Well, I don't even know where to begin to start explaining to you how the past week of my life has been.
To start things out...I became a Godmother to an AWESOME baby boy named Aiden Charles Collins. He is Muy Bonitos! I could gobble him up in an instant, but I won't cause then I wouldn't be able to stare at him for hours! Jennifer was a star. I was so proud of her. She showed strength through pain. She said it was all for the outcome. And man, what an outcome. Congrats to Sherman and Jennifer. You have created the most beautiful child. May he be blessed with laughter, endless love, determination, clarity and the gift of creativity. I am so excited and grateful to have the opportunity to watch him grow and experience his life along side you guys. I will never fully be able to express to you my love, but I'll never stop trying!
I also turned 30. Stared it in the face with no fear, a new sense of freedom and listening to God whisper the joys of life. Colt and I jetted to Vegas and packed as much fun as we possibly could into 2 days. Little sleep and much jetlag later I am still in awe of the immensity of fun and opportunities that presented themselves. A few things, a quick overview of the trip would go like this:
Plane ride: Colt's first (He did AWESOME)
New friend Mike. Mike lives in Vegas and was returning there from Florida where he spent the holidays with his family. Mike is a professional gambler and his family owns a restaurant in Vegas. Nice guy. He suggested the Beauty Bar in Vegas. Apparently it's a beauty shop that was converted to a bar. We didn't make it there. Oh yeah, one more tip from Vegas Mike. "What happens in Vegas, ends up on Youtube. *Gulp*
On the way back I had the absolute pleasure of meeting a newlywed couple, the Bindras from New Delhi. The beginning of the ride was miserable, for everyone aboard. I spent the first 30 minutes of the flight in the bathroom. Ugh. I have never seen so many passed out people with gaped open mouths before. The last hour 1/2 of the flight Raja told me all about meeting his soul mate even though there was a previous arranged marriage for them, about how much he loves his country and why, and about his belief that people and animals just need to be allowed to their space and never forced into things, how his father is a source of liberating thoughts and feelings for him and this definitely shined through in his character. We ended our conversation with the beginnings of plans for me to visit India and explore it's culture and beauty. I can't wait!
Colt and I also had the pleasure of meeting Jeff from the band Hank Sinatra. He was returning from Nashville where he lost his pants on New Year's Eve. Ha! Jeff is a Cary, NC residence and one cool dude. Can't wait to check him out in Raleigh at the Pourhouse later this month.
Hotel: Dilemma. Nice area, but far out. Hard to get a taxi. No rental cars to be found. Really good BBQ place called Famous Daves. If you ever eat there, I recommend the Feast for Two. I'd pass on the brisket though.
Old Vegas: Lights and Old folks. Neat to see. No food to be had on a Thursday night except for horrible humongous hotdogs. Black Jack was kind. Broke even. I hate slot machines. Ha!
Taxi drivers: Went like this = Crook, Crook, nice guy but totally wack (told us all about how the cab drivers make money on the cab fares by taking them to places that offer a cut to the drivers[ ie. strip joints & massage parlors. Learned what a "hand job" off the menu @ an Asian massage parlor means. huh. not what you think] The last cab guy, Marty, totally AWESOME. Saved our tookus getting us to the airport Friday morning. Awesome guy, man of his word.
The Palms: Every type of person you could imagine, in one place at the same time. You name it, it was there!
Jim the bartender was a hoot and turned me on to leinenkugel beer. Yum.
Brandon Spino works at the Huntington Tattoo shop. Really nice guy and further confirmed my idea for a tattoo. I made a total fool of myself by flirting with him and whipping around only to smash my shin into the corner of the couch. Yowza. I then suggested he round off the corner of the thing and hoped he didn't notice the ten shades of red my face turned.
Stephen I meet at the bar. Funny guy. We made up commentary for the pimp and prostitute across the bar. A riot. Stephen was there for the concert as well with, get this - his Mom, Step dad & step brother. I thought the fact that it was a family affair was AWESOME.
Colt and I met Joey from San Diego in line for the Playboy club after the concert. He was so sweet and a cutie pie. He gave me a VIP access wristband that ended up leading me to score a pic with Adam Levine. *Swoon* Joey showed us Moon where we meet several other nice New Year's Eve-ers and I got some AWESOME pics of the Vegas skyline. A whiskey birthday shot from the unbelievably hot barista lead to more dancing and laughing. People were randomly coming up and exuberating "Happy New Year". I partook in this spontaneous gesture to ever other stranger I meet and had the overwhelming feeling that we all parted as friends. AWESOME!
The security guys, that were everywhere, reminded me of the secret service and I let em know it. I asked what they say/hear on the earpiece and one guard told me he had just ordered a pizza and it would be here in 20 minutes. Riots!
Maroon5: OMG! OMG! OMG! There is nothing more to say. Spectacular. My groove thang got a workout and I loved every second of it.
God: Present in my life every day, and I am thankful for this.
Happy New Year everyone. Life is short, so get out there and live it!!!!
