It’s been a long time since I’ve written anything as the Frugal Princess! And I’m not sure I even qualify anymore, especially since my daughter is about the age when I became the “Frugal Princess,” and I have become a grandmother. I guess even princesses grow old!
I just returned home from a week-long stay in Las Vegas with my mom, the Queen of Comps, and my step-dad, the King of Kindness. It was a different kind of week, though, with just a little gambling and whole lot of real life. But all of it was frugal, of course.
First – some family updates:
My husband, Steve, is still working with soldiers even though he retired from the Army 10 years ago in October. He recently transitioned from year-to-year civilian military contract jobs to a more permanent Government Service job, but still at Ft. Benning. He has also become a Master Scuba Instructor and loves his new hobby/part-time job and has even coaxed me into the water to get my Advanced Open Water Scuba Certification! We both went back to college and finally got our bachelor’s degrees we had been trying to complete for many years. I enjoy supporting the military again by working as the Military Science Department Administrative Secretary at Columbus State University where I get to work with ROTC cadets, active duty instructors, and government staff. Steve and I are too busy to be lonely empty-nesters and besides, our two pups, Maggie and Murphy, think they are our kids and need our undivided attention.
Our ever-energetic son, Zachary, graduated from Columbus State University, became a police officer, serves in the Georgia National Guard, and still finds time to flip all over town doing parkour and martial arts. He and our bonus daughter, Taylor, have two sons, Asher (almost 4) and Bowen (15 mo.), and they are expecting a sweet little girl (YIPEE!) in November. We never knew being grandparents and in-laws would be so cool!
Kaity is our adventurous child who lives in Atlanta and is finishing her graduate degree in Film, Video, and Digital Imaging Production at Georgia State this December. She stays very busy with her classes, an assistantship and internships, a YouTube channel (Geocaching Kaity), running marathons, and dog-walking as her “side hustle.” We often tag along on her hiking and outdoor adventures.
Although we all come to Vegas for family visits, I came this time by myself, enjoying the chance for some one-on-one quality time with my parents. The first few days we spent running errands, picking up bounce-back free play at various casinos and getting together with friends and in-town family using food comps that were going to expire. And it is always fun to shop in casino gift shops with comps. Thankfully, we now will have a baby girl to buy for. Mom said she had bought out all the boy stuff using her comps at the Silverton gift shop so she will soon have more options – this little girl is probably destined to be mermaid-crazy from the time she is born.
The main reason for my coming on this particular trip was that mid-week Mom had been scheduled for out-patient mouth surgery to remove some benign cysts under her tongue and I was thankful to be able to play nursemaid for the “old folks.” {WINK} The surgery was not serious but the recovery would be slow and painful. I became her master smoothie-maker.
While Mom was recuperating, Brad and I went to several casinos to pick up free play and take advantage of multiple-point days to play some video poker. Luckily Mom had taught me well over the years and I actually felt like I knew what I was doing! My favorite game of all time is full-pay Deuces Wild, which I learned to play before I was even 21 and is still my favorite today. Luckily, the Palms brought back a bank of these games just in time for my visit. I have hit several royal flushes and many 4-deuce jackpots on these machines down through the years but no luck this time. However, I didn’t lose much money – I found I can’t sit and play as long as I used to, which ends up being a frugal way to stretch your bankroll!
Visits to Vegas have certainly changed for me and for my family over the years and as time spirals faster and faster as we grow older, we have to learn how to adjust and not expect things to stay the same. Mom and Brad no longer have the energy for the busy-every-minute schedule they used to keep, and I really enjoyed their slower pace this visit. We wanted to make the most out of every minute and learn to appreciate even the very smallest things. We loved swimming in the condo’s warm pool after the sun went down. We marveled at the hummingbirds and sparrows finishing off the red sugar water in the birdfeeder on their patio. We watched the brave tree trimmers shimmy up and down the tall palm trees.
It was a memorable visit and I can’t wait to return.
Outside the Orleans buffet with my mom and Aunt Starr