thankful thursday - teaching an old dog new tricks

My friend, Dawn, invited me to go to Las Vegas with her for a few days. I was hesitant because I really DO NOT like Las Vegas... it's loud and smoky and people are rude and it's a town of excess. She was confident she could change my mind. I thought she had her work cut out for her. But I agreed to go.

I learned six things from Dawn:

1. Go outside! Walk up and down the Strip in the morning. - it's less crowded and, in our case, cooler then. We walked from our first hotel, Circus Circus, at the north end of the Strip all the way to The Cosmopolitan on our first day. We saw interesting graffiti, an area fenced off for construction with beautifully painted signs depicting what was coming, a statue commemorating Siegfried and Roy along with a star in the sidewalk, noticed the futuristic-looking buildings on the back side of the Strip while we were waiting for a tram and we talked with construction workers, tourists and a police officer. It was like being in any other city with large buildings!

 2. Experience the Resorts - they are much more than just casinos. We walked through every resort we passed by. I usually avoid the inside of the resorts because I don't like the uber-loud, smoky (although that was better than I remembered thanks to newer filtration systems) casinos. I didn't realize there are LOTS of things to see inside. 

At the Bellagio, I would have missed gorgeous hanging umbrellas (upper right) and several extraordinary Chihuly pieces, the largest one hanging from the ceiling in the lobby (lower left). The Conservatory, an inside park, has a glass ceiling that lets in natural light. They decorate it seasonally - the fall decor was beautiful. It's open 24/7 and people stroll through it all the time.  It was a quiet place to relax and enjoy the whimsical displays.

Somewhere in the Bellagio (I'm pretty sure the resort spans at least 3 time zones!) is the world's largest chocolate fountain - it's just over 26 feet tall and circulates two tons of white, medium and dark chocolate. Ahhhhmazing!! And in the same store is the life-sized chocolate skeleton - it took two people about 70 hours to make it using a little over 143 pounds of white and dark chocolate. Immmmpressive!!

The Venetian and her sister-resort, Palazzo, are equally spectacular. We watched gondolas filled with people glide through the underground canals while gondoliers serenaded them. One guy sounded just like Ol' Blue Eyes himself! Incidentally, Frank Sinatra was one of Las Vegas' pioneer entertainers performing there frequently throughout the 1950's and 1960's. We walked through some very high-end stores and sampled expensive perfumes. The courtyard that connects the two is decorated seasonally and is very peaceful, especially the waterfall. We chatted with an Hispanic women who works in housekeeping  - she told us she likes to take her break near the waterfall because it's restful and quiet - or at least that's what I think she said since her English was about as good as our Spanish. The living statue (top left) was fun to watch - he sometimes startled people by moving!   

 3.  Improvise when plans change. We had booked a Food Tour that fizzled and the guide never showed up. Fortunately the booking company was great and refunded our money quickly. Since we had some "extra" time, we sat in the Chandelier Bar at The Cosmopolitan and had their signature drink, a Pink Cosmo. It was my first - and pretty tasty!

4.  Do something new. Dawn has been to Las Vegas several times as have I and neither of us had been to the Neon Museum just past downtown. The visitor's center is housed in the old  La Concha Motel lobby while the "Boneyard" with over 150 neon signs (seven are restored) from the Strip is outside. Our tour guide was very knowledgable and explained the history behind the old neon signs as well as the history of Las Vegas. I highly recommend both the museum and the tour.

5.  Spend a little time outside in nature - it will rejuvenate you! I had no idea there was a nature trail on the grounds of the Flamingo.  As we strolled along the trail we stopped to watch the fish and turtles in the pond, marvel at the beautiful flowers and hummingbirds and, of course, see the real, live flamingos! It was quiet and green with birds chirping - very easy to forget the big city on the other side of the building.  

