Happily Ever After...

Walnut Creek

2010-12-14T22:45:00.000-08:00

Kelly took some amazing photos on a recent visit to Walnut Creek park just 10 minutes north of our house. Please go to my flickr page to share an afternoon in the park with Snoops:
www.flickr.com/photos/oliviaohare/sets/72157625476639603/

Leaving LA

2010-09-05T20:41:00.001-07:00

This post is long over due. Maybe I waited so long because I couldn't fully admit that I had really moved away. Until just recently it kept feeling like I was just on a long vacation and any day I would return to Silverlake and Bodyscape and Gold's Gym Downtown and all the cool places I had gotten accustomed to spending time with friends. Moving back to Texas was definitely the right thing to do and it has been amazing to reconnect with family and friends but knowing that has not made it easier. I miss all my LA friends terribly. In fact, the only thing I don't miss about LA is our awful, broken down apartment (though I do miss our neighbors and the neighborhood).

Please have a look at my flickr page to see a retrospective of photos from our last month in La La Land: www.flickr.com/photos/oliviaohare/sets/72157624541244006/with/4810569909/
Many of these photos have been published on FB already but there is something particularly affecting about seeing all the little thumbnails on one page. I just teared up looking at them and thinking of everyone. It was an amazing last month and I am so thankful for all the going away dinners and parties. Okay, now I'm crying...

April 2010

2010-05-09T02:01:00.000-07:00

April was an eventful month. Check out my Flickr page to see what I've been up to (couldn't figure out how to combine them so there are two albums worth):
www.flickr.com/photos/oliviaohare/sets/72157623897812719/
www.flickr.com/photos/oliviaohare/sets/72157623879253457/

Road Trip: Ladies Only

2010-04-14T22:58:00.000-07:00

Beth and I recently went on a road trip up the Pacific Coast Highway. It was one of those whirlwind trips where we took no breaks. It was the opposite of rest and relaxation. It was exactly fun and exciting! We saw European antiquities, lounging elephant seals, sat in a hot tub on a cliff at 1 am, walked around outdoors, saw a waterfall, climbed a big hill in search of Italian food, visited with family, saw a movie, rode in a cable car, shopped for chotskies, drank hot chocolate, watched hippies dance, had an anxiety attack, visited with friends, went to prison, and watched a prison movie. The perfect trip for two thirty-something ladies who are more likely to over eat sour patch kids then drink too much. You can see all our photos on Flickr.
I finally set up a Flickr page!
www.flickr.com/photos/oliviaohare/sets/72157623704935133/

Day One

Neptune's Pool:
waiting for our second tour:
We left LA Wednesday night around 6:30 pm and arrived in San Simeon at 11:30 pm where we stayed at a cheapy cheap Motel 6 with a bunch of Russian tourists (some of whom like to hover a little too close in the lobby - ugh). The next morning we woke up early and headed over to Hearst Castle. We did tours 1 and 2. Tour 1 was packed. It is the tour the website recommends for people who have never been before and takes you through one of the guest houses, some of the gardens, the main hall, dining room, and both pools. Tour 2 was just us and a family of four. This tour takes you through the main bedrooms, Hearst's office, library, the kitchen, and many other smaller rooms in the main house. Because it was such a small group we got to go off the tour carpet and see things up close - super cool! We also got to ask as many questions as we wanted. The docent had an answer for every question. She must really love Hearst Castle. There is also a movie that is not very informative and glosses over any potentially negative aspects of Hearst's life. Needless to say I found the film boring and problematic. Everything else was super impressive and ridiculously lavish. After all the decorative artifacts and antiquities, the kitchen turned out to be my favorite. It was a little kid's dream complete with fake food.
After our Hearst Castle extravaganza, we moved on up to Big Sur. After checking in to our very cute, little cabin we went to eat at Nepenthe, a restaurant with an amazing view of the Pacific. We then headed back to our cabin where we ate candy and watched Disney's Princess and the Frog. At 12:30 am we left the cozy cabin to go to Esalen Retreat. Esalen is a new age resort that has spring fed baths built into the side of a cliff. The baths are only open to people not staying at the resort from 1-3 am. So, we went from 1 until around 2:30 am. It was fabulous sitting in the hot tub in the moonlight listening to the ocean. Then sleepy time.

Day Two
hike to Pfeiffer Falls:
After a quick breakfast in the cabin, we made our way to Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park. There we discovered a lovely hike to a waterfall and then made our way up and up and up to a scenic overlook of the valley. Hiking up a steep hill is hard!
Around 2 pm it started to drizzle so we decided to drive on to San Francisco and see if we could beat the Friday afternoon traffic. The traffic was bad and finding our hotel in Union Square was an adventure. Our only option upon arrival was to valet with a man who didn't speak very good english and managed to be very confusing. In the end, I gave him my keys and we agreed to avoid any more driving until it was time to go back to LA. We checked into our tiny box of a room with two televisions and a strangely palatial bathroom (almost as big as half the main room). We got changed and began our walk to meet Debbie, Sean, Heather, and Fati for dinner at a highly recommended Italian restaurant. Heather had told us we might want to take a cab because it was kind of hilley. Bah! Hills don't frighten us. We just hiked up a big hill a few hours earlier without much difficulty why should we be intimidated by the hills of San Francisco. Ugh. Beth wore heels cause she wanted to look cute for dinner. Bad idea. The hill was one of the steepest I've ever encountered. Like one of those water slides that plunges straight down. We made it over the hill. It wasn't that bad after all but walking up hill in heels was pretty awful so we agreed to catch a ride back after dinner. To finish the evening we went to see Alice In Wonderland at a theatre near our hotel.

Day Three
Hippie Hill:
Alcatraz Night Tour:

This was our day to explore San Francisco. We took the bus over to Haight-Ashbury where we ate crepes for breakfast in one of the many crepe places in the area. Then we went browsing in the shops on Haight Street where I bought a Misfits t-shirt and a cool, black sweater with sequined ribbons on it. Once we had our fill of tie dye, believe me I was tempted to buy some tie dyed pants, we headed over to Golden Gate Park where we sat for a few hours on Hippie Hill. There we watched the hippie boys drum in their drum circle while the hippie girls danced in their long, broomstick skirts, tu tus, and lace tights. Next we took the tram over to Fisherman's Wharf where we met my best friend from elementary school, Carolyn, and her wife, Becca. We ate dinner with them at Boudin Sourdough Bakery and Cafe where I had the fabulously, over-sized, clam chowder in a bread bowl. After stuffing ourselves silly, we ran over to the Alcatraz tour boat and rode over to Alcatraz Island for the night tour - very cool. We even got to see the hospital wing in the main building - super creepy. I highly recommend it. One would think we would be done with being out for the day, but no. We walked a long way and finally caught a bus to the Castro where we ate a late night snack and walked amongst the locals. Finally, at around midnight we made it back to our hotel and watched Bronson until 2:30 am. The next day we got up and had breakfast with Debbie and Sean. Then we took the loonnnnggggg drive home.

So Sassy!

2010-04-13T02:03:00.000-07:00

I stole this from GayestEver.com because I love it:

Yosemite Trip - February 2010

2010-03-08T23:39:00.000-08:00

What a fantastic trip! If you have not been to Yosemite in the winter you should put it on your to do list for a long weekend holiday. Kelly and I went with our good friends Monte and Roberto and stayed three nights in a private, three story cabin in West Yosemite. For the last night, we stayed in a Yosemite Valley in a room with a waterfall view at the Lodge and Roberto and Monte stayed in the Boys Town section of Curry Village. Each night we made fabulous, healthy meals which we balanced out with plenty of wine, chosen by Kelly, and homemade brownies, courtesy of Monte. When we weren't snowshoeing or looking at waterfalls we were relaxing in the cabin, doing as little as possible. We all agreed we could have stayed a few days longer. Below I have included some of my favorite photos - mostly silly ones. I hope you will also visit Monte's Flicker page to see more beautiful scenery/cabin photos: www.flickr.com/photos/theslayer/sets/72157623420568797/

Ready to snowshoe - we rented our "shoes" in Badger Pass and followed one of the cross-country trails up toward an open meadow:
Funny shoes:
Doesn't our walking look authentic and not at all posed:
Making friends with a smiley bear in the Valley store:
Time for hugs:
Stretching and reading - our before dinner ritual:
At Tunnel View:
O'Shaugnessy Dam at Hetch Hetchy Reservoir:
The boys - what is Kelly doing back there?:
Waterfall!:
Our cabin - it snowed starting Friday afternoon until Saturday afternoon:
Yosemite Falls:
Dinner at the Mountain Room at Yosemite Lodge - Roberto got the chicken:
Monte got the meatloaf:
I got the pasta with cheese sauce, portobello mushroom and English peas:
Kelly got the arctic char:
So much good food, relaxing hikes, and happy times.

I heart Johnny Weir.

2010-02-19T00:12:00.000-08:00

Holiday Greetings from Bodyscape

2009-12-03T23:17:00.000-08:00

Here are some photos from our holiday card photo shoot - the theme this year was Victorian/Dickensonian Christmas - the serious one is for the cover, silly one for the inside:

Dinner at Milon

2009-12-03T23:07:00.000-08:00

It worked! I was finally able to upload this clip of dinner with Deepti and Michael at the wacky Indian restaurant, Milon. I didn't know it but Michael had told them it was my birthday so we could see the lovely light show. Note my outright lie to Deepti who is so genuinely surprised, "Today is your birthday? - Uh huh. - Why didn't you tell me?"

New York Trip

2009-11-17T00:16:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago I went to NYC just for fun. The trip was very short - I left LA Friday morning at 6:30 am and returned Monday at 11 pm. The only thing I had planned in advance was who I would see and when. The where and what we would do developed as we went along. It felt really good to be free of responsibility and without big expectations. My godmother, Judd, and my good friend, Michael, made sure I always felt safe and taken care of. I got to see so many great friends - some of who I haven't seen in years. Let the journey begin:

Judd in the park on Staten Island - check out those awesome above the knee, purple suede boots!

