Saturday, May 26, 2012

Back into Tampa...

Back into Tampa...
Dinner with my team (representing Toronto; Ottowa; Vancouver, B.C.; Seattle; and Florida) over the water.

That's a fancy ride.








Sunset over Tampa Bay.










Fanciest manhole covers ever. With the possible exception of the ones on the ferry that takes you to Ellis Island. Which of course say "Portland, Oregon."

Stay classy, Tampa.

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

GP 2012: Wilted Lettuce...Farewell Vegas!

And then...the next morning. Hahahah! Sister took this pic of us lying around like wilted lettuce, and it just kills me! Mostly because none of us was in bad shape from our fun night out at the Palms...but we were all in bad shape from having received only about 4 hours of sleep! We're OLD! And I know we'd all gotten used to the 11 or 12 hours we'd been receiving the previous nights...plus naps! And we had to soak up a last bit of Vitamin D before heading back to the chilly north.

I also enjoyed this rather rock-star vignette that was on the couch in my room the next morning, and that I did not stage.

But we had to get up at a reasonable hour to check out... bid adieu to our desert oasis, put away the pool toys, and pack away our vegas gear.
Then finally check out that swanky leather sectional in the living room that we had previously not even sat on...inside couch or pool lounge chair? Well duh.

And then wait for our final taxi back to the aeropuerto.

A VERY successful Girl Party! Thanks to everyone who helped the four of us vacation for a few days...husbands, dads, boyfriends, grandparents, children, coworkers...it takes a village to make GP happen! And thank you girls, SO MUCH FUN! See ya at...GP 2014? :)

Sunday, May 20, 2012

GP2012: Late Night Revelry!

After a long night of revelry and more fun than we could barely handle, we needed to find  ourselves a taxi back to our house. And engage in more people-watching, of course.

Me-ow.

We amused ourselves with these girls from...Cleveland? Philadelphia? with a rousing game of "Pass the High Heels."

We had danced our butts off for hours, and it was dang-near 3 a.m. We hadn't eaten in 9 hours, so we instructed our Ethiopian taxi driver that he was going to need to make a pit stop at Carl's Jr.!

Damn it feels good to be a gangsta.
Tabasco, french fries, and sparkle hairspray. So! Much! Fun!

GP2012: Clubbin'

After dinner, we used our (almost) all-access wristbands to hit the clubs!
You know...just hanging at the Palms with Diddy.

The view from the "Moon" nightclub was spectacular. 

Livin' like rock stars, I tell ya.

That beam is shooting out of the top of Luxor, where one of my husband's former employers would put us up on business trips, circa 2001. To this day whenever we see an image or reference to it, we look at each other and say "That place is a sh!thole."  

Top o' the world, ma.

And then back downstairs to access another club...and my god, the people-watching.

Sunday, May 13, 2012

GP2012: Dinner Out!

We had some dang-fine cooks with us at the rental house, but it was time to let someone else prepare us a meal! Up to the 51 floor to Nove Italiano.
Complete with LED-lit Swarovski crystal chandeliers throughout.
And amazing, expansive views of the strip. Stuffed inside those olives? Aged blue cheese and tiny cubes of fantastic salami. FABULOUS.
The Palms has two towers. The restaurant is at the top of one, an expansive nightclub at the top of the other.
And we had the most fantastic foie gras appetizer. I suspect foie gras isn't the most socially acceptable appetizer one could order, but it was freakin' amazing. I'm not sure if its that little smile, or the flouncy curls, but sister looks like mom to me here. :)
And one of my very favorite parts of dining out? Post-dinner decaf! Kristin and I started our tradition of coffee years and years ago on our cruise to the Caribbean. Such lovely dining companions! 

GP2012: The Palms!

First up, I neglected to remember to print out the confirmation for our all-access all-club arm bands, so there was a mad rush to attempt to access emails. Non-techie sister was LOVING our phone time. ;) The day before the Palms had telephoned me to say that there was a special event at one of the nightclubs, which we could attend for an additional 100 bones. Uh, thanks, but not so much.
And the third part of Dad's awesome participation in GP (after the champagne and flowers): he wanted to buy us the first round of drinks at the Palms! SO SWEET!
Cheers to Dad! Thanks for the fun!
Well hello, "Breakfast at Tiffany's" slot machine!
I like the reflection if Kristin and I in the glass.
Sister, a bit stymied that the one-armed bandit has stolen her pennies...I think it was a dollars worth? And that, ladies and gentlemen, was nearly the entirety of our gambling.

GP2012: Saturday Night!

On Friday, a surprise at the door! Flowers delivered to Tiffany, Amy, Stacey, and Kristin. From Dad!! He wanted to say thanks for all we did over the past year, and to welcome our Kristin back to Oregon! And as it was close to Mother's Day, he wanted us to remember that mom loved having flowers in the house, and wanted us to have flowers in our house for the weekend. Can you imagine anything sweeter?
He also sent along a fancy bottle of champagne. OK, he might have had a little helper assisting with all of these treats. :)
So we fancied ourselves up to go hit the strip....Hahahahahah! NO! Sister was screwing with my hair on Friday night. ;)
We really did fancy ourselves up for Saturday night on the strip...
Sister taking control of the situation. OK!
Requisite group shot. My god, the hotness. ;) Some GPs we forget to take a good group shot, or we take them but none turns out good. This GP, there are a bunch of super cute ones! What with tackling a Vegas casino, Stacey was the only one with the strength to venture out in actual slutty shoes. The rest of should have worn shirts that said "Sensible Shoe Night."
Our taxi driver, and the uhm...lovely gentlemen who passed us as we approached the strip. Their mothers must be so proud.
As we were taxiing in to the strip for just the one night, we decided to aim high, and hit only the one casino: The Palms!

GP2012: Kickin' it by the Pool

And then...pool time! Sister loves the water and the sun.
I love the water.
Kristin loves the water and the sun. I'm not so much a big fan of the sun.
Stacey is a big fan of the sun, and not so much a fan of the water.
As we would be going out on Cinco de Mayo, we celebrated Quatro de Mayo.
A new GP tradition: Kristin makes tacos! Fantastic!















An ooooold GP tradition: Stacey's quiches! Fantastic!














I think this was the only time we were all four in the pool at once. Notice how deftly I set the timer and made it into the pool without dying. I got skills.