It's almost over..

So the year of firsts is almost over. Here's probably my last report of some of the new things I tried this year. Looking back, I did a lot of new stuff and I'm pretty proud that I'm making the most of it. I recommend trying a year of firsts to everyone.

1. I ran a 5K marathon! Now, if you know me at all, I HATE running. I wasn't even sure if I could finish the race, but I did it. The cool part was learning that I was really slow but there was still 7 thousand people behind me. The not so cool part was the hill included in the run that we weren't warned about. Aye!

2. I bought my first pair of bowling shoes. I looked for the ugliest and loudest ones I could fine, but they didn't have the ones I really wanted in my size. So, I'm content with these super cool bright hot pink/purple ones I got for a great price of 35 bucks with free shipping. If you're interested, try bowlingball.com.

3. I cooked squash. It's so darn easy and so tasty. Why have I never tried it before? I sliced up some italian squash and steamed them and put a tiny bit of cheese on top. With Kimi's tips, I'm gonna try eggplant next.

With two days left in the new year, I wonder if I'll be able to add any last "firsts" to my list. Wish me luck.

Gav and the Singing Basque Man

Here's one of the guys that sang for me. Who or what are Basque people? Check it out for yourself. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basque_people

More Firsts! Meeting Basque People on My Birthday!

I started off my birthday weekend with a family party at my house. In addition to the fantabulous food (beef stroganoff, squash, and salad) my mom so lovingly made, we played the game, "Left, Right, Center." And the winner of all the money?... Monisa, the other birthday girl, lucky dog. Well despite my bad luck, it was so entertaining to watch my family act like they were about to win the lottery every time the last dollar headed their way. My poor neighbors had to hear all the loud commotion spilling from my garage/dance floor/party hall. I'm sure I'll get a strongly worded letter from the association for it. So worth it though!

And...I can't forget to give a shout out to the family for making me laugh while they dressed up in the Mexican fiesta garb I had left over from Kimi's party! You guys crack me up! I'll always remember this birthday.

So onto Saturday night on my birthday weekend...

While at a party at Kimi's brother's house...

Kimi: Oh what's this?
John: It's Basque cheese. It's soooo good!
Kimi: Oh Marlene is Basque!
John: Impossible! There are no Basques, they are extinct.

And thus began the conversation about my Basque lineage and the decision to have my birthday dinner with my friends at a Basque-French restaurant in Chino, California. We had a family style dinner complete with chicken, beef, salad, lentil soup and yes, french fries. Oh my goodness, the food was so good. We chowed down faster than the Basque people could corral some sheep into the fold. The restaurant is quaint and looks a bit like you've stepped into a time warp with the wood-panel walls and all, but who cares when there's plenty of good food and great service.

The highlights of the night?... no, not hanging out in the Regal Begal looking lounge, but rather getting serenaded by two Basque men in the unique Euskara (official Basque) language. And, in honor of my request to not give me the usual bday gifts, I got a coffee mug from each of my friends accompanied by a unique story. Rita, Jason, Gav, Kimi, Rod, Chris, Shyla, and tall guy really out did themselves. It was a laughter filled night to remember!

And for the grand finale...
On Sunday morning, my mom, dad and I went to breakfast and at night I headed to the Carrie Underwood concert with Kristi. I have to say, Carrie Underwood is such a talented performer. My favorite part?... no not watching the two drunk girls with bad hair swaying and belting out every song... it was when Carrie sang her version of "Paradise City." Man! She rocked the house. I also have to mention the opening act, Little Big Town. Their powerful county/blues vocals blew us away.

All in all, this was the best birthday ever. Two big thumbs up!

Be sure to try the family style dinner at the Basque place sometime!

Centro Basco
(909) 628-9014
13432 Central Ave, Chino, CA
Get Directions

Just an old pic of White Water Rafting

I finally got some of the pics that Kimi sent. I almost forgot all the fun things I actually did this summer.

At the Ruins in Cancun and Bad Hair

Lucky for me (and you) this pic was taken from far away. Think about it people. I was in Cancun, a VERY humid place, I have naturally curly hair, AND I pretty much had run outta mouse by the fourth day I was there. For the last portion of the trip, my hair could be described as big, big, big, and outta control. I tried tying it down, and did my best, but boy I looked hideous! You should try finding a decent bottle of mouse in the tiny, dusty pharmacias of Mexico; nearly impossible! As I was feverishly hunting down some sort of hair control product, I did happen upon a can of the Loreal FX Studio Invisi spray, Extra Fuerte for 55 pesos (5 dollars and 50 cents). For those of you not fortunate to have experienced this product, let me just say that it is officially the worst hair product known to modern man. It did work for a few hours on the day of the wedding, but by the reception time, I was a mess. Ah well, when it comes to hair like mine, it's live and learn my friends, live and learn.

Tortillas y Iguanas

Here's more firsts.

