Long Lost Blogger

I guess I need to revive this blog from the dead, it's been so long.

Hm.  Since Michael could get Zombies to essentially line dance, I wonder if I could get Zombies to follow one of my workout routines.  Food for thought. 

As long as I don't become the "food".  Heh.

Anyway!  As I mentioned in my last post, way back in June (YIKES!), my husband and I somewhat impulsively put our house on the market after my New Orleans birthday trip in April.  In what boiled down to a maybe 6-8 week window, we:

- removed about 50% of our possessions out of our home and into temporary storage
- had the entire house interior repainted
- had the entire carpeted surface of the house replaced
- repaired about 5 years of random "to-dos" in less than a week
- put our house on the market
- showed our house
- went through the entire selling negotiations process, including inspection and mitigation
- moved out
- moved into temporary housing

Phew!  And yes, I said in a 6-8 week window we did all of that.  If you've ever sold a house before, you know how crazy tight that schedule is.  But, with the market on fire for our price point of home, it was basically a "strike when the iron is hot" kind of scenario.  So we wanted to go as fast as we could to chase the market, despite the whirlwind.

Plus, in addition to that crazy busy timeline above, we were also in the process of house hunting for our upgrade.  So once we knew the sale was finalized for our Carver home, we started power shopping for our new place on lunch hours, evenings after work, and weekends.

Not long after securing our offer on our Carver home, we thought we had found the perfect place in Eden Prairie ... and even put in an offer.  Alas, after spending over a week negotiating with those sellers (without them hardly budging an inch), we realized it was time to cut and run. 

Blech.  Starting over on the hunt when we knew we were about to be homeless was NOT fun.

Thankfully, the market we were looking at buying into had lots of options, and in addition - that market was a little soft.  Not soon after walking away from our first offer, we found our current home.

Quite honestly, I'm glad for losing the first house.  Looking back now, we both realized it was inferior to where we ended up.  As they say "everything happens for a reason".

Despite being ready to settle into a new home immediately, things didn't go as quickly as my husband and I would have hoped for - especially since we saw how quickly things COULD go if you really wanted them to in selling our Carver home.  But slowly, surely, after about a two month stint in temporary housing, we finally got into our new place.

So here I am.  I've been officially living in my new home for almost two weeks.  Yes, I am still unpacking.  No, I'm not box free ... yet, though I'm close. 

And thanks to a handful of local service companies, we were able to do a lot of internal updates to the house in a short time frame (prior to moving in), like this:

Goodbye, butter yellow.  Hello modern life.  (If you need a painter for a big interior project, call these guys).

Our last few major move-in projects include washing the final bit of clothing from storage, hanging curtains inside the house, and organizing my husband's shop tools and supplies.  Of course, this is not to leave out our longer term projects such as front entry sidewalk replacement, MAJOR yard work/trimming, deck restaining or possible total replacement, and more.  But that's all ongoing home ownership stuff - at least by then we'll be comfortably living in the new home.

And now, after all the craziness ... I hope I can resume this blog on a somewhat more regular interval.  Thanks for hanging in there during the transition, and glad to have you back!!

Do a Good Deed

As you know, a few weeks back I touched on the fact that I was ramping down on my breastfeeding.

While I thought the hardest part of this process would be getting my son to adapt to the change, I was woefully wrong.  Since he's such a good eater - both solids and liquids - he could have cared less about moving to cow's milk. 

The real hard part was the physical piece for me. 

Thankfully, I have finally gotten over the hump of my body accepting I am not breastfeeding anymore.   For the most part, I feel "normal" again ... whatever that means for a postpartum body.  Heh.

But despite not needing breast milk anymore, until yesterday morning I had a chest freezer in the basement full of it.  Good thing I had followed this Facebook page ages ago:

For my good deed of the week, I donated somewhere between 350 to 400 ounces of frozen breast milk to a recently adopted little boy.  I saw him when I went to drop off the milk ... 11 days old .. adorable!  Hard to believe my "about to outgrow 2T clothing" one year old boy was ever that small!

