Fun Facts On Vegas

Sorry I have been silent for the last few days but I was in Las Vegas, NV . My cousin is getting married at the end of May and since we (we being she, myself, my sister, her sister, her friends) are from all different states, we figured, why not Vegas? We had a lot of fun. I thought I’d share this great article on some fun facts about Vegas from Sebanti:

Some Fun Facts About Las Vegas
By Sebanti Ghosh

Las Vegas is a place to live.
Here we present some of the fun and amazing facts about Las Vegas.

On May 15, 2005, Las Vegas Celebrated its 100th birthday. On this day, 110 acres of plots were auctioned.
All this happened in the city of downtown.
In 1910, gambling was illegal in Las Vegas. Later on gambling could come up as legalized gambling. The court approved gambling as legal in 1931.

Golden gate hotel was the first hotel in Las Vegas.
The first casino in Las Vegas was opened in 1906.

Hoover dam, which was made in 1935, was made with the workforce of 21,000 men working for five years.

The famous “Welcome to Las Vegas” sign that you have seen was made in 1959.
Betty Willis takes the credit of making that sign.

More than five thousands people keep moving to Las Vegas on monthly basis.

Clark county school district, which manages 280,000 students currently, is the fifth largest school and Las Vegas is considered to be the home to this district.

The amazing thing is, that the Las Vegas Strip mostly is not situated in Las Vegas. The major part of it exists in Clark.

If you are thinking of getting a marriage license in Nevada, it is going to cost you 55 dollars.
But the best part about Nevada is that no blood test or waiting is to be undergone.

Fremont Street once was closed for a year. In 1994, it was closed due to high traffic.
It was opened again in 1995.

these were some fun facts about Las Vegas. Hope you liked them.

Las Vegas Real Estate & Realtors - Buy Your Dream House In Las Vegas

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sebanti_Ghosh
http://EzineArticles.com/?Some-Fun-Facts-About-Las-Vegas&id=512326

Thanks for the great article Sebanti, that stuff is crazy!! Now, I’d like to tell you more about my own personal trip, but then I’d have to kill you because you know, what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas!!
Beth Riegger
To find out how to raise your credit score click here.

Explore MN!

I recently signed up for the Explore MN e-newsletter and I'm so happy I did!! Here are some of the things that are happening in our area this weekend:

TWIN CITIES GREATER METROPOLITAN VICINITY

The Minneapolis Institute of Arts will be the site of the 24TH ANNUAL ART IN BLOOM from Thursday, April 26 through Sunday, April 29. This spring celebration features more than 100 floral artists, whose designs will be on display next to the works of art that inspired them. In addition, enjoy lectures, demonstrations, free guided tours, Italian treats, the Garden & Gift Shop, Garden Guru Booth, and a complimentary Flowers After Hours Party with a scavenger hunt and art-trivia contest. Admission to the museum to view the floral arrangements is free. To learn more, dial 612/870-3131, or visit www.artsmia.org/art-in-bloom-2007

VALBORGSMÄSSOAFTON will be offered at the Gammelgården Museum in Scandia on Saturday, April 28, with a bonfire, singing and roasting hot dogs to welcome spring! In addition, there will be free tours, the opening of the Scandia Butik, and a performance by the Swedish Male Chorus. To find out more, dial 651/433-3430, or check out www.scandiamn.com/gammelgarden

The Science Museum of Minnesota in St. Paul will present EL DIA DE LOS NINOS on Saturday, April 28. This Latino celebration honors and celebrates the hopes and dreams of the children in every community. Come meet science and education professionals from the Twin Cities' Latino communities, participate in make-and-take activities, and enjoy entertainment with a Latino flair. For further information, dial 651/221-9444, or visit www.smm.org

URBAN EXPEDITION: MOROCCO! will be offered on Sunday, April 29, at the Landmark Center in St. Paul. Visitors will explore Morocco's rich cultural heritage, and learn how it has been influenced by being a North African nation and situated near the Middle East. For more information, dial 651/292-3225, or check out www.landmarkcenter.org

The St. Paul RiverCentre will be the site of the 5TH ANNUAL FESTIVAL OF NATIONS, Thursday through Sunday, May 3-6. Enjoy one of the nation's largest and longest-running multi-ethnic events, and travel the world without a passport. Ninety-seven different ethnic groups will share their foods, crafts and traditions that form the mosaic of our American culture. To find out more, dial 651/647-0191, or visit www.FestivalofNations.com

