Weekend with the padres - wining, dining and hiking, oh my!

In January, my parents decided to make one last visit to see us in the LA area (more on that 'last visit' soon!), and the only weekend that really worked out was President's Day, so we all quickly made arrangements for their visit this past weekend.  It was a bit of a whirlwind of a trip for them since they arrived Friday afternoon (4:30 - just in time for traffic!) and left early this morning.  We packed in quite a few activities and tried to ensure that they enjoyed this visit as much as possible.  

On Saturday, we drove up to Santa Barbara wine country.  It's a bit of a haul for a one-day visit, but we had a willing driver and a beautiful day to explore the countryside, so we took advantage of those factors.  We started out in the quaint little town of Los Olivos.  The first time we went wine tasting in the Santa Barbara area with my parents was probably 7 years ago, and at that time, it seemed that if you blinked, you'd miss Los Olivos.  That isn't the case anymore, and especially not on Valentine's day (we had sort of forgotten about that detail, but, apparently, wine tasting is a very popular activity on said "holiday").  Fortunately, we were early enough that when we stopped at our first tasting room, Byron, it was still low-key.  That was a fabulous first stop, and, since it wasn't too crowded, we were really able to take our time and enjoy the wine - which was excellent!  Byron specializes in Pinots, like a lot of Santa Barbara wineries, and they were all fantastic.  

Starting out our day

Making decisions - what to drink now?

Perhaps the best thing about Byron, after the wine, was the recommendation to eat lunch in Buellton at Industrial Eats.  It's super casual but the food is fantastic - and we definitely needed something to eat after the visit to Byron.  It's also conveniently located, right next to Alma Rosa, our next stop.  We had visited Alma Rosa with my parents a few years ago when it was in an old farmhouse, which I still prefer, and Michael and I (and Gus - it's a dog-friendly tasting room!) visited Alma Rosa back in October.  So, it's a bit of an old favorite for us, I suppose, and their wine is awfully good!

Some full belly happiness

After all of the eating and drinking and driving on Saturday, we opted for a more active day on Sunday - and set out for Mt. Lowe in the Angeles National Forest.  In the end, we did not summit Mt. Lowe but we did hike San Gabriel Peak!

Looking east

The start of the trail was through a wooded area which was nice and shaded, with lots of manzanita all around!  And then we hit a fire road which led us to this area that was once part of the Nike Ajax Missile Defense Plan (according to modernhiker.com).  Kind of crazy?!  Hikes in the western part of the Angeles are always so interesting - you feel like you are 'away from it all', and then you are suddenly reminded of the fact that Los Angeles is really right there.  

Fromt his platform, we then headed up to San Gabriel peak.  The final push wasn't technical, but it was steep.  

Ah, success!

We finished off the weekend at Angelini Osteria, another favorite from a previous visit, and we shared some excellent Italian food there.  It's always hard to choose because there are so many option, but I opted for a pasta with black truffles - and then they shaved more truffles on top.  It was kind of ridiculous!

Truffles!

Buonasera!

It was a fun-filled weekend with my parents, no doubt, and even though I'm an adult, they still spoil me.  I also feel lucky that we can still do things together, like go on a moderately strenuous hike, which is a wonderful way to spend time with them. 

January - It's a wrap (almost!)

Yes - January, despite my sense of lackluster motivation and a slow start, ended up being a good month and has concluded on a positive note.  Returning to work after the holidays is always a bit brutal, but the Jan. schedule at the school where I teach is pretty awesome and allows for much socializing.  Add to that my birthday and some solid training weeks, and the month rounded out quite nicely!

Yes, my birthday - another year older but not necessarily wiser.  I used to hate having a January birthday (mainly when I was a kid because I wanted a pool party which was never possible, not even in South Texas), but I've obviously gotten over that and now embrace getting older.  I think that, once I'm closer to the big 5-0, I might enjoy celebrating it a bit less, but for now, I'll continue to raise a glass to my health and happiness.

Drinking a home-made margarita by the resident mixologist and sporting a great little Smartwool pullover that my parents got me - total win!

With my birthday, I didn't move up an age group, sadly, but hopefully it will be a good year for me in the 40-44 group!  My actual birthday was filled with some star power - I attended a CalTri season kick-off meeting and met the very inspiring Hillary Biscay who talked to the group.  I admit that I didn't know who she was until I got my first Smashfestqueen kit, but then I started reading about her and wow, she's pretty amazing.  And I really do love the kits that her company makes - the designs are awesome and the kits are comfortable.  Anyway, I wavered - to introduce myself as a fan girl or not?  I finally decided that it would be kind of silly to not say anything to her, so I ended up talking about how great the kits are, showing her a picture of me wearing the Fly kit, and then we blabbed about triathlon. I was a little starstruck, I must admit, and she was very nice.

Hillary with Maik Twelsiek - the following photos are courtesy of CalTri (and Harrison Shao)

No pictures with Hillary but Harrison snapped one of me with Maik - he only came in 11th at Kona this year!  He was swiping my credit card so that I could make the following purchase:

I know, I know!  Another kit. But so cute and I love the fish scales on it!  And Maik also talked with me about the St. George course - and the hills!

My "real" birthday celebration followed - Michael and I spent an afternoon hanging out at LA's Grand Central Market , visiting the Hudson River School exhibit at LACMA and eating and drinking quite well.  To be honest, there might have been a bit too much over-indulgence over the course of the month, but how can I complain about *having* to spend time at some of my favorite places - Amigos, the York, Golden Road Brewery and POV (this last place has forever ruined pizza elsewhere for us) with friends.  Also, I had my first ramen experience - since the days of Top Ramen - at Tsujita.  The LA Weekly claims that you can find better ramen, but you have to get on a plane to do so.  I'm not a ramen expert, but I can say that it was one of the most decadent meals I've ever had.

Perhaps my favorite part of the meal (except for the ramen) - Glad that no one died while we were eating the ramen!

I mentioned drink, and I know that serious triathletes and runners eschew alcohol.  Sigh.  Obviously I'm not one of those serious athletes, and I've developed a recent crush on the Old Fashioned and variations of said drink (such as the Claremont).  Also, Golden Road's "Better Weather IPA" is one of the best beers I've had in ages which I would drink on a more regular basis except that it has 9% alcohol or something ridiculous like that.  In other words, it packs a punch.

Despite a month of eating and drinking a bit too much, I would say that the rest of my training regime is on track.  Yes, despite my mid-month groaning and moaning and belly-aching, it's been a solid training period.  I started off the month with a great run in Boulder on New Year's, and I started today with an early morning long, slow distance run.  Many of these have felt like a slog, at least at one moment or another, but I enjoyed every moment of today's run. I feel that some of the training is beginning to click, and I'm looking forward to a more focused month in February.

