Kay Turns 21 in Vegas

Last weekend my kid sister turned 21 in Vegas, yep 21!  How did that happen?!  Didn’t I just turn 21 in Vegas?!  I told her I would not only chaperone her Vegas Birthday, but I would blog about her big weekend.  A) she probably doesn’t remember half of it and B) she says I’m a good writer :).  Plus, I could use some blogging material.  Unfortunately upon returning from Vegas I came down with a horrible head cold, so I’m just now getting around to it.  I’ve blown my nose so many times it bleeds :( Ug. I feel so old a decrepit.  I’m currently lying in bed with my two cats with a heating pad on my inflamed bursitis hip.  This late-twenty-something gal is currently paying for some early-twenty-something partying.  According to Cosmopolitan Magazines "Stages of Partying by Age," Kay and I are on two different brackets with our 8-year age differential.  Refer to AGE 21 and AGE 29.  Whatever, I HAD SO MUCH FUN!

Just a picture of me this morning.

Day 1 for this late-twenty-something usually consists of checking in to my Classic Las Vegas Hotel Room and relaxing for the rest of the day.  Well, when it’s Halloween night in Vegas and you are with a vertical drivers license holding 21 year old, relaxing is not an option.  Upon check in we each got a complimentary bottle of wine before heading up to our neighboring rooms.  I grabbed a Cab and Kay a Chardonnay.  My plan was to get 45 min of R&R before getting ready for the big night.  Keith proceeded to break the motorized window curtains, which he denies, and our bathroom light was broken.  There was no way I was going to pee in the dark or be woken up by the glaring sun peering into our 22^nd floor room each morning.  A room switch was a must.  I suppose I could have toughed it out, but in my older years my barbaric natures have diminished.  I need light in the bathroom and require a facemask and earplugs when I sleep.  Switching rooms meant we were no longer neighbors with the early-twenty-something’s, but 5 rooms down was close enough to those night owls.  I could hear Kay’s country music blaring a few doors down. Neighbors, ya, No. #wegotlucky. 

LVH Hotel

LVH Room Number

Kay headed over to my room to get Halloween ready with me.  I figured she just didn’t want to mess up her room, until I saw it. OMG tornado!  I hadn’t seen anything like it since I lived with Chris Horton #loveuchris!  I suppose she just wanted to spend time with me :) !  As soon as Luigi, Princess Peach and the Grease stars were ready, we headed downstairs to the Burger Bistro for dinner.  I was able to get my Vegetarian Burger, Kay her Turkey, Keith lamb and Trevor the classic Angus.  We shared 2 side orders of fries, took a few pictures and headed over to Circus Circus.  

Grease Stars, Plumber Luigi and Princess Peach

Grease Stars in Burger Bistro

Plumber Luigi was caught by paparazzi with Mario's girl in the LVH Lobby.

Circus Circus was the home of Fright Dome and just a block away, yes a Vegas block, never the less walkable. I enjoyed the haunted houses and the people watching, along with a couple drinks as I waited for Kay and Keith as they rode the carnie rides.  I stayed clear of the rides since the last time Keith forced me on one I puked, and the time before that my brother Paul puked on me. #neveragain.  The scariest part of the night was the crazy chainsaw massacre guy chasing me and Kay all around Circus Circus.  I could feel the heat of the chainsaw on my legs and the scent of fumes filled my nostrils.  It really was freighting because he wouldn’t go away.  My first thought was to run to a restroom where he couldn't get us.  

Scary Chainsaw Guy:(((

At one point Kayleen finds a man dressed up and asks, “Are you Shrek?” He replied, “Yes I am.” Kay, “Thank god, you won't hurt us!”  I couldn’t help but laugh at the fact that she immediately assumed Shrek would save her from the chainsaw massacre guy.  It was like looking through the eyes of a 6 year old again.  

Shrek to the Rescue!

The clock struck midnight, Fright Dome was over and so was our night.  We headed back to the LVH by foot.  I had warned Kay about heals and Vegas.  Call me old, but I didn’t even pack a pair.  It didn’t take long before she took them off and held them in her hand.  There is nothing like walking barefoot in dirty Vegas. #sillyearlytwentysomethings.  Luckily Trevor offered a shoulder ride.  Needless to say, the first night was the only night Kay wore heals.  Sometimes you just want to say, “I told you so,” but I won’t because I made that mistake more than once.