And just some of the upcoming concerts and performances will include:
BRIGHT EYES at the Historic State Theatre in Minneapolis, April 25
ROD STEWART at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, April 25
INSANE CLOWN POSSE & TWIZTID at The Myth in Maplewood, April 29
CHURCH BASEMENT LADIES at the Plymouth Playhouse in Plymouth, May 2
LOREENA MCKENNITT at the Historic State Theatre, May 3
ELVIS COSTELLO & THE IMPOSTERS at The Myth, May 8
ALL SHOOK UP at the Historic Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis, May 8-13
BILLY JOEL at the Xcel Energy Center, May 9
CHAMPIONS ON ICE at the Target Center in Minneapolis, May 12
A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION with GARRISON KEILLOR at the Historic State Theatre, May 12 & 19
KENNY CHESNEY at the Xcel Energy Center, May 13
THE KILLERS at the Roy Wilkins Auditorium at the St. Paul RiverCentre, May 15
THE HONDA CIVIC TOUR 2007 featuring FALL OUT BOY at the Target Center, May 16
JON STEWART at the Historic Orpheum Theatre, May 18
THE ROWDY FRYNDS TOUR: HANK JR & SKYNYRD at the Target Center, May 19
PAT BENATAR & NEIL GIRALDO at Mystic Lake Casino & Hotel in Prior Lake, May 22
COMEDY CRAZE: MARCUS COMBS, BLT, B. COLE and JAZZ at the Historic State Theatre, May 24
For further information on any of these performances or events, please contact Ticketmaster at 651/989-5151

EXPLORE MINNESOTA NOW! For lodging specials and incredible deals currently being offered, check out our website at www.exploreminnesota.com For further travel information, contact one of our travel counselors, Monday through Friday, 8 am-4:30 pm, by dialing 1-888-TOURISM (868-7476). Thank you for Exploring Minnesota!

Please Note: Information provided by event contacts. Dates may change. Please confirm dates prior to travel. Explore Minnesota Tourism grants you permission to distribute this information freely to friends, family and others for personal use. However, any republication of the materials, full or partial, in electronic, print or other format, must prominently include the following statement: "The information in this report is provided courtesy of Explore Minnesota Tourism."

Pretty cool stuff in our own backyard, eh? Speaking of our backyard, how about our friends to the South, check out what they're doing the weekend after next:

Thirteen communities from Red Wing to Winona, Minnesota, and from Alma to Bay City, Wisconsin, will participate in the 100 MILE GARAGE SALE AROUND LAKE PEPIN, Friday, May 4 through Sunday, May 6. Maps of registered sales will be available in some communities. For more information, dial 651/345-0185, or check out http://www.lakecitymn.org/.

Holy buckets!!

Let me know if you end up going to any of these.

As always, your friend,

Beth Riegger.

1st Avenue, I Never Knew!!

Good morning all, I've been searching for some more articles about the area and found this one on 1st Avenue. It's so cool!!

History Of First Avenue And 7th St Entry Minneapolis-Minnesota
By Keith Burke

The year was 1937, General Motors strike spreads to six states, and Social Security paid its first claim. This is also the year Greyhound bus lines opened a new depot in Minneapolis, Minnesota, which would later be known as First Avenue and 7th St entry. I will be giving you a brief history of a famous landmark of the Twin Cities.

The Greyhound bus depot located in downtown Minneapolis had many great amenities for its time. Patrons were able to take showers, they had access to public telephone, and most of all they were treated to a well air-conditioned building. During my travels in the 1980s, I do not remember any Greyhound bus station, being this nice. I recall filthy restrooms, dirty floors and slow ticket agents; maybe that's just me.

In 1968, the Greyhound bus depot was closed, giving birth to a new nightclub known as The Depot, which opened April 3, 1970. The owner was Alan Fingerhut, an heir to the Fingerhut fortune. Over the years the name may have change, but the concept remained the same. And that's live music. During the bell-bottom, polyester suit era of the 1970s, the club went to a disco format and changed its name to Uncle Sam's.

The club fell on hard financial times. In 1979, and also in 2004, causing the club to close for two weeks. In my opinion it was due to new clubs opening up in the downtown warehouse district, and also the surrounding suburbs. Also, it was due to companies such as Clear Channel and Clear Channel entertainment (Live Nation) abilities to book top-notch acts. Despite the setbacks First Avenue and 7th St entry continued to thrive.

Over the years First Avenue has opened its doors to many local and national acts, such as Ike and Tina Turner, Run DMC, Culture Club, Alexander O'Neal, and Joe Cocker who played two sets opening-night back in the day when it was called The Depot.

And how can you mention Minnesota without mentioning its very own Prince, who used the club as a backdrop for his movie, Purple Rain.

