Prayers, please

I'll continue the Vegas trip report after I finish my final paper tomorrow.
But for now, our brother needs us.
If you are the praying kind, please include them in your prayers.
If not, please keep them in your thoughts.

Vegas Day 2

Saturday morning I headed down to the spa for my massage/detox/relaxation.

After about 3 bottles of water my name was called by this tiny little Japanese woman who announced she would be my therapist. She chatted rapidly as we walked to the massage room, and I simply nodded my head several times as I could not understand half of what she was saying. This little lady proceeded to give me the best massage I think I've ever had! I get massages on a pretty regular basis - part of physical therapy for a bad back - and this one was truly amazing! I will definitely go back to her the next time I'm in Vegas. She even massaged my scalp - I love that - and ended with a eucalyptus wrap on my feet, and at my temples while she massaged them too.

I also jumped into the jacuzzi for a while. It was very hot and bubbly. I was the only one there (good thing, cause I forgot my suit). After my morning of relaxation, I headed back up to the room to meet my hubby. He was happily blogging and playing on line cash games.

Before catching a cab to the Caesars, I wanted to return those horrible shoes I bought the night before. Luckily, we spotted the same store, Shooz, at the Paris. We went in and I explained that I had bought these shoes the night before at the Venetian, I hardly wore them, and they are painfully uncomfortable. The snobby sales girl raised her eyebrow at me, as if to say, "ya, you probably wore these out partying last night, and can't afford them, so want to return them." (she and I hit it off immediately, as I called her Bio-tch several times in my head). She called her manager over and she looked at the bottom of the shoes, shaking her head and smirking, she said "Oh, these have been worn. We can only give you an in-store credit. And, Oh, since they've been worn, we'll have to adjust the price down". BITCH! Anyway, I looked around the store and found this really cute Guess handbag. But, it had a little scratch on the front. I asked the first girl if she had another one in the back, and without checking, she said, "no, I'm sorry, we don't". She did ofter to try and "clean" the scratch off. This only made it worse. I asked her if she "could adjust the price down" because of the scratch, and she said "no, because someone else might want to buy it." BITCH! At this point I'm in tears, frustrated about being treated this way, and sick because I spent the money foolishly the night before. I basically decided to keep the original shoes and left that store. I will never buy from them again.

After this great experience, Ray and I went for lunch. He had promised me that we would have sushi this weekend, and we did. We ended up at Ichiban @ Bally's. We had a great little waitress! I ordered a glass of plum wine, and when she brought it, it actually had a small, unripened plum in it. It kinda looked like a brain, and made me laugh, dissolving the tension and frustration from that stupid shoe store - aaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh back to my Zen place.

We took a quick little detour to the Rio to meet up with Pauly, Cali Jen and to check on F-Train. Pauly was awesome, as usual, and was on his way out to a concert. Before he left, he introduced us to Cali Jen. She and Ray talked business for a second, then Ray and Pauly chatted. Jen and I joked about poker, the players, getting into the Main Event, etc., girl-talking until Ray was ready to go. We said our good-byes and headed out.

We went over to Caesars from there to see how everyone was doing in the noon $340 Megastack tournament. We got there around 5:30pm to find out only Astin and Weak_Player were still alive riding short stacks. Ray played cash games, and I continued my "luxuriation" and went shopping. I ended up at the best little lingerie shop in the world. Yes, I made a purchase. Ray was in heaven. This is one purchase I will not be returning. We headed back to our room @ the Paris...

When we got there, we discovered a cold bottle of champagne and chocolate covered strawberries that were delivered seemingly several hours prior. The ice was almost completely melted but the bottle was still cold. I immediately told Ray that it was probably from Naida at Bodog. But, since there was no card or note I got on the phone to room service to identify the culprit. Evidentally, they had no record of the delivery, and therefore no name. They said to "enjoy" the mix-up (this was no cheap bottle of champagne, by the way).

Since we were dead tired, we decided to save it for the morning and have mimosas with breakfast in the room. However, I couldn't resist the urge to take in one of the strawberries. It put a BIG smile on my face and sent me happily off to dreamland.

Vegas Trip Report - Day 1

We got up pretty early on Friday morning, finished packing, loaded the car with our luggage and were on our way. We first had to drop off the baby donkey, and he was NOT happy about leaving his Mamma! The guy at the "Pet Hotel" had to drag little Smokkee away, and as he was being dragged away, he gave me the saddest look....... it broke my heart!

