Our Iron people...take 2...

I've had blogging drama. Apparently my blog doesn't like the fact that I'm a choleric & like to be in charge because she suddenly decided NOT to post what I had told her too. This.is.unacceptable. This blog is serious business to me. If she thinks she's going to show me who is boss, she's mistaken. I'm boss. Period. There are other blogs out there - don't MAKE me turn this car around. Hmph.

Soooooooo, lets talk about the Ironman....again... I posted what I intended to be a lovely little post about our exciting day. Then the blogger biotch decided to screw that up & make me have an aneurism. While I was trying to 'fix' the previous post, it kept acting crazy & my pictures kept getting deleted. I got pissed & decided to delete the whole darn thing & start over.

Oddly enough, even at 35, my brother still gets on my nerves...

Here we go...

My brother decided to do the Ironman again this year. His girlfriend, Rhonda, also wanted to participate for the first time! They are just ca-razy...

Here are the shirts I had made at the last minute! Team names on the front:

 

Bib numbers on the back!

 

Our day started before God was outta bed at 4:30 am. I was happy this year because I knew a little bit more of what to expect, where to go, etc. I begged (no, I kinda asked very forcefully.) that B-rad go with us this year. He navigates the roads so much better than me plus I wanted him there to help me with pics.

We found a nice location near the docks where they jump in the water. It wasn't even daylight outside yet. B-rad & I had mom save our spot & we went on the lookout for Jeremy & Rhonda. While we were weaving through the crowds, we saw the dude from WHAS 11 interviewing people. I love stuff like that!

 

We walked & walked down the row of swimmers & I was getting discouraged, but then B-rad said, 'There they are!' Jer had seen us looking & he yelled at B-rad. We took a few pics with the cameras & then I had one of the girls standing there take a pic with my phone so I could put it on facebook. I've got my priorities, people.

 

B-rad & I were the official Ironpeople camera crew. B-rad had our camera & I had Rhonda's (which is exactly like our camera.) I had the regular lense & B-rad kept the zoom lense on his. I was ready this year, people. I had been training... We each kept the same camera the whole day. We had to leave before Rhonda finished (more on that later) & Jer wanted to keep the camera to take pics of her. I reluctantly left the backpack with him. Then I forgot my sunglasses & point & click were in the bag. Sigh. Unfortunately you won't see ANY pictures I took because my good for nothing brother still has that camera. I texted him to say, "hey, can I run over & get the camera... & my sunglasses?!" To which he replied, "I'm at Rhonda's...I don't know when I'll be home." Well crap - he's completely un-reliable & worthless...

The swimmers start around 7 am. Our ironpeeps were in the water around 7:15am! Jer jumped in first.

 
Rhonda was right behind him.

 
I was a woman on a mission this year & had learned from my mistakes last year. I parked myself near where they would come out on their bikes. B-rad found me a sa-weet location where the barracades 'jutted' out a bit. It's so hard to see because everyone in front of you is leaning waaaaaay over & then you have to lean even more waaaaaaay over & I'm short so this is a problem. But the spot B-rad found me was perfect because I didn't hardly have to lean at all. I sent B-rad down to the swim finish & gave him strict orders to take pics when they came out of the water. Then I told him to text me AFTER he took their pics so I could be ready.

(It was about this time that there was buzz of the drowning. And I'm not really a 'jump to the worst case scenario kinda gal'. I didn't worry it was Jeremy. I wasn't worried if it was Rhonda. I didn't think it was Tracey's brother. I just don't 'worry' a lot. I mean, sure I 'worry' about stuff...like how I'm going to get out of making supper, but I don't 'worry' myself sick about things. I just don't see the point in it?! But anyway-the drowning left me feeling sad for that persons family. What a horrible thing to have happen. Plus we didn't know if they had passed away or not at this point...)

Jer came out first. I loved that they both had distinctive 'outfits' on this year. They were sponsored by VO2 (which is some kind of workout supply store...I never, ever go there...) so they got to wear their gear. Jer was in black with lime green accents. His total swim was 1 hour 8 minutes.

 
Insert here me seeing Jer leave on his bike. Sorry there are no pics, he still has the camera that has them on it. (Serves him right...) He is all business when he's out there. No stopping. No hugging. No smiling. No acknowledgment that you even exist.

B-rad got bored waiting for Rhonda...

 
Rhonda came out of the water hugging people!

