Free Stuff and UNLV Football - 11/9/13

When we woke up, Sean and I went to check out some yard sales. We visited a couple before coming across a house with LOTS of stuff outside. At first, we thought it was another yard sale but then realized all the signs in the yard said "free stuff"! There was an entire driveway and more full of things including furniture, tools, accessories, office supplies, appliances, sports equipment, and so much more! We sorted through and wound up with an entire car full of things to use, sell, and give to family and friends. The home owners were so kind and generous and even helped us load the things into the car! We couldn't begin to thank them but we gave them $10 to at least show our gratitude.

We did and took care of some various things throughout the day after that but in the evening we had a game to go to! We'd won tickets to a UNLV football game from the raffle at Monday Night Football. It was the first live American football game Sean had ever seen and, surprisingly, I think it might've been mine too. 

My favorite part was the cheerleaders. Omg Their black and red uniforms were incredible! It REALLY made me miss my brief cheerleading days as a Weaver Wildcat in my red and black uniform. I was soooo tempted to go back to UNLV just to try out for the team but there seemed to be infinite requirements to getting on the squad, the first of which was enrollment full time at UNLV and another of which was paying A lOT of money. *sighs* Oh well.

Sam Boyd Stadium, where the game took place:

A shot from the game:

For vids of the game, the cheerleaders, the halftime show, and much more, please visit my YouTube channel: jokrloveskaw

Forever Home Family Picnic & 4K-9 Run 11/3/13

Sean and I finally convinced Danny to do a race with us! 

The race: Forever Home Family Picnic & 4K-9 Run

Organization: The Animal Foundation and Outside Las Vegas Foundation

 

Date: Sunday, November 3, 2013 

Time: 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM (PST)

 

Location: Sunset Park, 7100 S Eastern Ave, Paradise, NV 89120 

It was shorter than any other race Sean and I had run together but would also be the first dog-friendly pet and owner race we'd done! So we each registered with one of our 3 dogs, Sammie aka Hambone, Baby aka Sausage, and Little Girl aka Weenie. 

So race day rolled around, actually the same morning Sean and I got back into Vegas from London. Our flight landed around 7:20am and we made it to passenger pickup, where Danny was waiting for us, at about 7:45am. We drove straight home to drop our baggage off and pick our dogs up. Then we were off to Sunset Park to run!

Since Sean and I had been out of the country, we hadn't been able to pick our race packets up in advance. Instead, we picked them up upon arrive at the race and here's what was inside each (this one was mine)!:

One of the cool, custom dog tags that came inside each of our race packets (Baby's came in mine): 

Awesome shirts we got with our race packets:

The dog tags and shirts were my favorite parts but the "free" Recycled Percussion tickets (actually $15 per person) was awesome, the info on other upcoming races was handy, and there were lots of other hidden gems we noticed when combing through it all at home later!

We'd been concerned that our dogs would be menaces and cause a scene but we soon noticed that being a bit rowdy, mildly confrontational, and overly playful was a typical dog thing and that most owners there were dealing with the same thing we were! (Check my YouTube channel to see all the crazy, cute pups that came out for the race.)

Pics can't begin to do them justice but here are just a few of the dogs we saw:

It was really fun and special for all the dogs as well as the owners though. It was the first time our dogs, as well as probably most dogs there, had been around so many others and they were loving it! They were all so excited and having a blast! So much butt sniffing, barking, and jumping around. Sean and I knew even before starting the race that we'd be back with the dogs annually as long as they kept it going, even if for our dogs rather than ourselves!

The race started in waves 3 minutes apart and beginning at 9am in order to keep both feet and doggy paws from getting trampled on. I think we started in the second or third wave, Sean with Sammie, Danny with Little Girl, and me with Baby. We ran pretty leisurely rather than running hard. We ran for a good time, a little exercise, and to spend time with each other and the dogs. It was a fun run and everyone there seemed to be having a good time, not taking it too seriously. 

There were a lot of walkers with their dogs, a few dog-less runners, and dogs of all different sizes and breeds running the race. It was funny seeing some of the small dogs doing it with no problem while some of the big ones refused to run, sometimes even laying down on the side of the path and refusing to move. One of the big dogs, however, did the whole race making it look beyond easy. It was walking effortlessly while it's owner was running beside it and actually pushing herself pretty hard.

There were several water stops for the dogs and a few for their owners as well. We stopped a couple of times for the dogs to have a drink or walk for a minute. All three of them did really well despite getting a bit distracted and sniffing other dogs' butts but Baby slowed down a little towards the end since she'd been trying to pull me along for the first half of the race and Little Girl and Sammie each had to walk briefly because they weren't used to running very far (or really at all in Sammie's case). They all finished the race with us though and all 6 of us got awesome prizes - bandanas for the dogs and wooden "medals" for us!

Baby and me just past the finish line!:

Little Girl and Danny just after the race:

Sammie and Sean with their race-finishing swag:

The "medals" and bandanas given to race finishers:

(For footage of the race itself as well as some of the runners, dogs, the finish line, and the set up, please check out my YouTube channel: jokrloveskaw.)

After the race, we visited the booths at the event and picked up lots of cool doggy treats and other misc goodies such as chew toys, tennis balls, dog snacks, coupons, frisbees, info on upcoming races, Sky Zone accessories, and more!

Finally, we stopped by the pond to let the dogs have a quick look. We shared some of the snacks the dogs had gotten but didn't want with some very grateful, hungry ducks swimming there. 

Then, it was time to take our tired dogs home for a much deserved nap!

Drive-In Movies, Exploring Vegas, Partying with Sean, a DDR Holiday, and Working Hard on Exercise Bikes 11/19/13 - 11/20/13

Drive-In Movies, Exploring Vegas, and Partying with Sean - 11/19/13

Sean and I went to see Bad Grandpa at the local drive-in theater. Marquee Simpson and Rob Williams were supposed to join us but had to cancel last minute so it wound up being just the two of us.