Judd's daughter, Mimi, at the Tottenville train station - so glad I got to see Mimi again! Last time I saw her she was 10 now she's 16.
At the train station with me newly adorned work jacket - Judd covered the old Breakthru Fitness insignia with antique, mother of pearl buttons
Tomme met me in Chelsea - we drank sangria with lunch
Michael met up with us and had a margarita - we realized after ordering maybe a pitcher for all would have been a more cost effective choice
Michael and Tommy in the East Village - I told them to stretch and this is what they did

the dress I wish I would have bought - tried it on and got encouragement from the boys but opted out because of the $178 price tag
Michael, ironically, had a gift certificate to a vintage glasses store - little did he know I have become a glasses collector - I bought new frames, he did not
I highly recommend Fabulous Fannie's if you are in NYC and looking for vintage frames
East Village
the best ear muffs ever at the coolest punk rock/vintage store ever, Search and Destroy
That's right, I bought those panda ear muffs. Then I wore them in a dive bar while drinking a Maker's and Diet Coke.
Michael didn't have fun ear muffs and bourbon, just beer - note the less happy expression
Michael at Milon - this Indian restaurant wins the award for coolest lighting ever - every inch of the cieling was covered with dangling Christmas lights
Deepti met us for dinner - she described the plan for her sister's wedding that will happen in India next summer - Michael and I dreamed of going to experience an authentic Indian wedding
Michael lied and said it was my birthday - they strobed the lights and played an awesome birthday song - this was supposed to be a video but I haven't figured out how to make it work
the lights hang low enough that Michael's head was engulfed by them when he stood up
one white rose
Kevin and Chris met up with us at the Sly Fox - Kevin works at the MoMA and had some great stories about past exhibitions - Chris and his wife will be having baby soon!
Cole, Michael and I in the men's restroom - yes, Michael wrote on the mirror
Yes, Michael wrote on the wall

Michael and Cole waiting for the train back to Brooklyn

painting on the wall outside the Wimpee's apartment left there from Marfa Lights
loading the truck full of flats
Cole and Casey's apartment in Brooklyn
the yard where they do performances and have bon fires
unloading the truck at the storage space in Harlem
Harlem condos
the Texas burger - after very little sleep and lots of manual labor
the California Salad - after very little sleep and lots of sitting and watching boys do manual labor
Cheesecake
the Standard NY on the High Line - a sort of park/walkway that was built along an overgrown, abandoned rail line
lots of futuristic, blue lighting on the High Line

interesting window display in a super fancy store
chips and margaritas for dinner
main door to a hipster loft apartment building in Bushwick

the street in Bushwick - not many people around - just the occasional guy on a skateboard or girl with a big backpack and high heeled boots
the loft we went in was an unusual catacomb of boxlike rooms - nine people lived in one left - each one had there own box
Ishaq came out to meet us in Brooklyn
this is our expression right after Michael almost fell over backwards from leaning too far back to get a wider shot
Casey and Michael "smiling" - awkward
Michael's apartment in Brooklyn - thanks for letting me stay, Michael!

Judd's dogs - Lulu and Bucky - they go everywhere together, side by side - too cute
Judd outside her house - thanks for letting me stay, Judd!

The return trip literally took me from 9:30 am until 12:30 am that Monday. I began by leaving with Michael and taking the train from Brooklyn into Manhatten. Michael helped me figure out which train to take to get to Battery Park. Then I took the Staten Island Ferry from Battery Park to Staten Island where I got on the train and rode it all the way to the last stop, Tottenville. I then walked a few blocks to Judd's house where I had a few hours to lay down. Judd came home from work and soon after we drove to the airport where I waited 3.5 hours then flew from Newark to LAX. Upon arriving, I found the Super shuttle, waited for the one to my neighborhood and finally rode home. It was a long day but definitely worth it for the great time I had that weekend visiting with all my fabulous friends and family.

Halloween Horror NIghts

2009-10-16T21:06:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday we went to the Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood. Saw was the main theme this year - not as scary as last year when it was Texas Chainsaw Massacre but still fun. There were lots of people in pig-face masks running around with chainsaws and a ton of zombies creeping around. It was great having Beth and Steve with us. We all took turns getting genuinely surprised in the scare zones and mazes. A high point was definitely the Terror Tram that takes you into the backlot. We got to walk past the hotel and house from Psycho and the crashed airplane from War of the Worlds. There were many very scarey performers throughout the tour. We even got our photo taken with Norman Bates! Beth convinced me to go on Jurassic Park in the Dark. You are guaranteed to get wet on this ride but we avoided getting soaked. I ate corn on the cob and Kelly got a humungous glazed doughnut with pink icing from Krusty the Klowns bakeshop. It was big enough to split four ways and still have at least one or more whole average-sized doughnuts worth. One downfall of a number of the events was the overuse of random water sprayers. The spray was supposed to be spit or blood expelled by the performers. Annoying! I got more wet from the random "blood spurts" than I did on the water raft ride. By the end we were all saying, "More scaring, less spraying!" Even so, days later I found myself thinking I would like to go back and do it again.

Yosemite Trip

2009-09-18T23:00:00.000-07:00

Last week, September 13-17, we had a fabulous time in Yosemite National Park. Sunday we drove up and stayed in Oakhurst near the south entrance. Before heading into the park the next day we ate breakfast at a place where Kelly likes to get chicken fried steak and we went to the local gym. The day rate was only $7 and they had everything one would need to have a good workout. After our weight lifting fix we drove all the way to the north side of the park near Hetch Hetchy Reservoir where we checked into a little cabin at the Evergreen Lodge. I highly recommend staying here if you want to avoid the crowd in the valley and still be in the park. The drive from Oakhurst is so windey I always got motion sickness on past trips. This time I didn't get sick once because we were able to avoid extreme elevation changes. After a few nights in the cabin, we made our way to the valley where we stayed one night in Yosemite Lodge. It was us and all the Germans - I mean all the Germans. It was very crowded and much hotter than when we were up at Hetch Hetchy. Still enjoyable and the restaurant was excellent. The last day we drove the entirety of the Tioga Pass and came out on the east side where we then drove down through Mammoth. Each day we did at least one 3-4 hour hike. Then we spent time just walking around near our cabin or in the room where Kelly made music or we watched movies on my new laptop. Yosemite is definitely one of our favorite places.

drinking coffee with the bowling pin people at Oakhurst's Kountry Kitchen:

in the meadow where Kelly proposed:

making field recordings:

stopping along the Tioga Pass near White Wolf:

hiking to Lukens Lake:

Carlon day use area near Hetch Hetchy:
hiking to Carlon Falls:

ran into a herd of cows on the way back to our car:

after dinner at the Mountain Room at Yosemite Lodge:

after our most difficult hike up to May Lake:

More Six FLags

2009-08-10T00:31:00.000-07:00

MOnte sent me some more photos from our SIx Flags adventure.

Six Flags Adventure

2009-08-07T23:04:00.000-07:00

Yes, we went to Six Flags Magic Mountain again. This was Kelly's third visit of the summer. Our friends Roberto and Monte accompanied us on this trip. We rode all our favorites and didn't wait longer than about thirty minutes. It was late Sunday afternoon into the evening and the whether was great. Kelly went ahead and bought a season pass this time. I'm confident we will be back again.

Monte on the merry-go-round

neon green carnival pickles make the boys act silly
stranded on Colossus-one of the young employees running the ride hit the E-Stop button (i.e. emergency stop) and got us stuck half way up the first climb-we lived but never got to complete the ride-we did, however, get to walk on the side rail out of the ride and hear stories about people who have died at the park in recent years from our teenage guide
last coaster of the night-Dejavu-by this time I was done and definitely not interested in the ride that goes high speed forwards and reverse-the boys loved it-maybe I'll try t next time if we do it early in the day

Dinner in Malibu

2009-08-07T22:48:00.000-07:00

Kelly took Saturday night off so we could spend a whole day together. We drove to Malibu just in time to have dinner on the beach. Afterwards we went to see the new Park Chan Wook's movie, Thirst. It was the first time we saw a movie in Korea town. It was a great little theatre that reminded us of the Dobie (with Asian friendly concessions). Thirst was entertaining but the story was unfocused and the main female character was not likeable. That said, I think we lost some of the stories impact because we did not speak the language. Numerous women around us were in tears at the end and we were unaffected. Would love to get an impression of the film from a friend who speaks Korean.

Malibu Seafood-fabulous!

we ate squid steak, clam fries, clam chowder, and fried oysters

Gogark Visit

2009-08-07T21:59:00.000-07:00

afternoon at the children's museum with Xander and Megan-Xander loves cars, trucks, and airplanes

afternoon in La Cienega Park-Snoops enjoys being outside in the sunshine
Paul, Bailey, and Snoops-Snoops likes Bailey, especially when she drops her lunch on the ground
Snoops was very popular at the park-even Anastasia could not resist his charms

Megan and Xander on the go

Anastasia's Birthday

2009-07-19T14:08:00.001-07:00

Had a fabulous night celebrating Anastasia's birthday last night. Had Korean BBQ at a place called Chung Ki Wa in Korea town and then went to Akbar for dancing.

Black Metal

2009-07-19T14:00:00.001-07:00

Last Sunday, Kelly and I went to see the ambient/black metal band Wolves in the Throne Room at The Knitting Factory in Hollywood. I was reminded of being twelve and listening to tapes of death metal I recorded off of pirate radio. Kelly got us ear plugs which made the evening more enjoyable for me. The one thing I was not looking forward to was my ears ringing the next day. The ear plugs worked - no damage done. My favorite part of the event was all the super dramatic hand gestures the audience made throughout as if casting dark spells.

Holiday Weekend

2009-07-07T00:48:00.000-07:00

July 4th weekend turned out to be excellent. Friday night Beth and I went to the LA County Museum of Art. We spent almost four hours there and covered the contemporary art, Japanese pavilion, and the Ahmanson building. Afterwards we ate at the M Cafe-one of our favorite places. Loved the fudge cake I got but it kind of gave me a stomach ache after eating The Big Macro veggie burger and macrobiotic fries. Fabulous!
Saturday, after I went to work at Bodyscape, my friend Roberta and her husband, Victor met me at the Laemmle Playhouse in Pasadena. We saw Moon with Sam Rockwell. It was methodical and suspenseful at times. Sam Rockwell was funny and endearing. Not my favorite movie of the year (Up is still the winner so far) but enjoyable and worth seeing. Then we went to California Pizza Kitchen for a snack and split a goat cheese pizza. Soon after eating, we rushed back over to the theatre and saw Away We Go. It was sweet but took second to Moon for the day.
Sunday Kelly and I went to Six Flags Magic Mountain and rode extreme roller coasters for five hours. It was awesome. We got there around 5 pm and stayed until it closed at 10 pm. The lines got progressively shorter the later into the evening it got giving us time to ride one coaster after another. The Tatsu, which dangles you face down away from the rails the entire time (accepting the loops and spirals in which you face up, down and all around) was my top pick. Second was the Goliath - a smooth enjoyable ride with insanely steep slopes. My least favorite was the X2 in which your head gets knocked around and finally slammed against the headrest at an intensity that makes you think you might just have a concussion. For dinner, I had a roasted cob of corn and Kelly had a turkey leg and we split some fries.
What a great weekend!

