Cherry Blossom Candy Leaf

Babs' Birthday

2010-08-06T23:51:00.001-07:00

Babs turned 34 in the middle of July! We celebrated early because Ben and I had a wedding to go to on her actual birthday. I can't believe she's (we're not quite, but) almost 40. Son of a...

Beach Days are the Best Days

2010-07-25T10:47:00.001-07:00

So, as usual, I tried to make it out to the beach as often as I could. Bula can be a real handful, so going during the week, rather than on a busy weekend, is my preference. Luckily for us, we were just about the only ones there...

... except for this guy.

He seemed really thin and had some small injuries, so I had Bula call the Channel Islands Marine Sanctuary. A volunteer came out to look at him. They don't like to take animals from the wild unless it is their only option. He was hopeful that this sea lion, with a little rest and hopefully some wits to move away from the rocks and the rising tide, would survive. I kept my distance and didn't want to stress him out too much, but I couldn't help but snap a few photos. He was quite a poser!

We never saw him again, but we sure hope he made it.

When we got home, I forced Bula in the tub and although he hates it, he is so cute and helpless. He is my own little seal.

Shonu's Big Day

2010-07-24T01:13:00.001-07:00

On July 9th, family and friends gathered to celebrate the two wedding ceremonies of Seema (a.k.a. Shonu) and Brian at the Castaway Restaurant in Burbank. Even though Ben got off work a little early to attend the Hindu ceremony, we couldn't make it in time for the Christian ceremony. Luckily, Babs and my mom went, so I got to hear about it from them and had a chance to see their photos before the next ceremony began.

Bella, one of Seema's closest friends helped me get dressed in a sari that Jaya let me borrow. She gave me bangles to wear and judged the bindi (the sticker on my forehead) I picked as not matching and demanded that I wear another one that she had. I loved it.

Using Seema and Brian's wedding program along with my own experience, I will explain and describe the Hindu wedding ceremony, or vivaha. Before the ceremony began, Brian stood outside. Someone was beating a drum and he was being surrounded by family and friends. I think he was dancing, but there were so many people around him, I couldn't really see that well.

My mom and sister waiting for the groom to arrive.

The wedding canopy, or mandapa.

After receiving a blessing, Brian was escorted by the bride's parents. They welcomed his family and lead him to the wedding canopy. The wedding ceremony begins with the worship of Shri Ganesha, the remover of all obstacles and provider of good luck. All traditional ceremonies begin with this.

While the groom is hidden behind a curtain, or antarpat, the bride is escorted to the wedding canopy by a maternal uncle. The curtain is later dropped and in most Hindu wedding ceremonies, this might be called "the big reveal" as it may be the first time the bride and groom will see each other.

Beautiful Peems!!!

Beautiful Swaps, sister of the bride.

Before the curtain is dropped. (I should have introduced myself to the guy on the left of the shot as he was the tallest person at the wedding, sat a few rows in front of me and was in every photo I took. Grrr.)
The priest recites mantras and invites deities to offer blessings. He'll then lower the curtain.

The bride and groom will exchange flower garlands that signify their acceptance of one another. The bride's parents place her hands into his and ask that he accepts their daughter with respect and as his equal partner throughout life. The groom accepts.

They eventually end up below the wedding canopy. Some of the events listed in the program happened in a slightly different order and I do not have pictures of everything.

The priest lights a sacred fire and the fire God, Agnideva, is evoked to witness the wedding. Throughout the ceremony, ghee or clarified butter is added to the fire. The groom places offerings of ghee into the fire asking for protection of his bride. As this was going on, Seema's parents as well as Brian's parents were within the wedding canopy. I think they were given something to eat and Seema and Brian had to kneel before them and touch their feet as a sign of respect. They also went to some of the elders that were observing the ceremony and bowed and touched their feet as well.

Back under the canopy, the bride places her right foot onto a stone which symbolizes the earth and offers puffed rice into the fire, asking for the groom's protection. By putting her foot onto the stone, Seema will become strong like the earth.

In what Hindus call the Kaan Pili (and one of my favorite parts of the ceremony) the bride's brother, or in this case, her cousin, comes forward to twist the groom's ear and warns him to be faithful to Seema and to take care of her with a promise that he'll be watching. He releases Brian's ear when he accepts the promise and gives him some money.

The bride and groom gaze up at the pole star, Dhruva, and meditate on the stability of their union. As stars rotate in the sky, Dhruva is always fixed. And in the same way, with life changing, their union will remain fixed.

One corner of the groom's shawls tied to the end of the bride's sari in the part of the ceremony called Granthi Bandhanam. This signifies their permanent emotional and intellectual union of their souls.

The groom leads the bride, they walk around the fire four times, one for each of life's great goals called prusharthas: Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha. Dharma is the promise to perform their duties and fulfill their obligations to family, society and God. Artha is their promise to share prosperity with each other and obtain wealth with honesty. Kama is the promise to provide and share mutual fulfillment and pleasures in life. And Moksha is the promise to live beyond materialism and pursue endeavors that are uplifting to the soul.

The bride and groom take seven steps and recite seven vows.

1) We promise to be lifelong partners and hare responsibility of the home.

2) We promise to nurture and cherish each other through joy and sorrow with strength and courage.

3) We promise to always be truthful, loving and respectful to each other and share our worldly goods.

4) We promise to maintain moral character , happiness and physical and intellectual health in our life.

5) We promise to devote ourselves to raising strong, virtuous and healthy children.

6) We promise to work towards the prosperity of our family and share our worldly goods.

7) We promise to be best friends and eternal partners and embrace each others' families as our own.

They then return to their seats, but this time Seema is on the left side of Brian. This is a place of honor and as a married woman she is given this place.

The groom then places a necklace of gold and black beads, or mangalasutra, around the bride's neck and puts kumkum on her forehead (I think it's red powder). These are both symbols of his love and devotion and they identify Seema as a married woman. In Prasadam, they feed each other sweets (which were delicious, BTW. I'm still mad at Ben for only bringing one home that we had to share) representing their first meal together.

The priest offers his blessings to the newly married couple and declares them as husband and wife. The newly married couple then seeks the blessings of the priest, family and friends.

My doll had a place in the shade throughout the ceremony. It was so warm that day that he thought he was getting sun burnt after less than a minute. Poor white doll. Please note the sweet he has in his hand that we had to share.

Me in Jaya's sari hovering over the food.

Bella's pretty sari fabric and bangles.

My mom and me.

Mom and Babs.

Us.

My sweet doll and me.

Check out the view!

Our table.

A cheesy dish - so yummy! The food was awesome!

More sari fabrics - I'm sure all the women were wondering, "Who is the crazy white girl???"

Sitting together as we waited for the party to begin.

Swaps came to say hello!

And I demanded to see her hands!

After changing their clothes, Seema and Brian were introduced and shared a dance.

The hot bride!

Peems and me.

Brian, Babs and my mom.

Happy Suhas!

Seema celebrating! What an amazing ceremony, dinner and party! I loved it all!

Mehndi Madness

2010-07-22T16:29:00.000-07:00

Before Seema's July 9th wedding, her parents hosted the traditional Mehndi party. Mehndi is also known as henna. At the shower, I practically begged for an invitation and after some convincing ;), the girls let me come. I thought about it every day leading up to the event. I researched mehndi and printed out designs that I wanted. I was looking forward to it so much and even now it was one of the highlights of the summer.

Traditionally, mehndi is done at the home of the bride's family a few days before the wedding. The bride's henna usually includes her future husband's initials or name in the design on her hands. Because many Hindu marriages are arranged, the bride and groom may have had very little or no contact before the wedding ceremony. Traditionally, they see each other for the first time on their wedding day, during the ceremony when the veil between them is dropped. So on the wedding night, the husband looks for his name in his bride's hands as a form of foreplay.

Seema is not a traditional Hindu bride in that her marriage is a "love marriage". She has known Bryan, a non Hindu, since her college days. Seeing the way they mixed the two cultures and wedding traditions was cool (and twice the party!!!). Bryan was at the mehndi party as well, as were other men, and some of the more tricky ladies were trying to get him to get some henna done on the palm of his hand. This is not appropriate for men in Seema's cultural group and she defended her man's honor and helped him to deny the ladies' requests.

The henna is a thick paste, and is put into plastic "cones" that look like a smaller version of what you would use to frost a cake. It is squeezed out of the cone with an artist's touch. The longer you keep it on your skin, the deeper the coloring will be when the paste falls off or is washed off. I had mine on for over 5 hours before I started peeling it away. A henna amateur may not consider that you have the paste drying on your hand(s) for such a long time, which limits what you are able to do, like eat or use the bathroom. So remember this when getting your henna tattoo and selecting where you will put it on your body.

When I arrived for the mehndi party, the girls dressed me in traditional clothes. They said I could wear a sari, but I would have to wear a shirt that shows your midriff, so I declined. I'm sure a "beer belly" (in quotes because I don't drink often... maybe a "junk belly" would be more appropriate) looks awesome hanging out of a sari.

If I could have my way with the henna artist, I would have had a completed body suit. Because there were so many guests to "tattoo", all the women had one hand or one foot done. But because Swapna and Seema know the man paying the bills (their pops, Suhas) I had my hand and foot done. Here's a picture of my hand the following day (with a baby lizard that Ben caught in the backyard).

Because Seema was the bride, she got the henna started. She only did a small design because her hands and feet would be completed closer to her wedding day. Check out Jaya's golden sari - I love it!

The finished product...

Swapna went next. She, too, only had a small design done, waiting to have her hands completely done closer to the wedding day for optimal color intensity. She said you can intensify the color by leaving the dried paste on as long as possible, adding a little lemon juice to the design and by wrapping it in plastic over night. What women will do for the sake of vanity?! I love it!

It was really wonderful to be a part of this Hindu tradition. The colorful saris, the delicious food, the henna tattoos and being able to share the experience with my old friends was awesome. I'd like to host my own mehndi party and hire an artist to come out to recreate this unique experience. Wouldn't that be so much fun?!?!

