Million Dollar View

Hi, friends,

I should apologize for my absence from the blog world, the month of March has be ridiculously amazingly busy and as I write this I have only a few hours of down time before the next adventure begins (stay tuned, this weekend is going to be epic!). There's so much to share, but for the time being, I will take you back to a beautiful sunny weekend in the beginning of March.

Spring was in the air and beckoned us to explore Will Rogers Park and its famous trails that overlook the Pacific. According to a seasoned park ranger, we were in for a million dollar view at the top of the trail. Word also has it that Mr. Rogers used to take his wife up the mountain in a horse drawn buggy to take in the amazing landscape, how sweet. :) I imagine the view in the 1930's was significantly more spectacular that what we saw, since LA is perpetually hazy these days, but it was still pretty great. Standing on a mountain overlooking the ocean and a massive city always offers a refreshing perspective on life in general.

Hope you all have a lovely Easter weekend!

Deanna

Kogi + Kobe

On Tuesday, March 2, I had a few more "firsts" in the City of Angels, and was helplessly wooed by the city. It's true. I feasted on my first Korean-Mexican burrito from the Kogi BBQ truck, which was soooo good! Track the truck down if you have a chance, you will not be disappointed. Then I completed what might be a rite of passage for residents of LA by attending my very first Lakers game! The Lakers won, and also kept the Pacers under 100 points, so all the fans got vouchers for free tacos at Jack in the Box! I don't want to speak too soon, but I might be a little bit in love with this city.

Work and Pleasure

Last week we held one of our semi-annual National Conferences at our office. Typically, our conferences are comprised solely of intensive meetings and excessive food consumption, but this time we decided to add a few more leisurely activities to the agenda to spice things up a bit. We spent one afternoon walking around Venice, after a delicious lunch at Mao's Kitchen, and also took the crew bowling one evening at Mar Vista Lanes, where I unleashed my secret bowling skills (secret even to myself), and blew everyone away by getting 133 points!

Marquee

Is this some kind of spin off of, "Get high on God, not drugs"? I'm confused.

Hot Dogs and Warhol

President's Day 2010 was something spectacular. Really, any paid holiday is enough to make me happy, but add an infamous Pink's chili Cheese Dog and free admission to the LACMA and things start looking really good.

This is my first ever Pink's Chili Cheese Dog, and waiting in line for 45 minutes made it taste that much more delicious.

Yum...

After Pink's we made our way to the LACMA (which was free for the day courtesy of Target), even though we really just wanted to slip into happy food comas. Below are a few pieces of art that caught my eye. Museums are awesome.

Euginio Dittborn -Chile

Warhol

Happy Valentine's Day!

Love, love, love, for all the amazing people who enrich my life with memories, and cupcakes. I love you guys!

Dancing Shoes

Several weeks ago, while searching for ways to fulfill my list of New Year's resolutions, I came across the website of Salsa World Champion Liz Lira, who's also done choreography for Dancing with the Stars, and saw that auditions for the 2010 LA Dance Company were coming up. (You can probably guess where this is going... ) The only requisites were that you were over 8 years old and wanted to improve your dancing, so I pulled out my long neglected dance shoes and went for it.

Auditions are nerve wracking by definition, but I'd taken a few classes with Liz in the past, so I found some comfort in knowing that not only was she a fabulous instructor, but also an awesome person. At the auditions, Liz, and her newly recruited male counterpart from Venezuela, taught us a solo combination as well as a partner combination, and then judged our execution of the moves. Unfortunately, we didn't get to know the results right away, but after waiting in agony all week long I found late on Friday that I will start rehearsals with the semi- amateur team next weekend! I'm super excited! I feel really lucky to be able to learn from such an esteemed dancer.

I also feel that it's necessary to mention that a bird pooped on my head just hours before receiving the news that I made the team, which has strongly reenforced my belief that it's good luck.