our weekends

I love my weekends!

How I wish they were longer so that I can fit in all my errands, my workouts, my chores and spend more time with my family and friends. We do what we can to make the most of it, so I was so happy when Barre added a 7am class on Saturdays. What a great way to make use of dead time! Not only am I getting my work out done, but I come home energized and start making big breakfast- one of the things we can never do on the weekdays as a family. Bacon, eggs, fried rice, toast or croissants, and of course coffee... morning coffee on the weekends are the BEST! For a while, hubs was making trips down the street to grab donut holes and old fashion donuts at the best donut shop ever. Coming home to sweet and sugary deliciousness after a rigorous work out wasn't ideal; I had to put a stop to that dangerous weekend tradition.

Fortunately we haven't been too busy with much, so our weekends have consisted of last minute, short trips to random local places. We checked out another part of Balboa Park and I wasn't in the mood to lug my camera around, so no great shots. Originally I wanted to spend some time in one of the museums, being that it was February and most, if not all, museums were 1/2 off admissions (museum month). But I was dragging myself around the Park as it was, I didn't want to pay admission and have to leave after 15 minutes. Those early morning barre classes have been catching up to me by mid-day.

Balboa Park, by the rose garden

rock climbing

Another weekend was spent in the East Village. This was the 3rd year going to Padres Fan Fest and although it wasn't that great of a turn out, it was a good time. We hung out on the field, something that can rarely be done and I chased the little girl around to try and tire her out. We waited in line to get a cheesy Hello Kitty painted on her face that I probably could've painted better. And we strolled through the park a bit before having dinner at Basic Kitchen- my favorite!

this location would be nice season ticket seats

Our first weekend in March was ruled by Disneyland. We drove out on a Friday afternoon and stayed until 10 and went home. Early the following day, we were the first to arrive at the Disney store which gave Camille the opportunity to turn and unlock the big Disney lock with the big Disney key. Did you know about this little event that they hold? My sis had done this a few times and I didn't realize what big deal this is. After Camille turned the key to unlock the store with a nice applause to follow, it sent a little girl in a tantrum wanting to unlock it. Sorry, sweetie! THEN on Sunday morning, we headed back up to Disneyland to spend the first half of the day there. I'll save that weekend for another post, but we were certainly Disneyed out.

on the tram heading towards Disneyland

the key to unlock the Disney store

Hazel and I ran a 5K race in Solana Beach that was pretty fun. The gunshot start was a little wild & chaotic- overly excited dogs, people stumbling and tripping on leashes, etc... And since it was a race to support the Helen Woodward Animal Center, Cloie got to run with me. Last weekend we ran another 5K and did pretty well. It was a fairly easy course but going forward I now have a new PR to beat. Sweet! That race has given me the run bug and I'm seriously considering a half marathon in a short six weeks. Future blog posts about those two 5Ks coming up.

With birthdays galore coming up I know for certain there will be a lot to talk about in the next few weeks. And there you have it, my weekends. Summarized in a few short paragraphs.
And guess what? It's Friday...the weekend is here!!!

5Ks

Another year, another list of races to run.

To be quite honest, I had not run at all since Thanksgiving Day at the 10k Run for the Hungry. And since then, I've only been committed to barre classes. Barre, my one and only source of exercise, got me through my first 5k of 2013.

Hazel & I ran the Puppy Love 5K race that supports the Helen Woodward Center for orphaned animals. The race took place in Solana Beach along the 101 and we were allowed to have our furry friends run with us. The sponsorship this race received was incredible- people must really love animals! And the race was pretty cool, although it was a little weird to do the same loop within a loop. The last part of the course was a gradual uphill, which didn't help my time. And speaking of which, when I crossed the finish line I noticed it was my worst time yet. I was considering all the factors (aka, excuses lol!)... running with Cloie, the repeating loop, the cold & frigid morning weather, the uphill finish--- only to find out later that the course was not measured accurately. I felt something was off and it was definitely longer than a 5k, so I'll take that into consideration. I was really beginning to question my endurance, wtf?! :)