Early July Happenings

2010-07-20T12:34:00.001-07:00

Grandma threw a party to celebrate June and July birthdays. None of the guests were made aware of whose birthdays we were celebrating, but the guests of honor were G-ma, Jeremy and me. Cousin Jade (in the gray sweater), who has since successfully undergone her second brain surgery, was also included since her birthday also happens to be in mid-July. Her twin sister, Stephanie could have been an honored guest as well, had she been there. The funny thing about celebrating so many people is the Happy Birthday song. Unless you plan the order in which you will sing the names, it sounds like, "Happy birthday dear Blah, Blah, Blah and Blaaaaaaaaa-aaaaaah, happy birthday to you!"
We celebrated the Fourth of July on the 3rd - Ah, Moorpark, the funny things you do. We joined Bill, Kelly and Madison in the Albertson's parking lot to take in the fireworks!

The new Jacaranda bloomed, which is exciting considering it hasn't even been a year since the slaughter.

The Topsy Turvy did not disappoint. Even though the tomato plant didn't grow to be very large (like I have seen with other Topsy Turvies), it produced many tomatoes!

The hydrangeas in the backyard came back!

And we planted the veggie garden. Note to self: Putting seeds directly in the soil rarely results in a successful garden. The seeds must be kept wet in order to produce. This can be difficult if you have a life. Like last year, starting the seeds in cups in my kitchen yielded more veggies. I planted the starters in the garden after about a week or two and we had vegetables all summer. This time, by putting seeds directly into the ground, we got green onions, and that's it. I also put a few lettuce plants and strawberries (front row) into the garden, and those were successful because they were already started.

Tres Semanas en Mexico?!?!

2010-06-28T20:23:00.000-07:00

The day after Seema's bridal shower, I made my 3rd trip (Ben's second) to Catalonia Royal Tulum in Riviera Maya. Despite Ben's food poisoning episode and my jelly fish attack, we had a relaxing and wonderful time. Because we stayed at the same hotel and because I brought the same clothes with me this year as in years past, it may seem like the same blog post, but rest assured, this was a different trip. And even though we experienced some discomfort with the food poisoning and jelly fish, I still long for Mexico and it's beautiful white powdery beaches.

Ben's swim trunks.
We were welcomed by familiar faces.

And because we booked a very early flight, we were able to enjoy the beach and pool before dinner on our very first day!

I realized, there are very few things that make me more uncomfortable than when people sing to me. I'm never really sure what I should be doing when this is going on. It's kind of like when people sing "Happy Birthday"... What should the birthday boy or girl be doing? I think listening and smiling is your best bet, but it's awkward fro me. So while I listened and smiled, I took pictures and Ben laughed at me...

After dinner, we walked to the beach and came across twig-man on the bridge that cuts through the mangroves.

Because we've been here before, we have a good time seeing how things have changed and what remains the same. This year, aqua aerobics in the ocean rather than the pool!!!

Everyday, we would walk the beach to see my friend who owns a little store right by the water. And everyday, I was disappointed. I could see through the slats that the store was still there, but the doors were always locked. I was hoping to add to my Mexican ceramics collection, but it was not in the cards this year.

The walk is beautiful though and we used her store front for its shade.

And enjoyed the gorgeous view.

We checked out the show directory to see if Lev, a.k.a Michael Jackson, was still around. It seems as though he's gotten work elsewhere after the real King of Pop's death. On our second night, we watched a Mayan show.

The next morning, we got up early to take an excursion to Chichen-Itza. Ever since my sister and I first went to the ruins, Ben has wanted to go, as well. That was one of our priorities this year. The trip started with a stop at a cenote.

This underground cave looks like it is losing part of it's ceiling, so it may not be a cenote for much longer. But the fresh water pool hidden below will still attract visitors!

You can tell this one is quite popular as they built a stair case to the pool.

Colorful lights and water spouts were also added. Neither is really necessary, but it makes for a different cenote experience than I've had previously.

The bright spot at the very top with the beam of light coming down to the water is the place where the ceiling is beginning to cave in. The pink spot just below is where the staircase leads you into the cenote.

The bar on the right side of the screen is an attempt to keep the ceiling from coming down. Not sure how well that's gonna' work.

Because I knew how hot it would be at Chichen-Itza and because I'm all about taking in an experience, I did not hesitate swimming in the water. Only one other girl got in with me. I wonder how many people regretted not taking a dip. It was awesome! Because our guide gave us an hour and a half to enjoy ourselves, we were the last ones to leave! Outside, a girl sold fresh tortillas with salsa and posed for pictures.

There was also store that sold snacks and beverages. And peacocks roamed the grounds.

They had an altar set up.

Caged birds sang.

And hammocks were strung from tree to tree. We didn't have time to try them out because we were off to Chichen-Itza!

Ben was excited when we finally arrived!

Since the last time I was here with my sister, they discovered that the largest pyramid was actually built on top of at least two earlier pyramids. With new Mayan leadership, the ruler would build something larger than his predecessor. In the picture below, you can see the excavation of a pyramid base. Amazing!!!

This is the great pyramid with several built within it. From the sky, the buildings form the body of a snake. Everything about its construction has to do with the calendar.

As impressive as Chichen-Itza is, you have to have a major heat tolerance. It cooks out there!!!

After buying the calaveras requested by Ben's brother and his family, we made our way back to the van. I came across these police officers and asked if they would take a picture with me. I would never do that in the U.S. for some reason. As corrupt as the police are said to be in Mexico, they aren't as scary.

We spent the following day at our perfect beach. Of course, we had to get in the water. Ben grabbed the tube and showed me his mad skills.

After a perfect day, we decided to take the hotel shuttle to Playa del Carmen for a change of scenery and to eat and drink outside of the hotel. We decided to head back to the place we went to with Olga and Kari the previous year. I had the margarita special and Ben had a few cervezas. As we were heading to the bus stop, Ben's stomach started to cramp up. Later that night, he threw up for hours. I was really scared. He's never been that sick. I'm convinced he was poisoned by the fish pizza they had out by the pool. He thinks it was the salsa, but everyone eats the salsa and he was the only person that got sick. The fish pizza, sitting out by the pool for God knows how long, is something I would never touch!!!
The next day, I was on my own. Ben wanted to rest, so I brought him water and checked on him and in less than 24 hours, he was a new man. Thank goodness!!! I know he wanted to feel better so badly because vacations are so short.

Ben joined me later that very day, and you wouldn't have known how sick he actually was just a short time before. I'm so happy he made such a fast recovery!

He even finally saw the large Mexican rodent I keep referring to as the capybara, even though I don't think that's what it is. It may be the chupacabra! We saw this one later on right below our balcony, eating a piece of fruit like a person. Creepy!That night, Ben was cured and ready for tapas.

The view of the lagoon.

Yum!

Below on the right is the Brown Bear. It was not as good as last year. In fact it was jello-y and totally nasty! But the mini cheesecake on the left was much better than I remembered!

And the mini strawberry cream puffs were to die for!!! The next morning, we took the collectivo to Akumal for snorkeling and to shop at my favorite store!

This is quite a tourist destination because you see tons of marine animals swimming feet from the shore!

I love Mexicarte, my favorite store in Akumal!

They have so many wonderful folk art treasures, and it isn't as expensive as it could be in a place visited by so many people. Everything is tacky and joyful!

After picking out a skull faced mermaid, we headed back to the hotel to relax in the spa.

And hung out before dinner and the show.

On our last full day, we relaxed on the beach. It was the best!

I could stay here forever.

So happy!

Ben enjoyed a few beers and played his air guitar for me.

We walked the entire stretch of beach again.

And swam in the pool.

That night, Ben bought me an early anniversary present - an amethyst ring I had been trying on all week. On our last day, I watched the sunrise, while Ben slept.

And the day was already preparing to be perfection. I took one last dip in the ocean... ... and the pool, before I frantically packed my bag and ran off to the airport.

For now, I am left crossing my fingers, hoping I'll be able to return to Mexico again!

Seema's Wedding Shower!

2010-05-28T12:42:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Facebook, I have been reunited with some of my oldest friends, Swapna and Seema.

Right after school got out, for the summer, Seema had her bridal shower and I was invited! With great anticipation, I drove back to my hometown of La Crescenta to see the whole Athalye family. Jaya came to the door, and I couldn't help but to tear up - I hadn't seen her since high school at least. Ten years had passed since I last saw the girls, so it was overwhelming and exciting to see them again! I even got to see Suhas, the girls' dad and meet Brian, Seema's future husband. They both arrived at the end of the party after their dudes' day of suit buying (no photos exist, for some reason... grr!). We promised to not let as much time pass between visits.

Swapna planned the party for her sister. She made delicious appetizers, planned fun shower games and collected recipes from the guests for Seema's first cookbook. We had a great time celebrating Peems' upcoming wedding!

The mother-of-the -bride, Jaya, and me

Swapna and Seema posing with the ice cream desserts Swapna made!

Below is a close up of the lovely dessert. Swapna baked a white cake, used a cookie cutter to cut small circles of cake and place them in the bottom of the mini terra cotta pots. By adding the cake to the bottom of the pots, she was able to scoop vanilla ice cream on top and it didn't leak out of the bottom. She sprinkled Oreo cookie crumbs on top to give the appearance of dirt. She then put a straw in the middle of it all and placed a live flower inside. So cute and tasty!

The bride and me. She is just beautiful!

Stay tuned... the wedding post is coming up!!!

Tattoo Time!

2010-05-20T23:33:00.000-07:00

So, as you may or may not recall, one year in Pismo, Danny demanded a tattoo right after his mom died. He was 15 that year. Keith said no, but Danny has been thinking about it and planning it ever since. When he turned 18 in May, he knew it was just a matter of time before he finally got his tribute tattoo.

In the middle of May, he drove up to Pismo, where Jeremy and Ben have gotten tattoos from Shane Knight at Mothership. He is a creative and amazing artist, a person who listens to what you want and someone who will take good care of your little brother.

Danny wanted us to come, but we were a little afraid as Keith was not made aware of the tattoo and we didn't want him to think that we were pressuring Danny to get it. We don't think Keith would blame us, but we talked to Danny about it anyway, made sure he knew that this was a lifelong commitment, and really pushed him to tell his dad, etc.,. Danny was determined to get the tattoo and to keep it a secret. Even though Ben and I both wish that Danny would just tell his dad what he decided to do, he is an adult now and is making his own decisions. To this day, Keith does not know the tattoo exists.

