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A runner with an appetite for adventure!

Happy Birthday, Mikaela! June 15, 2011

Filed under: Family,Happy,Sisters — Kelocity @ 5:00 am
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When I moved across the country almost seven years ago, I thought about how much I’d miss my friends, my town, my traditions and my family, but never really occurred to me just how much I’d miss my sisters. They were still in school when I left and I always felt “so much older” than them (there’s 3 years between me and Mikaela and 5 years between me and Laurie).
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Now that we’re all in our twenties, I miss them more and more. I wish I knew them better and had more inside jokes. I wish I could ask them for advice and bud into their lives and offer them mine. It’s definitely easier with cell phones, skype and facebook, but it’s not perfect. And with 3,000 miles between us, it never will be. All we can do is try our best to stay in touch (something my mom reminds me of c-o-n-s-t-a-n-t-l-y with her “did you call your sisters this week” texts).

Today is Mikaela’s 25th birthday!!!! Happy Birthday!!!!
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When I talked to her last night, she said “25 is soooo old!” Instead of brushing it off, I said, “That’s because we ARE old!” I’m a nice sister, promise!

In honor of her birthday, let’s share some facts, shall we?

FACT: Mikaela insisted on wearing dresses everywhere we went. Even outside to play in the sandbox. She’d ride bikes in her dress, and play in the woods in skirts. That girl loved ruffled socks and pretty bows.

FACT: Back in the day, when getting chicken pox was cool (“when I was your age, kids used to get Chicken Pox!”) we both had them at the same time. Better to put your parents through it as few times as possible I guess.
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FACT: While all her friends were obsessed with cabbage patch kids and barbies, all Mikaela wanted was “a boy doll”. I think she named him Bruce when she finally got one. [UPDATE: The “boy doll” was named BRIAN. It’s been confirmed!]

FACT: She was OBSESSED with dogs. She begged my parents for a puppy for years until they caved and brought home Nikki for her birthday one year!
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Now, she’s a proud mama to Gizmo!
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FACT: She rocked the bowl cut for the first seven years of her life. Heck yea she did! Mikaela, send me a good bowl cut pic so I can show everyone!! Come on, it’ll be fun!

Hope you have the BEST birthday ever!

PS. how cute is this picture of her and Laurie from this week?! LOVE!
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How to Walk to Work June 13, 2011

Filed under: Food,Walking,Workout — Kelocity @ 7:26 pm
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This morning, I made another smoothie using Honey!

  • One cup of frozen berries
  • One cup of vanilla bean yogurt
  • Generous squirt of Honey
  • One scoop of Vanilla protein powder

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Using my favorite mini food processor, I gave it a whirl and enjoyed in my to-go cup!
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The pedometer challenge is going really great. The person with the most total steps by the middle of July wins. I never really thought of myself as being very competitive, but I found myself taking this very seriously! I’m in it to win it. And I want to taste that victory so bad! I walked 14 miles yesterday to close a gap with some of the front runners. And now I’m neck and neck and I plan to stay there! But it’s just not feasible to fit four hour walks into my day, so I have to fit it in where I can.

I stepped up my game this week (no pun intended). I am walking to and from work. It’s 3 miles each way, so just commuting alone will net me six miles! On top of any other walking I do during the day. But walking to work takes some serious planning! It’s a work in progress for me, but here is my plan for success! So far, so good!

1.) Get Up Early
I’m not a morning person, but I also hate being rushed, so I set my alarm earlier than normal, and take my time getting myself together.

2.) Plan for Breakfast
Breakfast on the go is best for me, because I can multi-task. Walking, commuting and eating breakfast all in one! My smoothie today was perfect for the trek. I also packed a granola bar, but didn’t end up needing it.
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3.) Dress for the Walk
I prefer to walk in dri-fit clothes. I’m less sweaty when I get to work, and I just feel better. If I wore jeans on my walk, I’d be uncomfortable and miserable the whole time! Once the weather gets too hot to walk, I might have to take the bus to work, and then walk home. We’ll see. LA is still pretty cool lately, so it’s been nice.

4.) Get a Travel Bag & Pack Light
Purses hurt my shoulders, and a backpack would be too big. So for a six mile walk, I am using my favorite travel purse from Eagle Creek. I rolled up my work clothes and shoved them inside. And I paired down the essentials: keys, credit cards, phone, etc. There isn’t any wiggle room for any unnecessary items (change of shoes, snacks or lunch!)

5.) LUNCH!
This is a tough one. I always bring my lunch. I prefer to spend my money on things other than dining out at lunch (although lately, I’ve been doing it more, and my wallet is feeling it!) This is a major bummer. Unless I want to carry Tupperware containers 10K a day, it just doesn’t make sense. So the tradeoff to walking and saving money on gas is that I have to buy lunch later in the day. One solution may be driving on Mondays and bringing enough lunch to last all week, but I haven’t thought that far ahead yet.

6.) Bring Entertainment
You already know about my obsession with This American Life and NPR in general. The minutes seriously tick by with their stories! But I also have Pandora, Twitter, Emails and my phone to occupy my time. Walking is also a great way to transition from work to play at the end of the day. It’s a natural de-stresser! Irving came to meet me halfway tonight too! That was fun!

 

I’m hoping all of this extra effort will be worth it in the end. Even if I don’t win the contest, I can’t believe how much I’m loving the extra exercise. A body in motion stays in motion, and I just can’t get enough of walking lately! Who am I?!
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Even if you can’t walk to work, you can always walk to a bus or metro station! Or commit to walking before or after work! Or even during lunch!
Hope you guys join the challenge too!

 

Sunday Morning 10 mile walk! June 12, 2011

Filed under: Workout — Kelocity @ 1:00 pm
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I’m in a pedometer challenge, and there’s money in it for the winner. I thought I’d have it IN THE BAG! But some of the participants are giving me a run for my money…. literally! I walk a lot in general. Irving and I think nothing of walking a mile to the grocery store and back. I’m a very active person…. but even the recommended 10,000 steps a day is not enough to win this challenge. So I started stepping it up. I’m walking to and from work now. And walking as much as I possibly can whenever there is time. Since I’m not really running any more, walking has stepped in to fill the void, and I’m in love!
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I set my alarm this morning and drove to my favorite park. My goal for the day: walk 10 miles. I wasn’t walking for time or speed. I was solely walking for exercise, milage… and steps!
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Miles 1-5 were spent listening to “This American Life” on NPR. I caved and bought the TAL app for my phone and I LOVE it! I can’t get enough of that show. If you haven’t heard it before, log on and listen to some. The stories are so well told, and they totally pull you in.
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Miles 5-7 were spent talking on the phone to my mom and sister…. and checking twitter!

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And the final 3 miles were spent listening to Pandora. Oh, I love Pandora too!
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In the end, my 10 miles took me almost three hours. I knew I’d be bored if I didn’t have entertainment to keep me busy. I had my water bottle, garmin, phone, android and pedometer! I was connected today!
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My android phone was fully charged at 7:30 this morning, and by 10:45 when I finished, it was completely dead. Why haven’t they figured out how to have a long battery life on those phones? So annoying.
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So 10 miles translated to about 21,000 steps! I hope that brings me closer to the top of the list in the challenge!

Of course, when I came home, I was starving!!! Good thing I had a stack of pancakes from yesterday to dig into!

 

