Living An Intentional Life
Friday morning we went to the Monterey Aquarium with D’s parents. It has been a while since we were last there, and it seemed even bigger than I remembered. k enjoyed it in the beginning, but she tired out pretty quickly. I think these types of places will be a lot of fun once k grows a little older. It was pretty crowded…I guess it was the place to go if you were in the area for Thanksgiving.
This year Grandpa Lim made the turkey (a 14 pounder from Trader Joe’s). It was nice and moist, but way too big for the 5 of us (k just had a few small pieces with gravy). We also had rolls, rice (for k), asparagus, green beans, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, and a stuffing made of taro and Chinese roast pork. There was also pumpkin pie and vanilla ice cream for dessert. After dinner, k entertained all of us with her dancing and antics. k seemed comfortable right away on this trip, especially compared to her clinginess during our July 4th visit.
This year we spent Thanksgiving with D’s family (we alternate every year). We visited D’s parents in Pebble Beach and D’s sister also made the drive down. Our drive went smoothly, thanks in large part to the CX-9 that our BIL hooked us up with. There was plenty of space for all of our cargo, plus it had navigation, Sirius, built-in DVD player and Bose surround sound. All of those features really made a difference in our 6+ hour car ride.
We watched the Jonah Veggie Tales movie, My Best Friend’s Wedding and Elf. I guess we need to buy more DVDs for k. We also listened to a lot of 90’s hits and ESPN on Sirius.
On our way up the I-5 we saw this rainbow. D said it was the brightest he has ever seen. I’m pretty sure I’ve seen brighter, but it was pretty nonetheless. 
We burned some calories in preparation for out Thanksgiving feast by taking a walk along Pebble Beach. The scenery was beautiful, of course. 
k likes to tell stories in her own language.
D had a three day weekend because his company had Friday off for Veteran’s Day. D went to Goodwill to drop off some donations, we all went to Costco and then we went to Seal Beach. At night we dropped off k at my parents’ house and went to eat at Kaju Tofu in Garden Grove. We ordered one combo (seafood and beef soon tofu and spicy chicken) plus one extra bowl of rice. People seem to like this place better than BCD, but I think they’re comparable. They need more staff…there were only two waitresses, and they were literally running around the restaurant. 
Can you see why we didn’t want to bring k along? On the way out there is a free slushie machine, but you only get a dixie-size cup. It was a nice palate cleanser, though.
Since it was only 5:45 by the time we finished, we went crazy and went to the Block afterwards. It was nice to relive our pre-k years and go to Borders to read magazines. Plus, they had free samples of a gingerbread latte with the cutest mini gingerbread man.
Good thing I took a picture, because when I returned to the table with my magazine selections, the gingerbread man was gone! He had sunk into the latte and dissolved. :()
We also did a little shopping. D was happy with his purchase at Steve & Barry’s. They’re having a liquidation sale, but there was a sign that they are not closing that location. There were so many teenagers out and about! Also, it was warm and windy, which reminded me of the nights on the Big Island when we visited last October.
I have been training for my full marathon on Super Bowl Sunday, and I have 11 weeks of training left. My training called for 16 miles today (PCH/Warner to PCH/Brookhurst (Santa Ana River)). Unfortunately it was really hot today. I started a little after 6:00 a.m., and it was already warm. The good news was that I ran the 16 miles; however it took me 3 hours. It got really warm so I drank lots of water and tried to run slower. But I got cramps in my quads and the sun was wearing me down. I really dislike running in warm weather. I like 50 degree weather when I run. I was thinking in my mind how can it be 80 degrees on a mid-November morning?! I really hope the weather on Feb 1st is around 50 degrees.
The air was really smoky after I got home, but I don’t think it was that bad when I was running. Let’s pray the weather gets cooler and the wind dies down for the homes in SoCal.
On Halloween we attended the WPC Harvest Festival. This time k was able to actually play some of the games. She dressed up as Little Red Riding Hood, with a cape knitted by my mom. It turned out really cute, complete with a wooden toggle. In the beginning, k was timid about picking out candy for her basket. However, by the end of the night, she was trying to scoop it up by the handful!
k was also able to wear it to the library story time earlier in the week. Now we have start to thinking of a costume for next year…or maybe she’ll want to have a say in it by then.
