Vegas - Kathleen's Birthday - Tahiti Village

A few years ago, we started a tradition of going to Vegas for Cameron's Mom's birthday.  This year we tried something different and stayed off the strip.  We booked a 2 bedroom suite at Tahiti Village which had a kitchen and living room between the two rooms.  My son and daughter joined us this year, along with their significant others, so all 7 of us planned a night each couple would cook.  I made plenty of grilled cheese sandwiches on this trip and the meals were really fun.  One of the nights the resort hosted a luau and we all dressed up in our best Hawian attire. Most of our time was spent in the lazy river, which is what had drawn us to this resort in the first place.  As expected, it was very hot this time of year so we were very thankful for the lazy river and the air conditioning.

We had a very relaxing trip and spent some great quality time together and we even made time for our traditional Vegas tattoos.  My mother-in-law got a tattoo on her arm that says "just breathe" she's a delivery nurse. My husband got his dog tags and a nautical star on his arm and I got my dog tags and a grilled cheese sandwich.  There is a story behind the grilled cheese tattoo, click here to read how that one came about.

Do you have a good Vegas story to share?

Tatoo for Savings and a Good Laugh

There are several ways to save money in life, but I found a way to save money via something that provides constant smiles for me!  

Earlier this year my husband and I visited the Cleveland area and our Uber driver told us about a local restaurant that had awesome food called Melt Bar & Grilled. He went on to tell us that they have a "Tattoo Family" and if you get one of their logos tattooed on you (and register it with them) then you get a discount on your bill for the rest of your life! I WAS IN!

We had to go check this place out, so we went to their Lakewood, Ohio location and I was blown away by their gluten-free options. I ordered the Wet Buffalo Chichen (gluten-free) and my husband ordered some monstrosity that actually had pizza rolls on it! The food was awesome so now I was convinced the tattoo is a great idea!

During our annual Vegas trip, we visited our favorite tattoo shop, Wolf Pack Tattoo and I got my Melt tattoo so I could officially join the Melt Tattoo Family! The best part was at the end when the artist asked me how it looked my reply was simply "looks like money to me!" We all laughed and I smile every time I look at it! Oh, and yes I am keeping track of how much money I have saved vs the cost of the tattoo. It will pay for itself in no time!

I finally got my registration number, look for me on their website, I'm #966.

Rock Fest

 

This was our first concert since Covid-19 put a halt to large public gatherings. My son and his girlfriend met us in Wisconsin for this one and we had a blast!

Things started off a little rocky. The day before we headed down for the concert we were out on the boat tubbing and my husband ruptured his eardrum. He insisted on going to the concert as planned, so once we checked in to the hotel he went to the hospital to double-check that his ear was ok.  Turns out he had a hole in his eardrum. They gave him antibiotics and he had to wear earplugs until it healed. Somehow he tolerated the pain and yes, he made it to the concert every day. 

The hotel was a fiasco! We had prepaid for the room and they charged us again at check-in, once we realized that happened we asked for a refund of the duplicate charge, and as expected that would take 3 to 5 business days to show up in my account. When we got to the room we noticed the dresser was full of someone else's clothing.  We called the front desk and they said "Oh yeah, someone was supposed to come back and pick those up." They came up with a garbage bag and removed the clothing.  Shortly after that, we noticed the white bedspread had yellow stains on it. I called the front desk and the person who answered argued with me stating "this is not happening, I changed those sheets myself today". I told him he could come and look for himself and he brought replacements which also had stains. He tried a few more and finally found some without stains. As the evening starts to wind down we crawl into bed and my son jumps out of his bed and says "that is disgusting".  What was he referring to? A toenail in the bed! I was laughing and crying so hysterically, this place was disgusting and by far the worst place we had ever stayed. Not to mention, we were paying almost $200 per night! A few minutes would go by and I would just start laughing again out of nowhere, I was for sure delirious! 

The next day we made it to Rock Fest with no issues at all. The lineup was awesome, the venue was great, and we were able to bring in lawn chairs so we always had somewhere to sit.  It was extremely hot, but the venue had water stations to fill water bottles and cool yourself off.  

My favorite performances were Stained, Saint Asonia, and Limp Bizkit!

Things we did right: refillable water bottles, bandanna to get wet and put on our necks, cards, lawn chairs, blanket. 

Things we did wrong: didn't get on-site camping, didn't bring warm clothes for the evening.