Embodiment in Education Intensive

2009-06-21T14:22:00.000-07:00

I recently returned from a week long intensive entitled Embodiment in Education: Professional Development for Dance/Movement Educators with Susan Bauer (movingoncenter.org/SomEd.htm). We explored using somatics as a resource for deepening understanding of human anatomy and developing physical awareness through movement and touch. It was an extra special treat because I got to share this time with Pat. It has been at least four years now since we got to spend a good amount of time together and it was great to catch up. Also, I was happily surprised by how well the group of participants fit together. Everyone came from varied backgrounds with an impressive list of experiences and education. The facilitator, Susan, did a great job of sharing her knowledge while still leaving room for everyone to learn from each other. I am very thankful that I went.
Pat and I on the first day:
processing time:
Carol and Qilo:
Kim and Pat being silly with Mr. Bones:
Susan in teacher mode:
Pat and Effie - Supermodels!:
Kim and I randomly wearing matching outfits (it happened the next day, too):
Lunchtime naptime:
Pat, Carol, and Petra lounging:
All of us together on the last day:

Random Cuteness

2009-06-10T19:54:00.000-07:00

Haven't spent much time on the computer lately since I've been feeling tired all the time. Not sure if it has to do with allergies, pollution, or just not getting enough sleep. Been working a lot and can't seem to get out of the habit of staying up until 2 or 3 am. Hoping it will pass soon.
Many fun things have happened since our trip to Hawaii that I have not written about. The short list: super fancy dinner at Tavern with Kelly (if you live in LA you must go there at least once), dinner with Beth and Steve at Elf, seeing Miss Coco Peru with Anastasia one weekend and Kimmy the next, lots of vegetarian food outings with Kimmy, a walk in Griffith Park with Kelly and Snoops, saw Beth in Badabing! at Acme with Roberto and Monte, went back to Irish dance class...
Also, we watched our friend Nate's dog Alister for four days - he's a corgi/border collie mix. Too cute!

Snoops
Alister

Kauai Vacation: Day Eight

2009-05-10T20:10:00.000-07:00

Our last day in Kauai was my actual birthday. I turned 32 years old. It was an uneventful day that included packing and checking out; breakfast buffet; viewing of a statue commemorating the people who worked the sugar plantations; eating at Bubba's Burgers; shave ice; and driving around Kapaa. Overall it was a fantastic trip. I'm glad we chose to go there again and hope that someday we will go back.

statue of plantation workers from different cultures

shave ice and gross chocolate covered frozen banana

Kauai Vacation: Day Seven

2009-05-10T19:47:00.001-07:00

On this day, we went on a boat ride up the Napali Coast. It was an awesome birthday present to me from Kelly. We got a view of the coast of the forbidden island of Malakai and a number of historical landmarks along the west side of Kauai where it is believed to be the first place the Hawaiian people settled. I loved hearing some of the history of the island and seeing where people once lived. It is quite impressive the terrain they had to navigate to make life possible in certain areas. We also got to see missile launching pads on one of the government controlled beaches that is closed to the public. Apparently they do weapons testing there sometimes. It was fun to see some areas we have hiked on before from the ocean. You get a different appreciation for the landscape seeing it from afar rather than hiking right in the middle of it.

We took the morning tour which is 6 1/2 hours and includes continental breakfast, snorkeling, lunch, and drinks. It seemed like a good idea to go the first half of the day so that we would have the rest of the day to do other things. My suggestion to anyone who goes on one of these tours - make sure you are a morning person who loves snorkeling if you choose the morning option. Otherwise, the sunset tour sans snorkeling would be a better choice. We ended up not snorkeling, even though other people did, because the water was quite choppy and the current was strong due to all the recent rain. We did have an excellent time taking in the sights and it was a unique experience; however, the initial check-in time was 7:15 am which meant we woke up at 6 am to be there on time. By the time we got off the boat and back to our hotel we were exhausted and ended up taking a nap for most of the rest of the day light hours (as is evidenced by the lack of any photos for that day after the boat trip). So, our logic for doing the morning tour was a bit faulty.

view from the boat

Kelly watching people snorkel - it didn't look very fun

Kauai Vacation: Day Six

2009-05-10T19:08:00.000-07:00

The sixth day we were excited to go to the north shore again. Along the way we stopped off at the one quilt store on the island and got a Hawaiian pillow kit for my mom. Then we made our way through Hanalei where we stopped to eat at the Dolphin Fish Market again. We then went to Annini Beach where the water is always quite calm and it is perfect for snorkeling. After spending awhile there, we went to the end of the road to Ke'e Beach. This beach is known for sea turtle and seal sightings. There was a seal lounging on the beach while we were there. We timed our stay at the beach so that we would make it to Postdards Cafe right when it opened at six o'clock. There was no wait and we got a parking space right outside the door since we were the first people there that day. If you ever go to Kauai I highly recommend you try Postcards. All the food they serve is organic and locally grown and amazingly tasty.

Kapaia Stitchery
driving through Hanalei
Dolphin Fish Market

Annini Beach

Ke'e Beach

on the porch at Postcards Cafe

grilled walu with garlic mashed potatoes, broccoli, beet and raspberry relish, and lilicoi relish

Kauai Vacation: Day Five

2009-05-10T18:34:00.001-07:00

Day five we headed over to the National Tropical Botanical Gardens. It was only about 15 minutes from our hotel and it was nice to not have to drive too far before being at our destination. They have two large gardens to choose from. In order to see Allerton Garden you must sign up for a 2 1/2 hour guided tour. We decided to go with McBryde Garden because it is self-guided and you can choose whether you wan to stay for an hour or more. After buying our tickets, we headed over to the shrimp truck and split a plate of shrimp scampi for breakfast. We got back to the garden and waited for the bus the takes you onto the grounds. It turned out we had missed the McBryde bus and waited for the Allerton bus for almost 30 minutes - that sucked. We decided we would just wait for the next bus since we had already been there so long. It was definitely worth the wait. We had a great time strolling around. It rained lightly most of the time but never got unbearable.
After that we went to see if we could get a look inside Kauai's Hindu Temple but it was closed to the public by the time we got there. Along the way, we stopped to visit an ancient Hawaiian temple as well as a birthing stone and a space where they used to perform human sacrifices. We also discovered a hidden Japanese cemetery on a hill top near the birthing stone.
For dinner, we ate at the Bull Shed where steak and potato is the specialty. Back at the hotel we sat in the hot ub for awhile and then we were done for the night.

outside the ticket center and gift shop at National Tropical Botanical Gardens
McBryde Garden

creepy bush hand

view from the road near the Hindu Temple
human sacrifice place
hidden cemetery
mai tai at the Bull Shed

Kauai Vacation: Day Four

2009-05-06T22:47:00.001-07:00

We got up a bit later on day four. Went to the famous shrimp truck owned and operated by a nice lady who had a vision that God wanted her to move to Kauai. Now she has lived there and made shrimp scampi everyday from 11 am until 2 pm in the back of her truck for 8 years - not so bad. After splitting a plate of shrimp we stopped off at the market where we met up with a big, old duck that reminded us of a reincarnated homeless man. Then we drove up the east side to the north shore. At the Dolphin Fish Market in Hanalei, we got sushi rolls and sat next to the river to eat. It is the most awesome fish market ever-especially if you're a fish face like Kelly. We made our way to Haena Beach where we lounged in the sand and went in the ocean. At the end of the road, we stopped off at one of the wet caves and then drove into Princeville to check out Bali Hai. Then it was back to Duane's Ono Charburger for a Duane's Special with Onion Rings...again...we split it...don't judge. Once we got back to our hotel we got cleaned up and went to the Grand Hyatt for drinks at the hotel bar. We had a great time sipping our drinks on the veranda and then walking around through the huge maze of pools.

old man duck - will eat anythingsurfer lady with her plethora of dogs paddling down the Hanalei River
fish face
I ate Subway that day but realized I liked the spicy tuna roll
view from Haena Beach

yippee for outdoor showers!

wet caves near Napali Coast hike
Bali Hai
Charburger
creepy swan in the dark at the Grand Hyatt resort in Poipu
1950s horror film face
dead body pose
interpretive posing with sculpture at the Hyatt

Kauai Vacation: Day Three

2009-05-06T21:17:00.001-07:00

Day three got off to a good start again with miso soup and a visit to the fitness center for stretching and a brief workout. We then headed west for a day of hiking in Kokee State Park. Along the way we stopped in Hanapepe where we ate in a dive of a restaurant where the locals were not too friendly and on the way out of town we discovered a strange sort of "art installation" on the side of the road. Someone had amassed a large number of stuffed animals of varying sizes which they shoved into the bushes. They had obviously been there awhile and endured quite a lot of rain. We found it fascinating and worthy of many photos (quite a few more than are posted here). Then we found our way up to Waimea Canyon and all the way up to Kokee State Park. I had been talking about hiking into Alakaii Swamp for weeks so that's where we headed. We took the Polahale Trail in toward the swamp and saw so many people coming out with mud splattered up to their knees that we decided to just enjoy the view from where we were. It had been quite rainy so I was not expecting to get too far anyway. The Napali Coast was visible from our vantage point until the clouds started to roll in obscuring the view. On our way back down to Poipu we stopped off at the Hale Manu Trail and strolled down hill for awhile before we started to feel drizzle and headed back up to the car. That night we ate Puka Dog (hot dogs with tropical fruit relish and garlic sauce) for dinner, had Lappert's ice cream, and then went for a dip in the hotel pool before returning to our room for the evening.

that's right, miso soup again - this time sans dried seaweed wafers
creepy stuffed animal art

Waimea Canyon

Napali Coast from Polahale Trail

clouds rolling in
the climb back up from the edge of the swamp

Kelly's many facial expressions

Hale Manu Trail plus light rain
Puka Dog polish sausage with mango relish and hot garlic sauce - what?
Lappert's Ice Cream - peanut butter cup for me and Kona coffee crunch for Kelly
headed to the pool

