Viva Las Work Trip

Well, hello there. It's been too long.

I'm just sobering up getting my life back on track after a whirlwind Las Vegas work trip. Right now I'm on a flight and just cruising over some canyon (if you can believe what the pilot is saying) en route for Omaha...and most importantly, to see my boys. I cannot wait to give Cruzer the biggest squeeze.

Side note: I'm pretty certain the girl next to me is severely hungover and looks to be barely making it through this little flight...let's hope she can make it to the bathroom on time should something come back up. Lord, she's already gotten up four times to use the restroom so far, not entirely sure what else could be going on.

Anyway back to Vegas...

Headed out for a marketing council meeting for our company and, while I won't bore you with those details, I have to say loads were accomplished in these past few days. You have to imagine when you get the entire corporate and property marketing leaders from the world's largest gaming company in one room that some pretty fantastic stuff is going to be cooked up.

Personally, I feel thankful to be a part of it AND thankful for all I got to experience outside of that meeting room.

The room - if you are staying at Flamingo, you must get a Go! room - far and away their best product. Although, on work trips of late, I find myself always getting put up there and really want to check out more of our hotel rooms...you know for comparison and stuff. I mean, if they wanted to put me up at the new Nobu Tower at Caesars, I wouldn't complain.

(photo courtesy of Flamingo Las Vegas website)

The food - dinner at Center Cut Steakhouse at Flamingo, Carmine's Italian in the Forum Shoppes, Old Homestead Steakhouse at Caesars and a late night pizza run to the Pizza Joint after super long happy hour/mingling sesh at Toby Keith's. And one of the best burgers during lunch at KGB's at Harrah's. If you're in Vegas, check out Old Homestead - a bit pricey but one of the best places I've ever eaten...actually Nick and I were at the same restaurant at the Borgata in Atlantic City, but it didn't hold a candle to this one. Three words. Asiago bacon muffin. Delicious.

The shows - sadly I haven't been to too many shows in Vegas over the past many years I've visited. I'm not sure if it's the fact that I would rather spend my hours at the pool or face deep in cocktails - or better yet both at the same time - but they just haven't been a priority. However, when the tickets are free it would be just wrong not to take advantage. On Monday, I checked out a Love, the Beatles cirque show at Mirage and on Tuesday Absinthe at Caesars. If you want a recommendation on a bad ass show to take in on your next Vegas trip, Absinthe is far and away THE one to see. It's a mix of raunchy humor and old-time big top carnival and circus acts inside a cozy little tent outside Caesars Palace. But take this as your warning, it's not just a little raunchy-risque, it takes it to the next level and I was out-loud laughing the entire time.

Of course, last minute I realized that I hadn't picked up a little gift for Cruzer, so after our cocktail mix & mingle I high-tailed it to the Forum Shoppes. Of course, I stopped in H&M and found tons of great stuff that I wanted to try one, BUT this trip wasn't about me and I was able to pick some great items for little man. I found the cutest pair of jeans for him.  Black, slightly distressed and slim cut? Um, yes please!

And I may have picked up this little guy in the airport...I know airport toys are pathetic, but when you spent most of your trip eating and drinking, sometimes you have to get creative. And truth be told, our little airplane loving kid will go bonkers for this.

Now if you don't mind, I'm going to try and get some shut eye for the remainder of this flight...and dream about this little sweetheart.

The Right Decision

If I've learned anything from being a mama and juggling a career, it's that I can do it all. It may not be perfect. It may not be great all the time. And, it for damn sure isn't pretty. But I basically get done what needs to be done.  Life is hectic. Work is busy. But above all else, we are employed, our family is close, we have amazing friends and we are raising the most amazing little man. And he is so, so good to us.

I do find myself wondering if my work/life balance it right. Are my priorities in line? I hate that at times I need to choose my laptop and work emails over playing with my son. I despise having my phone in my hand (or nearby) at all times...just in case. Fortunately, I have a great career which is really flexible, yet demanding enough in that I need (want) to be proactive and on top of things. I don't want to miss anything. I want to be successful.

But there are times that I would love to stay at home with Cruz. See him grow up every day. Teach him things. I get a tad jealous that J gets to spend so much time with him and take him to such great educational and fun places. But then I think, that wouldn't be me. I wouldn't be myself without my career. I love what I do.