Result of wearing heals in Vegas

Day 2 required a walk to Denny’s, the only place serving breakfast by the time we got it together.  Apparently everyone else on the strip had the same idea.  No wonder why there are so many Denny’s restaurants in Las Vegas. 

Vegas Denny's Options

We proceeded to walk the strip after finishing our high calorie Grand Slam breakfast.  Keith bought the birthday girl a yard margarita at Fat Tuesdays to sip as we walked along the strip checking out the hotel shops and testing out our gambling luck.

Fat Tuesdays Yard Margarita

Mid Walk Photo Op

We headed back to our rooms to get ready for the jam-packed evening.   Keith and I had accumulated $150.00 in Bahama Breeze gift cards, so why not use them in Vegas?!  We were on a time crunch so decided to take a cab over to the restaurant.  The cab driver was an idiot to say the least.  He didn’t know his way around the strip and was arguably probably the 2^nd worst cab driver ever, the first being the hung over and high guy that picked John, Katie, Ari and I up at the airport during a college Vegas spring break adventure 5 years back.   This trips cabby earned his title after going the wrong way, cutting several cars off and letting us out of the car into on coming traffic.  Trevor, frightened as hell, shook as he tried to find exact change for the $10.10 cab ride.  Kay reached into his wallet, grabbed $15.00 and handed it to the driver and ran.  Trevor, not pleased about giving the driver a 50% tip for his horrible driving, quickly got over it as we laughed about the young twenty-something country kids first cab experience over dinner.

The Kids First Cab Ride

 I enjoyed a house salad appetizer, Lobster and Shrimp Linguini Entrée and a Skinny Paloma drink. Kay went with a house salad, in addition to her Grilled Jamaican Jerked Chicken and classic margarita.  Keith of course has to prove to me that he eats vegetables and ordered a house salad as well, a Seafood Paella Entree, Lemon Ginger Mojito AND Margarita. Trevor decided to skip the veggies and go straight for the Lobster and Shrimp Linguini with a strong Zombie California chased with a Margarita. We racked up a $135.00 bill.  Success!  We finally used those gift cards.

Trevor and his Margarita

Bahama Breeze Birthday Dinner and Margarita

We quickly rinsed our mouths with the bathroom mouthwash and jumped into another cab.  We made it to New York New York Hotel and Casino with maybe 30 seconds to spare before the Zumanity Cirque du Soleil show started.  We were sitting 3^rd row back from the stage, which made us vulnerable to audience participation.  The birthday girl became part of an act when she caught a flying pom-pom.  So funny!!  She was totally speechless and froze up, as she didn’t know how to respond to the thong wearing man hovering over her.  For the second time in the same night I saw fear cross these country born and raised kids faces.

After a very enjoyable show we headed up the strip with a purpose of hitting up the PURE nightclub at Cesar’s Palace.  Well, we never made it.  I stopped off at the CVS pharmacy to get some much-needed chapstick for my ever so dry lips.   While we were there we decided to pick up some beer to drink as we walked the strip.  How lucky were we to run into the one and only ultimate car guy  Barry Meguiar! We ended up taking pictures in the Vegas night and watching the water show at Bellagio before stumbling in to Bellagio’s Hyde Nightclub where Kay decided to dance with a bear and I lost my cell phone, ID, credit card and room key.  The only thing left in my purse was the chapstick I had purchased hours before.  I quickly lubricated my lips and headed to the bouncer to report my missing belongings.  He had my stuff!  All of it!  Before heading back to the dance floor I showed him all the pictures of my cats in my phone.  It became early morning and we had spent enough on nightclub drinks, so we headed back to our hotel by foot.  There is nothing like a long walk in the cool hours of the morning to sober you up.

Kay and Trevor Enjoying the Evening

Me and Keith

 All of us in front of Aria

Bellagio Water Show

Hyde Photo Op

Dancing

Bathrooms are too nice not to take pictures in

$30 bucks for these two drinks

Boys and there $9.50 a piece Coronas

The Crew at Hyde

I lost everything but my chapstick!!!

My New Car

Keith helped me walk home.... I guess.

By Day 3 I was done.  We all headed down to the champagne brunch buffet at the LVH.  Keith and I ate normal breakfast food and drank orange juice and coffee while the kids ate crab and drank champagne.  Dear god, crab?!  The smell made me want to puke.  We were hung-over and a million miles away from water, in a desert, and these kids eat stinky crab.  Trevor immediately felt sick and decided to head back to his room.  That was until exploded a massive fart bomb and was immediately relieved.  He in turn grabbed more crab and stayed for breakfast.  

