Gobble gobble and gratitude!

So, our turkey arrived last week and it looks something like this:

We ordered it from this place in Tyler, Texas, Greenberg Turkeys that smokes turkeys. My parents turned us on to these smoked turkeys a few years ago, and we had already ordered our turkey (along with one for Michael's parents and the person who dog-sat for us all summer) when I read this article in the NYTimes. So, now I'm almost feeling hip, chic and cool.

Speaking of coolness, we actually leave town tomorrow, driving up to San Francisco, with the bird in tow. I always feel tragically unhip in that fair city, but it's also one of my favorite places to visit (and how I'd love to live there!). We'll be spending the afternoon/evening with friends, and we all opted for something fairly easy regarding the bird. We're also taking mashed potatoes, mashed yams (without marshmallows - that was never a part of my T-day experience), brussels sprouts (which we'll roast with bacon) and a fruit crumble-thingy. No pie. I'd like to learn to make pies one of these days, but this is not the moment.

I am excited to see lots of friends, be in San Francisco and also to travel with our mutts, Gus and Milo. They love road trips, and we enjoy spoiling them. We've rented a studio apartment for the weekend, so we will be in the Castro rather than a tourist-central area like Union Square. Other than stopping by the Ferry Terminal, Dynamo Donuts and the Doc Martens store, we will avoid the shopping frenzy like the plague.

In the meantime, I am grateful for many things this year. Just to name a few:

- The travel opportunities that I have enjoyed this year - the big trips and also the smaller weekend getaways.

- My health, in particular the fact that I can be active again!

- Family, friends and dogs.

- An amazing life partner (okay, husband). I know that it's cliche, but he really makes my life so much better than it would be otherwise.

- A short day today and two days off!

- Finally, the small moments that often present themselves everyday. For instance, we're listening to some great salsa music right now. Life's pretty good.

The pre-ubiquitous Thanksgiving post

Although I'm really not "bah humbug" about the holidays and I have much for which I am thankful, I do feel the need to vent just a teeny-tiny bit. So, here goes:

1. At the school where I work, I am a "floater", a designation that sort of makes me feel like a second-class citizen because it means that I do not OWN, per se, my classroom. Rather, I teach in four different rooms (every class in a different room). It is often confusing, I usually forget papers, tests, books, and other useful materials in one place or another, so then I probably look like a bumbling idiot to my students. Anywhooo, one of the rooms in which I teach happens to be the department chair's classroom, which really isn't a problem because we get along, I know that he knows that I'm a competent teacher. But - yes there is a "BUT" - he often stays in the room while I'm teaching which drives me f-ing nuts! I realize that we are both adults and that I should grow some cojones and tell him that I find his presence distracting. However, he is my department chair and is responsible for evaluating me, so how do I tell him that?

2. I find it very annoying that a very young, first-year teacher routinely lets his class out early (This must be his reasoning: "Why use the whole lab period? I'll give you guys a break. In fact, just take the entire second half of the lab off..."). Today, he went off campus with his students to Starbucks! I do realize that I am a bit old and stodgy and it seems that I am a stickler for the rules, but I have an issue when it becomes a habit that other teachers don't actually use class time to teach. Call me crazy!

3. There is no third rant, but apparently people tend to like lists of three.

Tomorrow, the ubiquitous Thanksgiving post - I can't wait!

Change of seasons

So, I've been running around for a good part of the day in green cords and a purple sweater. I obviously look like a character from Sesame Street, but I feel as though I'm "rockin'" the look. I just debuted the sweater last week and love its comfort, but I actually bought it last spring. What a treat!

Anyway, I often wish that I lived in a place with slightly more dramatic seasons (nothing too extreme), and there are times when it could be either January or June - who really knows? But today, as I took the dogs on an early Sunday morning stroll around the neighborhood, just barely peaking out from the clouds were the San Gabriel mountains with SNOW! Although it never snows where we live, as far as I know, I do look forward to the first snow in the mountains and to seeing snow nestling there.