So, when I get tagged by a leader in our company regarding a potential regional position that would require travel for a couple weeks a month, but hopefully not relocating, the go-getter in me says, "it's a great opportunity. It would be great for my career. Bring it on!" However, the mom in me says, "how can I spend quality time with my little guy and see him grow up if I'm traveling up to fifteen days out of thirty?" What kind of life is that?

The position would be great for our family...and for our future. It would be a great career move. I would finally get to learn about other markets in the casino industry. We could finally pay off what's left of our debt. On the flip side, it would be traveling fifteen days out of thirty. I would miss out on half of our little guy's life. I wouldn't be home. I would miss out on the things that are important to me - get-togethers with friends and family, girl's night out, seeing my little guy grow up, spending time with Nick.

Fortunately, we don't have to make a decision just yet. The job isn't necessarily going to be there. But it could...so I need to think about these things. And be prepared. And I'm just not sure what would be the best move for us.

Feel Like Myself

It's been quite some time since I've really felt like myself. These past few weeks have been a whirlwind from little man being sick, the Thanksgiving holiday and work on crazy mode. I'm operating on very minimal sleep and work out/eat right kick I had been on in September and October has totally fizzled away for basically ALL of November.

So it wasn't until this morning that I actually have felt like myself for the first time in a long time. Cruz slept through the night last night! Well...minus a few coughing fits where I pretended to sleep and the hubs helped him through them (please don't think I'm a terrible mama, but I needed my sleep)...that and the fact that he slept with us, in our bed, all night. (We definitely aren't cool with this happening all the time, but if he's sick and it helps him and us sleep better while he's sick, then I'm doing it. It just cannot become a habit...or the norm. Because this girl needs her time with her man.)

Refreshed from a great night's sleep, I actually woke up when my alarm went off at 5am - whereas these past couple of weeks I set it at 5am and snooze until much, much later or just simply change it to a later time so I don't have to mess with that snooze thing. I was very, very , VERY quiet as not to wake up our sleeping boy and made my way downstairs for an at-home workout. I have been waiting for this workout for such a long time. I needed treadmill time (did I just say that? I hate the treadmill.) - not only for the purpose of a workout, BUT a while back I had promised myself that I would only catch up on my favorite blogs if I was doing some physical activity at the same time. No more laying on the couch late at night with a glass of wine, my iPad, my blogger friends and some snacks. No siree. I long for my blog time and knew that if I made this promise to myself, I would force myself to get off my booty and get some exercise in! So ladies, if you've noticed I've been a bit MIA not only from posting on my own blog (this cannot be done while on the treadmill) but reading and commenting on all of yours...this is the reason. And now you will know my little secret...if you haven't heard from me in a while, I've gotten back to my lazy ways!

So, anyway, this morning I caught up on my friend Heather's blog (sorry, girl, for comment overload!) and can't wait until tomorrow (maybe even later tonight...if I get bored enough!) to catch up with everyone else. And I have felt great all day at work knowing I got some sleep and finally caught up with my e-friends.

DITL: Fall Saturday

I thought it might be fun to do another Day in the Life post - by "fun" I mean a lot of work documenting my day, remembering to take photos and trying to recollect what I did all day.

1am - we are fast asleep and hear little man in the nursery crying. I ask the hubby if he is going to go get him, but he reminds me it's his birthday week. So, no. (Noted...I must partake in a full week of him getting up with Cruz during my birthday week next May.) I walk in and he's sitting up crying. I can tell it's only going to take a couple cuddles and he will be back to sleep quickly.

1:15am - I climb back in bed and quickly count how many more hours I get to sleep until my alarm goes off. It's Saturday so I didn't set it until 7am...still have almost six hours. Score.

6:19am - little man is up, so I figure this is a great time to start our day. (Oh yeah, it wasn't really my choice. A girl can pretend, right?) Fortunately, I'm not terribly tired and I go scoop him up from his crib. He plays on his floor a bit so I can go to the bathroom and I come back in and find him playing with his polar bear on the floor. We are learning to "hug" and often use this bear to demonstrate. We are also learning to point out our body parts, so far he's only got "nose" down, so when I walk back into his nursery he's grabbing the bear's nose. My smart boy. Time to change little man's diaper...he's wet and his diaper is F.U.L.L so it's a full wardrobe change for him. My rule is that if it's this early and we have no where to go, he gets to stay in PJs.