Once that was over, Ray and I headed to the airport. The flight was over in the blink of an eye and we were in Vegas. We got to our hotel quickly as well (the room was awesome and we got a view of the strip and the Bellagio fountains!), unpacked and freshened up, then headed to the Venetian, as planned. As soon as we walked up to the poker room we ran into Bayne, CK, LJ and VinNay. Later, Cmitch stopped to chat. I made Bayne promise to come find me if he hit the craps tables up again - I wanted to check out his method of play. Ray and I have been playing on the Bodog online Casino recently and I wanted to compare notes with Bayne. But, I never saw Bayne again.....

Here's a view from our room:

Ray sat down for some cash games and I walked around the floor seeking out bloggers. I saw Astin in the distance and nodded a hello, then spotted sprstoner closerby and headed over to chat. He was about to leave for the 2nd chance at the Rio, so our chat was a quick one. After he left, I headed back to Ray's table. He had been moved to another table that included Don, Weak, Cmitch, CK and later Astin. I pulled up a chair and observed the table happily (sipping my free white wine) until Ray had to leave for his 8pm tourney. After that I headed out for some shopping. I found this little shoe boutique (Shooz) and headed inside. After browsing, I found the cutest pair of shoes! I tried them on, bought them right away and headed back to Ray's table to show him my prize. On the way there, I stopped to change into them first. Once I got to Ray's table, I proudly showed off my new purchase and he barely batted an eye at them - humph!



"The Shoes":

As I was sitting with Ray during his tourney, I was glancing around and recognized this guy walking down the hall past me. I excitedly shouted "Hey! Are you Eugene Todd? (he grinned and shook his head yes) My husband is obsessed with you! Would you mind saying hello?" He jumped the tourney rope and struck up a conversation with Ray (who was beaming). I think that was the highlight of Ray's trip.

After this and some more walking around (feet hurting more and more), I met CK, Don, Weak, Cmitch and Astin for dinner. It was great to actually sit down and talk to everyone without having to worry about interrupting a hand. The food was great too! After dinner, I packaged up my leftovers, knowing my hubby would be hungry, and we all left. Everyone else called it a night and I headed back to Ray's tourney (feet hurting like a bitch now). He busted out shortly after. I changed back into my other shoes, cursing the new ones, and we headed back to our hotel to call it a night.

Tomorrow! tomorrow!

Tomorrow we leave for the Las Vegas!

Drop the baby donkey off at 11am, get to the airport by noon for lunch and a bloody mary.

Then, fly away!

See you there!

Incest dungeon teen wants to see ocean

UPDATE ON THIS CASE:
(CNN) -- The 19-year-old woman whose hospitalization exposed a shocking Austrian incest case is recovering well and wants to see the ocean and a pop concert, her doctors and a family lawyer said Wednesday.

Dr. Albert Reiter, who treated Kerstin, is confident Kerstin will make a full recovery in time.

She and other children who were held captive for years are slowly adapting to modern life, they said. Kerstin Fritzl, whom doctors placed in an artificial coma after she was admitted to a hospital in April for multiple organ failure, is now well enough to speak, stand and walk with assistance, her doctors said. Doctors said that "little novelties" such as seeing a cloud go by are now big events for the former captives.

Kerstin has said she wants to see the ocean and go to a concert by British singer Robbie Williams, said Dr. Berhold Kepplinger, director of the clinic where the family is living. He described how excited Kerstin was to hear Robbie Williams songs in her hospital room and said she was moving around to the music so much that doctors had to quiet her down.

The two parts of her family -- those who were locked in a basement, like Kerstin, and those who lived above ground, apparently unaware of the abuse of their mother and siblings -- are getting to know each other again, the doctors and the family's lawyer said.

"Kerstin is the oldest daughter of an incestuous relationship between Elisabeth, 43, and Elisabeth's father, Josef Fritzl, 73, according to police. He is awaiting trial. Police say he confessed to holding Elisabeth captive since 1984 and raping her repeatedly, fathering seven children with her. Six of the children survived.

Kerstin and two of her brothers, ages 18 and 5, had spent their entire lives trapped in the cellar with their mother, never seeing daylight. A television was their only contact with the outside world.The other three children Josef Fritzl fathered with Elisabeth were taken as infants to live above ground with Fritzl and his wife, who says she had no idea her daughter was being held captive.

BoDonkey TOC tonight!!