Ben and I drove up to Pismo separately and met Danny and his girlfriend Jamison at Mothership, where the tattoo was already in progress.

This is pretty big for your first tattoo, Danny!!! Like Ben's tribute tattoo, it has Marilyn's favorite flowers, the rose and gardenia. Unlike Ben, Danny decided to have his done in black and gray, except for the beams of light coming off the cross at the upper center of his back. Two sparrows are holding a banner that says, "Marilyn Phillips, 8-21-49 - 5-06-07." Whereas Ben preferred the word "Mom" on his tattoo, Danny liked the formality of her full name and the scripted lettering.

He was brave, but I think he wanted to cry.

Providing moral support.

The finished product! Danny loves it and afterwards he said he felt relieved to finally be able to honor his mom this way. His mom actually liked tattoos, even though she never lived to get one. (But she hated piercings !!!)

Afterward, Ben and I had lunch at Splash. Ben had to have their famous clam chowder (even though they no longer get the clams from Pismo), while I had a grilled cheese with tomato. Afterward, we walked the pier.

It was unusually warm and sunny for Pismo that day - perfect for a lovers' stroll.

On our way home, we stopped at the Firestone Brewery. We have said we would one day, but have always been in a hurry to get home. Ben had the little glass because he was driving, but I enjoyed a tall glass of delicious and refreshing goodness!

May Celebrations

2010-05-15T01:29:00.000-07:00

May is a happy time! We celebrate moms on Mother's Day! My sister drove my mom out to Simi and we had dinner at Famous Dave's - my mom loves that place! And I love my mom!

Danny also celebrated his 18th birthday in May!!! It's crazy to think that I've known him since he was 3 years old! Keith threw him a birthday party catered by Famous Dave's!

He spent the day in Venice with his girlfriend. While we waited for his arrival, Keith let me drive the Viper!

My nephew Jake cruised with me!

We are so cool!

Afraid I would crash Keith's car, we came back in and checked out the Danny shrine.

My nephew Trevor, my sister in law Jennifer, my nephew Jake, Keith and Michele.

My sweet prince, Ben, Danny and his girlfriend Jamison.

Danny, Jamison, my nephew Chad, my brother in law Jeremy and Grandma,
along with Sarah and Trevor's backs.

I had to get myself in a picture with my awesome heart shades and my doll!

Danny opening his presents with Chad permanently attached to his lap.

At the end of the summer Danny will be moving out and who knows how often we'll get to see him. It's bitter sweet, for sure.

Later in May, with my dad turning a one day carpet cleaning into a four day affair, my mom and sister came out to get away. We headed to the beach with Lucky and Bula. Unfortunately, while my car was parked on the street, someone hit it with their car. I have some scratches on my side mirror, which is better than what could have happened, but my brand new car is no longer perfect. And no one left a name or number and because I don't want to pay the deductible, the scratches will remain.

On the way home, my mom really wanted to go pick blueberries in Somis. I was a little bit hesitant as it was the opening day. But because my mom is so busy with work and doesn't get to come out that often, we gave it a go!

Ben stood there for the picture, but left the picking to us. It was so hot! I have an even greater appreciation for the farm workers that I see out there every day of the week!

My mom and I with our containers, ready for blueberry picking!

Those blueberries were the best!!!

Later in the month, we celebrated the weekend (and a near end to the school year for me) with our neighbors!

Bula always has to be where the action is, hogging the best seat in the house!

May was an awesome month!

Another Year

2010-05-06T14:22:00.000-07:00

There isn't a day that goes by that we don't think of Marilyn and wish she was here with us. Three years have come and gone so fast and so slow. You may not be able to tell, but we are much different people than we were when she was still here.

We miss you and love you forever!

Herniation Station

2010-04-30T19:19:00.000-07:00

Shortly after our camping trip, Ben noticed a bulge in the lower abdomen/hip region that wouldn't go away! He put off going to the doctor for a while, hoping the bulge would go away. Soon enough, it was starting to impact just about every moment of the day. Ben decided to go see a doctor even though he already knew that it was a hernia. He was sent to see a specialist, and rather than risk having emergency surgery some day in the near future, we scheduled his hernia operation.

Ben wore a paper gown that had all these tubes hanging from it. I guess they pump the gown with air and the air moves the gown out of the way during the surgery. They also pump warm air through the tubing for Ben's comfort. When the nurse left and just before the anesthesiologist came in, Ben kept pretending to blow air into the tubes or smoke himself like a hookah. It was good to laugh just before his surgery because when they busted out the needles, the doctor thought I was going to faint and had me sit down. I wanted to explain that I was fine and always look this pale and tired eyed, but I just did as I was told.

After surgery, Ben felt fine. He kept telling the nurses how great he was feeling and was trying to get up and move around without assistance. That's when the nurse said, "Just wait until you get him home." He didn't realize how drugged up he was.

The day following his surgery was the worst. And even though I knew he would be fine, there wasn't anything I could do for him. It was awful! But the scar is the only thing that remains now, along with the knowledge that you really have to bend at the knees when you do any heavy lifting!

He is as good as new now!

Home Projects and Local Fun

2010-04-25T19:19:00.000-07:00

We finally bought the door I have been admiring for a few months now. It really makes a big difference. The house looks better, the house stays warmer or cooler and now we have less street noise!
The morning light creates a kaleidoscope-like effect on the wall. I just love it!

We bought some plants, like this perfect blue hydrangea.

We also made a trip to the nurseries in Somis in search of a couple trees. I had no idea how relaxing and how beautiful a day it would be. I still plan to head back very soon with a book and picnic lunch.

Perfect, pink magnolias.

After buying and loading the wrong 20 foot tree in the truck, we finally found what we were really looking for: a persimmon tree and a Granny Smith apple tree.

We also made our way back to Wildwood when my friend Amanda had mentioned it to me. For some reason I have to be reminded that this place exists so close to home.

We walked through the tunnel below Avenida de los Arboles to the trail head.

The Lord's candle was in bloom everywhere!

And ducklings galore!

We headed to Paradise Falls to check out the water level. We've had a lot of rain, so it has been flowing.

We found this spot near the end of our hike and even though a trail does not lead to it, I will make one the next time we go to Wildwood.

Wildwood Park is a beautiful and peaceful place!

Team CoCo

2010-04-20T18:51:00.000-07:00

So Ben knows how much I love Conan O'Brien. Ever since Conan moved to Los Angeles, Ben had been requesting tickets. So you can't even believe how happy I was when he finally got them and couldn't keep it a secret. He told me about it and then about a week and a half before the event, Conan was canceled and the tickets were no good!

Because Conan was no longer allowed to be on T.V., he went on tour. Ben surprised me with tickets to the "Legally Prohibited From Being on T.V. Tour"!

We watched the Kings get eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs on one of the TVs in the Dodgers store at City Walk before we went into the Gibson Amphitheatre.

The "I'm with CoCo" and "Team CoCo" logos flashed on the screen as text messages sent from inside the Gibson Amphitheatre were projected below it. Needless to say, those were funny!

Reggie Watts did an opening comedy act. He uses a mixer to make music from sounds he makes, he speaks in different accents and sings. He performed the song in the video below. Warning: Foul language.

They played a video Conan made in the month before the tour when he didn't have a job or tour. (Please excuse the video quality.)

Then Conan made his entrance and the crowd went wild!

There was a lot of singing, dancing, and, well, comedy.

Because the Masturbating Bear is intellectual property of NBC, Conan introduced a new character to replace him.

... The Self Pleasuring Panda!

Conan introduced Deon Cole, one of his writers. You may remember him from the show.

Conan also bought the inflatable bat from Meatloaf's Bat Out of Hell Tour. It would inflate and deflate for songs.

Triumph the Insult Comic dog talked about Los Angeles. They dubbed in the name of the city and some local landmarks, restaurants etc., depending on where the tour was.

Seth Green, Aziz Ansari, dumb Kenneth from 30 Rock, Sarah Silverman and Jonah Hill came on stage to make fun of Chuck Norris of Walker Texas Ranger fame with Conan.

At one point, Conan came out wearing the pink leather outfit that Eddie Murphy wore on "Raw". Later, he was joined by Jim Carrey to sing that Superman song. At the end, Jim Carrey came out wearing a skin colored body suit with a cornucopia on his privates. It was a great end to a funny show.

Thank you, doll, for taking me to see Conan.

Made in America

2010-04-10T18:54:00.000-07:00

Around the time we were going to see Conan, Amy, my cousin Tom's wife, went into labor. Everyone was waiting with great anticipation for the baby to arrive. And like three days later, Luke was born. He is our first American baby! My sister said that I am his first cousin once removed. Someone else said I was his second cousin. But I think I am his teta. I still haven't met him, but Ben and I hope to make it up north to Foster City to see the new family this summer, maybe when the Liebls get back from Hunky Dory.

A day later, Luke's grandma (my Aunt Zdenka) and my dad celebrated their birthdays (they are twins!). I made my dad a chocolate caramel pecan cheesecake.

Sasha is Officially Off the Market!

2010-04-05T18:48:00.000-07:00

Sasha and Erik went on vacation to Nicaragua and when Erik popped the question, they decided to come back a week early to celebrate with family and friends. We were lucky to have them over for a day of lounging. Sasha bought an Instyler (a rotating flat iron/curling iron) at Target and the picture below is what her hair looked like before.

Because she looked so pretty with her new straight do', we had to go out and have dinner at Pookie Thai. The food was so good and it was a great way to celebrate Sasha and Erik's engagement. They will be married in May 2011 in South Utah - that sounds like a road trip!!!

Congratulations!

San Clemente Spring Break Campout

2010-04-01T00:17:00.000-07:00

Over spring break, we headed south for our annual spring break camp out. When we arrived, there was a large and long earthquake in Mexico that we felt as we were setting up. Ogie showed up shortly after that. We made her open her birthday presents which included her heart sunglasses - so cute!

Ben helped her set up her tent we got her for Christmas for the first time.

We grilled and enjoyed a nice campfire.

We took turns keeping Boots warm.