Polar bear learning

6:30am -bottle time for Cruz and I grab a water for me. He loves pulling the microwave door open once it buzzes (yes, I use the microwave, but I'm smart enough to test and make sure it's not too hot. Trust.). We curl up on the couch and I turn on the a.m. news while we both enjoy our respective drinks.

7am - I wrestle little man down for a bit to give him his breathing treatment. It doesn't go well. If I had to give us a score, I would say Cruz: 1; Mama: 0.

7:10am - I pull out laundry to fold and Cruz helps me by taking every piece I fold and throwing it to the side. It takes folding each piece at least twice to realize I need to occupy him with something else. I scoop him up and we quietly go into our bedroom to put the hub's laundry away. Little man spots his daddy sleeping and starts loudly repeating "da-da." Quietly putting laundry away? FAIL. He gives daddy a customary high five as we leave the bedroom to let him sleep longer (in case you didn't know, it's his birthday week so he gets to sleep in).

We walk out into the living room and I close the bedroom door. Cruz quickly crawls over to the door, starts pounding on it and yelling "da-da." (I have to admit I smile a bit and take my time before going over to stop him) and then daddy emerges from the room telling Cruz he can't resist his persistence.

8am - I get dressed and I'm out the door to hit the gym. On my way I pass my favorite lake and see a ton of people out. I look at the temp in my car and it's 63 degrees. I make a quick turn into Lake Z and decide I'm going to run outside. And I did, in a tank and running capris. I cannot believe how gorgeous it is today...it's November! After my run I squeeze in a quick tan (girlfriend is looking a bit pale).

I will take this view over the gym any day.

Seriously, a tank top in November!
(And, yes, I smile for pics I take of myself.)

9:30am - grandma Carol is at the house when I get back and playing away with little man. He is eating it up! We give her the remainder of her birthday gift - I loved this message when I saw it on Etsy - is it bad if I want to get one for my parents and Nick's dad & Janice too? Because it's the truth for all of them...

10am - ugh, I'm wasting too much time chatting, doing laundry and lounging. I really should be getting in the shower, but the coffee and conversation is much more appealing. Little man is already getting tired and he's been so lovey this week while he's been sick.  He crawls over to me, gives me two hugs and then climbs over my lap and lays there. He is asleep in mere seconds.  Grandma takes him to his crib. I peel a couple of boiled eggs for breakfast and go get ready.

Down for the count

12pm - I get to work, boot up my computer, plug in my iPhone for some music and lay out everything I need to get completed today. It's a bit overwhelming, so I decide I need another coffee. I'm digging coffee these days. Especially the French Vanilla kind from Green Mountain Coffee in the Keurig, with some Vanilla Latte Coffeemate...ok, so only this mixture. I will not drink anything else...I suppose you could call me a bit of a coffee snob. Just try it and tell me you don't agree.

This is embarrassing.  I need to decorate...

Rockin' the Total Rewards mug and using one of the many chotzkes sent
 to me on a daily basis by marketing companies...a  coaster.

1pm - I grab my purse and drive over to our other casino for a 1pm meeting. I walked in late, of course. This is the type of meeting I like. We were viewing our New Year's Eve meal for our VIP customer event and got to sample the food. What? You would like me to try those excellent desserts. Well, ok, I guess. (I love my job). Then I head up to the casino floor to check on a gift giveaway that was starting in an hour. All was good, so I head back.

2:15pm - the rest of the afternoon was filled with A LOT of work. Responding to emails, following up on emails that I've wait a tad bit too long to reply to, compiling notes from weekly meetings, walking the casino floor, working on new projects, opening my mail, and whatever else you can imagine. All while rocking out to my newly put together country playlist on my iPhone (daydreaming about the upcoming Kenny Chesney tour that I'm definitely going to be a part of).

