Registered for my half-marathon...and a 10K

So...I'm registered for the Disneyland Half-Marathon now.  Guess I'm really doing this.

Also registered for the Hollywood 10K in April.  If I have to run to train for the big race...I might as well get a cool star medal from them, too.

I still hate running.

VIVA LAS VEGAS!

I did it! I went on vacation, and I did Vegas with my lifelong best friend!

And if I may say...we did it well.

We had been planning this trip since the summer—her boyfriend's friends were coming out to Vegas for CES, and we were going to join them. I arrived on Monday, after a rushed departure from work and a little craziness at LAX.  When I landed at McCarran International Airport, I was greeted with a text message instructing me not to take a shuttle to the hotel...because they were on their way to pick me up in a convertible. A red Eclipse convertible.

We met the rest of the boys back at the hotel and came up with a game plan.  Night 1: Let's hit the strip!  We all got dressed up—us girls in little dresses, and the guys wore full suits.  Kept it classy, with the guys rolling Entourage-style. First up was the Cosmopolitan, followed by Paris, followed by the biggest slot machine I've ever seen!  We all took turns pulling the big lever, but no big win. Eventually, we ended up taking a limo from Bellagio back to our hotel—with eight people, it was cheaper than taking two or three cabs (and far classier).

Our well-dressed entourage at Fremont and in front of Paris...and giant gambling!

We got back to the hotel and went in search of food—after seeing posters in elevators and billboards advertising steak and shrimp specials, that was my mission. One of the guys headed up my "steak and shrimp" mission...eventually settling on a prime rib buffet. I'll take it!

Michael Jackson estate auction

I love Michael Jackson.  I remember already being a fan when he had the Free Willy footage in his "Will You Be There" music video in 1993/1994.  I remember celebrating his acquittal in 2005.  And I was outside UCLA hospital after he died in 2009, and went to the makeshift memorial outside the family home the next day.

So who's shocked that I was interested in the auction of items from his rented house?

The auction house was open to the public for viewing, so I went after work one day.  They had it set up like a real home, with the furniture arranged in little formal groupings. The whole thing was very formal—I felt out of place in my yoga pants and hoodie. There were only a few people in there, and I felt like the staff was watching everyone. I can't really blame them when some of the furniture was valued at $5,000+. BUT...some stuff was valued at under $100. I could afford something small!

I looked through the online catalog, made a list of all sub-$200 items, and registered to bid. On auction day, I logged on for the live online bids and watched a stream of the proceedings.

AND I WON SOMETHING.

Yesterday I went to the warehouse to pick up my handblown Italian glass vases. They are beautiful and they are mine. I made a grown-up estate auction purchase, and now I have things from MJ's final home. An all-around excellent deal.