Welcome Home Dinner

Ray surprised me on Thursday night.
Awesome view from the Top of the World at the Stratosphere.



A lovely meal, a great evening, wonderful company, nice welcome home.



and Happy Hannukka.

What to do on a Rainy Day

Laundry: I've only lost 1 sock so far. And I can eat a free breakfast in the hotel while the machines are running ($1 per wash, $1 per dry).






CrossFit Workout: 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 reps of WallBall, 45# Push Press, 45# Sumo Dead Lift High Pull, 18" Box Jump (time - 18:30).






Navigation: Become familiar with the freeways & interchanges, roadway naming systems, and lack of speed limit enforcement during heavy downpours. But it was worth it because at the end of the drive was a lovely homecooked dinner with Maj Blakeman & her husband. Thank you for welcoming me into your home last night.

The Start of the Deployment

0430 - Wake up 1 minute before the alarm. Last time to check the suitcase before locking them up.

0530 - get to the airport and check in.






0800 - high fat breakfast, soy/nonfat mocha, and I'm ready to fly.







The 1-stop flight without changing planes turned into a stop, get off the plane, get on another aircraft kind of flight. So I can say I was in Dallas-Forth Worth.






1630 - Finally in St. Louis. But 1 night may turn into 2 or 3. Just the way things work - hurry up and wait. Bring stuff to do and extra clothing (or be greatful that the hotel has a laundry). And be doubly happy they booked you into a little suite!

With free wifi internet!

Your stay here also includes a Happy Hour (3 drink maximum) with snacks (my dinner last night) and a breakfast buffet (not as good as GVR, but free).

Weekend at Green Valley Ranch Casino

We have a tradition for staying at GVR before/after these long separations. This time it was for my trip. And my birthday.

I wanted to play the big spender (some of the time). I splurged for something romantic our first night. Surprised my husband with the champagne & chocolate covered strawberries that were waiting in the room when we got back after playing poker for hours.



The next morning we had more champagne (while I made my hotel room reservations for my deployment - yes, I'm a wiz at multitasking!!!).






Before our fabtabulous dinner at Hanks (I twittered that the amazing Lobster Corn Chowder appetizer was almost better than sex) we went into the High Limit area. I always wanted to play the "high roller". They offered me a $50 BJ table so I played two handed through 3 shoes (6 decks of card in each shoe). Had 2 glasses of nice champagne and actually walked out $100 ahead! The highlight was the split 8's, with two more 8s and also a double down all on that same hand. Talk about nerve wracking. That was $250 riding on that one hand. Thank goodness for the dealer bust!

We spent a lot of time in the poker room. I did the morning tournaments; first out on Friday, made it to 4th on Saturday (could have easily gotten at least to third but I wanted to get to a movie with Ray & Jill). Overall a fun weekend without spending a huge amount. The only jackpot was Ray's Royal at The Boulevard during breakfast the first morning.

New Year's Eve

We (Jill, Ray and me) went out for a lovely dinner at our favorite restaurant (if you visit us, we will take you there). Gaetanos. Fine Italian dining without the pretentious prices, and a great wine list. They had a special menu and we enjoyed sharing appetizers and entrees (and a bottle of Louis Roederer Brut).