You may recognize someone over on the Mile High Mamas’ site today. I’m the Featured Blogger of the week in the Mama Tech Talk section!
Does anyone know how much I could get for a slightly used veil of anonymity? I cleaned it up, and it looks as good as new. I may even have the original packaging and receipt. For some reason, I don’t think I’ll be needing it anymore… 
I am in the process of reviewing a DVD. Claire and I watched it, and she LOVED it. Yay! The review should be easy to write. In fact, we have yet to review a movie or show she didn’t like. I’m sure the time will come.
So, this one was a huge hit…makes my job easy! Right?
Then, she begged to watch it again.
And again.
And again.
And, I don’t play that game. We don’t watch a lot of DVDs around here, and when we do, we don’t watch them over and over and over (and over). We don’t even watch a lot of TV during the day (if hardly any)…not for philosophical reasons, but for logistical reasons: The television is on a different level of the house. And, because we’re busy! Playing! Usually outside!
But, this movie, unlike any other, has caused her to literally throw herself on the floor in a sobbing heap, when denied.
If that doesn’t say “two thumbs up,” I don’t know what does.
BUT, this movie irritates me to no end…and not for the reasons you may suspect. It’s a kids‘ movie, so I view it with that in mind. I don’t appreciate large stuffed creatures that talk, but she totally digs it. The messages are awesome, and the songs aren’t too annoying. The reason it makes my life miserable? It was fine the first time we watched it, but now I associate it with the huge fight that will surely ensue when we’re done watching it.
Anyway…
I’m trying to get the review written, and every time I pull up the photos or the website or get out the actual DVD, the whole fight begins again. It never fails that I forget to turn the speakers off, and going to their website triggers the songs she loves, and here we go again.
Don’t get me wrong. It was a really cute DVD the first time we watched it. But, there must be some hypnotic mumbo-jumbo goin’ on, because she is obsessed.
You’ll know when I have the review done by the lilt in my step and the twinkle in my eye. And, yes, I could have had the review done in the time it took me to write this post, but I HAD to get this off my chest. 
It’s coming. Stay tuned. Rest assured…I won’t lie in my review. Honest. In the meantime, I’m trying to find a nice way of saying, “Your kids will love it so much that you’ll hate it.”
What kids’ movies (or shows) are on your dreaded list? Do share!
Throughout the day, I write down various random thoughts. I collect and compile them to use as motivation for future blog topics. Recently, I’ve noticed that Twitter is a good recording device for these things as well.
What follows is a smattering of Random Thoughts I’ve recorded via Twitter from the past week or so. If you follow me on Twitter, you’ve probably seen these already. If you don’t follow Twitter, the Perfectionist in me wants to be sure you keep in mind that proper spelling, punctuation and grammar are often victims to the 140-character limit of Twitter.
Enjoy!
Are you on Twitter? If so, please leave your Twitter @name in the comments! I’m @casualperfect
Maybe I’ll see you there!
If you follow me on Twitter or Facebook, you may have seen this update:
“It’s really hard for me to take you seriously w/all that lipstick on your face.” Wow, that conversation came a LOT earlier than anticipated
And…
Claire keeps sneaking more of her diva lipstick. She now looks more like a clown than a princess. She CLAIMS she didn’t use more. Busted!
Well, here is the photo that goes along with them:
Yes, this is lipstick. In my defense, it’s “diva lipstick” made for little girls. It was part of her Flower Girl Gift Bag Extravaganza that she got for being in the wedding in Las Vegas. I’ve let her use some of my lipgloss (subtle…very subtle lipgloss!) in the past, and I really don’t have the energy to get into a “when can little girls wear makeup” discussion.
I just think this picture (and situation) is hilarious! (And, I dare you to look at that photo and not think, “Whatchoo talkin’ ’bout, Willis!?”)
Now, in her defense, she did keep the lipstick somewhat near the vicinity of her lips…and you can’t really see the full view.
But, she did fib about it. That’s the look she gave me when I told her I *could tell* that she’d been sneaking more lipstick. Busted!
Time will tell how well she improves…on the application technique AND the fibbing.
For now, she’s allowed to wear it, but only with supervision. I help her put it on, and we make sure it doesn’t glow in the dark.
A year ago, at this time, we were dealing with some rather stressful things. My dad was sick, and my grandmother passed away.