West Wind Las Vegas 5 Drive-In 

4150 W Carey Ave

North Las Vegas, NV 89030

Normally, it's $6 or $7 admission per person for the movies there but they have a Tuesday deal, $4.75 per person, that we took advantage of. 

We snuck our own snacks and drinks in in the car and arrived a little early so we could check out the concessions building and play a couple of their arcade games. (Check Sean's and my YouTube channels for vids of the place and the games we played here.)

The movie was absolutely hilarious, as expected, and Sean and I had a blast laughing it up and snacking together from the comfort and privacy of our own car.

Before and after the movie, we looked around a couple of places in the area. We stopped in the tiny Wildfire Casino there but it was sooo small we were done looking around the moment we walked through the door. I'd looked inside once before, just after I'd first moved to Vegas, but I couldn't remember anything other than being uninterested in the place and it being small. Down the street, we pulled up to the nearby petting zoo. We peeked through the fence but didn't see any animals. We guessed they'd been put indoors for the night so they wouldn't get too cold.

We weren't ready to go home by the time the movie was over so we took random streets in the general direction of home, stopping to explore the places we usually just drive by and see if we'd been missing out on much. To our surprise, we had!

First, we visited the enormous gift shop on Las Vegas Blvd and Sahara. 

Bonanza Gifts (World's Largest Gift Shop)

2440 S Las Vegas Blvd

Las Vegas, NV

We wanted to pick up souvenirs for friends and family but didn't have time as they announced when we arrived that they'd be closing in 15 minutes. We had a mini look around though and I even found a mini flask keychain I wanted but later found cheaper on eBay. Lol

Next, we parked at Stage Door casino and convenience store on Flamingo Rd & Audrie St. (The casino is at the far left end of this building.):

I think I vaguely remember going to the casino (more like a small bar with food and few virtual poker machines at the bar) once before I was 21 and standing outside while someone went in and got us beers, which I actually didn't like at all at the time. I'm not sure if that actually happened or whether I imagined or dreamt it all but I'm sure I'd never been inside before and neither had Sean. We'd been to the convenience store at least once before and bought energy drinks, I believe. This time, we went into the convenience store and bought giant coffee mugs (though Sean would be using his for tea)! 

We went in the casino/bar too! They had some really good deals such as $2 Jäger shots and $1 Michelob Lagers. They didn't take cards and we didn't have much cash on us so we were pretty limited but we managed to dig up enough for a beer each. We chilled out at the bar for awhile with our beers but had to head out when we were done due to not having any more money. That's okay though, we'd found a new inexpensive hang out spot and we'd be back, hopefully after visiting an ATM next time!

Inside the casino with our $1 beers on the bar counter:

One traffic light east of there, we went to Ellis Island, used the $5 per person free play they send us twice per month, and left with $10.50 in free cash!

One more traffic light east, we noticed a huge sign at Silver Sevens (formerly Terrible's) casino advertising $0.99 breakfasts for anyone with an A-Play players card there! We had A-Play cards and we were hungry so we pulled over, went in, sat down in the cafe, and ordered. The breakfast consisted of two eggs, hashbrowns (more like potato chunks), choice of two sausages or two bacon strips, and choice of two slices of toast with butter. We couldn't believe how ridiculously cheap it was but they weren't kidding! Here's what we got with our dollars:

Bellies full, we drove to Walmart and bought a bottle of Jäger for dessert! We were finally ready to go home but far from ready for sleep. 

At home, we mixed our Jäger with orange juice, mixed some beer with some fruit-flavored ginger ale, and mixed alcoholic egg nog with milk. Then we made a hookah and took it up to our room along with all the drinks. We pulled out the giant "I Love London" playing cards we hadn't used in a lonnnng time, google searched and played various long rap mixes on YouTube, and put on episodes of South Park with the volume off. We spent most of the rest of the night playing about a billion drinking card games (blackjack, poker, King's Cup, some random games we made up) while smoking hookah and getting totally wasted. 

King's Cup was the best! We played some version of it where 5s meant we had to mimic and add onto each others' dance moves, which was nearly impossible since we couldn't remember anything for more than 5 seconds. We tried though and it was hilarious! Queens were questions in that version (and maybe most versions?) of King's Cup. That was another hard one! The hardest, however, was the "Never have I ever" or whatever. At first, it was pointless because we know most of what the other person's done so we had to get creative. We made a rule that we could only use things that we didn't know whether the other person might've done. It super tough and took forever thinking of things that each other might've but hadn't necessarily done but the results were way more hilarious and rewarding that way! In the end, I don't even know who won or who drank what but I do know that almost every cup we had was empty and we had no beer and only maybe 1/3 of the Jäger bottle left. I'd also somehow managed to burn my arm on the hookah pretty badly but I didn't really realize just how badly til the next day! Part way through the game, I know Sean somehow ended up on top of me, thrusting his warm cock deep into my wet cooch. It took me a few minutes to realize we'd gotten distracted and force myself to stop enjoying the moment so much and pull the cards out from under my ass to finish the game! XD  At one point, I had to run off to the bathroom for a quick puke too. I think we eventually finished though and just in time before we were too drunk for our no longer existent attention spans to let us play anymore.

Then came the REALLY fun part! We wound up dancing with each other to the crappy hip-hop music til I was on top of Sean, giving him the type of lap dance that'd get a stripper fired from any semi-respectable gentleman's club! Of course, it was only a moment before that resulted in his dick finding itself back inside me and holy shit did that feel incredible!! Wow.. It was SO damn good, actually, that I had to slow it down and dance for Sean a bit more just so I wouldn't finish too fast. I wanted to save it up for an amazing grand finale and it worked out just like that. We ended up soaking the bed together, feeling so incredible, and finally passing out in the mess of it all around 8am.

