Category Archives: Friends

Motivation, perspiration, inspiration and iron ass hill


Ready to tackle the trail!

Ready to tackle the trail!

This morning I drove up about 60 miles north to Crystal Cove State Park and participated in a 6k trail run event. My motivation was to spend a day with my high school friend #651 – it was her birthday and she was treating herself – no, challenging herself – to achieving something new. She started off in January of this year walking in a 5k event that she was supposed to do with her best friend #649. That 5k walk was to honor #649′s mom who was battling cancer. Sadly, mom lost her battle so #651 had to swallow her fear of doing something so intimidating all by herself.

And she did it.

And that created a monster :-)

We’ve been trading tales all year of our events and training progress. She dove right into doing mud runs and obstacle course events – hard core – I haven’t done those!

In October she did this one insane event that I honestly don’t think I could have done. She wore a video camera on the top of her hat and shot some really amazing video of her journey through the course. She walked most of it, needed help getting over and through a few spots, but she DID IT!

After that one she posted that today’s would be her next event and that her goal was to jog “some” of it. She’s been really trying to up her effort from walking to jogging.

The trail today was HARD. If I had been intending to run it all myself, I think I would not have been able to. The first two miles were almost totally UP an intensely steep hill – 813 feet. It zigged and zagged and I know I would have alternated running and walking from onr switchback to another. Otherwise I would have had NO stamina to get back down!

Up UP UP we went. Slow and steady.

Up UP UP we went. Slow and steady.

Somewhere on the trail I dubbed this Iron Ass Hill because going up this thing gives you an Iron Ass whether you want it or not!

IMG_2744See that teensy white piece of paper on the shrub? That was the 2 mile marker. HERE, it finally started to level off. We then turned another corner and came upon a water/gatorade stand. We each took a cup and then…with level trail and mostly downhill left – she said “Let’s GO!”

So at around the 2.1 mile marker we jogged.

Stunning views

Stunning views

The weather was perfect. December on the So Cal beach trails brings cooler air temps, but the sun still heats it up just enough. #649 and I were a little bit ahead and we started yapping and the next thing we knew we had gone a mile. At the start of the jogging we had given #651 a few tips on posture and gait which she had picked up. She found her comfort zone and just kept moving. One foot in front of the other, up and down at a steady pace. Before we knew it, we could hear the finish line, then see it, and then at the last little bit we all sprinted across together.

She ran TWO MILES today. After having only gone a block at a time around her house before!

Smiling the whole time – feeling no major aches or pains – she just kept on moving.

Now she wants to repeat all the events again in 2013. Only she wants to do MORE jogging than walking.

I think she’s got this :-)

 

 

 

 

Oct 10 – From one corner of the country to another


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I’m stealing a writing prompt from last month’s NaBloPoMo selection – “Write about one object you see at this exact moment.”

Well, since I am writing this while taking a lunch break at my desk, as my eyes wandered off my screen, the first thing I saw just above was this calendar.

(A technical note – yes, I am writing these typically a day in advance and scheduling them to post the next morning – I am finding that to be a lot better in terms of daily posts than what I did in May which was scramble at the end of every day to write about that day. That was one way to do daily posts and it was sometimes fun, but…I wanted to try something a little more polished this time!)

So let me tell you about that calendar. It is of Maine lighthouses. This is my…5th or 6th version of this calendar I think?

It’s an interesting tale how the state over the upper right corner of the country has become the place I would most want to spend a summer or any extended time visiting. Can’t get much further away from my left coast corner can it? As it happens when I joined the two online groups where I’ve met most of my friends, that he people who happen to live in Portland, Maine perhaps are the most kindred of kindred spirits to me. That is enhanced by the fact that both times I have visited Maine, I loved every moment. Do I love the people that much more because of where they live? Do I love where they live that much more because they are there?

Probably a little of both.

My August Mom roommate lives there. The first time we shared a room was at the first gathering. Very few of us had met face to face back then unless someone already lived near another family or had vacationed near another. To reduce costs we immediately talked about sharing rooms for those of us traveling alone. But it was scary! Who do you chose? As we have learned, online compatibility does NOT translate to real time compatibility or that you will be good travel companions. at all (lord knows I learned that lesson in future years with the Netroots Nation events!)

But, we all pretty much had to roll the dice. I honestly don’t remember what drew me to Maine Mom. I am pretty sure it was I who approached her about it. (She probably remembers better than I do!). All I know for sure is that once we finally met in Seattle the deal was set in place for all future gatherings. If we gather anywhere near each other’s city, we extend the visit to hang out at our homes. She took me to see a couple of the Maine lighthouses that are near her so every time I turn the calendar to the ones I know I feel an extra warm glow.

