What Happens In Vegas.....

....does not stay in Vegas! We are just amazed at Katie Rogers' hobbies!

Katie and her husband Eric have friends in Sin City. They visit regularly. They just went recently over the first December weekend. Don't worry, they do not have a gambling problem.

For fun, they jumped out of bed at 4:15AM on Sunday, December 6th and headed out to run a little marathon, that is 42.195 kilometers or
26 miles and 385 yards for those of you who like specifics.
Start time: at the crack of dawn, that means 6:15AM this time of year.

Las Vegas celebrates the marathon in fabulous style with a fireworks send-off for the runners by Mandalay Bay Resort. Characters welcome! That explains the Running Elvi.

But now honestly, Katie, how was it?
"Absolutely awful" - spoken with her throaty laugh. "It was only 39 degrees out that early in the morning. I think my muscles never really had a chance to warm up like they do during training at home. By mile marker 16 I was getting really bad muscle cramps. Eric had gotten the flu just a week before the marathon and he was not really back in top form, yet either.
There are two different kinds of races – the first when you’re going for a time. The second, is when it takes everything you have to finish. Unfortunately this race was the latter! So we decided to continue on even if we had to power walk the last 10 miles."

They did finish! Proof right here:

What happened the rest of the weekend? What's going on locally?

"It was busy since the marathon was happening. At the same time the National Finals Rodeo was going on. On the street it looked like runners to the right, cowboys to the left.
Then, to top it off, the much touted CityCenter will open the first phase this month."

Speaking of which, what do locals really think about the almost 17 million square feet large mixed-use behemoth?
"We asked our local friends what they think CityCenter will do to the city. Everyone we spoke to is really excited about it. The architecture is really amazing. It is stunning. It adds a new dimension to the Strip. It's not just another new theme casino. Everyone expects for CityCenter to renew Las Vegas and re-energize the Strip at this time.
CityCenter really takes Vegas to the next level much like the Wynn resorts designed by
Jon Jerde reinvented Las Vegas back in the 80ties.
Everybody here really feels inspired and hopeful."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx



Update on "green" holiday design:

Our friend, artist Rigo Maldonado, has been using recycled materials
for many different projects for several years.
Rigo: "another "green" year... this time I made my recycled Christmas tree with tubes we were throwing away from an art project. "
Here his 2009 tree: