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Take Me Out to the Ballgame! May 2, 2011

Filed under: Friends,Los Angeles — Kelocity @ 5:10 pm
Tags: Baseball, Dodgers, Friends, Los Angeles

I hadn’t been to a Dodger’s game in almost two years! That’s really sad considering the stadium is practically in my backyard.

It was a gorgeous night for a baseball game, and we had a great time with Erika and Timmy.

Psst… I took a few baby bump pictures of those two this weekend, click here to see them!

We had amazing seats at the game, really close to the field. Best seats we’ve ever had I think!

We lost the game, but it was so fun. We consumed lots of stadium food and chatted the night away.
It’s so much fun having friends close by!

It was a fun night out at the ballgame!

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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
Tags: Food, Friends, Happy, Hiking, Love, Workout

That’s right. Yesterday, I was in the valley of ‘woe is me’, and today, I climbed a mountain.

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.

We hiked a 6 mile trail in the Verdugo Mountains. But we made one wrong turn at the beginning and found this!

We had to turn around and backtrack to find the trailhead.

Once we got going, it was really nice, but the first 2.5 miles were straight uphill. It was HARD!

The incline was killer and seemed to drag on and on. But the views definitely made up for it.

I love seeing LA from up above. It feels so big (especially in traffic), but from up there, it looks so small and quiet.

But this was just the halfway point…And then the climb continued. And continued. And continued.

I was SO thankful for the overcast sky today (I’m not a happy camper in the heat). But we came prepared anyways.

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!

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!

And then finally, we made it. My, how far we’ve come.

That’s what a 2,689ft elevation climb will give you. Check out this elevation map from my Garmin! Straight up and straight down!
mountain

At the top, someone built a chair. And whoever this person is deserves a hug. I LOVE YOU CHAIR!

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.

We did it babe! And it hurts so good! What a workout!

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…

…But I’m staying riiiiiight here. haha

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.

As soon as we sat down, my Garmin chimed ‘6 miles’. I love nice round milage numbers.

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.

We relaxed, and watched the birds pick at the crumbs other people’s kids left behind.

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!

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…

But I preferred to have my chili on the side.

I’m always looking for an excuse to eat Ketchup. yes!

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!

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She Runs LA! March 31, 2011

Filed under: Los Angeles,Running — Kelocity @ 8:47 am

I love running. I’ll never win any marathons or anything, but it doesn’t matter. I still love it. My first marathon was the Nike Women’s Marathon in 2005 when I first moved out to LA. And since then, I’ve completed 13 more full or half marathon races. I started running as a way to meet people and to do something good for myself.

Back in the day, even before I joined Team in Training, I used to run with the Nike Club Team. We’d meet a couple of times a week for 3-5 mile runs around the city. It feels like a lifetime ago, but it was fun. Nike even provided dinner for all the runners each time!

But now, Nike is taking it to the next level. On April 27-28, Nike is hosting a Virtual 10K race. But this isn’t your average 10K. This is Girls Night Out — Nike Style!
Introducing: She Runs LA Powered by Nike+!

From Nike: There’s no start line, no finish line and definitely no skinny guys in short shorts lining up in front of you before the gun goes off. It’s just you, your girlfriends and the city you love to run. And afterwards? Forget the usual free bananas and sports drinks. Nike is hosting a serious celebration, where you’ll trade your sports bra for skinny jeans and live it up with 5,000 college girls from all over the city.

Sign me up! I’ll be participating in this event for sure! (Lots of other bloggers are too!) Who’s with us?

All you have to do is Register Here and run a 10k (anywhere you want) between April 27th and April 28th. Full details on the website. Anyone who registers gets invited to a swanky LA Party (complete with a Red Carpet!) at the Nokia Theater in Downtown LA on April 28th at 7pm. It will be a night of fashion, dancing and a musical guest ‘you won’t want to miss’! They’ve promised celebrity appearances too! EEEeee!

Now I need a new dress…..

If you register, let me know! I’ll be getting up at the crack of dawn on April 28th to run my 6.2 miles. Anyone want to join me?