There's were some of the party supplies we had a crazy night with:

DDR Holiday and Hard Work on Exercise Bikes - 11/20/13

Today was a well known, unofficial DDR holiday: 20, November! Sean and I didn't wake up til around 6:30pm and had things to take care of before we could get to dance gaming so it was 11:30pm before we got to celebrate. We got to Wildfire Lanes in Henderson just after 11:30 and with just enough time for a couple of credits on their DDR Extreme machine before the day was over. We played our first credit together but the 1P pad was so bad we decided to share the 2P side for our second credit. We took turns playing on the 2P side and shadowing each other and finally shared our last song, Fantasy, with Sean playing the left and right arrows and me playing the up and down. It was so much fun! We might not have gotten much dance gaming in but we made the most of our 20, November DDR credits (and, of course, both made sure we played the song, 20, November)!

Wildfire Casino and Lanes, outside the bowling alley section where DDR Extreme's located:

Headed home, we noticed a tiny bar/pub/saloon-looking place near Mountain Vista and Russell, I believe. We'd never thought to stop there before but were a bit curious this time about what we might find inside. There wasn't much other than a pool table or two, electronic darts, the bar, a vending machine with snacks and cigarettes inside, a popcorn machine with what appeared to be complimentary popcorn inside in the far corner, and a Golden Tee game with $1 credit inside. We shared the game on Golden Tee and left, continuing back towards home.

At home, we needed to get some work done but were hungry, wanted to watch something, and didn't feel like we'd gotten enough exercise at Wildfire so we cooked some food, filled our huge new mugs with tea and coffee, set up our exercise bikes with a table on top, put on something to watch, brought down our laptops so we could get work done, and solved all of our problems at once!:

Travis' Funeral, Mini House Party, Dance Game Doubles, and ITG at Aliante Casino - 11/16/13 - 11/17/13

Funderal, Aloha, and Mini House Party - 11/16/13:

Sean, Danny, and I went to Travis' funereal this morning at the LDS church at 1707 S. Sloan Lane, Las Vegas, NV 89142. I hadn't expected to get so emotional but seeing how much so many people cared for Travis really got to me. I wasn't as close to Travis as a lot of people there but I know he was definitely one of the sweetest guys I'd ever meet and I knew losing him was a big loss to his close friends and family - especially his wife, Amanda, who seemed to be taking it the hardest. 

A lot of our mutual friends had shown up for the funeral. Bobby, Afro, Elaine, Nick, Lori, Gordon, Janine, Tim, Laura, J-Rose, JJ, Rob Losito, and several others were there. Most of us didn't stay for the food but a lot of us went to eat together after instead. We drove to Aloha on Sunset and Pecos for some Hawaiian food and Sean and I even got our own meals! Lol We were hungrier than usual. I got BBQ short ribs. So we all ate and caught up with each other for awhile. Before leaving, some of us even made plans to get together to hangout and chill that night.

A lot of them went to NYNY that evening to play some ReRave but Sean and I had other things to do. They eventually went back to Bobby's place (about 9 minutes from our house) though so when Sean and I were done at home we drove down to meet up with them again. Danny was already there with 6 other people including Bobby, Afro, Elaine, Rob, Ralph, and Rob's roommate who's name I can't quite remember (sorry!). We all sat around the living room talking and laughing with comedy shows and movies playing on the tv. Sean and I did a couple of vodka shots and had a little hookah with Afro and a few others there. Elaine passed out early. Afro showed us his new PS4 and then out This Is The End On. During the movie, about half of us went to Jack In The Box for Munchie Meals. Sean and I stayed and watched the movie while smoking hookah and playing with the adorable, fluffy dog named Sebastian they had there. It was pretty fun. :) Finally, most of us said goodnight. It wasn't quite 2am yet but it'd felt like a long day. Sean and I drove straight home and passed out. 

ITG and DDR at Home - 11/17/13:

Sean and I slept all day and into the afternoon. Just after we woke up, Ralph brought Rob over for a little dance gaming. Danny entertained the two of them while Sean and I showered. Then I called Rob up for a surprise eyeful of my still-naked hubby, forgetting I was still naked too. Lol Sean did his part and gave Rob a nice, long hug. Mmmm Such a tease! Haha

Finally dressed, Sean and I joined everyone downstairs. Ralph had to head out just after that but the rest of us continued dance gaming. Sean and I only played DDR and ITG doubles-no singles aside from maybe 2 songs on DDR. I even passed my first Itg doubles 11: Mongolian Grill from Rebirth! Funny because I hadn't even done a 10 til this point and don't think I'd done an 8 before our recent Tempe, AZ Gameworks trip. 

Note: In other news, we got word from Danny that The Orleans' ITG2 dedi, formerly located at South Point, has now been moved to the Aliante Casino on the far north side of town out towards the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Maybe they'll sell it to us next? Well, at least I finally have an excuse to take Sean out to see Aliante. He's never been! 

MNF, UNLV Basketball, Mini Gym Fun, and Backyard Camping! 11/11/13 - 11/14/13

Monday Night Football - 11/11/13:

At Gold Coast for Monday Night Football this week, Sean, Danny, and I were joined by our friend Gordon! He showed up halfway through the game, got some wings, and watched the second half with us. While there, we all won some prizes. Sean and I won a cool throwback Super Bowl shirt, a business card holder, and 2 tickets to a UNLV basketball game the next day.

UNLV Basketball and Mini Gym Fun - 11/12/13:

We had some errands to run today so we couldn't make it to the UNLV basketball game on time but we still made it in time to see the end and get a good look at UNLV losing. Lol At least their school colors are cool! (See Sean's or my YouTube for vids)

At least the cheerleaders were good!

Back home, we were feeling bit bored but also in need of exercise so we came up with an awesome plan: hookah, wine, egg nog (with alcohol, of course), exercise bikes, and the second Star Trek movie all at once! Best idea EVER. Two hours of cycling while drinking, smoking, and movie-watching. It was badass!

