felt my nose getting itchy and then the next thing I knew they were waking me up to move me to the recovery room. Since my nose was itchy, they gave me Benadryl and I was out like a light. I didn't know anything had been done. I was in surgery for about 30 minutes. I was in recovery for about 40 minutes. They put me on a regular IV there, hooked me up to oxygen and after a little bit, got some ice chips (I needed them. I was so thirsty). Then, they took me to another resting area where they let Greg come back. I got some water there. I got dressed and got to go home after that. The people there couldn't have been nicer. The surgery was at 7:30 this morning and I'm writing this at 11:50 pm. My hand is still numb from the stuff they used. So far, I would have to say this wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, but I might change my mind when I can feel my thumb and finger.

Yesterday, I decided it was time to chop off a bunch of hair again. I cut off over 10 inches. There was plenty to send to Locks of Love and I even went a little shorter than I had to. My hair is now right above my shoulders. I haven't had my hair this short since I was a kid. It feels pretty weird right now.

I met with the surgeon on Friday. He said that it could be a ganglion cyst but it could also be a mass that formed in the nerve. He thinks it might be the nerve with the way I can feel it shoot down my thumb when he was flicking it and when he was moving it around. If he knew it was a cyst, he said he could have used the needle to suck the fluid out. But, since he doesn't know for sure, he doesn't want to do that. If he tried to use the needle and it was the nerve, he said it would just make it mad and probably make it worse. So, I scheduled the surgery for 7-12 at 7:30 am. He said recovery should be about 48 hours. It might be a little stiff until the stitches come out 10 days later, but I can still work. Yippee!

I've read a lot of books since my last update. I'll cover it all here.

 

This was a great book. This is about a woman in a failing marriage that went on a cruise with her husband for their 2nd anniversary. He tosses her overboard to get rid of her. He thinks she knows things she shouldn't. She didn't die. The rest of the book is her getting even with him and making sure he pays for trying to kill her. Great story. ********9 stars.

 

This is a great series of books. The first one follows Nick and Billie. The 3 middle ones are about Max and Jamie. The last one is about Annie and Wes. I put them all together because they will sound very similar. Each book has mystery and romance. These are well done because it is not a standard romance that is all about sex. It is mostly mystery. Check these out. They are very good. *******8 Stars each.

So, I have put off surgery for a while at least. The doctor did say that it moves around too much and is too small to use a needle to remove the fluid. He is having me compress it with this tape stuff for 10 days and hopefully, this will be enough to either make it not hurt or reduce the cyst. I go back on May 2 to see what the results are.

 

Today, we went to Hot Fuzz. This is from the same guys that did Shaun of the Dead. This is a parody of action movies. If you like Shaun of the Dead, you are gonna like this too. This is hilarious. I actually think that most people would enjoy this movie. Definitely anyone who likes action movies. I highly recommend this!

So, a couple of weeks ago, I found this painful little lump in my hand, just under my thumb knuckle on the palm side of my hand. I went to the doctor and found out it is a ganglion cyst. Unless it shows symptoms, there is no reason to do anything about it. Well, mine is very sensitive and hurts when I stretch my hand. Sometimes, it just throbs for no reason. The doctor said to give it a week and see if the pain went away. He thought that maybe the cyst broke and the fluid was causing the pain. Well, it's been a little over a week and it still hurts. I am going to see a surgeon about it tomorrow. I will most likely have to have this surgically removed. We'll see for sure tomorrow.

I really wanted to read this because Rachel McAdams is going to be in this movie. Then I heard what it was about and I really wanted to read it. I was not let down by this book. It is about a man that has a disease that causes him to time travel against his will. He first met his future wife when she was only 6. They continued to meet and by the time she was 16, she was in love. He was in love from the first day he met her in his present time. In their present times, they are only 8 years apart. The book is about their life together, their struggles, and successes. You wouldn't think time travel is such a big deal, but when he does it, he could end up naked in the middle of a busy highway. This is an amazing book and I would recommend that anyone read this. ********* 10 Stars.

I just finished reading The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger. I happened to watch the movie in the middle of reading the book. The two are very different. Really, the only thing they have in common is a girl gets a job for a very mean and demanding magazine editor-in-chief. The book goes into a lot more detail about how mean she is and the ridiculous things she makes the assistant do. The movie didn't make her seem as mean as the book did. I really liked the book and the movie, but keep in mind that they are very, very different. 9 Stars

On November 17, we went to my Uncle Kyle's retirement ceremony from the U.S. Air Force. This was a very emotional day with everything that has happened this year, but I am so glad I went. I knew that Kyle was an amazing person, but to hear his colleagues speak of him with such respect was incredible. There are not words to express how proud I am of Kyle both in his career and his life. He is a true hero. I love you so much Kyle!

 

I got my temporary crown on my tooth the Tuesday before the retirement. After the novacaine wore off, it hurt worse than the root canal. I get the permanent crown put in on Friday. Looking forward to that.

 

Yesterday I had a mishap with some Super Glue. I was fixing Smoove's remote lock control for his car and I got a little crazy with the Super Glue and ended up squirting it all over my left hand. I soaked my hand in nail polish remover for a while but it didn't really do anything. I had to peel it all off, which hurt like crazy. It was really funny at the time, but the downside is that my wedding ring was glued to my finger for a while. I had to crack the super glue around my ring and then peel some of it off my finger to get my ring off. I am going to take it to a jeweler to see if they can clean it off. I made a mess out of it.

