Category: Yay!

This week has gone by incredibly fast! I feel like it was just Monday–when the girls had me running around for Valentine cards (because Mom forgot!), or Tuesday–when Alaethia texted me after work to request a Valentine’s Day outfit, and that she would pay for it with her birthday money (note: she didn’t 🙄 ). So off we go, after waiting for Jorgie and their mom to stop by for Jules’ cards and birthday money from Dina. (We had a mini celebration for Jules on Sunday. Like I mentioned in my previous post: I’m so behind!!)

We checked Target and Wal-Mart and nothing. So she opted for a white blouse that she would wear with my red cardigan and necklace (yes, the 11-yr-old already wears my clothes!). Next morning: didn’t like the blouse 🙄 . She’s already such a teenager, but you can’t help but love that girl lol.

I also woke up to this amazingness!

(It’s safe to say I put Keto on hold for a little bit!)

My love went all out, like he usually does! He also got me some diamond earrings (my birthstone), that I didn’t have a chance to take a photo of because I put them on so quickly 😆 .

Had a pretty quick morning at work and had lunch with Blanca and Gerry at the cafe inside Quips ‘n’ Quotes. It’s always so good catching up with them!!

The afternoon at work went by a little slower, but it could have been because I was so excited about our date!! Jorge made reservations at House.Wine & Bistro, even before I liked the event on Facebook lol.

I got him a shirt and candies after work (he has always told me I’m not supposed to spend on him for Valentine’s Day because it’s my day, and it’s for girls 😆 , but I don’t feel right not getting him anything! I got mom some flowers and sugar free candies, too.

I got home and got a message from Jorge that he’d left his truck at home and for me to pick him up at work, so there I go. I’m talking to Eenan on the way and he’s retelling a story about saving a hen (or “Polla”, as we affectionately refer to them) from JoJo and Dodger and now he and Jaylen are trying to herd her back to safety, but she’s trapped in the yard behind the fence. So Jaylen grabs her and she just plops herself in his arms 😆 .

I love it!! Totally making it his profile pic on my contacts 😆 .

We get home and start getting ready after getting updates from the girls about their day. Mario stops by to see the girls and then I get the oven ready for the girls’ dinner so Mom can set them up before we leave. We give instructions, kisses, and tell them not to stay up late.

We arrive a bit early so we have a cocktail at the bar.

I see Jessica, the owner, and we hug. It was so good to see her!

We’re seated after a little bit and we order our meal. We’re having the Tomahawk steak and lobster meal with the works. They start us off with champagne…

…and the best crab cake I’ve ever had in my life!

Then we moved on to our wine (Moscato) and our salad:

We toast, and talk about life and the kids and our goals for this, and upcoming years. He tells me how he stayed positive even though he was scared about me switching jobs (haven’t gotten to that yet! Another blog post!) and how he knew that if he said anything at all, it would scare and discourage me so he kept it in. I tell him that yes, any spark of uncertainty on his part would have caused me to say, “Nevermind! I’m staying where I am!” Like I have all these years. We toast again to our successes and what’s to come.

And then it’s time for the star of the show:

Wait, let me give you another angle…

An arm comparison:

That steak…I finally understand what people mean when they say the steak was like butter, or cut like butter. It was incredible!! And that lobster, and the carrots and Brussels sprouts!! Oh my gosh, it was all to die for!

Then it was time for dessert:

Chocolate Créme Brulee…it was magnificent! I was so glad Jorge was full and left me most of it 😆 !

It was such a phenomenal night!! This handsome, extremely hardworking man right here–how did I get so lucky?? He went above and beyond with surprises!! And the best part is: it’s not just during Valentine’s Day lol. Don’t get me wrong: he could be moody and snappy, but I wouldn’t change him for anything!

Today marks 2 years since I decided to have breast reduction/lift surgery!! It was one of the best, most awful experiences of my life 😆 .

Since last year, not much has changed, except that I’d started Keto-ing on April 30, 2017 and have lost some firmness (fat?) in my boobies, so they aren’t as full but still look perky and great without a bra.

(Before and after Keto pic)

I haven’t been working out at all, unfortunately, since about July 2017–sometime before we went on our vacation at the beach. But I’m sort of afraid of what will happen if I DO start working out again and being 100% Keto–will I TOTALLY lose my boobs or will they become flabby?? Has anyone had any experience with this? I’d love to hear about your experience in the comments!