(^pic taken just before we turned the lights out for the movie. :p)

Backyard Camping - 11/14/13:

We'd wanted a change of scenery but it was already the middle of the night by the time we'd finished work and errands so most places we might've wanted to go were closed. That never really stops us from having fun though. This time, our solution was backyard camping! We set up our tent, put a sleeping bag and pillows in, brought out some chairs, started a BBQ, and made some shandy! We had hot dogs, garlic bread, peppers, and pork rinds to eat, soda, egg nog, and shandy to drink! The dogs joined us and had a few bites. Then, when we were all full and it started getting cold out, Sean and I cuddled up together in the warm sleeping bag and watched Jaws on his laptop til we finally fell asleep with the dogs at our feet. n.n

Fight 11/4/13

Leaving the 99 Cent Store's parking lot today, some tall, ghetto, black chick who apparently doesn't know how the road works turned into the lot I was trying to leave and started yelling at me for being in her way, though I wasn't in her way and was exactly where I was supposed to be on the road. I rolled down my window to hear what she was yelling at me and tried to clear it up with her ignorant ass but she just kept yelling and calling me names til it just turned into a bunch of pointless shit talking back and forth. She was obviously trying to start drama for the sake of picking a fight so she just started screaming, "omg are we gonna have to get out of the car? Don't MAKE me get out of the car!" Of course, we both ended up out of the car with Sean right behind us, cars honking at us, spectators coming out of nearby stores just to see what might happen. At first we were just yelling back and forth, me trying to tell her what a crazy, dumbass bitch she was being and her threatening to beat my ass but not following it up. Then she went to get back in her car saying I was obviously not gonna do anything. I told her she was the one starting shit - not me - but that I wasn't seeing anything but talk. Finally, she grabbed my face and I swung hard, hitting her straight in the jaw. Apparently she hadn't seen it coming or didn't actually think I'd defend myself because she looked absolutely stunned for a brief moment before she started fighting back. Sean ran up between us but I had that dumb bitch's shirt in my hand and I didn't let go til it was in shreds. She was yelling, "go ahead, bitch. Rip it all off!" and I did just that. Sean ended up taking a kick to the leg and a hit on the head and I wound up with the tiniest graze below my left eye that IF you noticed it you'd think I'd been trying to scratch a microscopic itch. The girl, on the other hand, was a mess. We both kept swinging at each other til Sean had us out of reach of each other and she finally got back in her car, which I was busy punching the shit out of, and drove away, mouth bloody, a tooth that I'd apparently punched out in hand, shirt ripped off, and without another word. She left too fast for me to see what'd happened to the rest of her face but maybe she'll learn a lesson or at least stop thinking she can talk shit to or pick on people she doesn't expect to defend themselves. You just never know who you're dealing with and sometimes it's better that you don't find out. Maybe she'll remember that, at least til her next dental visit. XD

Sean's Neck Injury?!

Sean hurt his neck while goofing off a week or more ago. He doesn't seem to be getting better and is having all kinds of issues from numbness in the face to dizziness to light sensitivity to soreness and more. Since he's not yet insured in the US we're not quite sure what to do but know we need to get him looked at ASAP. We're probably going to have to take an emergency flight back to the UK to have him seen there but we're looking into all options and trying everything before booking our very expensive flights. Wish us luck!

November Race Registration, "Work", and a $400 Etsy Order! 10/15/13

A few miscellaneous bits worth mentioning from the day:

Sean and I got Danny to register for his first race with us: the Forever Home 4K-9 Run at Sunset Park on November 3rd! The best part is that we get to bring all the doggies. It'll be their first race too! Total cost for the 6 of us: $117.

Later, Sean and I registered for a second November race: the Mustache Dache 5K in downtown Las Vegas on November 30th! Danny didn't wanna join us but said he might come watch. Total cost for the race: $38 for the two of us. Thanks for the deal, Amazon!

Sean and I got a lot of other stuff done during the day too. We ate at a new restaurant called Taco Taco with Danny and left some of our advertisements on the bulletin board there. After that, we stopped in the Big Dollar Store (1st time there!) across from Taco Taco and got some craft supplies for things I'll be making and selling and Halloween supplies that we'll be using for videos we make, races we do, parties we attend or throw, etc. We visited Savers later in the evening and picked up some ankle weights, running weights, more craft supplies, and more Halloween stuff. Hooray for deals! Back home, we organized the garage a lot. Here's what we did with our sports equipment and holiday stuff! (Excuse the bad photo; my camera's not the best.) 

Then, amongst lots of other things we did that night, we spent a few hours on crafts and eBay and Etsy stuff. I made a bunch of accessories and Sean did pictures, listings, packaging, and much more! Finally, for the day's grand finale, we got the biggest Etsy order we'd ever received - at least to date: 200 glow in the dark alien necklaces for $400!! It was ordered by an elementary school representatives for their students participating in a walk-a-thon they were hosting and they chose us to fill their order. We cut them a bit of a deal but still made damn good profit. Awesome!! What better way to end a day?

First Friday in Downtown Las Vegas, NV - 10/4/13

Within the last couple of years, I've attended First Friday several times as a visitor, buyer, and spectator but since Sean and I opened our own online store, CandyMountainCrafts.com, last year we've also been contemplating selling at public venues such as First Friday.

For those unfamiliar with Vegas' monthly First Friday celebration here's some info about it directly from their website:

What: "Young and established local artists displaying and selling their work. Food trucks galore, Interactive KidZone, GreenZone, Music with 3 stages and over 12 live bands. Special Art Installations and Live Performance Paintings. A community coming together to celebrate art."

Where: "First Friday is celebrated in the Arts District of Downtown Las Vegas. The hub is on Casino Center Blvd in between Colorado St and California St. with an extension on 3rd St and Colorado. We have extended First Friday to include Fremont East district with live activations and music in Get Back Alley behind Beauty Bar and The Griffin."

When: Apparently the hours vary but the event takes place on the first Friday of every month, hence the name. The hours for October 2013 were 5pm-12am (midnight).

