Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Thank you Uncle Sam!

For the first time since I can remember,
good ole Uncle Sam is giving us money BACK this year!
Woo hoo!!! 
While I probably should be thanking my son and his wonderful new tax deduction,
he's not the one actually cutting the check, so sorry kid, no credit for you!  :)
We have a lot of things we could do with this money...
pay off some bills
fix our house
put it into savings
But we're living on the edge.
Something I rarely do when large sums of money drop into my lap.
But I'm turning 30 in less than 2 months....
and my mom should have been turning 60 shortly after.
We were supposed to take a David girls trip to commemorate the occasion....
That's obviously not gonna happen anymore, which makes me all kinds of sad.
I toyed with the idea of not celebrating at all, our birthdays were a day apart and this year is going to be hard enough and I'm (still) not sure how I'm going to feel about celebrating, but my mom wouldn't have wanted me to let my special day go to waste.
So the hubs and I are taking our new found moolah, packing our bags and heading to VEGAS!
Neither of us have ever been, and what better place to spend the dirty thirty right?
 To the Vegas veterans out there, any ideas on where to stay and must sees??

22 comments:

Katie @ Loves of Life said...

You can't ever get that time back, so I say, GO FOR IT! have a blast :)

Mrs. G said...

When I went I stayed at New York, New York. It was amazing, the best was the roller coaster on the roof!!! The must see for me was the gondolas in the Venetian and walking the streets of the Paris.

Take a trip to the old strip too, that is where you will see the Vegas sign and all the the other iconic places you see in movies.

Have fun!!!!

Shannon said...

I think it's a great idea! And I'm sure your mom would be thrilled to know you were still celebrating and doing something fun.

Hilary said...

Go for it, girlie! It's all about living life to the fullest and Las Vegas is much more fun than putting $ in a savings account! Congrats!

Anonymous said...

Oooh, you guys are going to have SO much fun! My fav place to stay is Caesars Palace. My fav people watching spot is at the coffee shop next to the pool entrance at the Bellagio...it is super entertaining. The Bellagio botanical garden is another must see every time I visit; they switch it out for every season.

jv726 said...

If you are going during pool season, stay at the Flamingo. Their pool is amazing, and they are right in the middle of the strip so its convenient if you want to walk places. :)

Jess said...

Woohoo! You go girl, I say live life to the fullest and enjoy every second you can! We usually stay at Mandalay Bay but I think any place on the strip would be great!

Melissa said...

Vegas is SO MUCH FUN! We stayed at the MGM Grand and were very happy with the location, price, and room quality. Definitely go to the dueling piano bar at the New York New York casino, that was probably one of my favorite things we did there! It's also worth going to see some shows! We saw Penn & Teller (my fav of the shows we went to) and Cirque du Soleil's Mystere and O. I wanted to see Zumanity too, but we ran out of time.

Have a blast! It's the perfect place to celebrate a birthday!

Denise said...

This is a smart investment if you ask me! There is so many things to do in Vegas, I would say a Cirque du Soleil show is a must. They are so much more dramatic in Vegas then the traveling shows cause the stages are build just for that show. I personally love staying at Monte Carlo. Great pool, clean casino and you are smack dab in the middle of the popular sites and casinos of the "new" strip without a million people in your hotel. Plus their rooms are really, really reasonable and still top of the line.

The Hotel at Mandalay Bay is the bomb.com! Every room is a suite with a huge tub that a party of 5 can fit in. But they are pricey.

The only reason I do not recommend Bellagio and Venitian and Ceasar's is cause thou I ALWAYS visit all of them I like when I want to unwind which is not that much there is so many "tourist" in the hotel it is harder for me. And I can get the same quality room for cheaper.

Ya'll have fun!

dave and jenn said...

I've stayed at the Hard Rock, MGM Grand, and Caesar's. I liked all of them but the Hard Rock was probably the trendiest. I was impressed with Mandalay Bay the last time we went though!

Cirque du Soleil is a must see!

Melanee said...

its an investment in your sanity. live it up sister! the red rock is fantastic and amazing. not on the strip, but was a blast!

Gwen said...

I have never been to Vegas either but you are going to have so much fun!!! And what better way to celebrate the big 3-0!!! YAY for the tax refund. We owed this year for the first time in a while. We knew it would happen though so it's okay. :)

Katie said...

YAY, you and the hubs will have such a good time! Last time I went, I stayed at Treasure Island. Loved the hotel, but wasn't in the best location.

d.a.r. said...

YEAHH!!! Good for you guys!! We really liked New York New York--it was pretty affordable, but still in all of the action and had GREAT food. Their Irish pub rocked, too :)

Jordan said...

Awesome! We got a little back too (thank goodness), but I think we have to use all of ours on bills - yuck! I'm seriously wishing we could take a trip instead! I've done Vegas twice. The first time I stayed at the Monte Carlo. I liked it and it wasn't too terribly expensive, although there was construction next door at the time. I agree with Danielle, NY, NY was cool too. It was close to our hotel and we ate at a great Italian place there. Have a blast!

Annie said...

live it up girly!!! you are going to have a fabulous time!!
and i have to add, you remind me of my mom. her mom (my gma) passed away when she was only 53 and ever since then my parents have been just enjoying life and spending their money as they please. what is the point in saving and not enjoying your money if some day you don't even get to enjoy it. her mom passed away so young that her and my gpa never got to enjoy all the money they had saved through the years.
live with no regrets and have all the fun you can while you can!! :)

when i went to vegas with some girlfriends we stayed at the monte carlo. we loved it there! really nice and clean!! we didn't go to any shows while we were there, we were all about the night clubs back then ;)
if i was to go back i'd love to do the tourist thing with my hubby and see shows and that kind of fun stuff!

Kitty and June said...

You go girl! You gotta have some fun with your $! We stayed at the Bellagio and it was fantastic! The view was amazing and the food too!!!

So excited for you!!!!

Jenner said...

Awesome!!! I've always wanted to go to Vefas. What a great vaca!

Carol {Everyday Delights} said...

Woohoo! Yay for getting $$$ back! And Vegas will be so much fun! I've only been for bachelorette parties but I would love to go with Nick too!

the workaholic momma said...

Vegas is a blast - you guys will love it!!! YAY! for uncle sam giving you something back:)

bananas. said...

that's where i took dave for his dirty thirty...it was a blast!!! you'll love it!

Crazy Shenanigans-JMO said...

Yay!! There's nothing better than getting a sweet tax return back! You'll love Vegas! It's pure amazement!