Then there’s the Cheers & Jeers boys. From the Daily Kos blog community which drew me to attend the Netroots Nation events. Bill and Michael are who I spend probably the most time with when we all attend. The first time I met them was in Portland Maine. Towards the end of an August Mom’s gathering I had put the word out to the New England C&J group that I was visiting and they threw a little luncheon together. That first hug from Michael? Well, you just don’t forget those!

I’m telling you, one of these years I will spend a summer in Maine and just BE with Maine Mom & her family and Bill & Michael. I *need* to do that.

The calendar comes from Michael every year. It started as a part of a Secret Santa gift exchange and he’d thrown one in for me for fun. He’s asked me every year if I still want to get one. Oh, yes, I sure do! I mean, it is lovely to have all of these fantastic friends, but when you are all so damn far away and I am lucky IF I get to see you once a year? Or not, as this year has turned out.  At least let me be able to look up and see the place you live, think of you all, smile and go about my day.

A glorious long weekend in San Diego


Yes, I know, I live here so the headline could seem as if it is hinting that I traveled somewhere new. Which I did. Sort of.

Friday night started it off out in east county for the first varsity football game of the season (horrible…penalties, turnovers…lost 22-7…16 still on the sideline though he should be suiting up around Game 3….) We are still in the throes of this summer humidity laces heat wave that wont end so it was REALLY warm out there, but fun as always and just as the night descended…the Blue Moon started to rise:

Saturday had been set aside to visit with my high school buddy Lisa who drove down from LA to take her own end of summer vacation away from it all (her medical practice + TV show which keep her insanely busy so seeing her…or exchanging more than two line text messages or emails – is very rare)

 

We enjoyed a 2+ hour lunch at Barbarella in La Jolla just up the street from the Beach & Tennis club where she was staying, then we wandered back to her room and prepared to sit out on the beach:

I told her I was teasing my running buddies with this photo and she said “Tell them to get out here with us!” and the next thing you knew Renee, Eve, Lisa and I spent the rest of Saturday sitting on the beach and then wandering right back into town for a fantastic Italian dinner. It was one of those completely relaxing summer days/nights which, on it’s own, would have made the long weekend superb.

But there was more to come!

Sunday we went for our usual longer run. We got a later start than usual so it was plenty warm by the time we started with the hill repeats but it actually wasn’t that hard. I’m starting to think I am getting decent at this running thing!

The girls then asked me if I wanted to join them out to a horse ranch/birthday party bbq and I said “Hey, why not?” Back out to the back country of San Diego for yet another change of pace:

Monday we had a full day planned, though again starting later so we could all sleep in. Chip made sure I didn’t get up before I was needed to:

The day was spent out on the downtown Embarcadero where they were celebrating the Festival of Sails – a collection of tall sailing ships were docked there and we could climb all over them and some even went out for voyages in the harbor as well as some mock cannon battles. We didn’t take a voyage but we did climb over every boat we could and we got some shots of the sailing ships:

After four solid days out in the sunshine and heat, it was finally time to end the final day with a trip to a nice, dark, cool bar:

Cheers!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Party Pics!


Here’s my Facebook status from Sunday night:

“Collapsing into bed having managed to pull off a movie and bbq birthday celebration despite the grill master being out of commission. Thank gawd for substitute grilling experts (oh, it was just a *little* fire!) and super easy going friends and family and that last burst of energy (beer) that got me through a complete clean up inside and out. It was a total Triumph of the Single Parent day.” :-)

27 woke up sick on Saturday and it continued into Sunday. Having never worked a grill in my life I was a tad panicked. Then I remembered that one of 16′s (that’s gonna take awhile to write!) friends is also a grill master in training. So then the bigger issue was that I had agreed to drop off the boys to a movie and then pick them up after because I thought 27 would be able to help with shopping/cleaning/setup. Thankfully I cleaned on Saturday. But after dropping off the boys I had to then shop (improvising items along the way), fill up the propane tank and then prep and toss a whole chicken in the crock pot before heading back out to pick them up.

The substitute grill master in training had never done beef ribs before however, the sauce/seasoning that he threw together to coat them must have been good. The slight issue with the lack of beef rib experience is that he didn’t anticipate the amount of fat on the ribs. We also (oopsie) didn’t properly clean the grill from the prior meal cooked on it. So……there was a wee bit of a FIRE while the second batch was cooking. In front of the brand new fence (memo to self – pull the grill away from that a little more!) and some low hanging tree branches.