It took quite awhile to create and collect enough merchandise to make it worth it to rent a space there as well as to find the free time for such a thing. It was $50 for a 10ft x 10ft tent space at First Friday assuming we provided our own tent/gazebo. Fortunately, we'd prepared months earlier by buying a 9x9 gazebo from a Craigslist seller for $15. Not so fortunately, we didn't have a vehicle large enough to move the amount of stuff it'd take to fill a 10x10 space so we'd have to rent that too. Worst of all, though, was that registration for First Friday always closes one week after the previous First Friday event. Sean and I rarely plan what we're doing the next day. Planning what we'd be doing or where we'd be in 3+ weeks seemed next to impossible!

It was a slow and challenging process but we finally managed to do it.

Applying:

Just before October's First Friday deadline, Sean and I got brave and submitted our application for the 1st time! We were asked for pics and a description of our store and what we sell, a bio, links for our online site, etc. It'd been several days when we heard back and were told we'd been accepted! We then sent the $50 to reserve our spot and got to planning.

Planning:

We went down to the Crown and Anchor British pub and had a business meeting over some pints of shandy, planning what we needed to prepare, pack, obtain, create, etc prior to our big night. In addition to all the things we still needed to obtain, here's the list we came up with of things we had to pack and take with us: money box (to hold change and profits in), dolly (though we ended up not needing it), 3 chairs (a spare in case Danny stopped by the booth), flood light, flashlights, black wire rack, white wire rack, the supplies we had on/in/near the white wire rack, trash can, bricks to tie tent/gazebo to, white table, black table, vanity, tent, string for tent, long extension cord, 4 way extension (multi-outlet), business cards & advertisements, candy dish, wipes, tissue, Sharpie, notepads & pens (to write what sells), scissors, tape, glue, thumb tacks, zip ties, hammer & nails (you never know!), craft supplies (to custom make things on the spot), earrings, bottle lamps, hangers for clothes, food/drink/snacks (we didn't wanna starve while there!). Of course, it was a bullet point list at the time but that'd just be a space waster here.

Preparing:

Over the next couple of weeks, we did a little shopping and picked up a few inexpensive things to make First Friday more successful for us ie: table cloths, candy for our candy dish, a mini light to make our merchandise more visible, Tupperware containers to hold and display some of our accessories.

A couple of days before the event, we made an online reservation for a Uhaul rental van to transport our stuff. The truck was $20 plus tax for a 24 hour rental and $0.59 per mile. Because of the area we'd be leaving the van unattended in, we paid an extra $10 for their loss/damage waiver. Calculating miles between Uhaul, home, and First Friday and miles per gallon, the entire rental cost-including gas- should be just under $60 (ended up being $58).

Packing:

We spent all day Thursday organizing and packing things at home so it'd be quick loading the van and we'd have a game plan once it was time to set up. We made 3 main piles: the upstairs stuff (things that were safer from pets upstairs and would be taken directly from there to the van), downstairs stuff (heavier stuff that we normally keep downstairs - more practical to take directly to the van), and the fridge (the food and drink we'd be eating while there). As we were doing this, we kept finding a million other things that still needed to be done such as printing business cards, labeling everything with price tags, and sorting things into groups of similar items so it'd be easy to navigate around our booth.

It was the middle of the night by the time we finished and we were absolutely exhausted. We had time to get some sleep but we knew it wouldn't be enough.

Game time!:

We woke up around 10:30am and got ourselves ready for the day, dressing up and eating breakfast before driving down to Uhaul to pick up our rental van at noon.

Back home with the van, we loaded everything up! We'd been a bit worried that it wouldn't all fit in but it actually only took up about half the space.

First Friday setup didn't start til 2:30pm and loading things up hadn't taken nearly as long as expected so we still had a lot of time to kill before leaving. We spent that time making a Jäger bottle lamp to take with us and try and sell alongside the other bottle lamps we'd made. Sadly, we didn't have time to prepare any other bottle lamps and we didn't have many made (due to selling some and not having/taking time to make others) so we couldn't take much variety with us but at least we could get the word out that we make and sell bottle lamps for good prices so anyone wanting them could keep us in mind when choosing who to purchase from.

On the way to First Friday, we realized we'd forgotten to get smaller bills and change for our customers. We stopped at a bank and got $40 in ones and $20 in quarters before continuing on our way.

Once we got to the Art District in downtown where First Friday was setting up, we struggled a lot to find where WE were supposed to be setting up. We finally worked out that our spot was with some of the other artists on the dirt lot on E California Ave and S Casino Center Blvd. We got our spot assignment and unloaded the truck. Then Sean went to park the truck, since we couldn't keep it there, while I started setting up. Sean got back in about 10 minutes and helped me put the gazebo together.

We were nearly 1.5 hours late arriving for set up and nothing was going as planned. Our gazebo was easy to put together (though not as easy as the sturdy fold-out ones everyone else had) but the wind was so strong we spent about an hour just trying to tie it down so that it wouldn't blow it away after we set it up! Then we realized the gazebo didn't have any metal bars going around the bottoms edges of the canopy's four sides so we had nothing to hang half of our merchandise on to display it. We finally had to give up on selling those items and just store them. While setting everything else up on tables and such, which was again tough because our space was more limited by the design of the gazebo than expected, we also had to keep an eye on and sometimes even hold the gazebo so it wouldn't blow over with the stronger, unexpected gusts of wind. During this time, around 5pm, customers started to show up. We hadn't priced anything so it was a while before we could get any sales. We finally got our crap together, though, and started selling!

I spent almost all of my down time throughout the night rearranging things and looking for spots for things I hadn't yet been able to put on display but I think the majority of the stuff we got out and for sale was ready to go and customer friendly before 6pm. That still left us a good 6 hours to bring in customers and make some money! We sold A LOT of keychains and other small accessories but didn't have room to put out many of the bigger, more valuable items that would've increased our profits greatly. Still, we made a decent enough profit and learned a lot - mainly to get a better gazebo if we plan to sell there again. One thing we were really happy about though was that most of the things we were selling protected in little ziplocs. Good thing because the wind kept blowing dirt all over everything and by the end of the night everything exposed was covered! The wind was actually so bad, Sean had to spend a good several hours holding our gazebo in place to be sure it wouldn't blow over or hurt anyone. Most other people's gazebos were doing fine, however. We just needed a much sturdier one. Besides being super windy, it got kinda cold out. I was alright but Sean had forgotten a jacket. :(

During the night, a few people we knew - Roberto, Nate, etc - passed by, surprised to see us selling there, and stopped to say hi!

