#200 Christmas Time Is Here

Monday 2016 December 19
I'm not going to address the elephant in the room. You know, the one where I haven't updated this thing in almost 2 months.

 It's been a good few weeks, and as we roll into the Christmas season this is the first time I've had a moment to breathe. Seriously, the past two weeks have been nonstop, and I guess my body is catching up with me because I'm starting to feel ill.

Makes me kind of think I should have kept moving. But my introvert self says "NO. You relish in that alone time!"

Which then makes me think of Erin Napier's post yesterday, which speaks to me on so many levels it's ridiculous.

I'm a little bit shy. Maybe you already knew that from reading here, if you've been visiting for any amount of time. And maybe I wouldn't say it's shyness exactly, but talking to people I don't know very well takes every ounce of my energy. And I'm able to seem normal (I hope--It feels like I'm doing a good job at it at the time!) and carry on at a party, but inside I'm scrambling to think of the right thing to say. And when the conversation ends and I step away, I feel like I have an allowance of personality for each day and I've depleted some of my ration. By the end of a busy day at the Mercantile, I am all used up. I have used all my words. I am utterly spent. My dearest friends and family know this about me and never think twice about my virtual silence over dinner. They know it means I talked a lot that day. They ignore my crabbiness, my quietude, and choose to love me in spite of it. And at a crowded party when I feel anxious, I then feel my heart swell with happiness at finding them. My tribe. #framily
A photo posted by Erin Napier (@erinapier) on

It's funny, even when I don't feel I have the energy to interact with people, even my close people, somehow God gives me the energy with them. When I think I'll be exhausted energy wise, it's like I become an extrovert for a second and my energy is spurred on by them.

I hope the friends, church family, real family in my life understand how important they are to me. That I don't have to be "on" for them or "try" with them, and how instead of me feeling depleted, they energize me!

#199 SEMA Day 4

Friday 2016 November 4
This morning we woke up nice and early to put some wear on the tires of the Jeep Cherokee we rented.

A photo posted by Brittany Prahl (@diednsaved) on

A photo posted by Brittany Prahl (@diednsaved) on



Checked out Hoover Dam. Second time we've been and it's magnificent every time.

At around lunch time we headed back to Vegas and got Stephen to SEMA show in time the finish up the last few things he'd not seen. I on theother handd decided I'd take a tour of some of the casinos that I had yet to see.

So I walked around the Strip and visited Harrah's, Paris, Venetian, and walked through a couple others trying to get from one to the next. I think by far my favorite is the Ballagio, but after that is the Venetian. Themed casinos are the best, especially when they are modeled after travel destinations. Apparently there is another casino coming in the next year or two that will feature places all over the world in one hotel. Count this chick excited.

I ended the day trying to play hide and seek with Stephen, as we met up for the drive out of all the show cars. Thankfully we found each other and were able to watch a lot of it together.



#198 SEMA Day 3

Thursday 2016 November 3
These blog posts would be a lot more thematic if I could show you some pictures, but I'm still going to have to steal a few pics from Stephen's phone. That's a chore.

This morning we headed out early to the SEMA show to be there before anyone else in hopes of Stephen meeting Ken Block and I meeting Richard Rawlings. Stephen was first in line for Ken Block, and about an hour later got to meet him face to face, as well as coming away with a signed Ken Block Gymkhana shirt I got him ages ago. I on the other hand was a little later meeting Richard, and Stephen managed to show up just as I was about to meet him.

Stephen is a poo head. I didn't really care to meet Richard Rawlings, I don't think I've got that gene that just goes goo-goo over celebrities or the need to meet them. But we needed his autograph for a friend of Stephen's, and Stephen was determined it would be me talking to Richard, not himself. So I awkwardly walked up and gave him a side hug, and ran away with a signed poster. Stephen's plan for me to frown during the photo didn't work, cause there were 30 standerbys that were eyeing me during the whole photo op.

I left SEMA early today, because my feet were killing me finally. Really not sure how Stephen has managed to go 8 hrs plus on his feet the past 3 days.

I headed back to the hotel, grabbed Panda Express on the way, and enjoyed watching Law & Order for 2 hours before I finally went back and picked Stephen up for the night.

Stephen told me it was my choice on dinner, and knowing me, he mentioned we should find a really great steakhouse. Well that's subjective around here, and steakhouses can run from $9 a steak (eek!) up to $120 per steak. We finally settled on a steakhouse in Eastside Cannery Casino Hotel.

Outside of casino. It was about 30 min from our hotel and the strip.
We managed to have THE BEST RIB EYE OF OUR LIFE. Best steak of our life probably. We both went a little daring and decided we'd get our steaks rare. We've always been a medium rare kind of people, but we always wish for rarer. This was sublime. Melt in your mouth like butter sublime. So make sure to visit Carve for the best steak in Vegas for $25! 

#197 SEMA Day 2

Wednesday 2016 November 2
After Stephen scoped out the SEMA show yesterday, he decided today would be the day he crossed off his celebrity checklist of those he wanted to meet and also friends and family may want autographs from. We met all sorts of people, and I'll eventually have to get my SD card back to share some photos. It is always so exciting and awesome to have individuals who are infamously known, especially to this car community, and they stand and talk with you for minutes on end, all the while realizing how normal they are and "celebrity" just seems like a made up word for them.

I took a little break in the afternoon before we had to leave for the day, so I swung into Harrah's for a bite to eat. Their Food Court is insane. Like let me just spend my life here because I can get sushi, mexican, hamburgers, shakes, pastries, smoothies and more!

It's huge. This is a fraction of it.

So I grabbed some Sushi and went back to the car to rest for a few minutes before Stephen was ready to be picked up. Sushi was pretty good I'd have to say.

Stephen and I decided we'd try the "Secret Pizza" place we'd heard about when trying to find some inexpensive good places to eat. So we headed to the Cosmopolitan hotel for some of the best pizza in Vegas. Except it wasn't.

It was hidden down this little corodore, not labeled, and in the back you found some arcade games, and a small area to order in.
I'm terrible at taking pictures in the moment.
The pizza had been sitting all night, which had to be reheated for us to consume. While the pizza was huge, the flavor and quality was not, and at $5 a pop that was a little too rich for us.

So we decided to make up for it by finding some great dessert. Ever heard of Serendipty?

Rom Com anyone?
This couple in NY meet each other, enjoy a perfect evening together, and leave it up to fate to bring them together again. They enjoy ( as pictured) a frozen hot chocolate. Which lives up to it's weird name. It's most definitely the cold version of a hot chocolate and nothing else, and it's amazing! We also enjoyed the most outrageous sundae of our lives, which healed all the disappointment of the pizza we'd had.

And on our way to and from Serendipty 3, we passed the Bellagio. It may be my favorite casino. We managed to time things perfectly and catch two shows at the fountains in the most prime viewing spot (from their moving walkways). One of those magical memories standing there with my love, watching the world move below.

A video posted by Brittany Prahl (@diednsaved) on