Hello all!!! I hope everyone had a great Christmas and New Year! Mine was amazing and i guess that's what i will talk about now! Well, since i'm not working at Massage Envy anymore, i have alot of free time on my hands, so i thought i would spend some of that at home in Utah! I asked for time off work at the Venetian in October, so i've been looking forward to it for a long time. So, i decided to fly this time---cuz it's no fun to drive in the snow. I was able to get a pretty good price on a round trip ticket, so i flew home the morning of Dec. 17th. Nancy came to pick me up and it was so good to see her!! It was very snowy and cold when i got there! The temps in Vegas have been perfect. It gets in the 40's and 50's now. So it was quite the change to go to the 20's and 30's. I decided to stay at my parent's house and see if it was still in one piece! :) Well, i started to unpack when i got a few text messages from my roommates saying that it was snowing really hard down in Vegas!!!!!! And, boy did it snow!!!! I'm sure you all heard how crazy it was there because of the snow! Roads and highways were closed for a long time! Everyone had to call into work to say they couldn't get anywhere! My roommates were happy, cuz 3 of them were teachers and thought that being a teacher in Vegas they would never have a snow day!!! Hehe! So, i barely made it out of Vegas in time! I left early that morning and it started snowing that afternoon and, of course, all the flights were delayed. Yay!! I guess getting up that early paid off. Anyway, i was planned on staying in Utah till Jan. 2nd so it was going to be a nice vacation. We decided to still do our gift exchange as a family, so i had Jill, Dave and the kids this year. I was actually able to buy their gift online and had it delivered to Mom and Dad's house! Yay! Didn't have to worry about buying them a gift when i got there! I ended up getting them a game called "Scene It" the Disney version. I was able to get that game at a really good price so in addition to that i got them the second season of I Love Lucy and some popcorn and candy to go along with it. It was fun to wrap all those things and to have them open it all!! They were really excited. We spent Christmas Eve and Jill and Dave's house and it was so much fun. I decided to buy myself a Christmas gift that i have been wanting to get, but it has been really hard to find. But i found one, so i thought i would take advantage of it and just get it! I......got......a........Wii!!!!!! I was so excited!! So, i brought the Wii to Jill and Dave's and everyone had a good time playing it. We were able to do some Johnson Family Christmas Traditions this year too!!! I was able to find the chimes and all the music, so we played a few tunes on those----i would have got video footage of that, but i was playing! Sorry Mom and Dad. It sounded as good as ever, though! :) We also acted out the Nativity Scene, cuz Tage didn't remember ever acting that out. It was fun to do that again! It had been a couple of years since we had done that, so it brought back some great memories. We were also really excited to open up some great packages from Nauvoo!! It definitely wasn't the same without Mom and Dad there, but it was good to get these wonderful packages. They gave the Wilcox clan a game they can set up and play outside---sorry, can't remember the name. :) It looked like it would be really fun to play, though. And to us older kids they gave us a really cool bread knife and a really special temple envelope---that holds our temple clothing---with a picture of the Nauvoo Temple and our names embroidered on it!!!!! It is really beautiful! Now i have one of the Nauvoo Temple and one of the Palmyra Temple on it!! I got the Palmyra Temple one from my Mission President and his cute wife. And, of course, Mom arranged with Mrs. Cavanaugh's to put together some of our favorite chocolates to have ready for us!! Yum!! Best job Mom ever had!! :) Haha! Then Nancy, Brad and i decided to go home that night and just have Christmas morning at Mom and Dad's house. So, in the morning Brad came over---Nancy stayed with me at Mom and Dad's---and we had a great Christmas breakfast and then we decided to exchange gifts among the three of us. It was fun and i got a couple of great books-----Inkheart and Wicked---the book the Musical is based on. I also got a gift card for iTunes and some UNO cards!! Yay!! It was a great Christmas! The rest of the day consisted of us playing games and playing on the Wii!!!!
The rest of my amazing vacation consisted of getting together with some good friends, going to my ward at the U and just enjoying being back in Utah. I had a little party for some of my friends that i have met through being involved in the theater. We had a murder mystery dinner party!!! It was so fun!! I loved putting it all together. Everyone was assigned a character and they had to come dressed as that character, as well. I made dinner--which was Parmesean Chicken and pasta, green beans and then chocolate caramel cake for dessert. I also cooked some halibut for a friend who is a vegetarian. I was quite impressed with myself in all the cooking i did!!! It was the first time i had ever made those things, so i was a little nervous, but it all turned out great and everyone had a great time!!! Their costumes were awesome, too!