Around 11pm, most other sellers were packing up. Things died down but we stuck it out for the last hour or so, finally packing up our dirty tent, paying the taxes all sellers are required to collect from their sales and pay to First Friday/government, and loading the truck just after midnight.

We'd made over $210 but after the cost of the truck, the fee for tent space at First Friday, and taxes we were left with about $100 profit minus the cost of supplies and such. We decided it was definitely not worth the effort to do the same way again but we'd learned enough to know how to do it differently and make a really good amount of profit if we really wanted to. First off, we'd much rather exhibit and sell indoors so we wouldn't have to deal with things like weather. The wind and dirt were both big issues and the cold was a minor annoyance as well. All three of those things could be remedied by selling at indoor events or indoor spots at events. Additionally, we really learned the importance of utilizing our vertical, as well as our horizontal, space. We'd meant to hang things from the gazebo but our profits were significantly affected by the fact that we weren't able to do so. The setup and packing away times took away from the value of the profit too since we put far too much time and effort in on both ends. It just didn't seem worth it for the amount we could potentially make at that particular event though we were aware that the required time for such things would significantly decrease with experience and once a pattern was developed. A more permanent location such as a store of our own in a good, visible, and busy location would be so much better and would save us from the tedious efforts of packing. If we decided to continue vending at public events though, it'd also increase our profits a lot over time if we could obtain a larger vehicle of our own such as a minivan or even a moving van to transport our things rather than having to deal with the hassle and expense of renting such a vehicle every time we want to attend an event. Other things we realized we needed to consider if planning for future events were losses accrued when dealing with the public such as items being stolen or broken, having to adjust our schedules to fit upcoming events, having to be personable and provide a more personal customer service experience than when selling online, and having to present and uphold a good public image. I'm sure there's much more to it but that's what immediately came to mind. It's also harder to reach as large of a market in person since, to an extent, you have to bring the customers in yourself (rather than having them look for you) and provide items that the customers you'll bring in (which sometimes varies by event or location) will be interested in. On the bright side, costs to the buyer can sometimes be much lower in person since fees such as shipping or listing on/selling through online websites won't apply. Overall, we deducted that First Friday would be a worthwhile endeavor for us again if we just wanted something different to do, obtained a moving vehicle, could get a tent space off of the dirt lot, just wanted some periodic advertising to get our name out there, and/or better utilized our space to sell larger and more valuable items. For the time being, however, it looks like we'll be sticking to our online sales. On that note, check us out at any of the following!:

CandyMountainCrafts.com

My eBay

Sean's eBay

Danny's eBay

MNF, ITG/DDR, Red Rock Overlook with Dogs, NES, Sympathy For The Devil 5k, Midnight Cowboy 5k, etc 9/9/13-9/14/13

Monday Night Football, ITG/DDR, Red Rock Overlook with the Dogs, NES, Sympathy For The Devil (Running With The Devil) 5k race, Midnight Cowboy 5k race, etc 9/9/13-9/14/13


9/9/13:

Amongst lots of other things, we went to Wildfire Lanes, one of Vegas' few 24hr dance game locations, for a few early morning credits on DDR Megamix today! Still $0.50/3 songs. 2P side is still pretty good, though the screws hurt if you don't wear shoes. Vids coming soon!

Just after that, we went to Walmart and got a new car battery. Our old one was shot but still have us some trade in value so we only had to pay $65 or $69 or something.

Later, Sean and I went to Johnny Rockets for a promotion they had going on: free milkshakes just for saying "yummy"! Sean got vanilla, I got chocolate, and they really were yummy!

Free shake offer:

Our free shakes!:

Danny got home from work just after that and then he, Sean, and I went the first Monday Night Football event of the season at Gold Coast! We didn't win anything in the raffle this time but we totally raped the food deals there, per usual. Even better news: the bowling alley's arcade now has DDR Supernova available 24/7! (I don't think it was there before?) Wow.. Another 24 hour dance machine in Vegas?!

MNF at Gold Coast!:

Food and drink specials:

Inside the Showroom at Gold Coast for week 1 of Monday Night Football:

9/11/13 & 9/12/13:

Despite waking up with a cold, today was super cool! After some various activities in and out of the house, Sean and I went to play some ITG at Sam's Town. JJ was working so he hooked us up with a few free credits and chatted with us for awhile. His gf, Jennifer Losito, stopped in a bit later. We hadn't seen her in quite awhile either so we asked her what she'd been up to and caught up a little. After 5 credits together, Sean and I were too worn out so we decided to get on with things and drove on to our next destination!

We had to swing back by the house to pick the dogs up for our next adventure but as we were getting them loaded in the car a crazy rainstorm hit out of nowhere. It was POURING down! Thunder, lightning, and wind were going crazy and streets and freeways were getting a bit flooded. It calmed down slightly after awhile and more so after we left the house but it stayed pretty wet for most of the rest of the evening and rained a good amount just after sunset too.

Of course, Sean and I aren't the types to let weather deter us from our plans so we got the dogs loaded up in the car and drove out to Red Rock Canyon! The dogs had never been up there before and we'd wanted to take them exploring for so long! It wasn't long til sunset so we didn't go to our usual spot. Instead, we went to a Red Rock overlook and picnic area and took the dogs out running around in the dessert! (Check my YouTube for the full vid of our Red Rock Overlook adventure!)

The dogs were so excited for their trip! (This was right before the crazy rain storm hit. Our convertible top was up almost immediately after this pic!):

Little Girl offered to drive us there. :p  :

Red Rock Overlook:

Exploring Red Rock Overlook:

We were probably out there an hour or more when it started raining hard again. We made our way back to the picnic area by the car, had some snacks, and hopped back in the car.