I very happily cruised through summer wearing dresses with no straps, braless!

I have a whole collection now, and I want more LOL. This would have been IMPOSSIBLE pre-surgery and pre-weightloss. There would have been no support and no strapless bra could have held those knockers up!

Speaking of clothes: HOODIES. I love me some hoodies now, which I could never wear before without looking like a little round ball.

I’m still not wearing “normal” bras, and honestly, I haven’t even tried to get sized and look for some in a long time since I’m pretty comfortable with my Jockey Bralettes. But there are some blouses I can’t wear since they’re lower-cut and a bra is required and my current bras just don’t look all that flattering 😕 , so I need to find a comfy alternative.

In my sleep, I have subconsciously turned almost all the way over on my boobs (I used to be a stomach sleeper, pre-surgery) and woke up pretty sore. I do sleep on my sides a lot, though and end up crushing a boob 😕 .

In the last 3 months or so I started feeling little trickles of pain towards the end of the month, and then I realized it’s soreness before menstruation! I hadn’t felt that in a while and am really hoping that that’s the height of the pain I’ll feel. It used to be horrible before 😕 !

My scarring is TONS better, but they are still probably more visible than they should be due to the weird allergic reaction/rash scars I have and the scar I got from the draining with the scalpel that they had to do.

Wish I could find better comparison photos. But that pink-blouse photo (circa December 2015, 1.5 months before my surgery) haunted me, and even then, I still didn’t bother losing weight till 2017, which is the photo on the right.

So all-in-all, I can’t complain! I feel the most comfortable in my skin than I have in…well, ever, I think!!

I’ve considered getting a tummy tuck,–eventually, when I know I can stick to exercising and eating Keto (these holidays have KILLED me because I’ve got no chill) and knowing the weight will stay off. I’d gained 5 pounds of the 18 I’d lost on Keto since I started back in April, and now I’ve still got 3 of those 5 pounds to go and I can tell that it all goes to my lower belly and ARMS. BUT. The possibility of getting another allergic reaction scares the crap out of me, because the 2 surgeries I’ve had (Tubal Ligation and the Breast Reduction/Lift) have both caused me to have weird reactions that hinder my recovery. So, I’d have to be EXTREMELY sure of that decision, and I’ve have to go to a recommended surgeon.

But anyway, yes, this is still the best decision I could have ever made, complications and all!

Jorge told me to keep my Friday open: no appointments at work and give my bosses a heads up about possibly being out. It would be tough since we had our Mexican Artisan Expo coming up, but I made sure to complete my daily to-do lists to leave everything ready, just in case. 

Thursday afternoon comes around and I get a text from Jorge: “Fill out your absence form, the trip is happening!”

I was in disbelief and panicked since I hadn’t filled out my form because I didn’t think we were actually going anywhere; it was already late in the week AND we had lots going on, like La Guelaguetza that evening and leaving work early for Alaethia’s Awards Ceremony. But I get my form filled out, signed and submitted with no problem. Our events ran late, we grabbed Whataburger and although we still needed to pack and I needed to put a few things in to wash, we were exhausted so I would do it all in the morning.

It was kind of like I was floating around witnessing my own life from the outside; we were going on an All-Expense-Paid trip to VEGAS, and I just couldn’t believe it. Never in a million years did I think we’d get to go–and for practically FREE??

I took my sweet time the next morning since our flight had changed to a later time, making myself a lovely, un-rushed breakfast and then chit-chatted with Linda and Mom…for a while.

When Jorge texted about needing a few things packed I finally went into panic mode when I realized that I had 2 HOURS to finish getting ready, so I started showering, doing my hair and packing. I had to admit that I had butterflies in my stomach. At the tender age of 35, I’d still not flown in an airplane, nor had I been to Vegas and wasn’t sure what to expect. I had visions of myself flipping out like Annie in Bridesmaids.

Jorge gets home and we finish packing. I check my lists and re-check to make sure I didn’t forget anything. We start getting everything in the car and I start to feel super nervous, but I will not admit it. We load the car, I give Mom an hug and we take off.

Jorge, being a Veteran flier, gave me a rundown of what to do and not do to make our airport experience quick and easy: no earrings, put your jewelry in your luggage, don’t wear socks and wear slides. I dressed as appropriately as possible.

We’re near the mall almost to the airport when I realize, “Holy shit! I forgot my fucking flat-iron! And I didn’t bring hair gel or anything!!”

