Vegas

So I will start this post off by apologizing for the lack of pictures from this trip! I failed as a blogger this time around - SORRY!

We arrived in Vegas on Friday evening and left of Monday afternoon. Our flight from Colorado Springs to Denver was cancelled on Friday, so we were re-routed through LA an hour later. We ended up arriving later than planned, but we were just happy we made it. We met up with Brooke and her sister Jennie at the airport and Tim picked us all up. While we were waiting for Brooke and Jennie, I put a dollar in the slot machine and won $5! I was so happy!

We got to the hotel (Caesar's Palace) around 8 and had dinner with everyone: Tim, Brooke, Jennie, Scot, Alex, Otis, Glady and John (Brooke's parents). After dinner, Kevin and I and Scot and Alex walked around the strip for a while. We saw the Bellagio, Paris, The Flamingo, The Venetian, and The Mirage. We also met up with Tim and Brooke for a while and watched them play Black Jack. I almost got the itch to gamble, but not quite!

On Saturday, Brooke and Jennie and I sat out by the pool for about 5 hours! The boys all went climbing and we stayed at the hotel because there was not enough room in the car for us to go. The weather was perfect! We sipped on Pina Coladas and enjoyed the beautiful weather! Saturday night, Kevin and I went to the buffet for dinner and met up with everyone later in the evening. We went to Bill's Casino and listened to live music, while Tim played some more Black Jack (again, I didn't quite get the gambling itch).

On Sunday, everyone went to the pool for most of the afternoon and then went to the Carnegie Deli for dinner. This was ironic, considering I had eaten at the "real" deli earlier in the week. The food was just as good! Tim, Brooke, Jennie, Scot and Alex left around 7pm to go home and Otis and Kevin and I stayed for one more night. Otis sprained his ankle on Saturday, so we rented a wheelchair and pushed him through Vegas on Sunday night. Some of Otis's friends were also in Vegas so Kevin and I left him with them and explored some more of the strip. We went down to New York New York, The Excaliber, The Luxor, and Mandalay Bay. It was really cool to see the interior of the hotels because they were all so different.

We met up with Otis and his friends at Bill's Casino and I finally got the gambling itch. I sat down at a Pai Gow Poker table and played for about 2.5 hours! Otis and his friend Doug taught me how to play and I ended up winning $60! I bought in with $40, and walked away with $100! I couldn't believe it. I had so much fun, and ended up staying out (alone, I will have you know) until about 1am! It was a great way to end the trip! I can't wait to go back and play some more!

The Eiffel Tower at the Paris Hotel

In front of the Bellagio

The Statue of David at Caesar's Palace

Overall, we had a wonderful time, but it is always nice to be home! Kevin and I leave for Barcelona and Hong Kong on April 16 so stay tuned!

NYC Day 4

We woke up this morning around 8:30 and went to the TKTS booth at 10, which is the time it opened to sell matinee tickets. When we got there the line was already extremely long and the tickets they had for Mary Poppins were only 30% off instead of 50%, so we went over to the theatre for Mary Poppins and bought tickets at the box office with our discount codes.

Around 10:45 we met mom’s childhood friend, Sharrie, from Pennsylvania. We ended up going to eat at The Bubba Gump Shrimp Company, and stayed there until mom and I had to leave for the show. It was so fun to hear so many of the stories from mom’s childhood!

Mom and Sharrie at Bubba Gump

There were so many kids at Mary Poppins I thought I was going to loose my mind, but they were all very well behaved. The show was incredible! Our seats were in the right mezzanine, but were so perfect, especially at the end of the show! I don’t want to spoil anything for people who may want to see the show, but Mary flies! She ended up flying right in front of us – so close that we could have touched her! I will not lie….I shed a tear or two! The sets, staging and costumes were unbelievable! I should have known to expect spectacular with Disney, but I was shocked at how spectacular the show really was!

Every show is participating in Broadway Cares: Support HIV and AIDS this week and after every show you had the options of buying signed posters, playbills, etc., so we did not go to the stage door for either show we saw today.

Mom and I before Mary Poppins

The Amsterdam Theatre

After the matinee we went to the box office for Billy Elliot to try to get student rush tickets. While we were waiting to get tickets, we saw James Gandolfini, aka Tony Soprano, from God of Carnage! It was awesome!

I know it is a horrible picture, but I had to show it to you!

There was a pretty long line for tickets to Billy Elliot because the show is so popular right now, but we ended up getting tickets! We went out for dinner and then went straight to the show. The show was fantastic! It was a great story and the dance numbers were pretty incredible. The kid who played Billy was phenomenal! This is a show in which you laugh and cry all in the same scene. This show will definitely be nominated for and win Tony’s this year!