If you're a new mom who might need milk, or has an over supply that you might want to share, please - check out this page (or search for one located in your state ... since this one is Minnesota specific).  Such a great community for those in need.

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What was your good deed of the week?  I want to know!  Share below.

A Little Chicago Air Show Follow-up

As I said last Monday, I was in Chicago a little over a week ago for the Air & Water show.  Of course, it proved to be a good time for me and a few others, including my blogger pal Emily (who you may remember from when I ran China Town in 2014).

No, we didn't run a race together while I was there.  Are you shocked?  Sorry to disappoint you.  Instead of running, we sat on the beach and roasted in the sunshine.  Well, that ... and we watched the Angels fly by a few times.  Heh.

In addition to a good time at the show, I just have to say ... my husband and I had pretty awesome views from our hotel room.

Yep, that's the view from the top floor of the Omni Hotel in Chicago, both AM and PM.  We got that view for free thanks to my husband, who spent half his spring in Boston for work in 2014, thus earning him some free nights and VIP status for premium room upgrades.

Anyway, while I had lots of fun in Chicago, I also in advertantly came up with two new blog posts, which you will be hearing a bit more about in the next few weeks.  Until I get those posts written and published, here's an overview:

First, the good - Brussels Sprouts Salad from Doc B's Fresh Kitchen. 

I don't know if you've ever heard of this place or eaten there; I myself had never heard of it until I was on Yelp looking for a lunch option nearby our hotel.  When I stumbled across this place, I thought ... hmm, seems interesting.  It was definitely good - I left full and totally in love with what we ate!  After I came home, I tried to re-create my entrée, and I think I had about 80% success in matching it to the restaurant.  So, look forward to that post in the next week or so.

Second, the bad - my Nike+ GPS watch died. 

On Saturday morning, I actually got up early at the hotel with high hopes of going for a run on the Lake Shore Path.  Unfortunately, I was foiled in doing so as it was SUPER HOT and humid even at 6am, which pushed me to the hotel's workout room instead.  But, even if the humidity hadn't forced me there, I would have ended up in the hotel's workout room anyway, because somehow moisture got to the LCD screen of my Nike+ GPS watch and ruined it.  BOO!! 

Truth be told, I had suspected something was amiss way back when I ran the a 5K on the 4th of July (remember how foggy it was?), as my watch had fogged up on the INSIDE at that race and never really cleared after that.  My guess is some moisture got in there at that race and just never dried back out, eventually penetrating the LCD screen and frying it. 

Aside from the moisture though, the watch hadn't been picking up satellites very well anymore, so I guess I can't really be surprised that it finally mapped it's final mile.  Regardless, it is kind of unfortunate timing, as I am just starting to ramp up my mileage for the TC 10 mile and was really starting to rely on it again.  And, I hadn't been planning on purchasing a new watch any time soon, since they are kind of expensive.

But, luck would have it that GPS watches are much more affordable these days than they were when I first bought the Nike+, and they are being made smaller as well (part of why I chose the Nike+ to begin with, as it was one of the smallest options available for around $100 when I bought it).  So, despite saying I would just use MapMyRun for awhile and go without a watch, somehow I found myself the proud owner of a brand new Garmin Forerunner 10... which, actually, I so far kind of love.  Like way more than the Nike+.  Which is funny, because I thought I would never top the Nike+, but even the guy at the run store looked at me and was like ... "You got more than a year out of your Nike+?  You're lucky!!  I didn't think anyone was even using them anymore they broke so often!!"


So ... there you have it.  That's the cliff notes version of Chicago, and a hint at what you might see in a few future blog posts (though the GPS one might be awhile, as I want to use it for a few runs first).  Stay tuned!!

Happy 4th 2015!

Wishing you all a happy and fun 4th of July!

Check out this design, made by me on Polyvore, or by the InkNBurn clothes for your own festivities.

I'll be back after the holiday with new blog posts.

Lazyman Ironman Summer 2015

I suppose it's about time that I remind folks that Lazyman Ironman starts in 4 days.  Won't you join in the fun with me?

