Friday, April 30, 2010

Dance Week


This week was Bay Area National Dance Week. Since I was out of town last weekend and will be going out of town tonight, I've only been able to take advantage of this twice. On Wednesday, I went with Mark, Amy, and Kristine to Flamenco lessons.

Here's a little taste of what we learned.

And last night I went to Zumba with Liz. I laughed so hard when I saw this video because it was pretty much what we did in class.



I'm not sure if I'd take Zumba class again because I think that if I want to get a cardio workout, I can just run and feel like I worked harder, but I can see how people would like it. Flamenco class was great though. If it didn't cost so much to get the shoes, I might consider signing up for classes. Or maybe I'll just quit my job and move to Mallorca and take dance classes there while living with my parents. Doesn't that sound great, Mom? Please get me a mosquito net in advance.

If you are in the Bay Area, you still have time to attend some classes or see some great performances - all for FREE! Check it out! Who wants to sign up for hip hop class on Thursday night?

04.29.10

If I have to lie, steal, cheat or kill. As God is my witness, I'll never be hungry again.

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

04.28.10

lunch with debsie doodle today. countdown to baby - 2 weeks.

Southern California Ragnar 2010

This last weekend was the Ragnar Relay in Southern California. Last year I went down to support some friends who were running this race, but this year, I decided to give it a go myself. And when I say "myself", I mean with eleven other people. We were Team Red Pants, which is appropriate since the race started on Red Pants Friday, right? Right.

Here is a photo of our team right before the race started. Apparently two of our teammates didn't get the Team Red Pants memo. ...

But some of us did.

I love this photo so much. I think it could almost be a caption contest. I just imagine Scott saying to Mark "Wear your red pants and be free!" or something close to that.

Jen bought some red sweats at Wal-Mart and the smallest size they had was Men's 3X. Mark was a little chilly, so he hopped right into Jen's pants. Yep, you read that correctly.



That photo was obviously taken before I had run my first leg. Then imagine a lot of photos that could look like this. My first leg was 4.7 miles in Woodland Hills at 9pm and I was doing pretty well. Most of you know that I'm a fairly slow runner, so when I had people passing me, I decided to run faster. "I can move my legs faster" I thought. Well, duh. I can. I also learned a valuable lesson. When I exert myself too much, I also lose everything I've eaten that day. Not a fun lesson to learn...or pretty. But I felt fine afterward, so I kept on running.

I was runner 12, so after I was done, we drove to the Santa Monica Pier parking lot where we ate a little dinner and then slept for about 2 hours in our van while the other half of our team continued the relay through Van Nuys, Beverly Hills, and Santa Monica. Please keep in mind that this was all through the night. Our 6th runner started running down Venice Beach at 2am so that by the time my leg rolled around again, it was around 5:45am. And as soon as some of our stiff competition passed me close to the finish line, I lost my dinner again. This has never happened to me before, so I'm guessing it was just because of exertion and stress. Good times.

Here we are as a team at the finish line at about 4:30pm in Dana Point. Yep, on the beach. And it was beautiful. Couldn't have asked for better weather.

From left to right we have:

Veronica, Tracy, January, Ashley Mark, Jen, Brittany Me, Colleen,John, Scott, Amy.

And since we were with Scott, we had to have a pyramid.

And just some of my favorite shots of the vans that we lived in for 31+ hours:




What a hard race. My last 6 miles was the longest 6 miles of my life. And I've run a marathon. My body wasn't shutting down like it did in the marathon, but I was way more tired and since I had been throwing up so much, I hadn't eaten anything before my last leg. Yeah. Good times. 2 hours of sleep in over a day and I'd already run about 7 miles with nothing in my stomach to fuel me.

Thanks to everyone who ran on our team, most of all. And thanks to everyone who sent me texts of support along the way. I was grateful for the love I felt every step of the way.

May we remember Team Red Pants forever in our hearts. :)

And in case you're wondering if I'd do it again, I'm already thinking about signing up for 2 more this year. Yep.

04.27.10

just a normal night with rebekah, jane, and rachael...

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

the most vulnerable i've ever been on this blog. pretty sure.

Today is the last day that I will have to check this. I don't know what this really means, but I thought you should know.

When did 5 months turn into 5 minutes? Sometimes time drags on, but other times, it goes by in a whirlwind.

And in case you're wondering how I feel...

Monday, April 26, 2010

I think it was obvious from my photos the last few days that I was in a race. Maybe? I think so. Anyway - I'm still recuperating. Stay tuned for some photos and more details.

Sunday, April 25, 2010

Saturday, April 24, 2010

04.24.10

the face of someone who ran 13 miles in a relay race over 2 days with 2 hours of sleep total since 6am friday morning...and is awfully tired; and finished! Go team red pants!

