Gluten Free Breeze (formerly Brendygirl) Blog

Las Vegas was a blast! Planet Hollywood Hotel (across from Bellagio, formerly Aladdin) was really modern, energetic, and cool! I only picked it because it was on a deal website and had good user reviews. We hated the Mandalay Bay the last time we stayed there in October (dirty room at checkin-like ppl had just left-had to get a new one-which almost made us late to Toni Braxton, broken elevators, rude dealers at tables, etc.)

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We were almost robbed (advantage of dating a detective)! We were dancing to a 70's jam band at the outdoor Harrah's bar and it wasn't crowded. So, we put our bag down at our table, ten feet from the dance floor, and one or the other of us watched it as we boogied. Suddenly, A woman sat at our table and started drinking my drink. (She probably was disappointed it was not liquor, only a diet soda. lol.) My back was turned, but the bf could see her, so he told me. We laughed while he kept his eye on her. Later he told me she peered in the bag holding my purse, his camera, and makeup I'd purchased, and she smiled like she struck paydirt. So, he strides over and tells her that the stuff is not abandoned, it's ours. She grabs the bag to her chest, holding the handles and says, "No, It's mine!" He grabs the bag by the middle, tearing the bottom half with the goods away from her, leaving her holding just the handles, and he strides to me on the dance floor with it. The large, obese thief follows him and kicks him 3 times. He puts his police skills to work and calmly puts her in a wrist lock. Finally out of my dancing reverie, I notice the scuffle and get security. She argues it's her stuff, but my bf shows the photos of us on the camera, revealing that it's ours. She gets escorted out. What drama! BF had a very sore leg, too.

I don't gamble much, but I played War, The Price Is Right slot machine (won $70 in a few minutes), and blackjack. I am not compulsive. It is easy for me to play a little, win, and get up and walk away with the money. It's easy to set limits. Perhaps that trait has been a benefit in getting gluten free? hmmm.

I love Chinese New Year. We went to a big festival with the dancers holding the dragon on a pole, etc. So fun. And only $3. My brother lived in China 3 years and is almost fluent in Mandarin. My name means Sword, so my Chinese name is Jian. Then you pick something opposite, like a flower. Mei. So I'm Jian Mei. I was born the year of the Rabbit, which means I am lucky with money. There are lots of casinos that advertise toward Chinese at this time of year, because Chinese like to gamble at this lucky time of year. So, I walk to the War card table and instantly, every one of us beat the dealer. The guy next to me says, I'm glad you came. I say, "I'm the rabbit". He says, "Keep on hoppin!". Then he tells his friend what we said. I guess he thought it was funny for a woman to just say she's a rabbit.

Then in the cab, on the way to Chinese New Year, I tell the guy I'm a rabbit (hare), lucky with money. I say, He's a pig (boar). (my bf) the cabbie replies, "Most men are." lol

We also visited the BODIES exhibit at the Tropicana, where they have real bodies preserved for your viewing. It was spectacular! Much better than pictures. My favorites were the skin display-nothing but the skin of a body-11 lbs., the real embryos in various stages of development, the baby skulls (with the unfused parts-they have 300 bones, while adults only have 200), the lungs-they're not pink bc even healthy ones get gray!, the brain with Parkinson's, the kidney stones, the reproductive parts-you can see cross-sections of how they are arranged to fit in the body, the liver-it's bigger than the stomach!, and the intestine insides (celiac affected parts). I learned that bones are 5x stronger than steel, that 8 week embryos have toes, and saw a jejunum. After seeing the bodies, I now believe that if I were in a survival situation, I could be a cannibal!

We also saw Ice, an ice skating/acrobatic show at the Riviera. I liked it. I thought the visuals and costumes could have been better, but the bf liked the music, and we both were impressed by skaters on stilts, jumping on catapults, and all sorts of stunts.

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The morning after we returned, I was off work, so I was reading on the couch and I saw some Glutino cookies, and I ate three wafer cookies that were left in the box. Half an hour later, I was throwing up visciously, in terrible pain, pale, clammy, and had the "d". It was pure misery. I was sick and couldn't eat for two days. (I'd never craved Saltine crackers more in my life!)

The night before in Vegas, we'd eaten at Outback. The woman served the veggies with seasoning, so I didn't eat them, she brought new ones. I don't get it.

Maybe the meat was bad, but then why the big delay in the sickness?

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Being couch-laden, here are some excellent moviesI'd recommend: Nicole Kidman movie "The Invasion"(the sci-fi crazy bf picked this, and to my surprise, it was great!), "Once" nominated for Oscars,and two Sundance movie festival choices: "Eve and the Firehorse", and "El Mariachi".