The 2014 Christmas edition

I know, I know, it's 2015 already yet I'm still stuck in 2014.  With the return to work looming (ack, tomorrow!), I want to express gratitude for the fun times that we had over the Christmas break with good friends and family in Colorado.  Although it made for a busier trip, I felt particularly lucky this year that we were able to see both sides of our families, spending time with Michael's family in Boulder and skiing with my family.

Our trip preparations included dressing up Gus in his Christmas costume.  He was a very unhappy doggie as an ice cream sundae.

As usual, we drove from Pasadena to Boulder, however, we stopped in Santa Fe this year rather than Flagstaff.  We arrived late and left early, so we couldn't fully appreciate the sights, but wow, is it a beautiful place at Christmas with the lights! Also, the sunrise to which we were treated as we left town was so beautiful - such pinks and blues!  I sometimes think that Georgia O'Keefe's work is a bit cheesy with all of the pink, but when I saw that sunrise, I thought - "Wow, she didn't make any of it up".

After a few quick days in Boulder (most of which we spent running errands, although we hit some of our favorite places - Salt, Backcountry Pizza which is notable for an outstanding beer list, and Southern Sun), we headed to Keystone, Colorado to meet up with my family.  This was a repeat of our trip two years ago which was fine by me.  We discovered that a ski trip suited everyone - giving us enough freedom yet still allowing us to be together.  One of our first stops was Keystone Village where I posed with the ice sculptures alongside my niece and nephews:

And then we spent the next few days skiing:

Michael, my brother, sister-in-law and I

 Panorama view of the mountains

More posing at the top of the mountain!

Michael taking a break.

The skiing was really great this year thanks to a few days of major snowfall right before we arrived (and the day of our arrival).  I don't ski all-out, super hard-core these days, largely because I'm nervous about injuring myself, but we had several great days out there.  What most surprised us was the lack of lift lines - we rarely had to wait at all, and when we did, the lines were quite short.  It was fun to see my niece and nephews on the slopes too.  We didn't ski too much with them, but they are becoming very good skiers and it's fun to watch them on slopes!

The last day was probably the warmest, so we got in one final morning before returning to Boulder for a New Year's Eve celebration.  We closed out 2014 and brought in 2015 with a competitive game of Cards Against Humanity, plenty of champagne and caps that Michael's mother made for all of us.

A motley crew

Boulder - The Flatirons with snow

We spent New Year's Day in Boulder - going for a walk, visiting family, and I even motivated for a New Year's Day run in the cold (for me, it was freezy!), the perfect way to start 2015.  It was a full Christmas/New Year's break, and while at times I missed the low-key nature that often defines our holidays, it was great to see so many people and share the holidays with them.  We definitely ate and drank and played pretty hard, and I'm now ready to focus on 2015 and all that it will bring!

Fast times in the Southland

I kind of love it when a trip that you loosely "planned" months ago sneaks up on you and suddenly you're off!  We (or maybe I) had planned a trip to the Carlsbad/Encinitas area back in October, but after the initial planning, which consisted of registering for a half-marathon and reserving a hotel room, I sort of forgot to think about the details of the trip.  But Saturday morning rolled around and we managed to pack up our bags and the dogs, head out the door and direct ourselves south!

The original purpose of the trip was, for me, to chase a PR at the Carlsbad Half-Marathon, about which I'd heard great things.  The idea of a half-marathon PR became a distant memory once I started to run using heart rate and rarely saw anything below a 10:-- mile, so I readjusted my expectations and decided that it would just be a fun way to spend the weekend.  It also turned out that my parents had made separate plans that included a trip to Southern CA this past weekend, so our plans morphed again to include time with them.   At any rate, my half-marathon hopes/goals quickly diminished as the "main event" of the weekend, which took the pressure off me on Saturday.  While I still hoped to run a solid race that would be a good training run, I did not expect a particularly speedy-for-me 13.1 miles on Sunday.  I did meet up with my triathlon coach on Saturday afternoon - which was a really nice bonus for the weekend - and she urged me to really *race* on Sunday and instructed me to start and stick with the 1:45 pace group.  Considering that my recent race pace intervals (during slow runs) felt impossible to hold on to for more than the interval, I seriously questioned this plan.

By Sunday morning, my expectations had probably sunk even lower - I don't know when I've ever slept so poorly the night before a race.  Maybe I really was nervous?!  Fortunately, the half-marathon start was at the luxurious time of 7:45, so I tried to catch a few more zzzz's.  Michael dropped me off somewhat close to the race expo around 7:15 which gave me time to get to the start, do my business (you know...), warm up, and then line up in my corral.  I have to admit that I am a huge fan of waved/corralled starts, but even with the different waves, there were tons of people to weave around and through during that first mile.  I can't say where my thoughts were during the first few miles - I think that I kept checking in with my pace and with how I felt.  The 1:45 pace group was within sight but going faster than a 1:45 pace, according to the Garmin and also according to the time elapsed.  So, I hung back at what felt like a comfortable but still fast pace, enjoying the course, especially around mile 3 or so, when we hit the coast which was just beautiful!  I also saw my coach around mile 5 and she yelled at me to catch up to the 1:45 pace group - I thought to myself "As if!".  And then, just after the course turn-around, I saw my parents, Michael and our dogs for a quick shout out and wave.  At that point, I was pushing up to the 1:45 group which I finally caught, stayed with for a while, and then I decided that I needed to move on. The second half of the course was a negative split, and it felt hard but comfortable until around mile 10 at which point I tried to push even harder.  While I still enjoyed the run and the pace felt doable, it no longer felt comfortable!  During the second half of the race, I couldn't believe that I would finish up with a nice PR, as long as I didn't bonk.  By the time, I got to the last half mile, I still couldn't quite get over my time but kept pushing, and even passed a few more people at the end, which made me very happy!  

I ended the race with a very surprising 9 minute PR!  I use that adjective because speed work has not been a major part of my training, as I said earlier, and if it hadn't been for my coach instructing me to start with the pace group, I would have held back, no doubt.  I guess she knows what she is talking about!  Also, this race did live up to its reputation of being a really great experience - it was very well organized, the course was nice and varied with plenty of rolling hills but nothing crazy, fantastic crowd support, great fluid and nutrition and plenty of portopotties scattered through the course (which was nice because I did have to make a pit stop and it was a quick in-and-out b/c there were no lines).  Needless to say, I am a fan of this race!  I'm not sure how the marathon would be - maybe too much out and back, but the half felt just right.  

After my race, we were able to get down to other, more serious business - eating, drinking and watching football!  My parents were catching an afternoon flight, so the first item up was for me to clean up, and then we headed to Union Tap House in Encinitas.  That was a lucky choice for brunch - they served really good food and excellent bloody marys!  After that, Michael and I hunted down a bar, and again we felt that we lucked out with the Encinitas Ale House where we scored good seats at the bar.  I tried to switch between water and small beer tasters to stay somewhat hydrated while we watched the game.  To make a good day even better, the Broncos beat New England and are headed to the Super Bowl!  While I was still riding high from my PR, someone else was over the moon for the rest of the day!