I was also really excited cuz i got to see my old bishopric while i was there, too. One of the counselors had a little renunion party at their house and so I was able to see Bishop Kjar, Bro. Martin and Bro. Craig and their amazing wives!!!! It made me so happy!! I love them so much! And alot of the people from the ward came, so it was good to spend more time with them. I loved seeing my friends from the ward!! I miss them alot! Well, i think that is the major happenings of the holidays. Oh, i spent New Years with my good friends Jake and Erin at their house in Grantsville and i got to see Jonathan Nish and his wife Tara, Mike Payne and his wife, Mandy. Hillary and Darrin came later, too so it was so fun to be with them. I then went to be with my friends from Pioneer Theater Daniel and Ginger to ring in the New Year. I was also able to go see their band play at a couple of places!! Love them! Then, of course, on Jan. 2nd was THE BIG GAME!!!!!!! I was a little bummed to find out that the game didn't start till 7pm, cuz my flight left at 9:15pm, so i was only able to see the first quarter, but that's really ok cuz the first quarter was the best anyway!!! Nancy and i were cheering so loudly for the AMAZING UTES!!! Then we decided to leave for the airport and guess what happened??? We realized that it was snowing REALLY hard! So we hurried and scraped off the car and got on our way. I made it to the airport on time, but my flight ended up being delayed for about an hour and a half!!! :( So, Nancy kept me updated on the game! :) I wanted to jump up and scream when i found out they won, but i contained myself and just screamed in my head!!! :)
So, my holiday was the best ever!! I am so glad i was able to stay for so long cuz i enjoyed every minute. Now, it's back to the grind. Well, kind of. Since i have been back, it has been really slow at the Venetian. They haven't called me in very much at all. I guess i can thank the economy for that. Massages aren't really on the top of everyone's list these days---even when they are on vacation in Vegas.:) I've been looking for another little part-time job, but if i can't find one and things don't pick up at the Venetian i maybe moving back to Utah sooner than expected. I have decided when i do move back, i will be living in my parent's house until they get back. Then i'll see where i'm at and if Hillary is still in the townhouse in Centerville, i will just move back in there. Anyway, that has been my thinking proccess lately. Things in Vegas are good, though. It was good to see my roommates again. We even had our own little Christmas gift exchange when everyone got home. I have LOVED my time here in Vegas!! I don't regret it one bit. I have met people here i know i was meant to meet and become friends with and we will be friends forever!! I am eternally grateful for my experiences here. I have grown really close to the Lord and i have come to truely understand how to completly rely on Him for everything---literally. He has blessed my life so much! I can't imagine living my life without the Gospel.
One more thing before i releive you of reading all of this. One of my good friends Alicia Gleed came to Vegas for the Martin Luther King weekend with her cousins and their little boy. So we got together---along with a bunch of my friends from Vegas---and decided to go on the roller coasters on top of the Stratosphere!!!!!! All i can really say is WOW!!!! That was one of the scariest things i have ever done!! Those rides were amazing and i had a blast, but so scary!!! A couple of my friends didn't go on the rides, but they came to the top and took pictures and videos of us, so i used some of those pictures and videos to make a video montage of our experience. I put it up on YouTube, so just copy and paste this and check it out!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hoGQTKt_7cA
Now you can see us being crazy!! :) It was a blast! We then went to lunch and then later that night i met up with Alicia and her cousins again and we just went to some fun places around the strip. It was so good to see her and to have fun with her that weekend!
Ok. that's all, I promise!! Thanks for sticking out and reading all of this!! I just want you all to know how much i love you all and i am so grateful for all the support you have given me down here!! I truely wouldn't be able to do something like this without knowing i have the best support group behind me! I hope everything is going well for everyone!! Again, i love you all! Until next time!
Carrie
Wow!!! It has been FOREVER since i have written on here!! Sorry! Living in Vegas has just become a whole lot easier since the weather has cooled down!!! It makes me so happy! The highs= 70's and 80's Lows= 40's and 50's!! It has been perfect! So now is a good time to escape the snow and come visit me!!! ;) Well, not a whole lot new has happened, but i will update on a few things.
