Travel: Las Vegas (Venetian)

We spent Thanksgiving weekend in Las Vegas, after doing the actual feasting in Santa Monica with family. We stayed at the Venetian this time.

The rooms are huge! Between the two queen-sized beds and the pull-out sofa bed, we easily could have fit 6 average-sized people in there. I'm not a fan of the 2 main bathroom doors, but the sizable living area more than compensates for it. There's a Grand Lux Cafe downstairs complete with an adjacent take-out desk. Of course, there's the indoor mall that features a store-lined canal and re-creation of St. Mark's square (Piazza San Marco). There are even musical performers and the creepy statue person that only moves when you tip him. But everything from the singing gondoliers to the Phantom of the Opera playing in the elevators just add to the cheesiness of the whole place. Don't get me wrong; it's definitely upscale (compared to many of the hotels on the Strip), but it wouldn't be Vegas without the cheese.

Movie: Fair Game

I was reluctant to watch Fair Game, but my mom insisted, so I got dragged along. J/K. I really wanted to see this movie and was thrilled when my mom brought it up. Ironically, she fell asleep during the movie despite her insistence on watching it. It wasn't mind-blowingly great or anything, but it's a shame it had such a limited engagement.

Meet: Blueberry the Parakeet

Here's one of my two parakeets. He was walking close to me as I was typing, so I stole a quick photo. His name is Blueberry and he spends nearly all his time taking apart my curtains, wooing my green parakeet, and perching on random furniture and pecking it to oblivion.