Birthday Blues

Each year as my birthday approaches, I get the blues.  No matter what is going on in my life, it just happens.  The last time I had an enjoyable birthday was my 30th.  That was 4 birthdays ago.  As crazy as it sounds, I spent a large majority of the day alone in Las Vegas (solely due to bad weather on the East Coast) and had an incredibly fabulous time.

My flight was one of the very few that managed to leave NY's JFK on Valentine's Day in 2007 (thank you Delta!!).  I was originally on a direct flight to Vegas but, due to the massive ice storm, I ended up flying to Atlanta.  I was incredibly lucky enough to get on the first flight out of Atlanta by stand by and, while the 4 hour flight took about 16 hours, I was in Vegas on the 14th.  One of my good friends who was flying in from Dulles in DC was grounded due to ice and wasn't able to fly out :(  The other friend was scheduled to arrive the night of my birthday.  So, my 30th birthday - February 15, 2007 - was spending walking the Vegas strip, making a friend along the way.  I saw the Titanic Exhibit - which was amazing, Siegfried and Roy's Secret Garden (Dolphins, Lions and Tigers), went in and out of every casino, fielded birthday calls all day and just  had an all around amazing time. 

This was taken in front of a back drop before going through the Titanic exhibit.

Later that night when Dawn arrived, we went over to the Mirage and saw the Cirque show "Love".  The Beatles show.  It was a great way to end the birthday.

The next day we went back to the Secret Gardens, we did a few other things and ended the night at Harrah's gambling.

It's safe to say I've never won anything before.  That night was the first time I've ever won more than $100.  I was floored.  It was turning out to be the best birthday trip ever.  Check this out -

That's how much I won playing Keno that night.  Keno!  I know, who wins at Keno, right?? Apparently, I do.  I matched 5 of 6 numbers, accidentally playing a $1 instead of a 25cents.  The first ball that came out was one of my numbers and that super charged the payouts.

I had to tell someone and I couldn't find Dawn, so I went up to our hotel room and called home.  Now, mind you, I live in NY, I'm in Las Vegas and it's 1AM in Vegas... So, I know what you're thinking.  Am I out of my mind for calling home at 4am?  Ha, NOPE. I knew my father would be up and getting ready for work and would be just as excited for me.  He was.  I could not believe it!

From that moment on, I loved Keno.

The rest of the weekend was amazing.  Except for the fact that the NBA All Star Game was in Vegas that weekend and there was a shooting on the strip.

We had fun at Madame Tussauds. This picture with wax George Clooney was my Christmas Card that year.  The long shot is more fun, you can see my jeans and sneakers underneath the dress. This shot if fun too, the hand on my back is my own, keeping the dress closed.  It could pass for his. 

This year for my birthday I'm with Dawn again. We are staying at the Marriot in Times Square. I have my lap top with me (hence this post). Dawn is in town for work and it's cool that I stay with her. I plan on getting up early and doing some fun touristy stuff.  I invited my friend Tara.  We met first on Livejournal and our friendship moved to Facebook. We have not met in person yesterday so I just reached out to see if she's free tomorrow. If so, I'd love to spend my birthday with her. It would be fun.

If it's not too cold, I'd love to head over to Rockefeller Center and go up to the Top of the Rock. I'm not sure what else I want to do, but I'd love to do that.  Another friend went recently and the pictures she took were amazing.

Though, the idea of having a great birthday is nice and it certainly sounds like mine will be pretty great, it's really the thought of getting older that depresses me.

Ford Escape!

So, I did it. I bought my first SUV. Bought.  BOUGHT.  As in, in 3 years I'm not going to have to think about what I want to trade it in for because my lease is up.  It's going to be mine.  Forever.  And, I'm okay with that. 

I contacted Tower Ford in Great Neck, Long Island last week to discuss what options I have with my current lease and how they can help me get out of it.  Saturday morning, we took a drive out there to see what they can do for me.  Since I'm going to buy, I wanted it to have everything I wanted.  So, while I took a test drive with the salesman, we talked about what I want.  Color (exterior/interior) and packages.  The one I want will be arriving to the dealer in Mid-March.

I signed a contract.  I left a deposit.  Now, I have to shop insurance companies.

I'm the owner of a brand new SUV.

Truly, Madly by Heather Webber [A Chick Lit Challenge Review]

Lucy Valentine wanted nothing to do with the family business. She doesn't have the knack for matchmaking like her father does.  So, when her father unexpectedly has a heart attack and goes to St. Lucia with her mother to recuperate, Lucy is reluctantly left to run the business.

Lucy's family has a unique psychic ability, an ability she has until she was 14. An electrical surge changed that for her. Now, she's able find people's lost items. She cannot find people or animals, but can find objects. All it takes is a hand shake to show her what the other person is longing for most. 

Taking over the family business, Lucy tried to not shake hands but it happened. And, she saw what one of her father's client's was missing the most. The engagement ring he gave his ex-fiance.  Unfortunately, the ring was on the hand of a dead body in a grave.  She turns to Sean, a private investigator who has an office in the same small building, to help her figure out how the engagement ring ended up on the finger of a dead body.

At first, I wasn't sure if I would like this book. I found myself very distracted at the beginning and, for me, that's usually not a good sign. If I had to base my review on the first few pages alone, it would not be good.  I did, however, stick with it and I'm really glad I did. The story was very well written and managed to be serious and lighthearted at the same time. With the exception of my distraction, I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was a quick read, but worth it.

Lucy, Sean, family and friends were very likable characters, the kind of characters you really wanted to root for - quirks and all. I felt the outcome of the mystery behind the dead body with the engagement ring was surprising. I didn't count on the book having a slight "thriller / mystery" so that was a nice little surprise.

Another positive I found with this book is that it had the ability to make me laugh within pages of something that brings tears to my eyes.  This book definitely does that! Lucy's heart is really big and it shows throughout the book.  Deeply, Desperately is the next book in the series. Looking forward to my morning commute so I can start reading!

This book rates 4 out of 5 for me.