Oh, another memo to self (and anyone else in the vicinity): a garden hose provides a ready stream of water for dousing a fire. There is one just five feet away from the grill. Perhaps that would be faster than running inside to get the jug of drinking water? Sheesh!

Anyhoo – no harm (other than the crispy black ribs!) no foul and there was still plenty of food and great conversation – mostly directed by the teen boys and their tales of mis-adventure. The beer didn’t hurt :-)

Ribs before charring :->

Chowing down #1

Chowing Down #2

Attempting to hide the evidence of BBQ sauce all over his face….

Nope – can’t hide it kiddo!

Birthday BBQ crew.

 

 

 

 

 

More Snapshots


And now, the rest of the weekend in pictures to limit my writing time :-)

Start line for the Chargers 5k on Sat morning

Yes, the race was THIS crowded!

In the stadium after the race – we were both not happy with our times. It was hot, hilly and crowded on the course.

I finished in 31:25 and 15 finished in 25:08. The best part was the ramp entrance into the stadium at the end. It was a perfect downhill and it totally shot you into sprint mode no matter how tired you felt and we both totally flew across the finish line grinning. Of course, neither of us remembered to look up and SEE ourselves do that.

Post race beer with the girls on Sat afternoon. Got to keep the sweet glass.

Renee on Sunday morning in Solana Beach heading in to drop gear off at transition

All smiles pre-race.

Unfortunately, she had a very rough time in the ocean – this was her first open ocean race – and *only* placed 6th. Which just shows how well she did on the bike and run despite feeling dead from simply trying to survive the swim.

Post race day at the races – watching horses run instead of us! Coach Tanja teaching us how to bet.

The racetrack day was a blast. I learned a ton about how to bet on the races and even with minimum wagers I was up $10 and had won something in half the races. Then came the last one when I decided to kind of go for it and just bet along with Tanja who had won something EVERY race (including a pretty hefty trifecta in race #4). And of course, the last race is only one we ALL lost (dammit!). Still, within the group the ones who had a little money to play with (meaning able to place more than the minimum bet) won a pretty nice chunk.

We followed up with a celebratory dinner (paid for by one of the big winners) which made for a VERY long day of activities since I left the house initially at 5:30am and didn’t get home until 8:30pm. It was one of those weekends when I now need a weekend to recover from the weekend! Phew!

 

 

 

 

 

 

May 19th – Hearth and Home


Catchy title eh? Ads a lovely delusion of grandeur to the much more boring reality that I basically stayed put and did chores ;-)

OK, not entirely true.

I did run out to Starbucks to grab breakfast. My cereal box for the week was empty and I didn’t want to make eggs and I have $ on my gold card so – Saturday treat! I enjoyed it while watching Up & Nerdland on the DVR.

THEN the chores started.

Well, sort of because I had planned on getting that water fountain for the cats and also some new everyday shoes for 15 and then meet up with Padres/Adam Lambert buddy David at the mall so he could pay me for the tickets I bought for him. We decided to meet up for lunch there so we could catch up because I realized that while I “see” him on twitter on facebook everyday – and he is constantly updating both – I had not actually TALKED to him In Real Life (IRL) in almost two years!! So strange. I swear I feel so close to many people who I engage with every day via one of the social media sites that I forget how rarely I see them IRL (if at all).

It was a great time and also quite encouraging to talk to him about things like college with 15 there. David is young – younger than 26 – and he and his boyfriend are both just finishing their bachelors (though David started a little late). Sergio graduates in June and David graduates next year. The encouraging part was when 15 told him about wanting to study computer science, David’s eyes lit up and he shared that his brother completed his degree in that at SDSU and went right to work as a programmer with SDG&E (local utility company). That got 15′s eyes to light up and hey – as you all know all too well – ANYTHING we can do to get his motivation and interest perked up is a huge blessing!

Ok, once we got home from THAT we did stay put. Cleaned, did laundry, cleared out the ‘fridge,  setup the fountain and watched the cats. They decided it was interesting but not worthy of drinking from it. Grrrr. Chip stuck his nose in the falling water and promptly jumped back shaking his head. I let it run for awhile since it was supposed to do that to prime the pump and then later I turned it off and sure enough about 10 minutes later they both drank from it. Stinkers!

Spent the rest of the day reading and researching for improving the ebook and also just in general on content writing or simply writing techniques. It was good to see that the system of steps I came up with on my own to do this research seems to be consistent with what other web content folks follow. I’m either brilliant or a lot of this stuff is just common sense ;-) Sometimes though, we need to be reminded of the basics to get them to click more solidly in our pea brains that retain knowledge for a grand total of about 3 minutes!