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EDITED TO ADD: “The first 50 people to respond will have their registration fee waived and will get to be a part of Nike’s first ever digital race, She Runs LA, and see Mike Posner in concert!”

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Photos 101 March 13, 2011

Filed under: Food,Los Angeles,Photography — Kelocity @ 7:14 pm
Tags: Food, Los Angeles, Photography

We completely forgot about the time change last night. We woke up when we woke up, and we plowed through more our to-do list and really didn’t even notice the clocks changed. I guess that’s a good thing. Sometimes it’s nice not having an agenda, you literally loose track of time.

Yesterday, I spent a lot of time on Skype. I talked to my grandparents, my aunt and cousin, and my mom! (Hi Mom!)

Living 3,000 miles from my family is tough, but Skype definitely helps. Thank god for technology!

Last night, Erika and Timmy stayed after our dinner party and we all watched Polar Bear: Spy on the Ice. It was Awesome! It was so cute, and such a good story.

This photo was taken yesterday afternoon, but pretty much summed up the evening.

Be prepared for some better photos on Kelocity. I started stealing Irving’s camera, and I’m not afraid to use it (anymore).

I’m really trying to teach myself about photography and be a little more creative. I’m loving new photos that look like this!

I’m also making the photos a little bigger on the blog and taking away the rounded edges. Let’s try it for a bit and see if we like it, shall we? Let me know if you have any suggestions!

This morning, we headed over to the Americana in Glendale. We just wanted to get outside and stretch our legs for a bit. It was a beautiful morning!

We had a blast strolling around, holding hands and talking about our 10-year plan. haha. We love to dream together.

Speaking of dreaming…. haha

And more photography experimenting.

We worked up an appetite and headed to Acapulco for a champagne buffet brunch. We were seated in between a baby shower and a bachelorette party. But it was still a nice time.

Champagne included? Yes please! We enjoyed ourselves, but didn’t over indulge. The day was still young!

Then we walked around Henry’s, a fantastic grocery store with lots of fresh products. Right when we walked through the door, I saw this! (I bought two!)

They sell lots of things ala cart too. If you want to buy 3 peanuts or a half cup of sugar, you can! Today I grabbed a cup of shredded coconut for some oatmeal this week.

They even sell protein powder by the ounce.

Irving ordered some meat from the butcher and I perused around.

The rest of the afternoon was spent doing our taxes. Not fun. Have a great week everyone!

What’s your #1 camera tip for someone like me who is just figuring out what aperture, F-Stops and Macro settings are?

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Snow in Los Angeles! February 26, 2011

Filed under: Food,Los Angeles — Kelocity @ 7:25 pm
Tags: Candy, Food, Groceries, Los Angeles, Rain

Today was such a strange day for weather in Los Angeles. This morning was bright and sunny, so we went for a morning walk to pick up some Croissants and get some fresh air. Not even two hours after we got back, it started POURING out!

Not a huge deal, because after all, it DOES rain in LA…. but this wasn’t just rain… it was HAIL!

We could actually hear it hitting the windows, it sounded like little pebbles hitting the glass. We both spent the day doing little things around the house and getting things checked off our never-shrinking to-do lists.

Irving took an inventory of our pantry and freezer, since we never know what we have in there. Now we can just glance at it and create meals around it. Very thoughtful and extremely helpful! Hopefully we can keep it updated as we eat items and buy new things.

Armed with a grocery list and a stack of coupons, I headed out (in the rain) to Trader Joes and Ralphs. It was raining, but the sun was shining.
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We did a little ‘divide and conquer’ and Irving headed to Costco. A little while later, he called me to tell me it was SNOWING in Burbank!
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Real snow was accumulating on the road!
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When was the last time it snowed in LA? Not since I’ve lived out here. This was very exciting for us! Real flakes!
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I was just four miles away, and I certainly didn’t see the white stuff, it must have just been a fluke!

Anyways, we both did really well in getting food for the week that can be made into real meals. You know how I have such a complex about meal planning and grocery shopping, but I think we did pretty well.

Wanna know what I got? It’s very exciting stuff (Including some Monterey Pasta since I won a coupon for a free one from Peanut Butter Fingers last fall!)