Kelocity.com

A runner with an appetite for adventure!

Baking with Bieber December 13, 2011

Filed under: Christmas,Cooking,Friends — Kelocity @ 5:06 am
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Thanks to Duncan Hines for sponsoring my writing. There’s no limit to the baking possibilities, so grab your favorite Duncan Hines mix and Comstock or Wilderness fruit fillings and Bake On! www.duncanhines.com.

 

I love to bake. I’m not very good at it per se, but I really like it. Especially this time of year! When my friends Erika and Timmy invited us over for a holiday soiree, I was psyched to have a reason to break out the pans and get to work.
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I found a super easy recipe on Duncan Hine’s website that only had FIVE ingredients: The Apple Cinnamon Cake. I usually go for chocolately desserts or anything with frosting, but I was intrigued by the Apple Filling. I knew there would already be cupcakes, brownies and chocolate already at the party, so I was happy to make something a bit different for variety.
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The recipe was so simple and it came out pretty good! **pats self on back** It was definitely sweet, but had a savory feel to it as well. Perfect for an evening get-together with friends.
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There ended up being almost 20 people at the party! Lots of new faces we hadn’t seen before, and so much great conversation. I love that the holidays give people an excuse to get together, share a meal, relax, and celebrate.
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Once everyone had a pretty good sized sugar coma, it was time for the annual Yankee Swap gift exchange. And with so many people, it was a blast picking numbers and swapping gifts… though there wasn’t too much swapping this time! The gifts were so good, almost everyone was stoked with what they ended up with!
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What did I score? A Puppy Calendar, Justin Bieber Notepad and a giftcard. I was laughing so hard. Awesome!!
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Now in addition to the baking itch… I have Bieber Fever!

Irving scored an awesome photo ornament that holds 100 pictures.
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Such a fun night! We stayed up way past our bedtime, but it was totally worth it. It’s our last Christmas just the two of us, so we’re totally soaking it all up and doing everything we can to make it special.

 

Remember to check out Duncan Hines’ website www.duncanhines.com to find some great recipes for your holiday get-together! I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective.

 

(GUEST POST) 2010: A Golf Odyssey December 31, 2010

Filed under: Christmas,Guest Post,Happy,Las Vegas,Mom — Kelocity @ 4:57 pm
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Since the day Kelocity launched, Kelley has been asking me to provide a guest post.
This is my first.

There is nothing I love more than my wife.  Unfortunately, my work schedule last weekend kept us apart for the holiday.
With her braving the winter weather blast in Boston I took the opportunity to rendezvous with my other loves, travel and golf… not necessarily in that order.

But this wasn’t just a trip… it was an odyssey.
54 holes in 72 hours on some of the best courses in the West!

My mom didn’t want me to be alone for the holiday, so she tagged along.

Yellow & Black Golf Bag + Yellow & Black Travel Bag = 100% Intentional
Yellow & Black Golf Bag + Yellow & Black Travel Bag + Yellow & Black VW Beatle = 100% Luck… it was a rental car.
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My first round was at Primm Valley Golf Club, just on the border of California and Nevada.
They have two courses, Desert and Lakes.  I played the Lakes course.

Warming up…
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This was our view while we grabbed a bite to eat at the club house.  Stunning!
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1st Tee.

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Fantastic conditions on a fantastic course.

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We stayed the first night in Las Vegas.

Day 2 (Christmas Day) was at Badlands Golf Course in Summerlin, just a few miles North West of the Las Vegas Strip.

Not only was the course amazing, so were the homes that looked down on it…
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Stay focused Irving.  You are here to golf, not daydream.
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Check out the view from the tee box.
It’s a long carry over the desert to hit the fairway, good thing I am focused.
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After that shot, your travel down the path to find this…
The octagon building is a workout room.  Just past the workout room is a helicopter.
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Wait, what?  A HELICOPTER?!?!
I thought about this for a while.  This guy has a helicopter parked in his backyard.
Truth is, if I had a home in Vegas on an amazing golf course… with a helicopter, I too would park it in the backyard.
I mean where else would you park it?  In the front yard?  That would be such an eyesore.

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Oh no!  The temperature started to drop into the 60s, time to pull out the sweatshirt.
(I think this was they day that Kel called me to tell me she had to shovel snow twice.)
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After the round we got in the car and drove to Mesquite, Nevada.

It’s about an hour North of Vegas just before you hit Arizona and Utah.

We stayed that night in Mesquite and woke up for an early round.
This was actually the course that I was most excited for.

Wolf Creek Golf Course in Mesquite is listed as one of the top 50 courses in the country.
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It has been described as “the Disneyland of golf courses.”
And “the Pebble Beach of desert golf.”
I agree with both.

Just have a look at this place…
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Time to warm up…
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1st hole…

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And here we go…
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Here is the view from the back tee’s on the 2nd hole.

The fairway is over the ridge to the left side of this picture.
Look just right of center in this picture.  My mom is standing at the white tees, where I played from.

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A closer look…

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Here is the view from the white tees.

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I’m going for it…
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The conditions were perfect…

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Here are two of the best Par 3 holes that I have ever played…

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I have never seen views like this on a golf course…

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This is about as close to other golfers that I got that day.
See them on the ridge?  That is a tee box!
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What a way to end the year!
Have a very Happy New Year everyone.  See you in 2011!
Cheers,
-Irving

 

Christmas Day!

Filed under: Christmas,Family — Kelocity @ 10:21 am
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On Christmas Morning, we all woke up pretty early to see what Santa brought us!!