Gotta love iguanas that love tortillas! After Cozumel and the Mayan Riviera, we went to Cancun for a tour of the Mayan ruins, some crazy zip lining through the jungle, and repelling into the cenotes (caves). By this portion of the trip, the four of us friends met up with Rita and Jason. This of course created a problem for our tour guide Tristan because when we are all together, we can't stop laughing. Poor Tristan, he never had a chance of getting in his ecological lecture on stalactite and stalagmite formations in the Mexican caves. No lecture for us! We were too busy pretending we were pirates looking for treasure and acting like we were in the Little Mermaid movie.

After all the zip-lining and such, we also went to a zoo and got to hold baby alligators, wrap snakes around our necks, and feed monkeys. The only part I hated about this was the crazy mosquitos. Come on people, I don't care what bug spray you buy, there are no survivors after visiting the wild animal zoo in Mexico. I'm happy I did it, but I don't recommend it. Every time I get sick now, I think I have West Nile. Muy scary!

Laughter on the Beach

This is just us cracking up at something on the beach. No idea what was funny.

Wedding in Mexico

Here's another first! After deep sea fishing in Cozumel, we headed to the Mayan Riviera, to stay at a posh resort for Shelia and Kris's wedding. Yes, this is my first wedding in Mexico so I'm counting it. Not only was the local perfecto, the wedding itself was simple and beautiful.

If you don't mind the very odd employees that don't know how to translate the word "no" into the spanish term, "no" then you'd be just fine here. The place is huge and absolutely beautiful! If you're going to the Mayan Riviera and want a big all inclusive resort to stay at, I recommend it. Two big thumbs up!

Barceló Maya Palace
Barceló Premium
Discover the opulence of Barceló’s newest project on the Yucatan Peninsula in the dazzling Mayan Riviera, located on the most impressive beach in the area. The hotel was newly opened in..

Dinner in Cozumel Anyone?

Cozumel!


Um, let's see mis amigos, since I’ve been slacking so much, I’m having to go back into mi cabeza to remember the details of my rather amazing summer. Here’s two more things to add to my list of firsts: visiting Cozumel and deep-sea fishing.

After arriving for the fist time ever in Cozumel, via a big ferryboat complete with a live Mexican/American Rock/oldies band, we checked into an old, somewhat questionable hotel for three lazy days of R & R.

All I have to say is Aye Carumba! Next time, we need to phone ahead and warn that tiny little Mexican island before we get there since I think we ate every last big of tasty Mexican cuisine we could find. I’ll have to consider sending a donation to the island now that we’ve depleted their food supply.

Other than eating and more eating, I went fishing all day on a chartered boat in the crystal waters off the coast of Cozumel with two amazing tour guides and four of the greatest friends a girl can have. I have to admit; I was worried when Cathy and Kimi both got seasick on the way to out to sea. That’s okay though because after Cathy caught the first big tuna fish, and the tour guide cut it up right on the boat and made quesadillas and the freshest ceviche we’ve ever had, all was right with the world.

While on the boat I caught a big tuna fish myself. It was actually kind of tough because I have the arm muscles of a gold fish lacking oxygen. I still did it, yeah me! Even better was watching Kimi reeling in her big tuna that got half eaten by a shark. Half shark eaten fish? - Two thumbs up!

Barak, our very interesting and well-traveled tour guide/owner cut up our fish (and a half) and handed it to us in a plastic bag. Lucky, for us, Barak is friends with the owner of a restaurant of a place called Kinta. After going back to the hotel, taking a nap, and getting all prettied up, grabbed our bag of freshly caught fish and walked through the town square for a nice dinner.

As for the restaurant; what a complete surprise it turned out to be! Hidden in one of the dark side streets of Cozumel is the hippest restaurant anyone could ever find. We handed the owner, Kris, our fresh fish and he cooked it up for us. Suh-weet! We also ordered tons of different dishes and deserts too. O mis amigos, believe you me, when I say that each dish was better than the next.

If you go to Cozumel, you HAVE to go eat at Kinta. I'm sure I will find my way back there someday.

Kinta
Address: Ave 5 entre Calle 2 & 4, Cozumel, Mexico
Phone: 987 869 0544

Also be sure to take the zip-lining tours through the jungle. It's so much fun slamming into the tour guide when you haven't figured out the braking system yet. Two thumbs up!

http://www.cancunandrivieramaya.com/HiddenWorlds.htm

Cheapseats N COLDPLAY Sa-Weet!

Hey people,

So last night I went to my first Coldplay Concert. I totally dig the way Chris Martin bounces around the stage. I was so excited and pumped to hear each song that I didn't let the fact that cheap owners of the Forum couldn't find the extra cash to actually turn up the air conditioning. Cheese and rice, that was literally the hottest concert I have ever been to. Ah well, Mana and I still had a blast.