04.23.10

we have run a collective 70 miles today. going to sleep now for the next few hours. ragnar, you have brought it. officially.

Thursday, April 22, 2010

04.22.10

team red pants

Feats of Strength, etc.

Since it is Friday for me today, I might as well tell you about last weekend before I have new adventures to share.

Last Friday, I went to Santa Cruz to spent time with my dear friend Silvia. We spent the evening eating pizza, playing games, and having feats of strength competitions. Yep. And we made videos of most of it.

From April 17 Weekend
From April 17 Weekend
From April 17 Weekend
From April 17 Weekend
From April 17 Weekend

We also did things like "Who can hold the plank position the longest, which I won by far (thank you push-ups!) And this was all going until about 1:30am. I was the only single person there and I had no idea that married people could be such party animals. Seriously. In the morning, I got up and went for a run in the Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park, which is less than a mile away from their house. While I was on my way to the park, I got slightly turned around and asked a man walking down the road which way I should go to get to the park. He told me that there had been mountain lion sightings in the past few weeks and the park rangers told his neighbor to never run alone. Then he showed me the sidewalk. And I thought to myself that if I really am like Bella, maybe I will:
a) get attacked by a mountain lion and be put out of my misery
b) get attacked by a vampire
c) get attacked but then be saved by a vampire and/or a werewolf
d) none of the above
And I went anyway. Because I laugh in the face of danger.

Lucky for me, within an hour, I was brunching with Silvia in downtown Santa Cruz.

Really, I love this girl. And her family is awesome. Then I made my way to the Oakland LDS temple where I am now working on occasional Saturdays. If you have ever contemplated doing this, get on it. Do it now. You won't be sorry. It is rewarding in a lot of ways. After my stint in Oakland, I drove down to Woodside for another celebration of Kristine's birthday and Liz's birthday. I must say that this is a good action shot.

We went hot-tubbing after this and I can still smell the fragrant water of the hot tub. I know that sounds strange, but it was amazing. Who knew hot tub water could smell so delicious?

On Sunday the weather continued to be gorgeous and after church, Rachael and I celebrated Ryan's birthday with cake and pie. You already saw the pie I made here.


Even on my weekends "in town", I am busy with friends here. I just don't see an end in sight, which is probably more of a blessing than I realize.

suicide watch 2010, heartbreak 2010, seething rage 2010

we have low expectations around these parts, but things are looking up.

04.21.10

the outfit i bought for myself today. after 81 situps and 150 pushups. ugh.

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Gone With the Wind

I finished Gone With the Wind today. What an amazing book. I'd seen the movie many times, so I knew the story well, but reading the book gave me such greater insight into the background and history of why everyone hated Scarlett O'Hara and Rhett Butler. I will admit that many times over the past few weeks, I've said aloud to my roommate - 'I want to marry Rhett Butler.'

Here's why - he loves Scarlett despite herself. And she's no great prize. She's stubborn and arrogant and mean. She marries men for every reason but love, but he tells her that he wants her more than he's ever wanted anything. I laughed, I cried, I looked up Civil War history. I will say that growing up in North Carolina, I know a lot about the Civil War and I'm not ignorant enough to believe that it was purely over slavery like so many in our country still believe. If you are interested in learning more about the Civil War and hearing it from the Confederate side, this is the book for you. I just think that seeing it all through the eyes of Scarlett and Rhett taught me a lot about love and motives and mostly about loving people in spite of their weakness.

If you haven't read it, get it and read it ASAP. I cannot recommend it enough.

04.20.10

a sneak peek of things to come.

Monday, April 19, 2010

04.19.10

i stink at trying to sneak photos on my cell. this is the hillbilly.

Sunday, April 18, 2010

Saturday, April 17, 2010

04.17.10

that is a piece of chicken on half a papaya. half a papaya.

Friday, April 16, 2010

Friday List

Right now I kind of feel like I've caught a wave and I'm just riding it for as long as I can. So.... a list is in order!
  • Thoughts on the photo per day? I kind of like it for the journal aspect, but do you?
  • My fortune cookie today at lunch told me that I'd be visiting a distant land soon. Oh hells bells. It'd better be talking about Mexico. Is Mexico a distant land?
  • I have a race next Friday and Saturday. Yep, 2 days. I have a feeling this is going to be entertaining. I bought myself a new outfit so that maybe I'd get more excited about it. Stay tuned.
  • My coworkers and I have finished the two hundred squats program and have moved on to sit ups. Still working on the pushups. (We will be on week 6 starting on Monday. eek!)
  • I've lost 13 pounds and officially fit into pants that I haven't worn in over 3 years. Go me.
  • This weekend I'm going to Santa Cruz to hang out with Justin & Silvia. Should be really fun.
  • I have one plans every weekend through June 5. gah.