 
Look at that excitement! That's what I love (& hate...her perkiness is exhausting...) about Rhonda! Rhonda wore a VO2 kit with pink accents! 

Does she think she just won a beauty pageant?! Did she forget she has another grueling 12 hours ahead of her?! Rhonda's total swim was 1 hour 31 minutes.

 
I had ran into some of the people from the group they belong to, "Louisville Landsharks". It's a 'multi sport group' that does triathalons together & work-out together, etc. They wanted to hang out with me & I said, "Sure...just don't get in the way of my shot!" We all screamed for Rhonda & she waved & screamed back! (yes, I can scream AND take pics...)

Fellow blogger, Tracey, was supporting her brother in the competition too! (which is closet stalker, Jenny's, hubby! I know you're out there Jenny! I wanted to meet you Sunday but you were never near where I was!) I got to see him head out on his bike! He smiled at his family & waved! I tell ya, when they all left out on their bikes my hands were shaking I was so nervous!

B-rad was on the other side of the barracades from mom & I. We had to figure out how to get over to his side. They had all the walkways blocked off so the bikes could go out. I texted B-rad & said, "We're trapped!" B-rad got bored waiting on us again...

We walked back to the car around 9:15am. I was all ready to lay in my bed & take a long winters nap when B-rad said, "We could probably come back over to see him get off the bike & start his run." UHHHH, what'chu talkin' 'bout, B-rad?! After some thought, I decided that the good sisterly thing to do would be to come back. Hmph. So much for the long winters nap.

We got home & I slept for about 2 hours. I got up to track his progress online & he was working on his last bike split. Let me explain: They 'split' up each section of the bike & run & show you how many miles it's going to be & what their average speed was. The 112 mile bike ride had a total of 4 splits. The last split was 41.5 miles & at the split before that he was averaging 20.62 mph. I'm no math whiz, but I knew we had about 45 minutes to get back to town to see him finish the bike. We grabbed our cameras & mom & headed back downtown. Rhonda had checked into her first bike split but not the second. And I was worried. She should've checked in by then. I didn't know if she had bike trouble & B-rad said her chip might not be working.

We had to wait a bit for him to come in. You know me, I like to be early... And I saw the green & black outfit coming. I knew his helmet was white so I told mom, 'there he is!' & I started taking pics & saying, "GO JEREMY!" After he passed us, mom said, 'I don't think that was him.' Uhm, what? 'His number said 1964 & Jeremy is 1364.' So I was all embarrassed that we were yelling & taking pics of the wrong dude. You know, since he didn't acknowledge that 3 maniacs were yelling his name. But when I looked back through the pics, I saw it was in fact him. Mom was not allowed to be a spotter...she was strictly there to observe & scream when I said, "Mom-there they are!!!" Total bike time for him was 5 hours 19 minutes. He averaged 21 miles an hour.

 
We had to wait a few minutes for him to get off the bike & transition to the run. There I am waiting with camera in hand!

 
This area was much less crowded & the athletes were more sporadic. I was on one side of the barracade & mom was on the other. Again, I said, "There he is! Hold up your sign!" as Jer came running at us.

 
I kept yelling, "Go JBalls! Wave at your mother... WAAAAAAVE at your mother!!!" And surprisingly enough, he waved at his mother. (Do you think he knew I wouldn't quit saying it until he waved?!)

 
I like this shot because it shows me (duh), Jer is looking towards B-rad & mom is on the right in the blue shirt...looking the opposite way?!

  
Insert 2 hours of boredom here. We went down to Fourth street to each some lunch & hang out & wait for him to make his first loop around Fourth street. I kept checking on Rhonda & she finally had checked in at her 2nd bike split. And she checked in at 5 mph. Uh oh, this is a problem. We ran into one of the Landsharks & he said he had heard that her chip wasn't working & she was in fact on her 4th & final bike split. That was good news.

I got pretty dang good at figuring out where & when they would be in certain spots. We headed down the street to see him make the first loop & we waited maybe 30 minutes. There are 7 run splits. His first 2 splits he averaged 7-8 minutes a mile. That's moving. The next 2 were like 8-9 minutes a mile, then almost 10. Uh-oh.

What I love about this whole thing is that people are cheering for everyone. There weren't many people on the street at this time of the day & we were clapping for everyone who ran past. Again, we yelled, "Go JBalls!" He kind of grinned but I could see in his face he was upset. We knew (& so did he...) he wasn't going to make his goal of 10 hours.