 6.  See the lights of the Strip and the Bellagio Fountains at night - it never gets old! The neon lights of the Strip come to life after dark. What looked like an ordinary tall building by daylight is transformed into a shimmering, glowing piece of architecture at night. And the fountains at the Bellagio at night are every bit as fun as World of Color at Disneyland! The choreography of music and "water dancing" is fabulous! They run approximately every half hour during the day and every 15 minutes at night. Like many people, we stuck around and watched more than once. In between the shows we observed street performers and people in costumes - something for everyone!

At the end of our trip, I had to admit that I had a great time and found a lot to appreciate about Las Vegas. As we got ready to leave the other "City That Never Sleeps," Dawn and I talked about things we would like to see and do on our next trip there!

I am thankful for friends like Dawn who are willing to share their love of a place or for a thing with me. And that God gave me a teachable spirit. The two fit together like a hand in a glove.

thankful thursday - a first-world problem

Here is my first-world problem: I have had four brand new washing machines in the last seven years.

The first three were shiny, electronically-controlled models with lots of bells and whistles. They weren't top of the line models but they were "energy efficient" (using little water),  flashed numbers to count down to the end of the cycle, magically rebalanced when a load went out of balance and "sang" a sweet melody when the load was done.

So what went wrong?

The first one, a front-loader, lasted five years before the retailer we purchased it from finally bought it back under their "Lemon Warranty." (I'm glad we purchased the extended warranty!) It leaked fluid from the bottom and made greasy spots on the clothes that then required rewashing. It was replaced with a different highly-rated top-loader that lasted four days. It spun the clothes at 2 revolutions per second so clothes were more than just drippy wet. The retailer picked it up and allowed us to choose a different machine. The third washing machine was a top-loader (original highly-rated brand) that lasted 24 months before also being bought back under the "Lemon Warranty." It went out of balance ALL THE TIME. Even when doing a very small load of delicates. The machine would try to "rebalance" itself by adding water and agitating, sometimes for hours. I would have to pull the soaking wet clothes from the washer and carefully redistribute them. The final straw was when it went out of balance doing a "tub clean" with only water, no clothes.

We researched washing machines each time we replaced one. Sadly, although they were highly rated when we bought them, Consumer Reports later said they had problems. After choosing three lemons, I think I finally hit the jackpot with the fourth one.

I decided that the electronically-controlled machines had too many problems and looked for a mechanically-controlled machine that gave me more control. You know, the old-fashioned kind where you select the load size, the water temperature and then turn the dial to start it. It doesn't flash numbers at me. Or sing a song to tell me when the load is done. It has a full-size agitator, takes half the time to wash clothes and I can select how much water it uses.

It's only been two days but I am in love!

Yeah, I had a "Laundry Party!"

I am thankful for many things. As I was doing laundry with my new machine the past two days, I thought about people in third-world countries that hand-carry polluted river water to wash their few clothes with or scrub them on a rock on the river bank. I thought about homeless people right here in America who wash out their clothes in public restrooms. I am thankful for clean water any time I want it. And for the laundry room in my house. And for clothes to wash. And for my new washing machine (and the reputable retailer that fixes or replaces their product).

thankful thursday - highway humor

We have logged A LOT of miles driving around the country in general and the state of Arizona in particular. One of our favorite things to do while driving is to look for unusual things.

It might be a billboard or sign. Sometimes it's a building. We've seen some pretty unusual looking people dressed in all kinds of costumes. Occasionally we see interesting "vehicle decor," especially around holidays.

Having driven this stretch of road a gazillion times, I thought we had seen ALL the unusual sights on I-10 between Phoenix and southern California.

I was mistaken.

We got off the freeway to grab some lunch and when we were getting back on, pulled up behind this truck in the lane to the on-ramp. I couldn't believe what I thought I saw from my view directly behind the truck so I convinced Richard to go around him. Sure enough... he was hauling a TOY ATV!!!

We laughed so hard! All the tension and frustration from driving all morning, inconsiderate drivers and road construction melted away. 

