My Dad Climbed Kilimanjaro

Last month, my dad and a crew of 12 other guys climbed Kilimanjaro. He posted this on facebook last week and I wanted to share it with you. I'm so proud of him and so moved by his endurance on this trip. I'll let him explain...

POLE POLE, is Swahili for “gradually”, “easy does it”. At 2 AM Friday morning we had been hiking two hours up from the Barafu Camp where we had four hours of sleep before setting off at midnight and stopped thinking about how I was able to continue. This was day two of the worst lower intestinal illness I have ever had. Barely able to even hydrate, let alone eat, I was lucky to be drinking one third of the 3 liters of water I should have been drinking. I could not fathom the idea of eating, so I forced down bites of peanut butter sandwich and energy bars. Hardly matching the calories I was burning. Yet my legs felt strong as long as I followed the mantra of Pole Pole. And I knew that I had to bring Ken to the top. 

Ken is a friend who died several months ago, accidentally careening his truck into a river in Northern California. He was a fellow adventurer who knew the Sierra Nevada Mountains like the back of his hand. We had been friends since our early teens. We were together when he met his future wife. We watched our families grow. We rafted down rivers in Alaska together with our friend Jim. He ran with the bulls with me in Pamplona. Ken wanted a party to celebrate his life and we said fine things about Ken. Many fine things. But I wanted to give Ken a parting gift. I was able to find a somewhat recent photo of my friend, stuck his mug on an 8.5 by 11 piece of foam board and carried this memento in my backpack for seven days, ultimately to the top of Kilimanjaro. 

This recent trip was beset with logistical difficulties even if everything went according to plan. But El Al Airlines did it’s best to screw me over (more stories on this later) and Turkish Air cancelled a key leg, failing to let me know they had cancelled and rescheduling me, and the booking agency Vayama also failed to advise me. Yet I ultimate arrived at Kilimanjaro Airport, albeit a little more battered and bruised than planned. 

I sat in the lounge at the Mountain Lodge in Arusha the Sunday morning after returning from the climb and reflected on the logistical problems solved, the physical difficulty of the climb, and the spiritual realizations I had experienced on this most bizarre of trips. The first realization was being overwhelmed as I went through Hortus Gethsemane beneath Jerusalem, which especially surprised me as I never considered myself particularly religious. The second being how I managed to climb in roughly an eight hour stretch 1,800 meters in elevation to the top of the Roof of Africa at 5,895 meters (about 19,400 feet), while being sick as a dog, dehydrated and barely an extra calorie to burn. Asante, Ken. Asante Sana. 

And thanks to the twelve members of our climbing team and our guides.

We were kept updated on all of his trials along the way - being stranded in Newark when the plane left without him, a cancelled flight out of Istanbul, closed gates when he finally arrived at the lodge in the wee hours of the morning, and finally beginning his trek with little time to adjust to actually being in Africa. With the encouragement of the rest of the crew, they were able to "boogie" their way up to the Roof of Africa - taking along a friend who would never be able to make the trip himself. 

San Francisco Birthday Adventures

I told you we went to San Francisco for my birthday last weekend, but I only talked about the Golden Gate Bridge adventures. Sorry for reusing this picture. I wanted something iconic.

Here's a look at the entire weekend, and all its glory.

We arrived pretty late on Friday night. We knew where we were and we knew where the hotel was, but we didn't know where anything else was, so we maaaaay have walked the wrong direction once or twice before we figured it out.

BUT WE GOT THERE!

And because the hotel knew it was my birthday, they had a bottle of bubbly and some fruit and chocolate waiting for us.

The bubbly is Martinelli's, by the way, because I had also told them that I'm pregnant. On the ball, those folks.

Currently; May 2014

Happy Monday and Happy May!

Currently, I'm...

Reading...
A Long Way Down. I am really enjoying it. I found I just really enjoy Nick Hornby's writing style. I don't always like his message, but while I'm reading it, I find the characters and the plot pretty entertaining. I'm excited to see the movie. As I'm writing this, there have been a lot of Toni Collette movies playing on TV, which is a little weird since she'll be one of the leads in the movie version of A Long Way Down.

Livermore Wine Country Festival 2014

Remember we went to the Livermore Wine Country Festival last year? We went back. You're shocked.

There was some drama getting to the airport - I left my phone at my aunt's house. We went back to get it and almost ran out of gas on the way back to my parents, were worried we'd be late for our flight...

... and then the flight was delayed over an hour, so we were fine... and I was glad to have my phone/camera.

We ended up getting into the hotel around midnight. I love so much that they give you warm cookies when you check in.

Solo Staycation

I planned it for months. As the weather warmed up through February and March, and I got out of my car every morning in Malibu, I longed for beach house lunches and late afternoons on the sand.