I am still at the Venetian---Canyon Ranch SpaClub---and i am still working at Massage Envy---BUT NOT FOR LONG!!! I am putting in my two weeks today, actually. I have found that the Venetian has been keeping me pretty busy and so has Massage Envy--as a result my body is getting very upset with me!!! I am getting worn out! And with what i am getting paid at Massage Envy, it's not worth it!! I would like to continue in this profession for a while longer, so if i don't take care of myself, i don't see that happening. They say the average length of time a therapist practices massage is 7 years---i still have at least 4 to go!! So, to try and make up for the little bit of money i was making at massage envy, i have a couple of options. I applied for a job and the Luxor to be a dresser backstage for their Cirque Du Soliel show!! It would completely make my day if i got this job!!! I think it would be so much fun! I hope to hear from them in the next few weeks. Also, the talent agency i am with has an office out here, so i hope to do some stuff with them as well--such as auditions for films or opportunities to be an extra. That can give me some extra money--if i am an extra 2 or 3 times a week, i will be making more than i would working 2 days at massage envy!! So, that's what has been going through my mind the past few weeks!
As far as Halloween is concerned....i had a fun Halloween! Our ward had a Hallowen party on the Monday before Halloween. It was combined with a couple other wards. It was fun to see everyone's costumes! I wasn't really planning on dressing up, but i put together a quick costume. I was a Gothic girl!! I dressed all in black and did some fun make-up!! So it wasn't anything special, but it was a fun night. On Halloween night, me and my new roomie--Oh yeah, Celeste decided to move out. She moved back in with her parents, so she is still close and still goes to the same ward. sorry, side note! :) ---where was i.....oh yeah.....my new roomie, Kortni and i went to FRIGHT DOME at Circus Circus. This was quite the place!!! It was probably one of the scaries places i've been to! They had 5 Haunted Houses to go through--one of them you had to wear 3-D glasses....so fun!--they also had roller coasters and freak shows and all sorts of fun stuff. And, of course, they had scary people just walking around and scaring you as you go from place to place. It was indoors and they must have had hundreds of fog machines around the place cuz the whole place was filled with fog--which made it even scarier! Yay for getting scared on Halloween!!! It was a blast! We then came home and Raeann and i watched a scary movie called The Eye. It was really good! There was no blood and gore and it actually had a really good plot line. And it had a happy ending, so you weren't scared to go up to your dark room! :) So, that was Halloween!
As far as Thanksgiving goes, i'm not going home, cuz it is alot of money to spend for just a couple of days. So i will just see what my roommates are doing, or i just remembered that i have relatives in St. George that i may see if i can crash at their house for a day! I am, however, going to come home for Christmas!!!! I'm hoping to come home on Dec. 17th and stay till Jan. 2. I put in a time off request at the Venetian, so i should have not problem--especially if i remain on call. I shouldn't have to find someone to cover my shifts. The beauty of being on call!!The good new about this trip is that i will be flying!!! Yay!! I guess my cute old car is still at home, so i can just use that to drive around town.
Well, i think i have made you read enough for now. I hope not to let 2 1/2 months go by without writing again!! I will keep you updated as i hear from those couple of new job options!! I love you all and thanks for keeping in touch with me!! It is always good to hear from home!!