The next morning we got up early. There was a chill in the air and rain in the forecast.

It finally dawned on me why no one camps in tents anymore when it began pouring. Everyone shut themselves into their campers, but there we were with no place to hide. We tore open the packaging on the canopy and set it up in 2 minutes!!! I think that's a world record! We deserved a round of beers for that one!

It rained for about an hour and cleared up. It was sunny and gorgeous the rest of the time. I love San Clemente.
We searched the campground for leftover wood and Ben collected these things to get the fire going in the middle of the day, since it was still cool.

Olga collected sappy sticks with enthusiasm.

And Ben jumped for joy when the fire was going!
When the clouds burned off, we headed down to the beach.

That night, we had another great dinner and sat around the fire listening to music, playing games and catching up with Ogie on all the happenings.

The next morning, we decided to do it all again!

Megan, Jason and baby Nate got a hotel room and joined us for Nate's first "camping" trip and beach day.
This is the happy family just before Nathan did a face plant in the sand.

But he was fine and freakin' adorable!

Jo Ellen joined us later.

We checked out the sunset and took some photos before returning to camp where Ben had dinner waiting for us.

On our last night I busted out the thin mints and we made thin mint smores! For just about the rest of the night, we came up with ideas on selling these delicious treats.

It was another successful San Clemente trip. I am already looking forward to next year!

Almost the Mammals

2010-03-26T00:17:00.000-07:00

Mike Merenda and Ruth Ungar went on tour with her dad, Jay Ungar and her step mom. It was almost The Mammals, but not quite. JoEllen drove up from San Diego and then we headed to a community center in Encino to watch their performance. I have some audio clips as well, but for some reason, I can only publish photos or video, but not audio.

Here is Ruthy singing "Baby" which she wrote after having her son Will. This proves that you can still write songs, play music or do whatever your heart desires after becoming a mom.

I found this one online and every time I hear this song, I want to cry in the Appalachian Mountains...

Ben's Endless Birthday Celebration

2010-03-15T09:02:00.001-07:00

So Ben had a birthday that wouldn't quit this year. But because everyone loves him so much, everyone enjoys the celebration.

Party #1 - Bill, Kelly and their girls, Brittney and Madison took us out to Pookie Thai. Then we went to grandma's hot tub for some drinks and relaxation.

Party #2 - Kari took Ben to sushi, which Ben loves!

We told them it was Ben's birthday and after dinner, the lights went out, a Japanese techno remix of Happy Birthday was playing and the entire staff came out clapping for Ben. Everyone else in the restaurant joined in and it became the largest "Happy Birthday" I have ever seen! Ben was so embarrassed, but Kari and I could not stop laughing. We loved it!

Part #3 - I'm not sure how this happened, but somehow we were convinced that we needed to have every member of Ben's family over at one time to see the house and so the party planning began. Ben had to share the spotlight with our nephew Chad who turned 7 and our sister-in-law Jennifer who turned 40. Of course I was stressing big time because I knew I had to clean the house. We decided to take "before" shots when the house was clean so those who haven't seen our house yet, have the chance.

Here's our bedroom.

The kitchen.

We set up tables outside, and of course it was cold, windy and it rained - a host's worst nightmare!

The living room with extra seating.

And the spinach dip from Costco - I love that stuff so much!

Our guests arrived. Here are my brother-in-law Jeremy and our nephew Chad, and of course, my little angel, Boots.

My brother-in-law Danny and our nephew Jake.

Sam, Grandma Trudy, Grandma Hilda, brother-in-law Mikey and Ellen, Ben's step mom.

Keith and Ben.

Mikey, Ben's dad, Jennifer and our nephew Trevor.

On the far right is Keith with his girlfriend Michele and her girls.

All the boys, including Bula! How cute is Bula???? Seriously!

We had Red's cater the dinner and then busted out the karaoke. Michele's daughters, Emma and Sarah were asked to look like they were singing for the picture.

The party ended early and so we brought the karaoke machine next door. As the night wore on, a beer bong was confiscated and then used by the confiscators. Songs were sung late into the evening. And I will close with a final image of Brad, my neighbor, coming over to get his beer bong back, while Bill, my other neighbor showed us what he could do. Brad looks impressed.

Valentine's Day

2010-03-10T17:28:00.001-08:00

On Valentine's Day, Ben and I decided to take a trip to the snow. When we got to Ojai, the snow still looked so far away that we turned around and went to the beach instead. It was a beautiful day, so looking for shells in long underwear was not ideal, but we had fun anyway.

(There is nothing that bothers me more in a photograph than a crooked horizon line. But what can you do when a rock is taking your picture? I need to invest in a tripod...)

This picture of Bula is to-die-for adorable, and Ben is a doll, of course!
We watched the sunset and ate dinner at the Beach Grill at Padaro, where we got married. It was a perfect day!

Another Kings Victory

2010-03-09T09:27:00.001-08:00

We made it to a bunch of Kings games this year. Jeremy and Chad even carpooled with us. It was Chad's first time and he was so excited. They met up with a friend who had seats in the 8th row and after the game Chad kept telling us about the guy whose teeth flew out of his mouth in a fight. He was so close, he could see teeth flying!

Air Bailey even made a special appearance which is rare. He has appeared in Vegas and like the saying goes, "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas," so an Air Bailey sighting is quite rare. How lucky for me!

The Tree Slaughter

2010-03-08T17:35:00.000-08:00

February 25th was one of the worst days on Purdue St. As I was preparing to leave for work, a crew of ax men showed up to cut down the beautiful, mature tree in front of my house. The tree is on city property, but we pay to water the grass there, Ben mows it and we both love and enjoy it. I did everything but tie myself to the tree. In the end, two city officials came to my house to talk me out of my tree craze and in under thirty seconds, the tree was chainsawed to the ground.
What bothered me most about it is that we did not receive any notice that the tree was going to be removed. Had I known that not even a single branch of the tree would end up in the land fill, that all the wood would become mulch and wood chips for other city projects along with larger pieces becoming hand made furniture that is donated to charities in Moorpark, maybe it would not have been such a confusing and horrible experience. Also, had I known that the city would allow me to pick a new tree that would be planted, or two or even three, I wouldn't have gone ape shit on the city employees. Even though a perfectly beautiful tree was lost, (and "had to be" because of the damage its roots were causing to the sidewalk) some sort of notice would have resolved some of my concerns and informed me about all those unknowns.

So, on March 3rd, I went to the Moorpark City Council meeting and prepared a ten minute speech on the rights of trees in Moorpark and tax payers, along with a tremendous need for a change in notifcation procedures (as in, make them mandatory). Apparently, we should have been notified, but blah blah blah, we weren't. When I arrived at the meeting, I found out that I had to make my statement in under 3 minutes, which I probably should have known with all the school board meetings I attended in trying to keep my former elementary school from closing. So quickly, as the public comment section was early in the meeting, I had to summarize my statement and then later turn in the full version of "The Tree Epic" as my complete statement to the city council.

I was very nervous and angry, but will let you be the judge. In the video link (which appears in the upper left corner of the website), I appear 19:49 in (so fast forward). I had no idea this was being videotaped. Maybe I would not have been so antsy, I would have stood up straight and tried to adjust my voice from the "about to cry" shake that it was. I also would have probably lost about 15 lbs. and blow dried my hair better in the back (which showed up when I walked across the entire screen to give my full written statement to the clerk).

Our tree was killed, but we will be getting a new tree this month. In fact, they let us pick it out, which makes the situation a little better. We picked a Jacaranda Mimosifolia, one of my favorite trees. It's what some people may call "messy", but it's a beautiful mess of purple flowers. I can't wait until I have a new tree to look at and enjoy.

Wildwood Park

2010-03-08T10:41:00.000-08:00

I brought Ben to Wildwood Park. I had been taking my 5th graders there for a while, but Ben had never been. And because he had been gone for a few days on business in Maryland, we made it a date! It was so beautiful! There were so many wildflowers because of the rains we've had. Bula enjoyed himself as well.

We made it to the falls.

And even made it to the tepee which Ben wanted to see.

It was an awesome day!

Soundsuits

2010-03-07T10:38:00.001-08:00

Early in February, Ben and I went to the Fowler Museum on UCLA's campus.

I had heard about Nick Cave's Soundsuits exhibit, and knew that I wanted to see it. (Check out the video. This is what made me have to go see the exhibit and I love Radiohead's Idioteque!)

Upon entering, I quickly fell in the love with the giant polar bear made out of sweaters.

Hand beaded suits.

Knitted dreads.

Colorful fur. (And in the front of the photo, knitted snakes in a pile. I wish I had a better picture of these!)

Vintage toy suit.

Sewn together doilies suit.

Glass bird figurines and beads.

Check out the beautiful detail in the leggings! Many of the leggings were heel-less. How cute!

As we walked around, sometimes I was afraid that someone was in one of the suits for an episode of Candid Camera.

The talent and creativity that it takes to come up with this stuff amazes me! I wish I had this type of genius - the soundsuits are a little scary, but a lot of fun, as well. I loved it!

Afterward, we checked out their other collections. They happened to have a folk art exhibit, which is quite lucky for me since I love that stuff. Included were many different skulls, one of my favorite things.

Ben saw this and said, "Look! Someone carved Barack Obama out of wood!" And even though it does resemble a young Obama, it was made before he was born.

Not Barrack Obama.

2010

2010-03-03T16:33:00.001-08:00

Our New Year's was very mellow. We went to dinner with Bill, Kelly and Madison at Pookie Thai. We had a bottle of Italian champagne, the best I've ever tasted for $9.99.

At midnight, Ben woke up our quiet neighborhood with a few bottle rockets.

And Bula celebrated in a cone. He hated that thing!

Vegas Part Duex

2010-03-02T18:22:00.001-08:00

Over winter break, Ben took some time off. And because we had a free room at the Bellagio, along with food and gambling comps., we headed to Vegas for a few days. Every hotel had holiday decorations on a very grand scale, so it felt like Christmas even in Sin City!

(I love the blown glass flowers on the ceiling - you can see those year round!)

We walked around and went to some of our favorite spots
and found some new ones along the way.

Flamingos at The Flamingo.

