Tomorrow?

Do we think tomorrow? My agency did not deny a package was on the way. BUT they are expecting a TA also. So which will it be, Natalie or the TA? (go Natalie go!)

This is how I have Natalie pictured in my mind:
Round head no hair
Almond eyes (like from a northern region)
little ears that stick out

I think her birthday will be early March and she'll be 8 months old at referral. And of course, she needs to be a girl :)

Really any age works and her ears don't have to stick out. And she could have 3 eyes for all I care.

Here storky storky!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ha!

This batch of kittens has been really weird. They seem to like me pretty well but they are SO possessive of food! They love love love cheetos!

Happy Birthday to Me!

Ok, so should I stay up and watch my profile change from 32 to 33? lol

My friends took me out on Friday, my Mom today. My Dad is tomorrow and work is Tuesday. I am pretty good about stretching this thing out!

The best thing about today is the nursery curtains were done. I wanted white billowy curtains to contrast against the red walls and decided to use sheets to get a solid piece of wide fabric. Target had 250 threadcount queen flat sheets for $5 as part of their grand opening sale. $10 total for 2 windows, you can't beat that. I'll post pictures after I get the rods up on Tuesday.

I can't decide if its too early to install my carseat or not. I have great seat cover that fits over the backseat headrests then tucks around the bottom with elastic bands. It is fuzzy on top but waterproof, the ultimate back seat protector ($10, Ross, score!). It is similar to this one:

Did you know it's Monday in China? Here storky storky!!!!!!

Yipppeee!

I'm next!
I'm next!
I'm next!
I'm next!
I'm next!
I'm next!
I'm next!
I'm next!
I'm next!
I'm next!
I'm next!
I'm next!
I'm next!
I'm next!

Ok, I feel better lol

Viva Las Vegas!

Ok I'm back, didn't loose all my money! Didn't make anything either. And I just realized a big typo in the post below, it was $10.24 lol I WISH I had won $400, I would of stopped there.

We did a lot of things while there. We went to the Excalibur dinner show, the one that is a Medieval Times knock off. Was cheesy and fun :)

Excalibur Hotel:


We also did a gondola ride in the Venetian which was a huge rip off. We only floated for a couple of minutes and they just park you near a bridge. Was a big disappointment. But the Venetia is a beautiful Hotel, lots of interesting things to see.

We went to the Dolphin/Tiger exhibit at the Mirage and it was really cool. They had a 4 month old baby dolphin there, it was so cute. It mimicked it's mom the whole time.

The coolest thing we did was see KA. If you just sat back and watched it and didn't try to follow a plot, it was really cool. It starts out with people dancing and banging sticks. Then the bad guys show up and grab one of the kids. Then the staging starts. A ship pops up at the beginning and rocks back and forth and most of the people fall off. The next scene was one of the nanny falling into the ocean. She started at the tops of the stage (4-5 stories high) and fell (rolled slowly down on her harness) with bubbles all over her. The bubbles were projected by lights and I think there were bubble machines behind the screen. The little girl goes after the nanny and it was cool, every time she kicked bubbles appeared, just like if you really were swimming. Then it moves to a beach scene. A little cheesy but they had to set up the next stage set. It was basically a board covered with sand with beach creatures appearing. At the end, the whole stage titled back and the sand ran off. They used that stage piece for most of the program. It flipped around, sideways, you name it they moved it. And it was HUGE, 30-40 people would of fit on it with no issues. It was a very interactive set, people in the isles, people on the sides (there were tree house looking things on each side of the main stage. It was just a wild show to watch, we didn't know it was going to be like that or we would of seen all four of the Cirque Du Soleil shows.

The second coolest thing we did was go on the Effiel Tower that is part of the Paris Hotel. Here is the video going up:

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And here are the Bellagio fountains, 15-20 stories high and several hundred feet wide.

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Here are the cool pictures I took while in the tower:


We also ate at Harrah's buffet, it was ok. But then we went to Rio's buffet and it was really good!
Food from buffet:


The Rio is fun, they have a ceiling parade every half hour. They have 5 floats that are attached to the ceiling that they dance on and throw beads from.

We also went to Ceasar's Palace and it was really nice too. We ate at a Japanese place that had the best chicken ever. They pounded the chicken flat and lightly breaded it, I think with rice. Then they deep fried it in peanut oil (lol I know, so healthy) then they covered in a sweet/spicy sauce. They called it General Tso but I didn't think that was a worthy name. It was so good, I wish I had taken a picture!

All the hotels had stores in them. The larger places like Cesars had MALLS in them. Nice stores too. I wandered into a children's clothing store and they had holiday dresses out. They were velvet on top and a poly silk on the bottom. There were a few fake flowers on the waist. It was $179! For a little dress! I about croaked lol

We also went to downtown and watched the laser show:


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The screen covers a couple of blocks and is a full block wide, creating a canopy between the casinos.

I am sure I will post more pictures later on, I am still trying to get through all of them.

BTW, I only have two more weeks until I have Natalie's picture!!!!!!!!!