 
I included this pic so you could see how close you can get to the athletes. I was right there beside the street. I could've reached out & touched him...or pushed him over...

For the 26.2 mile run (which is a marathon) he did it in 3 hours 43 minutes. His average was 8 minutes 32 seconds a mile.

 
We walked back down to the finish line to wait for him. I ran into more Landsharks & they told me they had seen Rhonda finish her bike around 3:30 & she looked great. Her final bike time was 6 hours 41 minutes. She averaged 16.75 mph. (Which I don't know if that' really right because of the chip issue?!)

You can see all the people lining the barracades as they finish. B-rad was on one side & I was on the other. He's taller than me so he could lean over more & see when he was coming. B-rad kept checking him & I heard him yell, 'He's 1 mile out!' So I just got ready with my camera. B-rad saw him coming & yelled, "There he is!"

I'm glad he had a grin on his face.

 
And he was hamming it up to the crowd.

 
He finished in 10 hours 17 minutes around 5:30pm. He was upset because that was not his goal.

 
I was irritated because we didn't even get to tell him good job after he finished. All those silly sharks descended upon him. I'm quite certain they didn't get up before God to watch him swim. Bleh.

After he sat for a bit, I walked over & told him I knew he was disappointed but he did a good job. He said, 'yea, I screwed up my run.' I'm not really sure how you 'screw' it up? The only thing I can think is that you have to pace yourself out there so you can finish? When he realized he was moving pretty good on that 1st split, I think he tried to back off a bit but then backed off too much & then it was all in his head & game was over. He did speed back up for the 6th & 7th splits but it was too late then.

Jer wanted B-rad to go with him to get their bicycles & he wanted to change into some clean clothes. Mom & I walked down 4th street to see Rhonda make her first run loop. I don't have those pics (I'm not bitter...) but she was still in good spirits & smiled & waved at us. After B-rad & Jer got back, we were all just sitting around like lumps. Jer was being the butterfly & chatting with his buddies. I know it sounds dumb, but it IS exhausting to have someone you care about doing all this. I was really tired & we all had to get up & go to work the next morning. Jer didn't think Rhonda would be done until another hour & a half so we left around 8:00. I felt bad when we got home & I saw that she had finished around 8:45. She finished her run in 5 hours 17 minutes & averaged 12 minute miles. Her total time was 13 hours 42 minutes. Her goal was to finish in 15 hours. She did a great job!

I want to thank all you blog stalkers: The ones who texted me. Or followed my facebook updates. Or tracked their progress online. Or were there for their brother too. Or were there for their hubby. Or just offered up a prayer or happy thought. It meant a lot to me & I know the athletes love the support they get from everyone on the course! I'm also SUPER happy that my hubby, B-rad, went over with us! It was awesome having him there to keep me sane... (which is a full time job...)

I also appreciate that you took the time to re-read the 'iron people jacked up' post. Now - those of you who I know are die hard Jaime Mac fans, I'm gonna test you to see if you really did!

Pop quiz time! (hey, I warned you...) Submit your answers in the comment section & number them accordingly. (See how this works? If you did read it, you will know the answers... if you didn't read it, you can read it NOW to find the answers. If you do NOT comment, I will know you didn't re-read my post & my feelings will be hurt & I will probably cry. You don't want me to cry, do you?!)

(You are also encouraged to comment on how much you enjoyed this post as well...)

#1-What side of the shirts were the bib numbers on? Front or back?

#2-Why did I take a picture of us with my phone?

#3-What tv channel did I see?

#4-Who found me a sa-weet spot for the bike route?

#5-What accent color did Rhonda's kit have?

#6-Why is mom not allowed to be a spotter?

#7-Who jumped in the water first?

#8-Why aren't there any pics of Rhonda on her first run loop?

#9-What is the name of the triathalon group they're in?

#10-Who did we wake up before to go to the Ironman?

I should've been a teacher...I would suck at all the lovey dovey being patient with kids stuff, but I would've been great at giving homework & tests...

Epic.blog.fail.

I have experienced something so horrendous, so shameful & so unspeakable that I can barely breath:

MY BLOG POST ON OUR IRON PEOPLE IS JACKED UP. Gasp....

