Living an EXTRAordinary Life

It’s been six weeks already since we moved into our house.  How are things going?  Well … pretty good, actually.  Despite the fact that we still have one more room (the library) to finish unpacking and need to get our stuff on the walls, I can say that I’ve definitely had more energy living here.

Today, I have a house full of workers, who are repairing the spiral steps that Hope had fallen through.   They are noisy, with the power tools and stuff, but they promised to be done today.   The cats are all in the basement, cursing my existence.

I honestly love pretty much everything about living here.   I love the fact that there is a lot of storage and therefore I don’t have to look at my clutter.   Living in a 100+ year old house for the last seven years and an apartment before that means that there really isn’t a lot of storage.   In our last house, my clothing was in closets in a different room from the bedroom.  I don’t have that problem now.   When I am out and about, I forget that I have an attached garage and I am expecting to have to haul my stuff through the yard, until I get here and am surprised all over again.

I am not spoiled yet, and I still don’t take the house for granted.  I know how incredibly fortunate I am.  However, I keep reaching for the medicine cabinet in the bath because I am used to having one above the sink and I have to remember that my stuff is in a drawer.  It’s funny … it’s a 40 year habit, and I wonder how long it’ll be before that habit wears off.

My favorite thing about the house though is the privacy and the yard.  We have watched a family of geese … six babies grow up from fluffly little things into the almost adults that they are now.  They look like geese … they have the long necks and dark fur.  They are still fluffier than a full fledged adult.  The other day, I watched them learn diving lessons … one of the babies didn’t want to do it and walked around the side of the dock and walked in the old way.

And now we have baby deer.  Two fawns.  They are so cute when they are out there frolicking.   When they run off, their tails seem too big for their bodies!

The only thing I would change is that I would be able to go for a walk without having to drive to the park. I know its only a mile to the park, but I miss being able to just get up and go without needing the car.

But its a small price to pay.

Enjoy some pictures of the babies:

First born (above)

Splashing in the water in our driveway

They are getting bigger!

This is the newest picture … see how they look like grown ducks now!

Our nephews, Jacob and Joey (cousins) both graduated from kindergarten and had their final t-ball games last weekend.  Here is some cuteness from those events:

Jacob graduating from kindergarten

Joey playing T-ball

Nicholas being shy, and telling me that he is three.

Katelyn was in a good mood and we bonded totally.

Jacob playing T-ball.  That was a good hit!

Till next time!

In my current attempt to eat healthier (yes, I am always making new attempts), I am working on upping my fruit and vegetable consumption from sometimes none, but only a few to LOTS.   Last night, I was looking for something healthy, didn’t feel like looking through recipes, or cooking anything extravagant.

Here is what I came up with:

It was a rice blend of white, brown, red and wild with grilled onions, yellow zucchini and red peppers, and black beans on top.  It was so YUM!

This time it was different though, as we travelled with friends.   Two couples and two single guys.  The first couple, S&A, have been friends of ours for a long time.  S and Matt went to school together and lived practically next door to each other.  It’s a very long relationship.   We didn’t know the other couple J&B or the guys, but we all became friends by the end of it.

Matt and I have been travelling together for awhile.  When we go to Vegas, we know exactly what we want to do and we do it.  This time, there were six other people we had to consider.

I won’t give a play by play, but some of the highlights this trip was actually the food.  I know, you are surprised.  A foodie liking the food.  But seriously?  There was some spectacular food this trip! We stepped out of our comfort zone, and were surprised.

First, the Planet Hollywood buffet was really surprisingly good.  We got there for breakfast, which is mostly what I ate, but since we were at the lunch crossover time, we also got to sample a small amount of lunch food.  I really liked this.

Second place of note:  Bon Ami Gabi at Paris Las Vegas.  Matt and I never considered eating in a French restaurant, but the others wanted to, and Bon Ami is a steakhouse, so other than small portions, what do we have to lose?  I thought it was pretty funny when the menu was delivered in French.  I think that was the wine menu only.  Pretty much everyone chose a steak of some sort, except for me, the lone vegetarian, who is unable to get her brain around eating eggs these days.  I ended up with a tomato/feta/basil salad, which was supposed to be an entree, but was more of a side, and a side of very extremely yummy macaroni and cheese that turned out to be entree sized.  The mac & cheese had breadcrumbs on the top.  So good.  I was satisfied even though I really ALSO wanted the greens salad that J ordered.

The other place of note, was 9, a steakhouseas well.  This was a high-end restaurant and probably the highest end I’ve ever eaten in.  I chose to eat a green salad (when I asked the waiter how big it was, he said “not that big”, but he was wrong), which was $12!  My sides were $11 each.  I got pierogies (how fun!) and green beans.  And yes, I got a large portion of greens beans.  I couldn’t eat them all!  But they were tasty.   We didn’t get there until 8:00 p.m.  and by the time we left, it was hopping in there and reminded me of a place that you think of when you think of New York City.  Interesting.

Matt and I, but not the others, ate at a place in downtown, that had a 40’s vibe and it was really good there.  All three of these restaurants had awesome bread as well, and each one had a different type.  Seriously.  Give me a GOOD salad that is comprised of more than just iceburg lettuce and brown tomato and cucumber, and some really really good crusty bread and butter, and I am content! 

I did get to eat at Stripburger, my favorite place.  Their veggie burgers are homemade and oh so good.  I would have been disappointed if I hadn’t gotten that opportunity.

We stayed at Planet Hollywood, the old Aladdin hotel.  PH really jazzed it up, but I was still surprised that the room was tiny.  Especially for the price.  The rooms at the Excalibur, which can often be gotten for under $100 per night, were bigger.  However, the theming was cool.  We had the “Mommy Dearest” room with actual props from the movie in there.

We also had an awesome view!

We could see the fountain show.  I did see a few daytime ones, but unfortunately, didn’t get a good night picture of the fountain.  Below is Paris at night.

I also learned that the Bellagio changes its atrium each season.  Every time I have visited, it has been the same.  I guess that is summer?  It is the one with the ferris wheel.  This time, they had a garden theme and here is my favorite picture of that:

And on our last day, while waiting for our flight, we went in search of The Cupcakery, cause we heard it was good. It is located right at the new City Center tram station in the Monte Carlo.  Here are the cupcakes we selected:

Matt got chocolate with peanut butter fudge icing (and it really was fudge) and I had strawberry.  I couldn’t eat it all, it was too sweet and the cake really wasn’t all that great.  It tasted like it had been sitting for awhile.  I hope they didn’t sell me a day-old cupcake.  I would think there are plenty of homeless who would eat them at night.

It was definitely a fun trip, made better by the six new friends we made.  I can’t wait to do it again!