Vitally important information

Executive decision: I'll post a proper congratulatory photo of Kel, Mike and the boys when we get a really good shot of all 4 of them. They are a family after all. (Crazy!)

So, life has resumed to normal after the recent travels. I do love to travel, but going away 3 of the past 4 weekends has kind of made me feel like a crazy person at work. Seriously, I got back from Vegas with my mom on Monday afternoon, and on Tuesday, I got up and went to my Monday meeting. I'm awesome. And professional.

Vegas was nice - we really just met up out there for my birthday present, which was a ticket to go see Bette Midler. She was great live - sang the songs I wanted to hear, told dirty jokes, and had back-up showgirls who didn't look like sticks, which is always appreciated. She's so little in person! The whole time we were there, I couldn't help but think of Missy's dad, because Irv is a huge Bette fan (little known fact).

Sunday night, we went to see Love, which is a Cirque du Soleil show based entirely on the music of the Beatles. It was seriously like being inside the lyrics of the songs for 90 minutes. It's a huge headtrip. I can't believe someone was able to conceptualize that show and then someone else came along and actually made it happen! Cirque is amazing. If you ever get out to Vegas and have an option of shows to see - Love is totally worth the money.

Anyway, it was nice to see my mom - she was actually on her way back from a trip to Hawaii to visit Mike, which apparently was nice. She will be back out on this coast for Christmas - hooray for not having to travel when plane fares are ridiculous! This does mean, however, that we have to acquire a Christmas tree, Christmas ornaments, stockings and the like.

Anddddd I'm boring. I think bullet points may be a useful tool at this juncture.

• there was some sort of explosion on the freeway this morning. an oil tanker or gas tanker or "something like that" says dan. cool.
• i am having a serious craving for macado's - which is a southwestern VA sandwich place. YUM. they make really good queso. dan and i used to go on "dates" there. awwwwwwww.
• so, election. soon. i'm nervous.
• i only have 6 books left to read this year to meet my goal!
• i am not currently enjoying the biggest loser. one of the women on the show really bothers me because she's a big liar. but i do still love bob.
• i'm thinking about taking up yoga. rosa inspired me.
• there is a possibility that dan and i could be hanging around our apartment for new year's eve, which makes me really sad. people should come visit!!

Clearly, the bullet points aren't working. Look! Kitty pictures!

Lily discovering the cupboards.

They love each other.

Viva Las Vegas

This was Kristin's third time to Vegas, but my first, so you'll hear our tales from my virgin eyes. Vegas is a strange town, there's drugs, sex, and rock and roll. Oh yea, and there's gambling too. I think there are many different ways you could see Vegas, and I'm thrilled with how we saw Vegas, plus we didn't gamble a cent. Strangely, we stayed up working 24 hours straight before our trip, because we're crazy! After a 6am flight, you might think we took a nap. Wrong. The hotel couldn't give us a room at 8am, so we freshened up in their staff bathroom and hit The Strip.

We felt like we actually stayed in MGM, as we were there 2 to 3 times a day because we had a free shuttle from our hotel to MGM. I learned there are no real attractions besides the gigantic themed monstrosities. Everybody knows of the Bellagio dancing fountains, and they didn't disappoint. We stood by the lake and watched the fountains for over an hour, and that was just the first day! The view of the entire city (and the Bellagio fountains) from the Paris Eiffel Tower is rather incredible. (Edit by KK: Also incredible, the number of callgirl cards that Dan managed to collect in 2.5 days. It's really a pretty impressive stack sitting here in our apartment.)

We saw Ka, one of those fancy Cirque du Soleil shows. Actually, it was amazing! The theater is apparently the most expensive in the world, specifically built for Ka, and the show itself was somewhat reminiscent of traditional Japanese theater. There is no spoken word in the entire show and it's a bit startling when the guys grunt at you when you hand them your ticket. Apparently people walkout because they don't like it, my guess being that they don't understand it's not a traditional Cirque show and don't pay attention to garner the nuances of the plot. We were fortunately had a nice long chat with the gift store lady, who filled us in prior to going to the show. So if you plan to go see Ka, we'll pass on the tale, or you can just buy a program.

My critique for the rest of Vegas can be summarized as follows:
MGM -lions! big lions! in the hotel! We watched them for about 45 minutes one day. They look just like James and Lily.
NY, NY - Actually enjoyable inside walking "the streets of NY." Didn't get to ride the roller coaster...next time.
Excalibar - You could skip it, except it's where Krispy Kreme is.
Luxor - The side of the pyramid is a huge ad for Absolut now, but the elevators go diagonally.
Mandalay Bay - they must pump incense or perfume in; it smelled amazing. KK's favorite.
Bellagio - Fountains! That's all really. Didn't overly love it.
Planet Hollywood - It's where we sat in the bar and watched Tech play, which ended up being very disappointing. Go-go dancers among the card tables at night. Saw Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher filming a movie.
Venetian - Please donate to the "So Dan & KK can stay here next time" fund.
Paris - Eiffel Tower is worth it. Minus the old lady next to us giving us advice on shows (thumbs up: Jubilee, the topless revue at Bally's. thumbs down: Cirque. hmmm.)
Ceasar's Palace - they have fountains and stuff. But go for Vosges chocolates!
The Mirage - ummm....we ate at the Jewish deli? Otherwise, nothing remarkable.
Treasure Island - I'll be honest, the vixen sirens vs. shipwreck pirates show sucked. It felt like a renaissance fair when you can't tell if people are pirates, or fairies, or goth, or what.
The Wynn - gorgeous, screams extravagance, and they charge you $10 just to walk in the Ferrari Maserati showroom. But gorgeous.