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I was really missing Irving, but Santa didn’t forget him!
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Stockings always come first!
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I got so many awesome gifts, lots of running related things, cooking things, games and other fun stuff. Santa definitely spoiled us this year!

Then we headed to my aunt’s house for our annual family game night. This year’s game of choice was Scribblish!
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If you haven’t seen this game yet, you just have to trust me that it’s the best game of the year. It was HILARIOUS!
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It involves lots of drawing…and laughing hysterically at said drawings.
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~~~~~~
The next day… the big storm hit….
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We had to snowblow and shovel 1.5 feet of snow out of the driveway.
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Not fun. But we made the best of it by hanging out inside and doing our annual sisters photoshoot!!
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This one might be my favorite!

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Then we took the party outside!
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I love these girls!

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Merry Christmas!

 

A Holiday Recap–Christmas Eve

Filed under: Babies,Christmas,Family — Kelocity @ 9:53 am
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I know, I have been a negligent blogger as of late. I was also a pretty bad Christmas vacation photographer. But I have lots of memories and warm moments to share.

It all started way back last week. I had to pack up all my presents and fly them with me to Boston. It probably would have been easier to wrap them when I got there, but I’m a sucker for wrapping up surprises.
That gnome wrapping paper was from Ikea about four years ago. I FINALLY used it all up this year!
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All packed up and ready to go! Thank goodness for Southwest’s free baggage allowance!
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A few of my friends and I have a tradition of getting together for breakfast on Christmas Eve day. This year, we were also joined by the gorgeous baby Harper!
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She’s at a fun smiley age now. I was in love.
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Katie, me, Harper and Shelby!

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I already miss all of them!

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Then I spent the afternoon hanging out with my sisters, wrapping more presents and getting ready for Christmas Eve! My whole family and all the cousins head to my grandparents house. Now that everyone is getting older, it’s so much fun.
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We’re also pretty big on photoshoots. HAHA
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We forced invited the boys to join in too!
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My family!
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We also have a weird side!

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We sang lots of Christmas Carols before we ate!
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We had a great buffet for dinner. Everyone brought something. Since our family is Lebanese, we always have amazing middle eastern food.

It was so nice to be with my sisters!!
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Two of my favorite gifts to give this year….

The Golf Sweater T-Shirt!
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And our 2010 Vancouver Olympics jacket that we picked up in February in the Olympic Village!
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Merry Christmas Eve!!

 

Santa Came!!!! December 18, 2010

Filed under: Christmas,Happy — Kelocity @ 9:25 pm
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Today was a beautiful rainy day in Los Angeles. It rained all day long and we loved every minute of it. We spent the morning sleeping in, reading, cleaning up and listening to Christmas Music. It was perfect. Then we skyped with my parents for a while to say hi.
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We sipped on some morning coffee and admired the presents under the tree.

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Then we both looked at each other and decided this lazy rainy day was the perfect time to open all of our presents to each other!!! We won’t be together on Christmas Day this year, so it was special to be able to open our gifts together.
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And so we did!! First up was our stockings!
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Lots of goodies inside!
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Irving loved his FIFA 2011 Soccer download!!!

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And what better for a rainy day? SWEET!!! New Wiper Blades!!
(Haven’t changed them in six years, it’s about time, right?!)
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Irving’s Stocking treasures!
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And mine!! (He knows me well!)
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Then it was time for the big presents!
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One of the first gifts was this laptop pad! It’s AWESOME!
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Perfect for Blogging!!!! And it has SPEAKERS!
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A few years back we started a tradition of making our gift giving fun and exciting. We pick cards around Thanksgiving that each have an adjective on it (ie: Something Green, Batteries Not Included, For a Roadtrip, etc). We picked our cards back in November this time. We keep them a secret until we open up the presents, and it makes it more fun!

First up…BEGINS WITH AN R…I got a Foam Roller!!!!!!
(This is an amazing invention for anyone with tight muscles!)
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Irving was excited to open this one! SOMETHING WOODEN!
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A BBQ brush for the grill!!

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I also got Irving…

NOISE (A new alarm clock for the bedroom)!
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CHORE or TASK (Running Clothes… what? Running is a chore sometimes!)
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SOME ASSEMBLY REQUIRED (Golf Club covers for traveling)
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NOT ENOUGH (Because Irving will eat this entire box of Shortbread Cookies on his own and declare that was still NOT ENOUGH!)
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And I was the very lucky recipient of these gifts!!

FROM YOUR BIRTHYEAR
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At first I was very confused by this. Was Pass the Pigs invented in 1983? Did people play the game in the 80s or something? No. It’s even BETTER than that! 1983 was the Year of the PIG!!!! Brilliant! Just brilliant!!!!

HUH? There’s a lot of ways this one can be interpreted!  The backstory is that I put “Blog Business Cards” on my Christmas List. So he gave me this!
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HAHAHAHA And in order to get the note out, I had to solve this puzzle maze! and then it unlocked.

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hahaha It was hard!!
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But I’m pretty excited about the business cards… because my next one was REGIONAL
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CHECK IT OUT!!
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My husband booked a hotel and bought my registration for BlogHer 11, which is in San Diego this year!!! This is a huge conference for bloggers and I’m SO excited to be a part of it!!! I hope to learn a lot and meet lots of other bloggers there! I’m SOOO excited!!!!!

BEST HUSBAND EVER!!!!
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The carnage!
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It was a very Merry Los Angeles Christmas today!! Thank you babe! ❤