I am thankful for things that make a tedious task more fun, for the gift of laughter and for a big rig driver who was man enough to haul a child's toy on his big rig, no matter how ridiculous it looked.

thankful thursday - family adventures

Our oldest daughter, son-in-law and their five kids (collectively known as the Albaecks) came out to visit us this summer. They live in North Carolina and this was their first trip back here in six years. While they were here, our youngest daughter, her husband and their daughter (who live nearby and are collectively known as the Gaubs) came over often to visit. Our normally very quiet house was suddenly filled with lots of laughter, kids playing, kids crying, toys that make "noise" and adults talking. And it was heavenly!

We had lots of thing to celebrate - the first time the boys met their cousin, the end of another successful school year, the beginning of summer vacation, and THREE college graduations. Jacob got his Bachelor's, Jennifer got her Master's and Janne got her Ph.D. ALL this year! I am thankful our kids know and appreciate the value of education and learning.

The cake was deeeeee-licious! Christopher made the topper =)

The kids wanted to swim several times a day... every single day. The older four have become little fishes in the water and like to splash and dive! The younger ones mostly like to float in their inflatables. I laughed so hard when I heard Jennifer telling her kids to not splash so hard, they were getting the windows wet. I distinctly remember her telling me, as a child, that she wouldn't care about the windows getting wet when her kids were in the pool. Fast forward a couple of decades and now she cares and I don't! I am thankful, though, for parents who teach their kids to be respectful of others.

The kids were in the pool so much the bottoms of the their toes got scraped up - hence, the sox!

As most of you know, we LOVE Disneyland and go as often as we can. We took our daughters when they were growing up. And now they take their kids. So it was only natural that we ALL (six adults, four older kids and two stroller kids!) went to Disneyland for a few days. The boys were excited about Carsland (they had not been yet) and the girls were excited about everything Frozen. No one was disappointed! I am thankful our family likes Disneyland like we do - or at least comes with us when we go!

We celebrated Disneyland's 60th birthday and Ellie and Hannah's first time at Disneyland!  

We had lots of time to just hang out and be together. They kids played and watched movies. The adults talked - there is never a shortage of things to talk about! We ate some of our favorite foods. Remember all the manicotti I made earlier and put in the freezer? It did not go to waste! We also went shopping, had gelato (a few times!), went to a couple movies and went out to eat. It was a nice vacation for all of us. I am thankful for family that enjoys being together.

We all agreed it's fun to just hang out and be together!

All too soon it was time for the Albaecks to start their road trip back home. We went to Flagstaff and the Grand Canyon with them before saying good-by. I am thankful for beauty all around me - in my family and in nature.

You can see Richard, Christopher and Lexie at the view point in the lower right corner. They look tiny compared to the immenseness of the Grand Canyon!

There are, indeed, many things to be thankful for when family is around. What a wonderful blessing it is to have family!

thankful thursday - babies

Babies are a precious bundle of joy - a special gift from God. We were blessed with two babies who, as babies do, grew up. And now they have babies of their own. While most of our sweethearts (aka grandchildren) are past the baby stage, we still have two who are under two years which, in my opinion, still gives them baby status.

Ellie will be two in November. Each day that passes she is a little less "baby" and a smidge more "little girl." I love watching her become more independent as she explores her world. She makes me laugh and brings great joy into the lives of her whole family.

Hannah will be one in November - she and Ellie are almost exactly a year apart. She is nearly as big physically as her cousin thanks to her daddy's "tall genes" but still has a cute squishy baby face. Sometimes she wants nothing more than to explore what's around her and other times she wants to be held and snuggled, something I don't mind doing at all!

Ellie lives in North Carolina and Hannah lives in Arizona so they don't see each other often. Fortunately, they both have parents who believe family relationships are important and have been committed to getting together as often as possible which realistically means about once a year or so. Although they have only seen each other twice, I think they know they are related! 

Someone once asked me what my favorite age of children was - and I was stumped. I love them all and all for different reasons. I love the wonder and brand-newness that babies bring. They make you smile for no reason - even babies you don't know!

I am thankful for the babies in my life. And for the "little people" and "older people" they eventually grow into!