Again, we didn’t go to the stage door, but that was ok! We went back to the hotel and packed our bags. We had an incredible trip and can’t wait to do it again!

Weather permitting, Kevin and I will be going to Vegas on Friday. We will see what the weather has in store for us! Thanks again for following along on this great journey with me!

NYC Day 2 and 3

We got a late start on Monday, but that did not stop us from getting a lot accomplished! We left the hotel around 12:30 and went straight to the Carnegie Deli for lunch. Mom and I split a corned beef sandwich and still had about half a sandwich left over! It was SOOOO good!

Mom at the Carnegie Deli

The Carnegie Deli is world famous

After lunch we walked up to the Lincoln Center to get tickets for South Pacific. It was really cool to be back at Lincoln Center and actually be able to walk around. As some of you may know, I sang at Lincoln Center – Avery Fischer Hall - with my High School choir in 2003 (directed by Kevin’s mom), but I never got a chance to see the outside of the complex. They were doing a good bit of renovations, but it was still really cool to see.

The entrance to the Metropolitan Opera

Once we were finished at Lincoln Center, mom and I decided to walk through Central Park. It was so beautiful! I couldn’t get enough of it! We saw the famous fountain and the ice rink, and then took a taxi back to Times Square. Mom was such a trooper all day! I practically walked her into the ground and she didn’t complain nearly as much as I expected! :0)

The fountain in Central Park

Once we were back in Times Square, mom got her ticket to see Chicago and I got my ticket to see Avenue Q. Both shows started at 8pm, so we had some time to relax before hand. I ended up going out to dinner with Ryan and Kat, while mom stayed at the hotel and rested her little legs for a while.

I thoroughly enjoyed Avenue Q, whereas mom didn’t so much enjoy Chicago. She said the staging was basically non-existent and there were no costumes for the show. It definitely didn’t live up to the Broadway standard.

A photo op with Trekki Monster from Avenue Q

We were on our way back to the hotel and I saw that the show Rock of Ages, with Constantine from American Idol, had just let out. I convinced mom to stand with me in the freezing cold so that I could see, and get a photo of Constantine. I went into the theatre and grabbed a Playbill and started getting autographs from cast members from the show (I felt pretty silly, but it was fun)! As soon as Constantine came out we left, being that our (my) mission was accomplished.

Constantine!

Today we got an earlier start because we had tickets to go to the Statue of Liberty. We took the subway down to Battery Park and got to Liberty Island around 11:45. We had special tickets to go up on the observation deck, so that was where we went first. It took us nearly 1.5 hours to get through the lines and security. We almost gave up on waiting, but we pulled through and it was well worth while. We went through the museum and then went up to the observation deck. It was neat to see parts of the interior structure. We walked around a bit and then went back to the city. We had some time to rest at the hotel before the show, so we did just that.

This was the original torch that was removed and replaced in 1986.

A replica of the face

A replica of the foot

A mural in the museum

The Manhattan skyline, from the observation deck.

Mom and Lady Liberty

Me and Lady Liberty

And again. This picture was not easy to catch!

Tonight we saw South Pacific at the Lincoln Center. The show was a bit long, but very enjoyable. The sets were incredible, as were our seats! I was slightly disappointed in the female lead, Laura Osnes, who is filling in for Kellie O’Hara while she is out on maternity leave. Laura was on the TV show Grease: You’re the One That I Want, and ended up playing Sandy on Broadway. She was good, but her voice was just not as powerful as it could/should have been. Nevertheless, it was still a great show!

We tried to spot some other famous folks tonight, but did not have any luck. Maybe better luck tomorrow! Thanks for checking in!

NYC Day 1

Oh my gosh, we had the most incredible day ever! We got into the city around 3:00pm and got to the hotel around 4:30. We are staying at the Westin in Times Square, on 43rd street between Broadway and 8th. We checked in, quickly changed clothes, and then went out to try to get lotto tickets for the musical Hair. On our way, we saw people at the stage door for the show Impressionism, staring Joan Allen and Jeremy Irons. Jeremy Irons is one of my mom’s favorite actors and we really wanted to see him, but instead we saw Joan Allen, Michael Weiss, and Marsha Mason – not too shabby! We left to go get tickets for Hair before we saw Jeremy Irons, but we saw him later (more to come in a minute).

Joan Allen and I!!

Mom and Michael Weiss

Here is an amazing story for you….While we were waiting to see if we got lotto tickets for Hair (which we didn’t), we literally bumped into Ryan Heidenreich and his girlfriend Kat! I saw him walking right toward me and I could not believe it! It was probably the best surprise I could have had! Talk about a small world! I knew that they were here last week, but I didn’t realize that they were still here. They are here until Tuesday so we will definitely see them again before we go!

