Kelocity.com

A runner with an appetite for adventure!

30 Day Challenge–My Relationship May 9, 2011

Filed under: 30 Day Challenge,Family,Happy,Love — Kelocity @ 4:00 am
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I saw a great list of blogging prompts recently (On Katy Widrick’s blog) and I thought it would be a great way to blast through some writers block. I don’t plan to do this in 30 consecutive days, but I will do them in order.

Here’s the breakdown of what’s to come:
30-Day-Challenge

On July 11, 2009, I married my husband, Irving. Our wedding was in New Hampshire and we just loved every minute. I replay the whole day in my head sometimes when I’m trying to fall asleep. It really was the best day week of my life.
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But our relationship wasn’t your typical ‘girl meets boy, falls in love, gets engaged and gets married’ story. Our courtship was eight years long, and three of those years were long distance. Here’s our story.

September 2001
We met during my first week at Emerson College. Our first encounter was at a party before classes even started. We didn’t really talk until a week after that, but my family rolled their eyes when I told them I’d already met a guy within the first week of school. Our first real ‘date’ was to dinner at Remington’s, a cute casual restaurant next to our dorm.
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Summer 2002
Irving is from San Francisco, but he got a job in Boston for the summer so we could be closer. I was working long hours at a production company, but we saw each other as much as we could, stealing dinners here and there. It was an important summer for us both to grow. We supported each other and lived independently, it was as close as we ever got to actual ‘dating’.
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Fall 2002
Irving moved to Los Angeles for his last semester at Emerson, while I continued in Boston. We talked on the phone a lot and he would tell me about all the fun things he was doing in LA. This set the foundation for the upcoming three years we’d be in different time zones. But since I was four years younger, we both needed the time to grow independently and make sure we were both following our dreams.

Spring 2003
I moved to Europe for a semester, and Irving moved to New York.  A 6-hour time difference was hard (and there were 75 kids in my program and only two phone lines)! But we sent lots of letters and emails. Irving also surprised me in Paris on Valentine’s Day!
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Fall 2003 – Summer 2004
Irving continued to work in New York, and I focused on school in Boston. We’d see each other once a month or so with little weekend trips.
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Fall 2004
I moved to Los Angeles and Irving stayed in New York. We only saw each other twice in those four months (once in San Francisco and once in LA). Irving told me that if I loved LA as much as he did, he’d quit his job and move out west so we could finally live together.
Kel Irv Citywalk

January 2005
We pack up a minivan and drive cross country together to our new life in LA. We moved into a small 1 room apartment in Hollywood and lived it up. We may not have had jobs for three months or even a bed for a while, but we were together and ready to conquer the world.
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Spring 2006 – 2008
We bought a condo together, our careers were going well and we got used to life as a couple.

January 2008
We FINALLY get engaged! After being together for 7 years, Irving popped the question in Temecula, CA.

July 2009
We got married!

And the rest was history! We loved that we had a few years apart because it laid a strong foundation of communication and respect that we are grateful to have now. It’s been almost ten years since we met, and I’m so excited to see what other fun adventures are in store for us. Only time will tell!
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And today, I climbed a Mountain. April 3, 2011

Filed under: Food,Friends,Happy,Los Angeles,Workout — Kelocity @ 9:45 pm
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That’s right. Yesterday, I was in the valley of ‘woe is me’, and today, I climbed a mountain. IMG_5073

We slept in this morning, woke up feeling refreshed but in desperate need of some fresh air. We needed a sweaty hike to reconnect with ourselves and with nature. Something to pull us back in.
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We hiked a 6 mile trail in the Verdugo Mountains. But we made one wrong turn at the beginning and found this!
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We had to turn around and backtrack to find the trailhead.
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Once we got going, it was really nice, but the first 2.5 miles were straight uphill. It was HARD!
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The incline was killer and seemed to drag on and on. But the views definitely made up for it.
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I love seeing LA from up above. It feels so big (especially in traffic), but from up there, it looks so small and quiet.
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But this was just the halfway point…And then the climb continued. And continued. And continued.
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I was SO thankful for the overcast sky today (I’m not a happy camper in the heat). But we came prepared anyways.
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A few times, I really wanted to give up. I jokingly begged Irving to let us turn around before reaching the top. See that tower at the top of that hill? That was the goal. Look how far away (and high) it looks!) We’d already been hiking for an hour by this point too!
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Every time I would think we’re getting closer, it seemed impossible to reach. (I think I’m really out of shape). We got passed by a couple of people. HAHA).