Ok.....i am continuing from when i left off yesterday......Where was i?......oh yeah.....Chocolate Burger!! Like i said, it was really rich chocolate, but it was good!!! Anyway, next day--Friday--i had another day off, but Daniel called me that morning after their audition and wondered when we could get together and play. So we got together around noon and we went to the Fashion Mall on the Strip. It is a very big mall! It was fun to just walk around, talk and stuff. They were actually looking to switch phone companies, so i suggested Verizon, since that's what i have and i have liked them. So they decided to go with that! Yay!!! Now we can talk for free!! We had lunch there and just wandered around. Daniel and Ginger then decided to go back to the hotel for a little while and then we could meet up later, with Gamyr, and do something that night. So, we did and we had dinner at their hotel, the Flamingo. We went to the Seafood Buffet. It was actually really good!! They had other stuff besides seafood--which was good, cuz some seafood i don't care for!! :) So, after that we went to the Wynn, cuz Daniel said they have a pretty cool little water show there that we could go watch for free!!! So we walked down there and saw that a couple of times!! It was fun!! I got some pretty good pictures! Well, after that, we decided to call it a night. The next day--Saturday--i had to work at the Venetian from 9-6, but i ended up not having a 5 o'clock appointment, so i left early and called Daniel to see what their plans were. They said they were up for anything, so i just went to their room and when i walked in the door, they asked me how i felt about Liza Minnelli. I told them that i liked her voice, so they asked "how would you like to see her in concert?" I pretty much said that that would be awesome!! Daniel was looking on Craigs List while i was on my way and someone was selling their tickets that they had for her concert that night. So we decided to go!!!!! Daniel looked at his watch and said that we needed to hurry, cuz the show started at 8 and it was 7:20!!!! So we ran out of the hotel and called the guy with the tickets on the way to the theater. Now, the concert was in a little place call Primm, Nevada--which was about 20 minutes away. I was driving, cuz Daniel and Ginger didn't have a car. Well, on our way Daniel looked at the clock in my car and said "why does your car clock say it's 6:35?" I said, "Cuz that's the time!!" (duh!!) He said "Oh!!! We have plenty of time!!!" He didn't change his watch from Utah time!!!! Hahahahahahaha!!! Yay!! So, i slowed down a little. :) Well, by the time we were able to contact the guy with the tickets, he said that he wasn't going to be at the show to give us the tickets!!! He was hoping we could just pick them up from him in Vegas!!!! Oh just great!! We were already at the theater and we had no tickets!!! So, what do we do? We went to an ATM and took out $60. We found a piece of paper and wrote "Need 3 Tickets" on it and stood by the will call line!!!! We stood there for a while and eventually 3 different people came up to us and told us they each had 1 extra ticket to sell!!!! No way!!! It was so great! So, we told them that all the cash we had was $60---so $20 for each ticket. Now, these tickets were $75-$100!!!! But, it was close to the start of the show and it came down to if these people wanted to sell the tickets for $20 each or let the ticket go to waste.........So, they decided to take the money!!!! We got tickets!!!! And actually, one of the tickets was on the floor, about 5 rows from the front!!!!!!!!! They were all separate seats and Daniel and Ginger decided to give me the seat on the floor!! So, i was just sitting there--amazed at how close i was to the stage--and then Daniel and Ginger just came and stood by me and we talked a little bit till the show was going to start. Well, it got closer to the show starting and there were about 5 seats in front of me and 4 seats behind me that were empty.........so when the show started Daniel and Ginger just slid right into some seats in front of me! They were willing to move if anyone came to claim the seats..........but no one did!!!!! We stayed there the whole show!!! It was so great!!! Who knew we would get so lucky!!!! It was a great concert!! We could tell she was struggling a little bit, but she still sang as great as ever!!!! And she was even dancing around in some songs!!! She is amazing!! Anyway, that was my fun filled weekend with my friends!!!! I loved seeing them and being able to play with them a little!! It was so great to see familiar faces!! That makes 2 weekends in a row of seeing friends. I really needed that.
Well, now that your eyes are probably tired from staring at the computer so long cuz my stories are longer than a novel, i will bring this to a close. I am having a great time here in Vegas--especially since i have started at the Venetian!! I really like it there!! Thanks for all the support all of you are giving me!! It means the world to me! Love you all and please keep in touch!!
Till we meet again......
Yay!!!!!! My internet is finally working!!!!!!! I figured i'd better do this before it goes out again for a while. Don't worry.....we are going to get our own internet soon!!! Well, life is pretty good here in Vegas!!! Still as hot as ever, but that's why i'm glad i work in a nice air conditioned building and live in a nice air conditioned house!!!!