Register here.  And don't worry, all are welcome (Chaska resident or not).  If you live out of state, you can opt to have your finisher's prize mailed to you!!

Product Review - Open Water Swim Gear

As I mentioned in a blog not too long ago, I recently purchased a wetsuit.  Since I learned that finding swim gear can be kind of overwhelming, and especially challenging for larger build women (and men), I thought I'd use today's blog to discuss what gear I purchased, and what I think of it.

Enjoy!


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Wetsuit

Synergy Endorphin
Purchased at wetsuitoutlet.com for $199
Also available (price varies) on Amazon.com, in case you want to read other reviews

Size selected based on Synergy's height/weight chart, which proved accurate for both myself and my husband:

 

Thoughts:  First of all, there is no comparison when it comes to getting this suit on (versus a TYR equivalent).  The stretch and cut of this suit is fantastic, and makes getting into it much more ... well, fun, if you can call putting on a wet suit fun ... which, just to be clear, it's not. 

As for function, so far I'm thrilled with the performance.  Not only do I feel like I get full range of motion, which I hear can be an issue in some full sleeved suits, I don't feel choked, which I also hear is an issue in many wetsuits.  It's possible that all of the above comments derive from the quality of neoprene used in the construction of the suit ... ?  Apparently other suits in this price point don't offer quite the engineering this one does:

I also feel very buoyant and secure when I have this on - for example, any time I feel like I want a break swimming, I can just flip over on my back, and this suit would practically let me float for hours. 

While I don't have any previous wetsuit experience, I would recommend this brand based on my first few trials of this suit.

 

Swimsuit

 

TYR Alliance Splice Lycra Suit
Purchased at local swim shop for around $30

Thoughts: I bought this suit as an emergency/backup suit for the regular poly one I wear to lap swim 99% of the time.  Basically, I intended this to be the "my other suit is in the wash" option.  Since it was cheap, it looked ok on me, and it fit - I bought it (side note: I've got a long torso, so in TYR I found I had to size up one to make it fit me).  There's nothing special about this suit, and I wouldn't even particularly recommend it or not.  The only reason I now use it for open water swimming is that I knew this suit would definitely not hold up to constant chemical exposure at the pool, and as soon as I needed something available to "leave at the cabin" for lake swimming, I decided to sacrifice this one for that purpose.  Rather than buy this suit for yourself, I recommend you go to the local swim shop, try on some suits to see what size fits/feels good to you, and then buy whatever appeals to you.  As a side note, I did get my husband a $12 jammer at swimonline.com, so there are definitely budget options for everybody out there!



Earplugs

 

TYR Silicone Molded Ear Plugs
Purchased at swimoutlet.com for $3.49

Thoughts: I've actually been pool swimming with these plugs for over a year, and for me they work great.  Some people might say ear plugs are unnecessary, and maybe they are, but for me I found it at least took one stressor out of the mix (worrying about water going into my ear) and made it easier for me to focus on my swim.  Plus, I didn't have to deal with the pain of a water plugged ear after a swim session. They do take a little getting used to, since you have to make sure you position them in your ear properly, but once I got that figured out I never swam without them again.  Also, keep in mind everyone's ear is shaped differently, so I can't guaranteed they'll work for you.  However, for $3.49, there's no huge loss if they don't work out. 



Goggles

 

Sporti Antifog Plus Goggles
Purchased at swimoutlet.com for $4.55

Thoughts: Wow, for under $5, I had some serious doubts about these goggles.  But, that was all for naught  These goggles are great!  Once I adjusted the sizing for my head, they suctioned right onto my eyes without a single leak during a 1 hour swim.  I did have a brief moment where they started to fog (maybe 15 minutes into my swim, max), but I think that was because I was quite hot from putting on my wetsuit and swimming, and the water/air temps were sub 70.  A quick swipe of my finger inside each lens to remove the build up, and the rest of the swim I was just fine.



