It is official . . .

I am a running nerd.  On Saturday, I had a 12 mile run and I really struggled through the last leg of it.  According to discussions with my coaches with TNT, I equate the main source of my struggle was my lack of fluids/electrolytes.  To solve this problem for my future runs, I bought a fuel belt.  Specifically this fuel bet. 

Source: www.ultimatedirection.com

Or as D, likes to refer to it, as my glorified fanny pack.  Although some may chuckly at my fuel belt, I'm really hoping that this will help me through my long runs and also help in my recovery time. Have I officially crossed over?  Have I become a true runner?  Is it sad, that I'm actually considering buying the toe-shoes?  Wait don't answer the last one.  I already know what you're going to say.

BCBD - Beach City Baked Donuts

D and I have passed this little restaurant located on Pacific Coast Highway (PCH, if you're a local) nearly every time we’re in Redondo Beach and have been so curious to try it. We had some time on Sunday morning before D had to go into work, so we thought we'd give the Beach City Baked Donuts a try. Once we entered, we knew this was not going to be any ole' everyday donut shop, and certainly not like Bob's Donuts back in SF or even Randy’s Donuts here in LA. These donuts are not fried but baked and are served in individual high-end plastic baggies. The flavors include a couple traditional ones and several Japanese flavors including sweet potato, uji-kin, and black sesame. Never afraid of new foods, we stepped up and purchased a variety of six little donuts. Along with our steaming cups of coffee, we took our donuts and went to sit by the beach. The donuts were good, but had the consistency of low-fat pound cake, which to me made them seem a little dry. Great for dunking in our coffee though! Not sure we’ll be returning anytime soon, but still made for a fun adventure.

Vegas . . . Again

Last weekend, D and I went to Las Vegas!  We decided to drive rather than fly, which worked out for the most part.  The drive home was definitely harder than the drive there though . . . We got to drive through several "thriving" California towns, including Yermo (love the name) and Calico.  I had fun watching the people driving on I-15  with us, because you could definitely tell the difference between the locals and the people on the way to Vegas.  We stayed at the Plant Hollywood Westgate Towers and met up with my good friend Ckim and our friend P.  We had an action packed weekend and I think the main highlights of the weekend included drinks at the Encore's Surrender nightclub (Lil John's birthday was suppose to start at 1 am, but we didn't quite make it that late), Blue Man Group Show at the Venetician, and my first attempt at Black Jack at Bill Gamblin' Hall and Saloon!  Looking forward to our next trip there, but am happy that I have plenty of time to recover in the mean time.

Germany

I found a new blog yesterday that I'm super excited about!  I lived in Germany for the first part of my life and still have a lot of fond memories about Germany.  In fact, the holiday season was one of my favorite times of years in Germany.  Tons of cool Weinachtsmarkts (Christmas Markets) with plenty of hearty food, spiced wine, and handmade Christmas ornaments.  I have not come across many people who have shared a similar experience/love of Germany, but when I do come across someone who "gets" my love of Germany, I get very excited.  Hence, I'm stoked about a new blog I found called Haus Maus (House Mouse) and am looking forward to reading about her adventures of living abroad in Germany.  Sometimes I wish I could go back to living in Europe or maybe somewhere else really fun (like Australia or Alaska), but we'll see where life takes me and D.  Its been interesting finding the balance between growing a career, exploring the world, while still remaining close with dear friends and family members.  Either way, I'm confident were on our way to finding our equilibrium.

Fun in Mexico

One of the super cool perks of my job is the traveling.  Although I don't always get to go to fun places, but occasionally I do get to travel to really nice places.  This last weekend, I traveled to Punta Mita, Mexico, which is a private peninsula just north of Puerto Vallarta.  The sun was shining, the weather was warm, and it felt wonderful to be there.  My Spanish skills are not very good, but basically, I refer to it as "Survival Spanish," where I can say hello, thank you, please, some numbers, and a few other key terms (such as beer, bathroom, etc). Luckily the hotel I was staying at had bilingual staff members. I called the valet to bring up my car, but I couldn't find my valet ticket.  This is the conversation that ensued:

Valet Attendant (VA): “Buenos Tardes Miss L, how may I assist you today?

L: “Buenos Tardes. I would like my car to be brought up, por favor, but I can’t seem to find my valet ticket.”

VA: “Not a problem Miss L, we can still bring up your car.  What kind of car do you have?”

L: “Ummmm . . . I don’t remember.  It was a rental car.  I remember that it was white though!”

(Pause)

VA: “Miss L you have an attitude.”

(Pause)

L: “I’m sorry!?  What did you say?”

VA: “Your car Miss L.  You have a white Dodge Attitude.”

L: “Ohhh!” (Sigh of relief) “Yes, that must be it.”

VA: “We will have your car waiting for you.”

L: “Gracias.”

 
Silly Miss L.

The Dirty Life - A Review

I travel quite a bit for work, and so I've become quite a fan of reading magazines published by various airlines.  My favorite ones happen to be from United Airlines and US Airways.  While reading one of the US Airways magazine, I read an excerpt from a book called "The Dirty Life."  It is a book about a woman who falls in love with a hippie farmer and gives up her life in New York City to move to an organic farm in northern New York.  I was intrigued and ended up buying the book on Amazon.  I just finished it this weekend and thought it was fantastic!  Highly recommend it, especially if you put up with pseudo-hippie stuff like myself.  I love how she walks the fine line of appreciating organic sustainable living, but still appreciates modern conveniences and luxuries.  If you're interested, check out the excerpt from the book on the US Airways Magazine website .

Xmas Eve in Disneyland

A little late on these pics, but on Xmas Eve, D and I met up with my cousin and her hubby and two little bros at Disneyland!  I realized that of the three times I had previously been to Disneyland, my cousin J had been there with me for two out of the those three times. So it was fitting, that we would meet at Disneyland again!  The last time I was there was when I was 13, so it was a lot of fun taking in all of the sites as an adult.  Plus it was cool seeing the park all decorated for the holidays too!  We got to go on all of the major rides before most of the crowds hit, so it ended up a wonderful day.  Not going to lie though, by the end of the time we were all exhausted and excited to head home and sip on some holiday beverages of sorts.  Happy Holidays from Disneyland!

Main Street, Disneyland, USA

D trying on some lovely Mickey Ears

Me and my Cuz

Churo break!

Haunted Mansion decorated as "Nightmare Before Christmas"

Getting ready to go down "Splash Mountain"

Santa's Reindeer

End of the day, I think D was ready to head home for some egg nog

Thanks Koreatown

Well, 2011 is officially here and I have a good feeling about it.  One of the several things that D and I want to do is continue to explore LA. Yesterday, we decided to explore Koreatown.  Koreatown seems to be a really “urban” cultural place with lots of enticing restaurants and food carts and random discount stores.  We tried out a Korean BBQ joint and it was incredible! D and I don't have a lot of experience with Korean BBQ, especially when you have your own grill at your table, but it turned out splendidly. Soowon Galbi Korean BBQ was clean and the service was friendly and fast for the most part (we didn't realize that you had to literally buzz a ringer for your waiter until about 15 minutes into us sitting there and waiting for someone to show up, after that we got right into it).  We ordered Beef Bulgogi and Dolsot Bimbab to share and it was the perfect warm comfort food for a rainy day.  We had also originally ordered some Pork Belly, but they forgot to bring it out in time, which was fine with me because I was stuffed at that point.  They were so apologetic that they gave us a coupon for a free entree on our next visit.  Score!!!