Finally we peeled ourselves off the barstools and headed out to enjoy the late afternoon.  We don't often to get to that area of Southern CA, usually staying along the LA/Orange County coast or going north, but this trip made me love the Encinitas area.  There is a hippie feel to it, and it also seemed that 'normal' people lived and worked there.  I realize that I have the outsider/visitor's perspective, so who knows what it is REALLY like.  One thing that you can't argue with - the long beaches that just stretch on and on.  We took a great beach walk with our dogs both yesterday and today, and I felt that I could have stayed there forever, watching the waves and the surfers.

The perfect day cannot end without a great margarita, which we found at El Callejón in Encinitas.  We each had one and split another - they were excellent!   At that point, we were totally done for the day, but already plotting a return trip at some point soon!

(Sorry for the complete lack of photos - I know, I'm talking about how awesome it was but showing you nothing!)

Another Boulder Christmas

With a late Thanksgiving and busy weekends between that holiday and Christmas, it seemed that this break took us totally unawares.  We don't normally decorate extravagantly at home, but we try to hang up ornaments and pull out a nativity scene or two (my favorite is our Andean influenced scene with llamas rather than sheep).  This year, we had NADA out and Michael commented that we were leaning pretty hard to being total atheists.  Even with the 25th rapidly approaching, we prepared minimally for our trip to Boulder, and for Christmas in general.  Fortunately, we had already planned on a low-key Christmas with few presents.  This was a bit less fun than the usual gift exchange, especially since we didn't even give any joke gifts, but it did streamline our preparations (meaning - we had almost zero).

My last week of school put me in a total Scrooge mood and I felt like I was holding on by my fingernails, just making it to Friday without losing my shit completely.  Once 12:30 pm on the 20th rolled around, I was at home, and it finally hit me that we would be leaving for Colorado on Saturday morning - woo hoo!  I felt a mix of relief and major excitement, especially since we started our holiday with margaritas with friends on Friday night.  The perfect way to celebrate a two-week break.

Our Christmas trips the past few years have followed a similar pattern so I can't say that they are exciting road trips - which is fine because "excitement" at Christmas might indicate a bit more stress than I would embrace.  We stick to the southern route via major interstates, but even that is an amazing trip through northern Arizona and New Mexico.  We always break up the trip in Flagstaff, AZ, grabbing a drink at Beaver Street Brewery when we roll into town and leaving bright and early after a morning cup of coffee at Macy's Coffee House (not related to the department store!).  While it's a long drive, we're both happy to truck across the Arizona and New Mexico landscape.  The trip doesn't ever feel long until we hit Colorado Springs and at that point the final two hours or so into Boulder seem to stretch on and on, especially after the previous ten hours or so.

Once in Boulder, we enjoy a bit too much good food and drink.  This time, our very first stop, even before seeing family, was the Southern Sun, to get a drink and fill up our growler.  Not a bad way for Boulder to welcome us - or vice versa!  We've migrated to a few other places this year, stopping by Salt for drinks on Christmas Eve afternoon.  To balance out such indulgences, I've stayed somewhat active, going for a morning or afternoon run several times, an early swim at the North Boulder Rec Center twice (once I packed two swimsuits and a towel, taking up valuable real estate in our packed car, I promised myself that I'd make good use of the gear!), and plenty of short walks with our dogs.  It's been relatively warm and we've regretted, somewhat, that we did not strap our bikes to the car.  But with skis already in tow, it seemed like overkill to bring bikes too.  

Warm temperatures are, of course, relative, and we have enjoyed a bit of snow in Boulder - on our first full day here and also this morning a nice dusting of snow greeted us.  Today, I managed to rouse Michael and we hit Chautauqua Park for an early morning walk with the doggies who were very excited about snow!

Not a great photo of me or the dogs, but the Flatirons are so pretty with the snow!

Meta photo - I'm taking a photo of Michael taking a photo; and Milo is grumpy because he just wants to GO, goddamnit!

These photos definitely do not do much justice to the morning which was gorgeous - but a bit cold!  With temperatures in the teens, I was ready for hot coffee after our walk.

Tomorrow, we plan to ski and then we'll soon pack the car to return to CA and 'real life'.  In the meantime, we have an exciting afternoon of football and I'm going to squeeze in a long, slow run.  While none of this is new to us at this point, the comfort of being here and spending time with friends and family is certainly one of the best presents that we could ever have at this time of the year.

CicLAvia: Sunday ride

Yes, a bit late with this, but it's only Monday (and so nice to have a Monday off!  I almost caught up on grading).  Since we had a three-day weekend, we tagged along on a Sunday brunch ride - one that included our participation in CicLAvia, a fun way to experience downtown LA on a bike, in solidarity with thousands of other cyclists (and a few rollerbladers and skateboarders too).  Mike and I joined up with a group of riders that meet on a regular basis, and apparently the number swelled to a total of eleven people on the ride yesterday!  The 9:30 am meet-up time allowed us to have a somewhat leisurely morning before we headed out the door to Lucky Baldwin's in Pasadena.

Once we all met up, we left Lucky Baldwin's, and headed west to LA via South Pasadena and other neighborhoods.  Just like the last time we participated in the Sunday ride phenomenon, the best part about the experience was passing through neighborhoods that either we'd never seen or that we'd never experienced in such a "close" way - somehow being at an intersection in a car doesn't allow you to take it in to the degree that being on a bike does (for instance, different thoughts were: Jack-in-the-Box tacos - how can that even stay open when there are probably 15 better taco options in this neighborhood; oooh, train tracks - don't get stuck; what a nice road - it must be newly paved; damn, where did the paved road go?).  Our paths crossed that of a rooster right before we enjoyed a short bike path along the Arroyo that is a hidden gem, and then through the Montecito Heights and Lincoln Heights neighborhoods before heading into LA.  Michael's comment about the ride was that he felt that we'd passed through at least 5 different countries.  Yep!

We passed the old LA Brewery and other industrial areas, and suddenly we found ourselves in Downtown LA - a mere 10 miles or so from Pasadena!  Our first stop was a cyclocross competition at Los Angeles Historic State Park.  I biffed it on my own sweet ride as we turned into the cyclocross area - nicely done.  Fortunately, only my ego was hurt; just a few bruises elsewhere.  But the cyclocross was so much fun to watch and probably even more exciting when one is actually participating in the event!  Maybe in my next life...  From the cyclocross event, we headed to the heart of Ciclavia in Downtown - and what a zoo!  TONS of riders of all ages, sizes, bike types, socio economic backgrounds.  The spirit of the event was awesome.  For me, the actual experience was, on the whole, not ideal.  First of all, it was super crowded, so at times it took us forever to just go a block!  I was nervous about hitting someone or about someone hitting me, so navigating the masses of people made it a challenge.  Also, I remembered that I really don't like crowds and avoid events because of that dislike/phobia.  But, being downtown with tons of cyclists, looking at the buildings and the architecture and then turning down Figueroa and biking all the way to USC - well, that was all pretty damn cool!  As our fearless leader noted, what is ironic about Ciclavia is that on most weekends, Downtown LA is completely dead, so it's a really great time to ride a bike there.  Not so much when there are thousands of other cyclists crowding the streets!