In my conclusion, if you are ever in the Minneapolis area, please stop by the club. Just like in the days of old, when it was a bus depot. The doors continue to be open to all types of patrons, from hip-hop to punk rockers.

Keith Burke enjoys writing and seeing the city by riding the Minneapolis Light Rail. If you would like to learn more about Minnesota and what it has to offer visit http://www.lightrailvacations.com/

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Keith_Burke
http://EzineArticles.com/?History-Of-First-Avenue-And-7th-St-Entry-Minneapolis-Minnesota&id=417064

I had no idea that 1st Avenue had so much history???? Did you? It's really funny, I was talking with a friend that I met here on myspace and they asked me how many times I'd been to the MOA, I've only been a handful of times!! I can't say that I've ever been to 1st Avenue either but after reading this article, your darn right I'm going to make a point of it!! Have you ever been? What was your experience there?

Thanks and have a great day

Beth

Virginia Tragedy

In light of the situation that is unfolding in Virginia, I thought I would find some information on grieving. My heart goes out to all of the families involved in this tragedy.

Death - Grief - Mourning And Bereavement
By Cheryline Lawson

The impact of death, grief and bereavement has different effects for different people. Some cope with the loss of a loved one in a variety of ways. Even though, it may be a very difficult period, some people actually find some kind of personal growth during the grieving process. It may give them time to think about their own life and an urgency to improve themselves to live a more purposeful life in the event that they should face death also. There is absolutely no correct way in coping with death, grief and bereavement. A person’s personality has a lot to do with the process of grieving coupled with the quality of the relationship with the person who has died.

Anna Nicole Smith’s mother did not have a good relationship with her daughter, but it may have been the daughter’s choice because her grief was evident during the recent trial. I am not sure it was possibly the guilt of not having had the opportunity to say goodbye to her daughter or the fact that she missed her daughter. She may have been grieving even before Anna Nicole Smith had died because a distant relationship can also cause grief.

How a person copes with grief is affected by their life experience, the kind of death, any cultural or religious background, their own coping skills, the support systems that are in place, and the person’s social and financial status.

Death, grief, bereavement, and mourning are intertwined words that are closely related to each other, but they have different meanings.

Death is the actual event that took place to initiate the grief of losing a loved one. Death is a final step to seeing, living with or communicating with the deceased. Death is a pronouncement of the end of life on earth and the commencement of mourning and loss.Death often brings back memories of other past losses and thus makes the grieving process more difficult.

Grief is the customary procedure of the reaction to the loss. The person experiencing the loss feels like they have had something taken away. Grief may be experienced mentally, physically, socially, or emotionally depending on each individual. Mental reactions may include anger, guilt, feelings of anxiety, sadness, and utter despair. Physical reactions can include sleeplessness, appetite changes, physical problems, or possible illness. Social reactions can include feelings of responsibility for other family members, having to communicate with family or friends, or going back to work. Like bereavement, the level of grieving is dependent on the relationship with the person who died, the circumstances surrounding the death of the loved one, and how close the person was with the person who died.

Bereavement is the initial period immediately after a loss before the actual grieving process takes place and it is the time when mourning begins to occur. The time that someone spends in the bereavement period depends on how attached the person was to the person who died, and if there was any anticipatory grief period involved.

Mourning is the progression of adapting to the loss. Mourning is prone to individual cultural customs, spiritual rituals, and a partial societal rule for coping with loss.
A person must experience grief before resuming daily life. This is a period of making appropriate adjustments of getting used to being without the deceased and forming new relationships. This may initially bring some feelings of guilt, but will soon pass after valuable relationships are created. The person who is grieving must seek out others for emotional satisfaction. New identities, roles, skills, and lifestyles may change to adjust to living without the loved one who died.

No matter how we view death, grief, mourning and bereavement, the fact is that there is a loss and getting the proper support system in place is the key to recovery.
Cheryline Lawson is an author and mother of a lost child. She has written an ebook about her ordeal to reach out to others who have lost a loved one. For more information about the ebook, go to her website at http://www.coping-with-grief.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Cheryline_Lawsonhttp://EzineArticles.com/?Death---Grief---Mourning-And-Bereavement&id=488819

In times like these, I am so greatful for my family and friends. We need to remember to acknowledge the people in our lives that we are greatful for while they are here. Carpe diem or seize the day as the saying goes!

Beth

Mall of America-Plan Ahead!!

I found this article on our glorious Mall of America, who knew????

Destination: The Mall of AmericaBy Harriet Hodgson

The Mall of America, in the Minneapolis, Minnesota suburb of Bloomington, gets 40 million visitors a year. Forty million! That's more visitors than Disney World, Graceland, and the Grand Canyon combined. Visitors go there to shop at the 500+ stores, visit the Underwater Adventure Aquarium, LEGO Imagination Center, Dinosaur Walk Museum, A.C.E.S. Flight Simulation Center, see movies in 14 theaters, and party at seven nightclubs.