There are couple of restaurants that I love near the mall, like Ba Ba Re Ba and the crepe place,

so we went through the mall to get to them. We'd also cut through every casino, store, etc., because it was so cold! And we came across more holiday decorations everywhere we went!

This ornament/showgirl was humongous and hanging from the ceiling.

We also had sandwiches two nights in a row because they were so good. The Earl of Sandwich shop in Planet Hollywood makes the best Caprese sandwich. I was still thinking about it from our last trip to Vegas! Now we make it at home. Mmmm!

We went into Excalibur which is a casino I love from the outside, when it's all lit up at night, but I've noticed the inside getting more and more, well, ghettoooo! They have go-go dancers dancing all over the casino surrounded by drunken pigs. Beer pong tournaments all over the place with more drunken debauchery happening all around you. There are cigarette butts and dirty glasses and empty bottles all over the machines, chairs and every visible surface. And almost every machine I sat at had lighting or volume issues. It seems a little run down. Ben and I vowed never to go back inside there. Even though I have gotten several free room offers from them, it isn't worth the hellish drive to stay there. I just have to delete them now.

Here is the view from our room. We always say we're going to go to the pool or spa, but I don't think I've actually been in a Vegas pool or spa EVER!

The view looking straight out.

We had a great time. We came back with more money than we went with and everything else was on the house. The "coming back with money" thing is quite a new concept and was the icing on the cake.

Unfortunately, when we returned, Bula had an anal gland infection that needed treatment, 2 rounds of antibiotics and even a cone around the neck, so our winnings plus some were gone in an instant.

Oh, well, I love this adorable pooch.

A Very Merry Christma-Hanukkah!

2010-03-01T17:38:00.000-08:00

The month of December was very busy: 2 Christmases, a Hanukkah and a birthday. Because Keith and Danny were going to Ohio to celebrate the holidays, we had an early Christmas with them.
Sarah and Emma had to leave early to go to their dad's, so they opened the presents from us before they left.

Grandma, Ben and Danny

We sat down for lunch before opening our presents. My nephews Trevor, Chad and Jake below.

Michele, Jeremy, Jennifer and the back of Danny's head.

Danny and me with the kids in the background.

Jake with his new Snuggie. He especially liked the book light.

We had a wonderful time and received many presents.

A few days later, we celebrated Bill's 40th birthday at J & H. He was born on Christmas day!

(Jeff, Bill and Ben)

Bill and Kelly's daughter, Madison, picked out a new Betta for me.

She helps to take care of him when we go away.

I named him Black Jack, but he often goes by "Taco".

Madison got her own Betta fish. He, too, goes by "Taco".

Later, we had a Hanukkah dinner with Michael, Ellen, Mikey, Jeremy, Jennifer and the boys.

We celebrated Christmas at my parents' house on the 24th.

While we were there, Ben needed a pair of slippers and I found these Boston terrier ones,

but Hamlet would not leave him alone with them on. He will always be a playful puppy.

My sister and I set the table (I got to carry all the holiday plates from upstairs).

And had dinner. My dad got impatient with all the camera adjustments,

so he stopped caring about the photo and focused on the soup.

My sister gave me sock monkey slippers that I couldn't wear

because Hamlet wouldn't leave my feet alone.

Later that night, Ben and I went home and opened our presents for each other.

I got a kindle, among other things!

On Christmas day, Ben, Bula and I went to the beach.

It was beautiful!

Bula loves the beach!

So happy!

A beautiful sunset ended the day.

Luc, Remember When You Were going to be My Husband?

2010-03-01T11:23:00.001-08:00

I have gone to some hockey games this year, and have a few more games coming up. My sister has had an extra ticket several times, so I've cheered for the Kings a lot at the Staples Center.

On December 5th, they honored Luc Robitaille for his induction into the Hall of Fame.

Since he used to be my future husband, I thought I should be there.

(Ever since I've noticed that he and his wife have encouraged their youngest son to become a pop star, which includes the stage name "JessaRae", I knew I made the right decision by giving up on the happily ever after with #20).

Later in the month, we went to the Kings/Stars game with our neighbors Mandy and Steve. They are big Kings fans, too, but hadn't been to a game in a while. It was quite a game! We won Egg McMuffins during the McMuffin minute (the Kings scored in the last minute of the second period). It went into overtime and then a shootout. And then came a Kings victory! I also ran into Jim Fox (one of the play by play announcers) while shoving a hot dog down my gullet.

The winning gooooooooooooaaaaaaaaaaaaaaal!

With the Christmas festivities in full swing downtown, we stopped for a photo opp.

(I wish Ben had advised me not to wear that jacket.)

Mandy and Steve

San Diego

2010-02-27T10:51:00.001-08:00

Because we had some extra time off for Thanksgiving and I had a new car to drive, we headed south to San Diego for a few days. The night we arrived, we visited Megan and Jason, saw their new apartment and doted on their adorable angel, Nathan. He is so cute and soft!

Nathan shows off how he can hold his head up already.

The next day, we went to Balboa Park. Olga met us there. We visited the botanical gardens.

Ben found a kaleidoscope sculpture with a poinsettia that you can rotate. The mirrors in the kaleidoscope make the most beautiful natural patterns. Below, Olga checks it out. It was amazing!

We walked through Spanish Village and came across these trees. They remind me of Czech Christmas trees in old photos, more ornaments than branches.

We enjoyed the sculpture garden.

Our visit was short because Olga had to work and study for her exams for graduate school, but it is always good to see "Ogre" as Ben called her once by accident. I love that girl and can't wait for our annual camping trip. LOL!

Afterwards, Ben and I headed to our old stomping ground, SDSU. We visited our old apartment, #6, on Stanley Avenue. I can't believe we lived there 13 years ago! It feels like yesterday!

We drove to San Diego State University and walked around. Even though it has changed some, the memories that came rushing back as we explored made it feel like we had never left. I loved going to school there.

Ben in the arch of one of the bell towers.

When it began to rain, we decided to go to Effin's, the bar that was a block away from our house on Stanley. I celebrated my 21st birthday there, along with New Year's 1999 and had many a veggie cheese steak. (Their signature drink, The Wiggly - half Guinness, half Sprite - still gives me nightmares!) The bar has barely changed. The one difference is that they now serve liquor and they have a larger cheese steak menu. The pints are still cheap, the nun and other characters are still painted on the wall and bras still hang from the ceiling!

The next morning, on our way home, we drove to Escondido to check out Queen Calafia's Magical Circle by Niki de Saint Phalle. Her mosaic sculptures can be found all over the world, at Balboa Park, and now, in a beautiful Escondido Park. Olga told me about it and showed me a few pictures, so I knew I had to go. It was a gorgeous day, which we were thankful for because the sculpture garden is closed if it rains. As we looked for the entrance, and noticed all the doors were locked, we realized that it must be closed if it rains the day before, too! UGH! I tried to take a few pictures through the fence anyway. It only made me more excited to get in there one day soon. Maybe we'll drive out there while we are camping in the spring.

We walked through the park anyway and enjoyed the gorgeous day before our drive home.

2 Thanksgivings, Like the Indians and Pilgrims Probably Wanted

2010-02-26T19:25:00.000-08:00

There are many things that I am thankful for, including cheesecake. This year, I made a pumpkin cheesecake for Thanksgiving. It was goooooooooood!

We had our annual Thanksgiving lunch at Keith's. Below, the kids' table.

From left to right, Keith, Michele, Jeremy, Jennifer and Danny.

Below, Grandma and Ben. I love how we are so excited for the Thanksgiving meal that I couldn't find a single picture where at least one person wasn't eating.

We stuck a candle in a chocolate cream pie and celebrated Jake's November birthday.

We checked out a present Keith bought for himself, a new BMW.

Later that night, Ben and I went to my parents' house for Thanksgiving! We love a Czech American Thanksgiving!

I also finally bought a car this year, my very first new car ever. I thought about getting a Volkswagen Jetta diesel sportwagen, but when we went to the dealership and found out there was a waiting list and I would most likely pay more than the sticker price, we decided against it. I didn't really want to wait and with the strange things that were happening with my old car, I didn't think I could. When Ben is sleeping, I whisper "sportwagen" in his ear, so maybe he'll get one when it's time. Here is a picture of me getting ready to leave the dealership with my new smoky quartz Honda Accord.

Birthdays and Beach Days

2010-02-26T19:17:00.000-08:00

October was a busy month for birthdays! Keith celebrated his 50th!!! We went to the Melting Pot, a fondue restaurant, for dinner with Keith, Michele, Danny and the girls (Sarah and Emma). If you have never had fondue, it is an interesting experience. There are several stove tops on the table, where broth is cooked and cheeses are melted. Then you are given veggies and breads to dip in the cheese and different types of meat, veggies or tofu to cook in the broth. Everyone is given their own set of colored skewers so you know which one is yours while the food is cooking in the pot. For dessert, you can melt chocolate and dip rice crispy treats, cheesecake and brownies. So good! It was delicious, different and fun!

Keith with the desserts for dipping! My favorite part!

Later, Grandma threw Keith a party at her house!

Kari also celebrated her 40th birthday at the end of October and while she was at Disneyland, I decorated her desk in our office.

Kari and her daughter Megan with confetti! I love confetti!

Our boss, Lisa, in the red jacket made Kari an ice cream cake to celebrate. It was so good!

Ben and I took Kari out to dinner at Don Cuco's.

The best part of the night was one they brought out the sombrero for Kari to wear, while we all sang Feliz Cumpleanos! We saw someone else wearing the sombrero earlier, so we joked that Kari got lice for her birthday. I love this picture of her!

In early November, Jo came over for a few days. And, of course, we went to Pookie Thai!

Few people have shared one of my favorite beaches with me. One day, we were given a Wednesday off from work, so Kelly and the girls, along with Bula, made the trip to the beach formerly known as Oil Piers at the northern end of Ventura. We were the only ones there. We collected sand dollars and pretty rocks and just had a nice day. I feel so lucky to be able to enjoy the ocean so late in the fall with bare feet and all.

Halloween 2009

2010-02-26T19:10:00.000-08:00

For one night, I had more than one turtle in the house again (R.I.P. Herb and love to my red eared sliders living -I hope- in a mansion's pond in Montecito). I wish the costume was available in a smaller size, but no matter what size it was, Bula hated every second of it.

