The temperatures took a plunge in the wrong direction, and it made my riding lesson a little uncomfortable.  Jen's lesson was right before mine, but she waited until afterward to tell me that she didn't have any gloves.  Silly kid!  I had 4 pairs in my tack box!  I felt bad that her fingers were so cold.

I rode Harley, since I'll be riding him at the show tomorrow.  He's on a new medicine to help with his breathing, and it must be working, because he was actually kind of perky!  He also wasn't a sodden, sweaty mess when we were finished.  I feel really bad now, because I rode him when he wasn't feeling well, and could hardly catch his breath. 

Jen and I headed to East Lansing after a brief stop home to kiss Dean and Buu good-night.  We stopped at Pancheros for a quick bite to eat, and then headed to the hotel.  Jen is already out like a light- it's been a long week!

Ah! I remember these days!  Look at the green grass!  This was before that nasty white stuff littered the ground, and made walking across frozen patches of ice on the driveway treacherous.  Even Blondie was a little unsteady last night as we made our way to the barn.  I also noted with dismay that her blankie has many more little teeth marks from big, bad DeeDee.  She's just jealous that she doesn't have a blanket of her own!

This is what Blondie did on her vacation

We wasted most of yesterday on an airplane, flying back home.  I can't say that I was sorry to leave the excesses of Vegas; had we stayed a few more days, I probably wouldn't have fit on the plane.

We stayed at Paris, which I will probably not do again.  It's in a good location for wandering along the Strip, but the service wasn't very friendly.   The buffet was also disappointing.  Luxor and Mandalay Bay both offer better accommodations, and I liked them best of all of the hotels we've stayed at.  The Bellagio is nice, but it's so expensive!

We arrived back home to an unpleasant surprise; winter has moved in, and it looks like it's going to stay for a while.  There's ice and snow on the ground!  Yuck!  It was quite cold this evening, and I had to break out the winter gear in addition to the hand warmers.  I felt like a penguin in my arctic thermals and three layers of shirts, but I was fairly comfortable, so I guess it's worth putting up with the stay-puffed feeling.

Blondie was a good girl for not being ridden in a week.  She even tried so hard to canter circles, but pilot error kept running her into the wall.  She also needs to work on standing still, which she just hates to do.

It's nice to be home, and there's a horse show this weekend to look forward to.  It's supposed to be about 25 degrees, so I hope they crank up that turbo heater early!!

Diablo, aka the Villain's horse, and me

Hee hee!!  Today I was given a tour of the Excalibur stables!!!  My dad's friend's daughter works there, and she offered to show me around.  It was so cool!  I was able to pet the stars of the show, and I even met the barn cat.  All of the horses have their own air-conditioned stall, and they are bathed every day!  They are saddled up in the stable, which is in the back of the parking lot, and walked across the lot to the backstage area, where their costuming is completed.  I didn't get to see any of that excitement, but I was able to watch their morning feeding.  Despite their stardom, they are just as focused on their food as other, less glamorous ponies. 

Look!  They cos-play in Vegas, too!

Today we spent the day just wandering around.  We started the day with the buffet at the Bellagio, which was a whopping $30 per person!  It was wonderful, though, with so many choices!  There was prime rib, lamb, made to order omelettes, fruit, pasties, about 6 different kinds of cooked fish, curry duck, cereals - the list goes on. I passed on the crab legs and shrimp, but made up it with the prime rib, lamb, and curry duck.  It was hours ago and I'm still feeling bloated.

After a little rest to allow our food to settle, we walked down to the Excalibur, where we watched the Spongebob Squarepants and Polar Express 4-D movies.  There was way over-priced, but were slightly entertaining. 

Next, we headed over to Mandalay Bay, where we toured Shark Reef.  I liked this exhibit.  They give you a hand set, and as you stroll around the tanks, you push buttons corresponding to the exhibits and listen to information about the fish and sharks.   Like everything else in town, it was pricey, but I enjoyed it quite a bit.

The theme of the day today was seafood. So much seafood! Too much seafood! It all started at the breakfast buffet at Caesar's, where a mountain of shrimp and crab legs could be had for the entry fee of $24.95. Next was sushi at Ichiban, which was tasty and reasonably priced - 3 rolls for $35.00. The day ended at Sea Blue, with crab legs, prawns, lobster, mussels, scallops, and even a tiny rabbit tossed in for good measure. We'll just keep the total of that to ourselves, because I can't remember ever spending that much on a meal, but Dean insists that my memory is a faulty, and it is only the second most expensive dining experience that we have had. I think I am sick of seafood now!  I know I'm sick of spending money on it!

I may in Vegas, but that doesn't mean that I'm far from horses! Not only do many of the fake art objects feature fierce horses, I managed to talk Dean into going to the Tournament of Kings. The only the bad guy had a pretty horse, and doesn't it figure, it was a Friesian. Absolutely stunning. Maybe in my next life I will make enough money to buy one of my own.

Dean and I hopped on a plane yesterday and headed for sunny Las Vegas.  It's not exactly warm, but it's better than the weather back home.  I was able to avoid eating turkey for yet another year, and celebrated the holiday with a generous helping of shrimp scampi instead. 

It took most of the day to get here, and the time change is really playing havoc with my system.  I did manage to stay awake until about 8 pm Vegas time, but I soon dozed off to sleep.  After almost 20 years of traveling with me, Dean was prepared for an early evening.  We did manage to stroll through The Forum Shops and wander around the Mirage, as well as work another meal into the schedule before heading back to Paris.

Paris is packed, and it was impossible to get into the buffet without about a 2 hour wait.  I don't think any buffet is worth standing in line for that long, but all of the buffets that we walked by had lines at least as long.  Crazy! 

Today we are planning on heading over to the M & M Factory and to the Luxor end of the Strip.  We were going to see what's playing at the IMAX, and maybe check out the jousting show at Excalibur for dinner.  That's the only dinner show that I am really keen on going to.

I didn't bring my camera, though my dad brought his along and he kindly gave it to me to use.  We haven't seen much of my parents, who traveled out with us, except for lunch yesterday and breakfast this morning.  My dad is shocked at the high prices of everything - things have changed since the last time they were in town!  Getting back to the camera, I don't know if I will be able to post any pictures until I get back. I forgot my card reader, and don't have the correct cable to hook the camera up to my computer.  If I can find a cheap card reader, I'll pick it up so I can start downloading the images off of the camera.

Well, that's the update for now! 

One of the babies not looking too happy about having to stand still.

Not much to say today.  Not sure what the posting schedule will be like over the holiday weekend, so if you celebrate Turkey Day, have a happy one.  Heck, have a great weekend even if you don't.  Me, I'll be busy eating.  And hanging out with the family.

This is DeeDee. She keeps biting at Blondie and putting teeth marks in her new blanket.  She is the least friendly horse in the pasture!  At least she picks on the baby more than she picks on Blondie.   I think she's jealous of Blondie's blankie...