Merry Christmas!

Adam opening his helicopters...Me opening my gifts (Lilly is watching...)...
Adam with the Penguins "in motion."


We hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas and are looking forward to a Happy New Year! Obviously, we had no idea that we would be in Las Vegas this time last year...who would have ever guessed??? Christmas was wonderful. Thanks to everyone who sent gifts and cards as it was really nice to feel loved (and missed). We definitely cannot wait to move back east as this part of the county definitely is not for us! Here are a few pics of our Christmas...

Dog Tired...

We took this picture because our dogs rarely have anything to do with each other...much less share the couch. Obviously, they had a really rough day!

Christmas in Vegas

Me at the Bellagio Tree Adam with the "Pecan" Reindeer
Adam with the Giant Ornaments
Me with the Same...Notice the "Jumping" Water
The Wynn "Pink" Christmas

Vegas doesn't really get into the Christmas spirit that much, but we were able to find a couple of photo opportunities yesterday at the Bellagio and the Wynn. Otherwise, it's casino lights as usual...welcome to fabulous Las Vegas!

Bath Day at the Sawinski Household...

Abbey after her bath...we covered her since she was shivering... Fonzie hosting a post-bath pity party...
The view leaving our garage...if you enlarge the photo you can even see the red rocks of Red Rock canyon!

Well, since we are monetarily strapped right now we decided to bathe the dogs ourselves. Bathing Fonzie is always easy, but Abbey is another story. She's big, fuzzy, and REALLY needed a bath! So, we started with Fonzie and finished with Abbey. While bathing the animals, we washed their beds to try to improve things. (Both dogs got a little sick last week from some new food and vomittied all over the kitchen...thank God for tile floors!) As for other life events, it's really cold here and I was too stupid to pack a heavy jacket. Thankfully, Adam packed several! There was even some snow on distant mountaintops this morning! (I tried to get photos, but couldn't see the tops from our place.) Since it has been rather cold this weekend, I even cooked chilli today. After combining ideas from Adam's mom, my mom, and my sister, it was made. I liked it, though Adam thought it was missing something (we think it was the onions, which I purposedly left out). Overall, it has been a pretty slow weekend. Happy Holidays!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! Adam and I celebrated with a fine meal, cooked by myself today. I cooked a 3 lb turkey breast, gravy, stuffing (one with onions and celery and one without), cranberry sauce, sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole, rolls, pumpkin pie, and pumpkin creme brule. (And no, I did not use canned sweet potatos or canned pumpkin!) We finished the meal with cranberry-apple sparkling cider and sweet tea. Everything was surprisingly good (not perfect, but good). We were so full that we haven't even tried dessert yet! While we miss home and family, I'm thankful we were at least together and doing well here. Now, it's off to a nap! Here are some pics...

Fall in Red Rock Canyon

Today we decided to go on a hike to celebrate the cooler weather (60-75 degrees on the trail) and the fall season. Unfortunately, fall here is like spring, summer, and winter. No real chages ever seem to occur with scrub bushes, cacti, and bushes... We hiked 4.4 miles noted as "moderate" on one sign and "difficult" on another. We didn't see any notable wildlife (which seems to be the trend at Red Rock) and the scenerery wasn't too impressive either. But, we did get some sunshine and exercise so it was worth it. Fonzie went with us and travelled in his "pouch." Tonight we ate dinner at the Palms hotel buffet (we had a 2-for-1 coupon) and went to Rampert Casino with $20 in rolled quarters (pocket change). We walked out after 2 hours of playing around and listening to the band and singer with $40. So basically we won twice what we went in with and got 2 free hours of enertainment. (Could have gotten some free drinks, but didn't want the calories...) Here are some pics of us hiking today.