I had my first day at the Venetian a week ago wednesday! It was really scary, but it was a good time! And......i didn't get lost!!!! Yipee!!! I just went in for a few hours just to get my feet wet and then right after i went to Massage Envy and did 5 massages!!!! Long day! But it was good. I then got a strange, but very welcome, phone messeage from one of the counselors of my bishopric back home in Utah and he said that he was inviting me to a BBQ that the bishopric was having for all the couples that got married while they were serving---cuz they would be released soon...........I had to listen to the message again to make sure i heard him right......married couples?.......did he know something i didn't? Haha!! So i called him back and asked him if it was really for married couples or if he just made a mistake in calling me and he said that there was another Carrie in the ward that got married and he got us mixed up!!!! I thought it was quite funny!!! But i did find out that they were going to be released in 2 weeks!!! That made me sad, cuz i was thinking they would be released around the end of August beginning of September and i was kinda planning on going back to Utah and seeing them before they got released. Well, i was thinking one night and i realized that the Venetian hadn't put me on the books yet and Massage Envy had already taken me off the books cuz i would be at the Venetian. So i talked with my boss at the Venetian and she said that since i wasn't on the books yet that i could have the weekend off and they would start me the following weekend!!!! What a miracle!!!! Now i could go to Utah and see everyone!!!!! I also realized that the ward was going to be up in Flaming Gorge that weekend and thought that it would be really fun to go up and suprise everyone!! So, i left for Utah on Thursday the 7th and drove to Jill and Dave's house and stayed the night there. The next morning i went and got some blonde highlights in my hair by my friend Stacee, who is going to cosmetology school. Yup, i think i will slowly go back to blonde!!! Anyway, after i got my hair done, i took off for Flaming Gorge!!!!! Yes, i know......i'm nuts for driving so much.......i did consider all the driving i was about to do, but i thought it would be worth it. So, i eventually made it and made my suprise appearance!!!!! It was at that very moment, all the driving was TOTALLY worth it!!!!! It was so great to see everyone's faces and double takes!!!! It was awesome!! So i stayed the night up there.....i just slept in my car---which was actually quite comfortable---and then got up early the next morning to catch the early morning skiing--or in my case, kneeboarding---Thanks to Jill and Dave for letting me borrow their kneeboard!!!! Wow, that was alot of random sentences i just put into one!!! :) It turned out to be the best trip ever!!! So i drove back to my good ol home in Bountiful and stayed the night there and then i went to church the next morning and it was such an emotional day!! The Bishopric and their wives gave their final talks and testimonies. It was so great!!! I have LOVED this bishopric!!! They are such amazing men and they have such strong testimonies!! I will really miss them!! I didn't find out who will be the next bishop, cuz they weren't going to be released until the next sunday. So, i went home after church and finished up a little gift i was going to give the bishopric and their wives. Nancy, Jill, Dave and the kids then came up to Brad's house and we all had dinner that night, so it was good to see them again!!! Afterwards, i went and stopped by the Nish's house, cuz Brady, Jonathan's brother, got home from his mission on the 6th, but he was out with friends, so i didn't get to see him!!!! Oh well. It was so good to talk to Mel and Jeff!!! I hadn't seen them in a long time!! Then on Monday i delivered the gifts to the bishopric and then met up with another friend, Jessica Richardson, for lunch, then made the mighty trip back to Vegas!!!! It was just a short trip home, but i have to say, that i truely needed it!!!! It made me feel so good that i got to say good-bye to the bishopric and tell them how much i appreciate all that they did for me. Most of all, it was so good to see family and friends! I consider myself to be so incredibly blessed to have such amazing people in my life!!!! How did i get so lucky?!? So, thank you to all of you that made that visit the best ever!!!!
So, this past week has been good and busy!! I worked at Massage Envy on Tuesday and Wednesday, had Thursday and Friday off and then went to work at the Venetian on Saturday and today, Sunday! So, I found out that my really good friends, Daniel and Ginger, were coming down to Vegas to audition for Phantom of the Opera at the Venetian!!! So, they came down on thursday, but they were tired and wanted to get sleep for their audition in the morning, so i went hung out with my other friend from Utah, Gamyr, who was down here doing the lights for a Kenny G show!! We went to the Bodies Exhibit at the Luxor!!!! It was so amazing!!!! For those who may not know, this is a place where they have muscles and bones of actual human bodies on display! Alot of them are in positions, like one is throwing a football, shooting a basketball, etc. It was really interesting to me, as a massage therapist to see all the muscles and actually see where they attach and everything!! Loved it!! Then we went to a place called the Burger Bar and we got something to eat. I got something called a chocolate burger!!!! It was so cool!!! The chocolate was very rich, but it was so creative how they made it. They took a donut--without the hole--and cut it in half for the "bun." Then the "patty" was a piece of fudge cut in a circle, the "pickles" were slices of strawberries and the "cheese" was a square piece of passion fruit in jelly form--really interesting!! Then they had a mint leaf for the "lettuce." It was really fun!! I should have taken a picture, but i didn't. Next time!!! Ok, have to go, but i will finish later......hopefully---if my internet was working!!! Take Care!!!
