Happy New Year! Belated, but better then never, right?

Arrived back yesterday afternoon after leaving The Strip at 9pm to catch my flight on Saturday night. I spent most of the night tossing and turning on the plane, anxious to get home to see Carter and fighting a horrible head cold picked up somewhere along the way. Got home only to be bombarded by a toddler craving attention; needless to say, sleep is lacking considerably.

I don’t even know where to start. I heart Vegas so hard. The lights, the action, the food. I can’t complain. Even family feuds and squabbles had nothing on seeing the magnificent buildings and lights. I was running on adrenaline almost the entire time and now my body is telling me just how pissed it really is. I have a monster head cold from hell and I am so fatigued - it was far from a relaxing vacation, but! a much needed break from the regular grind.

Though we had little time alone, Mike and I found ourselves happier and kinder to each other for the most part. We had each other to lean on when my family came to be too much to bear at times.

[Need I remind you that I was travelling with my mother, step-dad, brother and his girlfriend: Recipe for disater at times - and proved to be toxic on New Years Eve, but worked itself out in the end.]

By New Years Eve (the second day of the trip), we had our first fall out. No one could make a decision on anything which caused us to spend most of the day huddled in a small group contemplating our next move. By 10:30pm New Years I had just about enough of it and walked away into a sea of people on The Strip. Mike was able to find me, but once I turned around, no one else could be spotted through the jumping, dancing and rambunctious crowd.

Just what I needed. Space.

Mike and I spent the night cruising The Strip through a sea of crowds, taking in the sights and sounds while walking in the general direction back to our rental condo, only stopping at MGM Grand to watch the fireworks display once the clock hit midnight. There’s really nothing like standing amongst a pile of strangers watching fireworks take off into the night sky from atop five of the most luxurious hotels in the area, all while laying a big fat sloppy kiss on a loved one. Since I wasn’t able to get shitfaced like the rest of the people there (and none of the hotels or casinos were letting patrons in unless they were guests), we headed back early to the hotel and watched the repeat of the ball drop from New York’s Time Square.

[As sad as it sounds, it was really the best New Years I've had in about 4 years since most times I'm in bed even before midnight.]

Pictures are to come. I have many but just haven’t had the time to look at them let alone load them on the computer.

Bullets from the trip:

Even if you don’t drink and really don’t go clubbing or partying there is so much to do. There’s something for everyone - families included. I was skeptical before I went, thinking that everyone was going to be drunk and crazy, but it wasn’t that way at all (except for New Years).

I just wish I won some more money so I wasn’t sitting here at my desk at work - tired and miserable, wanting to be back in Vegas.