Normal Breakfast

We decided to go our separate ways for the day.  Keith and I enjoyed a 1-hour massage and relaxed in our room while the kids went on another strip walk.  Kay filled her Fat Tuesday souvenir cup up with the complimentary bottle of wine and sipped it as she walked down the strip, before stopping at Fat Tuesdays for a margarita refill to drink while she walked back up the strip.   

Post Massage Hair

More Strip Walking

Needless to say Kay was already sick before making it to dinner at Vince Neils Restaurant where we enjoyed huge servings of Mexican food and margaritas..... oh ya, and birthday cake.  

Birthday Cake

Everyone felt like a fat Oompa loompa and opted to walk to the Treasure Island Hotel to watch the Mystere Cirque du Soleil show.  

Kay and Trevor in Line for Mystere

Keith and I in Line for Mystere

We were up in the nosebleeds for this one, but it worked out since so much of the show was performed in the air.   Completely exhausted Keith and I decided to turn in after the show.  Kay and Trevor headed over to the Tao Nightclub at the Venetian before heading back to the LVH to try their hand in gambling again.  Turned out Kay won $107.00, which at one point was $168.00 after putting only $1.00 in the machine.  She said she would have cashed out sooner, but she thought she only had $1.07 and $1.68 respectively.  The only reason she cashed out was because, “the game was taking forever.”  Well ya, I assume it takes a while to lose 50 bucks when you play 1 penny at a time on a machine! #earlytwentysomethings. 

Kay's Winnings

And More

Day 4 was home time.  The plan was to leave around 9am.  I made sure to call the kids room at 8am via the hotel phone (aka loud and obnoxious).  I went to get everyone coffee and fruit to eat and drink while they packed up.  To my surprise the kids were actually ready on time!  I was fooled, the dollar Kay had in her hand was her, “I want to play 1 more time before we leave” money.  How do you say no to the birthday girl?  You don’t.  We waited as she WON more money!  We did eventually hit the road and headed home.

Kay's Last Shot at Luck

And she wins...... again

A sleepy early-twenty-something

Another Sleepy early-twenty-something

Rest Stop Snack Break

I wish I would have gotten a picture of Trevor's Costco Pizza!  This country kid had no idea what 3 pieces of Costco Pizza looked like....he at one!  Well, I had so much fun with Keith, the little sis and Trevor.  I hope you had a wonderful little birthday Kay.  Love you tons!!

#awesometrip #happybirthdayKay

Thanks for reading

JenniferMarie

When will I return to Vegas? Maybe for Tim McGraw and Faith Hills Soul2Soul Concert?!  Who is coming with me?!

I Joined A Gym

I am finding that I am feeling a little out of my element these days.  I am so accustom to a schedule that leaves no time to even think about how busy I actually am.  I oddly enjoy the robotic repetitive nature of my life.  It allows me to accomplish all given tasks in a set amount of time.  Lately I have had the freedom to be a little spontaneous in my adventures.  As an Urban Cow Half rehabilitation attempt I decided I wanted to try an elliptical and do some yoga today. Unfortunately I don’t, or didn’t, have access to an elliptical and the P90x video Keith downloaded was far from the Namaste vibe I was going for. 

I have actually been toddling with the idea of a gym membership for some time now.  The only thing that has been holding me back is the simple fact that I just don’t want to have another expenditure.  However, the truth of the matter is I could really benefit from the increased hip range of motion from kickboxing and the relaxation and flexibility from yoga.  I also wouldn’t mind testing out a spin class as an alternative on a cold and rainy winter day.  I had my mind made up.  I put on some workout gear, grabbed my bag and walked the maybe 2 blocks to the gym.

FYI, I used the stairs!