Well, in honor of remembering the silver lining, here is a post I wrote last year about my grandmother. I can’t believe it’s been a year…
May 24, 1918 to July 10, 2008
As I mentioned before, my grandmother suffered a massive stroke last week. Well, she passed away yesterday morning. She was 90 years old and had lived a very full life. The last week has been extremely difficult for all of us, but at least she’s at peace now.
As we’re getting ready to make the trip back for the funeral, I keep remembering things about her…and smiling to myself.
Here are some things I’ll never forget:
Speaking of photos, when Claire was about 18-months old, Grandma found an old picture of my mom from when she was about a year old. The two pictures are nearly indistinguishable. Grandma got a real kick out of that. She had my sister make copies of the two pictures together and she sent them to me. Here they are:
Yes, this is a photo of a photo…my apologies.
Isn’t the resemblance uncanny?? I can only imagine the memories Grandma had of her own little girl (my mom) when she watched Claire play and grow.
Even though we lived hours and hours and miles and miles away, we’d see her in person or talk to her on the phone as often as we could. She was never want for a photo or a phone call, and I know that Claire will miss her.
I’m sure over the next week, I’ll remember even more about Grandma, but these are just the things off the top of my head. I’m just so glad that she’s at peace now and that she was able to experience a long, full life.
They say, “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas…” and that may be true. But, we found the PERFECT hotel…to AVOID in Vegas, so regardless of what or who stays in Vegas, I wouldn’t recommend staying there.
Do NOT stay at Blair House Suites, 344 E Desert Inn Road, Las Vegas, NV 89109.
We were in Las Vegas over the 4th of July Weekend for a Wedding Ceremony. I researched and reserved rooms super-early so that we’d be sure to be close to the wedding. The wedding was going to be at the Wynn, which is a little too rich for our blood.
Imagine my delight when I found what I thought would be the perfect option, just around the corner: Blair House Suites. It wasn’t a casino, so we wouldn’t have to worry about walking through it with our preschooler. It wasn’t on The Strip, so we didn’t have to deal with the challenges there, but it wasn’t too far from The Strip, because that wouldn’t be good, either. And, it was close to the Wynn.
I emailed them directly for rates (as requested), and they offered me a great deal. I checked and double-checked the photos and reviews, and all seemed in order.
Perfect!
Let me start out by saying, I’m not a terribly picky person. (Please stop laughing…that’s not nice.) No, seriously. I understand that you get what you pay for. I used to be a Front Desk Clerk, so I know there are things you can complain about, and things you can’t get resolved, no matter how hard you try.
I have a list of criteria in my head, and a couple things off the list are allowable. I’ll let some things slide. But, a whole handful of things? Even after changing rooms? Even I have my limit.
Yes, I considered changing hotels. Yes, I could have demanded an even bigger discount, but I decided to do something else. Something a little more powerful:
The online review. Oh yes. I’m gonna go there. I have to! Had someone else told the truth about this hotel, we could have been spared! In fact, I posted a review on tripadvisor.com and the Yahoo Travel Site…and guess whose review shows up in the top search results for that hotel…in a general search, even!? (Expedia.com, orbitz.com and hotels.com won’t let me post a review since I booked directly with the hotel. Did you know it worked that way? Hmmm…interesting!)
I mean, I researched this hotel like you wouldn’t believe, and I was duped! Online, on paper and in theory, this hotel appears fine. It looks good from the outside. But, like most things in Vegas, appearances are deceiving!
So, here’s what happened.
Whenever we travel, I summon my Travel Zen. I know we’re going to have a good time, and we almost always do. Even the challenges that arise can’t knock me out of my bubble. It’s all part of the adventure, and usually, I can laugh it off.
Looking back, over all, we had a good time on this trip.
That being said, it was a struggle.
My bubble got pummeled pretty quickly and once it burst, it was hard to gather the pieces together. But, I didn’t cry. I kept my emotions in check, and Claire (our 3yr old) wasn’t the wiser. I didn’t want to upset her…because there is really nothing worse than adding an upset preschooler to the mix.
We made do. We made the best of it. And, that’s mostly because everything else in the area was either sold out or cost a million dollars*. I know, because I called. *Okay, so maybe other hotel rooms were a little cheaper than a million dollars. A little.
By the time rooms were available, we were already on our “free night.” (The hotel’s deal was pay for two nights at a discounted rate and get the 3rd night free.)
*sigh*
So, what went wrong?