TOC Qualifiers listed 1st-18th:

NewinNov

Smokkee

Emptyman

ICrushBloggers

Drizztdj

MiamiDon

Donkette

GoldenHammer

Vin_nay

Cbags

WhatsTheNuts

InstantTragedy

JL514

ScottMc

Columbo777

Yestbay1

JD Schellnutt

BuddyDank

Grand Prize: $12,000 WSOP* Prize Package with Team Bodog

2nd: T$540

3rd: T$379

4th: T$270

5th: T$109

GOOD LUCK TO ALL!! (especially Smokkee)

Vegas in 4

We head to Vegas this Friday!

I'm very excited and have already been planning what I'm going to wear, and what shoes I need to pack. I know much of the time will be spent hanging out in poker rooms, but I don't care!

I love to dress up, and it's my vacation damn it! Anyway, not too many blogger peeps will be out there, so the gatherings will be smaller. But I will still take lots of pictures!

While we are there, Ray plans to play some tournaments and cash games.

I may even play some as well.

Most likely though I will spend my money on the spa or shoes. lol

We are staying at the Paris Hotel, which I'm pretty excited about.

I've always wanted to stay there.

They have some really cool shops, including a wine shop.

We will probably spend some time at the Rio also.

I don't mind this because they also have a wine shop, and they have wine and cheese tastings.

Hmmmm.....do I like wine?

Thus ended one of the most horrible crimes ever committed against a single victim

Ray and I watched this movie last night.
It's a story about two girls who are in a car accident that not only claims the lives of their parents, but maims one of the girls. They are placed in the "care" of their Aunt Ruth after the accident.

It contains instances of shockingly violent and sadistic child abuse. The worst part is, it's based on true events.
This story haunts me - Child abuse is such a disturbing issue for me - especially at this level.

There is no reason, no excuse, no explanation for this other than it happened at the hands of a sick, psychotic, f-ed up bitch of a woman who has no soul and who now rots in Hell.

Here's the summary:
Inspired by true events, this thriller set in 1958 follows the harrowing story of two adolescent girls (Blythe Auffarth, Madeline Taylor), who upon losing their parents in an accident are sent to live with their Aunt Ruth (Blanche Baker), a sadistic psychopath. Unbeknownst to the residents of the small New Jersey suburb, the girls endure unthinkable punishment at the hands of their aunt and three cousins.

Some information about the real story of The Torturing Death of Sylvia Marie Likens:

On October 26, 1965, Indianapolis police answered a call saying that a girl had died. The call came from a pay telephone in front of a Shell station in a poor section of the city. The caller was a teenaged boy whose voice had not finished changing into that of an adult man. He sounded very nervous and directed the police to the address, 3850 East New York Street, at which they would find the dead female.

When the cops got to the dingy, rundown, clapboard home to which the anonymous caller had directed them, they found the emaciated dead body of 16-year-old Sylvia Marie Likens. She was covered with bruises and small wounds, later revealed to be cigarette and match burns that numbered over 100. There were also large areas where the outer layer of skin had peeled off. Likens also had a large letter "3" branded on her chest. However, the most remarkable injuries, by far, were the words in block letters that had been burned directly onto her stomach: "I'M A PROSTITUTE AND PROUD OF IT!"

Thus ended one of the most horrible crimes ever committed against a single victim.

The crime had been perpetrated by an informal group of teenagers and children, some as young as 11 and 12, led by a 37-year-old woman. That woman's name was Gertrude Baniszewski.

Sleeping dogs

Ray has often commneted on how much baby Smokkee sleeps.

I found this article about dogs' sleeping patterns:

There's no doubt about it: dogs sure know how to sleep. The amount of time spent napping varies from dog to dog and depends on the dog's age and personality. Counting little naps and longer snoozes, most dogs sleep about fourteen hours a day. Nobody is sure why dogs sleep so much. The amount of sleep that an animal needs depends upon its species.

Horses and cows may sleep only three or four hours daily, because they require long hours of grazing to supply their bodies with sufficient food. Bats and opossums may sleep closer to 20 hours. The various breeds of dogs also seem to have different sleep requirements. Some very large breeds of dogs, like Newfoundlands, Saint Bernards, and mastiffs, often spend a great deal of their lives sleeping – perhaps up to sixteen or even eighteen hours a day. For this reason they were often referred to as "mat dogs," because they could always be found lying in front of the fireplace, much like a giant, furry hearth mat.

