From blessings to Sin City

Long lost Michelle just checking in. I'm sure had I thought of it at the time, I could have blogged for hours on my crazy Thanksgiving. In fact, I could blog for hours on just about any time spent with my family. Typically the progress of emotions throughout the day (in any big family get-together) starts with stress at having to get ready and hoping that nobody comments behind my back about any weight I've gained. Sad, but true. Somehow I managed to get to my last week in Indy without gaining a single pound, but I'm not sure that lasted through Thanksgiving. Anyway, I then move to gratefulness and love because I adore my family and am so thankful for all of the joy they bring me. And then, when I'm at the peak of awe and wonder and my many familial blessings, I usually end on sadness and a sense of anticipation because I want so badly to share my family with my future husband, preferably before most of them die or leave Indiana. But mostly, I just love being with my family and all the new babies that grace our presence, and the never-ending sweet-tooth that results in cake and pie and cookies, and my Uncle Dave's sense of humor, and being a spoiled princess (new this year, and much appreciated). Also new this year was a humiliating rendition of the Soulja Boy dance performed by yours truly and my two soon-to-be-dead sisters who forced me into dancing in front of the entire clan. I guess it wasn't so bad.
But I'm not going to blog for hours on my crazy Thanksgiving. Nor do I really want to look back at my time in Indy and try to figure out highs and lows. And I definitely don't have it in me to process the Omaha shooting and make sense of the brevity and fragility of life. So I will tell you all of my extreme disgust at the amount of money people throw away. I just spent 3 days in Las Vegas and my perspective this time was slightly different from that of a naive 11-year-old (me last time I was in Vegas). For starters, minimum bets at the Blackjack tables are $10. That's right my friend, for a mere ten bucks, you too can have three seconds of enjoyment. Actually, I "helped" a friend play for the first time and it was amusing as we played two hands and ended up with her original ten dollars. We also got corrected on table ettiquette three times in two hands by the patient dealer, and I decided that was enough. People seriously sit there and risk hundreds of dollars in a matter of minutes, yet play for hours. That doesn't include the money spent on drinks (which they only offer once you have a bet on the table and which may result in substantially more money lost on betting), and remember that we are talking about the lowest-bet tables. Now factor in the millions who play high stakes, pay more for a single show than I spent on food and transportation in my entire three days, put up hundreds of dollars to stay in these opulent hotel/casinos, and don't bat an eye when three shots at a bar end up costing $36. Yikes. Maybe I can splurge on a new pair of shoes after all. I've decided that Vegas is not the place to go if you are on a tight budget. I did blow one dollar on the five-card-draw machine, and I did enjoy some of the free sights, but overall I did not enjoy myself. If I go back, I'm saving up so that I can enjoy myself, still on budget of course, but not sitting in my hotel room watching TV and splitting a Ghiradelli sundae that we had a coupon for. Still, I think I'd rather go to Greece or New Zealand or Vancouver or on a MEXICAN RIVIERA CRUISE. Start counting the days people! I have to stop typing now because my thumb is wrapped tightly in a bandaid and is starting to throb as I type. Stupid club-thumb.