upgrade, my a$$

i am already a teensy bit age-sensitive -- heightened by my turning 30 in mere days. and i am pretty sure my age karma is in the toilet right now, since i have been making fun of all the old-balls in my household for the past year or so. this bad mo-jo came back around earlier tonight when Budget hit me below the muffin top with a"free upgrade" to my Vegas rental car.

yes, people, for the next six days i'll be driving around fabulous Las Vegas in a brand-new MINI VAN.

i was shocked when the lady behind the counter dropped this bomb on me. holy crap. i am going to look like a soccer mom and i don't even have freaking kids yet! what have i done to deserve this?

and i'm in vegas, of all places! i should have a convertible, a spray tan, and loads of shopping bags piled in the back seat as i cruise the Strip.

"seriously? that's the only thing you have left?"

"yes. ma'am."

"that totally ruins my already iffy image. does it at least have spinners?"

(confused look)

i think she was pissed because i didn't opt for the $47/day extra insurance.

i am NOT driving anyone around in this. i am not happy about having to be seen in it at all. i guess i will just do all of my soccer-mom errands (yes, i haveto drive my Kia Sedona to Babies R Us tomorrow), and hope that i can rebound from this major psychological setback. my ovaries are recoiling in horror just thinking about driving tomorrow.

on the bright side, it is tricked out with power gadgets, iPod USB ports, digital things, safety devices, interior lighting, a heater, and only has 6 miles on it. a far cry from the soldered-together hunk of steel i call "the mini" (which i could comfortably pull into the bag of the MV with its fold-flat seating).

what am i saying? it SUCKS. i am going to go lay behind the rear tires now and hope someone puts me out of my misery.

catch up

it seems that whenever i am with dan, i am too googly-eyed to concentrate on blog writing. i think i was overwhelmed. we got to spend 10 days together and he only had to go to work one of the days. to the average couple, 10 days is no big deal, but to people in our little world, 10 days is very important. needless to say, we needed to make the most of it. often.

muerte las vegas
"smut, smut, smut, smut, smutsmutsmut." --dan
yeah, i am pretty much over sin city. i did enjoy the all-you-can-eat sushi restaurant and the "adult only pool" where i could bring my own bottle of whatever, but other than that i would rather be in any other sunny city.

visiting k-town
dan hadn't seen his parents, siblings, nieces and nephew for 18 months. (actually, anna, one of the nieces is only 12 months, so i guess he hadn't seen her ever.) we stayed at the in-laws new mansion and were treated like visiting royalty. full meal service. late sleeping. big screen TV for college football. a hot tub. and baby poo.

owen and kathleen are hovering around two years old and are so funny to chat with and listen to. like little parrots, they repeat everything you say (this can be tempting). but they know a ton of their own words, too. on our first night home owen says, "poopie in my leg." which meant nothing to us. how can someone poopie on or out of their leg? impossible. but he persisted. "poopie in my leg." and he starts shaking his leg.

sho' nuff' out comes poopie in one perfectly shaped pile right out the pantleg and onto the carpet. i guess his little diaper came undone and poopie was, in fact, in his leg. disgusting, yet hilarious because i wasn't a part of the cleanup crew. uncle dan and aunt holly are still on the five-year plan.

family update
gramp's flyswat has been repaired. he found out that wal-mart was all out for the season after "accosting" two employees, so he taped his back together. i will try to post a photo. so freaking hilarious.

go ducks
just as soon as i go cold turkey on college sports, i get stuck in a room with a 50-inch flatscreen, surround sound, and a case of bud light. how can i kick the habit under such pressure? suddenly i am at fred meyer picking out my new ducks t-shirt, brushing off my gator visor, memorizing game schedules and discussing rankings. i almost got off the plane in chicago and hitched a ride with a trio of duckies to the purdue game. but don't worry, pretty soon a torn ACL or broken ankle will send me back into recovery -- at least until march madness.

back on the island
after an amazingly glitch-free day, i am back in bury. all three of my flights were on time, i made it within seconds to the early bus (saving me two hours of sitting around), and arrived safely home to an overgrown garden, a clean house (thanks huz), and the pouring rain.

hopefully my luck will hold and i can pick up my parents tomorrow and enjoy some rain-free touring with them over the next two weeks.

signing off
can you tell i've been up for 27 hours? ugh. my guts are hurting and i am tired. trying to stay awake. tryeng. trng. tr....s;dafjgsdn.