On our way home from San Diego we took a slight detour to go to Ocean Beach. And why, you may ask, did we stop there? To go to Hodad’s for lunch. We first heard about this place on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives (one of my favorite shows on the Food Network). We arrived before they opened so we took a walk down to the beach which was just down the street. It was pretty cold and overcast. The main drag reminded us of Telegraph Ave. in Berkeley (the people and shops).
It’s a funky joint, with license plates adorning the walls and loud rock music. I was wondering whether they noticed any significant change in their clientele once the “Triple D” episode aired. Anyway, we each ordered a single hamburger (D ordered his with cheese) and we shared a side of frings and a strawberry shake. The single hamburgers were plenty big, and the frings (1/2 fries, 1/2 onion rings) were way too huge. D actually asked for a to-go bag and we finally finished them yesterday. k liked the fries the best (she loves dipping things in ketchup, and ranch, we found out). The shake was also really big and was a nice contrast to the saltiness of everything else. 
After lunch we continued up the I-5 and stopped in at the Rainbow Sandal outlet in San Clemente. D bought a pair, despite his affinity for Tevas. I guess he is turning O.C.!
Our last night in San Diego we went to Little Italy for dinner. 
We ate at Filippi’s Pizza Grotto. I wanted to avoid the crowds, but I thought eating at 4:15 was a bit early, even for us. We walked around Little Italy a bit and then decided to get in line. Good thing, because the line (which goes through a deli/store in front of the restaurant) was already to the front door. Fortunately, k was fast asleep in her stroller so the wait wasn’t too bad. 
We ordered a small antipasto salad and a pizza. The pizza was pretty good, but I would not wait in line for an hour like some people do. The crust was a bit too doughy, (and I usually like thicker crusts). Also, the cheese tended to glop up in the middle instead of being evenly spread out. 
On the way out I picked up some Italian cookies from the storefrount. We ate some back at the hotel at night, and some for breakfast the next morning!
On Monday we took our time getting ready since we weren’t in a rush. (D actually ran on the treadmill on both Sun. and Mon., early in the morning, dedicated runner that he is). We drove to Seaport Village to walk around. 
I always like to stop in at the Upstart Crow Bookstore and the Christmas store to look at the ornaments. I didn’t buy an ornament this time, but we did buy a wooden whale tootbrush holder from a toystore that k really liked. She didn’t want to leave!
Sunday morning we headed to the San Diego Zoo. D and I had never been there together, and we thought it would be a low-key place to take k (as opposed to Sea World or Legoland). It was nice to go in the “off-season” since it never felt too crowded.
We started out by taking the bus tour around the park. I couldn’t believe how big the grounds are! It wasn’t easy to navigate, what with the hills and k sometimes wanting to ride in the stroller, sometimes wanting to walk, and sometimes wanting to be carried. She also decided she wanted to push the stroller, and ended up falling and biting her lip (nothing too serious). After the tour we took the sky tram to the back of the park and slowly made our way back to the front.
Skyfari–k enjoyed being high above the trees. It was good to do this in the beginning of the day since the line was kind of long by the end.
I loved watching k’s amazement at all of the different animals. It was her first time seeing many of the animals, including giraffes, elephants, pandas and rhinos. When she saw the elephants she kept saying “Whoa” and she started to flap her ears and make hand motions for the trunk. We also enjoyed watching the giraffes, including the baby that was born not too long ago. They are such unique-looking creatures! Our souvenir of choice for k was a stuffed baby giraffe. (She was sleeping at the time so she didn’t have a say in the matter).
We ate lunch at the Treetop Cafe since there is a 10% discount for AAA members. D had the enchiladas and I had chili in a bread bowl. k shared with us, of course. It was nice to dine above the treetops and the food was pretty good. 
We also managed to watch the Zoo’s two shows, one featuring various wild animals and the second featuring sea lions. 
k managed to sneak in a nap here and there. We stayed from 9-4, so it was a long day.
D looks tired too!