16 degrees. It was 16 degrees at one point during Christmas day on my pool deck. That was warmer then Las Vegas was when I was there in November. Now I am sure this is a global warming thing, and yeah it was a little strange not having snow on Christmas, I will even give you that christmas lights look way better in a back drop of snow, but MAN, I LOVED BEING IN SHORTS ON CHRISTMAS DAY!!
It was so nice to not have to worry to much about the weather the on a big travel day for us Christmas Eve and then on Christmas morning and Boxing Day. It was nicer still to be able to have the windows open as I was preparing the turkey and fixins for our Christmas dinner, and it was especially nice because i got to have a morning, afternoon and evening #cigarChristmas.
So after the negotiated time of 6:30am wake up time with the exuberant wee ones the days before, some oohing and ahhing over freshly ripped open presents, in a frenzy that resembled a lion to an antelope carcass, it was time to get right to work in the kitchen creating the stuffing of champions, preparing the bird, and getting all the veggies, trimmed, washed, peeled and chopped. It was time for the first #cigarChristmas of the day.
The first selection involved a Romeo and Juliette No.3 and a new to the show - Apple Pie Tennessee Moonshine. This new beverage was something I looked at in the US a couple months ago, and was given to us by Cousin Ailsa. I have never had this beverage before so i chose the R&J no.3 because I have had a few of them before and they are a very medium almost mild cigar that pairs well with almost anything as long as it is not to harsh.
When I cracked the mason jar style lid to the Apple Pie Moonshine, I was in love. It smelled like liquid apple pie.
I had a quick taste and was almost dancing it was soooo good.
I filled up a taster, through in some ice and headed in the glorious morning sunshine for my breakfast #cigarChristmas. This Apple Pie Moonshine could be dangerous, I had to really sip it, because it could go down smoothly and very quickly. It was a great morning, to be finished up my prep, have the turkey cooking slow and low in the oven and be sitting on my deck in shorts on December 25th.
After some family time, chats and snacks, it was time for #cigarChristmas lunch.
Now knowing that I still had a lot to do this day, I went for something with a little more kick. I decided to try the second donation from Ailsa which is a jar of cherries soaked in Moonshine, again in a mason jar from Tennessee. When i popped the lid, I was taken back a bit. After the Apple Pie Moonshine I thought this would be a similar experience. This was a wee bit more boozey.
While the moonshine did take on some of the flavor profile of the cherries, I would say the cherries took on more of a booze profile from the moonshine. My wife tried a cherry, and I could smell the booze off of her from about 15 feet away.
So I thought well some diet dr. Pepper that I had in the house would be a good match for this moonshine. Holy crap I could not have been more right, what a great drink. Like a boozy cherry coke.
For the cigar I picked my goto Don Thomas Classico Corona. This actually went really well with the sweetness from cocktail and was perfect for the now full on sunshine hitting our pool deck at this point in the day. Shorts and Tshirt now, I was loving feeling that sun on my face and in my bones. I seriously could have curled up right there on the deck and had a nap it was so awesome out.
But dinner duty calls.
Back in the house and in a flurry of final preparation, table setting, mashing, carving, and gravy making. 
Not want to toot my own horn to hard, but it was a great meal with the family. No major fights, everyone ate heartily and had some laughs,  that is the Christmas I care about the most.  A quick round of tidying up and it was time for #cigarChristmas dessert.
For this one I chose a CAO BoxPress Robusto, a show favorite, and it has a great dark, meaty flavor. I was gifted a bottle of Aberfeldy Single Malt from my GodDaughter ( she has a great eye for scotchs at such a young age haha). It was a great pairing, the light smoke of the scotch and the leathery coffee flavor of the cigar was a great match. Still in shorts, but back into a hoodie, darkness had descended, taking with it the warmth of the sun, but the air was still warm and the warmth now came from the laughs that we were having after a great meal, and reviewing the moments of the day that involved all the suprises and excitement and magic that Christmas morning can bring.
Yes i probably went a little overboard with having a 3 cigar #cigarChristmas, but I consider that my present to me.
A few workouts already in the books this week, so looking good for a #cigarNewYears haha
All the best to you and yours in the New Year
Sean " BigBoyRunning" Ryan

Upon preparing to go to Las Vegas for some trustee training I must have heard 'What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas' about 100 times. But if you have no interest in strip clubs, sex workers, gambling and the like, then I feel like what happens in Vegas can totally be shared. My focus going to Vegas was first for the training course I was attending, it has been one that I have been avoiding for a while, but this seemed as good a year to go as any so when the call went out I raised my hand. 
Las Vegas to me is somewhere I never really was dying to go, like say Australia or Cuba, but I have seen it in so many movies I was def curious to see if it lived up to the hype.
