Las Vegas Gnome

Change of Pace

2009-09-09T06:04:00Z

A little known fact (or maybe not so little known ...) is that I’m a pretty avid World of Warcraft player. I bought the game on a whim for my 34th birthday so I’ve officially been playing about 4 years now. I have several toons and after Burning Crusade (the first expansion pack) was released, a good chunk of them were level 70.

Unfortunately, I kind of fell off the wagon with Wrath of the Lich King (the second expansion pack). For some reason, I found Northrend boring and have only managed to grind my draenei shaman through to 80, with the rest still languishing in their early 70’s. I’ve just had no interest in repeating the grind over and over again for all my toons.

In an effort to get myself out of my funk, I took advantage of the new faction change option and turned my under-played human mage in to a blood elf. So far, it’s working. When I’m not raiding with my shaman or fulfilling my duties as a guild leader, I’m on my mage. She’s made it from level 71 to half way through 75 in only 2 days. Hopefully, I’ll keep it up and will be able to finally beat my husband and his three 80’s.

Sea World (San Diego)

2009-08-24T06:12:20Z

One Year On

2009-08-23T20:17:11Z

I’ve been a US resident for just over a year now. My experience has been mostly fantastic. I have been told to go back to “wherever I came from” by a couple of small-minded ingrates, however they are a tiny minority so it’s like water off a duck’s back. I’m still not used to the coins. I can pick a quarter and a penny, but those nickels and dimes are still confusing!

The last two weeks, I’ve gotten a little taste of home and at the same time, gotten to see a little bit more of the US than my Vegas patch. My parents and sister are visiting from New Zealand and Australia (respectively) and we’ve been down to LA to do Disneyland and Universal and to San Diego to visit Sea World and the Wild Animal Park. Of course, I did all those things on my honeymoon, but that was almost 11 years ago and a lot of things have changed! San Diego was wonderful just for the fact that we got to see the ocean for the first time in a year! Needless to say, the weather was also a lot cooler in both LA and SD than it was in Vegas. With just under a week left to their visit, we still have the Grand Canyon and Zion National Park to go. We’ll be doing that later this week.

Of course it hasn’t all been smooth sailing. With 3 extra people in the house totaling 7 grown adults all stuck in their ways and with different personalities and needs, there’s been quite a bit of drama and more than a couple of tantrums. I have occasionally been tempted to drop them all off at the airport early (including the 3 that live with me!) for some peace and quiet, but I know that once it’s time for them to leave, it will be a sad occasion. In the meantime, while we’re in Vegas, I can just throw them my car keys and hope they stay on the right side of the road!

New (Old) Layout

2009-03-22T03:55:30Z

I kinda missed the old layout, so spent the day going back to it, with a few very minor differences!

Let me know if you notice anything funky.

Happy Birthday, Baby!!

2009-03-19T20:15:05Z

J’s birthday present, an as yet unnamed parakeet. Happy Birthday!!

Extreme Sheepherding

2009-03-18T20:27:38Z

What happens when you mix sheep, LED’s and a few cameras?

Dreamhost

2009-03-17T20:07:46Z

I switched from the horrendous GoDaddy hosting to Dreamhost, taking advantage of the St Patrick’s day special. Nice deal! So far, things have been far speedier and I haven’t had any problems moving things over or making things work. Lets hope it stays that way!

Cute Kids (Occasionally!)

2009-03-12T03:53:49Z

A little love note, via The Sims 2. Sometimes my kids can be so sweet. Sometimes.

Good Day!

2009-03-06T19:20:00Z

We had a fantastic day yesterday. First up, bright and early, I got my learners permit and scheduled my driving test for 5 weeks time. Easy date to remember - Jesse’s birthday!

Afterwards, we packed a picnic lunch and hit the highway with the boys for a few hours of fun and silliness in the snow at Mt Charleston. What an amazing place! The boys regressed a few years, Ellie developed a limp which mysteriously shifted from one paw to the other ((“Please, Mummy, I don’t want to walk anymore!!”) over the course of the afternoon, and everyone wound up happy and slightly damp.

After a trip home and a quick and easy dinner, J and I headed out to see the ‘dress rehearsal’ of the Zowie Bowie lounge act at The Palms. It’s definitely a good show and Chris and Marley are lovely. They came around and introduced themselves between acts and then threw shout-outs to many of us, adding a lovely personal touch to the night.

The Lovers

2009-03-02T18:38:13Z

I am 99.9% certain that I disagree with this result, but since I insist on taking these silly little tests, I guess I had it coming.

You are The Lovers

Motive, power, and action, arising from Inspiration and Impulse.

The Lovers represents intuition and inspiration. Very often a choice needs to be made.

Originally, this card was called just LOVE. And that’s actually more apt than "Lovers." Love follows in this sequence of growth and maturity. And, coming after the Emperor, who is about control, it is a radical change in perspective. LOVE is a force that makes you choose and decide for reasons you often can’t understand; it makes you surrender control to a higher power. And that is what this card is all about. Finding something or someone who is so much a part of yourself, so perfectly attuned to you and you to them, that you cannot, dare not resist. This card indicates that the you have or will come across a person, career, challenge or thing that you will fall in love with. You will know instinctively that you must have this, even if it means diverging from your chosen path. No matter the difficulties, without it you will never be complete.

What Tarot Card are You? Take the Test to Find Out.

Another Night, Another Concert

2009-02-28T19:52:46Z

Seems we’re going to see the Zowie Bowie (not to be confused with the son of David Bowie) lounge act at The Palms next week.

It should be ... interesting.

Ellie: Stickless Mop

2009-02-11T18:59:48Z

Ellie is an affenpinscher with many talents. Here, she shows she’s a dab hand helping Daddy clean up spilled flour.

Margaritaville

2009-02-08T03:30:56Z

Serious margaritas from La Salsa Cantina at Buffalo Bill’s in Primm. The same night was my first ever roller coaster ride - I suspect I’m not a roller coaster kinda gnome.

Short But Sweet

2009-02-01T06:47:19Z

So the Bret Michaels concert was pretty short. He didn’t start until close to 8.30pm and it was over and done with by 9.45pm, making it not much over an hour. We were told it was a last minute booking and the place wasn’t exactly full, but if we hadn’t been gifted the tickets, I would’ve been slightly annoyed.

The duration aside, it was a good show and I enjoyed myself thoroughly. Surprisingly, he only performed a couple of his solo songs with the rest being made up of Poison staples and a couple of covers. We also got a treat in the form of Edwin McCain (in the photo to the left) who came out and performed I’ll Be as well as a couple of songs with Bret.

A Nice Surprise

2009-01-28T21:42:32Z

J surprised me with tickets to see Bret Michaels at The Palms on Saturday night.

Is it sad that I’m really excited?