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.

We are back!

We have made it back to the states. It was a long trip with a couple of ups and downs. Alex and Rex went on the AMC flight from Kadena while ESPN and I had to go commercial out of Naha. But come to find out while waiting for my ride to Naha that ESPN and I were both scheduled to be on the AMC flight. We all made it to Seattle at the same time so we made our connection to Phoenix.

We got off the plane in Phoenix and were met by my parents, Shelly, Paula and a giant welcome home sign. Alex and I just had to laugh.