Now, for the record, we were in Las Vegas. I understand that you’re going to see a wide variety of people in Las Vegas. Meeting an overly-friendly “woman” in the lobby was quite a treat. “She” offered to bring us fresh fruit, and was quite welcoming. In the hotel’s defense, the Front Desk Clerk did apologize for that uncomfortable situation.
The fact that this happened within the first five minutes of our stay just set the stage. Somehow, I’d missed the ominous music that often accompanies such foreshadowing.
When I booked the room, I was told we would be in an “updated suite.” I looked online and read reviews of the hotel. Everything seemed to be in order. When we checked in, the Front Desk Clerk gave us our room keys and showed us on the map where our room was. We found it, admired the courtyard and plantings outside our room, opened the door and fell promptly into 1983. The furniture was old, outdated and worn. The carpet and flooring were stained.
We were on a time-crunch to get ready to meet the wedding party for dinner, so we quickly got changed and realized that this couldn’t be right. Surely, this wasn’t an updated room. I’m not one to cause a fuss, so I hesitated to call…but I’d been promised an updated room. If this was an updated room, I was afraid to see what the other rooms looked like!
So, I called. I told the Front Desk Clerk that I’d been told we’d be in an updated room, and asked if this was one of those? She gasped. “Oh, no! You’re in a standard room. I’ll find another room for you! I’ll call you back right away.”
Time ticked slowly. Apparently time runs differently when you’re trapped in the 80s. After 10 minutes, I called back.
“I haven’t had a chance to find one yet, but I’m working on it. I’ll have it in a few minutes!”
About five minutes later, she called back. She’d found a new room for us, and we could come get our new keys.
When we got to the lobby, the room was full of angry patrons. Apparently, the key-card maker was down, so no one was getting their keys.
Lovely.
The Front Desk Clerk told us our keys weren’t ready. We had two options. We could go back to 1983 and wait, or she could personally walk us to our room and let us in. We could get keys for the room when the machine was up and running.
We opted for the latter. We were already running late, and had no desire to travel back in time. We had enough time to deposit our things in our room and grab a cab to the dinner.
She walked us to our new room and apologized for the mixup.
This room was not stuck in the 1980s, but it was not what had been pictured online. This was not the room where all those positive reviewers had stayed. It couldn’t be! The carpeting, flooring, and furnishings, though newer than the other room, were dirty and worn.
It appeared to be recently vacuumed, but it was dingy.
The way the rooms were designed was not conducive to cooling the room quickly. The air-conditioning units were not turned on when we entered the rooms. (This would be understandable since we’d just switched to this room, HOWEVER, the original room’s a/c unit wasn’t turned on either…) The vent from the bedroom into the living room wasn’t cutting it. It took over a day to cool both rooms.
There were TWO towels in the room. TOTAL. *I* use two towels. We made do, and got extra ones when we went to the pool the next day. I cannot confirm that the towels in the room were actually clean. They were stained but smelled laundered, so we used them. *shudder*
Yes, we could have called for more towels, but they’d been slow to respond on other issues, so we didn’t bother.
There was mold on the drain-plug and shower-curtain. Nothing grosses me out faster than mold on the shower-curtain.
The mold issues weren’t helped by the fact that the bathroom fan was non-functioning. It was there. We saw it, but it never came on, and there was only one switch for the bathroom.
When you go to Vegas with a preschooler, you have to anticipate staying a little longer in the room than you would if you were totally unfettered and free.
This is where the TV comes in handy.
Well, first of all, there were two TVs in the suite. Both were old and grungy and had seen better days. And, there was only ONE REMOTE. Sweet!
Additionally, when we first turned the TVs on, all we got was black snow. Neither TV worked. We fiddled and fiddled and finally I called down to the Front Desk to report this issue. That’s when they told us that the channels start at #14. Once you scroll through the lower numbers and get to Channel 14, the picture comes in just fine. This would have been good information to have before we tried to figure out what was wrong ourselves!
“Is there a trick to get hot water?” I asked the Front Desk after letting the water run, with the handle put in all the different spots on the dial. No, there wasn’t a trick…there was just no hot water. There was an issue with the the boiler room to our building, and they finally got it fixed. Because we couldn’t wait any longer for them to fix the issue before we left for the day, my poor husband took one for the team. The first half of his shower was freezing cold, and then in true Murphy’s Law Style, the hot water came back on in the middle of his shower, and he had to take quick action to avoid being scalded.
If you’re the second or third person to use the tub, beware of the puddle on the floor. You guessed it…the tub leaks!
