Prom Night in Mississippi

This past weekend was full of nothing :) I barely left the house - only to go grocery shopping on Sunday morning and head out that afternoon for frozen yogurt with Eric and our neighbors. Anyhow, I spent most of the day on the computer or reading or in front of the TV.

I ended up watching this documentary on HBO called Prom Night in Mississippi. It was very interesting. In short, a high school in Charleston, Mississippi was made an offer by Morgan Freeman (who happens to live in that city with a population of 2100!). Mr. Freeman offered to pay for their prom as long as they had an integrated prom. Yes, INTEGRATED - this was filmed in 2008! Though the school & its classes had been integrated since 1970, the proms were organized by the parents of the students and had been segregated - so there were always two proms - the "White Prom" and the "Black Prom". In 2008, they made a change.

Being in an interracial relationship, I can tell you first hand that it's amazing to me that people still have these close minded, inaccurate, & racist beliefs. Am I angry that people have these beliefs? Nope - that's what life is about. Free Will. God gave it to us - to choose what is right and wrong. I'm not one to judge another person. What I do get upset about is when people decide to act on these beliefs by hurting others - physically, emotionally, mentally. That does bother me.

There was a couple - high school seniors. She was white and he was black. They purposely didn't display their affection in public because they were afraid. Her parents were racist, didn't think they should be together, trying to teach her to hate black people as their parents and their parents did. His parents raised him to stay away from white people as well - so it goes both ways.

It was such an interesting documentary and was so happy that this school was able to make a change. Some may think its for the bad, others may think for the good - but either way - they were able to make a change.

If you get a chance, check out the documentary currently playing on HBO - but I'm sure you can find it on the internet somewhere!

My poor baby Quinn

If you don't know me, you could easily take a look at my "family" picture and get a sense that I love animals. I have a doggy bakery business, volunteer and support local rescue organizations and treat my doggies and kitties like my children. They also go to grandma and grandpa's to get spoiled just like grandchildren.

Unfortunately, a couple weeks ago, Eric and I had been noticing our eldest, Quinn, peeing out of the litter box. We've had her since November of 2005, and she's never done this before. We were thinking maybe it's behavioral because we did get another cat and there is only one litter box, but then again - we got Gizmo (our youngest) in August of 2008. Long enough for them to have adjusted to each other.

She kept peeing on plastic bags (thank goodness it wasn't on our new carpets!), and then noticed there was blood in her urine. We immediately took her to the vet. Dr. Williams (who is the best vet in the world, by the way) put her on an antibiotic immediately and we had to wait to do a urinalysis the next day (Quinn of course didn't need to pee and it was 5 in the evening at this point). Two weeks ago, she went in for her urinalysis and they didn't see any crystals, but did notice a lot of blood. Because the first set of antibiotics was in a shot form, we didn't have to do much but come back in two weeks. Well, today was follow up time and they noticed blood still in her urine. She's done another urinalysis (which we get the results for tomorrow) and they took an x-ray to see if they could see any crystals (which they didn't - so praying the urinalysis comes back with no signs of crytals) and she has been given oral antibiotics to try (yikes - wish me luck on that!). So now, just have to wait it out again.

Growing up, I never had cats. My brothers are allergic. When Eric and I moved in together, our first "child" was Quinn. He had grown up with cats so he's much more of a pro at this. I decided to do some research. I found this site which was really really good and informative - http://www.uvma.org/cats/urinary-problems.htm. Now, crystals are almost like kidney stones in humans. If not treated or taken care of, they can cause a blockage which can be lethal. Click on the link and learn more, especially if you have a kitty or few in your home.

Lesson of the day - your pets are part of your family too. Make sure they get regular check ups and are up to date on their vaccinations. If there's anything that seems wrong or inconsistent with their normal behavior, call your vet!! It may just save their life!!

M Buffet - one word: Yummo.

At one time in my life, when I was still living in Cali, I used to come to Vegas at least once a month to party, drink, get away and eat!!! Now that I live here, oh man have things changed! I don't go to the strip often and I don't do much partying - unless family or friends come into town and they insist. One thing I still do - is EAT! And I typically don't go into a hotel/resort to eat, just because it's so overpriced and sometimes inconvenient... but my mind has been changed!

One place that I've absolutely fallen in love with is the M Resort. Maybe because it's new, and has that brand new resort smell, or maybe because I've eaten at their seafood buffet twice in the last week :) Talk about fatty!! Also, throughout the casino, they have "self serve" sodas for the patrons to help themselves to. Now, that I thought was the coolest thing in the world! Ha ha! Of course they have cocktail waitresses ready to serve you at the tables and machines, but if you don't want alcohol and you're just thirsty - VERY convenient!

All I can say about The Studio B Buffet is yummo! First of all, on Fridays to Sundays, dinner is a seafood dinner comparable to other high end resort buffets, but half the price! So for $25.95 (and if you get a players card, they'll automatically knock off $2) you get a variety of seafood and other types of food including crab legs, oysters, bamboo salmon (which was in Eric's dream last night!), Pad Thai, sushi, sashimi, pizza, tempura, mashed sweet potatoes with marhmallow on top, and desserts such as flourless chocolate cake, crepes, gelato and creme brulee! Not to mention an espresso bar AND beer and wine included with the meal! You read that right, INCLUDED!!! That in itself is worth going for!