New Furniture, Lilly, and the Strip

New Dining Table Dining Room
Lilly Close-Up
Adam at Excaliber
Me at the Sigfreid and Roy Statue

Well, the last 2 weeks haven't been all that exciting for us. We spend last weekend driving to every end of Las Vegas to rent a truck, get our new dining table and guest room matress set, take them home, and return the truck. Once we finished this, we ate at Terra Rosa which is a nice restaurant in the Red Rock Resort. Thanks to all of this effort, we now have a real dining table! (Which is good now that I cook every now and then.) Last night, we went down to the Strip and ate at the Flamingo Buffet. It was a nice atmosphere (fountains, flamingos, and huge Japanese carp outside of the window we sat by), but the food wasn't all that great. If it were not for dessert, we would have left hungry! We then walked our 7 mile trek to the end of the Strip and back. We played a few bucks in slots and ended up breaking even, so we quit. (No jackpots for us...) Here are a couple of pics of the new table, Lilly (who is forced to share the dining room...we have "exotic" dining here in Vegas), and us at the Strip last night.

Wonderful Weekend...

Job visiting with his great grandparents.... Dinner at Whities Fish Camp after the Ga/Fla Game
Making sure the kid is dressed appropriately...even down to the socks!
Job and me...
Job relaxing in his Monkey Suit...

Well, it was a wonderful weekend for me! (Adam's sounded pretty boring...) I flew home Thursday to meet my nephew and enjoy a weekend visiting family and friends. I have been dieing to see the baby since he was born last month, and the GA/FLA weekend seemed the perfect one to do this. (Though I booked the flight before I even realized it WAS GA/FLA weekend!) I got in early Friday morning and stayed until Sunday evening. Leslee, Joey, and Job picked me up at the airport. Friday, Grandmother and Grandaddy came down; and, Saturday Mom and Dad came. So, except for Adam and Trey, the family was complete. It was so nice to be back east with family and familiar surroundings! And, the fact that Georgia actually beat Florida just iced the cake!!! Here are multiple pics of the weekend and of baby Job! (Can you tell I'm a really proud Auntie Lou...as I've been named?)

Bite Festival and Freemont Street

Watermelon Kiwi Lemonade (Very Goood!) At the Bite of Las Vegas Festival Viva Las Vegas!
A Rare Pic of Us Together at Freemont Street
Adam and the Freemont Street Bear

Today we went to the Bite of Las Vegas Festival which was basically an outdoor festival with lots of food vendors and several concerts (ie Fuel, Vanessa Carlton, and Lifehouse). All benefits went towards the homeless, so we figured it was for a good cause. We sampled chicken fingers, fries, sub sandwiches, pizza, homeade icecream, and watermelon lemonade. Though I really like Lifehouse, we didn't want to stand around for 3 hours waiting for the show. We decided to leave and head to Freemont St. (the original Las Vegas hotspot). They have an overhead light show, lots of casinos, and lots to eat and drink. We walked the area, listened to a 70s band, then headed home. Here are some pics of our afternoon and evening.

Upscale Goodness...

The flowers are actually prettier that they appear here... Our Cupcakes...The ones with Puppy Paws are for the Dogs
Anticipating the Cupcakes...
Fonzie Licked All of the Icing before eating the Actual Cupcake...
After a Very Moist and Rich Cupcake...

(My husband cannot handle the camera flash!)

OK, well we ARE losing our minds! Tonight, we had a fine dinner of Subway followed by Golden Spoon frozen yogurt (it's really low calories and goes well with our diets). We then went to Target to pick up a few things. Upon exiting Target, we noticed a ccupcake place that caught our attention. So, we went in... (I had previously picked some up from another local "cupcakery" and was disappointed to find that one was very cold in the middle, ie frozen! That place had cupcakes for dogs, which ours quickly devoured!) So, after writing the initial place off and knowing that ones from a place way away from where we lived were good (someone at work brought them in one day), we decided to give this place a try. It was called Mad Hatter Cupcakes. Their place is different because you actually customize the cupcakes. You can choose from 10 different cakes, 10 or so fillings, and 10 or so frostings. If that isn't enough, you even get one free decoration! Talk about too many choices... So, we started out getting 1 each and 1 for each dog. Since it was only $2 more to get 2 more (total of 6), we went ahead. The dogs devoured theirs in about 30 seconds! (They know the look of the box and could hardly control themselves when they saw and smelled it.) Here are pics of my flowers Adam brought home to me today (just to be sweet) and the cupcakes. For those who will see us next week, we will definitely be bringing you some of these little delicacies!

