Oooooooo Vegas!!

Ted and I both LOVE Las Vegas. We love gambling and free drinks and people-watching.  We got a really good deal on a suite at the Hard Rock and came here for the night yesterday for Ted's birthday. It's our second whole night away from Mo! He's staying at grandmas house and from the videos we've been sent today, it looks like he is having a blast! (Of course!!)

Ted and I decided to start our winning as soon as we got here and decided to head out to our old favorite casino - O'Sheas!  Oh ya! It was cheap and grungy.  Only, we got in the cab and found out that O'Sheas is no longer...  We were momentarily confused and thrown off course. The taxi driver recommended some place that he described as new and trendy that he thought we'd like. "No!", we said, "we like old and dirty!"   "Oh!  Then, you gotta go to Ellis Island", he said, "it's MY spot! Where all of the taxi drivers hang out".  Pulling up, we realized we'd been sent to the right place!! Very unglamorous! Just like we like it!

I rolled the best game I've ever rolled. When we left, I was feeling very proud of myself. We somehow found ourselves next at Planet Hollywood where I promptly lost everything I'd made AND simultaneously became Teds kryptonite, causing him to craps out whenever I made my approach. So I sat down to play an hour of video poker at the bar while Ted rolled 45 minutes of winning numbers. His winning streak ended as soon as I got close but not before winning everyone at his table hundreds and even thousands of dollars. Ted walked away a cool $600+ richer.  Good thing too because dinner was not cheap!

Ted and I, like any good Top Chef fans would, made reservations at Tom Coliccios's Craftsteak at the MGM. Pretty delicious and definitely overpriced! My night was MADE when Anthony Bourdain showed up with his wife and sat down two tables away from us.  I am never excited about celebrities but I seriously considered telling this man how much watching No Reservations while I was in the pit of hell contributed to my sanity. His gritty unapologetic love of travel, food, booze, tabacco and late nights was a reminder of all that is good and lovely in this life.  Oh Anthony - how I love thee!  He was clearly there for the fight last night (between someone named Silva and another guy) with his Brazilian boxer wife. I recognized her from the episode when they went to Brazil for one of her matches.  She trained, grunted and sweat the whole time they were there, while he ate roasted pork, guzzled cocktails and lazed out on the beaches of Ipanema. Heaven.

On the way back to our hotel,

we chatted with our taxi driver. I asked him if he'd ever been to the Ellis Island Casino and bar.  "That's my spot!", he replied. Somehow I knew that's the answer we'd get. Consider yourself now in know about where the Vegas taxi drivers hangout. Just In case you'd been wondering......

In my pre-mom days, I would have set up at some table right after dinner and played until the wee hours but last night I found myself more excited about my fluffy white hotel bed and TV.  That's how I found myself exactly here before 10:30 pm:

Today we start the day $700 richer (Teds winning streak continued on after I went to sleep - he's younger than me. He can still stay up late.) Which is why I'm dragging myself down to the spa this morning while he goes off to watch football.  Could this trip be any more perfect?

I was thinking on the way into town yesterday how at this time last year, I couldn't have even imagined this being possible. I was hugely debating even attending a New Years Eve party in CT and felt totally on edge just thinking about being in a "good time" situation. It's amazing the progress we've made. Simply amazing. Having fun doesn't always make me feel guilty anymore. And it doesn't mean at all that Max isn't still in every thought I have .... all of the time.