More Fremont

Hookers Hookers EVERYWHERE!

I went down to Fremont Street last night with some girlfriends and took some new photos.  I have always enjoyed Fremont and have never thought it was "sketchy," but last night definately changed my mind.  We spent two hours watching hookers "walk the street" for customers.  Don't worry, we watched from a balcony in a bar above Freemont Street.  I've never seen anything like it in my life and would be happy if I never saw it again.  Anyway, here are some of the pictures I took last night.  Heads up, I didn't take any pictures of the hookers.  Trust me, they did not resemble Julia Roberts in the slightest.

This is my beautiful friend Laura.  She's an amazing friend and a fantastic cook!

Circle, Circle, DOT DOT DOT

Paris Hotel and Casino

Tuff N Uff MMA - Jenny Yum vs Lindsay Jones - Female Spinning Back Fist ...

I met Jenny Yum the first day of 9th grade in our creative writing class.  We quickly became friends by talking through class and passing notes throughout the day.  It's been almost 10 years since we graduated high school and Jenny has moved onto things more exciting than writing poetry and short stories.  I saw her last weekend for the first time since we graduated in 2001. She looks exactly the same however, it was a little scary for me to see her because I had NEVER watched a fight before.  She's taken up mixed martial arts and was in town for a tournament.  I sat ring side with her friends and family and couldn't even believe what I was watching.  Jenny's fight was over so quickly I didn't even know what had happened until the lady sitting beside me said, "That's it.  Jenny won."  I always knew she was one tough cookie but it's still kinda shocking to see your poetry buddy from 9th grade knock some girl flat on her behind.

Congrats to Jenny Yum!  And that's Yum like Yummy....not the way the announcer keeps saying it on the video.  She'll be back for the title fight at the end of September and I'm so excited to go cheer her on.

Floating Food

There's a really cool looking restaurant in the new City Center Mall.  It's a wooden structure that looks like it's free standing in the middle of the shopping mall.  I don't really know how else to explain it so check out the pictures.

Help a Tarheel out!

My close friend Victoria is currently in the running to win a Pepsi Refresh Grant to use in her classroom.  Please help her out by texting 101134 to PEPSI (73774).
~You can also vote online at http://www.refresheverything.com/nintendoclassroomproject

You can vote by each method once a day.  I've posted an overview of what the grant money would be used for below. And just for fun, I've posted an old picture of me and Victoria..  Please don't judge us.  We like to dress up in 80s clothes and dance around to The Flashdance soundtrack.  Oh, and we also have perfected the Blue Steel look.  If you don't know what that means then you need to meet us at the abandoned Member's Only Jacket warehouse for a walk off.  If you are still not getting it, you need to watch the movie Zoolander.


Project Overview:
     As a technology charter school, we pay special attention to using all sorts of technology in our everyday classroom activities.  I piloted this program last school year but hit some road blocks since not all of my students at my Title 1 school have Nintendo DSi's.  I have used the pictochat program to practice skills such as: singular/plural nouns, contractions, and possessive nouns.  I'd like to ask for a class set of Nintendo DSi machines along with several games to aide their learning in not only Language Arts but in Mathematics.  This is a cutting edge way to teach in this fast paced world and parents have been happy with the results.  Parents have even been quoting studies where children with ADHD do well with electronic methods of learning/stimulation and have given me praise for using this technology in my classroom.  So far, I've seen it do great things, and I'd like to see how much farther my students can go with this excellent form of technology.

City Center Mall

There's a new upscale mall in City Center on the strip.  Just what Las Vegas needs right?  Another over priced mall that only carries high end merchandise that the majority of the world cannot afford.  Only in Vegas!  The mall does have some cool windows, fountains, stores, and restaurants.  All of these pictures were taken in that mall.  I guess I could look up the name of the mall but I'm feeling pretty lazy and quite frankly I don't know anyone that's going to go there to actually buy anything.

Believe it or not, these columns are actually made of ice.  The colors on them change from the lights down below.

This was in the Chanel store window.  Nothing exciting but I thought the colors might look cool.

VINO!

VINO!  I've decided that the delicious wine is what I miss the most about the Azores.  I have been impressed with the selection of Portuguese wine that Total Wine has to offer but of course there's a 100% price mark-up.  We have several dozen bottles of wine that Nick made last fall that are maturing in boxes in the closet.  I'm excited to tap into those one day soon.  A good glass of red wine makes my day and even has health benefits.  Double bonus!

This picture was taken at the new Aria Hotel down on the strip.  This particular restaurant features over 100 different bottles of wine as you can see from this picture of just a small portion of their wine cellar.  All of the bottles were far beyond my price range but they didn't charge me to take pictures.  Well, I did get chased off but whatever, I still got my shot.

Pink is my favorite crayon

I love this color combination.  The pink on black really pops.  It's actually a light fixture I found at Planet Hollywood when I was stalking Labron James.  Ok, so I wasn't "stalking" him.  I actually ran into him by accident.  He's one big boy.

I've been taking so many pictures that I don't have enough things to type about to go with them.  That's why I changed the title of my blog to a "photography blog."  It's basically turned into a photo blog of The Strip.  Every time I go down there something new catches my eye.  I'm learning more everyday and I hope you all are enjoying looking at the pictures as much as I have been enjoying taking them.

Neon Moon

Cracked Glass

That's the Paris Hotel and Casino in the distance.  I haven't decided what I think of this photo I took but I thought that I would share.

Bubbles!

Things that are blue

It's getting hot in here...

You have to drink a lot of water to beat the heat here in Vegas.  The temperatures have been soaring in the teens in Vegas so I thought it was appropriate to post pictures of water. Ironically enough, I took these pictures over the weekend when I walked six miles in 112 degree heat.  I think I'm turning into a desert baby.

