When Greg and I were engaged, we went to Crate and Barrel to register for wedding gifts. Being the mature and obviously ready to get married individual that he was at the time, as I diligently walked around the store writing down the SKU numbers for the items I hoped to own someday, Greg made his way over to the kitchen timers and preceeded to do what any 13 year old (or 21 year old in Greg's case) would do. He set the all of the timers to go off at 5 minute intervals...and then left the store. This is a brilliant strategy for annoying the store clerks if you think about it. They hear one of the timers go off, walk over to the display and shut it, and go back to their business. But then, five minutes later it happens again, and again, and again.
Fast forward to today. 10 years later. With 3 kids in tow, we went to Target to pre-shop for Chanukah. I pushed Eden around in the cart and we came upon the Tickle Me Elmo display. She then preceeded to tickle each. one. of. them. but not the exact same time. She would wait until Elmo was around half way through his shpiel and then start on the next one. I had flashbacks to the Crate and Barrel experience and Eden laughed and laughed and laughed and laughed and laughed along with Elmo.
So tonight during dinner I suggested the kids try something new- to put lettuce ON their bologna sandwich instead of eating it on the side. Crazy, I know. Well Gila made quite the face at this suggestion. This caused me to mutter under my breath, "I don't know whose kids these are but they aren't mine." Gila asked me what I meant when I said this. I explained that it shocked me that my children for the most part don't like most of the foods that I like.
WELL, you'd think I committed genocide with all of the righteous indignation that went on at our dinner table after this explanation. Gila in the know-it-all way that only a six year old girl can pull of starts in with, "We don't have to like the same kinds of food as you." Then Ezra jumps in "yeah, there is nothing wrong with liking different foods, everyone is different.". I looked at Greg and we burst out laughing because we both had the same reaction to our children's outbursts. "We are raising a bunch of liberals!!"
Here are my thoughts on Vegas now that I am home for more than 24 hours and I have gotten some sleep:
-I like the two extremes of Vegas 1) the extremely tacky: Elvis Impersonators, themed wedding chappels,worlds largest gift shop etc. and 2) the elegant (as elegant as you can get in vegas): The Forum Shops, the Dale Chihuly glass blown flowers in the lobby at the Bellagio,the casinos that have piano players instead of piped in rock music. I don't like anything in between the two extremes. If something is tacky because it hasn't been updated since 1970 (like the hotel we stayed in ,or because the owners were trying to force a theme then I am not into it.
-Since visiting Vegas I am rethinking taking my kids to Chuck E. Cheese's - do we really need to start our kids gambling at such a young age? If you think about it, there is little difference between a casino and the dark, loud, shiny atmosphere of a Chuck E. Cheese type place.
-This stuff is AWESOME (the video does not do his work justice):
Spray Paint Artist On Freemont St. in Las Vegas, NV
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This isn't a video of the exact person we saw spray painting (I think the guy we saw's name is Tony Vegas), but I highly recommend finding one of these artists if you go to Vegas and watching their skill.
-Kosher food in Vegas is GOOOOOD (new restaurant: Village Steak House was awesome. Duck Ravioli. Yum.)
-I am sorry we missed the Frontier's Implosion: my personal bet is that the next hotel to be imploded will be the one we stayed at.
-The Bellagio fountains were better than I expected.
-Even though we came out ahead in the gambling game (we were up ~170 dollars I believe), it was obvious that it is all luck and that as easy as it comes (Greg's first blackjack sitting) it can go (Greg's second blackjack sitting).
-I now know the basics of roulette (not hard, I know) and still don't get craps even though I observed a craps lesson being given.
-I think slot machines are stupid.
-Remember my last post about me not being a feminist? I have to say, I think Vegas brought out some of my feminist instincts a bit. I can't believe how objectified women are there. It is really really sad.
-I also can't believe how many people bring their kids to Vegas. Observation of all the kids I saw: they all had glazed eyes- whether this was from the smoky atmosphere, the extreme exhaustion of their parents keeping them up late, or the overstimulation- needless to say, it was very discomforting as a parent to see that.
-Horror of horrors: Pregnant waitresses in smoke filled casinos. Just Horrible.
Overall, I had a good time in Vegas. It was definitely an experience worth having. Am I one of those peole who will gush about my love for the city? No way, but it was an interesting place to visit that I woudn't mind returning to (and staying at the Bellagio next time).
So I was driving this afternoon and I realized I had a flat tire on the corner of Clarks Lane and Western Run Blvd. I calmly pulled over, put on my hazard lights and walked to a friends house to call Greg (I realized my cell phone wasn't in my purse when I pulled over). When he came and started to change the tire, all these different emotions started going through my head.
Let me say first that on a good day, I have about .05% feminist in me. Meaning, I am fine with men and women being treated differently. I don't think men should be treated better or given more opportunities in life because of their gender, but I recognize the innate differences in men and women and I even celebrate them. Having said that I have to say that I was feeling all sorts of self-loathing at the fact that I don't know how to change a tire. My inner feminist was screaming at me that I had to call my husband to come and help me when I should really know how to do this. My inner anti-feminist was screaming at me that it is good I have a husband who knows how to change a tire and reminding me that I have AAA for a reason. In the 15 minutes it took Greg to change the tire, I went back and forth with a plethora of emotions.
Then it hit me that even if I did know how to change a tire, I wouldn't physically be able to do it at this point (or probably any points in the future ) in my life since I have had my neck/back problems. What a waste of a good inner monologue.
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