Wednesday, September 28, 2011

The Loot–Megan’s Wings Style

One of the perks about finishing a race?  The goodie bag! 

The bigger the race = the better the bag.  But the small races also have some good stuff. 

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The highlights:

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Yep, you saw that right, CHIPOTLE!!!  We love Chipotle and this was definitely one of the best things in the bag.  We also had a $500 gift card for sunglasses from RedStar glasses.  We ordered 2 pair off one card and will see how they turn out. 

Some of the “eh” stuff: 

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What are those things?  They have sticky stretchy hands and feet and cling to the wall.  We aren’t sure what they are for. 

And of course, an outtake – Chloe just had to try to get into the shot. 

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Monday, September 26, 2011

Chloe says cheese!

Chloe loves to lounge on the couch.  When she does she looks so cute but has some crazy dog sense so that whenever you focus the camera on her, she gets up and moves.

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See!?  However, last night we got some good ones.  She must have been off her mojo. 

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I love her tail in the picture above! 

Sunday, September 25, 2011

Painting - Take 2

We are almost there!  After the first paint fail, we decided to stick with a blue that had a more grey undertone.  We tested a couple of colors below.

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I actually really like the color on the left and would have probably picked that one.  But Jeff thought it was just a tad too dark for the whole room, so we went with one shade lighter.

We made the trip to Lowe’s and bought 2 buckets, plus some ceiling paint.  Now it’s time to paint!

Saturday, September 24, 2011

Megan Savage Run for a Cure 5k

I first heard about the Megan Savage 5k by searching for local races.  This one seemed like as good as any to run since A) it was relatively local and B) More importantly, it supported a cause that means a lot to me.

Since it was relatively local, Jeff and I picked up our bibs and t-shirts yesterday after work and got some instructions regarding parking.  The volunteers advised that parking was BAD and the only way to beat it was to get there early.  They mentioned some people even had to park about a 1/2 mile away.  Jeff and I figured walking a 1/2 mile didn’t sound too bad…

We got up around 6:15 am and headed out the door around 6:45 am.  We stopped at a gas station for some gas, Gatorade and a Clif bar. 

Once we got to the park, we parked easily and hung out in the car until the kids were ready to run their 1k race around the park. 

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There were about a dozen vendors/organizations there to sell items and encourage people to sign up for different races. 

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They had a display of photos from prior races and the Savage family.

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We made our way down to watch the kids run.  They had the volunteers line up on one side with pom poms to cheer on the kids.

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Ready…Set…

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Go!

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Pretty soon, it was the 5k racers’ turn to line up.

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We sang the Star Spangled Banner and then we were off!

The first mile was rough!  It was all uphill and at the very end a super steep incline.  I ended up having to walk 2 times during the first mile and began to doubt if I had it in me.

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Thankfully, as soon as we turned the corner, it was ALL DOWNHILL!!  Through out the race, the volunteers were on the sidelines cheering us on.

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The second mile was much smoother and felt like a regular weekday run but with different scenery.

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The houses in this area are so nice!  Much better than the dairies we run by.  Winking smile

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Around 2.5  miles, Jeff began to run ahead of me in hopes of getting to the finish line to take pictures.

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Jeff took the camera and snapped the below pictures.  You can see the finish line in the distance!

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Right before he crossed, Jeff stopped to get the finish line.  The announcer poked fun of him saying (into the mic) that he was stopping to prove to his buddies that he finished!  Nope, just needed the picture for the blog!  Smile

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He grabbed his water and goodie bag and turned around to catch me coming through.  There I am, tired but happy! 

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We are waiting for the official results, but the Garmin says Jeff was able to finish in 35:10 and I finished in 36:18 – a PR!  Hopefully those are the roughly the same as the official times.

We had so much fun!  We grabbed some orange slices and then headed towards home to have a big breakfast.

We may or may not be bitten by the racing bug.  Stay tuned to hear about our next run…

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Stone Brewery

Right now I’m on a temporary work assignment that has me traveling throughout Southern California.  I’ve been to Torrance, San Fernando Valley and Wednesday night stayed overnight in San Diego.