Kauai Vacation: Day Two

2009-04-29T20:02:00.000-07:00

Because it is three hours earlier there we were able to manage waking up super early on the first day without trying too hard. The breakfast buffet at the hotel had a miso soup bar which they let Kelly have for $2.50 since he didn't want anything else. I had oatmeal only. It was a good start considering I knew we would be eating a lot of junk throughout the week. Then it was off to the fitness center for stretching and a light workout. After changing into our swimsuits we headed over to the pool near our room. Then we decided to go for a ride up the east side of the island and figured we might stop for snorkeling somewhere along the way. Unfortunately, it started raining and then it started raining a lot. We kept driving a ways and stopped off at our favorite local burger stand, Duane's Ono Charburger, where we always get the Duane's Special with onion rings. Then we headed back to the hotel and made it just in time for free mai tais and hula show next to the ocean. After that we went to Roy's Hawaiian fusion - excellent but very filling and pricey. (just in case you didn't realize - if you double click on the photos it will enlarge them so you can see more details)

miso soup
oatmeal
stretching outside the fitness center
Chihuly glass sculpture in the lobby
the alabaster skin of the Irish
Betsey Johnson bathing suit
ordering our Duane's Special
rain
the best burger and onion rings ever
more rain
Where are the free mai tais?
Oh, there they are.
view from the hotel beach at sunset
grilled portabello mushroom and garlic mash
us outside Roy's

Kauai Vacation: Day One

2009-04-28T22:37:00.000-07:00

We went to Kauai last week. For eight days. It was awesome. We took over 450 photos. I have decided to try to post my favorites from each day over the next week.
The first day we arrived in Lihue at 4:30 pm and found our way to our hotel in Poipu. The Sheraton turned out to be very nice and not overcrowded at all. By the time we checked in it was already dinner time so we went to eat at The Beach House per Lia's recommendation. Beautiful ocean view (which was mostly lost on us because we arrived right as it got dark but it was lovely none the less).
at the airport after receiving our complimentary flower leis
Kelly drinking a pina colada at The Beach House in Poipu
me with torches after dinner
our room - king sized beds are way cool

New Glasses

2009-04-05T18:46:00.001-07:00

That's right I got new glasses and they are awesome. Didn't think I could be enticed by anything other than Francis Klein but LA Eyeworks got me hooked with these. Aside from the initial joy of the sparkliness, one major selling point was when Katie O'Connell (store owner's sister) said, "It's like a party on your face!" Sold!
It had been a year since the last pair and I have discovered that glasses are my new addiction. I will try to limit myself to one per year...we'll see if I can make it that long. There is a new pair of Francis Klein's calling my name at Society of the Spectacle...Enjoy the latest addition to my collection.

An Irish Dance Drama

2009-03-26T22:57:00.000-07:00

Soon after Kelly's parents left my Mom arrived. I am so glad she came to visit and got to see me dance in the epic "Sean and Nua" - thanks, Mom!

St. Patrick's Day Dancing

2009-03-26T22:37:00.000-07:00

Kelly's folks came to visit last week and were kind enough to come watch me and my lovely "Irish" lady friends do some step dancing at the Farmer's Market in Hollywood. Hawk also made it out to see us - yippee! We danced to live music provided by Jerry McLean and Blackthorne Aire. It was a rowdy crowd and made for an enjoyable St. Patty's Day.

My old favorite video...

2009-03-08T11:45:00.000-07:00

Be sure to turn the playlist off before watching.

My new favorite video...

2009-03-08T11:41:00.000-07:00

You will not regret watching this. Thank you Stacey for sharing.

Kelly's Birthday

2009-02-24T22:38:00.000-08:00

Kelly and I celebrated his 30th birthday on February 12th. I made Guinness chocolate cupcakes with cream cheese icing from scratch - awesome recipe - I will be making it again next year. Then we went to eat at a new place in Glendale called Palate. It is a full restaurant and wine bar with small plates - this means you get to taste a little bit of a lot of different things. Two of Kelly's friends, Brandon and Kyle, work in the wine bar and gace us lots of great suggestions on what to order. We got the porkfolio (an all pork charcuterie plate); potted berkshire pork; octopus a la plancha, cannellini beans, spicu salsiccia, and tomato fonduta; scallops, cauliflower, grapefruit, and mission olives; pork belly, sweet potato hash, savoy cabbage, and pancetta; and the gnocchi with pork cheeks, braising greens, and sugar snap peas. Wow! That's a lot of pork! Not the healthiest meal maybe but definitely unique and tasty.

Bay City is a Drag

2009-02-09T12:25:00.000-08:00

I recently discovered that one of my favorite drag queens from the awesome LA group Chico's Angels is originally from Bay City, TX! Beth and I met for dinner with two of the guys from Chico's, Ray and Oscar and improv queen, Kimberly Lewis, to have dinner before seeing Glad Libs (an improvised musical theatre show). Somehow we got on the subject of being from Texas and Ray mentioned that he was from Bay City. Turns out his family owns and runs one of the few restaurants in Bay City, El Zarape. If you are from there, you will have eaten there at least once. It was fun to share memories of Matagorda beach and BCHS and the Rice Festival - a very rare thing to randomly meet someone specifically from Bay City out here.

The Wilshire Ebell Theatre

2009-02-05T14:20:00.000-08:00

The Irish dance group I am part of Cairde na hEireann has officially booked a theatre for our performance on March 20th. It is the historic Wilshire Ebell. How exciting!

Rose Parade 08

2009-01-02T22:58:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Leslie, the owner of Bodyscape (Pasadena studio where I work), and her friends, Johnny and Martha Mountain, I got to go backstage at the Rose Parade. Beth came along with me and we had an awesome time. I am so glad I decided to go despite my hesitation due to fear of traffic and having to wake up at 4 am.
The guards let us through the barricade to around 5:30 am. We were the first people to arrive and got to park in the spot to be the first car out after the parade. Being early was already paying off. Leslie showed up soon after and we walked a few blocks down to where the front of the parade to set up our chairs. A group of kind young people who had been sleeping on the ground all night agreed to watch our chairs for us while we walked around and looked at the floats. It was still quite dark out when we started to peruse and slowly got brighter until it was blinding during the actual parade. Much of the light in these photo is from the powerful street lamps along the route.

After our walk, we returned to the house to eat brunch and warm up before heading back to our chairs for the parade.

When we returned for the parade, our chairs had been moved forward and left open. Everyone was polite and friendly and really joyful with expectation. We got to sit in the second row of people with very little obstruction (aside from the super bright sun hitting us from the right side which threatened to burn only one side of my face). It was fun to see the floats in action and hilarious to see all the fake grins and overly stiff marching - marching is very serious! The many horses and burros were also a treat, the clydesdales were particularly impressive.

After the parade, we headed back to the house with Leslie and her husband, John, said thank you to our host, and hit the road. Yippee for the Rose Parade up close!

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-29T20:43:00.001-08:00

We stayed in LA for the holidays this year and took it easy. As is tradition, Athena came to stay with us and added a bit of her energy to the festivities.
Kelly got to make music with his friend, Masa. Then he lounged around a bit with the puppies.
Our little treeMe just before opening presents.Prime rib on Christmas eveSnoops and Athena hoping for their share of dinnerAfter crying through the last 20 minutes of Benjamin Button Christmas dinner at Yang Chow in Chinatown

Dinner with Monica and Moopy

2008-12-29T19:58:00.001-08:00

Last week we had a holiday dinner at our friend Monica's house. She cooked us an excellent meal and we got to visit with her and her little black bunny, Moopy. Snoops even got to come along. Surprisingly he was not very interested in Moopy. In fact, he didn't even notice the bunny was in the room until we pointed him out. Snoops gave him a sniff, they both looked a little confused, and that was it - thank goodness for no excitement or chasing.
Monica and Moopy

Kelly with Moopy (look closely-he blends in)
The end of a lovely evening!

Happy Holidaze

2008-12-25T00:26:00.000-08:00

These clips make me happy (be sure to pause the music player before watching):

Two Year Anniversary!

2008-12-17T16:24:00.000-08:00

Monday was our anniversary. We had a brief walk in the La Canada area and enjoyed dinner at Lawry's. I hadn't eaten a steak in awhile and I must say it was quite good. The lobster tail was my favorite, though, reminded me of being a kid on Long Island. We had an awkward encounter with the roving carolers that stopped by our table. They asked us if we would like to hear a song. We said, "Errrr...ummmm...uhhh." They said, "Something slow, something fast, something festive?" I thought, "Aren't all the holiday songs you might sing festive?" Then one of the ladies wearing a "festive" bonnet said, "How about White Christmas?" We nodded yes like Ralphie nods to Santa in A Christmas Story before he asks for his red ryder bb gun. Aren't we lucky we chose the week before Christmas to get married?

walking in Angeles National Forest - kelly got me a second diamond ring to symbolize two years married

it was so clear we could see downtown LA and the oceanwent to dinner at Lawry's Prime Rib in Beverly Hills - we both got prime rib, a lobster tail and, yes, we each had mashed potatoes plus baked potato, also got mushrooms and yorkshire pudding

here's my new favorite picture from our wedding - thanks to Roberto for the fine, extra large prints!

Group Power

2008-11-30T13:02:00.000-08:00

I recently did a workshop to become certified to teach a group weight lifting class for Breakthru Fitness in Pasadena. Here is a video of a Group Power class from a club in Japan:

Thanksgiving 08

2008-11-29T19:45:00.000-08:00

The O'Hare's had a lovely Thanksgiving this year. As is tradition, Hawk came over and hung out with us. Kelly cooked the turkey. He also made gravy, mashed potatoes, mushrooms in wine sauce, and brussel sprouts with pancetta, dried cranberries and goat cheese. I made cranberry chutney, Stovetop stuffing, and a dark rum pecan pie. It was great! After we ate, Beth came by to drop off Athena and she stayed awhile so we could practice our Irish dancing. We danced for at least 40 minutes-that's a lot of hopping after eating a big meal.
Later on, Kelly and I went to see Milk which is bound to be up for best picture and lots of acting awards - stand-out performances include Sean Penn, Josh Brolin, Emile Hersch, James Franco, and Diego Luna (basically everyone in the cast). It was quite poignant in the wake of the passing of prop 8. I found myself tearing up numerous times not only because of events depicted in the movie but also because I found it difficult to accept how far we've come and yet how far our country still has to go in terms of acceptance. Milk made me thankful for the freedoms I possess and hopeful that someday all of my friends and family will be free to marry and live openly without discrimination.