Vegas 2009 Part I

2010-02-26T08:25:00.000-08:00

Once again, we were able to go to Vegas for the annual Frozen Fury game, Kings vs. Avalanche. We got to sit very close to the glass which is always exciting!

The Vyskocil girls cheering on the boys in black - Go, Kings, Go!

My sweet prince.

A broken face.

For some reason, Air Bailey only appears in Vegas, but he is one of the highlights, for sure. It is my dream to wear this suit.

And a winning goal in a shootout.

Kern, Baby, Kern, River Inferno!

2010-02-25T20:00:00.000-08:00

In late September, we went to the Kern River with our neighbors Kelly, Bill and their daughter Madison. We had planned to go earlier, but when Madison broke her foot, the trip was rescheduled. It did not disappoint and we fell in love with the Kern. As a child, Kelly spent her summers on the Kern near Lake Isabella and Sequoia National Park, but we had never been there. We loved it and have thought about maybe buying a cabin. September is a great time to visit, as the enormous summer crowds have vanished. There isn't a McDonald's or Starbucks: Everything is Mom and Pop. Ben is still thinking about the all you can eat fish and chips he got one night.

Even though the river is snow melt and freezing, it can get really hot, so the only thing you can do is jump in and it feels great! I am dreaming of the lazy days on the river in or out of a tube, with a cold beer, a tri-tip sandwich from the local shop, friends, relaxation and fun!

Madison wanted all action photos, so we assumed that her leg fully healed!

Ben tried to catch some of that energy!

Because we agreed to watch this raft, Kelly and Madison thought they could watch it better if they got in it.

Ben stayed protected from the sun!

I brought my kayak and Madison tried it for the very first time.

So did Kelly!

It was a perfect long weekend! We are all looking forward to our next visit and hopeful that we can stay longer.

The Dodger Game and A Near Death Experience

2010-01-31T19:02:00.000-08:00

In the middle of September, we went to a Dodger game with Kelly and Bill. I can't tell you who played, who won or what the score was because that's what baseball does to me. It puts me in a boredom coma. Always has, always will. I start out fine and then 3 innings in, I spend the rest of the time questioning why I even came, playing "Where's Waldo?" with people in the audience and constantly searching for the cotton candy. Despite my near hatred for the sport, we had a great time with our friends and even had plenty of laughs.

Earlier in the week, Ben's favorite college football team, the Ohio State Buckeyes played the Trojans, Ben's second least favorite college team (University of Michigan is his least favorite!!! 3 exclamation points!!!) and lost.

A funny thing happened on the field before the game, during the game and throughout Dodger Stadium. The USC marching band was EVERYWHERE!!! We went to get our Dodger dogs and they were even prancing around up there!

Now, although the game of baseball threatens to kill me with boredom, Ben had his own near death experience later in the week. Clearing out things in the rafters of Grandma's garage, Ben decided to use Grandpa's old ladder to really get up in there. Grandpa has been gone for 9 years and he must have purchased the ladder 50 years before that, and let's just say, it didn't exactly hold Ben up for very long. Because Ben was safe, we could laugh about it.

Well, I can laugh about it.

Pismo: The Trip That Almost Wasn't

2010-01-30T17:42:00.000-08:00

As you may or may not know, one of Marilyn's favorite places was Pismo Beach. She liked the weather: it never gets hot (or even warm). She enjoyed the food like clam chowder in a bread bowl or her bacon wrapped filet mignon at Mc Clintock's. But she mostly loved that the whole family was there: Keith, Danny, Jeremy, Jennifer, Trevor, Jake and Chad, sometimes Grandma, and Ben and I, along with Marilyn, would all make the trip. And even though we would each come to Pismo with our own plans for the long weekend, we would always meet up for dinner.

So every year we would book rooms at the Edgewater Inn and fight the often horrendous Labor Day traffic to do the Pismo family thing. I am so happy and grateful for the memories of our Pismo trips. Our little brother Danny started going up to Pismo as a baby and I have old video footage of us fishing on the pier when he was 4 or 5 years old. He will be 18 in May. One year, we had to dig the Durango out of the sand dunes and when we took breaks from our digging, we would slide down 30 foot walls of sand. That same year, Keith crashed the Durango at the dunes, broke the radiator and we had to get towed out. It was so scary the way he was driving that thing with sand in his contacts. I remember thinking I was going to fall out the window the way the the car was tilting and sliding! I saw sea otters in the wild for the first time, floating on their backs in Morro Bay and even saw a kid catch a fairly large shark off the Pismo Beach Pier. Keith tried to teach me to surf on his short board in the frigid waters in front of the hotel. Many of the memories overlap and Ben and I can't seem to figure out what year some of them happened. Like all the dinners... going to the same restaurants, always Brad's and Mc Clintock's. Rightfully so, the wine tasting trips blend into one another. Many of the fishing memories start with a long pier and end in the same way, with an occasional bullhead, crab or sting ray catch, and if someone was really lucky, a too small, and thus illegal, mackerel.

There are so many things that have happened in Pismo and because of Pismo. I think about it with both a happy and sad heart. Ben's mom has been gone for almost three years. And although we always made the trip, at times we even complained about it (the traffic!!!), we still made the journey. As you may remember from my Oahu post, we decided to go to Hawaii instead of Pismo this year to make a new memory and to do something different. And after Oahu when Labor Day approached, suddenly we were excited to go to Pismo again. And because we hadn't cancelled our reservation, made as we checked out the previous year, we decided to go to Pismo again!

So here it is, maybe for the last time, but then again, maybe not...

The morning after we arrived!

Wine tasting in the Edna Valley.

Me, 28 pounds down! (Back up some since then...Grrrr.)

My doll and me.

Exploring the other offerings on the wine tasting route.

Mc Clintock's dinner. My nephew Jake and the blindfolded water pour.

Sarah, Michele's (Keith's girlfriend) daughter, trying it out.

Sarah and my nephew Chad found a naked lady on the beach.

Chad, Sarah and Emma (Michele's younger daughter) tried to keep the sun from setting.

Taking out my kayak, with my new paddle (Thanks, Kari!) at Morro Bay.

Pelican frenzy!

Seals

More pelicans in front of Morro Bay's big rock.

And finally a tattoo in memory of Marilyn.

Her favorite flowers, a rose and gardenia and a sparrow holding a MOM banner.

Ben with the stencil on his arm.

Let the pain begin!

Grandma and Danny come by to check out the progress. Danny kept the stencil and may get a similar tattoo when he's of age. (Did you hear me??? When you are OF AGE!!!)

Pismo started and ended with Marilyn for us. Some of the memories of Pismo in the last years of Marilyn's life are colored by cancer and even though she is gone now, the new memories can still be seen in that light, affected, changed, different because of cancer. And although we may make our way north to the town she loved in the future, the traditional family trip may too be put to rest. Life is different now. Keith has a new love, with young daughters and is starting a new chapter. Danny will be in college next year, also creating a new future. The price of accommodations along with activities for the kids is going up and the town is getting more crowded. It isn't the sleepy town it used to be. So as things change in Pismo, I guess, so do family traditions.

July

2010-01-12T17:58:00.000-08:00

Shortly after our return from Oahu, I celebrated my 32nd birthday. We went to Ola's for dinner with Bill, Kelly, Madison, Brittany and Kari. Later that night, Kari and I met up with Brandy and Carly (who happens to be the daughter of my boss, Lisa) at J & H. And even though Ben had to work and said he couldn't make it, he showed up anyway.

A few days later, as if I needed to be reminded that I'm getting older, I began to feel a pain in my side. I tried not give it much thought, but when the pain remained, I decided to go to the doctor. It started to feel a lot like a kidney stone, so I was given pain medication and told to return if the pain did not go away over the weekend. The following day, Kathryn got married, and so, hopped up on pain pills, I sucked it up to celebrate.

Ryan's brother was the officiant.

Below, the bride and me.

It was a reunion of sorts. Mandy and her husband Mark on the left and Amanda, my old teaching partner and her husband Drew on the right.

My old boss, Dave and his wife Bev (right) were there, too. (Dave was also Ben's soccer coach when he was 3 years old. Can you imagine 3 year olds playing soccer??? He was also one of Ben's teachers and, eventually, principal of his middle school.) Jamie (left) came with her husband. She also worked at Park Oaks taking on whatever jobs were available, like I did when we first moved to Moorpark. She now works at Intuit.

Concie from Park Oaks was also there, along with Kari. Ben was my date of course!

The bride and groom enjoying the night.

The girls dancing. I like how Jamie looks like she's listening to a violin concierto (and playing an air violin, for that matter) while Mandy and Kari rock out.

After the wedding, I was hopeful that I would start feeling better. I thought I would pass the kidney stone and life would be good again. But this was not meant to be. The pain didn't go away. I couldn't sit up, stand up, lie down, etc.,. I was extremely uncomfortable. I realized that what I had may not have been a kidney stone at all. It was confirmed when I was reading Sunday's Parade magazine and there was a full page ad asking if I had isolated spots of pain, alongside a burning, blistery rash. I lifted up my shirt, and there it was! The rash, the blisters! It was horrible.

You may be thinking, "I've never heard of anyone having shingles." And up until I had it, I hadn't heard of it either. Shingles talk usually makes its way through older circles, like 70s and up. Everyone who I talked to seemed to agree that their "grandma had shingles" and so on. But if it's painful and leaves blisters and potential scarring, I'll take it!!! So for the rest of July and all of August, I was out of commission. It was awful. I sat in my back yard a lot and visited with friends when I felt up to it. I avoided people who had never had chicken pox or if they were pregnant, as shingles is contagious for them. Up until this point, I thought that it would be difficult to top the pain of a kidney stone I had years ago, but the shingles did not disappoint in the pain department.

When I was no longer contagious to the masses, I ventured out. Unfortunately the pain can remain for up to six months, which really worried me, so I kept plenty of Vicodin on hand. For a little over 2 months, shingles screwed things up, but I tried not to let it stop me.

I celebrated with Madison (far left) when she turned 7!