Before you visit the mall you need to make some plans. Log onto the Mall of America Home Page for maps, directions, a store directory, a list of special attractions, an events calendar, and a restaurant directory. Though this website is packed with information, there are things it doesn't tell you.

First, you need to understand that the Mall of America is city within a city and employs almost 12,000 people. During the summer months and holidays this number swells to 13,000 employees. On weekends the mall is often so crowded that walking is difficult. Wear comfortable shoes because the Mall of America covers 4.2 million square feet.

Getting to the mall is easy. Driving directions are posted on the Mall of America website. The 35 hotels near the Mall of America provide free shuttle service. If you stay at a downtown Minneapolis hotel you may take Light Rail directly to the mall. Light Rail service is also available from the airport to the mall. Parking at the mall is free. With 12,550 on-site spaces and 22,000 overflow spaces, it's a good idea to jot down the location of your parking space.

Be sure to get a mall map from the Guest Information Service Desk. Desks are located on the first level at each of the four entrances, North, South, East and West. Instead of going in all directions, choose one area and explore it. Young children should have identification on them. Some parents dress their kids in bright t-shirts or caps so they can spot them quickly. Decide on a meeting place in case a family member gets lost.

When you're in a crowd you need to be aware of personal safety and this is true at the Mall of America. However, you don't need to be overly anxious because the mall has its own 100-person security force. Security officers walk the mall constantly and are very visible. One hundred sixty television monitors scan the crowd. In case of trouble, the mall has 130 call boxes, 44 help phones and, something many people don't know, jail cells on a separate level.
Eating is an adventure at the Mall of America, which has 20 sit down restaurants, 30 fast food restaurants, and additional specialty restaurants. But many sit down restaurants are open to the mall and the crowd noise is so bad you can hardly carry on a conversation. Ask if inside seating is available before you enter a restaurant. Even restaurants with inside seating, such as the Rain Forest, can be noisy places. Nordstrom's department store has an excellent, quiet cafeteria. You order your food, pay for it, and a server delivers it to your table.

The Mall of America has been hugely successful and Phase II construction will make it more so. Plans are in the works to build hotels connected to the mall, an office center, a conference center, spas, and you guessed it, more stores. IKEA, the Swedish home furnishings store, is step one of this plan and has already been built across from the mall.

You may walk from the mall to IKEA, but you're crossing a high-traffic street, so cross with the lights and watch for cars. Just like the mall, IKEA is huge and you can spend a day there. Arrive early and enjoy the 99-cent breakfast before you explore the showrooms, displays, and warehouse. Visit IKEA and the Mall of America on a Monday morning for a quiet, leisurely experience. It's so quiet on a Monday morning you could roll a bowling ball down the walkways.
Going to the Mall of America? If so, I welcome you on behalf of all Minnesotans. We're "Minnesota nice" and glad to have you here. We hope you'll visit other attractions while you're in town. For more information on the Mall of America go to the Home Page and request a Free Information Kit. To get the inside scoop on events and sales sign up for the free electronic newsletter.

Copyright 2006 by Harriet Hodgson
http://www.harriethodgson.com

Harriet Hodgson has been a nonfiction writer for 27 years and is a member of the Association of Health Care Journalists and the Association for Death Education and Counseling. Her 24th book, "Smiling Through Your Tears: Anticipating Grief," written with Lois Krahn, MD, is available from http://www.amazon.com A five-star review of the book is posted on Amazon. You'll find another review on the American Hospice Foundation website under the "School Corner" heading.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Harriet_Hodgsonhttp://EzineArticles.com/?Destination:-The-Mall-of-America&id=223593

Pretty neat info, eh? I had to get the Minnesotan "eh" in there somehow!! Let me know if you've had any fun at the MOA!!

Beth Riegger

Some positive information on today's changing real estate market.

I recently recieved this article in an email from one of my lender representatives. It is some absolutely fantastic information, please let me know what you think!!

NY Times
March 29, 2007

Economic Scene

'Irresponsible' Mortgages Have Opened Doors to Many of the Excluded
By AUSTAN GOOLSBEE

"We are sitting on a time bomb," the mortgage analyst said — a huge increase in unconventional home loans like balloon mortgages taken out by consumers who cannot qualify for regular mortgages. The high payments, he continued, "are just beginning to come due and a lot of people who were betting interest rates would come down by now risk losing their homes because they can't pay the debt."