When I first moved to Central CA from Seattle, I erroneously thought that I would have to ditch all of my fleece pullovers and jackets, and so I prematurely mourned their loss. Then I experienced the Monterey Peninsula in August and fully understood Mark Twain's assessment of summers in San Francisco: "The coldest winter of my life was the summer I spent in San Francisco." The same could be said for Monterey, with the fog rolling in and just settling there, not giving an inch.

The move further south followed a few years later, and again, I had no idea what to expect weather-wise. I associated Southern CA with Baywatch (which I swear I never watched!) and thought that it would be like Florida without the heat. Again, I found myself to be terribly mistaken. Not that it doesn't get hot, but I don't think that the weather or the culture remotely resembles Florida. I don't know Florida well, but I think that I'm relieved that there is a different flavor here.

And relieved that there are seasons. Not, perhaps, the traditional seasons that one associates with summer, winter, fall and spring, but more like "June gloom", the "Santa Ana winds" AKA fire season, the "it's actually raining" season. Fall may be more a fabrication than an actual season that's based on temperatures; it rolls around with pumpkins and Halloween decorations around the neighborhood, which turkeys and pilgrims soon follow. However, we do enjoy a nice fire at night when it dips into the upper 40's (or 50's - I'm so lame), I transition sandals and light skirts to the back of my closet, and tonight, I actually made pumpkin pie bars as a fall and holiday treat. I just took a bite of one - not yet fully cooled - and I may have found pumpkin Nirvana. Plus, I have pot pie for dinner and a fire going! It must be fall?

A weekend of running around!

Literally and figuratively. Mostly the latter, but some of the former too!

So, it was a beautiful weekend in SoCal, a bit warmer than it had been during the week, but clear, rather than hazy, so I'll take that.

We started Saturday morning with a quick breakfast and cup of coffee before heading to Newport Beach where we enjoyed an early-ish morning bike ride up to the beach town of Sunset. It's a bit of a drive to get there, but we love cycling along Highway 1, the Pacific Coast Highway, which is very bike-friendly in that area and doesn't present us with the steep hills that challenge us closer to home. I still consider myself to be a VERY novice cyclist, but I am happy to announce that I haven't fallen off (or over) since Summer of '09. Maybe I am actually developing some level of comfort in the saddle?!

After the ride, we took some photos of random signs before eating a messy, greasy and wonderful breakfast burrito (no photo).

I'm skeptical that this is a "national" organization, but who knows? Also, you can kind of make out our Toyota with the bikes on top.

The other sign that we like - which might be hard to read in this photo - says, "Patagonia wetsuits now available. Still cheaper than most cars." It really does inspire me to want to learn to surf, but I sense that I am not coordinated enough and too old.

The other "running around" was the Calabasas Classic 10K that I managed to start AND finish today! I realize that usually is the idea behind signing up for road races, but you never know with me. This is actually my third race in three months! I ran a 10K back in September in Santa Monica, doubting that I would finish and then just hoping that I could finish under 60 minutes (which I did - yeah). And then back in October, I ran a really fast (for me) 5 mile run in Huntington Beach where I actually placed for my age group (I think there must have only been 2 women between 35-39 running!). So, finally, I decided to make today's run public, at least on my blog. I tell as few people in my day-to-day life as possible, which is neurotic and secretive, but I don't want people to identify me as a "runner". I already work with a few people who use that as large part of their identity, and I don't want to talk about running that much. Don't get me wrong, I am SO SO SO excited that I can run again, I consider myself very fortunate because my partner/husband wakes up early on weekend mornings to wait for me to finish a race, and I love to compete, but I don't need to share this with everyone in my life. With the entire blogworld - why not?

Anyway, here I am pre-race at the "Expo" - it was at a shopping mall which felt totally fabricated, probably because it was. I don't know what it is with these Southern CA malls but they all seem to seek some 'theme' in their architecture. This one, I believe, was sporting some Italian-villa-esque ambiance. All I know, a mall is still a mall.

If I look a little nervous, it's probably because I was. This race started later than the other races I'd run, AND it was a warm morning already, AND I heard that people normally ran the course 2 minutes slower than their usual time because of the hills. I was a bit disappointed because I had hoped to run a bit faster than my first 10K, now that I have stronger legs.

