Another year gone whoooooooshing by. How does that happen?
We have been complaining about how crappy this year has been (my dad in and out of the hospital since April, KW's mom passing in September, MM's dad, CG's stepmom), but in reality, we have no problems.
Despite KW's contracts coming through very sporadically this year, we have a lovely house that we can still afford to pay for every month.
Within the parameters of normal aches and pains for our respective ages, we're in good health.
We have happy and healthy friends and family members who love us.
I see the 'spirit bell' in my closet and I think of JB, who once lived down the block from me. She now lives across the country, but I hold her close in my heart.
I find myself judging someone and think of MM, who has always found a way to appreciate and embrace everyone, finding acceptance of them somewhere in her great heart.
I find myself whining about KW's contracts being very thin this year and I think about CS, another one with a huge heart, as she works at her multiple jobs to stay afloat.
If I somehow manage to be in a weird head space and start to believe I'm lonely, I think of my knitting friends 'up north' and here in town. These are the friends who both challenge my brain and keep me calm. I can't always pinpoint what it is about them, separately and collectively, that has this effect, but I know that I am definitely out of sorts if I miss seeing them each week.
I am thankful for *all* the friends, blood friends and chosen friends, in our lives, in particular those who smack me upside the head when I'm complaining about something trivial. Mostly I'm thankful for finding KW. I can't even fathom what my life would be like had we not met.
After a 'beat the crap out of 2011' New Year's Eve party, we've decided that 2012 will be better. It simply has to be, so let's see what it brings.
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Saturday, December 3, 2011
Pictures and Videos of KW's Big Adventure
I like this shot because it looks like KW is doing construction work at the Wynn or the Trump!
Pushing dirt.
Pushing dirt with Reuben's help.
The big hole KW made!
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Vegas Aftermath
I'll get around to posting the pictures and videos of Kelly at DigThis! in Las Vegas, but for now, let's just say that I have three more favorite slot machines - Lord of the Rings, The Hangover, and Godzilla. (Emphasis on "for now," since the next time I go, these will probably seem hopelessly dated or won't even be there any more. It is Vegas, after all.)
The Hangover machine is just like the Sex and the City machine, but with clips from "The Hangover" instead of "SATC." (Duh.) That one provided my first big win this trip, Monday night, around $50 or so.
KW and I found Lord of the Rings at the Mirage, which we almost didn't go into this trip, except the weather had turned fairly cool and we decided to duck inside to get warm. (You don't often hear us say that in Vegas, now do you?) Sat down at some other similar machine which did squat, so moved one seat to the left, which happened to hit a bonus game after only 2 or 3 spins. The game I got to play was "Arwen's Rescue." All this meant was that after I hit the button to start the bonus game, I sat back and watched the wheels spin and the credits pile up. Walked away with about $85 from that one (KW hit 2 different bonus games and came away with about $40 more).
Godzilla was Wednesday morning's bit of fun. I had played it Monday night and after 5 or 6 spins it had done nothing, so I walked away. Yesterday morning, though, I had turned a $36 coupon (a leftover one I had found when cleaning out my purse the night before) into around $55 on Sex and the City, and was on my way to the ticket redemption kiosk when I saw the Godzilla machine right next door. What the heck; I was already up a few bucks, why not see if it would do anything this morning.
Why, yes, it DID do anything! After 2 spins, I hit a bonus game. (The link to the previous Godzilla reference has a video clip that shows what I'm about to explain.) The first part was to direct Godzilla through a city. You aimed him in a direction, when he went that way, he stomped over a couple of buildings and you got a certain number of credits. So I had him stomp forward, forward, left, forward, and on the next stomp forward, instead of a bunch of credits, it said "extra bonus game initiated." Wheee! This is where the fun started. I got to pick a blob on the screen, which said my extra bonus game would be "Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla" - a mechanical romping, stomping, city-flattening machine. I sat and watched as two screens spun (the left one for Godzilla, the right one for Mechagodzilla), each one racking up credits. The game would be over when one had beaten the other. Every few spins, one side or the other would have a symbol that said "attack" and that side would breathe fire towards the other side, gradually wearing down the life meter of the other. It was cool, especially since it took at least 7 or 8 attacks to finally have Godzilla beat Mechagodzilla - at which point, it gave me a chance to pick a bonus orb...and the one I picked was for $70! Walked away with $199 in bonus winnings. Yay, me!
Oh, and we had a chance to meet up with my brother. Had dinner with him both Monday and Tuesday nights, which was a surprise since we originally thought he'd only be free Monday. Looking good, looking and sounding just like my dad, in a very scary - eeeeeerie - way.
The Hangover machine is just like the Sex and the City machine, but with clips from "The Hangover" instead of "SATC." (Duh.) That one provided my first big win this trip, Monday night, around $50 or so.
KW and I found Lord of the Rings at the Mirage, which we almost didn't go into this trip, except the weather had turned fairly cool and we decided to duck inside to get warm. (You don't often hear us say that in Vegas, now do you?) Sat down at some other similar machine which did squat, so moved one seat to the left, which happened to hit a bonus game after only 2 or 3 spins. The game I got to play was "Arwen's Rescue." All this meant was that after I hit the button to start the bonus game, I sat back and watched the wheels spin and the credits pile up. Walked away with about $85 from that one (KW hit 2 different bonus games and came away with about $40 more).
Godzilla was Wednesday morning's bit of fun. I had played it Monday night and after 5 or 6 spins it had done nothing, so I walked away. Yesterday morning, though, I had turned a $36 coupon (a leftover one I had found when cleaning out my purse the night before) into around $55 on Sex and the City, and was on my way to the ticket redemption kiosk when I saw the Godzilla machine right next door. What the heck; I was already up a few bucks, why not see if it would do anything this morning.
Why, yes, it DID do anything! After 2 spins, I hit a bonus game. (The link to the previous Godzilla reference has a video clip that shows what I'm about to explain.) The first part was to direct Godzilla through a city. You aimed him in a direction, when he went that way, he stomped over a couple of buildings and you got a certain number of credits. So I had him stomp forward, forward, left, forward, and on the next stomp forward, instead of a bunch of credits, it said "extra bonus game initiated." Wheee! This is where the fun started. I got to pick a blob on the screen, which said my extra bonus game would be "Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla" - a mechanical romping, stomping, city-flattening machine. I sat and watched as two screens spun (the left one for Godzilla, the right one for Mechagodzilla), each one racking up credits. The game would be over when one had beaten the other. Every few spins, one side or the other would have a symbol that said "attack" and that side would breathe fire towards the other side, gradually wearing down the life meter of the other. It was cool, especially since it took at least 7 or 8 attacks to finally have Godzilla beat Mechagodzilla - at which point, it gave me a chance to pick a bonus orb...and the one I picked was for $70! Walked away with $199 in bonus winnings. Yay, me!
Oh, and we had a chance to meet up with my brother. Had dinner with him both Monday and Tuesday nights, which was a surprise since we originally thought he'd only be free Monday. Looking good, looking and sounding just like my dad, in a very scary - eeeeeerie - way.
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