USC was sort of the turn-around point, so we cruised back to Downtown and then returned to Pasadena.  The return trip was a bit harder with more uphill, but it also felt nice to lose the crowds and pick up the pace a bit.  Even though we hadn't biked along at a fast pace, we had been on the bike for many hours, and my body was tired and ready for a break.  Which soon came in the form of a beer, cheesy fries and eventually a sandwich back at Lucky Baldwin's.  Ah - the perfect post-bike spot!  And the day couldn't have been more ideal - sunny and warm but not hot, so we could sit outside as we enjoyed the post-ride moment.  Which lasted, by the way, for several hours!  By late afternoon, Mike and I decided that we needed to finish our ride - the final leg home, which, unfortunately, is mainly uphill.  Still, we managed to push through those final few miles.  By the end of the day, I was tired, sunburned and a bit dehydrated but definitely in that very happy spot.

I'm not sure if I want to participate in the next Ciclavia, but I'm glad that I experienced it once and I can't wait to head back to Downtown LA on a non-Ciclavia weekend!

And while I'm lame and didn't take any photos, plenty of other people did!  So, here's the event:

Source

And of cyclocross:

Source

Ah - good times for all! 

Odds and ends - summer's over

This is going to be a potpourri of thoughts and musings provoked by the summer drawing to an official close this weekend.  Students are back on Tuesday, and I'm doing my teaching show starting Wednesday.  However, I officially returned to the land of adulthood and responsibility this week, attending meetings, taking notes with a purpose, and dressing somewhat more professionally than my summer garb.  While the look-like-a-working-person issue is not the most challenging aspect of the summer to work transition, I do have to make an adjustment, especially in the shoe department.  After wearing flip-flops 90% of the time that I had to wear shoes, my feet then suffer when they are suddenly confined.  Not that I wear uncomfortable heels or anything like that, but even my most comfortable of "comfort" shoes (yes, I'm an old lady) give me blisters.  

Overall, being back and seeing people - reconnecting with old colleagues and meeting new teachers - makes me feel optimistic about the year, but the meetings do fray my nerves a bit.  By the end of the day on Wednesday, I came home and crashed and felt completely depressed that the summer was over and the year was about to commence.  Fortunately, I have "snapped out of it", but I needed a low-key night in order to strengthen my resolve and shift my mindset to a more positive one.  Nothing like a beer, burger, fries and wings to lift my spirits.  In addition to seeing colleagues, there are several parent/trustee functions that I must attend (those obligations continue until mid-October).  Last night's "party" marked the beginning of these soirees, but at least alcohol accompanied the schmoozing!  It's easier for me to talk to high-powered executives if I've had at least a glass of wine or two.  

Now that the summer is over, I can think about what I actually accomplished over the past few months. I often view summer as a great opportunity to read good books, do some professional development, travel, hike, cook, go to the movies, spend time with friends and family, and explore a bit of LA and/or California.  This summer, as I've recounted ad nauseam, I focused mainly on the Boulder race and then Nicaragua, so the major event pressure was on the back end.  However, I did accomplish much of that list: read (not good books, but that is another issue), PLENTY of travel, not much hiking, a decent amount of cooking although few new recipes, good times with friend and family, only saw one movie at the theatre, and somewhat limited LA/CA exploration.  So, it all evens out in the wash I suppose.

As far as the summer books I read, I'm almost embarrassed to list them because the list is both brief and filled with plenty of fluff!

- First of all, the Game of Thrones TV series sucked us in at the end of the academic year, so I read Books 1-5 over the summer.  They are easy but long reads and completely like mental crack - so addictive and pleasurable at the time, but don't leave much of a lasting impression.  Still, quite fun, despite the fact that most of my favorite characters are now dead.  

I did read two "real" books this summer:

- Black Swan Green (link is to NYTimes book review) by David Mitchell.  Really enjoyed this coming-of-age novel set in 1980's Britain.  It does make me want to read Cloud Atlas, which is bolder, more complex and ambitious.  

- The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion.  I'd wanted to read this book for a while and picked up a used copy at a book store in Denver . It is beautifully written reflection on death, dying, grief, relationships, memory, and so many other themes.  

And another a fantastic adventure book about the Tour Divide, a mountain bike race from Canada to Mexico.  Be Brave, Be Strong by Jill Homer is not the best memoir I've read, but it fascinated me and I often found that I couldn't put it down.  

I'm also reading Canada (NYTimes review) by Richard Ford, his latest novel, and I'm enjoying it, but I find myself easily distracted.  I would like to finish it before the month of September ends!

In terms of other forms of leisure/entertainment, we did see plenty of movies, but I only saw one movie in the theatre, as I mentioned.  The movie selection for me was underwhelming, to say the least, but I did enjoy the one movie that we saw July 4th - Brave.  Not the best movie I've seen, to say the least, but I didn't resent the fact that I spent money to see it.  We seemed to trend to older movies this summer, mainly because the new releases just look terrible.  So, we re-watched a few oldies (Double Indemnity which is just amazing, Charade, which also held up; there were a few of them that were not as good as we had remembered, The Moderns being an example of that). We also took a chance on plenty of  movies, classics or not, that we ended up loving.  Some surprised us with their relevance today (Network was a prime example of that) or they delighted us for other reasons (Hopscotch and The Taking of Pelham One Two Three - the original, not the remake - fell into that category - although I think that Walter Matthau had much to do with it in both of those movies).  So, a light season of summer blockbuster hits for us, but plenty of satisfying movie watching over these past few months!

And now, I have started to turn my focus to the fall - the weeks have already begun to fill up with plans, events and some travels, and thoughts of school occupy my mind.  But I plan to fully enjoy this weekend as the last breath of summer!

Back in the saddle

It was a great weekend - just what I needed to fully re-energize and recover from all of the travels and to begin to focus on the 2012-2013 academic year.  To kick off the weekend, I managed my first post-Boulder race work-out on Friday with a spinning class, which was the perfect reintroduction to the wide world of sports/fitness.  During the school year, I can't normally go to an 8:30 am spin class during the week, so this was a last hurrah for the summer, and Rod, the instructor, had us working with heart rate monitors.  Obviously this is an effective tool for training, and it made me think about yet another investment for the future but not the present.  I definitely pushed myself during the class, but focusing on my heart rate was a change, rather than just try to decide what it meant to me when the instructor says "You should be at a 5 in intensity".