Overall, we had an awesome time! Next year we will be camping on-site with our RV so we won't have to worry about someone else's toenail in our bed. 😁

Covid-19 Vaccine - Our Experience

We all have choices to make regarding how we deal with Covid-19 and traveling. Some people are refusing the vaccine and others think everyone should get it.  I believe everyone should have the choice to get it or not. I am also choosing to move on with my life and continue to travel and attend events as safely as possible. In order to do so, I would feel irresponsible if I didn’t get the vaccine and continued to attend large events.  So, today we decided to get the vaccine so we can attend an upcoming rock festival.

I did my research and found a location that offered the Moderna vaccine.  I was nervous, anxious, and scared.  I took a quick bathroom break and when I came back my husband said “I’m going to get mine but the Pharmacist is coming to talk to you, they only have the Johnson & Johnson shot”. This is the one that women my age were specifically having negative reactions to.  The Pharmacist came over and nicely answered all of my questions, although they weren’t the answers I wanted.  She confirmed I was in that age range and when I asked her if they fixed the issue yet, she said they determined the benefit outweighed the risk and put it back on the market with no change.  I teared up, texted my children telling them I love them, and I decided if I didn’t get the vaccine right then and there then I never would.  

The shot itself was pretty painful.  I didn’t have any major reactions aside from a very sore arm for a few days. It felt like the bone in my arm was bruised, an odd feeling but tolerable. My husband on the other hand was in bed sick after the shot. Fortunately, he recovered after a few days of sleep. 

Overall, I'm glad it is over and done with. Getting the vaccine will allow me to attend the rock festivals and cruises that I am looking forward to attending this year.

Did you get the vaccine? If so, what did you get? Did you have side effects?

Trip to Italy & France Cancelled :(

Good friends of ours wanted to spend their 50th wedding anniversary in France & Italy and they wanted us to go too.  How exciting?  We had a beautiful trip planned, 3 Nights London, 3 Nights Paris, 3 Nights Venice, 3 Nights Florence & 3 Nights Rome. 

Unfortunately, 2020 was a rough year for travel, and 2021 wasn’t looking that much better.  We decided with COVID-19 and the health of our friends to cancel our trip. While this was a hard decision for us to make, it was the right one.  Someday we will get there until then I’d love to hear stories about your trip to London, Paris, Venice, Florence, or Rome.

Rosacea & Celiac Disease

Recently I decided to take a deeper look at why my face is so red and breaking out. I have always had little bumps on the back of my arms and stomach issues, but I just learned to live with all of these things. Turns out, I have Rosacea and according to my 23andMe.com results it's highly likely I have celiac disease. The good news is both of these things can be managed.

My daughter recently gave me a gift certificate for a facial and that was the first step in the right direction. My esthetician said I needed to start using gentle cleaning products and suggested I look at what food items irritate rosacea. The items on the list that were currently in my diet were hot drinks (coffee & tea) and red wine. So, one thing at a time, I cut out coffee and didn't notice a difference so it thankfully came back into my life and then I cut out red wine.

At the same time, I was trying to manage my rosacea, I was learning the breakout on my face and bumps on my arms could be related to celiacs disease. Unbeknownst to me, there is a link between rosacea and celiacs disease. According to the National Rosacea Society, a study shows women with rosacea are "2.03 times more likely to have celiac disease".

So, I stopped eating gluten too. No red wine, nothing with gluten, I was not excited about any of this! I continued my monthly facials, started a new skincare routine, stopped drinking red wine, and removed gluten from my diet. I quickly noticed a HUGE difference in my face. The bumps were gone, the redness gone, the bumps on the back of my arms were gone, the pain in my stomach after eating was also gone.

I’ve tried red wine since removing it from my diet and my face immediately reacts. If I slip and eat something with gluten, my stomach definitely lets me know and if there is quite a bit I will notice it in my face as well.

If you have rosacea and/or celiac disease, take a good look at what you are eating. It helped me tremendously and I hope it will help you too.

Share your rosacea/celiacs story below.

Nashville

Have you ever traveled to Nashville?  I finally made it! The occasion, the continued celebration of my daughter's 21st birthday!  What a blast!  If you decide to visit Nashville, I recommend checking out the party wagons.  Literally, a wagon was pulled through town by a tractor and we enjoyed some adult beverages while singing and dancing through downtown Nashville.  

We also found a really nice boot store called Boot Country where you buy 1 pair and you get 2 free!  So, of course, we each had to get a pair to wear to Zanies Comedy Night Club that evening. 

If you have some spare time, take a side trip to the Jack Daniel's Distillery. We did the Angel's Share Tour and learned a lot along the way.

What do you suggest for must-see or must-do options for our next visit?