Kari and I's New Years Eve was quite interesting this year. We had these plans to make it a fancy/dancy night, which sort of fell through and left us stranded on a curb in some -4 degree wind chill weather. Aside from that though, it was a good night.

We kicked it off with a fancy 5 course prix fixe dinner at Sage. It was amazing. That place... man. It never fails us - I love it. Check it out, here's what I had:

• Grilled rare ahi tuna block atop a waldorf salad, pea tendrils & veal demiglaze
• Bristol bay crab bisque with pancetta croutons & chives (Kari had: Roasted butternut squash soup with pumpkin bread croutons & browned butter)
• Braised iowa beef short rib atop braised winter vegetable mash with a braising liquid reduction (Kari had: Seared diver scallop atop a cauliflower puree with watercress, caramelized sweet onions & a riesling syrup)
• Pan roasted filet mignon of beef atop roasted shallot whipped potatoes, seared baby spinach, roasted mushrooms & a mushroom balsamic reduction (Kari had: Oven roasted georges bank filet of sea bass with braised shortribs roasted mushrooms & petite golden lentils)
• Templeton whiskey chocolate, walnut & cherry bread pudding with a cherry & templeton whiskey sauce (Kari had: an amazing assortment of 'elbow chocolates')

Now that is eating. omg it was amazing... and also set a record for the most expensive meal I have ever bought, haha. Kari's family has taught me a horrible lesson about good food, and that lesson is to just buy it.

So after dinner we stopped by Staci and Cory's house party for a minute then tried to go to our planned party, but it got shut down... so we ended up bringing in the New Year at a bar called Beechwood Lounge on the east side of downtown. Not quite what I had in mind, but whatever... friends were there and it was cheaper than our dinner.

Around 1am we saw people start trying to get cabs. Everyone was calling, every cab in DSM had a busy signal. Eventually, our friends left us high and dry while we kept trying for a cab. Soon everyone got kicked out of the bar; we sat outside for 40 minutes and finally got through to a cab, which never came. So after a while I just drove us home so that we didn't freeze. Des Moines is retarded. Way to handle New Years Eve, cab companies!

Just before we went to bed (around 3:30am), the cab company called us back ready to pick us up - awesome.
...Hopefully Harper stays in Chicago next year... or invites us to go to Japan with him. ;)

So anyway, 2007 was definitely an eventful year.

Work: Kari and I both got new jobs and advanced our careers quite drastically. It's pretty exciting to be punching our bills right square in the face and having fun doing it. Soon our debt'll go away - sooooon.
Friends: Jeff and Iulia moved to town, which rules... even though we never see them. We did lots of partying/visiting with friends as usual - Cornell homecoming, parties, baseball games, going out, ya know.
Weddings: Matt/Jody Nechrebecki, Kevi/Julie Switzer, Ashley/Jacobi... Jacobi, CJ/Susie Brooks
Travel: Chicago Auto Show, Bockfest, Harpers Ferry, RFID Journal, Cozad's cabin, Lollapalooza, Minneapolis, CR, QC, KC, and all the weddings
Family: Jeff and Teresa celebrated a 30th wedding anniversary, my parents got divorced, Jeff graduated college, my sister had a baby, and Kari's cousin Stephanie got prego. Oh, and Ninja got 1 new knee.

A few other things I did this year... joined a broomball league, bought a truck, got a tattoo, and built a bar.

I'm really stoked for this year. Kari's going to graduate Drake with her masters this Spring which will get her another hefty pay increase. Nick and I also have some pretty good plans for web dev. Also, more weddings, traveling, etc. I hope to buy a car and/or new house. And maybe I'll finally make another cribs video this year?

My New Years resolution this year is to make a million bucks.
...haha.

Here are pics from CJ's wedding, Snowboarding, and NYE