So I got all your wonderful comments & I was all warm & fuzzy with myself & B-rad texts me, "I love you-but you're retarded." I was like, "What did I do NOW?!" He says, "Jer ran 7 minutes a MILE not an HOUR." I responded, "No, I fixed that!" Then he said, "You didn't even include pics of the swim transition. I got good pics of him coming out of the water!"

SHUT.THE.FRONT.DOOR.

Houston...we have a problem...

So I started looking at the post... no pics of Rhonda...no pics of the run... Oh.the.humanity!

I am working on fixing it now, but these things take time, ya know?! (Plus I gotta pretend to work. It's all so exhausting!)

I hate to demand, but when it's done-you HAVE to re-read it. You missed some really good stuff!

I am mortified & embarrassed. Please forgive me...& PROMISE me you'll re-read it when I'm done!!!! There will be a pop quiz...

I know I am but what are you?!

I had official jewelry training last Saturday. We learned about the 4 different personalities. I have heard a little about this before & I think I even blogged a snippet about it. During this training, they put a spin on it about knowing what type your hostesses & customers are so you can adjust to them. Uh, yea-I'm way to choleric for that silliness...

So I was telling the girls at work all about it. (Yes, we work very hard at work...) I pulled up the personalities & we read through them. Then I pointed at each of them when I was reading what type they were. (There's that choleric again... )

Since we laughed & giggled & had a good time with it-I wanted to share with my other friends (duh...that's you, stalkers).

Like I said, there is no question as to which one I am. I thought it would be fun for you to decide which ones you were. Since I'm choleric, I can tell you which ones you are if you can't figure it out... (you'll understand in a minute...)

Disclaimer: This is all in good fun. We are ALL uniquely & wonderfully made by God...& God don't make junk... he just makes us each different enough to keep it interesting! (This is also a affirmation to me that I'm not the ONLY one in the world the way I am! I am just like 1/4 of the whole entire world... (God help us all...)

This is taken from the Wikipedia page for "Personality Plus". I copied & pasted it right to this post. What is in italics is from the website, regular font is my two cents...I'm a choleric after all.

The 'Personality Plus' personality profiles:
Choleric: This is the commander-type. Cholerics are dominant, strong, decisive, stubborn and even arrogant.

UHM, Hello? Is this not me to a T?!?!?!?!?!?! And yes, Choleric is listed first on their website.

And we all know that I know I'm great & wonderful...one of these days you all will figure it out too...

Melancholy: This is the mental-type. Their typical behaviour involves thinking, assessing, making lists, evaluating the positives and negatives, and general analysis of facts.

I think the name is misleading on this one. When I hear that, I think sad. But that's not the case. I also think this person is super in-decisive. Not me, I can make decisions all.day.long.

Sanguine: This is the social-type. They enjoy fun, socialising, chatting, telling stories - and are fond of promising the world, because that's the friendly thing to do.
You can be a mixture of 2 different ones. I sorta, kinda thought I might have some sanguine in me...but as I read on, I found out NOPE, I'm just choleric...I'm not friendly at all...just bossy...

Phlegmatic: This is the flat-type. They are easy going, laid back, nonchalant, unexcitable and relaxed. Desiring a peaceful environment above all else.

If this is the EXACT opposite of Choleric, then that's me! (I read this to B-rad last night. He said, "You're the first one & I'm the last one!" Poor guy...

I loved this next section. It kind of tells you how each one interacts with each other:

Positives and Negatives
None of these types is specifically described as positive or negative (see, it's ok to be bossy...somebody has to be!)- each having upsides and downsides. The book makes it clear that the characteristics are for observing and identifying, rather than judging. (I won't judge you if you don't judge me...)

A Choleric is focused on getting things done, but can run rough-shod over others. They are decisive and stubborn.

NOOOOO, really?! Who had a blog post titled, 'I was in charge & I like that?!' UHM- who is Miss Bossy pants of the blog offs?!

A Melancholy is a highly talented person, they have brilliant ideas, although sometimes they can paralyze themselves with over-analysis. Lists and "doing things the right way" are characteristics of this personality type.

Boo on 'to-do' lists. I've got no time for that nonsense. And the right way? Puh-leez! Just get it done (my way of course...)

A Sanguine gets on well with people and can get others excited about issues, but cannot always be relied upon to get things done. They love interacting with others and play the role of the entertainer in group interactions. They have a tendency to over-promise and under-deliver.