I was also going to be in the company of some stellar people as our group sent multiple delegates to attend.
The training itself was quite spectacular. I was a little nervous attending sessions that would be followed by testing as i really havent been in a classroom for *cough* 20ish years, but I really enjoyed it. #learningiscool
Alot of what was discussed were things that i knew a little on as i have been working on and off of this board for a number of years, but there were alot of take aways, not only for the trust group that sent me here, but also for my own organization. The follow up conference was also amazing. One of the things I have been involved in on my campus is Risk Assessment and Management, almost solely for events, but there are many transferable principles that apply to areas of finance and benefit management as well so I tried to attend as many sessions that involved conversation around Risk Management as possible. Some were a little over my head, but anything that leaves me with more questions then it answers can be a good thing and i have followed up with one presenter post conference already to start to increase my own knowledge.
Okay so alongside of getting a real wicked opportunity to learn some things, the other things that i prioritized were the amazing restaurants, and cigar bars that I researched before going.
I wanted to make sure that if this was my one chance in Vegas, that I got to try out as many different places as possible. The list of places that I was able to get to were:
White Castle - I just had to, and it was awesome!
Gordon Ramsay's Steak - best meal I may ever have the pleasure of having ever
BLT Burger - Did not live up to the online hype, was okay
Rhumbar - Cigar and Cocktail Bar - more on this later
Cheesecake Factory - No sightings of Leonard or Penny - menu was 47 pages long, BIG portions
UNLV Football Game - Stadium food mheh
FiAMMA - Amazing Italian Food, had probably the best beat/goat cheese/spinach salad I have ever had
HYDE - PBAS hosted a function and the location, food and event was incredible
Guy Fieri's Vegas Kitchen and Bar - Crazy awesome wings
Gordon Ramsay's BURGR - Now this is how gourmet burgers should be done - bit of a wait, but soooo worth it.
There are so many places in Vegas to try for dining, you would need months to really give it a go, but I was very fortunate to try most of the places I wanted to while we were there.
So now lets get on to the cigars and the Rhumbar. The Rhumbar was located right in our hotel and let me tell you how pumped I was reading that online before going. The humidor is not huge but there is a great selection and they have price ranges that really work for beginners and those that want to spend a few bucks. I was pumped to see one of my all time favorites the La Flor De Les Antilles from My Fathers Cigars. So that was the first one on the list and holy crap pared with a speciality Mojito from the bar it was freaking amazing. I know, I know, no scotch WTF? Right! Well I'll tell you it was great and refreshing compared to the leathery notes of the cigar and the pairing was just awesome. 
Now I wish I could have spent every night on this patio, oh yeah they have a patio, so you can enjoy your drink and cigar on a heated patio watching the Vegas night and its creatures pass by. It was seriously one of the best nights that I had in Vegas, partly because of the environment, but mostly because of the company, but both together and it will be one of the first memories that I have of my time in Las Vegas.
Now there was a lag of a couple days until my next visit, but on the next visit I tried two new to me cigars. First up the Romeo and Julieta, the ROMEO. This was a bit more of a bolder R&J that i had before but it had an great smell of leather and coffee, lit and pulled well and kept a great ash. I paired this with an irish whiskey, and i didnt take a picture so I cant remember which one it was....ah to get old. I will say though, that I did try a Jaimisons Black label reserve earlier in the night and it was AWESOME! I want to find that here in Canada, it was incredibly smooth and yummy. The second cigar i had that night was Arturo Fuente Rosado Sungrown Magnum R Vitola 44. Isnt that a handle. It was a little not what I was expecting. Basically it was a bugger to get lit, it burned on one side considerably before it started to burn even and it was not an easy draw. The flavor was there, and it was a great match for the, what i think was whiskey, but not the best cigar experience i have ever had. This night was also one for the books, and ranked very high on my list of Vegas nights, how could it not be, friend of the show, Paul Tucker and I having some laughs at the UNLV football, exploiting our Canadianess, cigars and whiskey, and then a late night musical revue in McDonalds across the street by yours truly serenading Paul with 'I would walk 500 miles' while he ate his McNuggets.
There are a few other stories from Vegas, and sadly there were no other cigar nights as there just wasnt time, but my fingers are starting to cramp, and well, i guess it is true, what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas, especially when you are old and want to finish a long over due blog post.
Oh yeah, almost forgot, went a couple weeks inbetween with not getting enough work outs in, until last week, when, after finishing my outdoor lighting for christmas, i got to enjoy a couple regulars. My 12 year old Cardhu and a Don Thomas Robusto. Both delightful, and totally what was needed after the week and acrobatics employed by moi putting up the lights. On track this week for another #cigarSunday so fingers crossed!
​Sean "BigBoyRunning" Ryan