Now back to Lizz Free or Die which I am absolutely loving.

Peace out!

The friends and family part of NN11


My most awesome roommate Terri, showing you where she lives in West Virginia.

Bill in Portland Maine - TEXTING!!! This folks, is a miraculous occurence.

Michael with Mary, his walking buddy also from Maine

My adorable bud Michael and I, in the howling wind laughing because I cracked him up at just the right moment.

Like Bill, Michael has to tilt the glasses down to text. So cute :-) Also, wonder where he got that shirt?

Vicki - karaoke singer extraordinnare - bartender Michael in the background

Mary and her beautiful smile. Much like Vicki, laughter springs easily from this lovely lady.

Bill and Michael - fantasy version

Bill & Michael - reality :-)

Bill in his very own Kiddie Pool (which is what we long ago dubbed his Cheers & Jeers diaries)

Sharon getting her t-shirt for NFTT box packing

Kelly - another bright smile (see a pattern with my friend here?) Wish this was in focus!

Step 1 - Mary and I sip bourbon

Step 2 - Stage one of identical reaction

Step 3 - what the hell are we thinking?

Ed - who always enjoys updates on the cats and asks after them by name

Ray - who always ended up with us in the evenings even if we never saw him all day

Me, giving credit to Bill for his awesome limerick writing. Stormy is seated next to Bill.

That picture above was from the BEST Pub Quiz ever. We were rowdy, loud, chanting & protesting just about every question and answer. The guys behind me? The Wisconsin Union crew – some of whom really DID protest in Madison this year. At one point they broke out into a chant of “Show me what democracy looks like!” and we would respond “THIS is what democracy looks like!” Oh, it was supremely fun and funny.

While I did much better than I normally do taking pics of people, there are still not enough and I really must do a better job of simply forcing my friends to pose dammit! Some of them are camera shy of course and want to maintain their anonymity which I respect, but most are anything but camera shy and I really must take advantage :-)

But, there is a little glimpse at my liberal lunatic friends…wait..no…FAMILY who, when we see each other one year or two years after last saying goodbye, pick up the conversation as if it ended yesterday.

 

Happy 4th! Now even more sparkly!


What? You expected fireworks? Oh no, my blog deserves better. Adam Lambert is more sparkly & glittery than those :-) He’s also a true American success story. Can’t think of a better way to celebrate what our country means than to feature him.

My goodness would you look at that beautiful man? And how cool is this – that’s a photo from last night during his concert in North Carolina. Someone took this photo, loaded it as both color & black & white and posted it on twitter. I snagged it from there seconds later, saved it as the background on my phone & emailed it to a friend. All probably within 30 minutes of the shutter being snapped.

His Glam Nation tour is rolling along full steam. Sold out venues from the start in early June. He’s now hitting the south & mid west where he has already encountered a protester. Yeah, just one ;-) A few pics were sent from his crew last night of this one guy there with his lovely version of religious based hate. All were amused that he was out there by himself. Apparently Adam smiled & waved to him. Typical. The fans in line gave him a rousing chant of “God hates hate” (Adam’s quote from during the AI tour last year when a group of nasties were demonstrating). I imagine he’s going to encounter more than just lone fools in the upcoming cities as he swings through the Bible belt. But those protesters will be in for some push back as every venue in those cities is sold out too and man are Adam’s fans some passionate folks!

I read in an article that his fans seem like a cross between Elvis & Grateful Dead groupies. That’s about right given their age and also how many of them (guilty!) are going to more than one stop on the tour. Not only are some of my friends attending every single Calif stop & the Vegas one, but another gal I know is flying in from Malaysia for the same two weeks of concerts! Heck, I seem like a total rookie since I’m *only* going to three and I’m not staying overnight anywhere for them! I did once go see Journey twice on one of their tours, but that was just because they did two dates locally & I went to both. In this case I’m driving up to Costa Mesa (90+ miles) two nights in a row, then finally seeing the local show two nights later. 3 shows in 4 nights. And I didn’t blink & eye considering it. From the first videos posted after the tour opener I knew I had to see the show as many times as possible!