And kissed my sweet angel dove when we had our third wedding anniversary. Dinner at Two Guys from Italy. Delicious!

I took care of my animals. What a character Houdini was. I never thought you could see old age in a fish, but looking at this photo of Houdini now, I realize that even Bettas get old and look it.

Precious!

We visited with Nathan.

And were sad when Jason and Megan decided to move back down to San Diego. Megan had already taken Nathan down there when Jason packed up the last of their belongings. I drove the boys around on his last night in Moorpark. It was a wild evening!

July came to a close. And even though shingles knocked me out for a while, I still managed to have a good time and enjoy some of the last days of summer.

Missing film from Mexico - Arriba!

2009-11-24T15:47:00.000-08:00

I knew there were more photos from Mexico! I remembered seeing them at one time and lo and behold, found them! Here we are soaking in the warm, beautiful water!

Ben's launching me in my sunflower inner tube.

Olga and I on top of the Mayan ball court.

A close up! Check out Olga's half-hearted celebration of being at the top - it was soooo hot!!!

Here I am almost near the top of the pyramid!!! Kari is somewhere at the bottom.

Here we are swimming in the cenote. These are the pictures I knew I saw, but then thought I imagined seeing them because they weren't on my camera. What a treat after such a hot day at the ruins and in the Mayan village!

Olga and I with our passes to the ruins at Tulum!

Olga and I getting ready to swim in Tulum's sacred water. Ben stayed at the top of the cliff and then regretted it because of the mad heat! When given an opportunity to cool off in Riviera Maya, you take it.

Olga and I in the water.

After our dip, making our way up the stair case.

Houdini

2009-11-17T13:25:00.000-08:00

This morning I woke up and checked Houdini's bowl as usual. He was upside down, as he has been most of his life, but he was still alive. This week, it seemed like he had a stroke and could not change positions even if he wanted to. I knew that he might be dying. I stepped outside after checking on him. It was dawn, but the sky was still dark. An owl flew out of my neighbor's tree and back into it as a shooting star raced across the sky. I thought this may be some kind of omen. I went back inside and Houdini was dead.

I am so sad. I remember when Houdini came into my life. Kari's class was doing some sort of science project and each group of students had their own betta fish. When the project was complete, the fish remained and Kari offered them to teachers at Park Oaks. I came in to see which one I wanted and knew right away. Houdini's fins were long and curly like hair and purple on one side and blue on the other.

He was magical. Arul, one of my favorite students to this day, brought him over to me with the rest of his team. His name was Spikey then, and the kids were all so happy that I picked their fish.

It's been over 3 and a half years since he became mine. The first time I cleaned his bowl, he jumped down the drain and there were moments where I considered turning on the garbage disposal to put him out of his misery. But I persevered and got him out, crying as I did it, scared that I would hurt him in the process. This week when I was changing his water, he jumped out of the net again and then out of my hand. Once I grabbed him and cupped him in my hands, I thought, "This may be the last time." It was.

I love Houdini and will miss taking care of him. That's all there is to say.

Oh! ahu, Hawaii

2009-11-13T09:43:00.001-08:00

In July, Grandma took the family to Hawaii. It was kind of like when the Brady's went to Hawaii sans the tiki idol, but not really. Keith, his girlfriend Michele, his parents out from Ohio, Danny, Jeremy, Jennifer, the three boys: Trevor, Jake and Chad, along with Ben and I all in one state and one hotel. The trip didn't start out as planned due to the three hour flight delay, but we eventually arrived safely. Keith spent a lot of time taking Michele and his parents around Oahu, Danny spent most days in bed with some sort of disease, Jeremy, Jennifer and the fam hung out mostly at the hotel and Ben and I rented a car and explored Oahu. Grandma spent time recovering at the hotel in between days spent with all other members of our caravan (She is 92!). (One thing to consider, to be able to be together more, we would have needed to rent a very large van, otherwise we could not really travel to many places together.)

So we arrived much later than we thought we would, picked up our rental car (PYG!) and went to bed.

The next morning our vacation truly began. Check out the view from our hotel room in Honolulu. We stayed at the Outrigger, Waikiki.

We had breakfast.

We drove up the Pali Highway to the lookout. It is super windy there!!!

Ben asked one of his Hawaiian co-workers which beach was the best on Oahu. We were told to go to Lanikai. We used the map to get there, only to realize that this was one of our favorite beaches when Ben and I were in Oahu 8 years ago. We went to the same exact spot on Mokulua Drive in a residential neighborhood. We took the public beach access path...

And found the same tiny beach in between two homes, and had it to ourselves. We even saw a sea turtle!

The next day, Ben and I took grandma to the Dole Pineapple Plantation.

She loves a good scoop of ice cream. And the fact that it was made with fresh pineapple - even better!

We continued on from the fields to the North Shore. We made Grandma walk the longest stretch of beach in Hawaii to be able to say, "I strolled the sands of Waimea Bay."

But the long walk through the sand took a lot out of her, so she napped. Ben and I strategically placed the umbrella over her and lubed any visible skin with sunscreen.

This is by far, my favorite place to swim in Oahu. When you get in the water, it's fairly shallow, but it gets deep really quickly which has something to do with the huge waves that rock this beach in the winter. In the summer, it is flat and the water is crystal clear and DEEP!

This is the life...

Below, can you see where I am in the water? I wanted to swim out to the horizon!

Check out how far Grandma had to walk to get to and from the beach.

We continued to drive around the island, stopping at this park (grandma stayed in the car) and the macadamia nut farm (she definitely got out of the car for that!).

Ben loves Mokoli'i Island nicknamed Chinaman's Hat. It reminds us of his hat.

On the way back to the hotel to meet up with everyone for dinner, we saw several different rainbows.

After dinner, we hung out with Jeremy, Jennifer and our nephews. (My camera does not take good pictures at night.) We decided to go swimming in the ocean right in front of our hotel.

On our balcony at the outrigger - downtown Waikiki.

Kari, her mom, her daughter Megan and Megan's best friend Maria happened to book a trip to Hawaii to celebrate the girls' high school graduation at the same time as us. Kari called one night to see if we wanted to go somewhere so the girls could try snorkeling for the first time. Rather than go to crowded Hanauma Bay, we drove the western side (West si-ide!) of the island, which is much warmer and dryer than the rest of Oahu. Check out beautiful Makaha Beach.

Kari, her daughter Megan and Megan's best friend Maria.

We drove back toward our hotels in Waikiki and stopped along this lonely stretch of beach.

We looked for shells and rocks. I found several dead star fish that were so cool looking I had to pick them up.

Later that night, Ben and I walked to one of our favorite restaurants in Waikiki, Keo's for Thai food.

The mangoes grow on Keo's farm and this was the most delicious mango I have ever had. I love dessert!

The next day, we took our nephew Chad on a couple of hikes. Our first stop was Manoa Falls in Waikiki, near the college.

Afterward, we hopped in the car and headed to Maunawili Falls. This was quite a trek through the muddy rain forest. Chad wanted to give up several times, and fell down a lot, but we finally made it! He was a really good sport on the slippery, gooey trail.

The boys let me jump first.

Chad was the smallest kid we saw jump that day. He fears nothing. Here is a video of his first jump. I am in the water waiting for him. I did not expect him to dive.

Chad and Ben getting prepared to jump.

Here's his second leap with Uncle Ben.

My nephew Chad takes a flying leap as his Uncle Ben waits for him in the water.

Because the hike back to the car was more difficult: we were tired, the trail was downhill for the most part and super muddy and slippery, we bribed Chad with Bob's pizza (they have the best spinach pizza made with a garlic sauce instead of tomato) and ice cream. We wanted the day to end on a good note.

Ben and I dropped Chad off, attempted to find free parking and walked back to our hotel at sunset.

We ate dinner together and later saw Jennifer and my other nephews Trevor and Jake in downtown Waikiki.

Jake, Trevor and Jennifer in Waikiki!

Danny and I, one night in Waikiki.

The next morning we drove to the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, or Punchbowl. We walked the beautiful grounds, saw our military at work and eventually made it the view point.

Ben guarding Waikiki and Diamond Head.

Us.

Waikiki view.

Diamond Head.

Afterwards, we drove to Turtle Beach in Haleiwa.

We heard that it was common to see sea turtles sunning themselves on the shore, but we had no idea.

We saw so many perfect sea turtles. Amazing!

This was the biggest sea turtle!

Look at Ben in comparison to this guy!

I took a turn, too! I heart sea turtles!

This was Ben's favorite day!

He could not stay out of the water.

I found the prettiest shells. When we got back to California, I put them in a jar in my guest room. Every time I see it, I think of the beautiful beaches of Hawaii, being there with my husband and slowing the pace of life.

As we were preparing to drive back, we decided to go through the North Shore again, so we could make a stop that we had seen earlier on the trip.

Romy's wife is showing me what a prawn looks like. They are frisky!

This is what a plate at Romy's looks like.

On our last full day in Oahu, we got up early to drive along the southeastern part of the island on the Kalanianaole Highway to see the sunrise.

And ended up back at Lanikai. It is just so pretty there.

Ben is so strong!

I am so happy!

Mokulua Drive is one of my favorite streets in Oahu!

We returned to Waikiki to take Grandma out for an early dinner at the Hula Girl Cafe.

Even she enjoys a cold one every now and again.

On the day of our departure, we swam at the hotel pool and tried out the spa. (Too many people everywhere!) Ben and I made the last walk to our car parked several blocks away ($25 per night to park at the hotel! Yikes!). We made one more attempt to pose in front of Duke (every other attempt was blurry), dropped off the car and flew back home.

An aerial view of Diamond Head crater.

I just love Hawaii so much. My aunt and uncle took me to Maui when I was 16. It felt like it was the first time I had ever been anywhere. That's where my love of travel was born. The world opened up to me then. Hawaii and all of its islands that I have visited (Maui twice, Oahu twice and Kauai) still evoke that passion for exploration and adventure in me. I hope I will be able to return soon. Next time: the big island!

Riviera Maya - Parte Dos

2009-08-24T16:09:00.000-07:00

As soon as school got out in June, I was ready for a vacation! And although Ben hates the sun, sand and water, he wanted to see Riviera Maya and stay where my sister and I stayed last year. Olga and Kari joined us as well.