The spinning class set a nice tone for a weekend full of cycling adventures.  And some misadventures with the news about Lance Armstrong breaking and dominating much of the cycling world news, despite the fact that 2 major races were going on (the USA Pro Challenge and the Vuelta a España).  I think that I read all of my free articles at NYTimes.com between Friday and Saturday just to see what experts had to say, and obviously there is no consensus but plenty of buzz about it with opinions all over the place.  We also spent many hours on Friday, Saturday and Sunday watching coverage of the USA Pro Challenge which concluded yesterday.  Saturday's race ended in Boulder, and we wished that we could have been a part of the throngs of people out cheering for the cyclists (Michael's brothers were there - I was rather envious!).  I've become a huge Jens Voigt fan, not because of this Road ID commercial (although I do like it), but his tenacity and his motto "Shut up legs".

In addition to reacquainting myself with certain muscles that I hadn't used in awhile, we satisfied our Mexican craving on Friday at Amigo's, a favorite, especially because of their pitchers of margaritas. We celebrated the birth of a special little lady, and we also celebrated the fact that her mom could drink with us again! Over the pitchers (as usual), a friend proposed the idea of joining him on his weekly Sunday morning brunch ride.  It seemed like a great way to get back on the bike - a no-pressure, social ride.  Yes, please, sign me up!  Yesterday morning, we rolled out around 9:00 am, heading east to Pasadena and then further east to the Santa Fe Dam Recreation Area, a part of LA that we had never, to my embarrassment, explored.  I knew of its whereabouts, that it did exist, but biking there - that never crossed my narrow-bike-experience-mind.  Rob led the way, fortunately, because we traveled along surface streets, through towns that I usually associate with an exit on the freeway: Arcadia, Temple City, Irwindale - where were we?!  And then, after hitting a fairly industrialized part of the eastern landscape of the LA area, we made a few turns and suddenly connected to a bike trail!  It was a great day for a ride - calm, for the most part, and I saw, in much closer detail, parts of LA that I usually ignore or dismiss.  The bike trail around the Santa Fe Dam was a beauty - well-maintained and also well-used.  On the return, we traveled a different course, hugging a bit closer the Angeles National Forest as we headed to Pasadena via Sierra Madre.  Our lunch destination was another old favorite: Lucky Baldwin's where we restored our energy with some food and brew!  I also learned that a post-ride IPA beer is a great recovery drink, but then the 5-miles or so uphill to get back home don't feel quite so good.

The Sunday ride was the perfect way for me to enjoy Sunshine again and to get my legs spinning without too much pushing and pulling thanks to a relatively flat route.  Rob, our fearless leader, kept a kind tempo - he stressed that it was a relaxed ride which I appreciated.  For me, this might be one of my favorite rides of the summer, probably because I had such a different attitude going into it.  I have enjoyed the fact that Michael and I spent time on our bikes when we were in Oregon and Colorado, and we loved our explorations up and down PCH this summer.  However, many (all) of those rides served a fairly singular purpose - train, train, train.  I focused on speed, mph, elevation gain and loss, and on miles, mainly on miles, as I needed to add more each week to feel prepared.  So, the rides had more to do with going a certain speed and distance and less to do with enjoying the experience of riding.  Yesterday's ride was truly about exploring the city and sharing a Sunday morning (and part of the afternoon) ride with friends.  It made me think about cycling in a different way, one that is less about using it to push myself and more about fun.  I would like to add miles this fall, but more than anything, I'd like to shift my approach to cycling in general and go on rides not because I *have* to but merely because they offer possibilities of fun, socializing and exploration.

So, it is good to be back in the saddle, in both a literal and figurative sense, and I can't wait for my next ride!

Bittersweet - Back in sunny CA

It comforted me yet made me a bit sad when I woke up in my own bed this morning, surrounded by familiar details (such as dogs sniffing up at me when they sensed movement in bed rather than the usual sleep rhythm - how do they know it?!).  After two fairly long days in the car, Michael and I both welcomed the familiar sites along I-5, such as the lovely town of Grapevine, almost rejoicing when we merged onto the 210 Freeway, and we would have been ecstatic if we hadn't been so tired when we finally opened the door to our humble abode.  Milo and Gus did not make the trip with us, so their wagging tails were at attention as they greeted us with a mix of joy and suspicion.  For the rest of our short evening, they seemed to alternate between excitement and distrust, glad to see us yet nervous that we'd leave them again.  They were, however, quite happy to join us in our bedroom when we finally called it a day, so I think that they have forgiven us for this momentary abandonment.

Regarding the trip - more to come on that, photos and all.  It is hard to summarize and to not gush ad nauseum, but it was a fantastic trip - one of our 'best', if I could rank them.  Heading south on Wednesday felt like someone was yanking a part of me out, I hated to leave that part of the world that much, as we took our leave of good friends with whom we had reconnected and to whom we had to say our good-byes.  That was the bittersweet aspect of the trip, because it made me so happy to see these people and so sad to leave them.  Throughout the trip we saw different people, but on Wednesday, we had made our final "visit", so that was the hardest good-bye.  Our route on this trip was a bit circuitous - we made different stops along the way as we drove north to Oregon, then snaked our way to the Oregon coast where we disconnected from the world before heading north to Seattle, then on to Bellingham, then crossing the border to Vancouver.  Our final stop before the long drive south was east to Leavenworth, WA.  The return was, without a doubt, the most difficult part of the trip, as the excitement that pushed us on had transformed into anxiety and impatience to return home.  The long summer days suddenly shortened, and we knew that we were closer to home.

That is a summary of our route, but says little about the WHAT - the experiences and the activities.  It is hard, for me, to quickly summarize all of that, but I will say that we walked along half a dozen beaches, if not more; ate more than our fair share of excellent, local (when we could get it) seafood, lost count of the totem poles that we came across, consumed pounds and pounds of cherries (I kid you not); perused many a farmers market; fell in love with Oregon and Washington beers - IPAs in particular; stopped to take in one view or another and pinched ourselves when we couldn't really believe it; honed our local pie expertise; drank numerous cups of coffee (and only went to Starbucks once!); enjoyed the bounty of our friends' gardens at dinnertime; and stayed up far later than I am used to on most evenings as we gabbed and gabbed with friends.  I would also consider this to be one of our more active trips as we walked, hiked, biked or ran in every single locale that we visited.

Now that we are home, it is easy to return to a pat routine, to get lost in the day-to-day minutiae, to worry about next month or next year, or to focus too much on small details that, in the bigger scheme, don't really matter that much.  While this was no Kerouacian experience that involved hitchhiking, the elements and a few survival skills, it did allow us to step outside of the usual rhythm of our lives and to reconnect with several people that we know from different moments of our lives.  Being home has its own advantages, as we connect with friends here and spend time with the dogs (and I train for some race), and hunkering down a bit will energize us for our next trip - which will be coming up soon!