Eventually, I was able to laugh. The second day, when the water started pouring out of the bottom of the tub during my shower, I started laughing. I laughed so hard my hubby actually came to check on me. It felt good to laugh. It felt even better to check out of that hotel.
No. The hotel really was close to The Wynn, and it really was walkable. Keep in mind that the sidewalk on that side of the Wynn is also home to those who don’t have homes (unless you call cardboard boxes homes)…so plan your walk accordingly.
And, the pool was actually decent.
Were the location and the pool good enough for me to recommend this hotel? Absolutely not.
Choose another hotel. It is Vegas, so you’re welcome to try your luck. (Vegas is the city to do that, you know…) But, I’d place my bets somewhere else.
This is not a paid review. This isn’t actually a specific product review at all. This is just one formerly-frustrated Diva Handler sharing an awesome tip on how to battle tangled hair.
Claire has really fine hair. She has a lot of it, and it’s very fine. She inherited this awesome trait from me. Every morning, it was a fight to get a comb through the back of her hair. It was painful and frustrating for both of us.
Switching to a “real” shampoo (from the Johnson & Johnson baby stuff) seemed to help a tiny bit, but not really. A week or so ago, my husband had a fabulous idea. I wish I could take credit for it, but he thought of it all on his own.
When I was little, I struggled with horrible tangles, too. One of my aunts suggested using a satin pillowcase, and it worked! I’ve never looked back since. I passed along this tidbit of info to my hubby way back when, and for years, we’ve done the same.
That being said, it didn’t even occur to me to do that same for Claire.
Why didn’t I think to do this for Claire? Well, this is when parenting as a tag-team sport comes in so handy. Daddy to the rescue! It really was his idea, and I’m amazed at the results.
Puppy enjoys the benefits of tangle-free hair, too!
By Day Three of sleeping on the satin pillowcase, the knots were gone! The days of a horribly tangled mess are gone! I’m amazed. Sounds too good to be true? Well, it worked for us! It may work for you.
So, I just thought I’d share. The pillowcase is a bit pricey, depending on where you go, but I think we got these most current ones at Target on sale.
On sale or not…it’s worth every single penny.
It’s Tuesday! Is it really Tuesday??
Ever since I quit my “real” job a year and a half ago, I’ve had trouble grasping what day of the week it is. The days of a Diva Handler all look very similar, so sometimes it’s hard to tell. Throw in the fact that I’m usually in the midst of planning activities for next month’s calendar, and that adds a whole ‘nother level of confusion to the mix.
Yes, I still use a calendar, but every once in a while, I’m shocked by what day it is.
July? It’s July?
Tuesday? It’s Tuesday?
Coming home from a whirlwind trip doesn’t make things easier, either. We flew in from Vegas last night (and boy are our arms tired!).
I am so glad we were there to share such a special occasion with my sister, but it’s nice to be home. When we went on our 12-day Road Trip, 99.2% of it was fabulous. This trip was a different story.
However, the most important parts were fantastic: Claire loved flying in the plane and did so wonderfully. Claire was an awesome flower girl, and I dare say, stole the show. The handsome groom and beautiful bride? Happy. The pictures from the ceremony and festivities? Fantastic. The hotel where the wedding was? Fabulous.
The hotel where we actually stayed? Hmmm. Not so much any of those things.
Vegas in general? Whoooooo boy. I knew it would be hot, and I knew Vegas would be a challenge with a child, and I knew this would be a totally different trip than our Vegas of the past…and I was right. Just once, I’d be totally okay with being wrong. Honestly, I would.
When I’ve summoned more energy, I’ll share.
In the meantime, they say: What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas…I just never saw it as a protective shield on the portal, and I really hope that’s true.
Do you like catchy songs that also tell a message? Do you like a variety of songs in one place? If so, you’ll love Sweets ‘n’ Treats!
It’s being released tomorrow, so click on over to the Review Page to check out our review of Tracey Singer’s Sweets ‘n’ Treats CD!
Photo used with permission. Comments are closed here, but we’d love to hear what you have to say over there!
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Mom & Cartoonist
I have a writing piece up and running at Mile High Mamas, the parenting blog of The Denver Post today!
Guess what!? I had the wonderful opportunity to interview Terri Libenson, the creator of the above cartoon, The Pajama Diaries! Go check out the interview!
The comments are closed here, but I’d love to hear what you have to say over there!