Roberta's cranberry chutney and Paula Dean's Rum Pecan Pie

Kelly prepping dinner

Kelly's fabulous turkey with mushrooms in white wine sauce

the perfect plate

happy and full of food

Hawk and Athena playing tug-o-war

Beth watching Snoops and Athena play tug-o-war

Kelly making music

100 Happy Things...

2008-11-20T23:02:00.000-08:00

Inspired by Kendra, I have decided to make a list of one hundred things that make me happy:

1. Mr. Snoops right after he's had a bath
2. the Ultra Lounge music compilation series
3. Lucky Charms
4. the spread eagle exercise on the cadillac
5. Gummo
6. Kelly wearing a nice outfit
7. daikon radish salad
8. quietly closing the gate
9. slow dancing with Pat
10. walking around the reservoir with Snoops
11. talking to Beth about the same old things
12. shimmering chapstick
13. pants from Lululemon
14. seeing Violet the pug at Society of the Spectacle
15. heating pad
16. Kelly and Snoops playing
17. sitting in the shade in hot weather
18. Kimmy being vegetarian
19. paintings by the "chicken man"
20. tiny flashlights
21. dancing the Light Jig
22. imagining a house and family with Kelly
23. Mom showing me her projects
24. massage by Alighta
25. new videos and pictures of Xander Gogark
26. Bailey holding onto my finger
27. bowling pin lamp
28. hot herbal tea
29. the misfits
30. watching reruns of What Not to Wear
31. working at Bodyscape
32. sitting criss-cross applesauce
33. stuff with rainbows on it
34. my wedding ring
35. Dad telling me it's all going to be okay
36. Snoops corn chip smelling feet
37. going to see plays with Anastasia
38. teaching with Andrea
39. waking up at 10 am on a regular basis
40. Crocs slippers
41. clapping with excitement
42. making motor boat sounds
43. seeing people get it, i.e. epiphanies
44. Disneyworld
45. eating ice cream with Hawk
46. Franks laugh
47. wearing leggings instead of jeans
48. happy old couples
49. turbo Athena
50. memories of Tracers
51. teaching with Pat
52. dancing with IMP
53. TCBY peanut butter sundae
54. Tommy telling me all the details
55. DanceAbility
56. imagining I can drool (but not actually doing it)
57. the fitness circle light
58. doing laundry with Snoops
59. Kelly's gray hair
60. Dynamic Alignment Through Imagery by Eric Franklin
61. big spoons
62. hair free clothes
63. creepy masks
64. dancing to Nano's vocal improv
65. basic cable TV
66. tempurpedic mattresses
67. hearing Dad sing
68. staying at Jim and Suzan's house
69. holding someone's head in my hands
70. Peggy saying, "Wanna play?" like Chucky
71. talking about Disneyworld with Christin
72. watching Michelle do the roll-up
73. anniversary dinner at Bucca di Beppo
74. Prosecco at Pizzeria Mozza with Kelly
75. using salt water as hair texturizer
76. Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios
77. burned cds
78. arranging pictures on the refrigerator
79. sugar free Jello
80. coconut cake, who'm I kidding - all cake
81. red pants
82. Mom's quilts
83. pilates with Jessica
84. the smell of chlorine
85. watching Stu dance
86. Actual Lives rehearsals
87. practicing pilates with Cindy at John Garey's Studio
88. making yearly photobooks
89. staying up late
90. occasionally wearing high heeled shoes
91. Hippopotamus Sandwich
92. Vietnamese Rocks!
93. walking with Snoops, Suzan, Mindy, Macarthur, and Bazil
94. black nail polish
95. poking Kimmy and Peggy on FaceBook
96. planning trips
97. being alone with Kelly
98. taking courses about exercise
99. Michael calling me out of the blue
100. you reading my blog

Doak Snead Reunion Show

2008-10-25T00:24:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I went to Austin to visit with friends and family and see my dad sing with the Doak Snead Band. It was the first time the band performed together after about thirty years apart. Dad did a great job and the show itself was enjoyable. Thank you to all the people I managed to meet up with in the short time I was there. I look forward to seeing you all more often when we move back next year.
And thanks especially to my family. I am so lucky to have them in my life. You guys are the best!

Tupperware. What a Drag!

2008-10-13T21:20:00.000-07:00

Beth and I went to a tupperware party last weekend hosted by the lovely Cassie Rolle. She was hilarious and a very convincing salesperson. I purchased the Spongebob Squarepants Sandwich Keeper. Now I can stop wasting money and adding to the landfill with ziploc baggies. Yippee tuppeware! And, most of all, yippee Cassie Rolle! For more info on having your own party hosted by Cassie Rolle go to: www.myspace.com/tupperwarecassie

Bodyscape Website

2008-10-05T16:01:00.000-07:00

I've been added to the "Staff" section on the Bodyscape website. Check it out: www.bodyscapept.com
I feel very proud to be included with these excellent trainers and therapists.

Halloween Horror Nights

2008-10-05T15:55:00.000-07:00

We love Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios! Especially good is the Texas Chainsaw Massacre maze where you get surprised by Leatherface carrying a real chainsaw sans chain.

us outside the gates

Rich and Wendy

house of Norman Bates

Deadwood Scare Zone

Big Sur

2008-10-05T15:07:00.001-07:00

We went to Big Sur for a whole week. It was fantastic! First we stopped off in Menlo Park to visit with my childhood friend Carolyn and her wife, Becca. It was great to see them along with Carolyn's folks, Sharon and John. We went into San Francisco to Aquarius Records to look at obscure music and drove around the Castro and Haight Ashbury. Kelly got to visit his friend Ed that night and the next day we headed down the coast to Big Sur. We stayed in our own little cabin on the Big Sur River. It had a full kitchen so we made dinner at home most nights but did eat out a few cool places, including Post Ranch Inn and Nepenthe (both with views of the coast). While we were there we balanced a lot hiking with a lot of resting. One night we went to the hot spring baths at Esalen Retreat. It was a bit awkward at first because they only allow people who aren't staying at Esalen to use the baths from 1-3 am so a group of about 12 was led through the darkness down to the baths overlooking the ocean. There was little or no light aside from the moon but once we adjusted and found our own tub it was quite enjoyable. By the end of the trip, it was difficult to leave but we knew Mr. Snoops would be happy to see us return.

Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park - Valley View Loop

view from the Post Ranch Inn - amazing lunch with same view from the restaurant

in a hammock in the "guests only" area at Post Ranch Inn - we practiced "active belonging" Liz Lerman style and nobody questioned whether or not we should be there

Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park - McWay Falls and Saddle Rock trail

making field recordings in Partington Cove

posing on rocks hurts your hands - all those people in the yoga magazines make it look so pleasant

rainbows and skulls my favorite combination

Kelly cooked us dinner almost every night we were there

roasted chicken, brussel sprouts, and yams - yum!

Andrew Molera State Park - Creamery Meadow-Molera Beach Loop

Point Lobos State Reserve

Sea Lion Point Trail

our cabin at Ripplewood Resort

Good times!

What Tarot Card are You?

2008-09-23T14:23:00.000-07:00

Today I am the Wheel of Fortune:

You are The Wheel of Fortune

Good fortune and happiness but sometimes a species of
intoxication with success

The Wheel of Fortune is all about big things, luck, change, fortune. Almost always good fortune. You are lucky in all things that you do and happy with the things that come to you. Be careful that success does not go to your head however. Sometimes luck can change.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

Nick Cave

2008-09-21T15:50:00.001-07:00

Kelly and I went to see Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds at the Hollywood Bowl last Wednesday night. Nick Cave is one of Kelly's most favorite artists. I have grown to like him after hearing his songs played so frequently in the car. They played a few songs I was familiar with but mostly it was newer stuff that I hadn't heard. The show was quite loud and Nick Cave was uber-evangelistic in a sort of beat poet meets punk meets preacher sort of way. All in all, very entertaining and we even got to witness an unruly drunk man having an altercation with security. I enjoyed it and Kelly seemed pleased (although it was a bit shorter than expected - the curfew for the show to end was 11 pm - boring). I also enjoyed not rushing to get over there for the very beginning of the show. This meant we missed Cat Power and Spiritualized but we got to enjoy a lovely dinner at Hugo's in WeHo - my favorite place to get the beet/quineau salad. Good times.

Pizzeria Mozza

2008-09-15T14:01:00.000-07:00

As you may know, Kelly and I love to eat out and we are determined to check out as many different places in LA as we can while we are still here. Our latest favorite is Pizzeria Mozza. It is the sister restaurant to Osteria Mozza (which we went to for our anniversary and enjoyed but not as much as the pizzeria side) and is partially owned by Mario Batali of Food Network/Iron Chef fame. Last night we went and decided to skip the pizza and, instead, split a few appetizers. Here's what we got:

Nancy's chopped salad (iceberg lettuce with salami, cheese, garbanzo, etc)
crispy goat cheese and umbrian lentils
bruschetta of chicken livers, capers, parsley and guanciale
bufala mozzarella and prosciutto di parma
bone marrow al forno
one glass of white wine chosen by our server (to split as well)

It was quite decadent, but awesome. Although the photo is somewhat dark you should be able to make out the plate of bones on the right. Bone marrow is quite good but also quite rich. It came with roasted garlic, charred, buttered toast and sea salt. My personal favorite was the mozzarella and prosciutto plate with a side of olive oil. There was some left over chicken liver bruschetta and bone marrow that we took home for Snoops. Boy, was he a happy dog! We have yet to try dessert there, but I am looking forward to it next time we go!

Hello Roberta, I'm Mr. Snoops.