(And my toothbrush, his toothbrush and toothpaste! FAAKKK!!)

My wonderful husband–who isn’t too good about gently telling you to calm down–says, “You had all day, how could you not pack that??” And then I see him take a turn into the JC Penney parking lot. I tell him, “No, I am not buying a new one. That’s ridiculous.” He said, “You’re not buying one, I’m buying one.” So he practically drags me inside and he’s showing me all these awesome CHI ones with really cute patterns and shows me one he really likes and suddenly I feel overwhelmed. I tell him just to get the one he liked and I step outside for fresh air. And then I get teary. I attribute it to the fact that I’m nervous about flying and just not knowing what to expect.

I finally calm down on the way to the airport. Jorge packs my flat-iron and we’re off to have our baggage checked in.

It was a long-ish wait, but we went through just fine and the portly, kind TSA agent told me my pink fuzzy slides were the coolest shoes he’d seen in a long time, aww!

We found the correct gate and stopped by a gift shop so that I could get some water and a snack, since I decided to be an idiot and not have lunch 🙄 . I was going to try my best to stick to Keto foods, so that left me with the option of jerky a snack protein pack and water.

They start boarding and we walk down this tubey-tunnel and into the airplane. It’s cold, so I’m glad I brought my Pikachu hoodie 😆 . We make our way all the way to the end. Jorge says, “If we got window seats, you sit there so you can experience it.” My nerves turn to excitement–I can’t believe I’m about to fly on a plane!! We get to our seats and we’re in the middle and aisle seats. Boo. Everyone’s seated and the flight attendant tells the people behind us that if they’d like to, they could move to a window seat in an empty row. Jorge overhears and asks the flight attendant if we can do the same and tells her I’ve never flown before, and the flight attendant cheerfully says, “Sure!”

Yay!
Jorge tells me to chew some gum so my ears won’t pop, so I frantically lift my bag from between my feet and get us some sticks. A flight attendant does through all the instructions, like in the movies 😆 . My heart is thumping as the plane starts to move. As we ascend, I begin to take video, and as we get higher Jorge says, “Do you not feel that, or are you ignoring it?” As I’m still taking video I ask, “What? What should I be feeling?” He says, “No, you’re good, I think you’ll be okay.” 😆

I had only seen people’s photos of clouds and the earth below from social media, and couldn’t believe I was experiencing it myself! It felt surreal!

We entertained ourselves with the snacks we got at the airport.

About an hour in, we ordered some mixed nuts and mixed drinks 😀 .

Jorge fell asleep and I blogged a teensy bit before I started nodding off, too, but I was too excited to fall sleep! And then I started seeing this:

We finally arrive (it was a 2-hour, 45-minute flight). I’m in awe of the scenery and then by how enormous the airport is. So much walking!

Our friend texts us briefly to let us know there’s a car waiting for us; just look for our name in the crowd.

I immediately felt fancy 😆 . Flying, Vegas, our name on an iPad?? And riding in a brand-new Escalade to MGM???  What is this life??

We see skyscrapers and screens and lights, like in the movies! You can even see the Mandalay Bay, and the windows that were still broken due to the shooter. 🙁 Such a sobering view.

We arrive at the hotel…

I can’t believe how huge and luxurious it is and how many people are in there. We’re like real tourists, standing in the middle of the lobby, stumped on what to do, where to go. Our friend had made our reservation, obviously, and we weren’t sure what row of people to stand behind to be helped. Jorge couldn’t get ahold of him because he was on his own flight on his way to Vegas. 

2 people with anxiety in large crowds is a recipe for disaster LOL. Jorge remembered seeing a certain name on the water bottles in the Escalade and I found a counter with the exact same name. So, me, being the one with less anxiety found a concierge that wasn’t helping people and asked her if she could check on our reservation at that counter. After a few calls because our friend wasn’t present, we were in the system and were taken to our room.

We organize our things in the room and snap photos. I’m taken aback by how huge the city is, how tall the buildings are at every turn. We flip through the menus on the TV and relax for a while till we meet our friends in their room for hors d’oeuvres. 

Our friends are staying in one of the penthouses and it’s just incredible!! The decor, the ceiling height, the food that was catered in from the kitchen–it’s all amazing. We had some Champagne and bits and pieces from a charcuterie board and got ready to go to actual dinner. I was already stuffed!
We went downstairs through the casino and to the Wolfgang Puck Bar & Grille.

