this little life of mine

2010 Christmas Card & Letter

 
In an effort to make my Christmas easy and stress-free this year, I ordered photo Christmas cards though picnik.com and QOOP.com. I chose a beachy California shot from our vacation to Pismo Beach this past September and used the "Ortonish" effect to make it all soft and dreamy, then went step-by-step though picnik + QOOP's  greeting card maker to create & order the cards. It was super easy and FAST; I got the box of cards in about three days! I did just a brief Christmas letter this year incorporating photos from my trips to Green Bay, Vegas, Pismo Beach and Morro Bay as well as a before and after shot of the newly landscaped back yard (using picnik.com's "Vignette" effect which is one of my favourites!). My new printer did a great job on them even though it's not specifically made for photos, and the whole thing was simply a piece of cake! Now I'm all done and can just sit back and relax! Merry Christmas!!!

Thursday Thirteen: Vegas Rap-up

1. First things first, because I'm sure you're ALL wondering: No, I did NOT get a tattoo in Vegas. I don't know why, really, I just didn't know exactly what I wanted, and didn't want to get new ink just for the sake of getting new ink.
2. I saw the Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay and was only mildly impressed. It might've been the dim lighting which made photography nearly impossible, or the throngs of screaming children. Or both.
3. I also toured the Bodies display and was VERY impressed by that! Unfortunately they didn't allow photography in the display, so I can't share any pictures of human organs or eyeballs or blood vessels or anything, but it was amazing and I highly recommend it! 
4. I walked a thousand miles in Vegas, I swear! I wish I'd taken a pedometer to prove it, but I walked all over the dang place and I'm sure it added up to some impressive number! 
5. I didn't go on any rides (unless you count the Mandalay Bay to Excalibur tram or the Vegas strip monorail, which I don't). The NYNY roller coaster never look like it was working - I never heard it running or any people screaming - until sometime Saturday afternoon, and frankly, I think it might've been too hot to ride a coaster anyway - and the gondola ride at the Venetian was just too open (as you can see from the photo below, people are able to just stand around and stare at you in the boat and/or take pictures or video).
6. I also didn't make it to Minus5 - the ice bar - which is about the only thing I'm disappointed about. I walked by it several times, but I was either on my way to meet people/go see something or just too tired and needed a nap. 
7. I played the penny slots a couple times and lost a total of $8.00. This might not seem like much to most people, but it was more than enough for me!
8. Krave was AWESOME!! We stayed till 4:15 a.m. or 4:30 a.m. (I forget), had a VERY memorable and hilarious ride back to our respective hotels. By the time I was settled in my own room around 5:30 a.m., I was wondering if I should even bother trying to go to sleep, or just shower, change clothes and head back out into Vegasland. In the end I opted for sleep and got about four hours worth before venturing out into the world.
9. A couple other things I didn't manage to get to or see were the Eiffel Tower at the Paris Hotel and Casino, the Fashion Show Mall, the Stratosphere, Viva Las Vegastamps, the Fountains at Bellagio and the fancy-pants shops at the Cesar's Palace casino.
10. I also didn't see any shows - no Tom Jones, Cirque de Soliel, Lion King, Barry Manilow or Thunder from Down Under. Didn't really have time and I didn't really care.
11. I didn't take as many pictures as  I'd planned. Mostly it was just too dang hot to be outside doing much of anything, and inside was always dimly lit and therefore hard to get a good shot. I got a few, however, like this one:

but most of them just didn't come out as well as I'd hoped.

12.  I ate a lot of fantastic food! My lunch at the Border Grill was really yummy and our group dinner at the Bouchon Bistro was THE BEST! I actually didn't go to any buffets because they all looked super expensive (especially for one person!*), but there were several little food shops around where you could get something pretty good to go.

13.  Next time I go to Vegas I am definitely staying at Mandalay Bay. Their pool area alone is amazing and their shops and restaurants are, in my opinion, better than Excalibur.

* One could argue that I spent WAY more for my 2 meals at Bouchon and Border Grill than I would have at a buffet, but I would argue that the food was WAY better at Bouchon and Border Grill than it probably is at a buffet. So there.

 

   

Gondola Ride

The Gondola Ride at the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas.

   

Miss Universe Contestants

Here are some contestants from the Miss Universe Pageant which is being held at the Mandalay Bay hotel later this month. I'm not sure what countries these girls represent, but I did hear a group of Chinese tourists cheering as one girl went by in front of this group, so apparently Miss China was in the house!

   

More Cowbell!

During our dinner at the Haufbrauhaus in Vegas, we were entertained by a great band, hilarious (but annoying drunk frat boys), and waitresses who enjoyed giving spankings! This gentleman, the "German Fabio" (as we called him), was all decked out in authentic lederhosen and played the cowbells, the accordion and the pan flute!

   

Harrah's Hotel and Casino

   

Krave

   

Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay

Today I went to the Shark Reef exhibit at the Mandalay Bay hotel here in Vegas. It was okay, but not as awesome as I expected.  It was dark, so not many of my pictures came out, and the sharks were too fast for me to get any good shots of them. And there werer dozens of screaming, yelling, running, crying children which made the whole experience not quite as serene as I had expected.  

I also went to the Bodies exhibit at the Luxor hotel. THAT was very interesting! Photography was not allowed, so I don't have any pictures, but you probably wouldn't want to see pictures of preserved human bodies and/or body parts anyway!

   

Penny Slot

 
I played a few penny slots today. And lost. Good thing I wasn't playing dollar slots! I also browsed the shops at the Venetian and the Paris/Bally Promenade. Didn't buy anything, just looked. Thankfully I wore comfy shoes today!

   

Greetings from Las Vegas!