I crushed my disappointment at the end when I finished significantly faster than I had in my previous race, despite some of those wicked hills. Woo-hoo! I usually start off way too slow - that has always been how I've run, but I tried to push myself not only at the end, but also at the beginning. What was nice was that the course was two loops, so I knew when to push and when to hold back a little.

So, here I am at the end, looking like a HUGE dork with the medal but smiling with happiness and relief:

After the race, Michael, a friend of ours and I went to a deli for a nice, big breakfast. Well, I actually ate lunch, mainly french fries. Then, I came home and face planted into bed. I think that I'm about to eat the biggest lemon bar/slab for dessert now. Life could be worse.

What's old is new and other odds and ends

Is it a bit selfish or myopic to say that boots and REI have renewed my faith in humanity? Since the electoral process left me feeling hungover and/or tired and certainly not very inspired when I considered our public officials. And to think that this was only the mid

-term cycle! All I know is that if I were Meg Whitman, I could have definitely spent 140 MILLION dollars on something better. Like supporting Prop 19. Okay, that's kind of a joke.

Since I don't have that much cash lying around, I try to find my happiness in smaller, everyday happenings. For instance, boots! REI sent my much-beloved hiking boots from Spring 2001 off to 'the shoe-sole guy'. I don't know who he is or what his name is, but he lives somewhere in Washington state and fixes shoes for REI. What a job! At any rate, I personally want to kiss this guy! Although the boots still look rather battered and worn, especially in the shitty light (and the photo, taken with a shitty iPhone), he fixed the soles! Well, replaced them. But the shoes should be more or less as good as new. I will keep my fingers crossed that they last at least another 8 years. Then, I won't complain when/if I have to invest in a new pair. In the meantime, it does bring me great happiness to have these back and to daydream about all of the trips that I will take in them!

On a different note, but still talking boots here, I have major lust for a new pair of boots this fall. Obviously boots are the "in" thing, and I already have two pairs of good boots that I like - one pair is black with a heel, the other boots are of the cowboy variety. I like them both very much, but an itch for a 'tougher' looking boot has certainly bit me. I actually went shopping for boots a few weekends ago but came up empty. And then, after looking on-line at Zappos, I discovered these beauties:

Yes, they are Doc Martens, and yes, I might be too old to pull them off. I am, however, obsessed. This obsession will have to wait until Thanksgiving weekend when we are in the San Francisco area and can go to a Doc Marten's store - how fortuitous! Until them, I will just dream about them.

And if they don't fit, I will cut off my bunion or my toes, just like Cinderella's sisters did. Beauty? At what price?

Finally, something that is both old and new: A French-press coffee maker/pot! Old, in the sense that I've used a French press coffee maker/pot for the past eight years of my life, but I've resigned myself to the fact that I have to buy a new one every few years because the pot breaks or one of the pieces falls apart. Last year, we bought a cheaper model - still Bodum, but, again, a cheaper model, and I kind of hated it. Well, we both did. I can't explain it, but the fit wasn't as tight and we couldn't screw all the pieces together well. If you have a French press, then you'll know about what I speak! So, yesterday morning, I woke up, put the kettle on the stove to heat up the water, and pulled out the coffee pot from the drying rack, only to discover that the glass carafe had broken - it was missing a huge piece of glass. I cursed the coffee pot, but then decided that now was as good a time as any to purchase a new Bodum.

And voilá! We have a new coffee pot - and it is RED! I was so set on replacing our coffee pot that I didn't even notice that it could be a different color. We pulled it out last night and after our initial surprise, we both decided that we liked the new color. This morning, when I made coffee, I also decided that I liked the new pot. All's well that ends well, or so it seems! Especially after a nice, strong cup of joe.

Shew, it's almost November!

Obviously. And Happy Halloween to you too.

I actually kind of hate Halloween. Michael and I were just talking about it, and I think some of my bitterness about the day has its roots in my childhood. My parents only took us to their friends' houses who gave us boring "snacks" like fruit and nuts. I kid you not! Plus, I think they decided that when my older brothers were 10, they were too old to go, and if they were too old, then so were the rest of us. Totally unfair. It's obvious that I still haven't quite recovered from the scars.