But each time I wanted to quit, I kept thinking that I can’t call my blog post “I ALMOST climbed a mountain!” I had to REALLY climb it! All the way to the top!
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And then finally, we made it. My, how far we’ve come.
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That’s what a 2,689ft elevation climb will give you. Check out this elevation map from my Garmin! Straight up and straight down!
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At the top, someone built a chair. And whoever this person is deserves a hug. I LOVE YOU CHAIR!
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I sat in it for a good ten minutes and took in the view. Felt SO good to get out and do something for myself today.
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We did it babe! And it hurts so good! What a workout!
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I only went as far as that chair, but Irving wanted to actually touch the gate of the tower…. I told him to go for it…
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…But I’m staying riiiiiight here. haha
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Instead of coming back down the mountain the way we came, we kept going on the trail that eventually looped back around. Here’s the map from my Garmin. After lunch, we did walk back to where we started to completely finish the loop.
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At the bottom of the trail, we ate lunch at the Golf Club.
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As soon as we sat down, my Garmin chimed ‘6 miles’. I love nice round milage numbers.
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We were really hungry (it was 2:30p by the time we were done!) I got the BLTA and it was killer! Oh man, hit the spot.
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We relaxed, and watched the birds pick at the crumbs other people’s kids left behind.
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It was a half mile back to the car, so that brings our hike to 6.5 miles total.

On the way back home, we stopped to pick up some groceries for the week. The usual. But how funny is this sign for Ramen Noodles? People did double takes looking at the sign, too funny. The scary thing is, there actually was a point in my life where I may have thought that was an incredible deal. ha!

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Tonight, our friends Erika and Timmy came over to have dinner and play some games. (Erika Killed us in Yahtzee!)

Irving made some Chili Cheese Dogs on the grill. They were from Omaha Steak and we really liked them. No better way to kick off summer than with a cookout.

We were supposed to put the chili on the dog like this…
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But I preferred to have my chili on the side.
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I’m always looking for an excuse to eat Ketchup. yes!
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Served with a side of homemade Pasta Salad. Very excited to have leftovers for lunch this week!

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In other news, The 200-Mile Ragnar Relay is in 12 days! I’m slated to do 12.3 miles total, but I’m really hoping to squeak in another mile in there somewhere to count it as a half marathon! After this hike, I feel ready. Let’s do this!

 

Angry Clouds March 21, 2011

Filed under: Happy — Kelocity @ 1:39 pm

According to the National Weather Service, Downtown Los Angeles received record rainfall with 2.42 inches of rain, breaking the 1943 record of 1.48 inches for March 20.

That’s a lot of rain. It looks like Armageddon out my window today. Those are some angry clouds!

I think LA is pretty during the rainy season. Lush, green and alive. I’m sure all the bushes will be turning brown and dead soon enough when the temps hit 100*+, but for now, I’m enjoying my rain.

I really wish I had a great pair of rainboots to puddle jump in.

 

The Future President and First Lady? February 15, 2011

Filed under: Happy — Kelocity @ 12:00 pm
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We were laughing so hard when we saw this picture last night. We just HAD to buy it. What do you think? Could Irving be the next president?

 

Mid-Day Photo Fun February 2, 2011

Filed under: Friends,Happy — Kelocity @ 11:00 am
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I know there’s drama going around in the blog world about ‘Teen Mom’. But I personally love the show from a pure entertainment standpoint. I think it’s sad these girls have to deal with these huge life issues at such a young age. And I know they’re partly being exploited by doing so (they make a decent paycheck by doing the show). But it also makes me more confident in my own future parenting skills someday.

Anyways, at the end of each episode, this picture comes up as part of the credits:
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It makes me laugh every time I see it. Last summer, Irving and I went golfing with Erika and Timmy and we took almost the same picture!
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Doesn’t it look almost the same?! Sometimes it’s nice to keep the mid-day posts light, what can I say.

 

I’m working on getting some more of my Oscar pictures up in the next week or so. Stay tuned!