Swim Socks

 

Vincere Sports Sand Sock in lime green/purple
Purchased at amazon.com for $24.75

I selected my size based on feedback written by swimmers on Amazon's reviews page (this is technically a volleyball/sand sock, so you need to consider that these will behave differently when used for swimming); feedback suggested sizing down one from Vincere's size chart based on street shoe size

Thoughts:  Eeeehhhh ... I want to love these, but ... sigh.  Despite sizing down, these still end up getting a little loose & sloppy when you swim.  They're not terrible, but if a pair of loose-ish socks flopping around your feet will make you crazy during a swim, they may not be for you.  For me, with my "don't want the lake crap to touch my feet" phobia, they're at least an option for keeping my feet covered.  I'm debating sewing a little elastic into them around the ankle or something to help them stay put.  If I ever engineer an option that works, I'll let you know.



Swim Cap

 

Quite honestly I have a shit-ton of these things, some of them I paid for and some of them I got free
Since it will likely get questions, I purchased the tiara one above at swimoutlet.com for $6.45

Thoughts: It's a swim cap.  Need I really say more?  Since I find the thinner caps less stretchy and more difficult to put on, I prefer the thicker style caps made of silicone.  Also, I feel like the thinner kinds might rip when I'm putting them on, so I feel like the thicker caps are more durable.  Then again, I guess I've never ripped a cap, so maybe I'm just being paranoid about that whole thing ... ?  My only word of advice here is to pick whatever appeals to you and don't waste a bunch of money on whatever you pick.


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Total spent (since this wasn't a cheap endeavor): just shy of $270.00

Wetsuit - $199.00
Swimsuit - $30.00
Earplugs - $3.49
Goggles - $4.55
Swim Socks - $24.75
Swim Cap - $6.45

Call for Help - RaceRaves

If you're one for details like me, you may have noticed a few extras have appeared on this site in the last week or so.  Or ... if you're not one for details, here's a hit: look to your right.

Still don't know?!  Need another hint?!

Psssttt ... see these guys?

Ah, now you see it!  I finally got around to adding my InkNBurn ambassador badge.  PLUS - I added a link to RaceRaves. 

Yeah, yeah.  I know.  InkNBurn is old hat by now.  You know all about it, and are already shopping there, right?!  (RIGHT?!  LOL!)  But I'm betting you're wondering what RaceRaves is, right? 

Well, glad you asked!!

Let's start by oversimplifying: RaceRaves, to me, is kind of like the Yelp of races.  You can go there, look up a race, see who else has done it in the past, and see how it's rated.  And like Yelp, you can also see photos that people have uploaded.  But, unlike Yelp (which is what makes this site so much better), it also allows you to see which bloggers have run those races; and if they chose to link up, it will give you access to the blog recap they did for that race as well.

In my opinion, RaceRaves is a hugely useful tool.  Not only does it mean I don't have to spend hours picking through Google results to find race recaps, RaceRaves gives me an immediate snap shot of a race and what it might be like ... without having to read 3-4 blogs about it first.

For an example of how the site works, let's take a look at a race I'm dreaming of doing ... maybe in 2016 - Bay to Breakers. 

Ready?!  OK!  Let's give it a shot.


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First, we go to the web page:

We key in "Bay to Breakers" and click on what auto-populates:

That brings us here:

So, as you can see, this race is a 12K on paved road, is located in San Francisco (per the handy map on the right), and for the last few years it's been mostly a sunny and comfortably cool race at 50-60 degrees.

Unfortunately, this race currently has only one user review.  (More on this in a bit.)  FYI - if it would have had more than one review, RaceRaves would have averaged everyone's reviews  to create the "overall" rating at the top of the page.  But, that being said, let's focus on where the one review for this race came from.

The reviewer for this race is "Margs", who is a repeat runner of this race. They didn't post a blog link in this review, but they did rate the 2013 occurrence of this race as follows: 3 sneakers for difficulty, 5 sneakers for scenery, 4 sneakers for production and 4 sneakers for swag.  It also appears, based on the "photo" link just under the map to the right, that Margs has uploaded a photo for this race.  Let's check it out!