I was greeted upon arrival and sent back to a little cubby to discus membership with the sales associate.  I sat through his painful personal training sales pitch, which I kindly declined.  I now realize that personal training is actually where the gym makes its money with its 59-70 dollar sessions depending on bulk of purchase.  It’s certainly not the $44 dollars a month (no contract!) I’ll be paying for the membership itself.  I’ll be sure to get my moneys worth by taking extra long post workout showers and getting my cable TV fix, a luxury I do not have a home.  Just as I assumed we were wrapping things up the sales associate then insisted on bringing “Josh the personal trainer” over to talk to me about all the things he could do for me and how much I would benefit from personal training.  Feeling both bombarded by the sales team approach and leery of the personal trainers qualifications, I explained that I not only hold an advanced degree in the subject matter and successfully passed my sports medicine exam, but I am also very accustomed to 12-15 hours of hard training a week.  I guarantee I can handle my own off-season exercise routine.  He stuttered before saying anything, as he knew is online certification and rehearsed sales pitch was not going to result in any extra money in his pocket today.

HaHaHa

I finally made it over to the elliptical machine I had been dreaming about for 2 hours now.  It felt so good to move pain free!  It is a monster of a machine though.  I admit, it totally kicked my ass the entire hour I used it.  I then bypassed all the machines and found myself in the very corner of the gym all alone with a mat, foam roller and stability ball.  I did all of the core work and foam rolling that I could have easily done at home, but it was much less distracting without Mahoney in the way or the refrigerator in the other room.  I am not sure how long I will keep this membership as I hope to be back on the bike like a rock star in the coming weeks.  I can’t wait to try out a yoga class.  If I like it I may actually keep my membership.  I think I handle the nominal monthly fee if it means increased flexibility, core strength and less injury!

I guess that’s all for now.  Time to get a massage! I’ll have to tell you all about the “gym going people” in another post, quite entertaining.

Thanks for Reading

JenniferMarieJ  

Urban Cow Half Marathon – 2013

Well, I ran the Urban Cow Half Marathon on a whim this year.  Keith was headed to Sacramento for a CX race anyway, so I figured why not?!  It is the month of freedom after all.  I am not exactly sure what it was that all of a sudden prompted me to register for the half, more than quadrupling my longest run in 2 years.  Who knows, but following an epic 10-mile hike with friends on Saturday, I went straight home to do so.

Hiking Around Windy Hill Open Space Preserve With Friends

Ok, that’s a lie, I actually got a speeding ticket first, so it looks like I’ll be adding traffic school to my list of off the bike October activities.... CRAP! 

This is actually a photo from 2009..... but I thought it was funny!

Saturday night Bill put together a swank little Pinnacle team dinner at the eloquent Piperade Restaurant in SF.  I didn’t pass on the opportunity for a fine Hen dinner with a side of champagne and wine x2, maybe 3?!  Regardless of how much I had to drink, how many miles I hiked, or how little sleep I received.... I was running this thing!

Dinner Table

Me and Keith all dressed up

 Keith and I arrived to Sac at 6:15am, just in time to pick up my race packet.  My name of course wasn’t in the group of pre registrants since I hadn’t even registered 12 hours prior.  I just stood in another line, got my number and AWESOME cow shirt.  I quickly laced up my running shoes and pinned on my number. 

Pre Race Pic...... Look at my shirt!!!!

I found my way to the runners corralled at the start line in order of prospected finishing times.  I took a gamble and headed to the back of heat 1 (under 2 hour finish), and stood by the 9 min mile sign.  I knew I could bust out a quick mile or two, but 13?!  If I learned anything from pursuiting it is NOT to go out too fast! 

Nine minute mile corral sign

I listened to my country music Pandora radio and cruised along the American River.  I don’t have one of those fancy iphone holding running gadgets, so I just had to tuck mine into my sports bra.  I suppose I just figured all sportswear came fully equipped with pockets in the back.  I pulled my phone out every once in a while to make sure my STRAVA app was indeed recording my comeback run.  I needed proof.

Thirteen plus miles later I crossed the finish line and received my cowbell..... and found a cow!

Negative Splits..... the longer the distance the faster I get!! 

A cow, cowbell and chocolate milk..... SCORE!! 

My legs were instantly debilitated.  I iced them in a freezing pool, busted out the Marc Pro, and slithered into the compression tights.  All I can say is, I thank the lord for the handicap rails in the bathrooms........ my legs no longer work!

Post Race Ice Cold Pool

In the back of the truck Marc Pro'n with my feet up

Thanks for reading

Jennifer Marie

PS.  Keith won his CX race!!  I was confined to a blanket and unable to moooooove, but I was most definitely able to ring my cowbell and make a collage! 

I love this awesome CX winning stud! 

 PSS- The weekend was waaaaaaay tooooooo much fun!!!  I can't wait for my next crazy October adventure!