I didn’t want to take a photo of my food because I felt silly in front of these wealthy people, heh. But I did snap a quick photo of the hubs:

I had never had such amazing chicken wings in my life! The pomme frites and everything else we shared were incredible as well!

We ended the evening watching our friends play baccarat in the high roller’s room. I was amazed by how much some people were spending! All I kept thinking when they would lose was, “Just give it to me instead!!” 😆

We were up till 3am, which is something I haven’t done in YEARS. We had to get some Starbucks so I could stay awake lol. 

We woke up late the next morning and ordered room service. Jorge had a Bacon Bloody Mary; it was so good!

I started feeling kinda groggy and my nose was running like crazy. So we showered and got ready to explore a bit. And find some Dayquil 🙄 . Only I would get sick in Vegas.

We found a Walgreens, thank God. Got some toothbrushes, toothpaste and Day/Nyquil.

We looked around and visited several stores before our friends wanted to meet up again. As we’re walking back into the MGM, some guys dressed up as a Transformer and Iron Man come up to us and say, “Want a picture, Beautiful??” Jorge already has his arm around my waist but pulls me closer and angrily says, “NO.” I giggle and say, “You’re so overprotective!” He says, “Hello, they were talking to ME!” Buahahaha!!

We played some slots and had some drinks…

And then we met our friends at the High Roller’s Room again. There was a tournament and the amount of MONEY that was being bet! One man was switching back and forth between two tournaments and had $14 Million at one table 😯 I would pretty much cash out right there–or is that something you can’t do yet? LOL

We did some more day drinking:

And then we had lunch at Wolfgang Puck’s Grille again. It was incredible!

Our friend surprised us with tickets to Cirque du Soleil’s “KA”!! So we had about an hour to just chill out in our room. Of course that meant taking a selfie:

We got ready to head out and were already running late somehow so I only got to do a quick drive-by photo:

I had never seen a show more spectacular than this! It was breathtaking and I found myself asking Jorge, “Is that actually happening or is it an illusion??” several times throughout the show.  The aerial performers were incredible, it was funny just enough and the crazy stage floor that would rise up to a 90-180 degree angle and drop sand and water was crazy!! I was impressed and so was Jorge.

We headed back to our room, but not before grabbing some Starbucks; my old ass was ALREADY getting sleepy at 10pm! We ordered some drinks in and were all set to relax before we met our friends for dinner.

I was feeling so sick and groggy that I couldn’t enjoy my Starbucks or my drink at all 🙁 . It was quite depressing. Next thing I knew, Jorge was on the phone saying, “We fell asleep…” I shoot out of bed and look at the time: 12:00am!! Apparently, we’d crashed out and our friends had been trying to get a hold of us for the last hour to have dinner! We thanked them, but opted out, washed up and changed for bed. We had to be up early the next day anyway.
We showered and were up by 6am. We were going to get breakfast at the airport and be ready for our flight at 9am. Since we were anxious about our transportation and didn’t really know the airport, we wanted to be ready.

We grabbed all our luggage and checked out. I was feeling better from my cold after all that sleep, heh. 

We’re waiting outside for our car and don’t know which in the world it is; there are tons of Escalades. So I ask one of the gentlemen and he calls in to the office. He asks for our names and says, “Your car is on its way, ma’am.” A black Bentley (that Jorge tells me is worth about 3 houses) drives right up to us and the lady helps us load our luggage. 

Then she turns on our back massagers. I couldn’t believe it.

We arrive to the airport and do the whole check-in and baggage thing. The lady writes out our gate number on a tiny slip of paper and Jorge sticks it in his pocket. We start the trek towards our gate and snap a pic in the tram 

And then we grab some Burger King. It was the most expensive Burger King meal, ever. Ah, Vegas!

It wasn’t 100% Keto; I left the bottom croissant on it 😳 . 

Jorge and I eat quickly and make our way to the gate. I don’t remember if he checked the little ticket with our gate number or if I asked him to, but we were at the wrong gate! We hightailed it across the airport, no tram or anything! Then we hear over the intercom that it’s the last call for our flight, so our brisk walk turns into a trot lol. Thankfully, we make it!

It was a cloudless day.

We get to the airport 2.5 hours later and grab our luggage. We’re still reeling from the last couple of days, but We’re glad to be home, too.  We head to Kusina Restaurant for some lunch. 

I still cant believe I visited Vegas! Another check off the Bucket List!