I decided I don't have any sanguine in me after reading this. I have no energy to be anyones clown. I gotta make sure they're doing what I want them to do more. Also-I do NOT over promise or under deliver. One of the ladies in my jewelry family is like this & it makes.me.ca-razy! I don't HAVE to be the center of attention. (I CAN be...but I'd rather the center be doing what I want them to do instead...)

A Phlegmatic is neutral - they tend not to actively upset people, but their indifference may frustrate people. They try not to make decisions, and generally go for the status quo. They care about people and harmony. Phlegmatics make me bonkers. There was a section that said: A Choleric might get frustrated by a Phlegmatic who doesn't seem to want to get things done now. (Preach it...) This pairing however can work well, though, because Cholerics tend to tell people what to do, and Phlegmatics tend to do what they are told. (Score! That's the best!) This coupling often have relationships with each other - although interestingly this may introduce a downward spiral, where the Choleric becomes increasingly commanding, and the Phlegmatic becomes more indifferent through their interactions. (B-rad & I could have a rocky future if he tries to get all indifferent on me...)

I hope you guys had fun laughing at yourselves & people you know that fit in these categories! I think it would be fun if you each did your own posts on the personalities & showed how YOUR personality goes along with the others! (What a great idea, right?! Please don't let the bossy choleric down...) I'd love to know which one you think you are...then I'll tell you if you're right or not... :) s320/IMG_5243.JPG" border="0" />

To all the boys I've loved before...

It's blog off time again & I am super excited to tell you about the boys I loved as a youngster...and the ones I loved as an adult. (I think technically that's called stalking & is punishable by law, but I say details schmetails...)

The first one that popped in my head was Neil Patrick Harris. You may remember him on a little show called, 'Doogie Howser, MD.' LOVED that show & little Doogie was a cutie pie! Now Doogie is all grown up & stars on another show I watch called 'How I Met Your Mother.' He's still super hot...but now he's gay...that's unfortuante ...

Of course I loved Jordan Knight from NKOTB. Posters of them adorned the walls of my bedroom. I even had a NKOTB sweatshirt. Swoon..

As I got a little older (early 20's) I had an infatuation with Tom Cruise. Yum. I had a bulletin board in my office at work & I had little pictures from magazines hanging on it. Imagine a ransom note that has newspaper & magazine clippings for the words...yea, that was my Tom Cruise board. Alas, I tired of him when he got all 'jump on Oprah's couch' stupid. That really irritated me that he would act so retarded. I've got no time for retardedness. So I dropped him. Moving on...

When I found a movie called "A Time to Kill" it also brought me the blessing of Matthew McConaughey. Double Yum. He's all country talkin' & constantly sweaty in that movie. Who doesn't like that?! I also LOVED him in "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days". Sadly, Oprah ruined my life when she uncovered that country talkin', constantly sweaty Matthew doesn't.use.deodorant. GASP. WHAAAAA?! I'm not really sure of the reasoning...my eyes glazed over after hearing those words. Some nonsense about 'the natural scent of a man' blah blah blah. Natural man scent? Pssssh, men are stinky!!

Vegas day 2 - that b!tch better bring it

Wednesday was the day I had been waiting for....the day I would fulfill a dream...a dream 6 years in the making. This was the day I would meet Celine Dion...live & in living color...12 rows back...for the low, low price of $550 with tax. Sigh. 

Ok stalkers, you better pack a lunch...you're gonna be here for awhile...and there is NO intermission...

Celine is a girl after my own heart & likes to sleep in, so her show didn't start until the evening. We had a full day to kill so we decided to go hit a few souvenir shops. I got a couple of magnets & I always get mom stuff because she grand cat (& now grand dog) sits. 

I found this magnet & wanted to get it for B-rad..

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but he decided he liked this shirt better. I don't think you can make it big, but it's a guy & a girl & the girl is yapping. Then the guy pushes her outta the box. It says 'problem solved' under the boxes. Funny, huh?!Next up was the M&M store. I love this store because a) I love m&m's b) it's very bright & cheery & c) it looks like an m&m exploded in here.EVERYTHING is m&m stuff. Duh, that's the name of the store.There are cute little cartoons on the walls. Kinda like the commercials...The wall of colored m&m's...aka paradise. You can buy these. I didn't...because they are pricey. (Yes I paid full price for Celine Dion tickets. Who can afford assorted colorful speciality m&m's?)I like this because it's sassy... 