2008-09-13T16:29:00.000-07:00

Snoops on vacation at Big Bear:

Labor Day Weekend

2008-09-02T00:12:00.000-07:00

Labor Day weekend turned out to be more eventful than I expected. Aside from walking Snoops for an hour or more each day, I hung out with friends and got to spend more time with Kelly than usual. The highlights:

Friday I went to visit with Beth and her friends from Filthy Rogue theatre company. They were making a curtain for their upcoming fundraiser "Filthy's Follies". It's a variety show with a framework that is a parody of Spanky's Follies from our gang. Snoops and I just hung out and watched them cut and sew and glue. To represent a clothesline, they made cut-outs in the shape of mini clothes. The little faux shorts and dresses reminded me of something that happened when Kimmy came to visit in July. Francesca Lia Block, an author of young adult fantasy fiction, was having a workshop and Kimmy had been planning to go. Aside from bringing a few specified writing samples to discuss, the author requested that workshop participants bring something to leave on the fairy alter. That's right, the fairy alter. I had never heard of such a thing but luckily in Silverlake we have a store called The Magic Cauldron. Kiimmy and I made our way to the Cauldron to get schooled on fairy alters and hopefully purchase something inexpensive yet still impressively appropriate. As one might guess there were many fun things to choose from. The woman behind the counter seemed uninterested when we first walked in but once I asked about getting something for a "fairy alter" she lit up. She showed us candles, incense, strange herbs, charms, and figurines of dragons, fairies, and magicians. There were also bags of mini cut-out clothing shapes, tiny doors and wheelbarrows and other implements someone deemed useful to a fairy. After much deliberation Kimmy decided to go with a candle and a mini-ladder. The nice lady suggested that we paint the ladder and decorate it with feathers and beads. We didn't manage to decorate it but we were still quite pleased with our purchase. Kimmy took her treasures to the workshop and placed them on the alter. They all said a fairy prayer and that was it for the alter. It was a bit disappointing that Francesca Lia Block did not point out any particularly special gifts but, oh well, it made for a fun reason to go to the Magic Cauldron. If you need any money mist, chocolate bat simmer oil, or a copy of New Witch Magazine you should check it out (www.cauldronkitty.com).

And now back to the Little Rascals:

Saturday I met my friends Stacey and Bill at Kokekkoko, a yakitori house in Little Tokyo. Regardless of the fact that the service is crummy (it took twenty minutes before I managed to get my waiters attention to get a glass of water) this particular place is always packed. The menu is limited to skewers of all things chicken, including chicken breast, hearts, liver, skin, and vegetable wrapped chicken among other things. Not a good place to take your vegetarian friends. We sat at the end of the three-sided bar surrounding the grill where a chef and his helpers constantly rotated various skewers of meat/parts and then dropped them off on your plate. You can order by the skewer as Stacey and I did - I got one chicken breast (had to scrape off the wasabi), one chicken hearts, one chicken wrapped okra, and one quail eggs - or you can order the whole shebang, one of each thing on the menu, which is what Bill did. We had a good time chatting away and occasionally eating a few bites of chicken on a stick. The whole experience took about two hours. Probably a bit longer than necessary because the hard wooden stools made for a good ache in the backside after awhile. By the end, I was standing leaning against the wall, avoiding sitting back down until the check arrived.

As we were leaving, I noticed Kelly had called which was unexpected since he usually is busy at work on Saturday night around that time. It turned out he wasn't feeling well and went home to rest awhile before possibly having to go back to work if it got busy. Bill, Stacey, and I went to Pinkberry as planned and I got a medium original flavor frozen yogurt with double mochi and strawberries to go for Kelly. Then I went home and Kelly and I hung out for the rest of the night. He slept awhile and I walked Snoops. We watched some tv - Discovery Channel documentary about being overly tall - and Wonder Showzen on dvd and went to Astro Diner for breakfast type food around midnightish.

Sunday Snoops and I did the laundry and walked around the neighborhood. We got home in time to wake Kelly up and visit for a minute before I went to Irish dance class. Class was fun and challenging as usual. I am feeling more confident about dancing in my hard-shoes. It's so different than any dance I have done before but I am glad to be expanding my repertoire. When I got home, Kelly and Wes were improvising and recording some music. Kelly is really starting to figure out his musical style and make some great songs. Once they finished up, we went to the Cheesecake Factory (I did not get cheesecake even though I wanted to) and saw Traitor with Don Cheadle and Guy Pearce. I wasn't sure if I felt like seeing an international espionage thriller but I was pleasantly surprised. It was suspenseful and entertaining and insightful. It is definitely one I recommend. (www.traitor-themovie.com)

Monday Kelly and I went to the gym together. Because it was Labor Day they closed at 5 pm so we got there around 3 and stayed until they closed. I loved the early closing time because it meant we got out of the house before 5 pm and still had time to take Snoops to the park. After grabbing a bite to eat at The Alcove (I did not have cake even though I wanted to), we went home and picked up Snoops. Originally I had hoped to show Kelly Arroyo Seco in Pasadena but we didn't have enough daylight left. Instead we went to Elysian Park near Dodger's Stadium where I often go with Snoops and our friends Susan, Mindy, Macarthur, and Basil. We went the short route to the dog hill and sat on a tree trunk while Snoops dug for gophers. He likes to sniff. While we were admiring the view of downtown LA, Mindy and Susan and the gang showed up. It was great to get to visit with them for a few minutes. We all walked out of the park together and made our way home. The rest of the night we just took it easy at home.

What a great couple of days! Visiting with friends and so much great time with Kelly and Snoops. Now I can't wait for our week in Big Sur...

Family Weekend

2008-08-12T00:21:00.000-07:00

Kelly surprised me by getting the night off this Saturday and we went to a dog friendly beach in Long Beach not far from the marina. My lovely friend, Kendra, suggested it because it is the only beach "nearby" that allows dogs to go leash free. It was a bit far but it was definitely worth the trip to see how happy Snoops was. He didn't know what to think of the water. As usual, we got off to a late start but we had just enough time to enjoy the sunset and then go on to dinner. What a treat to have Kelly on the weekend when neither of us had work for two whole days!

Kimmy in LA

2008-08-08T00:12:00.000-07:00

My little sister, Kimmy, visited recently. She came to LA to go to a writer's workshop and hang out with me, Kelly, Snoops, and Athena (Beth and Steve were out of town so we had Athena) for a few days. Because she has been here numerous times we've already done most of the touristy stuff we're interested in doing; therefore, we did a lot of eating and shopping. Because Kimmy is now vegetarian I had to get creative about where we ate. We found that Silverlake has quite a few excellent options. We made it to shop on Melrose and went to the new Americana in Glendale and we went to see Batman Begins (again, that's right, again and loved it more the second time). Kimmy had never been to Universal Studios so we spent an afternoon there - long lines but still a good time. According to Kimmy, the writer's workshop was definitely worthwhile and eye opening. She got her first taste of Hollywood networking in action - not her favorite thing. Here are some of the best photos from the visit (please note the plethera of cakes we sampled):

coconut lemon cake at The Alcove in Los Feliz (we agree this was the best cake we ate)

me with my matching vegan wrap at The Alcove

attracting attention downtown at 7th and Fig

happy Kimmy with beans and rice at Flore Vegan Restaurant in Silverlake

Beard Pappa's Cream Puffs at the Americana (say what?)

afternoon Pinkberry - strawberry, mochi, kiwi

going to Francesca Lia Block's house in Culver City

Snoops and Athena

at Cafe Tropical in Silverlake eating red velvet cake from Doughboys in Hollywood

See's candy bar cake at The Alcove

seeing Batman at the Arclight

at Universal Studios with Curious George

evening Pinkberry with mochi, raspberry, and cocoa pebbles

Anastasia's Birthday

2008-07-26T22:10:00.000-07:00

Anastasia had a lovely birthday picnic in the Ferndell picnic area of Griffith Park last weekend. Her and Jenn made an awesome spread of sandwich fixin's and snacks that ran along a series of four tables. They scored a great little semi-circle, enclosed area that was very shady and right next to the little fern lined walking trail. Beth and I went together and brought Snoops and Athena. They were very good and were able to be off leash the whole time. Beth took them for a run up the hill and we went walking along the little trail. Anastasia was an excellent host, as always, and one of the highlights was when Jenn "surprised" her with a big, chocolate, birthday cake. Being in the park reminded me there are cool places in LA that aren't overcrowded with people and traffic - and we didn't even have to pay for parking!

Pilates Exam Scores

2008-07-26T22:02:00.000-07:00

I finally got my exam scores back from six weeks ago...I got a 94 on both the written and the practical exam. That is good enough to go on to do the coursework to become an instructor trainer without having to take the exam again - yippee! That would mean, aside from regular pilates training, I could teach the certification courses as well. Now I just have to work a few years to save up money to go to Canada for the next level of coursework - Canada, argh! Anyway, I'm pleased. Here I am with the cast of High School Musical:

Honeymoon Retrospective

2008-07-13T12:45:00.000-07:00

Although Kelly and I were married in December 06, we did not go on our honeymoon until July 07. It was around this time last year that we were returning from our trip and we are wishing we were back in Kauai again. In spite of being happy about our recent job changes/promotions, transitioning has been difficult (different schedules, new people to get to know, less hours for me so far, more hours for Kelly). It will all feel normal in a few weeks but, for now, I'm going to keep dreaming of Hawaii and wishing we were far away with no worries or people to please other than each other.

New Fancy Jacket

2008-07-03T22:54:00.000-07:00

Check out my new fancy jacket I got from Lululemon with the gift certificate Stacey gave me before she moved away. I think my very professional, sleak new jacket helped me land my new jobs. Thanks, Stacey! By the way, if you are a workout person and you have not yet gone to Lululemon you must find one in your area and go. Even Kelly has gotten four new pairs of shorts from there - which he wears when he comes to my mat class - I'm so proud of him for keeping in shape and doing pilates!

Hawk's Birthday

2008-07-03T22:49:00.000-07:00

Went out last weekend for Hawk's 28th birthday - he's old now, too - almost thirty! We went to the Cheesecake Factory and saw the new Angelina Jolie/James Macavoy movie, Wanted. It was very entertaining. We were running late so we didn't get to have dessert (very disappointing). Next time I want to have the carrot cake cheesecake or maybe the apple crumble cheesecake or maybe the tres leches cheesecake...argh! How does one decide?

My New Job

2008-06-26T22:20:00.000-07:00

Cutting back on my Gold's Gym time and transitioning over to two private studios in Pasadena. Check out the website for each:

Bodyscape Physical Therapy and Pilates - www.bodyscapept.com
Breakthru Fitness Private Training Gym - www.breakthrufitness.com

I'm so excited at the prospect of learning about doing post-rehab specific training and getting to work on all the equipment!

