UNC - National Champs!

It's March Madness, the most wonderful time of the year. My alma mater, North Carolina, reached the national championship game. So did my dad's alma mater, Michigan State. As indicated by the flag hanging outside my parent's house, my family was a bit divided on the issue.
I didn't have anyone to watch the game with, but I really wanted to share the excitement with others, preferably people who were cheering for a reason other than the betting line. Hours before tipoff, I discovered that there is a Las Vegas Carolina Club. I've been out here two and a half years, and I had no idea. I drove down to a sports bar just south of the Strip and met 12 or so other Carolina alums. I yelled, I screamed, and I cried at the end when my Tar Heels won their 5th national championship.

(Sorry Dad - I would be pulling for the Spartans in any other game. I'll be sure that the national championship t-shirt I send you doesn't show the final score.)

Wine and Appetizers

I took advantage of my parents' visit to finally have a group of people over to my house. I thought of it as a sort of house-warming, so I had the crazy idea to prepare all of the food myself. The heavy-appetizer menu included tarragon deviled eggs, walnut Gorgonzola in endive, prosciutto mushroom sautée in phyllo shells, mini onion tarts, bruschetta, lime cheesecake in Oreo shells, chocolate-covered strawberries, and mini lemon meringues. I prepped for two days with help from Mom and Dad.

There were eleven people total, and we all fit comfortably around my new extended island. My stools had just arrived, so there was plenty of seating and way too much food (though we had no problem emptying the wine). I ate the baked brie and asiago onion bread brought by guests for breakfast for several days. Although game night is now defunct (L&B, please come back!), I hope this group can start a monthly wine and app get-together.

Christmas in Florida

Brad and I fled the "cold" Nevada temperatures for warm sunny Florida for Christmas. We stayed with my family and enjoyed a quiet and relaxing vacation filled with good food, story telling, and laughter.

We golfed at Bardmoor for 3 days. Brad got to try out his new wedges, and I got to use my new driver (how did I ever live without this club in my bag?). The course was extremely challenging, though it was hard to get too frustrated golfing in 70-degree weather in shorts on Christmas day.

On Saturday night, we drove across the bay to Tampa to eat at Bern's Steakhouse. We stayed at the Sheraton downtown which overlooked the Hillsborough river and the University of Tampa and its spires (which were unfortunately not lit up).

Bern's is a legendary steakhouse in Tampa (Wine Spectator Grand Award winner for every year they've handed out the award). The inside looks like a bordello, but that adds to the history and character of the place. We split a delicious porterhouse that was cooked just perfectly. We also had an amazing Bordeaux at an unbeatable price. This restaurant is a gem if you can focus on the steak and wine and overlook the rest of the food (bland French onion soup, julienned carrots of a questionable fragrance, uncooked soufflé).

Bern's is known for its extensive wine collection with 6,800 labels and 500,000 bottles (largest in the world?), and a tour through the wine cellar did not disappoint.

Only in Florida...

Moving to Summerlin

After two long months of waiting for the bank to sign off on the short sale, I finally closed on my house at the end of September. It was such a relief, and now I can hardly remember all of the drama and the episodes that caused me to panic and cry. Well, I can think of a few (e.g., UPS losing my closing documents). I know the home buying process is never easy, and I'm glad to be finished with it for quite a while.

I flew Dad out to help me move. It was much harder than I anticipated. I don't feel like I own much stuff, but it sure does add up. We rented a Budget truck, that I managed to drive around town without killing anyone, and we transferred all of the big stuff in one day.

I kept Dad too busy and wore him out too much, so we weren't able to do the typical Vegas activities like the Strip and Red Rock. But, we did manage to play a round of golf at Siena...

(It rained as we were getting to the course, and there was a complete rainbow, though this is all I managed to photograph)

And have lunch and a quick hike at Mt. Charleston...

(Mom and Dad, don't tell me that I never take pictures of people. I managed to squeeze Dad into this one.)
I'm completely settled in now, save for a few lingering boxes. I am immensely happy on this side of town and in this neighborhood. I feel like I live on Wisteria Lane, without all of the backstabbing and cheating. My neighbors are some of the friendliest people, and I feel very safe and content here.

The dogs have found some good napping places in the house, for while I'm watching TV...
And for while I'm working in my office downstairs...

Golf Scramble

My dad is a huge golfer. He became a teacher just so he could have his summer's off to golf. He brought me up trying to get me interested in golf, but I resisted. Golf was not cool, and neither was I when he sent me to golf camp one summer. I was even less cool when my ball ricocheted off a tree and broke a fellow campers finger. But fast forward a few years, and like all good kids, I eventually appreciated my dad's efforts and the pastime itself. In fact, golf came in handy during my dating years because I could hang out with the boys on the golf course.

I used to golf a lot, and I've been wanting to find some golfing buddies in Las Vegas. I was thrilled when I found a Las Vegas Scramble League had been started on Meetup. On Friday afternoon, we had our first scramble at Desert Willow golf course in Henderson. This course is fantastic - after 2pm, their greens fees are $20, and that includes a cart. It's a par 60 executive course, and very nicely maintained. Our tee time was at 4pm, and it was warm in the sun, but it cooled off quickly. It was quite windy, but the rain held off long enough for us to enjoy a relaxing day on the course. We played a scramble format, where we all hit from the best ball, so it was much more pleasant than having to chase balls across the course or wait on a slow person to hit from the opposite fairway.
I saw plenty of wildlife on the course, including birds, ducks, and rabbits. The groundskeeper told me there is also a resident bobcat, but I was happy that he did not come out to greet me.