Happy three-day weekend!

Yes, the ubiquitous it's "Memorial Day weekend and I have to write about it!" moment.  Still, there is much to comment on - the end of school is very near and we had a great race yesterday.  And it IS a three-day weekend.  Life is pretty damn good!

Regarding school - before I slip into a state of "irrational exuberance" about the fact that classes ended on Thursday afternoon, I should remember the words with which someone cautioned me  - the year isn't over yet.  But, in terms of classes, it is!  I said adiós to my classes on Thursday, and now all that remains of the year are exams to grade, a trip with the seniors, lots of ceremonial moments, and final meetings.  See, almost done!

It is even more perfect that the last day of classes more or less coincides with this weekend which is a true three-day-weekend for me.  I say "true", because I have almost zero work!  This stands in stark contrast to last weekend, which was a three-day weekend for me because I took a personal day on Friday, but then I spent several hours at school on Saturday and Sunday.  This weekend has involved and will continue to involve friends, food and fun.  (Yay for alliteration; too bad that I'm using it at a first-grader's level)  The fun truly began yesterday morning, if you can use that word to describe a killer 8.6 mile trail run.

Yes, after some training and plenty of anticipation, Michael and I woke up on the early side for a Saturday morning and headed to Sierra Madre for the Mt. Wilson Trail Race.  It was a beautiful morning - the rain from yesterday cleared out the air, and it was sunny with wispy clouds still hanging a bit low.  A perfect beginning for a race day!  After my illegal running of the race last year, I had my sights set on a legitimate run this year.  I feel like somewhat of an interloper because it's a race with a very long tradition, being the second oldest trail race in the state of CA, and I still consider myself a newbie to SoCal and hate to think that I might have taken someone's place who had raced it for 20 years straight.  I did not, however, volunteer to give up my bib, and was excited to participate in the event, especially since Michael and some friends were running it, which lent the race experience a much more 'community-feel' than my usual races.

In terms of race strategy and expectations, I hadn't spent hours of agonizing over this race although I did feel plenty nervous as we lined up at the start.  Nor had I given too much thought to my race strategy.  A part of me was tempted to run slowly and just enjoy the experience, but then another part of me wanted to RACE it!  The latter part seemed to have greater persuasion because once we started, I decided that I needed to push it up the initial uphill which leads to the trail, in order to be in a better position once I hit the trail, as passing requires some strategic maneuvering on the ascent and descent.  At a certain point on the uphill, I began to worry that I was pushing it too much and would run out of energy.  However, the incline surged up, so it then became a game of run when I could and walk to save energy, especially since walking was faster than running at many moments on the trail - at least for the group that I was with.  As per usual, I passed plenty of people on the uphill.  I wasn't sure what my time would be to reach the top, so hitting that point just under 60-minutes was a total surprise! Yes, 4.2 miles in 58 minutes isn't speedy, but considering the elevation gain, I was happy with it.  Reaching the half-way point meant a nice, long descent with a few uphill bumps along the way.  Also, people running downhill had the safer position of being on the mountain side which is also a major bonus!   As for the descent, I got passed by probably 40 people that I had managed to crawl past on the uphill, but this race, for me, is not about ego, so I did not mind one bit that people passed me.  I was actually very  happy with my downhill run which, for me, was a good pace.  Coming off the trail, we hit pavement - it is strange to suddenly find yourself on a street after the miles on a trail.  The only issue I had at the end was the small uphill coming off the trail - my calves started to cramp up!  I've never had cramping issues on a run, so that was not fun.  It comforted me that I was not the only one experiencing issues, since another woman stopped and stretched out her calves.  Once we turned the corner of the street and headed downhill again, the calf-cramping issue abated and it was run, run, run to the finish!  I crossed at either 1:36 or 1:37 plus some seconds which was great - I had hoped to finish around 1:40, so that was a better race than expected!

After getting some water and an orange, I then waited for Michael whom I sighted once he was on the final downhill - I ran partly down with him and then peeled off to talk to some students who had gone to the race to cheer different teachers on.  They had even made signs for me in español!  Michael had a good race, and so did other friends - it was a good day for everyone!  It only improved when we had a beer at the beer garden afterwards.  Perhaps half-way through the beer, we decided to take the celebration on to Amigos, for Mexican food and, of course, margaritas.

Looking back, I think that the day might just meet my definition of a "perfect day".  A hard but fun race with plenty of cheering on other people, shared food and drink, and finally a big fat nap in the afternoon.  This definitely puts me in the mood for summer!

Drinking leads to the Mt. Wilson trail (again!)

A pattern seems to have emerged - meet certain friends for drinks at Amigo's in Pasadena, drink a potent margarita that makes my lips go numb while my mind latches on to crazy suggestions, and then somehow find myself in the quaint little town of Sierra Madre, CA in order to 'conquer' the Mt. Wilson trail.  Just like back in May, right? This morning, however, was just a practice run to work up to the 2012 Mt. Wilson Trail Race.  Last year, I ran it illegally, my first and only bandit run to this day.  I plan on running it as a legitimate participant this year!

But back to this practice run.  Our margarita-drinking friend is a trail running fiend and has been running the trail on a regular basis since November, and he threw out the proposal last night - meet up at 10:00 and run 4.3 miles up, up, up, with a gain of 2100 feet.  When we arrived at Sierra Madre this morning, I confess that for a brief moment I hoped that our friend would have forgotten about the idea he proposed.  No such luck!  Before we started the climb, I felt just like I did on race day last year - pretty damn nervous, almost scared, which seems silly because I knew that I could turn around or stop or walk at any time.  However, the trail is a beast and intimidates me psychologically as well as physically!  We started in town, climbing up a steep hill that leads to the trail, and then we were on the trail.  It was a pretty perfect day, overcast but not cold, and everything was still green, flowers blooming even, unlike the trees and brush in May which have already turned golden.  Rob took off at a strong pace, leaving Michael and me trailing along behind.  I hoped to make it at least 2-3 miles up the trail and then turn around when Rob was on the downhill.  However, when we met up (he going down, I still trudging up), he told me that I was almost at the turn-around point and encouraged me to continue.  So, I did, in his company! And then we headed down, soon meeting up with Michael who was also close to the "top" (not the officially summit but our turnaround point), so we all three headed back up to the turnaround.  Finally, we committed ourselves to the long run down the hill - or mountain.  I always forget how the downhill presents its own set of challenges, different from the uphill trudge.  It is faster but not necessarily 'easier' as I have to pay close attention to my footing and at times can't look beyond the next step for fear of falling off the side of the mountain. On this occasion, I probably would have walked a bit more on the downhill, but it was chilly at the top, and I had to keep running to stay warm!

