What happens in Vegas...

My Dad, the work-a-holic, (I say that lovingly, Parpo, and with a great deal of admiration) always says you know it's time for a vacation when you find yourself wanting to punch all of your coworkers every morning for no good reason. (Have good reasons to throw punches? Well, that just means you should probably look for a different job.) Seeing as I don't have coworkers any more (Dorey doesn't count), I needed to learn my new tells as to when enough is enough and a getaway is in order. This week, I found myself growing more and more annoyed with things like the new paint color our condo association decided to put on the first floor hallway molding. In reality, it's pretty much exactly the same shade of beige it was before. But in stressed-out Jen-Land, that slight buttery difference was a tipping point. It just got under my skin, man. Then I started tapping my foot and sighing in impatience at how long it took Dorey to poo on our afternoon walks. And I think I might have even let an expletive slip out loud on the L when my train was delayed at Armitage for five minutes, "waiting for signal clearance." (There goes that Lenten resolution. Not a monster surprise, but it was worth a shot. Again.) Yeah, it's time to get away.

Mike and I have always made traveling a priority in our life together. Over the past few years, with Kellogg sucking up any and all of our non-working time and JSP dominating our weekends and my full attention, the trips we plan have taken on a whole new importance. More than ever, we need this time to reconnect, to de-stress and to regain a much needed sense of perspective.

In that spirit, we've escaped to Las Vegas for a few days. We've vowed to watch some March Madness, to over eat at ridiculous buffets, to see a couple of fun shows (Mike begged me to see Celine Dion, but I told him, "No, Mike, there's basketball to watch!"), to feel pampered at a luxury hotel, to snap pictures to our hearts' content, to wander The Strip hand-in-hand...people- watching, laughing, joking, feeling lighthearted...and, of course, to win millions on the penny slots. Duh.

Gold Stars this week go to:
*The Wynn: It's like that Direct TV commercial, "Opulence, I has it." Wow. This place is gorgeous. And enormous. And so high tech that it took us more than five minutes last night to figure out how to work the electronic system in our room that controls all of the lights and even automatically opens and closes the curtains. We feel like the Jetsons.

* Shear Decadence: The "Big Buffet" at The Wynn blew our minds this morning. I had chorizo and eggs, sushi, bacon and egg pizza, cupcakes, bread pudding and potato pancakes all on the same plate. I feel as if I had been training for this moment all my life. There are just no words.

*Basketball for breakfast: Because of the time change, we were able to wake up, turn on the TV and start the March Madness earlier than usual. It doesn't get a whole lot better than that!

More from Vegas next week...have a good weekend everyone!