Loss Is Never Easy…

I am so sad today. It seems so sudden, but it’s not. Sudden because I live in Las Vegas and he in Oklahoma, making it hard to visit my father’s side of the family frequently. Flights from Vegas to Oklahoma on Southwest, on average are $700 round trip two weeks in advance (which I just don’t understand why getting OUT of Vegas cost a pretty penny, however, getting here is not nearly as much.) His health has gone down over the past year and, fortunately, the family has been able to prepare. We received a shocking call this morning.

My dad is the oldest of many siblings with Robert Sr. being the second. It’s crazy how much they all look-alike. It’s also funny how differently we were raised. My cousins are from the country, sounding and behaving like it; we are true products of the West Coast and Vegas. They laughed at us a lot and we laughed at them right back, mainly because of how different we sounded when we all talked.  

My mother, his mother, and my other aunt married brothers and were pregnant at the same time with their children. My sister Carri, then cousin Arlena, me, then my brother, cousin Renthy (Orenthal – yes, in honor of OJ Simpson. It was the 70s), and Cousin Freddie are all the same age. We were stair steps. We grew up so close. They would come to Vegas for a few days, then we would head to Los Angeles and Oakland to visit more family, go to Disneyland, Knotts Berry Farm, Sea World, Lion Country Safari, and the beach. We would head back to Oklahoma for family reunions during the summer, only to be eaten alive by bugs. We were “deceived” about dinner being “chicken” when it was really rabbit, catfish, and frog legs caught earlier in the day by my dad and uncles to go along side some of the best BBQ I’ve ever eaten in my entire life coated with my Uncle Chief’s homemade BBQ sauce (he never did share the recipe.)

Which equates to a lot of the problem. Poor eating habits. I don’t ever recall eating a vegetable while in Oklahoma over the years. No salad, fruit, water… mainly, pop or something fried or grilled. My parents didn’t seem to mind because it was only for a short amount of time then back to our regular healthy West Coast diet and some form of exercise on a regular basis.

My point is to take better care of ourselves. He was too young to pass in such a way. Now he will miss his children’s graduations, weddings, and grandchildren –although he was lucky enough to meet one “little Miss Shuga Foot.” She is really going to miss out on how funny her Paw Paw was… I know I already do.

ANH

MLK and Le Cirque at Bellagio

MLK banquet invite

Saturday night started out with me attending the 30^th Anniversary King Banquet at the Flamingo Hotel  during Martin Luther King weekend with my beautiful mother. We attended on behalf of my lifelong friend Cedric Crear. My mother loves events like this so when I asked her if she would be my date I got a definite yes. The guest speaker was Mayor Kasim Reed of Atlanta, I have to admit I did not hear because I left a bit after dessert was served. It was uncomfortably cold in the ballroom and the program was running long, but the message of why I was there was not forgotten. I left to spend some time with my good friend Rocky who was across the street at the Bellagio.

Rocky Nash

Earlier that day, she surprised me via Skype asking if I wanted to meet up after the event because she was in Vegas for a few days. I did not realize how much I missed our girl time until I was able to give her a hug. I refer to Rocky as my savvy international traveler since she is always on the move globally. Last year she lived in China and visited Sweden. Several weeks ago she was in Paris and now she lives in New York City. I love Skype. It makes it seem as if she is just across town when we video chat.

Image by Ken Lund via Flickr

Bellagio is such a beautiful property. We met in the lobby under the exquisite chandelier made of glass by sculptor Dale Chihuly then took in the Chinese New Yeardisplay at the Conservatory & Botanical Gardens before heading over to the AAA Five Diamond rated Le Cirquefor a glass of wine and some much needed girl talk. We sat at the cozy bar in the lounge and engaged in conversation with William the bartender and waited for her friend Stephani to join us.

Le Cirque Lounge

I am a diehard lover of red wine – the fuller the body the better, but after one glass, he turned us on to the French 75 (I’ll place the recipe at the end of this post) and literally had me licking my martini glass and rethinking my drink options. As she’s telling me about her whirlwind trip to Vegas the pastry chef delighted us with an array of scrumptious desserts. Nothing is better than lots of chocolate from a French chef.

Chocolate Egg

Mixed desserts

Chocolate Souffle with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

 

 

 

 

 

It was getting late so I said good night and headed home as they continued to Hyde (I will have more on the new luxurious spot in another post coming soon…)

French 75

• 1/2 ounces St. Germain
• 2 ounces cucumber infused vodka
• Splash of sweet and sour
• Top off with champagne

In a chilled cocktail shaker add some ice and shake well, then strain into a chilled martini glass and top off with champagne.

Thank you for reading,

Adrienne xo