Next we went to get up close & personal with the Lion at MGM. This is how big kitty looks from down the street.
 
  UHM, yea...he really towers over you when you're under his feet! 

He gets all lit up at night. The blue lights behind him are l e d's & they change colors. 

 

Here's the details about this little kitty. I was incorrect about him being the largest bronze statue in America....he's the largest in the freakin' Western Hemisphere. 

Here we are under the kitty! 

 

I've told you Vegas is hot, people. We had quite the ordeal our first night out. We got back to our hotel. It was late. All the little shops were closed. We knew there was a vending machine on our hall. We were dying of thirst. The machine wouldn't take our dollar bills. SIGH. We went to our room & did something unthinkable...we got a canned coke from the fridge in our room. GASP, I know. You may say, "UHM why didn't you go to another floor?" These hotels are HUGE. That can take a while & we were dying! After I got re-hydrated, I went down to the next floor. That machine had no dollar bill thingie. Hmph. I went down another floor. That machine was empty except for water. Ok-I got water. (By the way-those bastards charged us $4 for that canned coke....) 

And this is another reason I love that B-rad. He's so crafty. This day while we were out, we bought bottled cokes ($2 each) & he came up with the bright idea to fill the sink with ice & keep them there so they would stay cold. Genius I tell ya... (we had 2 sinks in our bathroom...we weren't using this one...) 

 

After we relaxed at the room for a bit (& enjoyed our cold beverages) we headed towards Caesar's Palace to see Celine! 

I am directionally challenged. I mean, if I repeat the directions you give me, then write them down & then re-read them to you I might be alright. Other than that, I'm lost. B-rad is my direction person. I don't pay a bit of attention to where I'm going or what I'm doing. I know he can always find our way back. But even B-rad needs a little help from time to time. There are maps all over the place so you know where you're going. B-rad's job was to find us a place to eat! 

We decided on Planet Hollywood. We sat in the bar area because it's faster to get served. It had a lot of creepy movie memorabilia. We sat next to this dude while we ate...So I had primped myself all up for Celine before we left home! I crackled up my nails reaaaaal nice...She was excited I was there too. She even greeted us when we arrived into town...So my friend, Rose, had texted me before we left & said, "I hope you have a good trip as much as it's costing you." To which I replied, "Haha, thanks. That bitch better bring it!" I was soooo excited before the show. This is outside the colosseum where she performs. The sign on the right says 'Celine's back' with the picture of her back. 'Back' - get it?! She's BACK at the Colosseum..

. 

And miss Thang even has her own store. I was giddy. I didn't go in the store last time. I just didn't feel right if we weren't going to see her. 

Figuring out what to buy was a very tough choice for me. B-rad was very helpful...
Ya'll know how I'm obsessed with being early. We had some time to kill so we went down the escalators to use the restrooms down there. It had a little couch area & B-rad wanted to sit there before we went back up. So we sat there & watched the people coming down the escalator. Then I looked up & saw this. UHM...nice. Maybe that's why B-rad wanted to sit down there?! 

 

God Bless, B-rad...he took this pic. This dude must not have gotten the memo it's 2011... 

We finally got through the metal detectors & bag search. (oh yea-it's serious business.) We were escorted to our seats & told, "There will be no intermission (just like this post...). No photography of any kind is allowed. Enjoy the show." I'm sure they weren't really talking to me when they said no photography. B-rad kept telling me I better not take pics. I said, "Pssssh, I'll turn the flash off - they'll never know..." 

After we sat there for half an hour & heard the ushers seat every guest & tell every guest, "There will be no intermission. No photography of any kind is allowed. Enjoy the show." I got worried. Were they really SERIOUS about this no photography bs?! Then I saw some people taking self portraits. And they told them to stop. OH.THE.HUMANITY! 

I was still going to try to take pics during the show. B-rad told me to watch the people around us to see if anyone else did. Before the show started, a very nicely dressed man walked down & sat in a chair right against the stage. Facing backwards into the crowd. He was the photography nazi. And I knew it was over. If I took a pic, he would see my red light. S.I.G.H. 

I love you stalkers, but I love Celine more. I didn't take not one, single picture during the show. All I got for you was this pic of the stage where I barely raised my camera above the chairs in front of me & acted all non-chalantly & snapped the button. (Make it big...see the black area to the right of that chicks head? Yea, that's the stage!!!!) 

