Ranking the 24 Hour Fitnesses that I have been to.

#1 Irvine Marketplace Super Sport (Towel Service, Frosted glass shower doors)
#2 Cypress Sport (Large one story, Easy parking)
#3 La Cienega Magic Johnson (Nice facility but three sotries)
#4 Orange Sport (Large two story, Easy parking)
#5 Irvine Spectrum Sport (Nice bathrooms, but no pool)
#6 South Coast Metro Center Super Sport (Nice but cramped)
#7 Irvine Center Sport (Average size)
#8 Manhattan Beach Active (Small)
#9 Irvine Culver Drive Active (Small)
#10 Sacramento (Fulton & Hurley) Active (Small and old)
#11 Tustin Active (Small and old)

Last week I tried to take our Christmas card picture by myself with the kids in the garden at Katie Wheeler library. Unfortunately, n was not being too cooperative, plus it was too sunny. So, here are a few shots from the outing.

This was an “almost”. Too bad about the shadows.

k was sick on picture day at preschool, but I think this is a nice photo by which to remember this age.

It’s really nice that there is this outside area to roam around in right next to the library. I let the kids run around whenever we go. I’ll have to take pictures of the actual library because it is in an old refurbished house and it is so cute!

I really should be sleeping right now because I do not feel well. k and I both came down with a bug yesterday. k missed picture day at preschool today! Being sick is so much tougher when you have other people to take care of. k is at the age where I wouldn’t feel bad taking a quick nap, but n, not so much.

Saturday we went to the Blackmarket Bakery Open House which hosted three food trucks. We bought two sliders from The Burnt Truck and a skirt steak taco and empanada from Piaggio on Wheels. The Dogzilla truck was also there, but we weren’t in the mood for hot dogs with mayonnaise and furikake. Blackmarket had free samples of cabernet pasta, pumpkin mousse cake, rocky road tartletts, pomegranate marshmallows and coffee. Our favorites were the empanada and the pumpkin mousse cake.

Less than two miles away was the Chinese church where Jana Alayra was performing a family concert. When we arrived, there was already a line at the door and most people had their tickets. The website didn’t say anything about buying tickets in advance, so I was surprised. They said they were “sort of sold out” but told us to wait to see if they had room. Luckily, they did, so k was able to see some of her favorite songs being performed by Jana: Jump Into the Light and Absolutely Nothing. n fell asleep quite early on. I was also able to buy a CD to put into our music rotation for the car. Afterward the church had refreshments: chow mein, egg rolls, hot dogs and nachos (D’s favorite). They also provided Halloween treat bags for all of the kids, which was a nice touch. Both D and I saw a few people that we know, too. I couldn’t help but compare her to Junko…they both lead worship at Saddleback. I honestly don’t know if I would be able to tell their voices apart aside from the songs they sing. However, it is nice that they both live in Orange County, so we can see them perform in person. My mom said that Jana had a concert at our church a while back. Funny how I didn’t even know who she was, pre-kids. Looking forward to the Junko concert at our church early next year.

1) Cal Football Holiday Bowls (2004 & 2006); Pac-10 Co-champions (2006)
2) Cal Basketball Sweet Sixteen (1997) and Pac-10 Champions (2010)
3) Indiana Basketball NCAA Champioship Game (2002); Big Ten Co-champions
4) Indiana Football Insight Bowl Game (2007)
5) San Francisco 49ers Super Bowls (1988,1989 & 1994)
6) San Francisco Giants World Series (2010)
7) Golden State Warriors Playoffs (2007)

Since Halloween was on a Sunday this year, we were able to cram in a little more fun than usual. D didn’t have to race over to church from work, so he wore his Elvis costume (which he already had from a work party a couple of years back).

k was little red riding hood. Yes, for the third year in a row. The cape still fit, and she wanted to wear it, so why not? I think we’ll have to think of something new for next year, though.

n was a cowboy. Someone gave us the shirt, so I just bought the bandana. (I didn’t think he would wear a hat, though that would have been cute). He seemed to like the idea of putting candy in his bucket.

This year k actually wanted to go into the bounce house, as long as n went with her. n wasn’t quite sure to make of it, but k had fun bouncing, just like she does on our bed.

n also discovered the joy of cotton candy.

We got home before 6:30 so we went around our neighborhood for a little trick or treating, too. Then we turned on our own light and handed some candy out. This is the first time we have really been able to do it since a. we lived in a second story condo before, so no one came and b. usually we were still at the church harvest festival until it was too late for trick or treaters. Anyway, we’ll see how long k remembers about the candy since she has forgotten about it quite quickly in the past.

On Friday, D took off a half day because his B-school buddy and his girlfriend flew out from Atlanta to spend the weekend in southern California. The main impetus for the trip was for D and his friend Chris to run the L.A. Rock-n-Roll half marathon on Sunday. However, Friday and Saturday were spent touring around OC and LA. Chris’ girlfriend, the lovely P, had never been to California before, so that was kind of fun. They stopped by In-n-Out on the way to our place (a must for first time California visits!) However, I think they both like Five Guys better. I guess we’ll have to try them out when they open up at the District and see for ourselves.

We left the kids with my parents and drove to Laguna Beach. P wanted to see seals, but settled for the tidepools at Laguna. It was a lovely day, especially after all the rain we had the days before.

We walked around some of the galleries and shops. One gallery had an interesting display of the artwork/sculptures of Dr. Seuss.

