La Jolla Get-a-way!

Omid & his coworker Vince had business this week in San Diego. Knowing their wives desperately needed sunshine, Vince & Omid brought us along for a few days. Vince & Mia
Omid & I

Pool & Patio


I loved these urns filled with impatience.
I plan to research impatience as this variety thrived in the sun. The only kind I have ever found here in WA is the shade loving variety.

Ginormous aloe vera plant.

Loved these palm trees.

I was looking for the "W" but never found it.

Have you ever watched the movie: It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World?

Omid and I drove to the Las Americas Outlet Center. It was huge. So many stores - it was actually sensory overload for me.

The outlet is at the very first exit on I-5. The next exit is the Mexican border.

Here is the border right next to the parking lot of the outlet mall. You can see the Border Patrol in the left of the photo.

After our shopping trip, we met up with the rest of our group for dinner at a Korean BBQ.

Mickey, Omid, Bunyoong, Me, Mia & Vince.

Cheers!

This restaurant used real charcoal to cook the food instead of gas (like the other Korean BBQ's we've eaten at).

Ribeye - sooooo gooooood!

Honey bombs

One, two, three - Go!

These are dangerous! One honey bomb is more than enough.

I have a look of disgust on my face because I didn't want to drink the Coca Cola at the bottom. I was fine with the Shoju & beer, but Coke in drinks makes me sick.

Omid & Mickey

Lunch at The Beach House in Laguna Beach.

Delicious dinner at The Shores restaurant in La Jolla.

This is what I look like on 3 hours of sleep. Yikes!

Just a few moments before we took this photo, I had an argument with one of the TSA screeners at the airport. My suitcase was flagged and I was taken over to a special spot and told to 'sit there.' The screener confiscated 4 things of mine and gave me a lecture. I was so mad at him and argued with him despite Omid's warnings in sign language to just let it go (think NO FLY LIST). I finally called Omid over to help me and then the TSA guy all of a sudden turned nice. It was interesting because the TSA in PDX never said a thing and let me bring those same things in my carry on. No consistency!

Dear San Diego TSA: I will remain forever PO'd at you for the $25 worth of products you took away from me!!! Do I look like a terrorist to you?!

On the plane, headed for home. Omid making me laugh. I already felt better.

Netflix This!!

Precious.

This movie was sad, heartbreaking, frustrating, depressing and good. This movie is definitely R rated. Every other word was the F word & there are lots of disturbing things that happen to Precious. But...if you can stick with it - this is a wonderful story with a good ending.

Razor Clams!

This past weekend was the last razor clam dig until next fall. We woke the kids up at 4:00 a.m., packed the car & hit the road to Ocean Park, Wa. Long line to the beach. Apparently we weren't the only ones with this great idea.

Still waiting.....

We finally hit the beach and bam! Got 60 clams in 60 minutes (15 for each of us - which was the limit).


Here's one!

Here's three!

Remy helping out.

Remy really liked the clams. He tried to eat them several times.

Let's play!

Remy LOVED running on the beach.

More help from Remy.

Counting our loot.

Great haul!

After we got our limit, we headed to Olympia. Omid made fried clams for an appetizer. Delicious! We also had clam chowder for dinner last night. It was made with whipping cream. It was like eating a bowl of clam ice cream. Super rich & simply scrumptious.

Capital City Half Marathon!

We did it! My sister and I finished our first half marathon yesterday. It was so much fun and I can't wait to do it again next year! My only regret is that I didn't have my camera with me. There were so many things I wanted to take photos of along the way. Next time!

There were 1095 participants registered for the half marathon. 391 males & 704 females. Here are the results for our age group (40-44). Cynthia finished 81/122 participants (pace time of 11:19 per mile) and I finished 96/122 (pace time of 13:11 per mile).

At the starting line.

Before the race. My sister Cynthia & I feeling all piggly-wiggly.


My favorite part of the race = mile 7. That's when I saw my family (& Remy!). Such a good feeling to see people you know cheering you on!

At mile 10, there was one house passing out dixie cups of beer! I grabbed it thinking it was water and spilled most of it on my shirt.

Cheerleaders!!

Cynthia crossing the finish line. She ran the 13.1 in 2:29:22!

While I was still jogging, Cynthia was enjoying her post-race massage.

Jogging up to the finish line. My official time was 2:52:48.

Cynthia crossing the finish line.



Me crossing the finish line. What a great feeling!

After the race, we went back to my parents' house for a bbq. Omid made flank steak & teriyaki chicken. It was delicious!

My biggest cheerleader! Omid made sure I got my mileage in every week. Love you Omidjoon!

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to our moms!

We love you!

Fari

Grammy

Painting Project

Last week I decided our master bathroom walls were boring and thought how lovely the window would look if it was framed in turquoise. I visited 4 different stores to find a shade of turquoise I liked. Lowes had a shade called "nautical" that was the best fit.

Taped & ready to go!

After the first coat. I was a little worried it looked too much like cotton candy. I relaxed after the second coat and liked it much better.

Finished product!
*New photos coming tomorrow when I will have access to my camera + flash. These were taken with my phone.


Here it is with flash. Not much better. You'll just have to take my word for it!

Picket Fence Project

Craftzine to the rescue twice in one week! I found this post last summer and bookmarked it. It's a cute tutorial on how to make a tin can wall garden. The entire project cost me $3.50. The galvanized tin planter is from Ikea & cost .50 cents. The plant (a creeping wire vine) I purchased for $3.00 from Fred Meyer. I had the potting soil, nails & zip ties and borrowed wire from my neighbor Jodie.

I think it looks so cute!

If you look real close, you can see Remy peeking through the fence.

Netflix This!!

This is a great movie! Put it on your Netflix list if you haven't already seen it.

Orchid Surgery

Omid and I purchased two orchids from Trader Joe's a year or so ago. They poor plants were so root bound it was painful to look at. I found this great tutorial on Craftzine on how to repot an orchid. The step-by-step instructions were just what I needed. Our orchids already look much happier. :)

Dead roots & some healthy ones too (who graciously sacrificed themselves for the cause).

Check This Out!!

Roadside America. This is a great site if you are planning a trip anywhere, or are just bored and want something to do in your own neck of the woods. Type in any city/state (upper right hand corner - it's highlighted in yellow) and the site will show you 'quirky' attractions to visit. This is how we found the Fremont Troll in Seattle during spring break.