Hm.  Nice costume, Margs.  I think you and I should hang out.

While Margs doesn't have a blog post tied to this review, since I DO like their photo, that brings me to the next functionality of RaceRaves: runner networking. 

If I wanted to, I could set up my own profile and then choose to "follow" Margs - you know, to see what other races they review in the future, etc.  Or I could click on their profile to learn more about them, etc. 

That being said, since I've done enough stalking of Margs but still want to talk about profiles before I send you off to go check out the RaceRaves website, how about we just move on and look at my profile as an example?

As you can see, the basics of a profile are an image, a location and blog info (if provided), and a few other little snippets. 

You can also choose what I consider to be your running spirit animal.  Choices include:

For my profile, since I'm not particularly fast, I chose camel.  I dunno why.  I guess it seemed random enough at the time.  But now, I just realized there's a definition to the animals.  So, since I hate eating on course and usually drink very little at aid stations, I guess I still agree with the choice:

Beyond the short summary on the profile, if you scroll down, you can see additional race info, PR details, etc.  (These aren't really accurate for me, since I don't have all my races in here, and my PRs are far better thank what's posted, but I digress.)

You can also see all the reviews a person has posted.  Apparently I have done far too many, as mine fell off the bottom when I tried to do a screen shot.

And gee, what do you know?!  Scrolling all the way down to the bottom of my profile, I found I have a follower!!

Internet stalking at it's finest.  LOL!  (Rather than talk you through what it means to have followers and all that, since it's very similar to the "friending" concept on Facebook or LinkedIn, I'm just going to skip that topic.)


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So let's see.  I covered the basics of how to search a race and what goes into a profile on the site. 

Hm.  Well, really that's enough to just turn you loose and let you explore.  And technically, it's really all I've done so far on the site myself, so why keep babbling on?

Oh!  That's right.  One last thing.

Above, I mentioned how there was only one review for the Bay to Breakers race.  Which funnels into why I'm writing this whole blog.  Essentially, I'm making a call for help.

RaceRaves is awesome.  The staff there is incredibly friendly, and every time I reach out to them to add a race or make an adjustment to their website, they reply back immediately.  Like, seriously, within a matter of a few hours.

And you know how much I love to support businesses that deserve it.

So, before I sign off for today, my request is this: 

     (1) Go to RaceRaves
     (2) Set up a profile
     (3) Contribute good content

Really, that's it.  That's all I ask.  And please - review as many races as your little heart desires.  I can't wait to see how big RaceRaves' library can get!!

Viva Las Vegas

Wow, what a whirlwind.  Last weekend I went to Vegas and it was pretty spectacular, as you're about to read...


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Vegas all started from a dream.  A dream to see a music concert with my sister. 

You see, I found out a year or so ago that my sister had never been to a concert.  So, we started scheming.  But our scheming never worked out.  Justin Timberlake tickets were too expensive by the time we went to buy, a spare Pitbull ticket fell through, Pink was totally sold out every time she came to Minneapolis...

Then one day, I was playing around on Hotwire and looking at the "Flight + Hotel" option.  While I was actually looking for a vacation idea to pursue with my husband (this was prior to the Euro trip surprise), I figured out that I could go to Vegas in April.  And it would be cheap.  Like $500 per person for hotel and air, with breakfast included, cheap.

Wow!  Really?!  The deal seemed too good to be true. 

Why?  Well ... my favorite all time concert was from 5 or so years ago, back when Britney was doing the Circus tour.  It was fantastic.  And right when I found this Vegas deal, Britney's current Las Vegas show had just been extended at Planet Hollywood to preform through late spring of 2015.

I figure it must have been fate.  We had to go.  After clearing it with my sister, I booked the trip and Britney tickets, and hoped for the best.


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Vegas, Day One (4/24/2015)

     - Wake up at 5am
     - Arrive Minneapolis airport terminal two 6:30am
     - Depart Minneapolis 8:00am
     - Arrive Las Vegas airport terminal three 9:15am
     - Let the fun begin!

