Shoe wisdom.

"Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes.
That way, when you criticize them, you are a mile away from them...
and you have their shoes."

~FRIEDA NORRIS

A sunday afternoon...

Are you sleeping?
No. Are you?
No.

4th of July in Paris

I was late…again.
I woke up at 7:02.
I'm supposed to be here "3 minutes before whoever is watching" according to David Bach and Smart Women Finish Rich.
Hmpf.
I'm just NOT a 6:30 in the morning person. Of course, I'm still on Las Vegas time. Speaking of which - here are the rest of my Las Vegas experience over July 4th:

This was Timmy and Lacey's longest drive - travel time = 5 hrs. Lacey was alert the entire time - she's such a little spitfire! Timmy slept almost the entire way. In a last minute plan, I decided to drive with my dogs to Las Vegas and board them there. This was very nerve racking for a 1st-timer...and I do mean ME, not the dogs. I was shocked at the shear volume of noise in the kennel area. "My dogs are gonna FREAK OUT." But I had no choice...we were there and they were going in.


We did visit them the next day...they were happy to see me for about :08 then they were off to explore the adventure in smells that was the play yard.

Are they kidding?

Note: After sucking in your $7, a robotic hand pops out of this machine and smacks you upside yo' head. Then an R2D2 voice says:




"You have now paid the "STUPID" fine. Move along."

My brother and I saw this in the casino and said simultaneously, "they still have these???"







Our hotel was Mardi Gras style...I wish I had photographed the carpet - it was kickin'.
These crazy 15' heads hung above the gaming areas. Their eyes glowed...it was creepy cool.
























This corridor was so neat to me. Who knows where it's actually taking you! Notice the moving walkways on either side. SHEESH people! Let's work off those free drinks, why don't we. I had the crazy urge to run with arms flailing about down the center screaming "Aaaaaaaaaaaaagh!" but my brother wouldn't allow it. (He's the type to do a 180, walk the other way and pretend he doesn't know you.)







But we spent most of our time on the strip in two Hotels: They are fabulous...




The PARIS - enchanting, romantic and...decadent:






































Ok, know this now: I love great tasting food. I love great looking food. This was both:

Our lunch...Chicken Crepes are heaven.











Our dessert...heaven x's 1,000:





This bakery was amazing. I felt like a kid in a candy store. what to try?? So glad my mom had her heart set on something...I'd have been there all day deciding!

Just LOOK at the color and textures! You can almost taste the pictures!











We settled down to share the best eclair EVER. As my mother said, "perfect custard".








Oh my goodness.




Pinch me.









My mom is so COOL. She has TERRIFIC luck on the 1 cent slots in PLANET HOLLYWOOD casino and could play forever on $20 alone. It was a BLAST:

BIG B - BIG B - BIG B!!!! (B = bonus spins)













...Before you know it, it's 10:30PM and then we step outside. The energy at night is so amazing!




























I wanted one of these to install in my entryway -- whattaya think?

GORGEOUS in person.
Las Vegas was crazy HOT. MELTING HOT. My radiator said HELL NO the night before a national holiday.

Side note: When you're driving along with a friend, your A/C blowing hard and you turn to each other and say it smells like a fish market...don't keep driving thinking you must have run over a fishy skunk. It might be your radiator hose that has burst!

So I paid $600 and take an extra day off work. There would be no mechanic in to lay hands on my car and thus no driving home on 7/4 as planned. But the next day I went to pick up my car - then the puppies. It was FREAKIN' HOT.

SAY WHAT???

And I must mention that it was 122 degrees when I picked up Timmy & Lacey. YIKES. I threw ice cubes on the back seat for the dogs to chomp on and keep cool while the A/C worked it's trusty magic. We made it home and boy did I appreciate our 85 degree weather...WHY. Why do we really need it that hot in good 'ole LV?? INSANE.


I enjoyed time with mom, as I don't think I really saw dad or Edward for more than 4 hours over the 4 days! We left and arrived while they slept (like bears hibernating!) So I guess you'd say it was a girlie getaway!


Thanks mom - love you bunches!

Guilty pleasures in RiteAid.

One of my weaknesses is buying greeting cards.

For myself.

I'll find cards that speak to my soul. Encourage...well...ME. And I get joy from taking those words home with me. I guess you could say that I often feel God's love in RiteAid. I'll come across a couple of cards still in a Hallmark bag months, even years later, tucked away among paperwork. Well, it's 3:30pm on a Sunday afternoon and I've come across one I love.

While I didn't send it to you...I'm posting it in love with hugs for each of you reading:

God's LOVE does not hinge on yours. The abundance of your love does not increase His. The lack of your love does not diminish His. Your goodness does not enhance His love nor does your weakness dilute it. What Moses said to Israel is what God says to us:

"The Lord did not choose you and lavish His love on you because you were larger or greater than the other nations, for you were the smallest of all nations! It was simply because the Lord loves you." (DEUTERONOMY 7:7 NLT)

You are loved, accepted, forgiven, delighted in, rejoiced over - You are His!

MAX LUCADO

Hello, it's 122 degrees.

To tide y'all over...

Mon Ami Gabi - my favorite cafe.

I won $20 bucks! My mom and I loved the penny slots...she won $35 in one round!

My mother and I, on visit #2 to Mon Ami Gabi. Isn't she lovely?