He Arose!

Knott’s Berry Bloom & Portillo’s

Last weekend we went to Knott’s to check out how they “springified” the park.  There were a lot of faux flowers, but we didn’t end up finding the topiary garden. 

We did watch the new spring show:

Charlie Brown strumming a spatula, a dancer/singer holding oversize marshmallows on a stick next to an inflatable bottle of relish, plus Justin Bieber music.  Yup, that pretty much sums it up.  (P.S. I actually did enjoy it).

It was very crowded so we skipped most of Camp Snoopy and went to the Sky Cabin.  This was our first time together, and there was hardly a line. 

It provided a nice view of the park.

k is just tall enough to go on some of the “big kid” rides now.  (n was really sad he couldn’t go).

I guess D is a “big kid” too!

Afterward we ate dinner at Portillo’s.

That Chicago dog looks sloppy, but it definitely packs a flavor punch.  The Italian beef sandwich with hot peppers was better than I remembered too. 

I read favorable reviews of the strawberry shortcake, so I wanted to try it.  However, when D picked up our order, the cashier asked if he wanted a free chocolate cake shake (of course he said yes), so we ended up taking the strawberry shortcake home for the next day.  It was good, but I wouldn’t have a need to order it again. 

The kids really enjoyed the shake.  It was definitely sweet—I think they just blend up a piece of their chocolate cake, frosting and all, along with milk and ice cream?  It tastes just like you would imagine. 

n’s Nebulizer

Last week, n had his 4 year wellness checkup.  Aside from a mild cough, the doctor declared him healthy and “low maintenance”.  The next morning, at around 5 a.m., n woke up with a hacking cough and he was slightly wheezing with every breath.  I called his regular doctor, who was out for the rest of the week; the other doctor in the practice was booked until 4 p.m.  Pediatric urgent care hours started at 1 p.m. so we all went there after picking up k from school.  Urgent care was packed, plus there was some sort of medical emergency in the parking lot that sent all of the nurses running, so we ended up upstairs at another regular doctor’s office.  It was quite the ordeal but after about 3 hours we ended up with a nebulizer machine and prescription for 2 drugs, 1 to be given every 12 hours and the other to be given every 4 hours for 7 days.

That’s our n, smiling even while receiving his breathing treatment.

It turns out that it worked pretty quickly, so we didn’t have to do the treatments in the middle of the night (thank goodness) and we didn’t have to do it for the full 7 days.  n was a good sport about it and soon he and k were fighting about whose turn it was to plug in the machine, turn the switch on, etc.  The doctors said it could be asthma, or cold-induced asthma, given his history of eczema, but it’s too early to tell since this was his first wheezing episode.  Hopefully this won’t become a regular occurrence, but at least we are better equipped to handle it if it does.

Kabuki Soft Opening

Last week D and I were provided with two $15 gift certificates to try the newly open Kabuki restaurant at the Spectrum.  (I won by sending my e-mail address for a raffle).  We’ve been to the Kabuki @ Bella Terra so we were familiar with the restaurant.  We ordered the Alaskan roll (CA roll topped with baked salmon), the Large roll (futomaki) and the Rose roll (spicy tuna and shrimp tempura).  We also shared a beef appetizer with shisito peppers.

 

Service was extra-attentive as you would expect during a grand opening.  The restaurant is not too large.  It will be interesting if the Japanese restaurant right across the way is affected by the competition.  Also, I saw that they closed the Spectrum food court.  It is being replaced by a comedy club—interesting. 

Here’s the swag bag I received.  It was kind of fun going out on a weekday night, which is definitely not the norm for us.  I couldn’t believe how many people were eating out and just out and about.  I guess they were mostly young singles, a world that is now foreign to us.