I was the most excited about San Diego and could not wait to explore the city for a good place to eat dinner.  We met up with someone who works in the San Diego office and she took us to the Stone Brewery

The restaurant is an actual beer brewery located in the middle of an industrial office area.  It had no sign so unless you knew what you were looking for, you’d drive right by it.

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When you walk up to the brewery, you have to walk down this long stone paved walkway that leads right to the brewery and open seating area.  Above is the view from our seats.  It was just like we were at a winery in Temecula, the grounds were so massive and pretty!

Of course the beer and wine menu were huge.  I went with the American Pale Ale and it was really good. 

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We ended up ordering some appetizers and dinner.  I had the Chicken Schnitzel which was delicious.  The entire atmosphere was laid back and relaxing.  I’ve already told Jeff we need to go back for the tour and tastings.

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Baby Boy Blue

was apparently the color we wanted to paint our master bedroom.

But let me back up a bit.  Jeff and I were bit by the decorating bug after seeing how much fun C & C had painting their house.  We had always contemplated painting our master bedroom blue and finally went out and got some paint samples. 

We taped the samples to the wall in the part of the room with the most natural light and the part of the room that was darkest.  Finally, 2 front runners came forward and we headed to Home Depot. 

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We were so excited to finally put some color on the walls.  Jeff painted 3 sections with the samples and we stood back to take a look.  Hmmm…

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After a couple of days it finally hit me and I told Jeff it sort of looks like a boy’s nursery color.  Jeff started laughing and said the paint lady actually asked him if he was painting a little boy’s room.

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So now we are back to square one.  We’ve picked up more samples and are starting over.  Stay tuned for color updates.  Smile

Sunday, September 18, 2011

Double booked

I have problems saying “no” when it comes to the nieces.  Especially saying no to spending time with them.  So when Danny and Crystal both asked if I could watch their respective daughters Saturday, I said yes without thinking.  Oops!

It worked out okay since Aunty Shannon was available to take over one shift.  I spent the first half of the morning with the older nieces while Danny went to work.

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The nieces were pretty tired from their early morning wake up call so they spent most of the day on our bed watching cartoons. 

Mid-afternoon I left Shannon and the nieces to head over to C & C’s.  They were headed to a wedding that evening (and totally forgot to smuggle out some wedding cake for me!) so it was just me and the baby nieces. 

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Well me, the nieces and Jeff for a bit.  Smile  Jeff came by with some dinner for me and hung out for awhile. 

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Jeff and Hailey consulted each other on paint samples.  That girl KNOWS her colors!!

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After dinner and bath time, the baby nieces went to bed without a problem.  LOVE THAT!

Friday, September 16, 2011

A Fair to Remember

Twice in a year!!  Jeff and I headed to the fair Thursday afternoon, but this time with our friends. 

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It was my first time at the fair at night in a long time.  When we were kids my parents always left as it was getting dark.  And now that Jeff and I are old, we leave before the sun even starts to set!  Smile

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Since many of us just got off of work, we went straight to the food stands to eat dinner.  I got my beef kabob but wasn’t that impressed.  James ordered some deep fried Oreos for everyone to share.  Until now, I’ve been going to the fair every year since I was little and the only other deep fried fair food I’ve dried was avocado.  The Oreo was just okay.

While we were eating, Cole tried his hand at riding the bull!

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After eating we decided to walk around the exhibits to do some shopping.  But we couldn’t resist getting a 15 minute massage.  Felt sooooo good!!

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Every year the fair has a new exhibit and this year it was sharks.  I sort of felt sad for the sharks being locked up in a tiny aquarium.  They had no room to swim.  Where is PETA when you need them???

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Cole went on a couple of rides…

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And then we walked by a small replica of old Pomona.  It was pretty cool and they even offer walking tours through the mini town. 

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We had so much fun, but were pooped by the end of the night.  Love hanging out with friends!!  Smile