Me, Ryan and Kat in NYC!! Amazing!

After we got tickets for Hair, we went walking some more and saw Ruperet Everett and Angela Lansbury from Blithe Spirit! Talk about an amazing day! We started to get very hungry so we got some Pizza and then went back on the town.

Angela Lansbury! Holy Smokes!

While we were at the stage door for Impressionism, we saw people setting up for opening night of God of Carnage, starting James Gandolfini, Marcia Gay-Hardin, and Jeff Daniels. We went back to this site about 15 minutes before the show started and saw the following actors/actresses on the red carpet: Hugh Jackman, Jeremy Irons (mom got her wish), Geoffry Rush, Amber Tamblin, David Hyde Pierce, America Ferrera, and Detective Elliot Stabler (Law and Order: SVU). I cannot explain the high I felt after seeing all these stars in one day! It was all so unexpected, which made it that much more exciting!

All the press at the Opening of God of Carnage

David Hyde Pierce!

Christopher Meloni - Detective Elliot Stabler on Law and Order: SVU

We finally made it to Hair at 7:30 at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre. The show was incredible! It was very high energy with great audience participation. The story was incredibly moving, and I am so glad we saw it. This was not a show high on my list of shows to see, but I was more than pleasantly surprised. Of course we went to the stage door after the show, and took some great pictures with the ever so humble cast!

Will Swenson (Berger) - one of the leads from Hair

Cassie Levy (Sheila) - another lead from the show

Bryce Ryness (Woof) - another lead

Gavin Creel (Claude) - the star of Hair

With "Berger"

And "Woof"

We had such an amazing day and I can’t wait to see what the rest of the week brings. This will be a tough day to beat, but I look forward to seeing what happens in the next few days!

Happy Birthday Mom!

I surprised my mom at work today with this "bouquet" of balloons. She has always loved having her birthday on St. Patrick's Day.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM! I am so glad I could be here today to celebrate with you!

Surgery

As some of you may know, I have been jumping through hoops trying to get a breast reduction surgery approved by my insurance company. I was denied at first, but after 2 months of appointments and hoop jumping I have been approved! I called today and scheduled the appointment for May 8. I am so happy and excited that all of my pain will soon be gone. I just wanted to make a quick note about this next stage in my life. It will be more than a life changing experience and I can't wait!

Singapore Part 2

Sorry this post is a few days late! Better late than never though!

The last two days in Singapore were not quite as exciting as the first two, due to crummy weather, but we still had a great time. The last post left off on Friday evening, so fittingly I will start this post with Saturday. Saturday was the day we went to the ship. We took our time getting there, and took our time on the ship. We got back to the hotel around 2 and ended up staying in the hotel for the remainder of the day. The rain started around 4 and by the time it let up enough to go out we were already pretty tired. So, no pictures or fun stories from Saturday, but it was a much needed day of relaxation.

On Sunday, we went back up to Little India and Kevin bought some spices and oils that he can't get in the States for some good Asian cooking! He was one happy shopper! We then went back to Chinatown to get some gifts and souvenirs. It was pretty hot out so before we went back to the hotel we stopped to get some drinks. We went back to the hotel around 1 and took a nap while the rain poured down again. The rain had not stopped when we decided to go out and get some dinner. We ran to the bus stop in the rain and hopped on the train, back to Suntec City. We had Thai food for dinner and then watched the light show at the Fountain of Wealth. The show was slightly disappointing, but I am still glad we got to see it. There were definitely some very neat aspects of the fountain that we would not have seen without attending the show. We went back to the hotel around 8:30 and packed our bags. We left the hotel at 4:45am on Monday morning (Sunday at 1pm in Colorado) and arrived home at 5pm on Monday evening (Tuesday at 8am in the morning). We traveled for 27 hours and were more than happy to finally make it home.

Baskets full of stinky durians. I chickened out and did not actually try one while we were there.

Durians smell so bad, that there are signs on the train that specify NO durians!

Having drinks in Chinatown

The Fountain of Wealth

Two Peas in a Pod in front of the Fountain

Part of the show at the Fountain

This is the picture we bought at the Fountain of Wealth. We walked around this ring 3 times, while touching the water with our right hands, and making a wish.

This picture is from the day I was at the Kennedy Space Center, but I just scanned it in. I thought you would enjoy it.

Overall, we had a great trip, but it is wonderful to be home! The next trips planned are at the end of the month. The first trip is with my mom to NYC! The second trip is with Kevin and some of our great friends to Vegas! Stay tuned for picutres from these trips! Again, thanks for checking out the page! It is a blast to share all of this with you!