Last Night...

Yesterday, we went down to the Strip for a long walk (6.8 miles) and some Mexican food. We ate at a place called La Salsa (a popular chain on the Strip). It was really good and the margarita was one of the best (and strongest) I've ever had! We didn't take many photos, but here are a couple of Adam at the MGM Grand and New York, New York.

I Cooked!

The coffee table setting (we don't have a dining room table)...Adam's Plate...

On Friday, I decided to do something nice for my husband since his birthday was coming up. He had mentioned that he had been craving steaks, so I bought some premium grade steaks and some extras. I even bought some china and candles and played nice music via my ipod. I made steaks (Adam's was topped with garlic cooked mushrooms.), acorn squash (with pumpkin spice and cinnamon butter), and garlic mashed potatos with shrimp cocktail (in coffee cups) and fresh salads. I even bought his favorite type of beer (Apple Cider beer) to complement the meal and a small birthday cake with Halloween sprinkles. Other than the steaks being a little too salty (too much garlic salt in the marinade), the food was really good. Unfortunately, Adam wasn't that thrilled. He told me that he really had "going out for steak" in mind and that my squash were not like his Mom's. (Of course not...I made them my way!) So, the food was good but Adam's enthusiasm left a lot to be desired... Here are pictures to prove that I really did cook! (And since he wasn't that grateful, he can expect his next cooked meal in another couple of years!)

Exercise and Fun...

The Closest We're Going to get to those Bighorn Sheep Mom... Adam with the Sahara camel...
Eating my Bannana Crepe (Adam insisted on putting this picture on the blog.)...
Bellagio Fountain Light Show after Dark...
Me and SpongeBob at Excaliber...

Today, I just couldn't get motivated to go hiking, get covered in dust, come home and shower, and then go to dinner... So, we decided to head down to the Strip to window-shop, have dinner, and walk. We actually ended up walking 6.8 miles (essentially the whole Strip and back)! We ate dinner at the Paris Hotel Buffet, which was really good. It has lots of French food, like Ratatouille (ie as in the Disney movie), pate, imported cheeses, and crepes (my favorite)! Adam said their cookies were the best he's had so far...this includes the normal ones and the sugar-free variety. We tried several things we never had before and enjoyed the atmosphere of the restaurant (fake sky with seating areas resembling a French village). We then walked the Strip. We gambled $1 here and there. I ended up with $9 profit (went with $9 in cash and left with $18) and Adam lost about $9. So, we played a lot and essentially broke even. Here are some pictures...

Not Very Bright....

Adam at the top of the peak in his old Las Vegas T-Shirt... Me at a big boulder...

We hiked all the way down into this valley and back out! (Basically we went around the big rocky mountain to the left of the photo...) Vegas through the mountains and trees...

Well...Adam and I set out today with the intent of hiking 4.4 miles through an easy-moderate trail (with only a 200 ft elevation change). We got confused and ended up on the wrong trail! We thought it seemed like way more than 200 ft of climbing up and down, but we figured we were just tired and out of shape. After we had hiked to the end of the trail (an intersection to the springs we had already hiked to), we headed back. Upon getting to the parking lot, we realized we had done the upper half of the difficult trail... Total hike was 6 miles with 870 ft of elevation changes! Both of us are exhaused and will likely be quite sore tomorrow! Here are a few pictures that really don't give justice to the scenery we encountered...