Doesn’t it always figure that the last day of vacation is always the best in terms of weather/conditions? Well Murphy’s Law prevails in Vegas. We dealt with 100+ degree weather all weekend, enough to make me break out in my typical heat rash (this mountain girl *really* can’t handle the heat) and today it’s breezy, 95 (though it feels about 85) and is really low-key at the pool, my favorite place in Vegas. And the irony is that my husband sent me pictures of the 3 inches of snow that landed at our house today, the first snowfall of the season at our place. Dang, I missed it…but this doesn’t suck either.
Trying to avoid the overconsumption and downright excess in this city is hard…the herd mentality definitely strikes here, but I’m trying to keep my very-excited sister and her desire to do everything in a short amount of time in check. I’m learning that the voluntary simplicity movement is all about keeping things in balance. You can’t have it all, so you just make wise choices, prioritize your spending and forsake frivolous purchases in order to have more in the piggy for the things you truly value. Staying by the pool during the day instead of engaging in all the expensive activities or worse yet, shopping, leaves cash available for a show at night or a really wonderful meal. And dare I say…(disclaimer: I’m about to sound just like my mom here) that we’ve been using up every “2 for 1″, “free with” and “1/2 off” deal/coupon/promotion we’ve been able to get our hands on, so all our show tix have been 1/2 off, so have all of our breakfasts, our drinks by the pool have been free or we’ve been refilling our water bottles every day for free drinks at the pool/on the strip, and yes, we even made a visit to the health food store where I work to pick up snacks to nosh on to hold us over from breakfast to dinner. I think I made my mom proud!
Being frugal/thrifty doesn’t mean living like a pauper, but to really make conscious, planned decisions. Spend money on experiences that will create lifetime memories, not on material things and being here this long weekend with my sister for our annual sisters gathering feels like that mission was accomplished.
Our date for the evening...
Yay! We had a FUN time, ate some WONDERFUL food, saw some GREAT shows and got a SPECTULAR view of Vegas from the top of the Stratosphere and YES…relaxed by the pool. Vegas can be a great place to visit with the proper planning and of course, the right company! I do believe we each taught each other a few good things on this trip. BIG thanks to my sister for a GREAT 4 days! I LOVE YOU LOTS Jenn!!!
Sorry for the error on “Spectacular”. Still got “time zone lag” and getting little sleep since my return. Worth it though! Can’t wait for the next trip.