These days, in addition to associating Halloween to the time of year that females of different ages and socio-economic backgrounds dress up as a prostitute, I find that it marks the beginning of the "Holiday Season". This, in turn, brings with it rampant spending (a negative) and vacation (a major positive). We experienced something of the rampant spending and holiday season buzz when we idiotically went to a craft store today to pick up some ribbon and wrapping paper. Such a mistake! Michael actually sent me out of the store to wait for him because he sensed that I was going to insult the cashier, a customer or maybe yell at one of the annoying children who were playing with noisy toys. Ahem, we did survive and managed to leave with the goods that we needed.

For me, October is a loooonnnggg month. While we did have a three-day weekend in there, the rest of the month was filled with meetings, social events and work-related commitments.

I can happily say that I survived:

• Back-to-school-night: Possibly the WORST night and longest day of the year for me; I really don't mind it when I'm engaged and actually talking to the parents about the classes that I teach, but it's the build-up to it and the fact that I teach a full day and then have to return for the 'dog-and-pony show', as I like to call it. Plus, I have to get dressed up in work clothes AFTER work, which seems like a great injustice to me.
• A friends' bachelorette evening and wedding: the bachelorette celebration could have been a lot worse, so I'll look on the bright side of that, and we had a very nice time at her wedding, which had good food, company and music. What else could you want? And it was in a very cool space. I usually don't talk much about decorations because I rarely notice them, but they used succulents and minimal decoration, which I really liked.
• College recommendations: the first round of college applications came and went, and I only had to write ONE recommendation for the November 1 deadline. Sweet! December 1 will be a different story.

And there were a few other events, obligations, and duties, such as Homecoming, that don't warrant too much of a mention. I always feel that if I make it through October, then I can make it through the rest of the school year. So, here's to the 2010-2011 Academic Year! It feels like it's almost over. HA!

Michael and I have also enjoyed spending time outside this month, weather permitting (we did endure a week of rain - GASP!). He came out and supported me last weekend when I ran a 5-mile run, placing first in my age group. Seriously! It was a very small race, obviously, and a flat course. And this morning we went on a nice 18-mile bike ride. I hadn't been in the saddle since September, he hadn't since July, maybe, so we took it easy. It was a great ride, however, as we were on PCH (Pacific Coast Highway) between Newport Beach and Huntington Beach, and could watch the waves in addition to watching the road. We even saw a few porpoises! We've now sworn that we'll return next week for another ride. Yee-haw.

On a different note, we've enjoyed our Netflix queu a ridiculous amount this month (okay, no more than usual). I wish I could say that we're watching all of the fabulous new releases but none of the new stuff interests me. So, we delve into other genres and decades. We've watched many movies/shows that we've enjoyed and a few that we've just LOVED. For instance, "State of Play" was great - the British version, not the Hollywood movie which was, of course, based on the BBC series, and not very good. The TV series - SO SO good! "The Ladykillers" falls into the category of dark humor and is well-worth watching. Also dark but not so humorous is "House of Cards", another BBC series. Finally, the series "Rome", also made in conjunction with BBC. We finished Season I which was great; I'm a bit tentative to start Season II because I have read that it is more of the 'just sex and violence' type of a show. Obviously it's been a bit of a British invasion at our house, but we did take a break and watched "Slap Shot" with Paul Newman. Can I say that I adore Paul Newman? Not the best show but quite entertaining, and I must admit that I do like movies that revolve around sports. Next up for our viewing pleasure - the final season of "The Tudors". Did I mention that we gravitate to darker movies and tv shows?

Pear Lake: Trip Report!

FINALLY, a "trip report"! I realize that it's already two weeks after the fact, but life is busy these days. Also, it's a bit fun to review pictures and re-live the trip when it's not so present or immediate. It serves as a welcome reminder that life is joyous and that the simple things in life (like sleeping outside) can make one feel so connected to another person and to the world as a whole.

Deep thoughts, I know!

The other welcome reminder from this trip is that we can really "get away from it all" quite quickly and easily. While it was nice to have a three-day weekend, we ended up leaving early Saturday morning and we returned Sunday night. Theoretically, we could be camping in a different place every weekend!