As soon as our plane touched down in Vegas, it was party on: not even 2 minutes into our adventure, I had a text message from my limo service's driver (Chris) alerting me to his location in baggage claim. 

Yes, I did just say limo service. 

Prior to booking this trip, I found a special on the Presidential Limousine Las Vegas website called the "red rose special".  For a little over $100, I could book a stretch limo for up to 6 passengers, and would receive a red rose and "sparkling cider" prior to boarding.  Considering the cost of a taxi in Vegas, and the hassle that is finding a good taxi driver, this seemed like a reasonable deal.  And while I could care less about the red rose (which we didn't get), when you considered the inclusion of the "sparkling cider" (which was a little more than cider, as you'll see later), it actually WAS a pretty good deal.

But deal aside, let's get back to the trip. 

Presidential Limousine was fantastic!  Not only did Chris have the all important name sign when we met him in baggage claim (or rather, name iPad), he also grabbed our luggage off the carousel and towed it to the limo for us ... which just so happened to be upgraded free of charge to this:

OMG.  When I saw we were walking towards a stretch Escalade, and that it was marked Presidential Limousine, I died.  And yes, it had a color changing LED wet bar and surround sound stereo system installed.  I'm not lying when I say we turned on "Ridin' Dirty" and bumped it down the strip.

When we pulled up to the Paris hotel, we were quite the spectacle, and everyone turned to look.  I'm sure the loud bass and pearl white stretch Escalade looked much more exiting prior to us opening the door and stepping out, but whatever.  LOL!  After a quick thank you and a tip to Chris, we headed inside to check in (with a very bitchy front desk staff member) and drop our bags. 

(Seriously, the front desk people at Paris need an attitude adjustment.  The maids?  The restaurant folks?  All very nice.  Not sure what's up with the desk folk.)

Finally - after dropping our bags at the hotel, it was time to go!  We filled our first day in Vegas by touring the entire strip - Mandalay Bay to Treasure Island and everything in between.  While we were unfortunately surprised to find that MGM and Mirage no longer keep lions and tigers in the casino, and that Treasure Island no longer does their live pirate show, we were able to catch Cesar's Atlantis display and check out the gondolas at the Venetian.  We also tried to catch the Bellagio fountain and the volcano at the Mirage, but they were not functioning well due to high winds. 

Oh. And let's not forget food.  Because ... Vegas.

Day one lunch was at Pink's, which is on the front of Planet Hollywood, facing the strip.  After all, who can say no to hot dogs that look like this?!

Day one dinner was at Noodles in Bellagio, since we were still "hung over" from our late lunch, and a light miso soup with dim sum sounded good.  It wasn't terribly fancy, so no photo for that one.


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Vegas, Day Two (4/25/2015)

     - Wake up at 4:30am
     - Eat included breakfast meal at Nosh in Bally's
     - Pickup by Big Horn Hummer Tours for Grand Canyon Diamond Creek tour, 6am
     - And of course, Britney!!

Wow!  On day two of our trip, I forgot that there's nothing quite like Las Vegas ... especially at 5:45am on a Saturday morning.  While we were bumbling around Paris, heading towards Bally's to find Nosh, even I was a little shell shocked by the drunken spectacle.  I mean, honestly, have YOU ever seen someone so drunk they almost belly flopped down a half flight of stairs in front of a casino attendant?

Thankfully, we found Nosh and got our breakfast without much further adieu.  And, timing was perfect, because as we walked to the north side of Paris to catch our ride, the tour guide was just pulling up - Scott:

Oh, let's put this tour in perspective, BTW:

Yes, everything is spectacular in Vegas.  Including tours to the Grand Canyon. 

Regardless of what you might think good or bad about that 'Murka hummer, though, Scott was fantastic.  In a matter of less than 10 hours, he got us through seeing the Hoover Dam, the Grand Canyon Diamond Creek area (including views at several different vantage points, a hike to a small water fall, a chance to dip our feet in the Colorado River, and a boxed lunch on the river edge), Hackberry General Store on Route 66, and a couple of gas station rest stops (to allow for bathroom breaks, of course).  The information overload was amazing; Scott was incredibly knowledgeable.  If you're in Vegas and looking to really see the Grand Canyon, I highly recommend this tour.  Especially because you can actually go to the bottom of the canyon without a helicopter ride, and there is essentially no one there besides you.

