FFF: Eating in Vegas

Hi guys! Welcome to October, one of my favorite months! I am very excited to have a Las Vegas blogger as today’s Friday Foodie Feature. Not only is Kim a great blogger, but she is in a similar boat as many of us, trying and hoping to make a living out of something that we love. Kim sent me a beautiful photo that her fiance took, but my computer completely freaked out last night. Live Writer wouldn’t work, Gmail stopped allowing me to download photos, and after over an hour I gave up. I am sure you fellow bloggers can commiserate at the utter frustration that comes when technology is not friendly! Please excuse any weird font issues today!

As soon as I can fix Live Writer (anyone else having problems?) I will upload the photo. In the meantime, don’t miss the Red White Boston giveaway, if you haven’t entered already! Enjoy today’s Friday Foodie Feature, and if you will be at the Boston Local Food Festival on Saturday, I will be volunteering, so say hi!

And don’t forget, I am always looking for foodies to feature, so if you would like to write for my blog, please email me!

Greetings!

My name is Kim and I am a hostage…er, resident of Las Vegas, Nevada. Technically I live in a small-ish town called Henderson which is a mere minutes from Las Vegas. I mean that literally. I can drive to the border in about 5 minutes from my apartment.

I grew up in San Jose, California where I briefly pursued a career in Journalism while attending college. After graduating in 2006, I moved to Vegas just shy of my 26^th birthday and into the home of my then fiancé. We married in 2007 and divorced shortly thereafter. Two years later I found the man who inspired me to become a foodie while supporting my blogging among other things. We will be marrying in 3 weeks on October 15.

Today I am almost 30 and an unemployed bum who is exploring new career options. And with this blog, I may have finally found the direction I need to be going in. So with that said, allow me to quit rambling and answer the questions.

How long have you been blogging?

I started blogging around January 2009 but never quite found the right subject. The writing was aimless with meaningless ramblings about mundane aspects of my life. Who wants to read that? August 2010 was when I decided to take up food blogging and it’s been a real blast thus far.

What is your favorite thing about blogging?

Reading blogs from other bloggers. Seriously! They inspire me and show that although you start small and with little knowledge of cooking, there’s an incredible network of talented food bloggers out there who started the same way. I love sharing my adventures as I navigate the kitchen (albeit a small one) and find recipes I may try. I’m a finicky eater who has eaten the same foods for many years so blogging and reading blogs opens my eyes to new possibilities.

Least favorite?

Struggling to post a new blog every other day. With a limited budget I can’t do much cooking or baking like I want to and finding something interesting and food related to write about can be a challenge. Granted there are ton of spices and seasonings in the kitchen but being a newb I don’t know what to make with all of it.

On a more personal level, I am attached to my work and on the occasions it seems few are reading, I take it to heart and feel like giving up. But despite the occasional frustration, I know it takes time and plenty of effort so walking away so suddenly would be foolish on my part.

What has been your most fun blog post to write?

I’d say “2 for 1 recipe night” (http://eatinginvegas.blogspot.com/2010/09/2-for-1-recipe-night-pumpkin-bread-and.html). I had such a blast with the baking, cooking, and photographing involved in creating that post. I also consider it one of my biggest accomplishments thus far with the amount of time that went into it. Admittedly it was a long and tiring day but the payoff was a delicious bowl of chowder and pumpkin bread for dessert.

Where do you see your blog this time next year?

Not quite sure but as the weeks and months progress I’d like to see it continue growing and becoming a success. As time goes on and I have better knowledge of food, cooking, and baking I’d like to post more recipes and reviews. My ideas are all over the place most days and one great idea I may have had one day will be outdone by another one days later. Because of that, I imagine my blog will continue to reflect my sassiness and constant changing of ideas.

Is there anything else about your blogging experience you would like to share?

I do want to extend a thank you to those I have started talking to for their insight, inspiration, and friendship. Without these blogger friends along with my incredible fiance, I think I’d still be throwing frozen meals into the microwave. Thanks to this network I am writing and eating in a new way. I’ve even given up fast food and prefer to eat foods freshly made rather than something in a box. Whenever I go to a grocery store and see Noodle Roni or Rice a Roni I think, “Pfft. Screw all that sodium. I can do it way better.” Granted I haven’t gotten to doing it just yet but I’m getting there!

As I like to say at this point, onwards and upwards! Thank you for allowing me to share some of me with all of you.

Fun Friday Question: What is your dream job?