This was the first year in a long time that I didn't have something planned for the foreseeable future. No parent sponsored trip across the Atlantic, no long weekend in Portland with my sister, no talk of Hawaii in September. 

Tax season loomed and I struggled through the burn out of longer work days, teaching more yoga classes, fitting in my own exercise schedule, and not blowing off everyone I love. Thinking about the day to day sent me searching for my zen place - slow methodical breathing and a little mantra repetition. 

So, I planned some time off. 

A week, if you want to get all picky about it. The week after Easter... because it was the week after April 15th.

Into 2014...

Yous guys, the end of the year is upon us. We are in our last hours of 2013, so I thought I would take a moment to recap some of the more wonderful (and sometimes challenging) things that took place in 2013.

This year...

In January, I figured out this headstanding business ;)

In February I got officially certified as a yoga instructor and started teaching my very own class on Thursday evenings.

March I ran my second 10K ever (which was brutal) and went to a self defense workshop.

In April, hubs and I went on a weekend getaway to Catalina - where I had never been before.

We went up North for the Livermore Wine Festival in May. We also cleaned out and reorganized the garage.

June, I took a long weekend to visit my baby sister in Portland.

In July, I celebrated entering my 30th year.

In August, we went to Vegas.

In September, I saw the Backstreet Boys in concert for the first time since 2000. I ran a half marathon and the following weekend, we went up to Santa Barbara and Los Olivos to celebrate our second anniversary!... oh yeah, and then I went to Hawaii.

October was mostly cooking. I spent a lot of time in the kitchen - making oatmeal, pesto, and granola.

In November, we finally painted the master bedroom - after living here for 3 years. It was time. I also did 108 sun salutations.

And December I ran another 10k, had a wonderful Christmas, hosted a photo challenge, and realized that very soon it will be the year I turn 30. Like, whoa.

I have lots of ideas about what 2014 will be like, but you never really know, do you?
I'm excited to see what the future brings.

Happy New Year, everybody!

Aloha; A Little Maui Recap

Welcome back to me! Haha, you probably know I spent most of last week on a Hawaiian vacation with my family. As beautiful and inspiring as it was, it was bittersweet leaving my honey at home. I spent a good amount of time wishing he was there with me.

I did still manage to have a good time though, and I've put together a little photo journal for you.

Anniversary Getaway; Santa Barbara & Los Olivos

You may or may not have noticed, we celebrated our anniversary a little while ago. We have officially been married for two years. Since our anniversary fell on a Tuesday this year, we decided to take the weekend before to do the celebrating - and just have a nice evening together on the 17th.
Last year we got knocked out by the flu just when we were about to go on our anniversary trip, so we had to cancel. I was crushed, but this year we tried to make up for it.

Eating on Vacation

This morning I was sitting at my kitchen table, enjoying my healthy low-cal breakfast, thinking to myself I didn't have some great theme to post about for the Be Happy Link Up today. Yet another week would go by without linking up with some of my favorite ladies on the web.

Then something occurred to me. I am about to go on vacation. (Yay!) ... but, as I looked down at my cottage cheese and melon, I realized, "how am I going to maintain a healthy diet in Hawaii?" and I started to stress out a little bit. I am so happy with how I feel and look right now. I don't want to go on vacation, prance around in a bikini, eat tacos and ice cream, and throw away all my hard work.

In order for me to stay happy through the trials of vacation binge eating, and still come home feeling great, I've realized that a couple of things have to happen.

1. I need to continue to eat reasonable portions of healthy food as much as I possibly can. To not succumb to the "vacation diet" as much as possible. I don't need to have french toast or eggs benedict just because I'm on vacation. I can be that girl that has oatmeal or cottage cheese. I can skip the heavy, fatty dinners in favor of something lighter. It's Hawaii, right? They serve a ton of fish. I will eat ALL THE FISH and I will love it.

and 2. I can allow myself to veer off course a little bit, and still accept and love myself. Maybe I don't need to fill my breakfast plates with pancakes and sausage and all the fat and carbs - can you tell how much I love breakfast? - but if I do it once or twice, it's not going to ruin my trip. I'm also planning on keeping up some kind of exercise routine, so  if when, I do decide I need something deep fried, it won't completely ruin my healthy day.

And that's it, isn't it? Try your best and don't beat yourself up if you don't do it perfectly. Just as in life, so it is in healthy eating. Done and done.

Livermore Wine Country Festival 2013

There's been a lot of travel and business going on around these parts, and it's going to continue for a little while. Memorial Day weekend is looking to be my first "free" weekend since before tax day - and even then we're planning to clean out the garage and bbq with my family.

My honey has been missing his BFF. So much so that after we planned this trip up North to see them, a countdown started and shouting in all caps would show up on our facebook feeds.