D then took us to the Montage for one of the “top five views” of our lives. It was pretty grand; unfortunately I left my camera in the car!! The valet parking was $10, but it was nice to just walk the grounds. After all, the parking at Crystal Cove is $15, right? I thought it would be a nice place to get engaged…there were all of these little benches on top of the cliff, overlooking the water, not too many people around, etc.

We didn’t spend too long there because I wanted to try to get into the happy hour at K’ya Bistro just down the street. I had made dinner reservations at 6 p.m., just in case. Good thing, because we arrived at 4:40–too late for the 4:30-5:30 happy hour (all food 1/2 off!) They were booked, and we were fifth on the secondary waiting list. Once they sat everyone, we talked in the lounge for a little bit, and then headed to the rooftop bar. Again, we were too late because all of the tables were taken! Wow, we had to sit at a back table which was reserved for another party at 5:30. At 5:20 we headed back downstairs and were seated in the “Crest Room” aka the alleyway at around 5:50. I think the regular dining room was “prettier” and “livelier” but I guess our seating was more conducive to conversation. They have small plates, so we shared BBQ meatballs, bleu cheese slaw, pork won tons, ahi tartare, lobster mac and cheese, a hamburger, and a tomato-basil-mozarella salad. A grown-up meal, and no kids to contend with.

Sunday afternoon, D and I had our monthly “date” at a free event sponsored by Cadillac and Bon Appetit. We had been to one of these events a while back (pre-kids) at what is now the Great Park. I was definitely more excited about the food than the cars. We signed up for the 2:00 cooking demo, and arrived about ten minutes early, but all of the seats were taken! D snagged a couple of the mall chairs, and we sat in the back. It was supposed to be a battle of the chefs with the featured ingredient being corn. The two chefs were Neal Fraser of BLD restaurant and Ben Ford of Ford’s Fillng Station. Chef Fraser made Fall Succotash with Corn, Fava Beans, Chanterelle Mushrooms, Bacon and Corn Veloute. Chef Ford made Warm Fried Ipswich Clam, Grilled Corn and Bacon Salad. Chef Ford won over the tasting panel by a small margin, and I agreed. The green goddess dressing on his salad was very yummy. The emcee said that we might recognize her from the Food Channel, but she didn’t say what show, and I don’t think I’ve seen her before. Too bad we didn’t win one of the two $50 gift certificates to the chefs’ restaurants. Both are on my list to try one day, but since they are in LA, it might be a while before I do.

Neal Fraser

Ben Ford. Does he look familiar? He is Harrison Ford’s son!

We ended up not test-driving any cars, but we did look around:

D liked the dark brown leather seats. I think they remind him of the dark brown leather couch that he wants to buy for our home someday.

It’s been a while since we’ve updated. We celebrated n’s 1.5 birthday and D’s birthday. We’ve been busy redeeming all of our free birthday goodies (just sign up online):

*Free Starbucks drink (any size, any drink)
*Free Veggie Grill entree
*Free Jerry’s Signature dog
*Free IHOP Rooty Tooty Fresh and Fruity
*Free Baskin-Robbins scoop
*Free Coldstone Like-It (1 add-in)
*Free Red Robin burger (you can also get a chicken sandwich, or salad if you prefer, but we didn’t get free ice cream sundaes or the song this time; it is nice how they let us redeem both coupons at once since our birthdays are within 14 days of each other)
*Free cream cheese wontons from Pickup Stix
*Free Premium shake from Del Taco (person at the drive-in didn’t seem too pleased about us redeeming the coupon, but she was the only one so far)
*Free reuseable tote from Container Store

Still planning to redeem free meal at Rubio’s and free Big O Cookie from Pat & Oscar’s.

I spent the past week in Viecente Guerrero, Mexico with a group from WPC building a home for a needy family. The mother has polio causing her to have to rely on a crutch. Her children’s names are Jose, Karen, and Rigoberto.

I spent the majority of my time on the roof, sheeting and putting the tar paper on. I really enjoyed being on the roof, looking out at the other homes toward the ocean. I also mixed cement for the first time of my life. The physical labor was fun since I got to get to know my fellow WPC members better.

The part that I really enjoyed was giving caballitos (piggyback rides) to the neighborhood children. After running arround, I told them that I was tired, so I leaned up against a truck drinking water, thinking that I had gotten away. But little did I know that a girl named Kayla climbed up on the bed of the truck and jumped on my back and in the process knocked my water bottle from my hand. I couldn’t get mad at her and marveled at her ingenuity. They also tried to stand on an upside down paint can to stand on so they could reach my shoulders. Kids!

I am glad I got back safely and did not get sick. I also really appreciate having toilets that I can flush toilet paper down, drinkable water, and paved roads. However, I do miss the fish tacos.

Many people ask me what teams I root for. For college sports it is easy. But for pro sports, I have a hard time answering that question, because I have lived in four metro areas: Sacramento, San Francisco, Indianapolis, and Los Angeles. So to finally answer that question, I will list my two favorite teams in each sport.

NCAA Football
– Cal Bears
– Indiana Hoosiers
NCAA Basketball
– Cal Bears
– Indiana Hoosiers
NFL
– San Francisco 49ers
– Indianapolis Colts
MLB
– San Francisco Giants
– Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
NBA
– Golden State Warriors
– Sacramento Kings

For the NFL, the only other team I can root for is the Raiders, but they got too out there and have ownership issues. For baseball, I can’t like the Dodgers because I like the Giants. The A’s are just OK since they never have big name players due to small payroll. For basketball, I hate the Lakers (who doesn’t outside of L.A.), the Clippers never win, and I never really liked the Pacers, probably because of Reggie Miller.