Supermom Chronicles

John came to visit me at work a few weeks ago and said he had a surprise, then tried to leave without telling me. I insisted that he spill the beans right then and there. There was a promotion on the radio for a trip to Vegas. He called in and "won". He asked if I was interested in a 4-day/3-night fully paid trip to Vegas. The answer was "heck yeah!" I LOVE Vegas. I love gambling. I must have inherited that gene from my dad. The one and only time I have ever been to Vegas was 13 years ago (the Luxor was the newest casino on The Strip) on a trip w/ John, my Dad and his crazy, (___insert expletive here___) ex-wife. She was a piece of work...I never realized what a *%tch she was until after my dad died...but that's another post. Anyway, that trip was a blast. My dad and I also took several trips together to Louisiana to the gambling boats and always had a good time. He was a fun person to gamble with. He was always the life of the table. He wasn't just looking to win (although he really wanted to of course), he was looking for a fun table. He had such a great personality. I miss him.

Anyway, it turns out the Vegas trip is an advertisement for a time-share in Vegas. We get our trip paid for, and all we have to do is sit through a 2 hour presentation on a time share the 3rd day of our trip. Totally worth it in my opinion. I have no problem standing up, saying "no thank you" and promptly walking out when it's done. We booked our room at the Riviera, which would have cost us over $500 if we were paying for it. Plus we get complimentary tickets to a comedy show and some gambling credits for the slots. Our airfare will be free, thanks to all the reward points we've accumulated on our credit card.

By the way, if you are not paying your bills with a rewards credit card, you are missing the boat. Two years ago, we switched our regular card to a rewards program card. We use our card to pay every bill we possibly can (including utilities). Then we pay it off in full every month. In doing so, we have earned enough points to buy 2 round-trip airfare tickets to anywhere in the world (yes, even Australia). Or, we can cash in the points for cold-hard cash. Or we can choose from many other options. We pay no fees to the credit card company. This is totally a win situation for us. Highly recommend it.

So now we're trying to pick a date for travel. This will be a much needed vacation for us. John's parents have kindly offered to come "live" at our house for a few days to make sure Faith gets to school and take care of the boys. Now that we've started planning it, I'm so excited. I can't wait to go. We 're shooting for the middle of November. We definitely want to pick up a show or 2. I think the one show we're going to book online in advance is "O", a Cirque de Soleil show that I've heard is phenomenal. John wants to go on some of the new rides at the Stratosphere. I suggest you watch the videa that goes along with this ride...John will be riding alone since I'm afraid of heights.

John & I used to vacation often before the kids. Mostly we went snow skiing, which I miss terribly. Aside from the Texas Hold'em games at someone's home, we haven't gambled in a long time. I'm looking forward to hitting the Blackjack tables. We'll probably both play some Hold'em, too. Man, wouldn't it be great if we hit it big just in time for Christmas shopping. We'll see...