 

On Saturday, we went to the Oak Ridge Boys Christmas concert. This was a great time again. The baritone guy, Richard, was goofing around with Greg. At one point, Santa is running around and the Oak Ridge Boys were tossing candy canes to the crowd. Richard comes over and tosses me a few candy canes. Then, he tosses one to Greg. He started to walk away but then looked disappointed that Greg only got one so he grabbed a handful and tossed him more. He went away and gave more candy canes to other people. Closer to the end of the song, he comes back over with a big smile on his face and tosses a huge handful at Greg again. He ended up with 20 candy canes. It was hilarious. We were front row and almost in the center. Now, I'm ready for Christmas.

Friday I had a root canal which wasn't as bad as I had built it up to be in my mind. While I was in the chair, I could feel my sinuses filling up. I tried to take care of it the way I normally do which is taking Sudafed to keep them cleared out as much as possible. Didn't work. This thing hit me hard and fast. I went the the doctor yesterday (Wednesday) after nearly a week of feeling like crap. I have a pretty nasty sinus infection. It looks like I got to the doctor before it took hold in my lungs. I've stayed home all week. I'm going back on Friday but was gone the rest of the week. I'm feeling better than before, but still not great. I'll have to deal with it though.

It took me a while to get through this just because I don't have much time to read right now. The book I read was Cell by Stephen King. This book is about a "pulse" that goes through the cell phones that basically turns people into zombie like creatures. Most of the people were turned into zombies but the story follows a few of the survivors as they continue to try to survive. Great book until the very end. It's like he wanted to end the book one way but stopped in the middle. The end stopped short and it's frustrating. Other than feeling lost at the end, this was a great book. Another solid one from Stephen King. 9 stars.

I’m going to try to get back into the swing of things here. So, I’ll start by listing the TV shows we’ve been watching. Everyone knows I watch a lot of TV, so here goes:

Sunday

Dexter – This is a show about a blood splatter expert who is also a serial killer. He goes after people that didn’t get punished for their crimes. This is a great show. If you have Showtime, you should check it out.

Desperate Housewives – After a not so good second season and an OK start of a third, this show seems to be starting to get back to the level of the first season. This is kind of a guilty pleasure show. I know it’s a silly show, but I love it.

Monday

How I Met Your Mother – Barney (Neil Patrick Harris aka Doogie Howser M.D.) makes this show. He is a man-whore and is hilarious. The only thing that irritates me is that toward the beginning of the show, they said that Ted and Robin don’t end up together but all along, it has been about Ted trying to get Robin and finally getting her and them dating. It seems like a waste of time when we already know what’s going to happen.

Heroes - The title of this one kinda says it all. It is a group of people who discover they have extraordinary abilities. They come from all over the world to try to stop certain things and save people. I was surprised at how good this show is and continues to get better.

Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip – This has been surprisingly good so far. It is a show about how a weekly, late night, sketch comedy show, like Saturday Night Live, gets made. This is good so far, but I wonder how long it can stay that way.

Tuesday

Gilmore Girls - This is an excellent show. This is an example of why I like old movies, fast talking, the obscure references, and lots of sarcasm.

Veronica Mars – Best show on TV hands down. Veronica is now in college (high school when the show started) and solves mysteries for friends and anyone that will pay her, really. She is smart and really sarcastic. They don’t dumb this show down for kids or anyone. It is awesome.

Boston Legal - William Shatner and James Spader being retarded, inappropriate, and just plain hilarious together. They are lawyers and James Spader gets all the wacky cases. William Shatner thinks he has mad cow disease and all he does is sit in the courtroom looking like he's asleep.

Wednesday

Jericho - This seems like something straight out of a Stephen King novel. It started out with a nuclear blast in Denver. The little town of Jericho, Kansas has to deal with the fallout. This is an intense show.

Lost – Love, love, love this show. For anyone not already watching this show, trying to explain it would make it sound really silly. Just watch it.

Thursday

My Name is Earl – I celebrate everything about this show. Earl and his list of bad things he has done and is trying to make up for. Randy and his simple mind. Joy and her white trash life with Darnell (Crab Man) and her kids.

The Office – Dry, office humor. If you get it, it’s hilarious. If you don’t get it, you don’t have a sense of humor. Come on, who doesn’t love to hate Dwight?

Smallville – Once Jonathan died last season, the show kinda went downhill. This season is a little better, but not as good as the first several seasons.

Ugly Betty – So far this show is good, but how many times can you watch something get screwed up, Betty is to blame or takes the blame, she tries to quit but her boss won’t let her and then the day is saved of course. I don’t know how long I can put up with Betty’s naive way of saving the day. It’s starting to wear a little thin.

Random Days

Robot Chicken – Hilarious sketch comedy show done with toys and clay. Very funny stuff and completely random.

Masters of Horror – This has only been mediocre so far, but with so many big names involved, it draws me in.

Ebert & Roeper – These guys give movie reviews. I love movies. They have given recommendations on some great movies that I would have passed on. Well worth the 30 minutes to check it out.

We tried 30 Rock & 20 Good Years also. 30 Rock was horrible. They used the same retarded joke 3 times in the 15 minutes we watched it. 20 good years was better than 30 Rock, but apparently watching 70 year old men say stuff that a 20-something would say is supposed to be hilarious. It wasn’t.

Case Histories by Kate Atkinson. This book started off slow, but got much better. It started with 3 stories of how people died. They are all unrelated. The deaths are a minimum of 10 years old, one was over 30 years old. They are brought together when a private detective is asked to solve the two murders and find the daughter of one of the people murdered. It never really says whether he solves them, but it did explain each of the deaths and what happened to the daughter. After getting through the whole book, I would give this 6 stars.