For the Wonder of it ALL...

I know...I've been getting hate mail regarding the non-posts of this past weekends activities. I find myself having very little time to catch up after this weekend and with my phone activity restricted I haven't really talked to anyone...so that being said...sit back, relax, and enjoy the missive I am about to rattle off for you!!

So as some of you know my back went out YET again last week. (Also a reason why I haven't posted because it's really too hard to sit at the computer) This happened, of course on Wednesday before the big Foxwood's adventure was to commence!! I thought it might just be stress...there's been a lot cast upon me lately and I think my body just hates me...well, I know it does. Regardless...I called the doctor on Thursday when the pain had not gone away. I left early to go to see the doctor, just to arrive for the appointment and find out she was called away for an emergency. They told me that I could come back in the morning, but to call first. I called several times and left messages. My doctor's nurse called back at 11:00 while I was trying to get out the door to work (Yeah, above all else I need to be able to pay for this crap!) and said the doctor could see me at 3. I told her no way-I did that yesterday and ended up missing valueable work time, and I couldn't miss anymore. I'd be happy to come in the following week, all I needed was a prescription for the muscle relaxers to aid me through the weekend. Apparently that wasn't what they had in mind...but I continued to battle and finally won. The prescription was called in later that day. Luckily I had it called into Hannaford and not Rite Aid, because when I arrived home we had no power...neither did the rest of the area (which includes the former "IGA" shopping complex that now houses Rite Aid). My mother brought me to "Hannnnnaaafoooord's" and I was finally at peace with the day. I went home, popped one (along with some left over Vicodin from the last back injury...YES I HAD SOME LEFT OVER!!), made my way upstairs with my fancy new glow in the dark flashlight (also acquired at Hannnnnnaaafoooord's) got into bed and didn't get out until 9 or so the next day. Lovely.

So Saturday arrives and I now have to pack...joy. I scavenged for clean laundry as the plan was to do laundry the night before - but with the power out - it just didn't happen. I finally got a decent bag packed and Peggy, my mother and I went to my Nana's for the afternoon. From there we traveled to Mashantucket, CT....for the wonder of it all. We decided to go to the casino that night, after checking in at the hotel I will forever know as the "My Name is Earl Hotel." I figured after being in the car for about 5 hours-I could use the walk. Peggy couldn't wait to hit the casino...and she hit it hard!! She went to one slot machine and didn't like it...I saw another one called "Unicorn." It was next to another of the same, and next to that was one called "Turkey Shoot." It seemed like destiny was calling, so we went and played. Peggy put in a ten dollar bill I loaned her. I looked at her screen to "help" her if she needed it. And the numbers rose from $10-$20...not bad...wait...they kept rising...$60...$70...holy shit!! I called for my mother to come look. Yeah, when all was said and done...the final tally was $112 bucks...for one push of the button!!! Insane!! She was all excited-which was good and bad, because then she couldn't really understand why she didn't keep winning. Hey, a score of $102 bucks off a 25 cent bet really isn't that bad!!

Sunday morning we met up with my Aunt Julie and my cousins Patricia, Julie, and Karen to play Bingo. It was a lot of fun, and we sat with some really nice people. Granted we really didn't have a choice because the only seats we could get all together were in a row. I was really hoping that someone at our table would win, but alas we gained nothing!! Julie (my cousin) got busted for taking a picture...whatever. I don't know why it is illegal to take pictures during Bingo...sometimes it has to be done!! There are things you wouldn't believe in the Bingo halls!! I almost got caught text messaging with my cell phone, but I kind of wanted to know if they would take me off to Foxwood's Jail or something. I'm such a renegade. Bingo there is crazy though-the hall is HUGE. I used to think the legendary Star of the Sea Bingo was the end all be all...this was nuts. The hall was bigger than my house!! Truthfully, I think it's bigger than the building I work in!! At one point there was a mouse and the side it was on started a "wave" of panic. I felt like I was at a ballgame! Meanwhile, someone was evacuated by EMT's and the only reason I knew it happened was because I saw them sneaking out the side. It's like it never happened at all!! We had a great time, and I felt bad because after the bingo finally ended (and I mean finally because we went from being there around 9 am to the last game ending around quarter to 4!!) we got separated and I never got to get the pictures I wanted of the group!! Needless to say, my back was jello at this point, so I really wasn't thinking all that clearly. Maggie was out waiting in line with her boyfriend Rich for the second game, and then I got into line behind her in case they wouldn't sell her 9 tickets to get in. That's right...we were in for a second round and had 6 more people meeting us to play!!

