Thanksgiving decorations

Halloween 2011

It's our first Halloween in the new house. Alex and I have decided to start a new tradition for us, pumpkin carving and roasting the seeds. We each got one of our own. I decided to show my Arizona pride and Alex did the traditional face. We carved them a little too early and they got all moldy so we had to new ones before Halloween which meant more pumpkin seeds.

Mystere

Alex and I took his parents to a Cirque du Soleil show at Treasure Island called Mystere. The show was full of athleticism and high-energy acrobatics whether on the trampoline, high bar, bungee, or Chinese poles.

West Rim Grand Canyon

Alex parents came out to visit us this past week. They wanted to see the Grand Canyon so we took them to the West Rim with the new Skywalk. The Skywalk is a walkway that goes out over the edge of the Grand Canyon. The floor of the walkway is glass so you are able to look down 4000 ft to the floor of the canyon. The drive to the park was interesting with the 11 miles of unpaved gravel road with blind hair pin turns with tour buses.

Espn and the cyst

ESPN has had this cyst on her back for over a year now. We had it drained twice but the other day she popped it herself. The area became infected from her and Rex trying to clean it. I took her to the vet the next day and she went into surgery that afternoon to have the cyst removed. She came home that evening high on meds with a cone head. The cone didn't last too long since she keep running into everything. I went to the store and got her a shirt to wear so she or Rex wouldn't rip out the stitches. The shirt was not long enough to cover to incision so I added about 3 inches from a t-shirt sleeve.

Craft night

The other day I got the sudden urge to do some crafts. I've been looking for something to put on the walls in the bedroom. I had three projects in mind. The first one was the necklace board. I made one in Okinawa but it didn't match the room so I need to make a new one. This time I found a 15x30 inch piece of cork board at Hobby Lobby.



The second project was the ribbon picture. Thanks to Jo-ann's for the idea. All you need is several strips of ribbon, Cardboard or picture mat and tape.


The last project is canvases wrapped in fabric. I found discontinued fabric samples on sale at Jo-ann's and 12x12 canvas. I haven't put them up yet so pictures will be up soon.

Project #5

Living room and dinning room was next on the list. We changed the color of the accent wall and put up the wine rack.

Mom and I made curtains for the living room.

Project #4

I wanted to add a little more dimension to the kitchen so we put up two pendant lights over the island since the pot rack was not going work.

Project #3

The family room was way too dark with the slate floor, plantation shutters, dark beige walls and the horrible dirty smelly shag carpet. I had the carpet cleaned and deodorized but that just made the carpet smell like a wet dog. So I had to pull the carpet up and throw it away.

We painted the room the same color as the master since we had extra paint leftover. I think the new paint has really lightened up the room. Its still a cave but a little brighter.

Next we had to get new carpet, since I made the executive decision to get rid of the old one due the smell and stains. After we got the carpet ordered, that was going to take 3 weeks to get in and installed.

Next on the list was finding couches. Alex had several requests; recliner, armrest with cup holder and fabric. I only wanted the color to be able hide dirt since people wipe their fingers on the armrest. He had several options to choose from reclining love-seat with console, love-seat without console or couch with recliners on the end. We opted for 2 reclining love-seats with consoles plus the wedge for an addition seat.

Home Project #1

Painting!!! My parents and I painted the pink room to a more suitable color for an office, light green.

Alex's Birthday

I finally got an answer from Alex about what he wanted for his birthday, Selectech Bowflex weights. I think it is the first time he has every said he wanted something so I had to get them. He also wanted to eat at Craftsteak since we love to watch Top Chef and Tom Colicchio, the head judge, is the owner. So we went there for his birthday.

All I have to say is WOW!!!! The food and atmosphere was great. We sat down at a large round table the faced the entire restaurant. The waitress explained the menu to us. We went with the Chef's menu, a three course meal Wagyu Beef served family style and a wine flight to go along with dinner.

The first course came with a salad, hot and cold appetizer. We had a Warm Frisee Salad, greens with bacon and poached egg. It was to die for even with the poached egg. Grilled prawns and avocado with citrus dressing. Alex also wanted to try the Lobster Bisque so they brought that as well. We also got a glass of chardonnay.

The main course we got Filet Mignon and Skirt steak. We also got a side of fresh corn cooked in butter, potato puree and roasted mushrooms. The wine this course was a cabernet sauvignon, it was so good. I'm not a fan of red wine but this one changed my mind.

The third course was dessert. We were so full by this time. We got 4 different types of dessert. The first was homemade chocolate malt ice cream and dark chocolate ice cream. Next was fresh fruit. Then vanilla bean cheesecake with raspberry sauce. Finally cinnamon monkey bread with nuts and caramel and we cant forget about the Moscato d`Asti.


This was one of the greatest dinner. While at dinner we decided that we are going to start doing a combined birthday dinner.

My Birthday

Alex got me tickets to NKOTBSB concert that night. We had sushi for dinner. While we were in the concert my parents, Paula ans Shelly walked around the strip. The concert was great, I had a great time singing along. Alex just sat there with his beer. After the concert we all went back to the hotel room and had cake. Paula makes the best cakes.

Homeowners

We have closed on our first house!!!!!! We got the call that our offer was accepted while on our way to the cruise. A few weeks later I was heading to Alamogordo to sign the closing paper with Alex, since we was down there for training. A week later my dad and I head to Vegas to pick up the keys and fixed hole in the wall that previously held a doggie door.

First week back

It has been a busy week. Sunday took a day to rest from the long flight. The next day we went to Horne and bought a SUV, 2006 Chevy Trailblazer. After getting the car we headed to Verizon to get our new phones. Then Tuesday we were off the Vegas to find a house. I had 62 houses on my list and only 14 were still available. So Wednesday we started out house hunting search we like 3 of the 10. Thursday we looked at few more houses but nothing screamed buy me. So before we went back to the hotel we decided to look at 2 of house from the day before, McDoogle and Forest Heights. Friday we went back to the house on Forest Heights just to make sure this was the house we wanted to put in an offer. Saturday we head back to Arizona to get ready for our Christmas Cruise.

Christmas Cruise

This year for Christmas, we decided to go on a cruise with family and friends since we were gone for the past 3 years. In all we had 18 people in our group. We made stops in Jamaica, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel. In Jamaica, Dad, Nick, Alex, Shelly, Carol and I climbed up a waterfall and got to drive a mini boat. While in Grand Cayman, we went snorkeling along the reef. You can't beat sitting on a boat and snorkeling in the Caribbean on Christmas Eve. Christmas Day we were in Cozumel, I went to the Mayan ruins of Tulum. Alex was unable to join me since Mexico is off-limits. I had a great time with friends and family.