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Speaking of my Adam concert buddy  – Jan and I went to see One Republic at the fair last night. She cracked me up. As we walked into the fairgrounds she was talking about how she hadn’t been in years since she got burned out after taking her now grown up boys there year after year and that she was just there to see this band blah blah blah. You know what that means right? Famous last words! I, of course, wanted to get my newly traditional treat of deep fried oreos plus I had to visit a particular vendor for a specific product needed for a possible upcoming birthday or something like that (ahem). I assured her I knew exactly how to get to both places and that we would get to our seats in plenty of time for the concert. We got past not more than two vendor stands before something caught her eye. “Oooh, look at those bags…do you mind…?” We walk out of there with her transferring everything into this cute new cloth bag she’d bought. As she said “Well, I’ll need something for all those Adam concerts! Especially when we have to stand in line for the places like SF & Vegas which are general admission seats.” OooooooKkkkk :-) We made it past the booth with sparkly hats & shirts and then hustled her off the path & through the livestock areas to get to my beloved Oreos. Now, here she resisted even thought the smell of the deep fried veggies also at that stand were tempting her greatly. I savored my Oreos as we moved on to the bigger shopping areas & toward my target booth. But then…..”Oh look at those dresses!!” Seriously – the next thing you know she’s trying on sundresses in the back of a booth & I am just giggling like crazy at her. “Well, some of the places for the concerts will be outdoors & hot & this cute, comfy dress will be perfect!” Hey, you don’t need to convince ME :-) Finally we get into the indoor shopping area and I kid you not she literally ooohed at the very first booth she saw!! Now I am really laughing but we did need to hustle so I asked another vendor & got directions to my destination. On the way we pass a booth with very cute small shoulder wallet/purses. I showed her the one I was carrying and told her I’d purchased that one last year at the fair. She says “Oh, I should probably also have a smaller one for the concerts when we don’t have to stand in line right?” Riiiight Jan! I left her there, made my purchase and went to pick her up and she finished buying item #3 for the night. All in about an hours time. Good thing she didn’t really want to be at the fair eh?

(They were all really cute, and really inexpensive purchases – I just had to tease :-) )

Oh, and the One Republic concert was fantastic. Not Adamtastic mind you. That’s another planet. But the band and the lead singer in particular are crazy genius musicians. Loved their intricate arrangements & their use of all sorts of different instruments & sounds.

Not a bad way to start the long holiday weekend. Which I intend to spend alternating between more yard work, hiking  & book reading.

Have a safe & happy 4th!

Do I really need to act my age?


Because getting up at 3am to drive downtown to sit in line outside a theater box office for 9 hours with like minded Adam Lambert fans kinda sounds like a fun adventure! Thank you, Ticketmaster & StubHub scalpers for making this little outing *necessary* for fans who couldn’t afford to pay sky high markup and/or processing fees for mediocre seats. (that was sarcasm in case you didn’t catch it)

Behold – The Dawn Patrol Ticket Buying adventure!

It was seriously the fasted 9 hours to pass by ever. The two women already there were friends of Jan’s who she had met at Adam’s New Years Eve performance. They were funny & warm & so very easy to talk to – and to sing with – and to dance with :-) At a certain point we all pretty much forgot we were on a street corner in a major downtown city and were in our own little world of Adam. Heck, I was on my knees doing my impersonation of Adam on HIS knees as he sang Whole Lotta Love at Fantasy Springs (you know, when he looked RIGHT AT ME!) when a guy walked past on his way to an early morning job. Oopsie! After a couple of the gals had used a corner that they dubbed “the jungle” as a bathroom, I declared No Way Jose to that option and scouted around for indoor plumbing. Then remembered that Symphony Towers is home to a Sheraton and I went there & got permission for us to use their lobby facilities and we were set. One block up was a Starbucks. At 10am a Pizzeria & Deli opened up across the street & I had the best darn tasting meatball sandwich ever!

By 11:30 there were about 25 people lined up. The max you could purchase was 4 tickets. The venue had held back about 150 tickets from Ticketmaster and they would be taking phone orders at the same time as we were allowed in. Safe to say their 150 tickets were gone before I got back home! When they let us in, there were four ticket agents waiting for us so our little quartet was assured first choice of what they had. It still didn’t amount to what we would have liked (close floor seats), but the ticket agent who works there assured me twice these were the BEST seats he had and that symphony season ticket holders coveted that section particularly since it is dead center and hangs out over the floor seats. Best view of the full stage and from what we heard from my friend who saw Adam’s opening show last night, you want to get the full view. Lasers, smoke, a video screen with images displayed on the back wall. Dancers. Three costume changes. This is not JUST a rock star. This is a full fledged Entertainer :-)

The saga continues on concert day – July 28th for Costa Mesa and July 30th for this one. I intend to continue NOT acting my age at those shows!!