Two weekends ago, we took a long weekend to Las Vegas, and it was a blast. Vegas is always a great time, but this one was more extravagant. We stayed at the Bellagio, and we saw Cirque du Soleil "O". The show is phenomenal, left us awestruck, and we think that everyone going to Vegas should see this at one point or another. Seriously, set some of your gambling money aside, and spring for some tickets, or try to get day-of specials or something, but don't miss it. Staying at the Bellagio is very nice too, we would recommend it if you want to splurge. We didn't even have a lake-view room (which is an option when making reservations, for a fee), but we loved it. From our room, we could see the private gardens and private pools of the 8,000 square foot villas, which are hidden in the back near the pools. The staff goes out of their way to make sure your stay is top notch, and their buffet has Kobe beef and sushi!
Now, we will have a few quiet weekends at home, before going to Knoxville to visit some very good friends!

Okay, so what might be the coolest thing ever happened today at work... After helping someone from the simulation team, I asked if he had time to give me a tour over my lunchbreak. He did one better -- he let me fly the AH-64 simulator! On the third attempt, I even got it airborne on my own, and had a pretty good attempt at landing it. What an experience!

This past weekend we put the finishing touches on the home theater (ceiling fan, baseboard) and had the grand opening!! The first movie was The Godfather, which Teri Ann didn't like but I insisted she finally see. We christened it "The Stig Cinema" in honor of the "tamed racing driver" on the BBC show 'Top Gear'.

I haven't taken too many pictures yet, but the gallery is now online here. Keep checking back for more updates with detail shots. The construction photos are also linked in there. For the specs, click "Home Theater" above. It's the same equipment from my old theater, at least for now.

Well, it is very belated at this point, but happy new years to everyone, and happy birthday to me! One more to go until the big 30! I got the DROID for a birthday present, and I've been loving it. Android is a great OS, and the voice recognition for searching is sweet and really accurate - I remember when voice recognition was new and ... well, it's improved a lot.

Since the last update, the home theater has made major progress, and is nearing completion! Then I can update the website with new pictures and details. Oh, and in bowling news, I got my first ever 200 game, which was a very exciting personal achievement! The weather has been amazing here, in the upper 60s to low 70s in the daytime, and in the low 50s at night. Too bad those numbers will double by July!!

We have some visitors coming soon, and we can't wait. Andy is coming for a long weekend at the end of January, and my mom is coming in February. My mom's trip also includes the three of us heading to Vegas, where we will be seeing Cirque du Soleil's "O". Who will be next? Will it be you?

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas (where applicable)! We had a very nice day, and Teri's father is visiting us from Oregon this week, so we were not all alone. We finally tried deep frying a turkey, too! It's totally the way to do it, as long as you don't burn the house down. It comes out golden brown, moist, and only takes about 40 minutes for a 12 pound turkey! As usual, I'm on vacation until January 4, so I'm around, relaxing, and working on a multitude of projects around the house.

Today, Teri Ann and I were impromptu invitees and witnesses to an elopement. Teri's coworker decided to marry his girlfriend, and mentioned that they "had bought a disposable camera" for wedding pictures. To us, this was unacceptable for such a momentous occasion, so I volunteered to play photographer for them. I borrowed a professional flash, and was on my way.

When we arrived, we found that we were also to be their witnesses, as their families are back in Minnesota. Teri and I were, of course, delighted to oblige. Oh, and the judge looked like Michael Westen from "Burn Notice."

Congratulations to Joe and Emelda!

Well, we're down to a week until Thanksgiving. Teri Ann and I will be heading back to the east coast for the holiday, and will be spending time with family in both NJ and PA. We are very excited; the last time we were on the east coast, it was only for our five-hour layovers in Newark on each end of our Ireland vacation. Sure we got to see people, but it isn't the same. Also, bowling continues to be fun and my average continues to hover around 150.

Another month went by without much of anything significant to write about. I joined a bowling league, and am keeping my scores up to date online (link also above in header). Having a good time so far, three weeks in. At the end, everyone gets any Brunswick bowling ball they want, including drilling. Plus, it's only 16 weeks instead of the normal fall leagues, which are 36 weeks!

What else? Well I'm finally having some success with CPAP, and I'm going to be mentoring a new guy at work. We sold the swingset in the yard, so it feels much larger and is a lot easier to mow now. I still haven't hired a contractor for the home theater, although I put in a few calls to get a second estimate this weekend; I just hope someone calls back.

And lastly, what post would be complete without mention of the weather? It was beautiful weather for a while, including two days in the 60s! But now we are having a heatwave with weather in the 90s. And it's November!! It's cool in the evenings at least, more than I can say for the summer months when 100 is the low.

Well, it's the first full week of October, and the intense heat and 100 degree days seem to have FINALLY disappeared. It's like someone flipped the switch and we have beautiful days in the 80s. In home news, we have new laminate flooring in the dining room and office, and plans for the home theater upgrades are in my head - they just need to find their way to a contractor.

We had an impromptu trip to Las Vegas this past weekend - called Mandalay Bay at 4pm on Friday for a reservation that night! Thanks to the Players Club, we got some food credits too (lunch for both of us, plus one dinner at the buffet). Mandalay Bay is a great hotel, but they got their money! If not for a late rally we would not have returned with any of our gambling budget. The craps tables were not as kind to me as they have been in the past, and the slots wouldn't even pay out small wins (except a $50 bonus as part of that last minute rally).
It was beautiful weather on Saturday and Sunday, too, so we went over to Bellagio to enjoy the fountains, and walked around a bit so I could take some photos. We also went downtown to check out Fremont Street. Definitely a different feel down there (but cheaper gambling, and the "Fremont Street Experience" is sorta cool).

Enjoy the fall!

For Labor Day weekend, Teri and I took a trip to Oregon! It had been years since she had been back, and I had never been, so the trip was overdue. We were busy, putting 550 miles on the rental car in three very full days. That includes getting out to where she grew up, then along the Oregon coast (where we flew a kite and did some glass blowing), and up to Multnomah Falls. It was beautiful everywhere we went, that's for sure.

UPDATE! Pictures now available online!