Saturday night we were lucky enough to spend at the wonderful Pear Lake in Sequoia National Park. This hike is usually packed and requires a wilderness permit for which one must apply months in advance or arrive early in the morning the day of the hike, but since it was officially "off-season", we were able to pick the hike that we wanted. We had thought about another hike, but, while the distance was the same, the elevation gain was significantly more. We were already starting out a bit late, so I opted for the less-challenging hike. Also, we did not have a bear canister, and the Pear Lake campsites did offer lockers for our food stuffs. I felt like a bit of a rookie with that oversight, but I know that the last time we hiked in Kings Canyon we rented a canister. Live and learn. I was VERY excited about Pear Lake, however, because I had heard that it was a beautiful hike from an old colleague, but I had never had the chance to experience it. Now I did.

We were finally suited up and ready to cruise on up to our destination around 1:30 pm. Well, trudge and huff and puff rather than "cruise on up".

Here I am at the trailhead, my trusty backpack doesn't feel too heavy at this point! Thus, the smile.

It was a great trail, as most of the National Parks' trails are. For the first half of the hike, we walked among the trees.

Group shot! We are still smiling too.

Around the half-way point, we took a MUCH needed break and ate a snack. The snack was also quite necessary to fend off a terrible mood that had suddenly overtaken me. Also, I felt that I couldn't continue. Those awful Cliff gel-shots totally saved me from a full-on 'bonk'! I realized that we are both terrible at pacing ourselves and eating appropriately. Must remember that for our next trip.

Oooh, snow!

Not quite our destination, but we know that we are close! This was Emerald Lake, and at this point, we had ooh-and-ahh moments with every step that we took as we enjoyed the alpine lake-granite rock combination.

Finally, we arrived! Pear Lake! It was one of the most beautiful places that I had ever been. These photos do NOT do it justice. Here I am, looking tired (just slightly), but happy to be at our destination.

Admiring the views and feeling accomplished! Plus, we picked out a great campsite.

Ah, dinnertime, right as the dusk falls! We were tired, hungry and ready for some warm food, and whiskey (note the brown bag). Other important items - the camp stove, AKA "The Pocket Rocket" by MSR and our water filter. We enjoyed a nice dinner of Trader Joe's Wild Mushroom risotto to which we added onions and peppers that I had cut up and carried up in a plastic bag.

After we inhaled the pot of food, we tucked ourselves into our sleeping bags and hunkered down for the evening even though it was probably 7:00 pm. My one regret - that we did not stargaze for a bit, but our aching bodies demanded rest and warmth, so in the tent we went!

We awoke to a beautiful morning - it reminded me of the constant line of "Dawn's rosy fingers..." in the Iliad! Fortunately, we did not have to get up and gird ourselves for battle. I wish that we could have snapped a photo or two, but our batteries died on us. Ah well. We did enjoy a lazy morning at the lake, as we ate a pot of oatmeal and watched the sun's golden cast slowly extend itself across the granite bowl that surrounded us. Before breaking down our tent and heading back down, we walked around part of the lake and said "hello" to a marmot - he/she was a fatty!

The hike back to the car was also beautiful, but at that point, I believe that we were focused on shedding the pack and our boots. We also had the idea of a hamburger stuck in our heads, which served to further motivate our quick hike back to "civilization".

Once back in the valley of the park, the hustle and bustle there felt a bit surreal. We had been quite alone for only 24 hours, but it is a bit jarring to return to what is a tourist destination rather than a hiker's peaceful haven. Still, we did enjoy the hamburger in one of the park's restaurants before returning to the LA area, which was even stranger. It seemed as though we had been away for a week because we were SO distant from everything in our lives, but it was a mere 36 hours, really.

Despite our tired muscles the next day (our calves were KILLING us!) and my broken-down boots, it is so exciting to be backpacking again, even if it is just a short overnight. This has certainly given me the confidence that I will be able to explore more of the Sierra come next summer, retracing John Muir's footsteps and taking in the beauty that the western US offers up to those who are willing to walk around a bit.