"42 DAYS!!!"

There's an intense hetero man-love happening there.

So, I planned it. You know how I was on my crazy vacation planning kick? I was planning outings all stacked on top of one another. I needed to get me out of town.

Catalina; Summer 2013

For months and months I've been whining around the house about how I want to go on vacation. I want to go places, do things, adventure anywhere and everywhere. 

Hubs brought up a while back that he and his family used to vacay to Catalina Island, and I realized that despite having been a native SoCal resident, I had never been there. 

So early this year we planned it - originally for the first weekend after tax day, but other commitments forced us to change it to the last weekend in April. Then off we went, on our first weekend getaway of 2013. 

Solo Travel Weekend; Florida, Friends, & Fancy

That's right, I'm wearing a minimum of seven glow sticks (that you can see). I also have 3 or 4 bracelets on the other wrist and, for a good part of the night, I was wearing a necklace.

I told you I went to Florida all by my lonesome the first week of October.

More pictures have been surfacing, and I just thought I would share some of my favorites.

On Going Back to the South

Have you been to The South? Do you live in The South?

View from my hotel room at 10am on Saturday 10/6

If you have or you do then you know that its different down there. Life - from the dense stormy air to the chicken fried steak. Deeper breaths to fill your lungs with warm, wet air. Girls in airports dressed in sorority t-shirts and Nike running shorts, and boys in khakis and polos have to be prepared to go golfing on a moments notice. Things that just don't happen other places.

I didn't get it when I first moved to Tuscaloosa in 2006, but I think now - after 2 years there and 4.5 years away - I think, I think now I get it. My country boy husband probably helped. He got it from the beginning.

The first day I visited Alabama, they were having "California weather". The kids I met told me so. A warm day with a soft breeze and the sun shining in a blue blue sky at the end of April.

The A/C wasn't blasting indoors - or if it was, you didn't notice - and you didn't walk around in a tank top with a light jacket in case there was a downpour.

I forgot how to dress in these 4.5 years.

My first day on my own in Tuscaloosa - my parents took an early flight back to LA - I rode my bike two miles to school on a hot sticky day at the end of August. That was when I learned that tight tank tops wouldn't do - and if you're going to ride your bike two miles in mid-August, bring a change of clothes.

Though Jacksonville, Florida is not the same as Tuscaloosa, the reminders of the days of yore got me all nostalgic - Jimmy Johns for lunch on Friday, new friends reminding me of old friends, the way a beautiful day can turn into a storm and then back into a beautiful day within hours, and an afternoon snack of fried green tomatoes.

View from the elevator lobby at 2pm on Saturday 10/6

Though the South can never be the same without the man I took home from there, I had a wonderful time this weekend celebrating with old friends, making new friends, sharing stories, and breathing in the dense humid air.

Thank you, Jacksonville, new friends and old, for reminding me how much the South has to offer.

Recap Summer 2012!

I didn't realize how much I've done/accomplished this summer until I started looking through pictures. It's actually pretty amazing.

According to the interwebs, the first day of summer was June 20th, but if my summer started there, then I went on a Spring Vacation to Northern Italy? No.

My summer was June through September. Let's get this going, yo...

We went on an amazing vacation to Northern Italy.
Tim and I nabbed the room with the private patio.

We went wine tasting in Verona.

A Leetle Eataly

Been home for over a week. It's about time I get on this. 

Between my iPhone & Nikon, my sisters' iPhone's & digital cameras, and my parents' cameras, we have over a thousand vacation pictures.

Although it would be nice, I am not going to promise you a special post for every place we went. I am too lazy. Sorry 'bout that.

Instead, I offer you a mini photo recap of our vacay. Sorry if you already saw a lot of these on Facebook. Fingers crossed that I can keep this shortish...

Flying over the Swiss Alps

Yummy breakfast morning #1 - Cappuccino, orange juice, chocolate croissant

View of the lower city from La Citta Alta in Bergamo

Walk up to Castello di Grumello

In Lecco. Lake Como behind us. 

Lake Como

In Bergamo. The most AMAZING ice cream sandwiches!

Closed Museum in Genova. 

Pesto in its birthplace, Genova. Freaking amazing.

San Lorezo Cathedral. Famous. 

Wine tasting in Valpolicella

Juliet's Balcony. It took FOREVER to get this picture because old ladies kept
coming out to have their husbands take pictures of them "as Juliet". 

Day trip to Switzerland. So pretty. 

The Duomo at night. You can actually see the colors in the stained glass from the outside. 

Rebirth procession into the Duomo our second to last night in Milan

What's left of the canals in Milan

Walking back to the hotel on our last night in Milan

That's all for now, kiddos. Happy Monday. More about our return to reality to come...later.