Monthly Archives: September 2010

a summer weekend in september

goings on, snapshots

We didn’t get much of a summer over the summer months, but suddenly in mid-September, we did! It was hot over the weekend (and Monday was a record breaker in LA). Despite the heat, we had a fun weekend, even though neither of us loves the heat. We’re happier in the fog, or the rain, or the shade…

On Saturday we drove down to San Diego county for my friend, Liz’s son Nate’s 2nd birthday party! It was so fun to see Liz, who is soon-to-deliver pregnant with her second child, a baby girl! Nate was the life of the party…he is a flirt with all the little girls, his age and older. It was fun to see him in person since I’ve only watched him grow in photos since meeting him as a baby. What a sweetie. And for his birthday, Liz made the coolest, cutest cupcakes ever! The theme of the party was “animals”, so she created 3 animal cupcakes. Take a look…

made with love by Liz

Nate got a cool sparkler candle on his cupcake which he was unsure about…

that's a big sparkler clapping

I had a green frog and R had a monkey. Delicious! (Nate had a green frog also, but at the end of the night he wore pink pig frosting all over his shirt. I told you – party animal!)

After the guests left I surprised Liz with a table of baby girl gifts from our college friends. Since we couldn’t get together to give her a baby sprinkle, we sent one from afar. I was able to capture the obligatory pregnant belly photo for y’all. *smile* Isn’t she beautiful?

surprise! a baby girl sprinkle...

And here we are together…

due shortly

On Sunday we went to the Farmer’s Market in Hollywood which has delicious permanent food stands. We enjoyed shawarma wraps for lunch. Here is Mr. K right when I asked him to show me what he thought about his lunch… (He loves it when I do that, can’t you tell?)

are you excited about your shwarma?

Then later in the evening on Sunday we went to my parents new house in Valencia, California. (Oh yeah, did I mention they moved to Southern California? Well, they did and have been here for 3 weeks. They are loving it! Seriously, I’ve never seen them so excited.) They now live about 35 minutes from us, which is nice. Their house is lovely ~ it looks like them and they have a nice little pool in the back yard. I never thought my parents would have a pool. Hmmm, moving closer to us and a pool. I think they’re ready for more grandchildren, what do you think? Until then, we toasted the new house with margaritas…

toasting the new house! margaritas

Happy Fall!
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i love dates and birthdays

life in LA, love, snapshots, the "S"

I can often be a homebody. But I am working on changing this as best I can because I always feel happy when I get my arse out of the house and doing things.

So last night R and I went on a movie date. We saw The Town. Mr. Affleck turns out to be a really good director. Who knew? And the acting was really good, too. So I highly recommend it…

After the movie, we went to one of my friend’s birthday party where we hung out with some of the S gals. We had such great conversation and I just adore celebrating the people in my life.

Happy birthday, Ronda!

happy birthday Ronda

Rory is so good when all the S gals get together. We can be an overwhelming dose of feminine estrogen, but he handles it well. I heart him. Isn’t he cute?

and another thing...

And last night more than one person told us we make such a cute couple…

mr. and mrs. k

Is it ok for me to say I agree?
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operation heart health

life in LA, snapshots

It might seem strange that I have high blood pressure since I teach fitness classes, but I do. My best guess is that it’s stress, diet and lack of cardio.

So, last week I took up morning hiking. Runyon Canyon is right behind my house and it’s silly that I’ve lived here almost 4 years and can count the number of times I’ve hiked on one hand. I mean, it’s up the street about 500 yards. But no longer!

Last week I began getting up early and hiking the canyon loop first thing. It’s so nice to get my heart rate up, breathe the fresh air (since I get above the smog), see all the people and their dogs and best of all, to clear my head for the day ahead. I love how happy the dogs are since they don’t have to be on a leash and to smile at the other Angelenos. It gives me a sense of community, which can be hard to come by in LA. I’m starting to recognize some of the other hikers and dogs, which is fun. And at the top of the trail I pause for a few minutes and just gaze out over the vastness that is Los Angeles. To the East, the downtown skyline and to the West, the ocean. I love California, I really do.

On Tuesday morning I took my camera, and even though I was a bit embarrassed to be snapping photos (especially since I was by myself), I captured some good ones stealthily. I even captured a self-portrait looking back toward the Hollywood sign..

LA nature runyon

up here, everything is clear, whereas down there everything is hazy. at the top

They say it takes 30 days to create a habit, so we’ll see how it goes. I am hoping I can make it at least 4 times per week. I love how awake and fresh these morning walks make me feel. Want to come hike with me?
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labor day water ski

goings on, snapshots

Over labor day we went on a water ski camping trip in the Delta. The Delta is in Northern Central California near Sacramento. It’s hundreds of miles of waterways which attract boaters in the Summer. We had a grand time. We found a nice camping spot and spent two nights. We enjoyed the company of R’s uncle and cousin and spent the days water skiing and sun-soaking.

I didn’t take enough photos and I was the only one who even brought a camera, so the history can’t really be told in pictures, but…

I had trouble getting up on the water ski because it was way too big for my foot, but I did manage one ride. Not too fancy for fear that my foot would slip out of the boot and I would go flying. Here I am, though…

One morning when we woke up, the tide had gone way down and we had to wait for it to rise so we could push the boat back out into the water. Here are the guys working their muscles…

And during one boat ride, we encountered some sea lions. They’re just so cute. And if you remember from our Kauai trip, Mr. K *loves* marine mammals…


Hooray for vacations. Hooray for unplugging for the long weekend. Hooray for fun!
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