 

So did the bitch bring it?! She did. HOWEVER.... when you pay that much for a ticket & you're that excited about it-you get all worked up. And it just didn't live up to my worked-up-ness. Call me a complainer-but here's how it went down: It was just her & a 31 piece orchestra. No dancers, no fancy schmancy stuff. She sang a Journey song in the beginning. Mmmm k, I like Journey. She did talk to us & interact with us & I liked that. I know she liked my nails. I was glad we were so close because she didn't put herself on the screens & stuff the whole time like artists do now. 

Since I couldn't take any pictures, I will attempt to share the evening with you using my WORDS... (aren't you lucky?!) 

She sang a couple of her old school songs. She had a few outfit changes & then she did some weird stuff. She was on the stage singing. I knew her hair was different & I was like, "how'd she fix her hair like that so fast?!" This song she was broadcast on the screens so I was watching that. And B-rad says, "Uhm, that's not her. That's a hologram?" Whaaaaa B-rad? Shut the front door. 

HE WAS RIGHT! It was a holgram of her singing. So I started whipping my head around trying to see where she was gonna re-appear. She was on the floor one section over from us singing. Dang... She did a duet with herself. Sounds weird & it was... 

THEN she had Stevie Wonder especially hologrammed in & sang a song with him. I didn't like that so much. She sang some stupid Goldfinger song from James Bond & some stupid old, old song that some black lady sang. No, I'm not being racist. I have NO clue whose song she was singing. I just know WHILST she was singing there was a picture of an old black lady on the screen. I'm pretty quick... 

I was disappointed because she didn't sing MY favorite Celine song. I was so excited about it. I know I should quit being a brat, but I have to be honest. She was super funny talking to us & I did enjoy that. During one song she twirled her microphone stand & we started clapping & she rolled her eyes & made a face like making fun of herself & she dropped the stand & laughed. I liked that too. Proves she's human. 

She hadn't sang the Titanic song & she said her 'goodnight' & waved. I told B-rad, "she HAS to sing the Titanic song!" I don't even really like it but I know a ton of people do. So the curtain opens back up. And she's in a flowy, green gown. And the stage looks different. 

Like I said, I'm quick.... 

So she's singing about her heart going on & she walks to the middle of the stage. And she starts to come up off the stage. She gets real high & the wind is blowing her flowy, green dress. THEN water starts coming down around her in circles. I cannot explain it. There was a rushing ring of water falling down from above her head to the floor (like a mini bellagio fountain). It came down around her in patterns & shapes. And I leaned over to B-rad, "UHM is that water REAL or is it a hologram?!" He said, 'No, that's water!' 

Then it was over. Tear. I could KICK myself for not hurrying up & taking a pic while she was bowing. What was the nicely dressed photography nazi gonna do about it then? Sure, he could kick me out,...but I had already seen the show... 

I decided on 2 Celine relics at her store. A magnet with her on it. (I like magnets...) & this t-shirt. Here's the front... (excuse the blue underneath...I was getting for bed...) 

 

and THIS is the back!!!!! 

After the show, we walked to the Bellagio to see the Conservatory Gardens. This is another one of my favorite places! There are mini-fountains there... 

 

And bright colors... 

 

And flowers EVERYWHERE! This 'painting' is all flowers. That is seriously cool. 

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;Obviously I love the fountains in here too. It is amazing how they work


. 

And as much as I'm obsessed with watching them, B-rad is obsessed with figuring out how the work. 

 

I'll let you try to figure it out... 

B-rad has decided that there is air that pushes the water out. If you notice, the stream just stops. There's not gradual end or residual water. It just looks like a clear plastic tube. 

 
The ceiling in the lobby is awsome. The picture does not do it justice, but it's glass flowers all over the ceiling. 

 

Here we are in the monorail station after an exhausting day & night. 

 

After I took that pic, it took us about 2 hours to get back to our hotel. That's a long story you don't care about (UHM I know you cared about the long drawn out Celine story...). Just know that we walked & walked & walked. We got to the tram that should've taken us to our hotel & it had closed a half an hour before we got there. Sooooo we had to walk a lot more & I was exhausted. (Thank B-rad there were icy cold beverages waiting for us...) 

I received an email from Celine the day after the show. You know, thanking me for coming. Told ya she liked my nails... 

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