Sunday, December 27, 2009

golden state reflections





As I watch the flames of the fireplace whip back and forth only feet beyond my laptop, cozily sitting in my dad's favorite love-seat, sipping overpriced hot cocoa, I let the fire warm my toes which have been chilled from the "weary" Redondo Beach winter and listen to the mixed sounds of Merle Haggard music, SportsCenter, and the neighbor's hound dog, weeping next door. Ahh, what an idyllic setting for a less than epic blogpost; I must be in a retired man's house, pondering my residential status.

Southern California is indeed, another world. I forgot how many Mercedes, Jaguars, BMW's, and the like, litter the streets of PCH, the 405, the 91, the 10, the 101, the 60, the 57, the 5, the 710, and the, well you get the idea. When I left to go running this afternoon, the neighbors (owners of the above mentioned dog), asked if I was in fact crazy for attempting to go running in a mere t-shirt and shorts in this rather "chilly" weather (60 degrees, Fahrenheit, mind you). I encountered numerous other joggers on the boardwalk, clad in tights, hoodies, beanies, even gloves (!) walking their designer dogs and listening to friends' tales of failed plastic surgeries and the new Juicy Couture bags they just purchased for their 11 year old daughters. Luckily, my scoffs and scorns were replaced with a smirk as I paused to watch the gorgeous Pacific sunset beyond pounding 4-6' surf. The oranges, pinks, and yellows in the sea spray seemed to soften my contempt and judgments as I remembered that I was once, and still in many ways am, a proud Californian.

Looking for a theatre in which to watch "Sherlock Holmes" tonight, (*sidenote: the movie was very good, but the previews almost caused me to lose faith entirely in Hollywood; six horrible sneak peaks and not a single film on which I would waste a dollar at Movies 8) I found five within a single zip code. Good and various restaurants abound are within fingertips, cultural and sporting events (one in the same) occur daily, and you can partake of a myriad of outdoor activities in world-class settings virtually year-round: surfing, skiing, boating, biking, golfing, climbing, hiking, celeb-spotting, etc.. If I head in my car, (or on my bike if feeling more adventurous) I can leave the country sooner than I can enter another of United States. If I head due East, North, or even West a few miles offshore, I may find one of eight National Parks (a number matched only by Alaska, which occupies a geographical area four times as large as CA). I can hear nearly a dozen different languages spoken on any given day simply by visiting a shopping mall (which, ironically, are boasted to be tops in the country). I can support one of 15 professional athletic teams (the good: go Blue!, the bad: RaiderNation, and the ugly: SF Giants) within state line. If blessed with residency (and good grades), you can attend one of hundreds of higher-learning institutes, including the nation's two best public universities, UCLA and Cal Berkeley.

Whether you crave a big city scene, fun beaches, hippie deserts, snow-capped mountains, towering redwoods, sleepy coastal towns, wide open spaces, agricultural valleys, or wine countries, I'm pretty sure you can find it here. Sure, my friends may out-pay me four to one in rent and cost of living when compared to other locales, and the Kindergarten Cop & his gubernatorial cabinet may have left the state economy in shambles, and there may be smog, along with a few pretentious people ("the land of gracious living?!!"), blah blah blah, but the simple fact is: this state is incredible. Take it or leave it, love it or hate it, California is worth all the hype. Perhaps some day I will once again grace this sunny southland with my more permanent presence, but for now, I am a full-fledged, proud Utahan. I really do love UT, but I can still be a native California girl at heart.

Hermosa Beach Pier '05


Christian/Skyler @ Lake Tahoe '05


Point Reyes '06

Death Valley, '07
Mammoth Lakes '07

Point Reyes, '06

San Fran, '06

Yep, I took 'em all.

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

O Tannenbaum


The homegirlz and I decided to add a little personal flava to our tree (yes, sadly it is fake, but when you're a poor nursing student you just happily accept a free tree rather than pay for one). We added pretty much anything we could find around the house, along with some traditional ornaments and meaningful objects. Which is your fav? Bonus points for identifying my additions...(and yes, this is a feeble attempt at getting more comments on my blog).

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! I'm off to California...



bittersweet Holidays...

It's always nice to open up your email to find a picture of one of your best friends in a zebra snuggie.
Then I realized just how cruel Nick's intentions were:
I hope you're all getting along okay as we celebrate this, our first Christmas without MJ.

Sunday, December 20, 2009

finals are over.