Two Marathons in Six Weeks

In the last six weeks, I doubled the number of full marathons I have run. This wasn't on purpose though. I thought I wasn't able to run the Surf City Marathon on February 3rd, so I signed up for the L.A. Marathon (March 17th). However, after I signed up for L.A., I found out I was able to fly back from Austin, TX on Saturday night (Feb. 2) and just get enough sleep to run the full marathon. I even needed help from my brother-in-law to pick up my race number. The Surf City Marathon, didn't go as planned. I had been training well, running two 20 mile runs at 8:30 pace. Since my best time up to this point was 4:17:04, my goal was to break 4:10. But with the training going so well I had visions of breaking four hours. In Austin, I was entertaining our customers, so I wasn't able to get adequate sleep, properly carbo-load or hydrate. The first 18 miles went OK; however at mile 18, I cramped so bad my toes on my right foot curled. A runner asked me, are you cramping? As I hopped around, I told him yes. He graciously offered me a salt tablet, which I took. However, by that point it was too late. I fought through 4 miles, but at mile 22 my legs were done. I had to walk the rest of the way, and ended up with my worst marathon time (4:22:28). During my six weeks in between, my focus was on recovering. I only went up to 16 miles on my long runs, since recovery was key. I also researched the best way to avoid leg cramps. The two solutions were slow down at the beginning of the race and take "salt" tablets (actually salt, calcium, and magnesium). I decided to bring 13 salt tablets with me and borrowed a race belt from my co-worker to carry a gel shot, and sport beans (salty jelly beans). I also wrote down a list of things I needed for the race. For the Surf City Marathon, I forgot my watch, sunscreen, and salt tablets. The weather for L.A. was ideal; in the 50's. The course starts at Dodger Stadium and ends in Santa Monica. Some of the highlights include... Dodger Stadium, Chinatown, Olvera Street, Little Tokyo, Hollywood, Grauman's Chinese Theater, Beverly Hills / Rodeo Dr., and Santa Monica. I started out slow as I was in the "Open" corral, which is at the back of the pack. I had to pass people to go at a decent pace, but I didn't want to expend too much energy going around people. It was probably a blessing in disguise, as it forced me to conserve energy. After the first 3 miles, the course opened up and I got in a rhythm. Once I got through mile 22 without cramps, I was feeling good. Since the last three miles were downhill and the weather actually was getting cooler as I was nearing the ocean, it helped keep me strong. This was the first full marathon that I didn't cramp much at all, and it resulted in a PR (4:08:58). The one thing that the L.A. Marathon did that nothing else could was make me not hate the song "I Love L.A." They played it prior to the start of the marathon. Growing up in NorCal, that song always bugged me. But the marathon was a great experience. Being with 24,000 other runners was exciting. The volunteers were great and was I glad for all the orange slices and pretzels that they handed out. After the marathon I realized how much L supports me in my running endeavors. Every weekend she deals with my inflexible training schedule, and even every weekday, I realized that there are things I neglect due to my training. I am glad God provided me with such a wonderful wife.

Happy 4th Birthday, n!

Hard to believe that our sweet n is now four years old.  This year we are doing small family parties for both kids, so we just celebrated with dinner at my parents’ house.  Since it was the night before D’s marathon, we had pasta and carbo-loaded along with him. 

My mom also made a car cake for him with very realisitc looking edible rocks.  This was chocolate overload, for sure, just the way that n likes it.

One of the gifts we gave to n was a Kauzbot from Share & Do Good.  He’s into robots, so this one quickly became his favorite stuffed friend.  He also received a kids’ digital camera from D’s parents which became a source of contention because k always wants to take it away/play with it.  Aside from the fighting, it was a good, low-key birthday. 

LA Marathon Expo, Grand Central Market & Angel’s Flight

Today D ran the LA Marathon.  I will let him write more about that experience.  Yesterday the whole family went with him to the LA Convention Center so D could pick up his race bib.  There was a Health & Fitness expo geared towards all things running, so we loaded up on samples, including chia drinks/gels, freeze-dried blueberries, pop chips, clif bars, kefir drinks, etc.

Afterward we went to the Grand Central Market, which I had never been to, even though I used to work in downtown L.A. 

We shared a bowl of house noodles from China Café, a chicken taco from Tacos Tumbras a Tomas and a pork and cheese pupusa from Sarita’s pupuseria.  The prices are quite reasonable compared to the trendy food trucks.  The total for our combined lunch was around $11. 

Wow, how unappealing does that look?  There is also a lot of produce for sale, but we didn’t really browse.

Afterward, we went across the street to ride the Angels Flight Railway, “The Shortest Railway in the World”. 

There are two cars, there is no driver, and you pay 50 cents at the top ($1 roundtrip).

At the top there is a nice view of some of the skyscrapers, along with a fancy courtyard with a waterfall.

I would not want to work here.

Happy Pi Day!

Yesterday I organized my spice drawer.  Exciting, I know.  It does make me happy to know that one more area of my home, however small, is under control.

The before—utter chaos, not to mention dirty.  Quite embarrassing, really.

The after:

I found the containers at Bed Bath & Beyond for 99 cents each, and was able to use a $5 off of $15 coupon.  I also put my trusty label maker to work.  Who knew that so many spices start with the letter “c”? 

Today, I used my nutmeg for Magic Crust Custard Pie, in celebration of Pi Day (3.14—get it?)  This is about the  easiest pie you could ever make.  You put all of the ingredients in a blender and pour the mixture into a pie pan and bake.  The flour settles to the bottom and makes its own crust.

The kids did not like it, but I did.  It is very homey/comforting.  Plus, I am a big custard fan, and I am not good at making pie crusts, so this was perfect.

The Great Park, While It Is Still Free!

When the newspaper started reporting that the admission to ride the balloon at the Great Park would soon be $10, I knew we had to go as a family while it was still free, stat.  I guess there were also rumors of a price increase the last time we went, but this time it is no joke.  We attempted to go last week during the farmer’s market, but that was an utter failure--too hot, too crowded, the market was too far to walk to the balloon, not to mention that the balloon’s reservations were booked through the evening. So, we decided to go first thing this morning, 9:00 a.m., and it was a success!

While we waited for our buzzer to buzz, we rode the carousel a couple of times.  I like how there is a picture of the great balloon on the carousel.

The kids love all of the big open space.  We also brought their bikes so they could ride around.

D’s shoes matched the ground of the waiting area.

Our turn!

We were able to go up the maximum 400 feet this time.

After the balloon ride, the kids rode their bikes and we played with n’s stomp rocket.  Then I tried to take some “mid-air” shots of the kids.

Afterward we stopped by the Spectrum.