Week 34... Taking One For The "Team"

Greetings:

OK, so last Monday, the 14th, was my Birthday in which I turned 57 years old. 

Happy Birthday...  To Me!!!

A day earlier, Sunday, Donna surprised me by telling me she had made reservations for a quick overnight trip to Las Vegas.  Sa-weeeet!!!  I packed in like 30 minutes and we were off to the airport.  

We landed in Vegas early Sunday evening and the surprises just kept coming.  As we walked out of the airport, there was this uniformed guy standing there holding up a sign that said:  Mr. & Mrs. Sluder and at that point, I looked at Donna and asked her, "Limo?"  She just smiled.  Wow!!!  And it just happened to be a "stocked" Limo.  Libations in the Limo on the way to the Hotel.  What better way to get your "Gambling Groove" on???  

We pulled up to the Venetian Hotel on the "Strip," one of my fave's because the Casino has timed sprays that gives the Casino a constant citrus aroma that is just so pleasant.  Another uniformed gentleman opened my Limo door and promptly said, "Welcome Mr. Sluder."  Wow again!!!  This is just too cool.  Our luggage was taken to our reserved, "comped" room, a Suite no less, and Donna and I were led straight into the Casino.  Donna had made sure this was going to be one of my best Birthdays ever.  Now, I'm a Roulette kind of guy, so I quickly found my spot at the Roulette Table.  I have a set of numbers that I like to play and went about selecting my numbers on the table.  One of those numbers is 23 and I play that particular number on every single spin.  Donna had gone off to find a good Slot Machine.  About 5 minutes into my time at the Roulette Table, I put $100 on #23 and it hit!!!  Bingo... and just like that, I won $3,500.  I am talking Boooooooooya!!!  Also, if Donna stays gone for more than 20 to 30 minutes on the Slots, that means she is doing well herself and about 45 minutes had gone by.  You just gotta smile.

Needless to say, the rest of the night was fun and very sweet.  Donna could not have been any happier, which makes me very happy.  Dinner was amazing and it didn't hurt that it was comped too.  Later, as we rode the elevator up to our room, Donna was in such a good mood.  She was smiling, holding my hand, and looked into my eyes and told me, "Happy Birthday, Baby."  The elevator doors opened and we walked down the hall to our Suite.  You've got to know I am absolutely on "Cloud 9."  I slid the card in the door lock, the green light came on, I opened the door and then...

My Alarm Sounded!!!

It's my Birthday.  It's Monday morning.  It's 4:00am, my alarm is beeping very loudly, and I am wondering why I am waking up in my bed, at home???  What the heck???  I'm supposed to be in Vegas.  I just nailed it there last night...  Only In My Dreams!!!  It's time to get up and get ready to go to work for crying out loud.  Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!  I feel really tired.  I wasn't in Las Vegas last night, I spent all day Sunday at Donna's new Salon, painting, and taping, and cleaning.  All but 3 hours while the Texans football game was on.  We left there Sunday night at 10:15pm.  We were in our, not a Vegas Suite bed at around midnight, the beginning stages of my Birthday day.  And four hours later, hello 57...  wake up "Birthday Boy." 

At work, I knew there was still much to do at the Salon and Donna could not do it all and be ready to open the Salon the following morning.  So, at 11:00am, I took off the rest of the day and headed over to the Salon.  There was more trim painting and taping to be done.  I had to install lights on each side of her main mirror (that were a major pain).  And then, there were some minor odds and ends to take care of.  While I was doing those things, Donna and her daughter were out shopping for the last bit of furniture and knick-knacks for the space.

Now, that night...  a nice romantic dinner, some libations, etc.???  It's my Birthday, right.  Nope!!!  On my Birthday, at 10:00pm, the last thing we had to do after sweeping, was mop the wood floor.  We have a flat head mop that needed a new cloth.  We Donna bought a new one.  It turns out that it was too small and would not fit the head.  So, Donna bent over and hand mopped the 1st half of the floor and I got on my hands and knees and hand mopped the rest of the floor.  Did I mention it was my Birthday???  So, we get the car loaded with all the stuff we had brought to clean and paint and Donna says we have to go to Target or Wal-Mart to get some last minute items on her "to get" list that she will need Tuesday morning when she opens.  So, around midnight, yet again, we got home.  My alarm was set to go BEEP at 4:00am again.  Yikes!!!  Now, to be fair, Donna told me that she feels like I got "short changed" for my Birthday (I'm thinking, well, yeah!!!), and that she would make it up to me the following weekend (that would be today & tomorrow).  

Tuesday, The Grand Opening   

While I was at work, on Tuesday morning at 10:00am, Donna opened her door to her new Salon, Primadonna Salon, and her first client of the day.  I called and checked on her and she said everything was going great, that everybody had nice things to say and absolutely loved the the place.  You could say, it was a huge success.  To quote Donna, she said, "It's a truly beautiful space that reflects who I am perfectly."  Well, it doesn't get any better than that.  We did not have time to get a plant(s), so I ordered a Dozen Roses for her "Grand Opening."  And that leads me to this:  It's not about my Birthday being on Monday, it was all about Donna opening her Salon on Tuesday and the help she needed in getting it done in order to do so.  We are a "Team" and yes, this time, I ended up "Taking One for the Team."  She has done and would have done maybe so herself.  I am so happy for her and her new situation.  Pics are coming.  But come this weekend:  a little Payback!!!  It's my Birthday...  Who knows.  Maybe Vegas!!!  A guy can always dream.  That's what I'm thinking.  Ha...

Speaking of Birthdays...  My youngest son, Shane, will hit that ever, so important (according to him) age of 21 in just 9 days, January 27th.  I know he's excited and I'm excited for him.  I always tell him:  "Be Smart!!!" (AKA:  make good decisions).  I hope he has listened to his "Old Man" through the years.  So, almost Happy Birthday, Buddy...  Love you!!! 

My "nearly" 21 year old son...  Makes his Dad happy!!!

Houston Texans Football:  It's over...  The season is over.  A 41 to 28 whipping again to the Patriots closed out our year, again falling in the 2nd Round of the Playoffs.  All told, the Texans finished at 13 and 5.  The NFL Draft is in April...  Can't wait.

Recipe's:  This week, I found a recipe on Pinterest that looked really good and I wanted to try it.  So, I got out my Crock Pot and loaded it up and about 6 hours later:  Holy Smokes!!!  From add a pinch.com, Balsamic Roast Beef and it was amazing, as well as amazingly easy.  You place your Roast in the pot, you fill a 2 cup measuring cup with all the ingredients, pour it over the meat, and turn on the Crock Pot to low...  It's that easy and you will find your smile.  Click on the link and check this out.

Market Watch:  This week, just a bit backwards, closing yesterday at 30.14...  Not so bad.  At this point, anything above 30 looks good.  

The End:  Another week in the books.  Thank You so much for stopping by Slu's World.  I really appreciate it and hope you will check back in next week.  

Be safe, be smart, and always smile...  It's "Happy Friday"

adios...  vaya con dios