He would have given great testimony at the current Senate hearings on subprime mortgage lending. The only problem is, he said it in 1981 — when soon after several of the alternative mortgage products like those with adjustable rates and balloons first became popular.

When Senator Christopher J. Dodd <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/d/christopher_j_dodd/index.html?inline=nyt-per> , Democrat of Connecticut, gave his opening statement last week at the hearings lambasting the rise of "risky exotic and subprime mortgages," he was actually tapping into a very old vein of suspicion against innovations in the mortgage market.

Almost every new form of mortgage lending — from adjustable-rate mortgages to home equity lines of credit to no-money-down mortgages — has tended to expand the pool of people who qualify but has also been greeted by a large number of people saying that it harms consumers and will fool people into thinking they can afford homes that they cannot.

Congress is contemplating a serious tightening of regulations to make the new forms of lending more difficult. New research from some of the leading housing economists in the country, however, examines the long history of mortgage market innovations and suggests that regulators should be mindful of the potential downside in tightening too much.

A study conducted by Kristopher Gerardi and Paul S. Willen from the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston and Harvey S. Rosen of Princeton, Do Households Benefit from Financial Deregulation and Innovation? The Case of the Mortgage Market <http://papers.nber.org/papers/w12967> (National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper 12967), shows that the three decades from 1970 to 2000 witnessed an incredible flowering of new types of home loans. These innovations mainly served to give people power to make their own decisions about housing, and they ended up being quite sensible with their newfound access to capital.

These economists followed thousands of people over their lives and examined the evidence for whether mortgage markets have become more efficient over time. Lost in the current discussion about borrowers' income levels in the subprime market is the fact that someone with a low income now but who stands to earn much more in the future would, in a perfect market, be able to borrow from a bank to buy a house. That is how economists view the efficiency of a capital market: people's decisions unrestricted by the amount of money they have right now.

And this study shows that measured this way, the mortgage market has become more perfect, not more irresponsible. People tend to make good decisions about their own economic prospects. As Professor Rosen said in an interview, "Our findings suggest that people make sensible housing decisions in that the size of house they buy today relates to their future income, not just their current income and that the innovations in mortgages over 30 years gave many people the opportunity to own a home that they would not have otherwise had, just because they didn't have enough assets in the bank at the moment they needed the house."

Of course, basing loans on future earnings expectations is riskier than lending money to prime borrowers at 30-year fixed interest rates. That is why interest rates are higher for subprime borrowers and for big mortgages that require little money down. Sometimes the risks flop. Sometimes people even have to sell their properties because they cannot make the numbers work.

The traditional causes of foreclosure, even before there was subprime lending, were job loss, divorce and major medical expenses. And the national foreclosure data seem to suggest that these issues remain paramount. The latest numbers show that foreclosures have been concentrated not in places where real estate bubbles have supposedly been popping, but rather in places whose economies have stagnated — the hurricane-torn communities on the Gulf of Mexico and the industrial Midwest states like Ohio, Michigan and Indiana, where the domestic auto industry has suffered. These do not automatically point to subprime lending as the leading cause of foreclosure problems.

Also, the historical evidence suggests that cracking down on new mortgages may hit exactly the wrong people. As Professor Rosen explains, "The main thing that innovations in the mortgage market have done over the past 30 years is to let in the excluded: the young, the discriminated against, the people without a lot of money in the bank to use for a down payment." It has allowed them access to mortgages whereas lenders would have once just turned them away.

The Center for Responsible Lending estimated that in 2005, a majority of home loans to African-Americans and 40 percent of home loans to Hispanics were subprime loans. The existence and spread of subprime lending helps explain the drastic growth of homeownership for these same groups. Since 1995, for example, the number of African-American households has risen by about 20 percent, but the number of African-American homeowners has risen almost twice that rate, by about 35 percent. For Hispanics, the number of households is up about 45 percent and the number of homeowning households is up by almost 70 percent.

And do not forget that the vast majority of even subprime borrowers have been making their payments. Indeed, fewer than 15 percent of borrowers in this most risky group have even been delinquent on a payment, much less defaulted.

When contemplating ways to prevent excessive mortgages for the 13 percent of subprime borrowers whose loans go sour, regulators must be careful that they do not wreck the ability of the other 87 percent to obtain mortgages.

For be it ever so humble, there really is no place like home, even if it does come with a balloon payment mortgage.

Austan Goolsbee is a professor of economics at the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business and a research fellow at the American Bar Foundation.

This article was quite eye-opening to me! The market is getting tougher out there so you really need to depend on people who will work hard for you and know what they are doing.

As always, contact me for more information oh and check out my newest endeavor at click here.