Got a pic update from Gma with little man (really need to buy her an iPhone!) :)

These pic updates make me smile

6pm-ish - I met our VP of Food & Beverage at the loading dock and loaded a really cool, old fashioned popcorn machine, which will be used for little man's big first birthday bash next weekend. Can.Not.Wait.

Continued working for a couple more hours, before I need to get out of there. Gma Carol made her yummy lasagna and the hubs kept texting me about how good it was. I needed some.

9pm - after catching up with Gma on her & Cruz's day, helping her pack up so she could leave and playing with little man, I finally got to sit down with a bowl - or two - of lasagna while daddy worked to get Cruz to sleep. And then I poured a nice, big glass of red.

The hubs hates participating in my blog fun, but was willing to snap a pic (probably because he
figured I would never post a shot of me looking like this on the blog...little did he know, I don't care.)

Gma did a load of towels AND  put the clean sheets from the dryer on our bed.  Love this!

10pm - I grabbed little man who had fallen asleep on daddy and put him down in the nursery. The hubs headed to bed to watch some more football (weird), but this allowed me to watch some real TV in the living room (Friends!) and finish up some work emails and catch up on some social media and blogs....and maybe a long look at my Little Man's Birthday to-do list.

I could watch Friends re-runs all day, every day

 11:45pm - I head to bed, but not before looking at the cage living room and all of it's disaster. I briefly consider cleaning it up, but quickly decide not to, because in a few short hours our boy will be up and will have every single toy strung out everywhere anyway.

Don't judge - I swear our house doesn't always look like this.

So, there it is, another exciting day in my life. I know. I know. You are all jealous of the lavish life I lead! But I wouldn't trade this in for anything in the world.

Vegas Bound

I have to say I'm always impressed by technology...and a wee bit intimidated. Maybe that's why I only had a 19in TV and a flip cell phone when I reconnected with the hubs before moving into our apartment together. Maybe it's because I always seem to screw something up when I try to use it. Whatever the case....I was over the top impressed to see my flight to Vegas (for a work trip) had WiFi. Yay! I get to stay connected while 30,000 feet in the air!

I suppose I should be going over my notes for my meetings tomorrow. Or reviewing my employee's bonus packet, but that wouldn't be a fun use of my time..I'm going to catch up with my blog friends instead!

I'm on my way to Vegas right now (literally in the plane! I love this!) for a three day/two night summit. I suppose Vegas isn't the worst of places to go. In the airport I grabbed an issue of Ok! Magazine - generally I prefer US Weekly but since I'm a subscriber and get those delivered to me, this will do. As we were taking off I was flipping through the pages and found coupons for 20% off at Banana Republic factory and Gap outlet...decision made I'm hitting up the outlet malls when I get to town. Plus I've never been to this set of outlet malls and after looking it up realized there are a TON of baby clothes outlets. Note to self: buy another suitcase to lug your loot home.

I will be flying back into Omaha on Friday night where the plan is to pick up little man at my sister's house OR stay the night there since it will be late and head home in the morning to....wait for it....take Cruz on his first flight EVER to visit my bestie in Houston!

Yeah yeah I know...people fly with babies all the time so what's the big deal? Well, the big deal to me is that this will be the first of many flights in little man's life because this mama plans on lots of travel with him in the years to come.

I'm super stoked. Super nervous. Already practicing my apologies to the other passengers. And just praying that he does well. Only time will tell...

Take Me Out To The Ballgame

Saturday night we headed to the Storm Chasers game to host customers from work. Originally the hubby was coming along with little man and I, but at the last minute he headed to Sioux Falls for a poker tournament, so we went it alone.

It was actually a bit cool that night, so fortunately we had tickets for the Club Lounge and were shielded from the wind. Little man was a hit - every day I'm asked about him from our customers, so it was great that many of them were finally able to meet him in person!

He is definitely going to be our little baseball player...and LOVES going to baseball games!

Jill was a GREAT babysitter, so mommy could mingle

Chillin' with the Beasleys

Mommy & Cruzer night out

A Day In The Life (Work Week)

I'm jumping on the A Day in the Life bandwagon that my friend {and blog-spiration} Heather over at Live Inside My Bubble has done a few times, most recently documenting an entire week {I swear she's a crazy woman}. Now onto the mundane, not-so-glamorous life of a new mother living in Omaha, Nebraska...

