Emuzines

So I spent Sunday through Tuesday with my family in Las Vegas!  It was my mom and Memere’s annual birthday celebration.  We did a lot of wonderful eating, relaxed in the spa, saw La Reve (great!!), met some dolphins, leopards, and tigers, and shopped a lot!  Here are some pictures from the trip.

Here I am with my mom and aunt Debbie, eating Dim Sum.  We weren’t sure what everything was, so we said YES! to a lot of food.

Next, we checked out the Bellagio, and I got some ideas for my future garden

Here is the whole group at our twice-frequented restaurant.  Everything there tasted wonderful.

Following the food theme, lunch at Mon Ami Gabi

Again, the whole group before seeing La Reve.

I don’t like to play much, but I gave in for a half hour to play some colorful-looking and -sounding slot machines.

Pepere, on the other hand, LOVES to play!!  He could sit for hours in one chair.  How cute is he?

I fell in love!!  This little guy was the most adorable thing I’ve seen in quite some time.  I could have spent hours watching him play with his stuffed toys.  SO CUTE.

Cheers!  Italian sodas and chocolate macaroons.  Yum.

Tonight was the faculty-student recruitment dinner for incoming recruits to my program.  I am not too into the social things, the small talk…but my friends would be there and I decided to go with David.  We had a pretty good time, a little awkward, and I was way overdressed…but I’m still glad I went.  Tomorrow is the student only recruitment “dinner” (aka party)…but I have to work very far away, pretty late…so I may not make it.  Fridays always wipe me out, and the past week has wiped me out too…so I can’t imagine I’ll be energetic enough to come home and get ready to go out. 

I am almost done with all of my school stuff.  My two presentations this week went well, and I’m nearly done with my papers.  Nik and my mom keep telling me breaks are ok, so I am currently in my pjs, cuddling with Jo on the couch with my heart blanket (thanks Memere), and watching TV.  And earlier today I took a nap–unheard of!  I still feel guilty taking breaks and relaxing…how annoying. 

So looking forward to Vegas in a couple of weeks.  I get to see my Mom, Memere, Pepere, Aunt Debbie…eat a lot, go to a show, the spa, relax (nonguiltily), eat some more…

Hi!  Lately, I have been more buried than usual in work and school stuff.  I have a genetics midterm on Monday, which I decided to devote all weekend to getting ready for, so I’ve had to do a lot of work for my other class ahead of time, to clear out the weekend (for fun and excitement, like MAOA, tetO, housekeeping genes, and stuff like that).  Well, this was designed as a post to talk about exciting things, and that was quite sarcastic (although I admit I really do enjoy the genetics of autism), so here are some things I’m excited about:

Nik found this for me: http://www.scrapncube.com/  I doubt I’ll go with that company for a scrapbook area, as it’s really expensive, but I thought it was so sweet that he found it for me!  Once we get a house, my scrapbook stuff will have a home besides shoved into closets and on high shelves out of reach.

CHICAGO!  I wanted to go to IMFAR, an autism conference, but I also really wanted to spend Mother’s Day weekend with…well…my mom!  It happened to fall on that weekend, so I invited my mom along.  We’re extended it into a nice little trip and we already have lots of really, really exciting plans.  We’re going to see Mary Poppins, eat at great restaurants, go to Navy Pier, and go on a dinner cruise.  I am beyond excited.  And I keep forgetting about IMFAR, which is also something that really makes me happy.  Sally says I’ll be presenting there next year, so I better get ready!

LAS VEGAS!  This is coming up really, really soon.  I am going to meet my mom, Aunt Debbie, Memere, and Pepere there, like we have been doing every year for…3 years now?  Nik isn’t going this year, so it’ll be a girl + Pepere week.  Great food, a show, the spa, and Vegasy stuff.  As you can tell, food and good company make me very happy.

HOME!  I am going home in 2 weeks!  It’ll be a very, very short trip, but I’m happy about it.  Mark and I are going to take Noah to the park to feed ducks, I’m going to go out to dinner and a hopefully girly movie/illegal sweets with Gaby, and have breakfast with Melissa.  Should be a nice, quick trip.

VALENTINE’S DAY!  Nik and I cooked in last year, so we’re going out this year.  We wanted to try something new (although, most things are new up here for us, still).  We have reservations at Ruth’s Chris.

DENVER!  This is happening in April.  The primary reason for the trip is another conference, but I’m going with David, Abby, and April.  We’re going to have a lot of fun together!!  I am more than lucky in meeting these friends.

Finally…relaxation…I’m giving myself the night off.  So off I go to eat lasagne and watch a movie!