Linda and Kim were lovely enough to join us, and keep me company in line while I was being attacked by the midget eyebrow lady. Thankfully Kim had the decency to text message me on the phone to insult the woman...rather than take the chance she heard her whisper. It was also the only time I could be thankful for the back pain because my laughter was veiled nicely by my grimacing face. One of the more hilarious moments happened to be when Linda accidentally bumped into her while talking to my cousin Patty. In mid-sentance she turned around and faced down to apologize and said "I'm sorry...I'm a giant." Then immediately went back to the conversation with Patty. I couldn't even stand up because I was laughing so hard. Thankfully Maggie was successful at the purchasing counter and we went in to get a table. I went to search out my mother and Peggy, and found them with Katie and her new beau Colin. I was so exhausted I didn't know whether I wanted to laugh or cry, but somehow made my way to the ladies room and locked myself in the stall just to have a second to stretch out my back without any weird looks from anyone!! Meanwhile, if you could see the people at this place...so great. Second only to the Martina concert for people watching. The grand prize winnah for most attention grabbing person of the "whiskey tango" variety definitley goes to the "Flock of Seagulls/Penguin lady (?)" If it had been legal to take pictures-I so would have! I can't even describe it!!

After bingo ended we went to the Hard Rock Cafe for dinner. I had a drink. I hadn't taken any medication since early afternoon...so I decided it would be ok. And it was. I think.

From there we went to the slot machines and before I knew it- it was 1:15 in the am!! We had to force Peggy out of the casino because even though I had called the hotel for a late check in (yeah, the "My Name is Earl Hotel" would be no more!!) they said they overbooked and I needed to get there in a half hour if I wanted to have a room. Wrong thing to tell a woman in severe back pain, who's only "medication" was some drink called a "Pickled Tink," who had sat in a bingo hall all day, who hadn't won a dime, who was already overtired!! I definitley yelled at the woman over the phone and told her that I made the reservation months ago, and if they were going to charge me for the room I was damn well sleeping in one! Then I had to call back about 20 minutes later for directions-that was fun. It worked out though because she told us to go North when we should have gone South, so when I called to figure out what was going on she let me know that our room was waiting for us when we arrived. Yeah, you better have my room ready!! It was so nice though-there were a thousand pillows on each bed...well 6, but it was late and it just looked awesome:) The beds were soft and I immediately fell asleep. Then 7:30 am came and the little bastard staying above us was apparently practicing for the summer olympics by running a marathon over our heads. At about 8:30 I gave up and called the front desk. Stupid. It just got worse from there. My paradise hotel room was now ruined from my grumpy wake up call. We got up and got ready and met up with Kim and Linda again to hit the Casino. Katie and Colin were also at the "F-woods" and we got to see them for a minute before they headed back to gamble. We split with Kim and Linda to find some nourishment, and then went to one of the slot machine sections. I lost 20 bucks and called it a day. I called Kim and told her we would be leaving soon, she said they were on thier way out as well. An hour later my mother was still sitting at some lobster slot machine while I tried to be comfortable in those weird slot machine chairs. I decided to take a potty break as Mary was not leaving anytime soon...and found Kim and Linda gambling away around the corner! After separating we ended up leaving at the same time anyway. Our final gamble was on the Ben and Jerry's stand as we left. As Linda said "if you're going to drown you sorrows from losing...it might as well be with ice cream!" And with that we made our way back to Maine.

I will try and post pictures tomorrow...sorry kids...having some "technical difficulties!!"