12:05am - shut down my laptop and headed to bed. Yesterday had been a busy day and I had to get caught up on some work, which is the only reason I would possibly stay up until midnight.

5:30am - alarm sounds. I need to go for a run this morning, but it's not light out yet. Snooze until 6am...

6am - alarm sounds again. Snooze.

6:09am - alarm sounds yet again and yet again I hit snooze one more time, even though it is light outside by this point, I'm just tired...and lazy. And don't get me started on a 9-minute snooze. What's the point? Just give me a straight 10 minutes of extra sleep, people!

6:18am - alarm sounds and I'm up and at em. I check a few work emails from my phone as well as my Gmail account. Our air conditioning stopped working last night {of course this happens on a day it's 90 degrees, not one where it's 65 degrees}, so I go in to check on little man. Normally we have him in a sleeper at night and sometimes even run his heater, but not last night. It was a short-sleeved onesie night for sure.

All over the place in his crib these days

7:04am - I'm out at Lake Zorinsky and have to say excited about my run because the weather is gorgeous. Plus it's much, much cooler than my house was this morning.  Please try and convince me why I would want to run on a treadmill in my basement or at the gym again??

Love the view

7:50am - finished my run in decent time and sweating like a pig...not hot at all!

Sorry gents, this gal's taken {I know hard to believe!}

7:55am - I pull back into the garage and I'm disappointed as the garage door lifts and Nick's truck is gone. That means my baby is gone and I won't get any kisses before daycare. Oh well.

8am - I get a text from the hubby that said he and Cruzer stopped by Lake Z to see me on their way to daycare. Bummer! I'm not sure how I missed his truck as I was driving home. So he sent me a pic of our little cutie instead.

Love those big baby blues

8:30am - breakfast time

Skim milk, two hard boiled eggs & a banana

9:30am - driving into work and Tim McGraw's 'Don't Take The Girl' came on. I LOVE this song and it is a surefire guarantee that I will cry. It always brings tears to my eyes, but even more so since I've become a mama.

10am - had to get my morning 32 oz Diet Mt. Dew. Yes, I'm that ridiculous that I drink a big DMD every single morning. And only fountain...I'm also that picky.

This is one habit I've got to kick

10:05am - my workday has started {besides the emails I did earlier this morning} a lot later than normal because I knew I needed to get a workout in before work since we are going out to dinner later tonight. I knocked out a meeting with a co-worker, an advertising conference call, more emails, itinerary for Bill Cosby's arrival as well as a phone call with the man himself. He is quite the character.

12:15pm - lunchtime at my desk. I've been trying to workout all week and eat better and I've actually been somewhat successful. Compared to my norm - you know, telling myself every Sunday night that I'm going to start eating better on Monday and that lasts all of one meal... My lunch this week has consisted of cottage cheese & peaches and turkey, BUT I'm feeling crazy today and changed it up a bit. I'm having turkey and fresh veggies w/ a Greek yogurt dip. I was also able to update the blog quickly during this time and look up places for dinner tonight - I want to try some place that we've never been.

Turkey lunch meat, veggies & dip

12:45pm - the afternoon consisted of more meetings and emails as well as working on a couple of projects. One of my meetings was about the concert cove and was outdoors - I love outdoor meetings when the weather is gorgeous! I didn't get a pic of what I wore to work before leaving the house, so I snuck in a picture during a bathroom break...awesome. Ok, so here's the deal, its impossible for me not to smile during a picture...I don't quite have a "serious" face. This is one reason I could never have become a model {uh yeah, THAT'S the only reason. Ha}.

Rockin' the leopard print dress

5:30pm - I shut down my computer and loaded my car prepared to hit Friday afternoon traffic on my way to pick up Cruzer from daycare.

6:05pm - arrive at Primrose at a pretty decent time for me, hoping little man isn't the last one there like usual, but of course I walk in and he is. I guess the best part of him being the last one at daycare is that he gets lots of one-on-one time with Miss Olivia and he just adores her!

Ready to get home and dressed up for his big dinner date tonight

6:15pm - swung by the Bottomless Glass bar to meet a couple of my fellow board members from Angels Among Us - they were able to secure some items for Cosby to sign that we can later use in an auction, so I had to pick those up.

