Happy 4th of July!

I celebrated the 4th of July by going to the beach with friends and watching fireworks on TV. However, I missed one seriously good show. Apparently, all fireworks went off all at once in the bay, totally by accident. That's a major oops. And it made national news in every news outlet across the country. People were upset and I don't know why. How many times do you actually remember a fireworks show? Me? Never. They all run together in my mind. But I guarantee that is one show people will remember for the rest of their lives. Congrats to the lucky ones who got to discover what it is like when an entire show goes off all at once. I've always wondered what that would be like.

Wicked

I spent last weekend with Phoenix peeps in Pasadena, Calif. Two friends and my mom all happened to be in the same city on the same weekend. I ate too much cheesecake and oversized macaroons and made myself sick.

This week I attended the Broadway smash Wicked and fell in love with it. I give it higher ratings than Phantom and Les Miserables. It was comical, touching and the cast possessed loads of talent.

Happy Father's Day

This is when my dad surprised me for my birthday three years ago in California. That was a very happy birthday.

Me in a nutshell

Let's Get Dirty!

One of my New Year's resolutions this year was to participate in a Mud Run. Check that off the bucket list! I completed my first mud run and I am now in love!


Here is how the course is described:

The Mud Run is a challenging 10K run with hills, tire obstacles, river crossings, two 5-foot walls with mud on both sides, tunnel crawl, slippery hill climb, and the final 30-foot mud pit.

That is pretty much my definition of awesomeness. And it was awesome! It took place on a military base and was set up like a combat zone--we had to scale under wires and swim through a mud pit, hoist ourselves over a wall to plop down into mud and run through cylinders caked with mud for 10K. 

I've been asked by a number of people why mud runs? What is the appeal? I just say I guess it's something different. But now I get it. We are all just children wrapped up in adult bodies and it's fun to play like kids once in a while. Granted, now I have to pay money to do this. And I don't have my mom yelling at me when I come home dirty. Now I just have a roommate to do that. 

Wedding

I rarely go to weddings because most of my friends have been married for 10+ years. So it was a a treat to be invited to the wedding of a beautiful couple this weekend. I traveled to the heat of Phoenix, which abruptly cooled for me, and partook in the celebration. The groom is a firefighter so all his groomsmen wore their traditional uniforms, which made them all look quite dapper. It took place right where I used to work, so many memories returned--back when life was much simpler and cheaper. Unfortunately, I was one of two people at the wedding who attended solo and I didn't really know anyone but the bride and groom, so I was left to conversate with strangers.

It seems like deja vu

Three months ago I found myself in Los Angeles helping out my sick uncle and my grandfather had flown in to help. I also ran a half marathon that same weekend on the streets of Colorado Boulevard and along the path of the Rose Bowl.

Cue three months later: I found myself in Los Angeles helping out my sick uncle once again and my grandfather flew in from Utah once again to help out. I also completed my 44th half marathon on the streets of Colorado Boulevard and the Rose Bowl, running on nearly the same course. But uncle appears to be worse.

Yes, I was incredibly slow, even three minutes slower than my previous slow time. Slow goes without saying for this past year.

#44 half marathon done

Photos: Half marathon; trying to vogue after the race