We made it back to the car around 12:00, put on more clothes, grabbed some food and bragged about our run.  Okay, no bragging rights.  We (I) mainly moaned and groaned as we talked about the challenge of Mt. Wilson and how humbling it is!  However, there was a general sense of contentment that we actually survived the entire 4.3 miles up the mountain through a combination of running, walking, shuffling and gasping.  I admit that it wasn't pretty, but we all made it!

Before we departed, we made plans to do the run all over again in March.  Craziness must be contagious.

Over the threshold

Ah, well, here I am at 40, looking it square in the eye thanks to help from this:

Not a great picture, but the important detail is that there is an ENTIRE bottle of wine in that glass.  Yep, that was one of my many awesome presents (a few others included a good bottle of wine, a bottle of tequila, a 40 oz bottle of Mickey's malt liquor) from an extended Friday night happy hour.  Needless to say, on Saturday morning I truly felt Hank Williams Jr.s' line when he sings "Hangovers hurt more than they used to".  At that point, I was still in my 30's, but what's a day or two?
Adding to the mix, Michael and I enjoyed our own celebration on Sunday night at Jar, a very "LA" restaurant in my mind.  That was a major extravagance but well worth it - after all, I'm never going to turn four zero again.  We've been to Jar before, but it had literally been years since our last outing there. I did, however, still remember the Porterhouse steak well from that last visit!  From our experience, there is always an interesting crowd, usually plenty of pretentious Hollywood types or the older-guy-much-younger-woman-couples peppering the restaurant.  This time, we sat between a pair of elderly gentlemen who talked about food and travel the entire meal and a young, super hip but totally silent couple who spent way more time looking at their phone than talking to each other.  Talk about a diverse crowd!  I was really craving a good steak, something that we don't often eat but that this place is known for (I had the porterhouse on my palate, I suppose).  Michael indulged me, and we split an enormous "tomahawk steak" that was cooked and cut on the bone.  I think we surprised our waiter by finishing the entire steak - but it was for two people!  We also split dessert, a butterscotch pudding with salted carmel on top.  I think that it was one of the most memorable desserts that I've had in a very long time.  In fact, the entire meal was pretty awesome - so much so that our waiter even commented to us, "You've just had the perfect meal!".
I think I agree.
Lest one think that all I did was eat, drink and be merry all weekend long, I did log in a spin, swim and a run.  Someone told me that I *had* to run on my birthday, at least 40 minutes, one minute per year.  I ended up with a 50-minute run which felt good (actually, it kind of felt like hell since I started with a crazy uphill for about a mile or longer).  I did feel good afterwards, however!

Christmas in Boulder

Yes, I'm back in sunny CA where it should hit 78 or 80 degrees today.  Perfect weather for the Rose Parade which ruined my morning outing to the Pasadena farmers' market.  Cancelled today even though things (Parade, Game...) don't happen until Monday.  Totally unfair.
I should, however, back up and wax poetically about the white Christmas that we spent in Boulder, CO.  We arrived last Wednesday night, snow just starting to fall in the early evening.  By the time we woke up Thursday morning, about 12 inches had accumulated.  Exciting!  It was the lightest, fluffiest snow that I've ever experienced.  I tried to make a snowball to throw at a certain person, but the snow didn't even stick together.  Crazy!  We depended on the kindness of a brother-in-law to chauffeur us around town since our awesome Toyota Camry wasn't quite up to the task.  I spent most of the first few days oohing and aahing over the snow and also complaining about the cold!  Still, we did brave the elements several times with the pups who LOVE the snow:

(Gus is too busy eating snow in the second photo to pose for the camera.  As I look at these photos now, I wish that I had spent more time in the snow!  Agh - I hate those regrets.)

We seemed to celebrate Christmas for several days, a non-stop eating, drinking, and present-opening fest.  The best present that I received, hands-down, were a bunch of socks from one of my in-laws.  I realize that socks don't necessarily scream "Awesome present!", but these do!  THREE pair of awesome SmartWool socks and a pair of cycling socks with "Colorado" stitched on them - I hit the motherlode with that present, and my brother-in-law may now be my favorite family member ever.

Given the snowfall in Boulder and our aborted ski efforts in Taos, Michael and I were pretty determined to go skiing while in Boulder.  Nothing crazy, like Breckenridge or Keystone, but we figured that a nice day at Eldora, a local ski place, would be perfect.  We went up last year to Nordic ski, but we both wanted to try out our downhill legs, despite years and years away from the slopes.  So, we (and half of Boulder) geared up on Tuesday and headed up the mountain.  By 10:00 am, we'd already gotten in two runs - success on the green runs at least!

Not to sound like one of my students, but I felt like yelling "OMG! This is so FUN!".  I was really nervous about trying to downhill ski again, since my last run, on March 23, 2003 (I found the tag on my ski pants which I hadn't worn since that day) ended with a torn meniscus.  Well, we started out on the easy runs and didn't challenge ourselves with anything beyond a blue slope, but as we spent more time on skis, we both relaxed into the movement and had a spectacular time.  I think that I had forced myself to forget how much PURE fun skiing is because I thought that I'd never ski again.  Thank you again, Dr. Hatch, for my new ACL (and thanks to the cadaver who gave up his ligament).

By noon-ish, we were tired and hungry, so we settled into a relaxing lunch in the lodge.  The food was so-so, but the Bloody Marys were damn good and strong!  After that, we were pretty much toast - tired and relaxed.  So, we did two more runs before calling it a day.  It was the perfect way to end our time in Boulder!  We are also jonesing to ski again soon - maybe here in SoCal?!

Ah, the post-Bloody Mary relaxed state!

Heading back out to ski - yes, I look like an alien with the goggles on!

No trip to Boulder is complete without lots of good food and drink.  We skipped some of our standards (Snarfs, a great sandwich shop, and Lucilles, a rockin' brunch place), but discovered a few new favorites.  One place, Bitter Bar, replaced a great Asian restaurant.  We were disappointed that the Happy Noodle had closed its doors, but Bitter Bar served up good food and drinks and had an awesome happy hour!  I have also continued my love with Avery Brewery.  I almost fell OUT of love with Avery on Christmas Eve afternoon because it was closed (in fact, most bars in Boulder were closed on Saturday afternoon which was an outrage!).  However, we made it back on Monday night, and it was worth the wait.  I discovered a crazy-strong beer called "The Beast" which has 16.83% alcohol.  It is definitely a might fine sipping beer.
All-in-all, a stand-out trip to Boulder, CO and a great way to enjoy the Christmas break. Now we just need to toast both the old year and the new year, and our celebration will be complete!
Cheers!

Lazy days in Taos

Hello winter break, Christmas break, holiday season, whatever-you-want-to-call-it!