More recently, the San Diego Half Marathon/5K took place and it was an awesome race. For this race, I rolled deep and rallied up my peeps. There were six of us and it was a lot of fun seeing everyone run in, one after the other. Makes me so proud, even Glen who ran it practically drunk. He had quite a few beers the night before at a friend's 40th birthday party and with the time changing forward, he still managed to cross the finish line before the five of us. Geeeez!

my drunk man & I

As I mentioned, this race was awesome for many reasons- mainly because I got my PR and ran it under 30 minutes, when I was only focusing on finishing it just at half an hour. This just sets the bar now for my future 5K runs and actually inspires me to run a half marathon that is coming up very, very soon. I haven't signed up (committed to) it yet, but I am so close to hitting the register button. A separate post will let you know soon! Anyways, the race was from point A to point B (Hillcrest to Downtown) and I love when races are set up that way, there were no hills, a medal at the finish line, a scenic run and it was extremely well organized. Probably the most organized race I've participated in. From signing up to crossing the finish line, they had everything coordinated to a tee! I would surely run this race next year, however I'm hopeful that I can step it up and run the half marathon!

Go Team!

all things Disney

With two weeks left on our Disneyland annual passes, we were scrambling to find the perfect time to visit The Happiest Place on Earth. On Friday we decided to pack up and spend the 2nd half of the day there and catch the fireworks show. After having our passes for a year, it's kind of funny how we did a few different things this time.

- Contrary to a previous post, we parked in the structure and took the tram into Downtown Disney.

- We stood in line (less than 25 minutes) for the Jungle Cruise.

- We all rode the Go Gadget Roller Coaster in Toon Town a few times.

- We walked through Tarzan’s Tree House.

- We ate a candied apple from Pooh’s Corner Bakery, which wasn’t that great and also disappointing because they don’t cut it for you. L

- We got a closer view of the fireworks show, which meant fighting the crowds. But it was worth it.

And after a long day at the park, we headed home. Yes, at 10:30pm and I took the wheel. That was tough, next time we crash at sister’s place!

I rolled out of bed Saturday morning and went to barre class. I don’t know how I did it after that tiring drive home, but I did! And I don’t know what came over us, but we were determined to get to the Fashion Valley Disney Store to find some highly coveted Sofia the First items. While waiting in line for the store to open, I suddenly felt like we were in a Princess line at Disneyland. Since we were first to arrive, Camille got to turn the giant lock to open the Disney store. It was ultimately the coolest thing for her to do. If you ever get a chance to do that while your kid is still “a kid”, you must! They give an exclusive Disney key to keep as a souvenir, but the entire experience itself is unforgettable and will be with them forever.

kids were envious of Camille, lucky girl!

 We weren’t quite finished being Disney losers, as we headed back up to Anaheim early Sunday morning. I was surprised to find us in the park 15 minutes after they opened. That has never happened all year (again) being pass holders and I wish we had been more on top of it. I guess being pass holders come with a much less urgency to get to the park. It was awesome though… characters were everyone at the front of Main Street for photo ops. We waited 5 minutes, I repeat 5 MINUTES(!), at Pixie Hollow, 10 minutes in the Princess line and a host of other attractions were easy to get on throughout the morning since we got there early. We treated ourselves to Mickey Mouse-shaped beignets and mint juleps- again, never have done that all year. LOL! It was so much fun, and how sad is it that this was our last day until the fall?

I’ve had enough Disney for a while, and this post is proof of what fanatics we were this weekend. It’s okay for Camille to be a fanatic, but us? Well- we do it ALL for her, so we get a pass. J While I’m certain we will get the Disney blues in a few weeks I think we will be okay staying local and visiting the animals at the zoo, hitting the beach this summer and keeping busy at my sister’s pools.

Disney overload!