04.16.10

gift wrap on the cheap.

Thursday, April 15, 2010

04.15.10

zach and i ate indian food tonight. it was a little ispicy.

Babies

Last night I went to see the documentary "Babies" with Kristine. Click here to see the website. While I thought it was entertaining at times and cute, (um..hello! BABIES!) it left me hanging. The entire film is about four babies that are born in Mongolia, Namibia, San Francisco, and Tokyo.

In case you're wondering, the best places to be born out of those four are San Francisco or Tokyo. I thanked God last night in my prayers that I wasn't born in Namibia. Seriously. You think I'm kidding, but I'm not. I should have included in my prayer that I wished I had been born Asian so I was naturally thin, but I still have tonight.

I wouldn't say that you have see this, because let's face it - I grew up around a lot of babies and I didn't get any new information from the film. Maybe some people did. All in all, if you love films with no talking and funny scenes with babies being tied to beds, having gas, and being tormented by the other children around them, this is the film for you. Enjoy.

Kris Allen in the Bleu Room

I shamelessly stole these photos off the internet yesterday. So sue me. Wait. Don't really, OK?

My boss asked me the other day if I wanted to go see Kris Allen at the W hotel and when I said yes, she actually read the invitation that she had received and realized that she had to go and take a guest. Lucky for me, she likes me. And I was able to convince her to go.

We were invited by the hotel, so I made Katherine sit in the front row since we could. And if you get the chance to sit in the front row, duh.

He might be young and married, but he is pretty cute.

And here's my proof that I was there and that I enjoyed myself. And you can see my curly hair.

I might not be a huge fan, but the mini concert was great and he is a great musician. Now if only I could show you the photo that I took with his wingman. He looked like Adam Levine. eek!

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

04.14.10

today at lunch, instead of eating, i went to a kris allen concert and sat on the front row.

04.13.10



post swimming and running tonight. my hairdresser called me today. maybe i should take that as a sign.

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Happy Birthday, Kristine Hanson.

A few months ago, my lovely friend Kristine sent me an email asking me to sign up for the Warrior Dash in Southern California in April to celebrate her 30th birthday. Apparently you really have to twist my arm to get me to do things with you, so I signed up in the next minute. A few weeks later, Kristy was talked into going. This last Friday afternoon, Kristy, Kristine, and I met up in Los Angeles to help Kristine's 20s go out in style.

Friday, 7:00pm - Cafe Rio in Manhattan Beach. The place was full of Mormons, of course.

Friday, 10:00pm - 12:00am- Karaoke

Karaoke would not be complete without Rick Buck.

The Birthday girl...

Kristy & Zach singing a duet

Zundelac!


Saturday, 11am

We went for a mid morning bike ride from Santa Monica to Venice. It was the perfect way to spend an hour.

Then we played awesome games like - spot the mannequin in the window. How many can you spot??

1pm - Met up with a friend for lunch who likes to show off his muscles in front of the ladies...

2pm - 4pm - Sat in the car in traffic on our way to Lake Elsinore for the Warrior Dash. LA traffic is not my favorite thing, by the way.

5pm - 6pm - Become warriors.


The race was a 3 mile run with obstacles all along the way that included things like climbing over hay bales, cars, through tunnels, over logs in the water, etc. The last obstacle was crawling through mud underneath barbed wire. We were super lucky to have our awesome friend Mike there who took some photos of us. Kristine wanted a mud fight, and I think she got it, thanks to Kristy. I bailed at the last second. I think that I was already over being dirty since we'd just been in the lake climbing over logs. Anyway. Below you can see that I did get muddy.



I won't blame you if this is your new desktop wallpaper. We are hardcore.

We even got warrior hats.

And I am happy to report that I think all those pushups I've been doing helped a lot. Wasn't even sore the next morning.

Sunday after church we went to the Getty Museum since we were on vacation. These are good people. Serious.

And inside the museum, we found Bertha's Great Grandma. Zach and I are paying homage to her. Who knew that Pottery Barn got their idea for a couch at the Getty museum??

And maybe there was some drama at the airport Sunday night that I won't go into here because it isn't worth talking about, but we did get to hang out with Zach and Mike for a few more hours on Sunday night after Uzi went home.


Kristine, thanks for being born 30 years ago today and thanks for instigating such a great weekend. You are the best.

And I couldn't say thank you enough to Mike for being so awesome and to Zach and Kristy for making me laugh so hard. What a great weekend.