In need of a break form city life we took a long weekend and did an abreviated tour of Utah's national parks. As always, wish we had more time to explore but what we got to see was fabulous... First day in Bryce Canyon - took the scenic drive and found a small waterfall and cave with icicles: Second day at Bryce Canyon - saw the hoodoos and Queensland Garden trail: Later that day drove to Zion - stopped at an Indian souvenir store and ate at the swanky steakhouse with lots of taxidermy: Third day, took the scenic drive through Zion National Park and went to Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Kanab; went to the Mocqui Cave (where they had a great basset hound hat); walked up the Virgin River: Later that night, we drove to Vegas where we stayed at New York New York - visited the Bellagio and enjoyed the topiaries: Fourth day, before driving home, we stopped off at Red Rock Canyon outside of Vegas - we even saw some wild burros:
Took my final practical exam last Saturday. Below you will see me with my lovely test body, Nicole, and with my fabulous examiner, Mary Jo. Taking the practical turned out to be really fun. I was nervous at first but got over it and just had a good time taking Nicole through a really long (2 hours), intense, yet well balanced workout. I take the written portion this Saturday and then we are off to Bryce Canyon for a few days. Once I get my score I will be officially certified by Stott to teach all level, all equipment. This has been a year in the making. Now I just have to wait 4-6 weeks to get my grades back from Canada - woo hoo! I'm sure I passed but I will keep you updated on the actual score.
We recently went to see Tim and Eric Live at the EchoPlex not far from our house. It was awesomely hillarious. Check out the cool Rats Off t-shirt I got. Snoops enjoyed wearing it to. Got to see the 'Sit on You' guy live!
Kelly and I had one of our cheapest nights out on the town this past Sunday. We went to Philippe, French Dipped Sandwiches in Chinatown. It's been there since 1908 and I'm pretty sure the menu hasn't changed at all since it opened (accept maybe the prices). Kelly got the beef french dip sandwich with american cheese and I got chili and beans, a diet pepsi, and a pickle - all that for $12.47! Then we went to see Iron Man alongside every stoned loser/gangster/skater dude in La Canada - ummm, the creepiest audience I've ever had the pleasure of viewing a movie with. We also got a free cup of hot water from Starbucks and used our own special teabag from Lamill Coffee called "cough and sniffle" cause Kelly's been sick.
My friend Christina graciously took me to the Magic Castle last Saturday! An excellent birthday gift I must say. Here we are (check out my new glasses):
And, almost completely unrelated, an awesome video of what I believe is a Korean boy band named dbsk singing "Magic Castle":
Recently, my Mom came to visit from Sugar Land, TX for the weekend of my 31st birthday. It was a great time and I know she's been hoping for a recap so here we go...
We started off our adventure by driving straight from LAX to Disneyland in Anaheim - I used my Disney points to get us "free" park hopper passes so we got to go to both California Adventure and Disneyland. The weather was perfect and there was hardly any waiting for most rides (accept the new Nemo ride which we ultimately skipped because the wait was, on average, an hour long - yikes!) Right before it got dark we rode mom's favorite ride, Splash Mountain, I got the lucky seat in the front and got soaked - more wet then I have ever gotten on this ride ever before. My jeans were still wet when we got back to my apartment. After I changed, we went to visit Kelly at Edendale just in time for dinner - meatballs and a goat cheese salad with grilled shrimp. The next day we went to get my car checked because it was having trouble starting. Turned out I needed a new battery. While we waited for the battery change we went to the fancy new coffee shop down the street, Lamill Coffee. Snoops came along and made many friends and got a few treats. That didn't take long so we soon headed over to West Hollywood to see my chiropractor, Kip, cause my shoulder was bothering me a bit. It seems that my pain is due to holding my scapula in excessive protraction - probably from navigating with the mouse on the computer - ugh. All better now that I've seen Ki p, though, and I'll pay more attention to reaching with my right arm over extended periods of time. After that, we ate lunch at a diner type place called Doughboys - chinese chicken salad and red velvet cake (the best red velvet cake ever). After cake, we made our way over to the Miracle Mile to check out the La Brea Tarpits where bones of the sabre tooth tiger and the giant three toed sloth have been excavated from the still bubbling pools of tar. Then we headed up Sunset Blvd past the Viper Room and the Whiskey-a-Go-Go. We stopped off at Blue Mangos to get some frozen yogurt and over-priced fruit juice. Then it was back to Silver Lake to walk Snoops and have dinner. We walked up to Sunset and went to Rambutan Thai and then we had gelato at Pazzo Gelato (recommended by Giada on Food Network). Finally, we went to see my friend Edi in her new show at the Groundlings. It was awesomely funny and Edi was my favorite as always. Saturday we started off with brunch at The York in Eagle Rock. After that, we went to get my new glasses at the Society of the Spectacle (see most recent blogs). Then we found our way to Old Town Pasadena where I got some new Lululemon pants. There was a quilt store not too far so we checked that out. It wasn't so great so we went to the quilt store in La Canada - we got lost along the way but finally found it. By then I was pretty worn out but we still managed to make it to The Alcove in Los Feliz for some blue velvet cake and a brie, apple, and caramelized onion pannini! After cake time, we went home and got Mr. Snoops and the three of us went to Elysian Park to go for a walk. First we said hello to my lovely friends, Susan and Mindy. Then we did the loop through the park and to the dog hill where there is a lovely view of downtown and lots of gophers for Snoops to try to dig up. We made it back to the car just before dark. Then we went to the Arclight to see Young at Heart - the documentary about an octegenarian choir who sings rock-n-roll - I highly recommend it.
Sunday, we started our day by taking Snoops for a walk around the neighborhood. Then we drove to Seal Beach which is right near John Garey Pilates in Long Beach where I've been doing my pilates courses. After walking down the pier we ate a great fish restaurant just off the beach and then headed over to John Garey so Mom could see where I've been going so often this past year. We came back and met up with Kelly. The three of us went to Hollywood. First Kelly dropped mom and I off at the Hollywood Dance Center for my Irish Dance class. Then we went to eat at the Hungry Cat (thanks to my friend Jessica who gave us a gift certificate to eat there as a birthday gift!) The chocolate bread pudding was on of the most amazing desserts I've ever had - it doesn't sound unusual but it really is - go there and try it if you ever get the chance. After dinner, we made our way over to the Arclight to see Forgetting Sarah Marshall and discovered that there was an Indian Film Festival happening. I could tell mom was disappointed that we didn't get to see any of the Indian films but maybe another time. Sarah Marshall was very entertaining and witty. To finish our last night, we went to Fred 62. Mom had a waffle, I had Cream of Wheat, and Kelly had a burger - yummm! The next morning Mom went back to Texas and I went back to work. Looking forward to many more fun times together!
A place to share the sometimes mundane, sometimes exciting details of my daily life with friends and family who are often far away. Smiles and hugs to you all!
