Oh my gosh!

I can't believe how long it's been since I've posted here. Lots going on, as usual, but not so much that I couldn't have posted from time to time!

My New Year's resolution -- first one I remember ever making -- was to post every couple days or so. Ha! Here it is the 16th, and I'm making my first post of the year. See why I never make resolutions?

In November, besides working, sister Liz and I flew to Las Vegas to visit our other twisted sister, DL. We had a ball! We went to the Strip, of course, but did no gambling. Excuse me? Gambling?? When there's shopping and sightseeing to do??? No, no, no.

However, I thought the Strip was pretty darn impressive. This was my first trip to Vegas, and though I've seen the Strip hundreds of times on TV, I wasn't prepared for the real "wow!" factor of seeing it in person. All those lights! All that money! All those people! It's almost obscene, the money that flows in and out of that place.

I was blown away by the Chihouly ceiling in the Bellagio lobby (at least, I think it was the Bellagio). I've loved Dale Chihouly's work (fabulous blown glass pieces) since the first time I ever laid eyes on a piece, and I just stood there for a time staring at it (hope my mouth was closed!) until DL or Liz gently pulled me away.

The fountains, the Eiffel Tower, the volcano, the food, the shopping . . . it was all incredible. But not quite as incredible as Red Rocks and the mountains and Hoover Dam. I was quite impressed by all those places. Liz and I can't wait to go back and go hiking. Maybe this time we can get sister Leah to go along.

Of course, the best of all was spending time with Liz and DL and her hubby. He's a real sweetheart. We kept telling her how lucky she was to have him. (Actually, we kept patting ourselves on the backs on what good taste all three of us have in husbands.)

After that trip, I'd been home for a few days when our daughter-in-law-2-be called to say she had our kiddo's Christmas present for us and we had to pick it up within the next week. It was airline and concert tickets to San Antonio to see the TransSiberian Orchestra!!! What an incredible kid! We saw them in Tulsa last year and had a blast, but they didn't come this year. (We could have driven to OKC, but something came up and we didn't get to.)

So we flew to San Antonio on Friday morning, went to Riverwalk and shopped, then caught the concert that night at the SBC Center, where the Spurs play. It was incredible! Lasers, fog, snow, pyrotechnics -- all absolutely incredible. And the music . . . oh, my gosh, if you've never heard TSO, get a CD. NOW. They are the best. Think classical music on acid. It was amazing to see the people in the audience, ranging from kids to grandparents, all enjoying the show equally. Really, you'll love them. I promise.

The next day we toured the Alamo, which was really impressive, then had time for lunch before heading back to the airport. It was a quick, but fabulous weekend.

Christmas was fine. We missed the kid, since he's still in Afghanistan, but we saw the d-i-l-2-b (and they've set a date!!!) and Bailey, her adorable pupper. (Robert keeps telling me the breed, and I keep forgetting. Something that doesn't get bigger than six or eight pounds.)

Hmm . . . think that's enough for now. And I really do plan to update this baby more often. It's just that I'm having a real hate/hate relationship with the Internet right now. I'm trying to adjust my writing schedule, and once I get online, it's so darn hard to get back to work. I've got to find something that allows me to keep things up to date but without interfering with the work that buys my chocolate!

Anyway, don't give up on me. I will be back. Hopefully much sooner than two months! Rachel5:17 PM