Why My Weekend Sucked

Ok, maybe that title isn't really accurate.  This weekend in Vegas did not suck.  I mean, how could it?  I was with my Hottie Scottie on a kid-free weekend with great friends.  Maybe I should have said, Why This Weekend in Vegas Was Different Than Every Other Weekend in Vegas and Why I Wish Circumstances Weren't What They Were . . . but that would have been a really long title.

Things started off by me getting the sad news that my aunt, Sue, passed away somewhat unexpectedly on Thursday morning.  Sue had been sick for several years but in the past couple of weeks she became really ill.  I guess that I, along with the rest of the family, just thought that it was like all of the other times where she would bounce back.  Unfortunately, this time it wasn't meant to be and so we were all shocked to realize that she was actually gone.  Because of the way the weekend was set up, I wasn't able to cancel my trip to attend the funeral.  So as I sat there in what I always lovingly refer to as my second home, all I could think of was being back here in my real home and saying good-bye to her.

Having Sue and the funeral on my mind was the main reason why this weekend was different but the weather in Vegas this weekend sucked, as well. UGH.  Are you serious?  It was 22F on Saturday morning and this was during the day.  You can imagine how cold it was at night.  It was warmer in St. Louis than it was in Vegas.  It was miserable, bone-chilling, see-your-breath, put on your winter parka cold.  I was prepared for it to be in the 40's or 50's . . . not in the teens and 20's.  It just really changed our whole "strategy" (and YES, you DO need a strategy) on Vegas.

Having said all of that, we had a great time with the neighbors (as usual).    They are always good for a good time.

 Corey and Ann, my neighbors

 Hottie Scottie and Me at Jimmy Buffett's.  Tip:  Order the Chicken Nachos.  I swear . . . just do it.

 This is what I deal with.  This is at the Hoffbrahaus.  Tip:  Go.  Ask for Michelle from Germany, last name is being protected :)

On a somber note, I want to end this post with a video of my aunt Sue giving her testimony in church.  This was taped just within the last couple of months.  I am told that instead of the traditional sermon at the funeral, the officiant spoke a few words and then played this audio wherein, essentially, Sue gave the sermon at her own funeral.  The family all say that it was very fitting and very much an appreciated part of the funeral.

While I am so sad for my dad (she was his baby sister), her husband, kids, grandkids, and all of the extended family I am equally happy for the fact that she is no longer in pain.  In the last couple of years she was bound to a wheelchair because of an amputation due to the lack of blood flow to her leg.  She had rheumatoid arthritis, heart disease and countless other things wrong.  She is finally no longer in pain.