Taos, NM

I survived the final week before break which is always packed with preparations as we try to leave town as soon as possible. In this case, our departure was Saturday morning, bright but not terribly early (7:30 am rather than 6:00 am or something horrible like that).  We arrived in Flagstaff, AZ Saturday afternoon and enjoyed an early dinner at the Beaver Street Brewery - it came as a recommendation, and I'd definitely pass the recommendation on!  Pretty good food and great beer!

We pushed on to Taos, NM on Sunday, arriving mid-afternoon.  The drive through New Mexico always blows my mind - I definitely feel that we are somewhere in the wild, untamed, still uncivilized West, to a certain degree.  The colors and views are amazing.  Neither of us had been to Taos, and the drive from Santa Fe north treated us to more views and oohs and aahs.  We were happy to arrive Sunday afternoon, not just because we were tired of the car but also because a huge storm was supposed to hit the region.  We planned on a relaxing Monday - take a snow day and be lazy.  We we woke up on Monday, Michael commented "This is the thinnest 12 inches of snow I've ever seen!".  I think the snow may have dusted Taos, but that was it!  So, we spent two relaxing days here, sort of waiting around in anticipation of snow and then we just embraced total laziness, drinking margaritas and beers at noon, taking naps, strolling around town, reading for pleasure, drinking plenty of wine at night and enjoying the company of family (we are here with siblings)!  Poor Michael has listened to me bitch for the past six, nine, twelve months about how I want a REAL vacation.  Well, this definitely meets the definition of a vacation.  We didn't even get on the slopes because we didn't want to wake up early, gear up, deal with traffic, get fitted for skis...  Talk about lazy!
To add to the sense of total relaxation, my sister-and-law and I went for a massage yesterday at some spa here in town.  I signed up for a "Muscle and joint massage" out of curiosity - I know the full-body and deep-tissue experience and thought that this would be something quite different.  It was, and it was AWESOME!  I would rank this as one of the best massage experiences ever, and I'm not being hyperbolic.  It was not full-body - the therapist focused on specific parts of my body that I talked to her about before she started - my left knee, of course, being a problem area, and then my shoulder area which seems to carry all of my stress!  While not all of the massage was 'relaxing' because she stretched me out and put me in uncomfortable positions, my body has rarely felt so stretched out, relaxed and completely functional, without any ache, pain, or tightness.  I'm now wishing that I could get one of these a month just to keep my body feeling great!
In addition to the massage and to being lazy around the house we rented, we've also spent a few hours at the Taos Inn which boasts a great bartender who whips up strong margaritas and bloody marys and excellent food.  Also, I'm back on the read-for-pleasure-bandwagon and have plunged into Jonathan Franzen's Freedom, which, while I don't know if I *LOVE* it, I am enjoying it as a good vacation read.  It hasn't all been over-indulgence as I did get out for a very cold run when we arrived and this morning.  Shew, that's a way to wake up!
Despite the lack of skiing, I would still call this a very good start to Christmas break 2011!  We head on to Boulder, CO, so more fun and relaxation will follow - and maybe even a few runs on a local slope?!

Wind storm and gratitude

Oh, yes, Thanksgiving was more than a week away which means the ubiquitous "I'm thankful for..." moment has passed me by.  I did, however, assign my students a short essay with that topic, and one of them noted that they had similar assignments when they were in first grade.  Nice.
As for Turkey Day, it was a great weekend.  We braved the crowds of LAX, which ended up being lighter than we expected, and made it safely to Texas.  Over Thanksgiving, we enjoyed much good food and drink (lots of good drink).  In addition to the usual turkey, we stuffed ourselves on Friday, eating Mexican food for lunch and dinner, once on "our" side of the border and the other time on the "other" side.  Good times and lots of margaritas!
We also made the most of our travels!  The first photo is from our layover in Houston - damn, those beers are Texan-sized!

Upon our return to LA, our bags were delayed for no reason at all.  So, we got a drink at the Encounter bar, this crazy, futuristic 60's-style bar/restaurant (it looks like something out of "The Jetsons!").  Instead of being angry and impatient about our bags, I totally chilled out:

Now, back to the theme of gratitude.  It's a timely topic since I found myself more grateful than ever yesterday afternoon when we walked into our house and discovered that we had POWER for the first time in 60+ hours!  Power meant heat, lights, heat, refrigerator, heat, washing machine, heat.  Did I mention heat?!  I realize that we don't live in the Northeast, so losing power for 2.5 days doesn't have quite the same bite that it could, but our house had settled into a rather cold state, not budging much above 58 degrees (or something like that - maybe 55?!).  I spent the past few days wearing long underwear, Smart Wool socks and a beanie as I wandered around the house!

All of this made me hyper-aware of the fact that:
1. I obviously could not survive well if suddenly transported to a different time period where heat was not common.
2.  I am totally lame.
3.  I am totally lame.

Despite days of some grumbling and feeling 'on edge', I tried to be appreciative of the fact that we did NOT have any major damage, unlike many, many people in the Pasadena area who were not so lucky.  Michael and I also enjoyed a few candlelit nights of backgammon (I emerged the winner one night while he completely routed me the next) and good conversation.  I try not to take for granted the fact that I consider myself lucky in many ways, but this served as an important reminder, especially when it comes to living and sharing a life with a person whom I actually like and with whom I enjoy spending time.  I do believe that the regular day-to-day humming along of life can mask whether or not you actually like the person that, in theory, is your partner, in one way or another, but when you have nothing else but candles and conversation, then you sure as hell had better enjoy each other's company!
So, we did survive the crazy, record-breaking windstorm of 2011, and we both enjoyed a serendipitously unexpected day off work on Thursday.  I have experienced snow days before, when I lived in Philly and Seattle, but never a 'wind day', so this was something new.  Michael and I spent much time in the car driving around so that we could charge our cellphones.  Crazy, I know!
Friday was a bit complicated at work.  We still did not have power on Friday, nor did many of my students.  I took my cellphones and other electronic items to work and plugged them in; so did many of my students!   Needless to say, very few people (I include myself in this group) could focus on Friday.  I think people's emotions ranged from giddiness to frustration to anger.  While we resorted to bar food on Thursday, we were determined to eat in house on Friday.  We still had eggs and a few other items that we could cook up on the stovetop which did still work thanks to the gas stove.  Cooking by headlamp and candles - almost like camping!  Especially considering that I wore multiple layers.  I think my teeth were still chattering:

Finally, on Saturday - bliss, oh, bliss, our power came back on!  I would like to say that I'm a more profound person, but I was ecstatic when we walked into a WARM house.  After avoiding being in our house for a few days because of the chill that set into my bones as soon I walked into the house, it delighted me to feel welcome in my own house and to not pull on my long underwear to hang out on the sofa!

So, we still have a little shrine that we resurrected in order to remember our 2.5 day 'ordeal'.  Please note the bottles as our candle-holders!