Descanso Gardens

2008-06-26T14:21:00.000-07:00

Kelly and I went to Descanso Gardens in La Canada last Sunday. We had a great time strolling around the different themed sections and hanging out in the carriage house. It was really hot that day so we did a lot of sitting on benches in the shade and walked very slowly. If you live in LA and you haven't been to Descanso I highly recommend it. The carriage house was our favorite - it was built in 1938 and the lady who was supposed to be watching the front door was distracted by other "guests" when we snuck in past them. We got to roam around freely without being offered a tour. When we came out she acted very surprised anyone had been inside. Being sneaky is fun.

Fun with Friends

2008-06-08T02:57:00.000-07:00

Got to see Alexis and meet Bailey for the first time this afternoon. Anastasia came with me and Kim and her friend Elizabeth were also there. We had a great day walking to the park near Lex's apartment and just catching up. Bailey is pretty awesome...Check her out:

Also visited with Beth and Steve. Their "baby" Athena went to the vet recently and gets to be a conehead for a few days.

Actual Lives Austin

2008-06-08T02:41:00.000-07:00

Went to Austin last weekend very briefly to see the latest Actual Lives performance - Daze of our Lives. It was awesome getting to see the show and visit with everyone. I'm definitely looking forward to getting to work with this group again. I was reminded how much I miss going to rehearsals and just performing in general.

Check out this video from our show in DC a few years ago:

Holiday in Utah

2008-05-25T12:05:00.000-07:00

In need of a break form city life we took a long weekend and did an abreviated tour of Utah's national parks. As always, wish we had more time to explore but what we got to see was fabulous...
First day in Bryce Canyon - took the scenic drive and found a small waterfall and cave with icicles:

Second day at Bryce Canyon - saw the hoodoos and Queensland Garden trail:

Later that day drove to Zion - stopped at an Indian souvenir store and ate at the swanky steakhouse with lots of taxidermy:

Third day, took the scenic drive through Zion National Park and went to Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Kanab; went to the Mocqui Cave (where they had a great basset hound hat); walked up the Virgin River:

Later that night, we drove to Vegas where we stayed at New York New York - visited the Bellagio and enjoyed the topiaries:

Fourth day, before driving home, we stopped off at Red Rock Canyon outside of Vegas - we even saw some wild burros:

Mistress of Pilates

2008-05-14T22:57:00.000-07:00

Took my final practical exam last Saturday. Below you will see me with my lovely test body, Nicole, and with my fabulous examiner, Mary Jo. Taking the practical turned out to be really fun. I was nervous at first but got over it and just had a good time taking Nicole through a really long (2 hours), intense, yet well balanced workout. I take the written portion this Saturday and then we are off to Bryce Canyon for a few days. Once I get my score I will be officially certified by Stott to teach all level, all equipment. This has been a year in the making. Now I just have to wait 4-6 weeks to get my grades back from Canada - woo hoo! I'm sure I passed but I will keep you updated on the actual score.

Rats Off To Ya!

2008-05-14T22:47:00.000-07:00

We recently went to see Tim and Eric Live at the EchoPlex not far from our house. It was awesomely hillarious. Check out the cool Rats Off t-shirt I got. Snoops enjoyed wearing it to.

Got to see the 'Sit on You' guy live!

Chandeliers

2008-05-12T23:29:00.000-07:00

The Original French Dip

2008-05-06T01:00:00.000-07:00

Kelly and I had one of our cheapest nights out on the town this past Sunday. We went to Philippe, French Dipped Sandwiches in Chinatown. It's been there since 1908 and I'm pretty sure the menu hasn't changed at all since it opened (accept maybe the prices). Kelly got the beef french dip sandwich with american cheese and I got chili and beans, a diet pepsi, and a pickle - all that for $12.47! Then we went to see Iron Man alongside every stoned loser/gangster/skater dude in La Canada - ummm, the creepiest audience I've ever had the pleasure of viewing a movie with. We also got a free cup of hot water from Starbucks and used our own special teabag from Lamill Coffee called "cough and sniffle" cause Kelly's been sick.

Magic Castle

2008-05-06T00:03:00.000-07:00

My friend Christina graciously took me to the Magic Castle last Saturday! An excellent birthday gift I must say. Here we are (check out my new glasses):

And, almost completely unrelated, an awesome video of what I believe is a Korean boy band named dbsk singing "Magic Castle":

Happy Mother's Day!

2008-05-04T19:11:00.000-07:00

Recently, my Mom came to visit from Sugar Land, TX for the weekend of my 31st birthday. It was a great time and I know she's been hoping for a recap so here we go...

We started off our adventure by driving straight from LAX to Disneyland in Anaheim - I used my Disney points to get us "free" park hopper passes so we got to go to both California Adventure and Disneyland. The weather was perfect and there was hardly any waiting for most rides (accept the new Nemo ride which we ultimately skipped because the wait was, on average, an hour long - yikes!) Right before it got dark we rode mom's favorite ride, Splash Mountain, I got the lucky seat in the front and got soaked - more wet then I have ever gotten on this ride ever before. My jeans were still wet when we got back to my apartment. After I changed, we went to visit Kelly at Edendale just in time for dinner - meatballs and a goat cheese salad with grilled shrimp.

The next day we went to get my car checked because it was having trouble starting. Turned out I needed a new battery. While we waited for the battery change we went to the fancy new coffee shop down the street, Lamill Coffee. Snoops came along and made many friends and got a few treats. That didn't take long so we soon headed over to West Hollywood to see my chiropractor, Kip, cause my shoulder was bothering me a bit. It seems that my pain is due to holding my scapula in excessive protraction - probably from navigating with the mouse on the computer - ugh. All better now that I've seen Ki p, though, and I'll pay more attention to reaching with my right arm over extended periods of time. After that, we ate lunch at a diner type place called Doughboys - chinese chicken salad and red velvet cake (the best red velvet cake ever).

After cake, we made our way over to the Miracle Mile to check out the La Brea Tarpits where bones of the sabre tooth tiger and the giant three toed sloth have been excavated from the still bubbling pools of tar. Then we headed up Sunset Blvd past the Viper Room and the Whiskey-a-Go-Go. We stopped off at Blue Mangos to get some frozen yogurt and over-priced fruit juice. Then it was back to Silver Lake to walk Snoops and have dinner. We walked up to Sunset and went to Rambutan Thai and then we had gelato at Pazzo Gelato (recommended by Giada on Food Network). Finally, we went to see my friend Edi in her new show at the Groundlings. It was awesomely funny and Edi was my favorite as always.

Saturday we started off with brunch at The York in Eagle Rock. After that, we went to get my new glasses at the Society of the Spectacle (see most recent blogs). Then we found our way to Old Town Pasadena where I got some new Lululemon pants. There was a quilt store not too far so we checked that out. It wasn't so great so we went to the quilt store in La Canada - we got lost along the way but finally found it. By then I was pretty worn out but we still managed to make it to The Alcove in Los Feliz for some blue velvet cake and a brie, apple, and caramelized onion pannini!

After cake time, we went home and got Mr. Snoops and the three of us went to Elysian Park to go for a walk. First we said hello to my lovely friends, Susan and Mindy. Then we did the loop through the park and to the dog hill where there is a lovely view of downtown and lots of gophers for Snoops to try to dig up. We made it back to the car just before dark. Then we went to the Arclight to see Young at Heart - the documentary about an octegenarian choir who sings rock-n-roll - I highly recommend it.

Sunday, we started our day by taking Snoops for a walk around the neighborhood. Then we drove to Seal Beach which is right near John Garey Pilates in Long Beach where I've been doing my pilates courses. After walking down the pier we ate a great fish restaurant just off the beach and then headed over to John Garey so Mom could see where I've been going so often this past year. We came back and met up with Kelly. The three of us went to Hollywood. First Kelly dropped mom and I off at the Hollywood Dance Center for my Irish Dance class. Then we went to eat at the Hungry Cat (thanks to my friend Jessica who gave us a gift certificate to eat there as a birthday gift!) The chocolate bread pudding was on of the most amazing desserts I've ever had - it doesn't sound unusual but it really is - go there and try it if you ever get the chance. After dinner, we made our way over to the Arclight to see Forgetting Sarah Marshall and discovered that there was an Indian Film Festival happening. I could tell mom was disappointed that we didn't get to see any of the Indian films but maybe another time. Sarah Marshall was very entertaining and witty. To finish our last night, we went to Fred 62. Mom had a waffle, I had Cream of Wheat, and Kelly had a burger - yummm!

The next morning Mom went back to Texas and I went back to work. Looking forward to many more fun times together!

Snoops Roar!

2008-05-01T00:54:00.000-07:00

Snoops says, "Don't touch my pina colada!"

What Tarot Card are You?

2008-04-13T13:19:00.001-07:00

Please leave a comment to let me know what your card is...Stacey, feel free to steal this for your blog.

You are The Empress

Beauty, happiness, pleasure, success, luxury, dissipation.

The Empress is associated with Venus, the feminine planet, so it represents,
beauty, charm, pleasure, luxury, and delight. You may be good at home
decorating, art or anything to do with making things beautiful.

The Empress is a creator, be it creation of life, of romance, of art or business. While the Magician is the primal spark, the idea made real, and the High Priestess is the one who gives the idea a form, the Empress is the womb where it gestates and grows till it is ready to be born. This is why her symbol is Venus, goddess of beautiful things as well as love. Even so, the Empress is more Demeter, goddess of abundance, then sensual Venus. She is the giver of Earthly gifts, yet at the same time, she can, in anger withhold, as Demeter did when her daughter, Persephone, was kidnapped. In fury and grief, she kept the Earth barren till her child was returned to her.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

IMP Resurrected

2008-04-13T01:15:00.000-07:00

Me and the lovely ladies of the Improvisational Movement Project (Julie Nathanielz, Jennifer Micallef, Lauren Tietz, and Nancy lazarczyk) rehearsing with Adam Sultan (improvising on guitar) in Austin in 2005. Working on getting the quality better but just wanted to share a little something...

Something Cute

2008-04-12T23:02:00.001-07:00

Snoops wants to share Kelly's late night snack.

St. Patrick's Day

2008-03-22T21:40:00.001-07:00

Thanks to Erin Murphy (my teacher), I got to do my first ever Irish dance performance this past Saturday at The Grove and then again on Monday in North Hollywood at the Celtic Arts Center. The performances were informal and very low pressure so both were a lot of fun. We even got to dance to a live band for the first time - the fastest jig I ever did!