On the way home, we stopped at Gameworld, which was actually open! Wow. It was Sean's first time actually going inside. The place had changed since I'd last been in maybe a couple years prior. The old arcade area was completely closed off but a new card game area was open on the other side. I guess they'd given up the space lease on the arcade area and leased out the space on the opposite side instead, keeping the main game store in the middle! Sean bought himself Track and Field for the Nintendo while we were there. I didn't see anything I wanted for prices I wanted to play but I checked out a lot of cool games, some of which I'll probably pick up elsewhere in the future.

Front of Gameworld:

These pics don't do the place justice but here's the view from just inside the front door:

Some arcade games at Gameworld:

The card game area of Gameworld (separate but adjacent room):

We were starving so we got pizza from Little Caesars before going home. Then we put some blankets down on the floor by our downstairs tv and game console setup and ate pizza while gaming from about 10pm til 1am! I watched Sean play some of his new NES games, I had a few tries on Mario and Track and Field (didn't go well x.x), and Sean watched me play about 45mind of Fatal Frame in the dark!! Ahhh!! Finally, we fell asleep together, all wrapped up in our blankets on the floor there.

Sean playing some NES!:

When we woke up 5 hours later at 6am the tv and ps2 were still on! We played a few more hours on some various games together including Flow, for which I even brought out my Beat [drum] pad for Sean to try, and Pirates of the Caribbean, which neither of us had tried before but had a really good time with! Crazy! Aside from dance gaming, I hadn't had a gaming sesh like that since I played Daggerfall when I was 9!! That's why it's so amazing being married to Sean. I'm super lucky!

Anyway, we finally got our lazy butts up just in time to make it to Epic Thrift at 9am and take advantage of their crazy Thursday $1 sales. We got so many incredible things for just $1 each! Most things were to resell on eBay and make money from but we got ourselves a croquet set (my 1st!), a skateboard, and a pair of track shoes (for me!) for just $3 total!!! I feel like we don't stop winning. LOL

Oh yeah, and we did a lot of cool things throughout the day but most importantly we met Danny at Sam's Town later that night, played a tough set on ITG, and I didn't get that tired. My period started while I was playing but that didn't stop me either. :p It was feeling easier than it had in a long time. I think I'm finally dusting the cobwebs off. Guess who's getting it back?!

We ate with Danny at Fatburger at Sunset Station after that and then Sean and I chilled out for the rest of the night, finally going to bed around 1am maybe.


9/13/13:

Sean and I didn't wake up til 10:30am but when we did wake up we woke up horny! We were all over each other in no time at all, Sean going in every one of my holes til he ended up in my butt. Mmm My vag started bleeding everywhere while we were doing each other and by the time we were done the bed looked like a murder scene and Sean was covered!! Felt good though. XD

You should've seen the rest of the bed!:

We took care of and did some fun and semi-important things later and eventually went to eat at In-N-Out and watch a movie called The World's End at Sam's Town with Danny! Simon Pegg's character in the movie, Gary King, resembles Sean almost EXACTLY and not just because of the accent! His sense of humor, vocabulary, short attention span, style of arguing, need to always be right, and spontaneous, childish, energetic, carefree, and sometimes accidentally inconsiderate personality are nearly dead on with Sean's with the one exception that Sean can typically manage to focus and get down to business when absolutely mandatory. XD Seriously, aside from the unexpected sci-fi twist that the movie took it felt like I was watching an older version of Sean in his natural environment on the big screen!

More info on the movie The World's End here (thanks, Wikipedia!):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_World%27s_End_(film)


After the movie, Sean and I came back home and handled things around the house. Then we drove alllll the way across town to:

The RoadRunner
9820 W Flamingo
Las Vegas, NV 89147
702-243-5329

It was both a restaurant and the location of the following night's race that we were planning to do so we went in a day early to have a look around! It was a really cool restaurant, very western themed with lots to offer for just about everyone. They even had pinball! Lol

Just down the street from there, we saw a carnival! We stopped by to look around. Turned out, it was this year's Sean Genaro Festival location! I'd been to that festival before but Sean hadn't and when I'd gone before it'd been at Rio or some more central location in Vegas and they didn't have the carnival setup, rides, etc.

An awesome inflatable dragon slide-thing at the 2013 San Genaro Festival:

Part of the carnival area:

On the way home, we stopped at Walmart and did some grocery shopping.

At home again, we set some blankets in front of the downstairs tv again, Sean played the Track and Field 2 NES game he'd just bought for awhile while I watched, and we ate some ramen and bread rolls.

It was just before 3am when we fell asleep there on the floor...


9/14/13:

We woke up at 5:30am because we had a different race to go to! We hadn't yet registered but luckily the event was procrastinator friendly so we just drove down and registered right before our 7:10am race time! The race: Sympathy For The Devil (possibly the last in the Running With The Devil series). The event: 5k! We both decided to run the 5k this time. It was cheaper and I'm better at shorter distances. :) The location:

Equestrian Park - River Mountains Loop Trail
1200 Equestrian Dr
Henderson, NV 89015

We arrived with devil horns and tails on at 6:25am and registered, $40/person just because it was so last minute. They gave us cool race goodies including some energy gel, drink mix, Running With The Devil technical shirts, and our race bibs! 