Top 20 things :)

I have a list of 20 things I'd like to do before I die. I know, a little morbid but still, I am a great believer in lists, otherwise how can you keep track of how you are going to get to where you need to be?

On that list was go to Vegas. And I'm here!

We are staying in a condo that is about 1500 SF, 3 bed 2 bath. It's all cherry cabinets and tile and looks like Kirkland's threw up in it. In other words, it's pretty flippin nice!

Our first night here was fun and we didn't do a lot. We took the shuttle to Harrahs then walked to Treasure Island. We were mobbed by the people waiting for the show so we ended up at the Mirage. Each place is so crazy and so detailed in it's theming, each hotel is like it's own little Disney. I played penny slots and won 410.24 - welcome to Vegas!

Tonight we are either going to the dinner show at Excaliber or going to Rio. It's Doug's 21st birthday so he gets to choose :)

I took 200 pictures the first day and I'll upload them when I get back :)

woohoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Seeing double...

Awww look it's baby Jack Jack...I'd recognize that hiss anywhere!

Wait..check that timestamp.... isn't THIS baby Jack Jack and Monkey?


Aww look, it's Elvis, Lulu, Laney and Fifi



umm hang on - how can that be Elvis, Lulu, Laney and Fifi when this is Elvis and Lulu?



Anyone catching on to what I'm doing here? Ho-stray cat dumped more kittens on my front porch. I'd like to introduce:

My new baby Marie!


My new baby Thor!


And last but not least, baby poophead and stinky!


Now stinky and poophead have an excellent chance of being renamed, those are my standard "this kitten is meaner than snot" names. I don't know why but all my solid black kittens have been mean when they were little and the sweetest things when all grown up.

Take Jack Jack for example, remember how much he hated me? I'm now his favorite human on the planet. I feed him, I pet him, I don't throw him outside even when he knocks over a 75% full can of primer on my hardwood and when I cleaned it up it took off the finish off the hardwood and I still have pawprints all over the house. Noooo because he's a sweetie...what can you do?

Would anyone like a kitten?

Jack and Thor




How Monkey got her name:


Someone pleeeeeeeese help me!

Heeelllooooooooooooo

First things first, didn't make the cut for an Oct referral. I have to say I was really surprised about that. And sort of pissed, but what can you do?

I was looking forward to the Jan trip because I was going to introduce her to everyone. Now that I'll be in China during that time I had to cancel (poor me lol). But it's $1000+ I won't be spending at a time where I shouldn't be spending anything.

I put in for some of my leave for this year. Starting Dec 21, I'll be out. Now when I come back is a bit trickier. I have decided to max out FMLA but 5 of those 13 weeks will be unpaid. So I am tightening the belt now so I won't feel the pinch when she's here and we are trying to have fun. It was hard to figure out exactly how much I was losing my taking those 5 weeks off. First you have to break your pay down to weekly pay. You don't have to worry about 401K contribution for the time but you do have to keep paying your health insurance premiums. The after you figure out your true lost wage you have to add in your expenses for the month. But then you get to subtract the daycare you were going to pay. It is still several thousand dollars but I think its worth it!

I went on the cruise and had a good time. I wish I hadn't dressed up like I did, it was a very casual cruise. But Grand Turk, Half Moon Cay and St Thomas were great stops. I'd def do this trip again but I would only pack shorts and t-shirts and stay out of the main dining room. I'd also visit Coki Beach this time too, not that Sapphire wasn't great but there are lots of beaches to visit in St Thomas :)

I have spent a lot of time on the house this week. After 5 years and 4 months, I am pretty close to being done. I've not done much decorating during that time so I am doing things like making lists of the different size picture frames I need, evaluating any curtains/cushions/pillows I need and trying to decide what type of furniture I'll be buying in the near future. It seems odd after years of living like a college kid, that I am thinking about buying brand new furniture not used fixed up furniture . Of course its still not crazy expensive (the table is $130) but still, brand new shiney-ness... just for me!

I have been Christmas shopping! I decided to do kitchen things this year (which is ok to say because everyone that is getting one doesn't read my blog!). I got some great knives (Kitchenaide marked from $20 to $7); some are for bread and come are for meat. The bread knives will get bread pans, yeast, a pot holder and bread recipes. The slicing knives will get a cutting board, towel, some sort of seasoning and recipes. My goal is to keep each goody basket at $15 and to pay 50% or less for each item.

I am still trading stocks during the day. Right before I went on the cruise they shot up big time, like $5 a share. So I am trying to get into the groove and determine what my low and high buy prices are. I ended my first month of trading with a $1605.13 profit, I'd love to hit that again but since I lost time to the trip and have had my bid too low for several days, I hope to get one transaction in during my second month. At 1000 shares, that could be $500 or $1000, just depends on how it all goes. My main goal is to double my cash (21K) in one year. I am 7.6% there!

I guess that is it for now. I have to fix all the images on my blog, it's so sad looking. For the 4 people that read this thing, how have you been?