More Maternity Photos

Just a couple of maternity photos from my first photo session.  Again, these are NOT OF ME.  I just took the pictures :)

Chihuly Glass

The lobby at The Bellagio hotel is home to 2,000 pieces of Dale Chihuly hand blown glass.  Each piece is unique and together it is a spectacular sight suspended from the lobby ceiling.  It is even more beautiful when the sun shines through the glass flowers from above.

Maternity Photo Shoot Preview...

I did my first maternity photo shoot yesterday and I'm too excited not to post at least one picture.  So here it is!  And no, this is not me.  I was taking the pictures.  I would just like to prevent pregnancy rumors from starting.

Pass the broccoli please

Obviously broccoli is a healthy food choice.  (I'm not talking about when you have it swimming in cheese.)  I just didn't realize how many health benefits it actually has.  I've heard it called a super-food but didn't really know what that meant so today I did some research.  Apparently broccoli helps increase your ability to burn fat by increasing your metabolism.  It's a non-starchy vegetable so it's a free food for me.  For those of you that don't know, I'm on Jenny Craig and a free food is something that I can eat an unlimited amount of because it's low in calories and generally healthy all around.  I've always liked steamed broccoli but recently I found an even better way to cook broccoli.

Roasted Broccoli Recipe:
Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds broccoli chopped into florets
1 Tablespoon olive oil
Half red onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped (or more if you are me and love the taste of garlic)
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
-Spread the broccoli on a roasting pan.
-Sprinkle olive oil, onion, garlic, salt, and pepper on broccoli.
-Roast in the oven for 20-25 minutes on 500 degrees.  Turn broccoli half way through.

I have to say that this broccoli is fantastic.  The name of the recipe is actually "burnt broccoli," but I figured no one would want to try the recipe with a name like that.
Broccoli has many health benefits including:
 -Reducing the risk of peptic ulcers
 -Preventing stomach cancer
 -Contains twice the vitamin C of an orange
 -Antioxidant

Ever noticed that you can't find broccoli on the canned food aisle?  Basically it's because broccoli cannot withstand the canning process.  It would come out of the can wilted and discolored.  Not very appetizing to consumers seeing as the florets are the most popular part of broccoli and would come out of the can as a mushy mess.

How do you feel about chocolate?  How do you feel about chocolate covered broccoli?  I'm not sure what I think about this but it's not something that I can try right now because of Jenny Craig.  I'm posting the recipe anyway because it's just too weird not to.

Chocolate Broccoli:
Ingredients:
-Large head of broccoli
-1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
-1/3 cup peanut butter
-1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Directions:
-Line a cookie sheet with waxed paper.
-Chop broccoli into pieces.
-Melt peanut butter and chocolate chips in a microwave save bowl on 50% power for 30 second intervals.  Stir between each interval until melted.
-Dip each pice of broccoli into the chocolate mixture.
-Sprinkle with sea salt and refrigerate for 20 minutes.

The Conservatory and Botanical Gardens

The Conservatory and Botanical Gardens at the Bellagio is amazing.  I don't even know how to describe it other than to show you pictures.  It is one of the many free attractions that Las Vegas has to offer and is open 24/7.  It features plants that were imported from around the world and a stunning display that was created and maintained by 140 horiculturists.

Recent Photography

Spinach Dip

Posting that Pimento Cheese Dip recipe made me really crave the Harper's Dipping trio.  Since the closest Harpers to me is about 2500 miles away, I will make my own dipping trio here at home!

Healthier Spinach Dip:
Ingredients:
-1 can artichoke hearts, finely chopped
-1 package frozen spinach, thawed
-3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
-3/4 cup light mayonnaise
-1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese
-1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Directions:
-Combine all ingredients and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until heated through.  Serve with chips, bread, or vegetables.

Pimento Cheese Dip

One of the things that I miss most about Charlotte, besides family and friends, is Harper's restaurant.  They have a fabulous appetizer called "the dipping trio," that consists of a wood-fired smoked salsa, spinach dip, and pimento cheese dip.  For some reason, Harper's decided to publish their Pimento cheese dip recipe a few years ago in a Charlotte magazine.  Enjoy the fabulous dip!

Ingredients:
8 oz extra sharp chedar cheese grated

1 4oz jar diced pimentos (drain and smashed)

1/4 cup mayonaise

1 Tablespoon spicy brown mustard

1 1/2 teaspoon red wine vinegar

1/8 teaspoon celery salt

1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

Pinch garlic salt


Combine all ingredients and stir well.  Heat dip for 30 second intervals until heated through, stirring in-between each heating.

There's a new sheriff in town

Stick 'em up!  I have titled this picture "Armed Armadillo."  He was posing for photos inside a giant gas station somewhere in Texas.  Or wait, was it Arizona?  Hmmm, I do know that it was somewhere between North Carolina and Nevada.  That should narrow it down a little bit.  :)

What's wrong with this picture?

Oh how I miss the beautiful weather at Lajes.  We lived about a block away from this beautiful beach.  While it did get humid on the island, it was usually never above 80 degrees even on the warmest of days.
What doesn't belong in this picture??

There is an annual bull fight on Praia beach.  We were fortunate enough to be invited out onto someone's boat to watch the show.  Don't worry, American military and their families are prohibited from participating in the bull fights.  The picture below was my favorite part of the entire evening.  Young portugese men would get brave and torment the bull and when it charged towards them, they would dive into the water to get away from the bull.  As you can see, it wasn't an effective defense mechanism.  Last time I checked, bulls didn't melt when their skin was touched by water.

Life on a floating bar

When people find out that we lived on a tiny island in the Atlantic Ocean, they want to know what we did there.  Well, here are some pictures of our most common activities.

I think you get the idea...