New Car Windshield

Remember my post from Vegas when I got a big fat crack up the middle of my windshield after going through the car wash in 110 degree weather. Well this winter the crack spread so now it is L shaped (why doesn't anyone tell you not to run your window defrost on a cracked window? It's like that time the radiator was taking its last breaths and I was still cranking the AC - oops) Apparently, I learn through experience. Anyway, I need to get my windshield replaced and I've been reading through reviews on auto shops, and just about everyone talks about getting their windshield replaced because their car was broken into. Remember the good old days, or Utah days, where you get your windshield replaced because of a crack from a rock....not from a bat? Knock on wood.

Image from here

Au Revoir Las Vegas

Goodbye Las Vegas, I'll be frank, I'm glad to be rid of you, but don't worry, there are some things I will miss about you. For instance, there was never a dull moment. So here are some pictures to remember the good times and the bad. You decide which is which.

Fremont StreetThe BellagioThe Court House

Home sweet home. Unfortunately, by the time I decided to take a picture of this gaudy sign, it was half burned out.

The locals

More locals

Fried Oreos at Mermaids

More fried Oreos.

Viva Las Vegas

*Disclaimer: There are nice areas of Las Vegas, but we didn't live in any of them, thus my pictures reflect the area we lived in. But these pictures will give you a PG-13 view of Las Vegas area near the strip.

Where Have all the Good Carts Gone?

The other day, my sister and I were talking about grocery carts. We have come to the conclusion that the days of good working grocery carts are gone. Has anybody else noticed this? I feel like every time I go to the grocery store, I grab a cart and it constantly veers to the right. So I turn around and grab another one. It, of course it has a bum wheel that won't rotate anymore and thus makes a lot of noise when you drag it along. So I try a third time and if all else fails, I’ll just get a stupid basket. Why, oh why? Why isn’t there ever a grocery cart that works anymore? Where have they all gone?
Now I could be wrong about all of this, it's just a theory. But I'm starting to think that all those signs around your grocery store that state that the cart wheels will lock upon leaving the store premise must be false! It has to be a a scare tactic, or else people are just picking up the cart and carry it off the property.

The Car Wash

Yeah, that's totally my car, nice little BMW

I love to go to the car wash. I would love it more, if we had a car that was worth keeping clean, but I'm happy to go with anyone else to get their car washed. My favorite car wash is the kind where they have the spinning brushes, not the stupid touch-less car wash, those are stupid.

I went to the car wash while I was in Utah with my sister. We sat in the car, opened the cover of the sun roof (roof remained closed) and squealed (isn't that what sister do?). Oh yes, it was so much fun.

So the other day, I went to get the car washed because Bill is going to a wedding in St. George and he didn't want to drive up in a car that looked like it had been in a tornado of bugs. So being the good wife that I am, went to the car wash and lucky me it was a mop/brush kind!!!!! I was jamming out in my car to NPR talk of the Olympics while the wash was going, when I start to notice a large crack forming on my windshield. It was going right up the center, vertically. I'm totally bugged. I'm not going to be able to pass inspections with this huge crack.

Kind of like this, except straight up the middle

You can forget everything I just said rotating brush car wash, you're dead to me now!

The Grand Canyon

Yep, we went to the Grand Canyon last Saturday and we had a great time, well mostly a great time. Let me give you a break down of our trip.
8:00 am pdt, leave apartment
8:01 am pdt, stop at McDonalds
8:05 am pdt, Bill comes out with 2 sausage and egg McMuffins, and giant coke (I already ate breakfast)
8:06 am pdt, hit the road, headed for the south rim in Arizona
9:00 am pdt, Bill starts feeling like booty (another word for sick) from eating 2 sausage and egg McMuffins
9:10 am pdt, Bill confesses that he always feels ill after eating 2 sausage and egg McMuffins, and wishes he hadn't eaten them
9:12 am pdt, Kate gets bugged that Bill is getting sick from eating crap, even when he knew he shouldn't have eaten it
12:30 pm pdt (yes it taks 4 1/2 hours to get to the Grand Canyon (south rim) from Las Vegas), arrive at the Grand Canyon
12:45 pm pdt, eat more junk food at Wendy's (limited options in the city by the GC)
1:15 pm pdt, drive into the park to partake of the beauty of the Grand Canyon, take lots and lots of pictures that all look the same but are cool nonetheless. (this goes on all day)
1:20 pm pdt, realize that we are about the only English speaking people there (apparently the Euro is doing MUCH better than the US dollar which equals vacation in America and a trip to the "Wild West")
4:00 pm pdt, leave the Grand Canyon to drive the 4 1/2 hours back to LV
7:00 pm pdt, stop in Kingman to have dinner, Bill got to choose so we had stuffed crust pizza at Pizza Hut (you'd think he would have learned his lesson from his breakfast, but apparently not)
8:00 pm pdt, leave Kingman and start looking for the Las Vegas turn off
9:00 pm pdt, cross over the California boarder, yes that is correct we saw this sign except it was very dark!9:01 pm pdt, start panicking and ask for directions.
11:02 pm pdt, drive into Las Vegas, hallelujah.

