Perfect

For some strange reason, as I was heading off to bed tonight, this overwhelming feeling came over me. Total contentment. Instead of telling myself "tomorrow is going to be a better day", or "urgh, I have so much to do!" or any of the other things that usually enter into my head at the end of the day...I felt completely satisfied. With life.
I am really happy with where my life is. I am happy with who I married and with the little kids that we brought into this world. And as much as I sometimes dwell on the fact that I never wanted to be a stay-at-home mom, I feel that I am where I need to be at this moment in my life.
I try hard at everything I do, even though I am not always successful. I know now that I need to accept that I am not perfect and that makes me "me." My personal growth, while it may seem insignificant to most, is something that I strive for. And at the end of the day, as I look around, my husband and my kids love me unconditionally. And it is because of them that I continue to strive. And it is because of them that my heart swells up. And that is about as perfect as it gets.

Viva Las Vegas!

WoW! What a trip! Tony and I went on a much needed vacation without the kiddos to Las Vegas this week with his brother Dominick and his girlfriend (Ms. Vegas herself!) Phyllis. And since I forgot my camera I will have to improvise. So to give you a visual....here they are!


After traveling with Dom and Phyllis there is no way we can ever go to Vegas again without them. Everything was 1st class all the way. So in a nutshell here was our trip....

After picking us up in a limo we headed to dinner at Maggiano's where we enjoyed Italian food and champagne. We then were shown our suite at the MGM Grand hotel. And let me tell you, it was spectacular!


After changing into our Vegas clothes (can you believe that I even own "Vegas" clothes?) we went straight to the front of the line at Tabu nightclub. There we danced and drank the night away until the wee ours of the morning!


The next morning I actually felt pretty decent. Considering my alcohol tolerance isn't the best since I started having kids I was surprised that when I got up I was still pretty perky. Maybe it was the fact that I woke up on my own and not to the sounds of little ones asking me for breakfast. Maybe it was the 100% Colombian coffee. I felt invincible! That is until the afternoon. I must have still been drunk in the morning because as the day worn on I wasn't feeling so hot. But I rebounded nicely after doing a little window shopping and lounging by the pool for a bit.

That evening we joined some of Dom & Phyllis's business associates at The Palm for drinks and appetizers and then went to see Celine Dion at the opening night of her new show. All I know is that after 15 years together, it wasn't until that night, March 15th, 2011, that I really knew how much Tony loves me. It was sheer torture for him. All of the ballads, the French accent and the wardrobe changes were enough to put him over the edge. About every 20 minutes he headed back to the bar. He looked like he was having as much fun as I envision a vasectomy to be. But he sat through it like a champ. Took one for the team so to speak. And I love him for it. The highlight of the concert was a surprise appearance by Stevie Wonder. All in all it was very fun (for me.)


WAY too many drinks that night. Let's skip to the next day.

We went to the outlet mall and did some SHOPPING! For as many bags as we had you would have thought we spent thousands. But we actually did pretty well. Tony of course bought more than I did. Which I always find funny considering he is either wearing his uniform or Carhartt gear. But I made up for it that evening when I indulged on the most expensive handbag that I have ever bought. It makes me smile. And I love it. So it was worth every penny!



Our only celebrity citing was Rosie O'Donnel who Tony called Rosanne Barr. Close enough T. So that was the trip. It was fabulous. A big thank you to Dom & Phyllis for going with us and treating us to such a special time. We had a blast!

BFF

Last weekend my BFF from high school came to visit from Denver. I have known Jen since we met freshman year in Mr. Boerner's English class in 1993. I had known of her prior to that when rumor had it that she had stabbed my boyfriend in the arm during a fight in middle school. That's right...we were destined to be best friends!

She arrived late Friday night which also happened to be Tony's 32nd birthday. Fortunately we had a babysitter booked, dinner reservations planned and lots of great friends to join us for the festivities! After a fabulous meal at Yanni's, we headed to Imbibe for a quick drink and then off to Q Bar for some more drinks and dancing. We ran into another firefighter there and after a playful wrestling match between he and Tony OUR party was asked to leave. I am sure that it didn't help that everyone in his party was 5'5" or shorter and everyone in our party was 5'7" or taller. I swear, big people can't catch a break. Even though we were asked to leave, everyone from both sides came back to our house for a little after party of burgers on the grill and pinball playing. It was a blast!

Over the course of the weekend Jen and I had many, many great talks about life, love, friendship and about what it means to be a woman in today's society. We are very similar but have chosen different paths in life (at least up to this point.) She joined the Army right out of high school, saw different countries and started a career as a RN. I went to college, started a career and then became a stay-at-home mom. She is getting ready to be married in June and by then I will have been married 7 years. She is conflicted between wanting to have kids and wanting to travel the world...which I am as well. OK, just kidding. No matter where life takes us I know that we will always be BFFs. Our friendship is just that easy.

We also managed to fit in a quick trip to Santa Fe. She had never been and I had never been without Tony so it was fun. And the kids were AMAZING! It was like they knew that I was going to lock them in the closet if they acted up or something. A perfect day!

The only downfall of the weekend was that I didn't take a single picture! So instead I will add a few "old school" pics of Jen and I.


Our High School Yearbook Photo When We Were Voted "Thelma & Louise"


Prom 1997 (Look How Young T Looks!)


My 21st Birthday


My 30th Birthday

Oh man, the stories that we could tell. I need to write them down so that I don't forget...then bury it somewhere where no one will find it! XOXOXOXO Jenny!