6:30pm - walk into the house and unload my bags and little man's stuff. Quickly change and fix myself a bit and then give Cruz his bath and dress him.

7:05pm - out the door headed to dinner.

7:30pm - dinner w/ the crew at Brother Sebastian's. We had been there about 6 or 7 years ago, so were excited to try it again. The hubby & I got there early so we waited in the lounge. Cruz was sleeping, but I decided to be proactive and get a bottle ready for when he woke up. I dug in my bag and found everything BUT a bottle {yeah - mom of the year over here}, so I sent the hubby to Walgreens to snag a bottle before everyone arrived.

He would kill me if he knew I posted this pic :)

Me and my little guy

The hubby and I  hamming it up before everyone arrived

10pm - headed home with a very sleepy baby. When we got home, I threw his PJs on and changed his diaper and off to bed he went. I picked up the house and washed some bottles and then jumped on my laptop to respond to some work stuff.

11pm - off to bed.

Working in the STL

Earlier this week, I was away from my family due to having to travel for some work meetings. I used to LOVE traveling for work - networking with my colleagues in person, brainstorming our marketing plan, building new relationships, checking out our sister properties and the competitors. Now? It's just become somewhat of a hassle and it's so hard to be away from my little man even if only for two nights.

My trip in a nutshell:

On Monday, I spent the late afternoon cruising the St. Louis property.  Then I met up with two co-workers for dinner at Kelly English Steakhouse - a new restaurant. It was fantastic. I had a great filet, asparagus, a wedge salad and a couple glasses from a nice bottle of wine {a customer had asked for a bottle for room service, the bartender had uncorked it and the customer never showed up. Their loss = My gain. We had a $115 bottle of wine :} After dinner, I met up with my friend Jess who has been living in St. Louis for the past couple of years. It was great seeing her and we had some great conversation at iBar. She's actually training for fitness modeling....awesome, I just ate all of that food and she is telling me of her "nothing there" diet. But she looks great and I'm proud of her for sticking to something so time consuming and life altering.

Jess & I

Tuesday was a little rough - I didn't make my workout in the morning {surprise, surprise}and I had stayed up past midnight the night before {not normal for me these days}, so I was moving a little slow. Why would I also not want to travel for work...the constant temptation of food and great restaurants!  We met for breakfast at the buffet {I stayed reasonably healthy w the egg white omelet and cottage cheese/peaches}, had meetings all morning, had lunch at the buffet {yet again} where I didn't fare as well, followed by more meetings and then we rounded out our eating our competitor's Italian steakhouse where if you consider a plate full of cannelloni, drenched in marinara and cheese healthy, then I'm healthy as a horse! Afterwards we ended up downtown at a bar district called the Landing and a fun little bar known for it's shot menu {I indulged in only one...I'm not quite the partier I once was.}

Now that is a shot menu!

While I was gone, daddy and Cruzer did just fine on their own...and I'm so proud of both of them! I got many picture updates, some just of little man and others with the fam. I missed out on Ross' surprise 30th birthday dinner at the Drover...yum.

My little Cubbie Bear

Look at Cruz checking out Dominic {w/ Carly & Sicily}

Grabbing my toes like a fiend...mommy LOVES this!

I have to say the trip really went well and we got a lot accomplished.  Would I want to travel every week or even every month for work? Definitely not. Once in a while is just fine by me...

Long Week...

This week is going to be tough....it's the first time I'm truly away from my baby boy for a full 48 hours and then some. Which means two full nights and two drop offs at day care. I'm traveling to St. Louis for work and while I know it's going to be an important meeting, I'm sad I have to leave my little guy {and the hubby} for so long. Plus it doesn't help that the hubby keeps telling me he's nervous about being alone with him for two days.

I know they will be great and Nick will do an amazing job. He is a great husband and an even better father. This will be big....HUGE. And I can't wait to see how great he does with little man.

Plus I've left quite an large and detailed list of things that need to happen {or will happen regardless}. As well as every outfit picked out, food on the counter & labeled and bath time necessities in their place...

I know everything will be great. I just hope and pray for lots of pictures and updates..because if anything I'm going to miss the both of them so much.