Erin, me, and Kate with our Murphy Irish Dance Company emblems on:

27th Annual Breitenbush Contact Improv Jam

2008-03-22T20:35:00.000-07:00

I recently went to a contact jam hosted by Alito Alessi and his lovely wife Sara that takes place every year at Breitenbush Hotsprings just outside Detroit, Oregon. This was my second time attending and, after the fantastic time I had, I truly wish I could go back every year. I met my friend Jennifer in Portland and we drove a rental car into the fantasy land that is Breitenbush. It is a year round retreat for all sorts of workshops but every March the Contacters take over. Jennifer and I arrived for the second half of the jam (five days) and each day was filled with lots of dancing, spending time with really cool/strange/interesting people, and soaking in the hotsprings. I even got to perform one night with a wonderful improviser named Stu - a very funny and genuine moment that I am glad I agreed to (had originally decided not to perform). I definitely plan to return in the future and hope that those of you who do CI might come along for the ride next time!

The view as I flew into Portland:

Me dancing with Brandon:

The beginning of the "all-nighter" (dancing until dawn), warm-up led by Steve Paxton:

The lodge where the dance space and the dining hall can be found:

Me posing:

The meadow - look at the left hand side and you can see the Silent Tub:

Afternoon dancing:

Me in the Forest Shelter - note the awesome skylight:

Me next to the Spiral Tubs wearing my fabulous all-weather Crocs:

More dancing:

The parking lot on our last morning - it snowed...a lot:

Keith and Laura duet with Brandon playing the guitar:

Home Studio

2008-02-23T21:05:00.000-08:00

This is my "studio" in the living room of our one bedroom apartment. The beginning of a larger vision for the future. We rearranged the living room so it is mostly open floorspace when the chairs are pushed off to the side. And, when not inuse, my stability chair conveniently lives in the corner near my closet!

Awesome Athletes/Dancers with Disabilities

2008-02-23T20:41:00.000-08:00

Here are a few of my favorites that are on youtube (need to get some Actual Lives clips on there one of these days)...

Aaron Fotheringham - skateboarder:

Bill Shannon - Crutchmaster:

Axis Dance Company:

DanceAbility:

Favorite Things

2008-02-03T11:53:00.000-08:00

I think this is some funny stuff so I thought I would share the joy with you all - check out this guy's moves - so awesome!

Texas Visit - January 2008

2008-02-03T00:04:00.000-08:00

Because we stayed in LA for Christmas, we went home to visit family and friends after the holidays were over. Most of our time was spent in Sugar Land and Friendswood. We had a great time just being with our folks and hanging out with all the animals around the house. The highlight of our trip was a belated one year anniversary dinner at Bucca di Beppo with Kelly's mom and dad, Charlie and Nancy, and my parents, Ben and Valerie, and my best friend, Francisco.

I also got to visit Frank a few other times and went to Austin for the weekend where I saw: Kimmy and Warren and their cute kitties; met with Chris at Matt's El Rancho; went to Casa de Luz with Lauren and Julie; had lunch at Mr. Natural with Jared; had a lovely dinner with Pat and David; visited with Nano at his favorite coffee shop; went to Quack's to hang out with Chase, Susanne, Shannon, Stephan, and Fiona; finally I got to have a sandwich with Andrea at my favorite sandwich shop, Jimmy John's. Unfortunately I didn't take very many pictures this trip but here are a few of Frank, Kelly, and I at the fabulous Kim Son:

Christmas in LA

2007-12-30T02:03:00.000-08:00

This year, we had our first chistmas together as newlyweds. It was lovely. We worked on fixing up the apartment - got rid of a lot of unnecessary clutter, got some new furniture from Ikea, and reorganized almost the entire apartment. It was very tiring but really worth it. We still have a few more piles to sort out but once we do I'll post some photos of our new, little home.
The first photo is of Kelly on Christmas eve. We went to our favorite Chinese restaurant in Chinatown, Yang Chow, and got the slippery shrimp and orange peel beef - yumm, lightly fried, sweet meat! There was a bit of a wait so Kelly got a half a duck from a restaurant down the street and ate some while we waited to get our food to go from Yang Chow.

On Christmas day, Kelly made a turkey and we worked on the house some more. We both called our families (who we can't wait to see soon!) after we ate and then went to see The Waterhorse (it was great!). That night Snoops and Athena played tug of war with Snoops' Eeyore toy and there was much rejoicing in the O'Hare house.

The day after Christmas, we went to the movies again. This time we went to see the new Daniel Day Lewis epic, There Will Be Blood. The time we wanted to go turned out to be sold out so we went to The Hungry Cat, one of Kelly's most frequented restaurants in West Hollywood - they have lots of fancy fish dishes. We have since gone back to work but enjoyed our little break and look forward to coming home to Texas in a few weeks!

Kimmy in LA

2007-12-24T13:44:00.000-08:00

The day after her 23rd birthday Kimmy flew into Burbank. During her stay: we did a lot of eating out, went shopping on Melrose, walked around The Grove and Beverly Center, went for a walk with Susan, Mindy, Macarthur, Basil, and Mr. Snoops in Elysian Park, watched The Golden Compass and Juno at the Arclight in Hollywood, went to the Silver Lake Dog Park, had dinner at Beth, Steve, and Athena's house with Kelly and Hawk after which we saw I am Legend at Grauman's Chinese Theatre, and we went to Disneyland. We ate at a lot of great places including Pinkberry, Elf, Agra Indian Cafe, The Backdoor Bakery, Baskin Robbins, The Urth Cafe, and Flore. It was great just having Kimmy here to hang out with.

First Anniversary

2007-12-22T22:07:00.000-08:00

For our first anniversary Kelly got us tickets to see the musical Wicked at the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood. Afterwards we went to eat at the new, highly recommended restaurant on Melrose called osteria mozza. It was a total surprise and we had an amazing time.

Friends Forever

2007-12-01T21:28:00.000-08:00

Over the Thanksgiving holiday we did have one guest. Her name is Athena. She is a dwarf jack russell terrier. Her family, Beth and Steve, went to visit Steve's family for the holiday weekend so she got to stay with us. Whenever we go out of town Beth and Steve watch Snoops. Snoops and Athena have become friends and Athena has become like part of our family.

New New Glasses

2007-12-01T21:06:00.000-08:00

I decided the other pair of glasses I showed you earlier was too boring and plain. So, I returned to Old Focals and this time I looked at the truly vintage pairs (the others were from the 90s) and found some I like a lot better. They are still not the perfect pair but they are definitely more fun. The guy from the band the Antarcticans who works there helped me choose them and gave them to me for an exact exchange (still only $60) even though they are older and more unique. You can't really tell in the photo but when the light shines through them they look blue and sparkly.

Thanksgiving

2007-12-01T20:27:00.000-08:00

This year it turned out to just be me, Kelly and, Mr. Snoops for Thanksgiving. We had a very nice stress-free time. Kelly cooked a turkeyand made mashed potatos and I made stuffing from a box and baked a pre-made pie. Snoops thoroughly enjoyed his share. We fell asleep much earlier than usual and so got up early the next day with enough time to go to the Arclight in West Hollywood to see a movie before Kelly had to go to work later in the afternoon. We saw the new movie very loosely based on Bob Dylan's lifea dn fashioned after Fellini's 8 1/2, I'm Not There. It made for a fun morning. We got to see the kind of crowd that goes to the Arclight at 11 am instead of 11 pm (which is when we usually go). Later I went to visit Kelly at Edendale. It was quite slow in the bar so I stayed for a long time and studied my anatomy book, talked with Kelly about the movie, and drank a wonderful hot toddy that Kelly made special just for me.

Big Bear Lake

2007-11-22T18:11:00.001-08:00

We loved our visit to Big Bear last weekend. It was nice to get out of the city and just take it easy. Most of the hikes we chose to do were more "walks" than hikes so Snoops got to come with us almost everywhere. We stayed two nights at the Black Forest Lodge where we had our own little cabin with a fireplace and a jacuzzi tub. My lovely friend Debbie had us over for dinner with her and her family at their home. Our favorite restaurant was definnitely the Tearoom - very surreal and interesting experience. We did a lot of window shopping in the little village section of town - my favorite place was the candy shop where I got peanut butter and vanilla fudge - yum! Big Bear is definitely a place we will visit again when we need a restful weekend break from LA.

My New Glasses

2007-11-11T16:28:00.000-08:00

Haven't yet got lenses put in but here's a few photos so you guys get the idea:

Chico's Angels

2007-11-11T12:44:00.000-08:00

The best show I have seen since living in LA has to be Chico's Angels at Casita del Campo in Silverlake. The lovely Beth Leckbee-Makler, who I most recently saw performing with her improv musical theatre troupe Hit and Run - also fabulous, was featured in the last few weeks of the run of Chico's Angels part three. I am looking forward to part four next year! Seeing the show was extra special because I got to go with Alexis, Kate, Anastasia and Jenn.

Belated Halloween

2007-11-10T21:47:00.000-08:00

For Halloween this year Kelly and I went with Hawk to the Knott's Berry Farm Halloween Haunt - very scarey! One week later we went with Bill and Stacey to the Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights - even more scarey - lots of loud chainsaws! The four of us waited in line for an hour and a half to go through the Texas Chainsaw Massacre Maze and I must say it was worth it. We plan to go back again next year.

The Go Healthy Challenge

2007-11-10T20:36:00.000-08:00

Recently my friend Beth Leckbee-Makler and I taught dance to K-5th Graders at Gratts Elementary school in downtown LA. We were volunteers for the Go Healthy Challenge - an initiative started by the American Heart Association to get kids physically active in spite of state funding cuts that have eliminated PE classes in most schools. After an hour or so of searching around for the perfect music/idea, Beth suggested we do The Time Warp from Rocky Horror Picture Show. We agreed this was the perfect thing and found a cleaned up kids version on a halloween cd on iTunes ("but it's the way you shake it that really drives you insane" instead of "it's the pelvic thrust"). The coolness of doing The Time Warp was lost on the kids, but maybe one or two will someday watch Rocky Horror and realize how cool it really was.

First Post

2007-11-10T14:11:00.000-08:00

Hello friends and family! Having a rare Saturday afternoon with no work or coursework. Snoops and I just went to the dog park and now it's time to go to the mall to buy gloves for our trip to Big Bear next weekend!