Well, first the last bit of vacation recap, and then it's back to my regularly scheduled rotten luck.

Sunday we lazed around because Alan hurt his foot moshing and pogoing at the X concert - okay, he somehow managed to lose his balance trying to get out from underneath the VIP rope after the show was over (Alan does not drink, BTW) but I'd rather you think of him pogoing to "The New World". It's more dignified.

Monday we gambled a bit (won a bit!) and headed to Bellagio to meet Flippy and Leigh-Ann for lunch. The buffet there is excellent, to put it mildly. We had a very happy surprise when we gloomily asked about soft drinks and learned that Bellagio serves Coca-Cola! Most of the hotels and restaurants there serve Pepsi, but we're from Atlanta, The City That Coke Built, so that's what we are accustomed to and like. We really, really love Mandalay Bay - the service, the rooms, the amenities, the atmosphere - but that one fact alone might mean that Bellagio gets our business next time. Seriously, Coca-Cola availability could make the difference (are you listening, Mandalay Bay???).

That evening, we ate at Burger Bar, one of Hubert Keller's restaurants - the greatest hamburger I have ever tasted, no question. Alan had a Ridgefield Farm beef burger with bleu cheese and peppered bacon; I opted for Black Angus beef, American cheese, peppered bacon and portobello mushrooms. YUMTASTIC! He had a cheesecake burger for dessert - a doughnut instead of a bun and it does look just like a wee hamburger. Roamed around the shops and casino some afterward, made fun of people who were oddly dressed, oddly behaved or otherwise deserving of our disdain. Yeah, we're bad.

Lunch was great - the food was fabulous. I had all sorts of things and a chocolate/raspberry dessert, but then Leigh-Ann discovered that they'd just put out Bananas Foster, which I looooove, so I had to eat two desserts (poor me). It was wonderful to get to visit with Flippy and Leigh-Ann. We've done stuff with them before, but it was an activity like a hockey game or a concert so it was nice to have the chance to just talk. Afterwards, we walked through Bellagio's botanical garden, which was gorgeous. I took pictures but I don't think Alan's put them up on Flickr yet. We hung out with them most of the afternoon.

Monday evening I wanted to go to Red Square, which has hundreds of different kinds of vodka as well as a great restaurant. The wait for a dining table was long, though, so we decided to eat elsewhere once I'd had my vodka drink. Red Square is impressive; I particularly liked the frozen ice bar. But the coolest thing is that outside the restaurant, they have a huge headless statue of Lenin (complete with painted-on pigeon poo) and they keep his head inside the vodka vault!!! You can do shots of vodka off Lenin's head, but the cheapest vodka that allows you this privilege was $200 a shot, so obviously I didn't do that. If we'd won thousands in the casino, maybe, but instead I chose a blend of several vodkas called a Chernobyl, which came complete with a three-eyed fish in it. I saved the fish - he was made of cherry candy - and was going to take a picture, but his three eyes were made of frosting and rubbed off in my purse onto the napkin I'd wrapped him in. So now I have an eyeless three-eyed fish. Then I had a Bananas Foster martini (we've got a theme going here).

Afterwards we ate at the House of Blues restaurant - another delectable meal. Alan had a ginourmous steak while I had a shrimp and pasta dish. Mmmm.

Tuesday, after breakfast we sadly checked out. Neither of us wanted to leave. We had some time before our flight so we gambled a little more and won a little more - we're not high rollers by anyone's standards but winning even in smaller increments makes us very happy. A cab to the airport, an uneventful flight home and no lost luggage - the happy part of my trip ends there.

We arrived home to find electricity only working in the front half of the house, so instead of having a day to put things away, do the trip laundry, get things sorted for the return to the work week, we were calling electricians trying to schedule repairs. My meager Vegas winnings pale in comparison to the price tag for everything that's got to happen. Four-figure KA-CHING. Mr. Sparky got us back up and running but there are a lot more repairs that need to be done; he wants to replace all the electrical wiring in our attic. But wait it gets better.

He couldn't start the more extensive work when he was out before because he found A SNAKE in our attic. A huge snake. After that, he refused to go back up into the attic until we had the snake removed. I didn't blame him; I grew up in a rural area so snakes and assorted wildlife doesn't freak me out that badly, but still. A snake. In our house. With us. So then we had to make a call to Arrow Exterminators (wildlife removal division), and while trapping and removing the snake isn't going to be that costly, doing all sorts of stuff to our house to make sure that snakes, squirrels and/or mice can never get in is quite costly. Another four-figure KA-CHING.

So now I'm just sick and worried and sad. Now instead of a great vacation and a fabulous time, all I can do is wish we hadn't spent the money because now we need it for something necessary instead of something fun. Alan says that I shouldn't feel that way, because he really, badly needed a vacation, we had a great time, it was worth it and it made us happy. He's right, and in the overall scheme of things I guess it's not that bad. But I had a plan and it was a good one - my car is paid off this month, and I was going to pay off stuff, plump up our savings, all sorts of positive things, and instead I'm right back to digging my way out of a big black hole. It makes my attitude worse that we spent upwards of ten grand on the house last summer just to get it market ready, and now I have to spend even more, even though none of this investment will result in a larger sale price.

Enough whinging and I'll close with a moderately funny bit. I was telling The Boss all of the disasters that had befallen me upon my return and he said, "See? That's why you should never go on vacation."

I replied, "I think you are rather missing the point. Going on vacation isn't my problem. All this shit happens when I come back from vacation. It's not that I can't go, it's more that I shouldn't ever come back."

He said, "Mmmm. I see what you're trying to do there. NO."