Las Vegas 2010

I'm a little late of this one - but this past June, we had a mini-vacation in Sin City with friends, Frank and Amanda! It was a great long weekend - lots of seeing the sights, sitting by the pool, and drinking frozen beverages out of giant boots. These are all things you must do in Vegas. Oh, and we gambled just a bit.

First I will begin the recap with tell you about Lil, our tour guide. While she didn't vacation with us, she was with us in spirit the whole time. Lucas met Lil on our flight west. She told Lucas all about her many Vegas Vacations, and several memorable moments on the strip. ....All about the hotel grand openings she attended in the 60's, how she could have been an actress but she had a baby instead, and how all the employees at Bally's know her and her husband by name. Thanks to their in depth conversations and Lucas' great attention to detail, it was almost like she was there with us the whole time, showing us the sites and bringing back good memories.

We stayed at New York, New York. Lots to do right in our own hotel. We all got burned by the pool, tried the New York style pizza (yum) and enjoyed the Nine Fine Irishmen bar. Frank and Amanda even rode the roller coaster!

Much of our time away from the hotel was spent walking the strip and going in and out of hotels and casinos. We played a lot of penny slots and roulette. Id like to say we broke even, but that would be a lie. :( Below is a picture from the Venetion.


Here are some pics at the Bellagio. We spent some time in the Botanical Gardens. This indoor garden houses the largest known collection of cultured olive trees in the world! Frank and Amanda are seen here.


One of my personal highlights of the trip was when, there we were, just walking through the shops at Ceasar's Palace, we saw a cluster of people and flashing lights! Of course, we were like, "I wonder what celebrity it's going to be!?". Well, none of my travel companions were nearly as excited as I was when I saw, drum roll please... Holly Madison! No way!! I immediately took 2 not so good pics and then called my mom. We LOVE the Girls Next Door, and Holly is hands-down the fan-favorite.

We also had the opportunity to see The Lion King and do some other Vegassy things. And thank goodness we have a few more smashed pennies to add to the collection!! - including one of a monkey playing roulette (our favorite game). All in all it was a blast and we are so glad we went!!!

Pittsburgh, Baltimore, and DC

We are home from our Mid-Atlantic tour - a long overdue trip to visit friends and family in Pennsylvania and Virginia.

Our first day started with a whirlwind tour of Baltimore. Not many pictures from Baltimore, but we had a delicious lunch at Phillip's Seafood, right on the Inner Harbor. We had crab cakes and shrimp, crab and avocado salad, and crab bisque. Oh, and we also had butter. Lots of it.

That night we rented a car and drove to Pittsburgh to visit with Aunt Mary, Uncle Bob, and cousins Ashley and Bobby. It was a great time! Highlights include Frank Lloyd Wright's Falling Water, a scenic drive through Nemacolin (the closest thing to Kellerman's resort from Dirty Dancing that I've ever seen in my life), Ohiopyle, IKEA, and church with the Noltes.

Back in DC, we mastered the Metro and visited such sites as the Washington Monument (close-up pic of Jonah and Lucas) , the White House, the National Archives Museum (saw the Declaration of Independance and the Magna Carta), the Museum of Natural History(Hope Diamond), the National Galley of Art (great museum-lots of impressionism), the National Zoo and Chinatown.

After visiting DC and Pittsburgh, Lucas was able to double his smashed penny collection! (I think he should start a smashed penny blog, but I don't know how he feels about that). We are glad to be home, and so is Chip.

Thank you to Jonah and Jesse and Mary and Bob for being so hospitable!! We can't wait to see you all again over the holidays!!

08.15.09

Pics from Crystal's beautiful wedding!!

Pumpkins!

It took me awhile to get into the fall state of mind... but now that the weather is nice and crisp, I have finally arrived! My fall decorations just wouldn't do this year, so I ventured into the pumpkin sewing business. Well, it's not a business, and it's far from taking off, but it's fun and they're cute. And even Lucas likes them! Take a peek:

Sammies!

A few months ago at Schnuck's, Jamie and I found a new product that has become part of our weekly grocery routine, and totally replaced our buying of standard loaf bread. Maybe they're new, or just new to us. Either way, they are great!

We call them Sammies.

They come in white, multi-grain, and whole grain.


Sammies have the following delicious uses:

- Lunch meat sandwiches with spinach

- As a replacement for hamburger buns for burgers
or veggie burgers

- As a vehicle for eggs and cheese

- With hummus

- For mini pizzas!
(pic to the right)




One of the greatest part of the sammies is that they're only 99 calories each! That's as many as one piece of bread, and you get two sides...perfect!

In conclusion, next time you visit your friendly neighborhood grocery, grab some sammies and put them to good use.

To Our Loyal Readers:

Memo that you already know:

I Suck At Blogging!

But I'm trying to improve...

Life has been super busy lately.

Here are a few of the things that have been keeping me from LNSJNS.Blogspot.com:

#1 Writing a thirty page thesis about artifacts to FINALLY complete my MBA

#2 Training for and running the Lewis & Clark Half Marathon

#3 Taking a fun weekend to Chicago with the family for Labor Day Weekend

#4 Going to Eagle Hurst Ranch with the extended family at the end of August

#5 Work, per the usual

#6 Totaling my car and shopping for, and buying, the exact same one in a different color

The blogging situation should be getting better, as most of these excuses have run out.
I even have a few things in mind that I want to write about!

One is a delightful sandwich component that Jamie and I refer to as SAMMIES that have lots of uses.

Stay tuned, and thanks for being patient!

We did it!

Here is one of two identical purses finished tonight by me and Amy. They actually took about three weeks to make. This is just one of the many patterns that we want to try!! I also made a little coin purse which isn't worthy of a photo... but it's great because I learned how to sew a zipper!! Sharon, our instructor, taught me how to use my zipper foot!! ...too fun!!