Wow. It really is September now. The new fall t.v. season is on, not to mention college football 🙂 Saturday D listened to the Cal game on the radio while I watched Oregon beat up Michigan. For some reason, I got into that one. Gotta love those “statute of liberty” plays–haha! Go Pac-10.

Saturday night we went to dinner hosted by a couple that D knows from b-school. D happened to run into them while having lunch in Irvine during the work week a while back. They have a 22 month old daughter who is so cute…she was sharing ALL of her toys with k. It’s hard to imagine k will be that age soon, talking and walking.

Sunday was “Super SEYO Sunday” at WPC. We had a guest speaker, Jason Wright, formerly of the Seattle Super Sonics. I think that’s a cool team name, btw. After the luncheon we stopped in at Joe’s Italian Ice, which my mom had raved about. D had the Orange Twist and I had the Bada Bing Cherry Joe Latti. I really liked my italian ice–it had chunks of cherry in it! I want to try the other flavors now.

Here are some pictures of k standing up:

k’s hair is getting pretty “fro-y”. It won’t stay down! She gets that from D.

Playing with the blinds. k can make anything amusing.

The labor day weekend started off good. On Saturday a huge college football game was on; Cal vs. Tennessee. Both teams were ranked and the game was on national TV. The game was in Berkeley and Cal won 45-31. Out offensive looks as good as advertised, and our defense was OK.

But then on Monday, I ran the Disneyland Half-marathon. It started out at 6 a.m. and the temperature was 76 degrees with 61 percent humidity. A Disneyland cast member said that we were under a red flag warning due to the heat. By the time I finished it was 83 degrees. I thought I was going to run it quite a bit faster than last year; however, I was a minute slower. The experience was unpleasant and I thought of quiting. My feet were over-heating and I felt dizzy and had a little cramping. On the bright-side, even though 1,000 more people signed up; 159 fewer males beat me. I have decided to no longer run the Disneyland Half-marathon due to the race being in September (too hot), and the price is expensive($105), and I have to get there at 4:30 a.m. I signed up for the Surf City USA Half-Marathon (formerly Pacific Shoreline). It is on February 3rd 2008 (cooler), it is only $75, and I don’t need to arrive there until around 6 a.m.

This morning we went to Downtown Disney so D could pick up his bib # for his upcoming 1/2 marathon. They were already setting things up. Here are D and k by the finish line:

While D stood in line at the hotel, k and I took a little walk. I bought some beignets at the “express” Jazz Kitchen. They were pretty good, but I think I still have to go to Cafe du Monde in New Orleans to try the real thing.

I’m glad we’re not spending the whole day at Disneyland today…it was already HOT at 9 a.m.!

Even though there is still about a month left of summer, it seems like fall is near. It was overcast today, there are back-to-school ads everywhere, and D is gearing up to watch college football for hours on end.

On Saturday we went to Ikea. It was k’s first trip to one of my favorite stores.

Lately I’ve been having the urge to decorate/organize/clean our place more, but I can usually only do these things for an hour or so at night, when k is asleep.

We ate dinner at Portillo’s, which originated in Chicago and serves Italian beef sandwiches and Chicago-style hot dogs. D enjoyed the atmosphere (“It’s like you’re on vacation.”) The service was friendly and efficient and the food was good, if not good for you. Here is k with an Italian beef.

Today we went to a Japanese cultural fair in Irvine. k is saying hi to an Akita.

During lunch today, D got his “pre-race” haircut. In other words, it’s really short. Really, really short. So much so, that when D came home tonight, k did not recognize him. When he tried to hold her, she started to cry and had a look on her face that said “Who is this scary man, and what have you done to my Daddy?”

Happy 8 month birthday, k!

Saturday morning we went up to Burbank for an engagement ceremony/reception for one of my dearest friends. It was held at the Castaway. Traffic was bad so I thought we would be late, and I was stressing. However, it turns out the Pastor was caught in traffic too, and he was even later, so we had plenty of time!

(Too bad the groom-to-be’s eyes are closed, but I do think this is a really nice picture of the bride-to-be. These girls and I all lived in an apartment in Berkeley at one point). I gave a speech during the reception. Thankfully, it went OK, but I guess some people wanted it to be “juicy”, which it definitely was not.

The restaurant is on a hill, so there is a really nice view.

Afterward we stopped at Porto’s Bakery in Burbank, our first time. Parking was difficult, but it was worth it!

I ordered a bunch of stuff to go (since we had just eaten lunch): mango smoothie, potato balls, medianoche sandwich, cheese rolls, guava cheese pastry, and individual servings of tres leches cake and mango mousse. The cake and mousse were amazing. I defintely would like to go back.

Yes, we are still eating that watermelon! It turns out that k enjoys watermelon, too. It’s interesting (and sometimes frustrating) to figure out what k’s likes and dislikes are in terms of food. So far, she likes peas, green beans, watermelon, Cheerios, and Gerber Graduates “stars” (puffed cereal). k dislikes applesauce and peaches. Go figure.