In the words of Alice Cooper, "schooooool's out for [winter]." So, in order to celebrate, I spent some time here:


and here
and definitely here

we snowshoed into this killer cabin in the Abajo Mountains

There are no roads to the cabin, it's about a 3-4 mile hike in. No other cabins in the whole area!

beautiful La Sal Mountains with Church Rock in the foreground

This cabin is incredible! There is no electricity or running water. It's a true backwoods, rustic cabin, built with all local materials.
Hwy 6, near Price, UT
I was pretty into this heart-shaped dinner bell, in case you can't tell by the number of photo appearances:




look for these shots in the 2010 REI catalog



Blue Mountain
snowshoe acrobatics

the gear


da boyz, gettin crazy playing risk
The crew: a redhead, some good ole boys, a Swede, and me.
showing some skin, winter style
Scenic Highway 191
my precious Colorado River, frozen. (excuse the bridge rails)


I hope you enjoy the plethora of pictures!

Thursday, December 17, 2009

la tortuga morada


The Purple Turtle is a mainstay in Pleasant Grove, UT. If you've ever been up American Fork Canyon you've probably driven by, or at least heard of it. Seeing as I am a North-Eastern Utah County resident, I thought it only appropriate that I finally dine in and see what is so darn special about the place. First and foremost, TPT gets 5 gold stars (out of an arbitrary 5) for their creative decor. I love love love it when local businesses stick with a theme or when they incorporate regional activities and landmarks into the decorative mix. They nailed both of these aims by having several water color paintings of turtles doing various outdoor Utah-themed activities.

The food is your typical diner-style fried stuff and was pretty average (with the exception of the juicy, far-above average burgers). It was also rather expensive for "fast food;" almost 10 buckaroos for a burger and bland fries. They really pride themselves on their fry sauce (word to the wise: it isn't really that good). My expert tongue took only one taste to pinpoint the so-called secret ingredient: miracle whip instead of mayo.

You'd think that by charging $13.49 for a fish basket and fries, the Purple Turtle management could afford to replace this frame glass; apparently not. Prognosis: I will probably not return to the Purple Turtle, however I thoroughly enjoyed my visit.

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

C-A-L Ranch

I've clearly been doing my Christmas shopping at all the wrong businesses, that is, until recently...

Me: "Excuse me, could you tell me where the dressing rooms are?"
Friendly Customer Service Rep: "Sure hun, they're up in the front, underneath the elk heads."

What kind of wondrous store could be home to such an amazing dialogue?? I could have bought gifts for everyone I know, like this lovely camo PJ set for someone special.

A+ student



It's finals week, and to prove just how studious i've been lately, I wanted to show you:
a) how attractive i look,
b) the sweet outfit i've been wearing for the past 5 days (yes, a robe i've had since i first began college and sweatpants from high school waterpolo), and
c) where i've been spending all of my time.

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Bye-bye JP


With all this talk of cold weather and such, one's mind tends to drift to warmer, more pleasant, summery places... i.e. river trips, baseball, beaches, etc. I was figuring that I have about four and half months until my summer starts, and even shorter until spring training begins! So, first things first, let's get a little update on everyone's favorite team (or at least the one that this blog supports).

Juan Pierre, the semi-beloved-socks-over-the-pants-wearing-left-fielding-base-stealer, has been traded to the White Sox. You would think that most Dodger fans would bid good riddance, considering that Pierre was arguably the most expensive bench-sitter in the leagues. I however, will miss him (and his speed) but am excited to see the two new acquisitions promised by Chicago. During the off season last year, we were the talk in all of baseball as this man's (see below) salary deal was highly contested. Things are a little more quiet during this off season but hopefully we will see some fantastic additions and get a couple quality starting pitchers. I will use this as an excuse to post some sweet shots from the playoffs this year. I had the chance to go to games 1 and 2 of the NLCS, but have yet to post any proof until now (2 months later).

Brother was visibly nervous to meet Manny.

before Game 1, I hiked up to the sign. I made The mom leave 4 hours early for this game

listening to a touching rendition of the National Anthem sung by Miley Cyrus' Dad. Yep. This performance was only to be overshadowed by the Backstreet Boys the following day for Game 2


the Game 2 crew. Andrew's buddy, Jake, drove something like 15 hours down from Portland to be there.

I tried to get us on National TV by making this sign

The mom, showing off some Game 1 booty.

"I Love L.A."

These towels are now proudly displayed in my kitchen, however they are not permitted for use on messy spills, solely for drying hands and other clean tasks.

paying $60 for a pavilion seat never seemed so right