Dogs sleep more than us, but they wake more frequently than we do. How much and when they sleep depends on the level of activity in their environment. A dog living as a pet in the home is likely to sleep more than a dog that works for a living, like a search and rescue dog or a dog working on a farm. Dogs are lucky – they are able to adjust their sleep pattern so that they can be awake when there is something to do, and asleep the rest of the time. Of course, today's modern indoor dog sometimes sleeps out of boredom.

You can help your pet by providing plenty of stimulation during the day – this can be in the form of toys, a companion, or plenty of walks and playtime with you. If he has enough to do during the day, he may stay awake when the sun is up and sleep at night when you do.

Sleep Patterns

Dogs have the same sleep patterns as humans. When your dog first goes to sleep, he enters the slow wave or quiet phase of sleep. He lies still and is oblivious to his surroundings. His breathing slows, his blood pressure and body temperature drop, and his heart rate decreases. After about ten minutes, your dog enters the rapid eye movement (REM) or active stage of sleep. He rolls his eyes under his closed lids, he may bark or whine, or may jerk his legs. During this stage, the brain activity is similar to that seen during the dreaming sleep of humans, and is evidence that dogs have dreams. Incidentally, adult dogs spend about 10 to 12 percent of their sleeping time in REM sleep. Puppies spend a much greater proportion of their sleep time in this type of sleep, no doubt compacting huge quantities of newly acquired data.

Where Dogs Sleep

You may think your dog will sleep anywhere, but some dogs are very particular about where they sleep. In the wild, dogs sleep in dens, and your dog may seek out a sheltered place in your home, such as under a bed or in a closet. You may notice your dog circling or pawing at his sleeping place before he settles. This is to make a comfortable, den-like depression in which to sleep (even though it doesn't have much impact on a short pile rug). You can make a comfortable bed for your dog or choose from the variety of plush beds at your pet store. Some people love snuggling up to their dogs at night and there is no question dogs love sharing their owners' bed.

Advocates of this method say it strengthens the human-canine bond – not to mention the comfort and warmth your dog can provide for you. However, some animal behaviorists say this can upset the sometimes precarious hierarchy, because the dog may get delusions of grandeur. In other words, he may think he is higher on your household's social scale than some other members of the family. Four-on-the-floor may be the order of the day for some of these charac

P.S. I Love You - Trailer

Ray and I saw this a few weeks ago.
I loved it, and so did he.
So, it's not just some chick flick!
Anyway, it has a really deep message and hits home personally. Highly Recommended!

Holly Kennedy (Hilary Swank), a young widow living in Dublin, has just lost her beloved husband Gerry (Gerard Butler) to a brain tumor. Inconsolable, Holly finds that Gerry left for her a series of letters to help cope with the grief. As months pass, Holly discovers new messages from Gerry encouraging her to go on living. And while Holly's friends fear the letters will mire her in the past, they, in fact, give her strength for the future

GREAT Winery!

I LOVE this vineyard! I visited their tasting room when Ray and I were in Santa Barbara for my birthday a year and a half ago. I joined their wine club then, and have loved every single wine I have gotten from them. And, its all organic. I highly recommend it!!

A blurb from their web page:

Presidio Vineyard & Winery’s goal is to produce handcrafted ultra-premium varietal wines from our certified organic and Biodynamic® estate vineyard (the Presidio Vineyard) located west of the Santa Rita Hills in Santa Barbara County. Over the years, Presidio has found that using chemical fertilizers leads to unbalanced wines with undesirable aromatics. In the Presidio Vineyard, organic and Biodynamic® techniques are practiced by using composts to create a healthy and more balanced soil, accentuating the desirable aromatics of the fruit. Presidio designed a trellising system unique to Santa Barbara County that positions the vine closer to the ground to maximize the refracted heat reaching the grape cluster. Presidio utilizes a French training system known as “Guyot Simple”, a Burgundian model incorporating a 9-bud cane to restrict yields and featuring increased vine density. Unlike most California vineyards, the Presidio Vineyard is planted on a 3’ x 7’ spacing with a plant density of 2,074 vines per acre. Increased vine density creates root competition and higher quality ultra-premium fruit. Additionally, the orientation of the rows is north/south to maximize the photosynthetic process by the sun’s movement. Presidio strongly believes in matching varietals to their preferred climactic regions. The Presidio Vineyard’s cool climate is particularly well-suited for Pinot Noir, Syrah, and Chardonnay.

http://www.presidiowinery.com

Congrats to Smokkee!!

Way to go baby! I'm so proud of you for winning the Bodog Tourney this past Tuesday!

Hellllllooooooooooooo??

Has anyone seen my new site?
You no likey?

Hmph.