In addition to the wonderful food, the service and view are amazing. They have a back room with floor to ceiling windows with a beautiful view of the valley and the strip from a distance. Now mind you, this hotel is about 14 miles from the strip (or maybe a little less) but for a local like me, worth the drive (since it's only about 15 minutes away from my house). Also, from what I understand - the rooms are BEAUTIFUL. Every room has floor to ceiling windows as well, with great views - either of the mountains or the strip/city. They have several other restaurants, machines, tables, poker room, pool (with a hip pool club during the "hot" summer weekends) and even their own brewery! Can't go wrong with $3 drafts. :)

So next time you're in town, I would definitely recommend this spot. Actually, I'll take ya! Really, I insist! Ha ha....

By the way, pictures courtesy of my brother, Richie. Thanks Rich! I didn't have time to take pictures at dinner last night because my hands were, well... full of food :) Enjoy!

Yes, had to do it - Michael Jackson

Ok, I am sure everyone is so tired about hearing about the late MJ, but too bad. It's my blog. And I haven't spoken on it. Haha.... is there an etiquette to blogging? Ah well...here I go...

Let me start off by saying, I am in no way one of these crazy fans that would faint at the sight of MJ. I am definitely a fan, just ask my parents and my brother, Richie, about the countless number of times I'd watch the Thriller video all day every day. Rewinding the betamax player (ya'll remember those!?!) over and over and over again. My mom reminds me to this day that she was so tired of this song but because she loved me, she would let me play it all day :)

Ok, MJ's death. One of my co-workers started yelling in the office that MJ was dead. I didn't believe her. I went online and on the msn homepage, it stated that he had suffered cardiac arrest and was rushed to the hospital. The only media outlet that was reporting his death was TMZ. I'm a big fan of TMZ, but didn't want to rely on them for this story. I then went on FB and EVERYONE was talking about it... soon after, the confirmations started rolling in.

I was genuinely upset. I was sad. Not sure exactly why though. I mean, yes - death is always a sad experience, but because I had no personal ties to this man (other then my countless fond memories of his songs), why was I so upset? Was it because I was never going to see him perform again? Or was it because I've come to the realization that I'm getting older, and so many people that I have admired and even looked up to are passing away around me?



During his memorial service, I was in tears. I heard the testimonials of those that were close to him. That showed us that he was human. That he was a father. That he was a son and a brother. People are so quick to judge others without knowing the full extent of each others situations. When his daughter came up to the mike, those few words that she said were so powerful, I still tear up as I sit here and type and think about it. So many people are talking about it as a "staged" presentation. I can respect that. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions. But after losing so many loved ones in the last two years, I could only relate to Paris. I could only sit and cry for her and with her. Regardless of the crazy stories, the crazy antics, and everything the press wanted us to hear and see, there are two things that I feel strongly about:

1. He was a very talented artist. One that will be remembered for many lifetimes. He has brought so much joy to so many people, by sharing his music with the public for almost his entire life. Every MJ song to me, has a different memory...and his music is just timeless. I still rock the old & new MJ stuff on my iPod.
2. He was human. He was a father who has left 3 beautiful children in this crazy world, who I pray will not be judged by the allegations made to their father nor will they have to suffer from the greed of so many that they are surrounded by.

I am definitely not idolizing MJ, nor am I saying he has never done wrong. What I am saying is I enjoyed his work, and am not the one that he stood in front of on judgement day. I'm simply a fan. A fan that enjoyed his music, his videos, his performances and can respect his hard work and God given talent.

MJ - may you rest in peace knowing you have touched so many people, so many lives, and have given so many of us cherished memories that we will remember for all of time.

Joey... everytime I hear this song, of course it reminds me of you... not because ya'll had the same hair (heehee) but because I can hear you singing it everytime it plays.

Hello world!!

Hello world! I've been inspired. If you don't know me, my name is Abby Lagman - I live in Las Vegas and that's about as exciting as I get! Really, it is. Ha ha. During the day, I work for a software/business development company and every hour away from there, I'm busy running my doggy bakery business, my adult party business (I know, right? With this innocent face!) and keeping a happy home with my other half, Eric and our 4 "kids" Bruno, Bonnie, Quinn & Gizmo - who I'm sure I'll talk about frequently.

As I said earlier, I've been inspired. My brother, Richie, has a blog and I just started reading it yesterday! It was wonderful!!! I'm new to this blogging thing, but I'm sure I can somehow link it to mine - and as soon as I figure it out, I will :) Thanks Rich for inspiring me.

Have you ever felt you have so much to say, and just don't have enough ears listening (or eyes reading)? I mean, no one has to agree, or disagree, or even discuss - but you would like to just share some thoughts on things - somedays very important & meaningful things, and other days - non-significant things? Thank goodness I have dogs! They always listen, never judge, just look up at me and never argue :)

Anyhow, I'm really excited to start blogging! I hope you come and visit often and speak up!! I'm always up for people agreeing, disagreeing, challenging and laughing at me :) yes, I said it. I have no idea what I'll be blogging about... but I guess that gives you the opportunity to come visit :) Oh man, I should've been in sales. Haha.... thanks for stopping by!!