Oh, and the views were simply stunning, of course:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And yes, that last photo is slightly creepy.  If you're wondering, it's the ladies' room at the Hackberry General store.  Let's just say ... I've never peed so fast in my life.

Peeing aside, the Big Horn tour ended up getting done just after 4pm, so we unexpectedly had plenty of time to have dinner at the La Creperie in Paris and then get ready for the main event - Britney.

Ah yes, the "sparkling cider" from the limo ride was put to good use.

Since the show was scheduled to start at 9pm, with doors at 7:30, we hustled our way over to Planet Hollywood just after 7pm.  Since we had assigned seats, though, we came to find out that our scurry was totally unnecessary, so we had a little time to kill:

Oh well!  As you can see, we had no problem finding something to do until it was closer to the show's start time, and we eventually ended up entering the arena a little after 8:30.

Once inside, we were curious about the set and how it worked.  It was pretty interesting, with LCD screens tiled around the ceiling of the venue. 

 

 

During the show, we discovered it lit up in an interesting display.

 

 

 

 

 

Speaking of the show starting - true to form, it started late ... as most concerts do.  I think the lights finally went down around 9:15.  And I was a little shocked to find out that there was no opening act.  The lights dimmed, the screens lit up, and we were off - straight into Britney.

*And the crowd went wild ... !!!*

So ... I have to be fair here.  While I love me some Britney, this show was just ok.  And I definitely mean show, not concert.  If you go to this show, expect no opening act, fairly 'canned' dancing (very stiff arm movements, etc), and a quick push post show to get out of the arena.  The entire thing felt over choreographed and over executed, and didn't feel quite genuine.

Despite the lack-luster performance, though, Britney did cover all the hits and had some impressive costumes and sets.  Plus, there were several times confetti was dispensed, which is always fun.

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the end, I'm not sorry I went to see this show, but I wouldn't rush back for a second viewing, unlike Britney's Circus tour from 5 or so years ago which I would have seen 2 or 3 times without batting an eye had I the opportunity.  The comparison makes me feel like Britney has maybe lost some of her passion for preforming, and leaves me to wonder if she might need to hang it up for awhile just to regain perspective ... ?

Since the show let out in a paltry 1 hour 15 minutes (eek - makes the amount of money I paid for Big Hour's tour sound like a steal at 10 hours long), around 11pm my sister and I found ourselves wandering the strip and enjoying the Bellagio fountain show again.  Eventually, though, our early rise caught the best of us, so after a gelato stop, we tucked in to Paris for another night.


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Vegas, Day Three (4/26/2015)

With two days straight of non-stop running, we were unbelievably glad to have our last day in Vegas without a schedule!  After sleeping in and grabbing another free breakfast at Nosh, the day was spent idly wandering the strip and checking out the last few things we missed. 

Somewhere along the wandering, we saw the flamingos in ... well, Flamingo casino, of course. 

Oh, and while there, I saw a very "exciting" show stage - Donny & Marie Osmond.

Eventually, we ended up finding ourselves down towards Treasure Island again, and it being a fairly nice day, we decided to just enjoy the weather and hoof it down to Stratosphere for lunch.

We definitely took our time at lunch in the Stratosphere restaurant, making a full rotation + almost another half (and 3 sky divers) before leaving.  At which point, we decided to pay $5 each to take the monorail from SLS all the way to the other end of the strip, exiting at MGM.

There, with less than an hour left of our trip, we killed some time souvenir shopping:

And then were surprised by another limo upgrade:

 

Unfortunately, though, all good things must come to an end.  So, finally, we found ourselves at the Las Vegas airport and heading home, where the trip ended just like it began - with another text ding, this time from my husband, showing me we had made it home: