Kelocity.com

A runner with an appetite for adventure!

Hollywood Bowl: Dudamel! August 6, 2010

Filed under: Friends,Hollywood Events,Los Angeles — Kelocity @ 10:31 pm
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Last night was my 3rd Bowl Night of the summer (here’s night one and night two!)

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We got there a little later than usual, so we didn’t do the usual potluck picnic, but we still brought our dinner to enjoy under the stars. Erika and Timmy and I went to Vons to get Deli Sandwiches. My high school friend, Luca, texted me to place his order: Turkey + Cheese on sourdough with lettuce, avocado and pickles—-well imagine our dismay to find out when we got there that they forgot to put the cheese AND the turkey on the sandwich! How does that even happen?!

hahaha. two thumbs down for Vons.
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Luca didn’t seem to mind too much, but I felt bad! Sorry Luca!
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It was so fun to have a mini high school reunion at the Bowl! Still friends 13 years later!
(Well, I’ve known luca since 5th grade –which is 17 years?!?!)
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Everybody knows that a night at the bowl isn’t complete without a bottle of wine (or two), but the older couple sitting next to us didn’t get the memo. Right when we sat down, the man proclaimed “Geez, I hope they don’t let the music interfere with their drinking.” I was kind of annoyed because my little group of friends is probably more respectful than the average twenty-something. I don’t like being judged. And PS, we split 1.5 bottles between 5 people –hardly the rowdy group!

So I did what any decent person would do, I offered them some watermelon and they obliged. 🙂 Situation remedied. Then he was nice to me for the rest of the show.  Kelley: 1, Rude people: 0.
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PS, after the show, the man told me that he’s been coming to the bowl for 66 years. I told him that I’ve been coming for 6. He smiled and said “ah, well that means you have 60 wonderful years at the bowl to look forward to.” He’s now my friend, I thought that was sweet.

The show was conducted by Gustavo Dudamel (if you haven’t heard of him, watch the piece that 60 Minutes did on him last year, it was phenomenal.)
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He has so much energy and he just LOOKS like he’s having a great time up there, which makes it so much more fun for the audience. He captivates people like I’ve never seen at the bowl. He got standing ovations.

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We had so much fun listening to the awesome music under the stars.
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We always sit way up in the bleachers (really can’t beat $8 tickets)! But I always bring my binoculars with me to get a closer look. (I even offered to let the old man use them, but he declined! See! I’m nice, not rowdy!)

Great night, as usual. I love living in Los Angeles!

 

A Botched Attempt at Tabbouleh! August 5, 2010

Filed under: Food — Kelocity @ 9:32 am

First off, let me tell you that my Lebanese Grandfather makes the BEST tabbouleh in the world.

Picture circa 2006!

Here’s the recipe (I assure you when followed correctly it’s amazing!

[[Recipe Removed…. I have to perfect it!]]

 

Now….had I actually followed my own recipe, this would have ended much better…

Mistake #1: Pulsed too many times, the parsley started to puree! 😦

Mistake #2: Should have chopped the tomato separate instead of adding to the parsley.

It ended up almost the consistency of Pesto….and it still tastes great, but how am I going to eat it?

I wonder if I can just toss it with some pasta or rice and make a ‘pesto’ dish? Why not, right? What do you think? Is there a such thing as Parsley Pesto?

 

Square Ice Cream! August 3, 2010

Filed under: Friends,Happy — Kelocity @ 9:49 pm
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Tonight, Erika and Timmy and Irving and I went for a nice long 4 mile walk through the neighborhood. We were feeling all healthy and good about ourselves for walking… until someone (Irving) mentioned ICE CREAM !

So we took a detour to Rite Aid (don’t laugh) because they have the BEST ice cream there. (Ok, maybe not the best, but pretty good for West Coast ice cream!)

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The best part is they dish it out with a square scoop!
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I got a Chocolate Cherry Chip! Mmmm!
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Friends + Ice Cream + Exercise = YAY!
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——–
Back up to this afternoon… I was on the phone wandering around my condo today, when I found this hidden in our closet!
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A Closer Look!
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Anyone who knows me knows that I am NOT good with secrets. (i.e. I gave Irving his birthday gift two weeks early because I couldn’t WAIT to give it to him.) This is the cruelest thing EVER. It’s torture looking at these nicely wrapped gifts just for ME!

Everyday I have to pull off a post-it not. (As EJ said, it’s like an advent calendar. lol)
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What do you think? Should I listen to Irving and wait to open it? Or behave and wait til I’m officially 27 (in –ahem- 12 days)?

 

Someone’s Birthday…. August 2, 2010

Filed under: Happy — Kelocity @ 4:40 pm

It must be someone’s birthday month! Good thing my email reminds me daily that it’s almost time to celebrate!
Check out all the love! Travel, Pizza, Cupcakes and Pretzels! Happy Birthday to ME (In 13 days!)

 

Content and Happy! August 1, 2010

Filed under: Happy,Home — Kelocity @ 4:52 pm
Tags: ,

I’m turning 27 in a couple of weeks and I am NOT happy about it. I never thought I’d be one of those people who dreaded their birthday, but this year, I’m just not that into it. When I was little I could not WAIT to turn 26. For me, 26 was it. That was a mature, happy age. 27 definitely puts me into my “Late Twenties” and that’s downright scary. How did that happen?

Maybe it’s been all that thinking about it that made me reflect a little bit on my life. Truth is, I’m finally totally content. I have a job I love, a house I’m proud of, a husband I adore, and a (somewhat) healthy lifestyle to boot —and I’ve been lucky enough to do all the traveling that I waited my whole life to do. Yea. I’m pretty lucky.

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So enough with all the negative thoughts that go along with getting older and growing up. A couple of weeks ago I decided to grab my life by the horns and change my attitude. I also knew that I need to organize myself more and try to be less anxious about everything (I’m usually a really anxious person and it’s starting to even drive ME nuts!)

As part of the Operation Beautiful movement, I decided to share my newfound thoughts on the blog.

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Here’s a few things I’ve been doing differently and I’m loving it!

Read More!
I love to read. I love getting lost in a book and staying up really late to finish a book. So if I love it so much, why have not read a single book in months?! Last week, I picked up “Sarah’s Key” by Tatiana de Rosnay and I read the whole thing in 6 days. I didn’t watch much TV and left some of my chores by the wayside and it was glorious! I noticed right away how much calmer my demeanor was. So relaxing.

Run More!
I’m back into marathon training season again! I love having a reason to get out and run. I always feel productive when I got a long run in—even if nothing else gets done. It feels good to put me and my body ahead of everything else sometimes (in moderation of course!) We’ve also been walking more in general lately. I love our 3-mile after dinner walks through the neighborhood. It helps Irving and I connect, chat with friends, and get some fresh air. Can’t argue with that!

Grow Up!
Ugh, for 27 years, I’ve been a habitual nail biter. It was totally embarrassing and immature and I knew I had to get over it! So I made the decision about four months ago to just quit cold turkey –and it worked! I noticed right away how much I calmed down after that. Biting my nails made me anxious and in turn I kept biting them! It was a horrible circle. But now, they are long and pretty and I am SO proud and happy with them!

Try Something New!
Erika and I did a Circus Class a couple of weeks ago and it was awesome to let our inhibitions go and hang upside down on a trapeze for a while. I recommend it to anyone who wants to feel alive again. It was awesome.

Organize the Physical Clutter!
Irving and I are both fans of the motto “A clear desk is a clear mind”. But my little home office has become claustrophobic lately and it’s really unproductive. I can’t get anything done when there’s paper piling up and boxes towering over me. Ew.

Look at all these wires I’ve had to look at on my desk for years now!
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There are so many ‘devices’ that I use on a daily basis! Camera, Garmin, Bluetooth, Phone, Ipod, Blackberry, SD Reader, portable hard drive!

So last night, I dragged Irving to Kohl’s and finally bought a Charging Station for all my ‘stuff’.

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It was perfect!!!
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Each thing now has a place!

Look how nice and clean my desk looks now! (I need art above it though, don’t you think?)
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I may have tamed the wires on TOP of the desk… but UNDER was a different story!
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(We’ll have to work on that!)

I also finally installed my ginormous powerstrip!
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It was almost as tall as ME!
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Part Two of my project was to fix my ugly bookcase and make it prettier!

BEFORE:
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AFTER:
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Side-by-Side
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Better, right? I finally ditched the cardboard boxes. Yuck.

So all this stuff together totally made me find happiness that was in there all along. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve always been a happy, out-going person… but now, I feel content too. And that’s a great feeling.