The shirts: 

We all got lined up a few minutes to race time. As usual, Sean started at the very front and I started at the back. I prefer the back because the feeling of passing people up rather than getting passed up is worth the few seconds it might cost me at the end of the race. Besides, I didn't think I'd be beating many people in the race considering I almost never run and hadn't run more than a few minutes since a random 5k we did in June, 3 months and 1 week prior. Surprisingly, I was very wrong! I was actually stuck behind people and having to try not to trip over slower runners for the first few seconds, passed most people up within another few seconds, and had passed almost everyone within a couple of minutes. At first I wondered if I was maybe running too fast but I was pretty sure I could maintain the pace I was doing for 3 miles so I just kept doing my own thing til I was 3rd or 4th from the front. Just before I reached the halfway turn around where the 5k doubles back, Sean and a guy who was neck and neck with him in 1st passed by me on their return. I blew Sean a kiss for good luck. Of course, I didn't think he'd need it. I'd expected him to win from the start and I know the other guy didn't stand a chance! About 2 miles into the race, I noticed my denim shorts were rubbing my thighs a lot and giving me a rash. Bad outfit choice! The devil horns and tail were fine but I was feeling kinda tired and starting to get really bad cramps too. I guess being on my period wasn't helping the matter but I sure as hell wasn't gonna let cramps stop me when I knew my lungs and legs could handle it! Instead, I put my hands on my sides for a bit and put a little pressure on the cramps to relieve them. I didn't care if I was supposed to or not. It felt much better and kept me from stopping. Despite my best efforts, however, a few guys passed me up and there was no way I could catch them again. I guess they hadn't pushed too hard at the start because I knew I hadn't slowed down and they made passing me seem relatively easy, though on of them stopped a couple of times during the remainder of the race, looked back, and started running again. I was okay with it. I was running my own race and I felt like I was doing good for myself. By 3 miles, I was nearly drained! I sprinted the finish, as I always do, but hesitated just a little at the very end because I didn't know where to stop running. There was a sign that said, "finish" but it was just before the spot you have to cross to get your time. I slowed down just a bit but it didn't cost me a place or anything. I still came in 6th overall (after Sean, the guy he was running with, and the other few guys ahead of me) and 1st female out of 42 people! Sean had come in 1st overall! Wow. He was waiting for me at the finish line and as soon as I got my medal he took me to get some water and snacks. 

The finish line including me finishing!:





We took a few pics and vids after that and then it was time for the awards ceremony! We weren't able to catch the start, where they announced my name, on video but we got the rest!:



Click here for full 5k race results: http://finishstats.com/sympathy-for-the-devil/


Sean and me in front of the finish line with our medals and 1st place "trophies"!:

Our awards/"trophies" (1st place man overall and 1st place woman overall):

After grabbing some snacks for the road, we decided to start back towards home. On the way, we saw and decided to check out some yard sales. At one of them, we found a bicycle and one of those bicycle trailer things you put your kids in. We paid a total of $40 for both, planning to use the bike for parts for our other bikes and the trailer thing to put the doggies in so we can cycle them around town or even up to Red Rock with us!

I was super hungry by the time we finished with yard sales so we went home and made ramen, sausage, and eggs. We put an episode of Heroes on and ate but after finishing the food Sean was out in a matter of minutes. I watched the rest of the episode then tried to sleep with him but 3 hours later I was wide awake and couldn't fall asleep again. I laid there with Sean for about 40 minutes longer before waking him and then another 2 hours trying to get his sleepy butt out of bed! 

We finally left the house again around 6:45pm, headed for Savers to find some cowboy hats for the Midnight Cowboy race at The RoadRunner that night. I found an awesome one for $10. Normally I wouldn't spend that much on a hat but the occasion made it worth it! Sean couldn't find a cowboy hat that would fit his head properly but he found a really funny hat that he wanted instead.

Then we got a few groceries at the 99 Cent Store and drove home to make some food! Sean cooked up some mushrooms and potatoes, I think I made smoothies, and we might've had some leftovers or something. We are upstairs while rewatching that episode of Heroes. Then we got ready for the race and went downstairs where Danny and I watched Sean play NES games til it was time to go!

We got to The RoadRunner 40 mins before race time and registered, $40 per person for the 5k. We didn't wanna pay the extra $5 each for the 10k plus we were a bit sore from that morning's race and decided just to run this one together for fun! It was pretty dark and hard to get good pics/vids but they had a dj, cool lights, and lots of runners there! They gave us technical race shirts, glow stick bracelets and necklaces, and some other little goodies in our race packets.

We started running about 2 mins after midnight. Since Sean likes to start in front and I prefer the back, we started together in the middle. We ran side by side the whole way, hats on, talking about video games most of the way. We weren't trying too hard at first since it was just a fun run for us and we were just enjoying each others' company and the Vegas sights. I think the first mile took us over 10 mins. We picked up the pace for the second mile though, which was funny because we had to run up and down hill, turn around at the halfway point, and run up and down hill again during it. By the last mile, we were beasting! We weren't sure why and didn't plan to but I guess it just felt right. We got progressively faster til the end, passing up some girl about 400 meters from the end and then sprinting the finish! Just past the finish line, they handed us our awesome finishers medals.

The medals:

We didn't realize at the time and hadn't been trying to but we accidentally won other prizes too! Sean had placed 2nd in his age category just by running with me. He wasn't even out of breath, hadn't tried hard at all, and probably would've won the entire race if he'd ran it on his own but it was pretty awesome that he placed anyway! I'd placed first in my age category. I'd also placed 3rd female but prizes only went 2 deep. Sean and I both got a couple of certificates to show for our efforts (or lack thereof) and watched the rest of the awards ceremony too. :)



The age group awards Sean and I received:

Sean and I were pretty thirsty by then so we took advantage of the post race goodies and helped ourselves to four Gatorades, 2 Core Power protein shakes, and even a few bananas, bagels, and little muffins. Mmm! The race officials were also giving out free drink coupons to runners. A good amount of runners didn't want theirs though so we ended up with 6!

Danny had driven from home to meet up with us for food at The RoadRunner and arrived just a bit before the awards ceremony. The dj was playing all night so Danny had to endure watching Sean and me do the Cha Cha Slide before going inside with him to eat. XD Then we all went in, Sean and I used our 6 drink coupons to get 4 beers and 2 Cokes (1 for Danny!), and we sat down for food! Sean and I chugged a beer each, shared some chicken wings, and then tried in vain to drink our second beers. 



Somehow, it was about 3:30am by then so we all went home to sleep, though Sean and I showered and hung out til about 5am first!