Foster the People: Pumped Up Kicks

This is one of my favorites lately:

2011 recap

2011 recap

This past year was a good year. I've been attempting to eat healthy, working out 3-4 times a week, hiking about every other week, and doing yoga once a week. I've benefited a lot from attempting to be healthier. I've also been keeping up the creativity, mostly by working on the house, but also with other projects like photography, shooting footage for a music video (that still needs to be edited together), and sewing/crocheting projects. I took a bar-tending course with Sam and we have both been enjoying the exploration of a new talent. Despite a recent hiccup with the dogs tearing up our couch, both dogs have been behaving better, hopefully past the "adolescent" stage. I love the neighborhood we live in and I feel at home and at peace with my life. Our neighbors are all such lovely people. We have been invited over for dinner and drinks on several random occasions. We love living in a town with like-minded, creative, "normal" people. It's made me enjoy LA more than ever.

This year I'm hoping to develop my role in the community I live in.... Maybe join a local sports team. Maybe volunteer in a community outreach team or something. Still trying to figure out how I might be of service to the people around me. I've also really enjoyed developing my beliefs about spiritual matters and becoming the person I want to be, doing good things in this life.

Here's a few interesting quotes I've heard over the past few weeks:

Yesterday, my yoga teacher quoted someone (thomas jefferson?) who asked himself: "What good will I do today?" and then at the end of the day, "What good have I done today?" This reminds me to stay in the moment and take things one day at a time.

Also, from the movie Iron Lady, with Meryl Streep as Margaret Thatcher, which was wonderful... I can't remember the quote exactly, but it was a bit like this:

"Be careful what you think, for your thoughts become your words, and your words become your actions, and your actions become your habits, and your habits become your character."

Anyway, just some thoughts for the new year, and the new day today. :)

And a pretty neat song for your listening pleasure:

Another hike at China Flats

(The view looking NorthWest from Simi Peak)

Over the break, I hiked Simi Peak via China Flats trail. I started the hike from the trailhead at King James Court and Lindero Canyon Rd. "Map My Hike" said the hike was about 6 miles round trip and ~1100 ft elevation gain. It was a beautiful day, crystal clear, in the low 80's with gentle breezes. Gotta love LA :)

Rita was my hiking partner... Follow that dog!

There's a little cave you can climb up and sit in:

Click on the panoramas for a better (bigger) view:

 This way...

   Another panorama:

Down into the valley:

Into the shady hallows:

This is one of my favorites; I caught Rita in action. She loves to "pounce."

Rita never goes too far, and stops to wait up for me:

  
We made it!

 

At the top, there is a journal that you can sign in. It's been there since May 2011. I signed a little something in the book. It was fun to read through the fellow hiker's entries.

 

   

You can see all the way to the Channel islands (off the Santa Barbara coast)

We took a slightly different route back down:

   

Wish you were here! :)

Rose Bowl Parade 2012

On Monday, January 2nd, my good friend Renee took me to the Rose Bowl Parade with her. Here's a few pictures from the day:

We left at 6am and sat in traffic for an hour. Fortunately the sunrise was beautiful:

The fly-over:

The beginning of the parade:

Everyone gets to walk through this:

This was one of my favorites:

America, baby:

Marching band prancing:

Go Go Power Rangers!

Fiiiiiiiiiire!

This guy blew smoke from his nose:

This beautiful float held the record for the largest float, but the surf wasn't "up" quite yet:

These girls were so adorable:

Lasso-oooo:

 

Can pigs fly?

Love these dinos:

Kaiser Permanente's float:

All the horses were awesome:

The end of the parade was lead by police leading the occupy movement:

 

It was pretty chaotic:

 We walked back to our car along with the Occupiers:

After sitting in our car for 30 minutes in the parking lot, waiting to move, we just decided to park and walk around Old Town Pasadena. There was traffic and trash everywhere! It sort of looked like a post-apocalyptic scene: 

Well, I hope everyone had a great New Years, and here's looking forward to 2012 ~!~!