When I was booking the trip, I knew we would have a great time, but when we arrived at the hotel, I started to get worried... What if they wouldn't like it here? What if they felt like it was too expensive and not worth the money we spent?

We arrived in the late afternoon and were greeted with cold washcloths, mimosas and beer. We checked into the room and everyone was super excited and loving it already. I wanted them to see the beach before it got dark because as good as the resort is, it would be nothing special without its beach.

Here they are celebrating our arrival!

We ate dinner at the Italian restaurant and explored what the hotel had to offer. Ben and Olga played pool.

Before going to bed, we checked out the Michael Jackson show.

Olga took this picture of us waiting for the show to start.

Olga also took these two live action shots of MJ in all his glory.

It rained the following morning, so Kari, Olga and I stayed in the pool and took a water aerobics class. That first rain was worrisome because it was a torrential storm. It almost hurt when it would splash off the pool's surface and back into our faces. But we were on vacation and enjoying it. Before we knew it, the rain stopped, the sun came out and it was gorgeous. We walked the entire stretch of the beach just as I had in the year previous.

Kari took a yoga class and asked us to participate. We decided to pass. She volunteered for EVERYTHING!!!

Then we had cocktails by the pool. I think the one Kari is having is called the Chocolate Moose.

Ben eventually joined us. He was still recovering from the "all inclusive" aspect of our first night in Mexico. Hay muchas cervezas!

We decided to try all the fruity concoctions we were noticing around the pool!

Ben tubed in the pool.

And checked out the beach.

We rode tandem on the inner tube.

Kari decided to take salsa and merengue lessons in the afternoon. I could picture Megan saying, "Mom, your weird."

That night, we went back to the beach to see if we could spot any sea turtles coming in to lay their eggs. No sea turtles, but we found these hammocks.

Before this shot was taken, Ben swung us to high heaven.

When we would get up in the morning and leave to eat breakfast, we would return to find towel animals waiting for us. Below are several days of animals. On our return from the beach or a day trip, we were always pleasantly surprised by the towel menagerie!

Here is a picture of Olga in her room. Our room looked just like it. You can see a towel creation on the bed. We would tuck dollars into the animals to encourage the house keeping staff.

Outside, we became friends with the iguanas, or "eggo-wannas" as Kari called them.

I strolled the beach every day. Many times, the girls would come along, but sometimes they'd prefer a good lounge chair.

Check out the color of that warm water!

The sand was powder sugar soft.

It really is paradise!

Ben met up with me during one of my walks and he even brought his perro.

We ended up in the pool.

We practiced rolling each other out of the water.

Believe it or not, we did this on more than one day. Looking back on it now, I didn't remember doing this again, but lo and behold, the proof was in the film sequence on my camera! Ben and I practiced rolling eachother over the edge of the pool. In an infinity pool, the water comes up to the very edge and makes pushing each other out of the pool fairly easy, and more entertaining than it should have been (especially after viewing my series of pictures from this event).

The night after the first "rolling each other out of the pool" photo, we caught the tail end of the Mayan show.

The following morning we got up early to go to Coba, Central America's largest pyramid. We made one pit stop.

The first ruin we set eyes on...

This is a Mayan ball court. At the end of a match, a player or team would be sacrificed.

The following two pictures are from Olga's camera. This was us on the long walk in the extreme heat to get to the large pyramid. Ben and I are standing on the wall of the Mayan ball court.

Coba, here we come! Ben getting ready to climb!

Here is the tip top of the pyramid!

And Ben and I at the top surrounded by trees and clouds that go on forever in every direction.

Looking down!

Afterwards, we stopped at a restaurant where crocodiles sunbathe on the lake's surface. In the past, the local kids would feed them meat for tips. Our guide asked us not to encourage this dangerous job.

After lunch, we visited a Mayan village and home. Our guide kept saying, "These are their circumstances," with a French accent. She didn't want us to judge them and wanted us to know that the Maya are happy no matter how much or how little they have. I wanted to say, "We get it, lady! Just stop saying the word 'circumstances'!"

The mom was making tamales with a dough and black bean filling. Ben thought she was making chocolate chip cookies over an open flame. LOL.

The Maya don't sleep in beds, but hammocks. This man who is connected to the community asked for a volunteer to help demonstrate how a couple would sleep in the hammock. Guess who became his Mayan wife??? Taketers, of course. (When she raised her hand and crawled in bed with him, I was absolutely horrified. I imagined that Kari's daughter would have had the same reaction. But it is a classic Taketa move, "Sure, I'll be your Mayan wife!") He held her in his arms and explained how it was the man's job to keep the hammock swaying back and forth all night as a means of staying cool.

This is a wall of family photos. Mayan people also usually have a photo of western Canada where the monarch butterflies begin their long migration down to Mexico. They believe that each monarch butterfly is the spirit of someone who has died. So next to this photo of Canada, is a photo of someone who has passed away. Although the family who lived in this home has never gone to Canada and will, most likely, never go there, it is a revered place.

After our visit to the Mayan village, we went to take a dip in an open cenote. A cenote is an underground opening that contains a fresh water pool. These pools are created by the underground river systems. An open cenote is one where the the roof of the cave has collapsed and has become a large pool exposed to the elements. On the way, we saw a demonstration of how gum is collected from the tree, and we even got to try some. The Mayans used the gum as a natural toothbrush. Olga got a kick out of the demonstration because the man in the tree did not actually hit the tree with the machete, but pretended to in slow motion for us to see.

They lit incense at an altar along the way and prayed for our protection on our journey to the open cenote and on our travels in Mexico.

Finally... the open cenote!

After a long hot day, we returned to the hotel. We ate at one of the many restaurants at the resort. In the photo below, Olga and Kari enjoy a drink at the tapas restaurant as we waited for a table. There is something really wonderful about tapas. For those who don't know, tapas are small portions of food that allow you to eat a greater variety of things rather than one big meal. It is genius.

Below, Olga shows off her dessert plate.

They had this one dessert called the black bear which was a cone of chocolate alongside a cheesecake tart. That was the main reason I wanted to go for tapas every night. Unfortunately it's blurry - it made even my eyes water, it was so good!

Because of the long, hot day we had at the ruins and in the Mayan village, we decided to relax back at the hotel. We knew it was going to be a good day when we finally captured "junk" on film. Kari was convinced that whenever he saw us, he would sit right next to us and pose for our cameras. I guess the picture below is the proof.

Ben snorkeled at our beach.

Olga painted a ceramic box poolside. This became one of her souveniers.

Ben and I joined her there.

That night, we took the hotel bus to Playa del Carmen. This is a bustling town of shops, restaurants, street performers and artists. We came across this band on one of the streets. The cheetah girl on the big drum rocked it.

Here we are on the beach in Playa del Carmen.

We stopped to have margaritas and guacamole.

The following morning, Ben and I went to Akumal to snorkel. We saw sea turtles and huge barracuda along with colorful fish, coral and reef. Kari and Olga stayed behind. We played in the water and snorkeled for hours. It was really surprising that despite the tourist and local crowds and boats that float and bob on the surface, there is a different world just under the sea: lots of protected sea life!

We also came across one of my favorite stores.

I didn't buy one of these paper mache munecas, but I should have. I did not bring a lot of money with me because I knew Ben and I would be in the water and our stuff would be on the beach. So unfortunately, in this consumer paradise, I had to sacrifice so many things, but I bought the coolest skeleton lady. Even though I carried her like a baby on the long journey to the airport, and throughout the airport (along with hauling all my luggage), she did not come home unscathed. When I had to slide her under the x-ray machine, they made me put her in a plastic tub that flipped over as soon as those "car wash" strips touched the plastic bin. Ugh! I was so annoyed since she had not left my hands the entire time, and the second I let her go, she lost three ceramic fingers.

When we returned, we strolled along the beach.

We often returned to the pool at night, or maybe, we never left. One night they had a pool party where one of the activities directors wore nothing but a speedo, pink inner tube and snorkel and walked around the pool yelling, "Pool Party!" in his French accent. I think I was laughing too hard to photograph it.

Pool Party!!! (say like Frenchman)

A common sight heading to and from the beach... I think they are in love!

The following day, Olga, Ben and I headed to the ruins at Tulum.

We opted to walk toward the entrance and were able to see this...

Just as we we were making our way to the inside walkway, a snake flew down from the roof after this poor little gecko. Olga was able to capture the slaughter. Creepy! Maybe this was a sign not go further...

The ruins at Tulum are amazing, but more than the ruins themselves, the location is the best part. Sitting on cliffs overlooking that beautiful water, I can't help but think that I should have been born a Mayan.

While the stifling heat got to Ben, Olga and I took a dip in that water. On the stretch of beach where you can swim, the waves are really powerful. Supposedly, the water there has healing powers. It certainly was what we needed considering the temperature outside. If it wasn't for the heat, Riviera Maya, Mexico would have to be heaven on earth.

In the collectivo, heading back to the hotel.

When we got back, Olga and I chilled in the lobby with a beer. Writing this now, I am jealous of us.

On our last full day, we stayed at the hotel, enjoyed the beach and did some last minute shopping at my favorite store. I told the lady, who I bought things from on my last trip to Mexico that I would be back for a third trip next year. I think I need to keep my word to her.

He does like sand, water and the sun!

He also likes dogs.

That night we had tapas for dinner, of course. We dressed up for the occasion.

On our last morning, we got up to see the sun rise and to really enjoy every moment that we had left in Mexico. We were told to be out there by 5 a.m., but the sun didn't really appear until about 6. We had fun anyway.

Olga and Kari on the last day.

Olga, Kari and wild beach dog...

We took our last series of dips in the water. Check out those fish swimming at their feet.

We talked to the guy who made and sold necklaces on the beach. Olga bought one. Maybe you can see her wearing it later in the post.

On our way back to pack and shower (and not leaving us enough time to do so, considering Ben and I had to pack up our room and check out before Kari and Olga), we saw an iguana brawl. And although I tried to let nature take its course, I eventually tried to intervene, but that guy just would not let go!

We made it to the lobby just in time to have a few beers for the long drive to the airport.

Adios Riviera Maya, te amo.