It was a very long day, but I'd say, the Grand Canyon was worth it!

Water Aerobics

The post you've all been waiting for, a post on water aerobics- Get Excited! So as you can see, I have lots of spare time on my hands while Bill is at work, and Citymama is out of town - boo. So what do I do? I do what any vain person would do, take pictures of my self doing ridiculous things. You can thank me that I didn't take pictures of me in the pool, that would have been too hard to do by myself. So you get the G rated version, me in clothes and in my small apartment, with a camera remote and tripod.
So lets start with the basics. Water aerobics can be done in shallow and deep water, mix it up. This move is great for about 4.5 to 5' range - A form of jumping jacks, but keep your arms in the water for maximum resistance, and cup your hands and push the water around you, and don't forget to be dramatic, all in the name of a good workout. See below.
Okay, here we have a little ab workout. So keep your legs at least shoulder length apart or wider, and twist your upper body, again use your arms for Resistance. RESISTANCE, RESISTANCE RESISTANCE!
Now it is time to bring in your dancing experience. If you are(were) a ballerina, do some ballerina moves, like plie and, well that's all the ballet positions I know. Be creative. Or do something like the grapevine, or clogging, honky tonky, or a jumping plie (this is great in deeper water, but if you are doing it in shallow water, maker sure you swimsuit it tied on securely).
If you are like me, you might have to resort to dancing like Elaine on Seinfeld, and that's okay. It still get a great workout dancing like a spaz in the water or on the coffee table.

Next we have, walk like an Egyptian, again, RESISTANCE is the key. Push water around with your arms and do some lunges in the shallow end.
And finally we have the Robot. This can be a good workout or and could be for kicks and giggles. "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy" I always like to say. So throw in some robot moves.
And finally how could I forget running in place or running around the pool (high knees are a must). When Deena Kastor is injured, she turns to the pool (a special workout pool) and runs in the water to maintain her fitness. Also, if you don't have a kick board, you can do a flutter kick or a breaststroke kick on the stairs.
So now what have we learned? RESISTANCE is key, (and not caring about what others think of you) and you can have a great workout!

Meet the New Me

Did I mention that I cut my hair? Well I did, I decided it was time for a new me for a new city. It is great to have short hair again.
Anyway, as we drove into this weird city full of weirdos, I've noticed all sorts of weird things. For example in Utah, there are scrapbook stores on every corner, in Chicago, Starbucks are on every corner. Here in Las Vegas besides having nude bars etc all over, there are IHOP's and Denny's everywhere. I guess when the city never sleeps, 24 hour places like Denny's and IHOP thrive.
Also when we moved here, I figured we'd be close enough to everything that I could walk everywhere, you know save gas, thus save money. That lasted about 1 day. I tried that and found myself crawling to the nearest gas station for a Slurpee which promptly melted as soon as I stepped out the door. You can't walk around here, the only walking done is from your car to the air conditioned destination. Needless to say, I can't run here, at 7 AM it is already 89 degrees and so I've resorted to making up water aerobic routines in the pool. Imagine Elaine on Seinfeld dancing, and that is pretty much what I look like in the pool, but it's not a bad workout.
Well, that's all for now, stay tuned for more updates.

I'm Back, Hallelujah

Oh I'm back, hurray! Yes we are alive. 1,900 miles later we made it to Las Wages, I mean, Sin City, or Las Vegas.We are here in our new very short term home, and once I figure out how to transfer the pictures I've taken from a raw format to jpeg, then I'll post them, but as for now, I don't know how, and Bill always makes it look so complicated. So I'll just have to wait for him to show me, or do it for me.
Here is the problem. There is NO FREE INTERNET! How is this possible? I'm going through withdrawal! The place where we are staying charges $.20 per minute. Even Barnes and Noble charges. So here I am, an the public library. I have to make it quick because the weirdo across from me is commenting on how cute my freckles are and how long I've had them. (Don't be alarmed Mom, there are lots of people here) But honestly, does the rock on my left hand mean absolutely nothing?
But now that you all know my unfortunate internet circumstances, you should also be aware that my responses to email and writing clever blogs might be fewer than normal (not that I am that frequent), but they will still appear, because there is just way to much crazy stuff to write about during our short tenure here.