Turkey Trot

So we did a little Thanksgiving 5k last week to benefit Father Joe's efforts to nourish San Diego's home-challenged. I, for one, did not set any land speed records but I did feel a lot better about eating the ridiculous delicious dinner spread that night. I will, for your enjoyment, list off some of the sights we saw at one of San Diego's largest turkey trots (in Balboa Park--always a scene of randomness):

-Dogs in strollers
-Dogs in front packs
-Infants walking on leashes (just kidding but that would have been ironic)
-Miniature dachsunds walking a mile a minute
-Participants wearing indian headresses and pilgrim hats
-Mr. and Mrs. Claus (wearing full garb) cheering on runners at the finish line. Mind you Mrs. Claus was wearing a mini skirt and Santa was wearing shorts but whatever, this is San Diego.
-Someone wearing a plush turkey as a hat, while running full speed
-People twice my age who finished before me
-Last but not least, the source of this week's Quote of the Week..."Look, the real Father Joe!!! Right there, under the tent. Everyone look!"--Darcie. And it was. He looked slightly dazed but nevertheless benevolent.

Also I saw the Christmas lights at the Mesa, Arizona Temple. I was amazed and astounded by all the different colors as well as the sheer magnitude of the light display. I mean camels and wise men made from lights, you are kidding right? Not to mention the delicious Mexican food that came after...

Does this look dangerous to you?

Because it certainly startled me when I turned around and saw that giant owl looking like it was ready to peck my eyes out. Turns out she was well-behaved (thankfully) and was not attacking the lady behind us, she was being trained by her. Welcome to the San Diego Zoo...where the animals get so close they scare you. Just a tip, do not sit at the top of the stadium during the Sea Lion Show. Our feathered friend here did a dive bomb to start the show that literally almost gave me a mohawk. Bryan of course thought my little shrieking reaction to our neighbor (when I first saw her) was hilarious.

Just another day in San Diego. We love our animal friends around here. I think I have spent more time in the last year observing marine and land animals than any person should. I mean, what is my problem? You haven't seen me excited until you have seen my face during the Shamu show. It brings out the kid in you (I even think that's what the commercials used to say).

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! We are excited to be splitting the time between home sweet home (here) and Arizona. I hope you all have a wonderful time feasting on way too many calories and being way too happy about it. I know I will.

Man with a Pashmina

Yep, that's what Darcie and I saw the other night while driving home. We saw a man riding his bike across the street, in the dark, wearing a patterned pashmina around his shoulders. He was also eating some sort of snack food while steering his bike with one hand. For some reason or another this struck me as very European. Maybe I figure that if men can wear capris in Europe then they can wear pashminas. I don't pretend to understand how my mind really works. And for those of you who know the area, this was not in Hillcrest. It was on Governor Drive. Some of you may not know what a pashmina is...let me provide the official wikipedia definition:

"Pashmina accessories are available in a range of sizes, from "scarf" (12" x 60") to "wrap" or "stole" (28" x 80") to fullsize shawl (36" x 80"). Pure pashmina is a rather gauzy, open weave, as the wool cannot tolerate high tension. The most popular pashmina fabric is a 70% pashmina/30% silk blend, but 50/50 is also common. The 70/30 is tightly woven, has an elegant sheen and drapes nicely, but is still quite soft and light-weight.

A pashmina shawl can range in cost from as little as about $35US for a pure pashmina scarf or up to hundreds of $US for a super high-quality pure pashmina shawl. They are known for their softness and warmth. A craze for pashminas in the mid-1990's resulted in high demand for pashminas, so demand exceeded supply."

And many of you know I love quotes of the week. I am going to make an effort to start a quote of the week here on the blog. This may only last one week so don't hold me to it, but this week's quote:

"What's wrong with getting married? I do it all the time." --Christy (married to Gabe...see blog at right)

I am now going to eat my dinner which consists of mint M & M's. I discovered yesterday that they have been reincarnated for the Christmas season already. That may be the only Christmasy thing I can support being marketed before Thanksgiving, only because I will be living on a steady diet of them until New Year's.

What a WILD fire...

Yesterday we had the opportunity to go up to Ramona and help out with clean-up efforts for fire victims. Hundreds of people met at the Church building up there and were given assignments (as well as yellow shirts) to go out to specific homes in the area and do whatever was needed. We had the job of cleaning up a burned down 4-car garage and shed. I was saddened as I scooped up burned Christmas ornaments, children's toys, and homemade art projects. But as I stood there amongst the rubble the woman that lived there came out. I said to her, "It looks like you had a lot of valuable stuff in here. I'm so sorry." And she turned to me and without hesitation said, "Yeah, but its just stuff." What an amazing spirit of resilience and priorities these people have. And she's right, everything is just "stuff." How grateful you become in times like these to have family and friends safe and sound.

On a lighter note, what a great project. Those of us who had never imagined ourselves construction workers took down walls, moved metal frames, and got to wear SAFETY GOGGLES! Watching Jeremy try to engineer a 700 lb pile of melted shingles onto a burned dolly with no tires had to be one of the most hilarious moments of my day. The best part was when he started directing everyone to place it based on the angle it would take to get it into the dumpster. Only an engineer, and believe me we had plenty of them yesterday. Bryan worked hard at getting as dirty as possible and I basically got some sort of ash spa treatment on my entire body. We loved it.



A random tibit...I have recently realized that I HATE doing my hair. Everytime I get out of the shower I let my hair air dry as long as I possibly can and then when it is time to finish it (e.g. use this lovely tool the blowdryer) I get all annoyed. I put it off as long as possible and then I'm bitter at my hair the whole time I'm doing it. What is THAT? Do I need counseling? I have the lowest maintenance haircut I could possibly talk the stylist into and it is still too much work...