The Hollywood French Toast Tour

Filed under: Dining Out,Food,Friends,Hollywood Events — Kelocity @ 10:41 am
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I don’t venture “over the hill” often. I love living in the Valley and can’t stand the Hollywood traffic. But I made the drive twice this weekend with one of my favorites! Janet is pregnant and she’s been craving french toast. And when pregnant mama wants french toast, you go with her to get it. TWICE!
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We called this weekend, “The French Toast Tour”, and it all started Friday night at the Larchmont Bungalow.
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This was my second time there, and I loved it the first time, so I was psyched to go back again!
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I looked at the menu, really I did, but really, I knew in my gut the decision was already made. I ordered the red, white and blue pancakes… again! But Janet came for one reason, and one reason only…. french toast. I think she loved the décor just as much as I do!
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We sat outside and chatted for a bit before the food came out. It’s fun dining al fresco on summer nights!
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My pancakes were every bit as amazing as I remembered. It’s such a unique taste, and it’s just so pretty!
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Janet’s french toast looked beautiful too!
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Served with a side of Bacon! Oh man, their bacon was delicious!
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I think we had a happy mama!
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Breakfast for dinner is fun! I ate as much as I could, and still couldn’t eat the blue velvet slice. I saved it for later!
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Friday night dinner with friends!
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Janet liked the french toast, but said she was still dreaming about the Griddle Café. We made plans to go for breakfast the next day for part two of the french toast showdown. Janet arrived promptly at 8am yesterday morning. We wanted to avoid the crazy lines and get in early!
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Our plan worked, we were seated almost immediately! We ordered coffee, which each came in an individual french press! So cool!
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Janet, of course ordered the French Toast. I stole a bite and it tasted like cake! I’ve never tasted anything like it!
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Irving ordered a waffle. It was dense and savory and a little bit sweet.
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And I completed the breakfast item trifecta by ordering the “Mounds of Pleasure” pancakes (coconut and chocolate filled pancakes topped off with whipped cream). I love coconut, so I ordered them. Holy Canoli! This thing was HUGE!
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Three 12-inch pancakes with layers of coconut and chocolate in between. It was the size of a birthday cake. Literally. I can’t even put into words how big this thing was. I was in shock. Right away, I asked for a to-go box. I couldn’t even cut into it, it was so large! I ate about 1/8th of it before being stuffed to the gills. I actually needed a second to-go box just to fit it all in!
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The taste was incredible, but next time, just ONE pancake will do! And even then you could probably split it!

We had a great time, the griddle café is a hollywood legend that must be eaten to be believed. I’ve officially been initiated in!
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Oh, hi Irving!
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So in the end, I think the Griddle Café won for “best tasting french toast”. And it also wins for best tasting and unique flavors of pancakes. And they win for size of pancakes too.

But in my heart, Larchmont wins for prettiest red velvet pancakes.

So much fun, thanks Janet!

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After the Griddle Café, Janet, Chely and I scrapbooked for a solid five hours! I got a few pages done that have been on my to-do list for ages! And when I came home, I took a three-hour nap. Guess I was tired! Can’t think of a better way to spend a saturday: friends, food, scrapbooking and a nap!

 

Walking and Eating…. June 9, 2011

Filed under: Cooking,Family,Food,Workout — Kelocity @ 5:11 pm
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As my mother who lives 3,000 miles would say, “Where have you been?” (Said in a ‘I’ve been looking for you’ tone!)

Oh, I’m here, it’s been a busy week! Here’s what I’ve been up to!

1.) Walking! I’m in a pedometer challenge, and I’m determined to win! Or at least place in the top three! It’s not easy when you’re also competing against New Yorkers! Those guys walk EVERYWHERE! I’ve been walking in the morning and at night. And hiking three miles almost everyday at lunch time! (I aerobically walked 9 MILES yesterday! What?!) It’s all about squeezing it in when you can!

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2.) And that includes walking to the grocery store too! I bought myself some pretty flowers this week!
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3.) Irving’s mom was in town this week! We had fun hanging out! And she brought goodies!! Thanks!!
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4.) Irving whipped up his mom’s famous meatballs (with fresh beef from Harris Ranch!)
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We had quite a nice dinner together! Hi Julie!
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And to top it off, a sweet moscato served on the side!
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5.) I cooked! I actually found a recipe, shopped for ingredients and COOKED. Alert the press!
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I cooked up Jenna’s Greek Stoup! <— Click over there for the recipe! Instead of Alphabet pasta, I opted for Orzo to stick with the Greek Theme.
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Served with some Feta, it was yummy!
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6.) I got The Reader on Netflix and me and Julie watched it last night. Probably not the best movie to watch with your mother-in-law, but hey, if I can see Zumanity with my sister-in-law, we can do anything, right? I really loved The Reader. It was just a good story with an interesting plot. I actually can’t believe we’ll be going to Auschwitz later this year.

7.) And now, our guests have left, and I came home today to find that Irving went to Costco. And he bought me the BEST thing you can possibly by at Costco:
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I LOVE PICKLES!!!!!! I actually finished a jar today! Good timing, babe!

8.) More walking…. I’m walking to Erika’s place soon so I can see the baby again! I am so excited to have a new baby to play with!!! She’s the CUTEST thing, and only four days old today! So excited!