Other than the temp issue, here's my other observation. Half the people were so worried about getting clips on their cell phones that I don't even think they really saw the show. Come on people!, Chris Martin was sliding down the catwalk on his back and you missed it just to have bragging rights. In this current technologically enhanced world in which we live, one has to wonder if we are missing out on really experiencing things because we are hidden behind our cameras and cell phones. Like the guys of Switchfoot, I have vowed to limit the amount of pics I take at each event. I try to store all my wonderful experiences in my memory, and even a few here on my blog. :)

As for the show itself, it gets two Leah Thumbs Up for sure. Toward the end of the show, they proved that the crazed fans were no match for the security guards and played two songs from a tiny little stage set up by the cheap seats! Nice for those in that section.

Here was the playlist. All my favs included :)

1. Life In Technicolor
2. Violet Hill
3. Clocks
4. In My Place
5. Viva La Vida
6. 42
7. Yes
8. The Scientist
9. Chinese Sleep Chant [Sidestage]
10. God Put A Smile Upon Your Face [Sidestage - new version]
11. Square One
12. Speed Of Sound
13. Trouble
14. Lost!
15. Strawberry Swing
16. Yellow [Acoustic]
17. Death Will Never Conquer [Acoustic, Will on vocals]
18. Fix You
19. Lovers In Japan
Encore
20. Death And All Of His Friends


Until next time...

The Creepy Town of Bodfish

More on The Year of Firsts

Hey people,

It's time for an update on the Year of Firsts. After a few summer trips under my belt, I've certainly added more to my list. So here it is... unveiled, untamed, and frankly, just uncomplicated.

1. I went wake boarding at Lake Pyramid! Yeah, this was a great use of my muscles. I was sore for a few days from hanging on for dear life while I accidentally went over a big wake on my first time getting up on the board. Not being a naturally athletic person, it took 6 tries before I actually got up on the board. Of course, Kimi did it on her first try. This "first" gets two big thumbs up on the Leah scale. Thanks to Kimi for the invite. We met a ton of cool, adventurous people.

2. We were rescued by two guys on a wave runner. Two girls on the Lake Pyramid Trip and I went out into the water on a Sea Doo so I could wake board off the back when the rope got caught in the propeller. Once we realized we got stuck, I waved over two guys who came to the rescue. They towed us in without complaint even though we sucked up all their expensive gas. After coming to our rescue, they gave us a crazy ride on their turbo charged Sea Doos. Again, two thumbs up!

3. I ate Kus Kus! Okay, so maybe it's not that exciting in this culturally diverse melting pot of a country we live in, but for me, it was indeed a first. I can't even remember who brought the stuff, but I ate it while camping at Lake Pyramid a few weekends ago. So what did it taste like? It was kind of grainy and it tasted like rice and oats. That doesn't sound appetizing, but I'd eat it again no problemo.

Due to my lack of descriptive skills, I've enlisted some help. Here's the wikapedia def:
consists of spherical granules made by rolling and shaping moistened semolina wheat and then coating them with finely ground wheat flour

Now for some better "Firsts"!

This week Kimi, Shyla, Cami and I went on a two day white water rafting trip at Lake Isabella. Here's all the "firsts" I encountered on this trip.

4. White Water Rafting in California (I've been to other countries and states, but oddly enough, I've never WWR in CA)

5. My friends and I floated (without the boat) through a long class 2 and loved it!

6. I witnessed an event known to our crazy rafting guides as "fire fun" (see kimi.puen.net if you want to watch it on video!). Really, it's just a trick that almost burned down the forest. Smokey the Bear would be so ashamed!

7. We played Dead Ball in the water. This is basically throwing a football to the each raft as you float down the smaller rapids. The only part that sucks is when you have to keep paddling to retrieve the ball. Man, that was a lot of work!

8. I ate homemade ice cream. YUM is all I have to say. Kerley and Dave did a really good job of cranking it up. We then poured the ice cream over the brownies they made over the fire. A-Mazing!

9. I visited the town of Bodfish...and survived! You have never seen a scary, creepy small town until you've been to Bodfish. There's not even a Wal Mart! My favorite site in Bodfish is the sign that said, "Bodies moved for free." No joke people! We also stopped at the local "Sports Bar" for a pic and some laughs.

10. We camped out in an ABANDONED campground! How creepy is that! Four girls, and fifty other empty camp spaces straight out of a cheap budget thriller scene. I won't even mention the lack of sleep due to the extreme heat and the fire ant incident, but I will mention how I watched two people pull up to the water and drag what appeared to be some bags into the lake. ummm... maybe those guys were just employees from the free body removal service. Not really sure. Even despite the circumstances my way cool friends and I made the best of it. We laughed our brains out during the entire ordeal.

and last but not least...

11. We fed a bunch of random firefighters ice cream while in the town of Lake Isabella. After our first day in the Bodfish and Lake Isabella area, things were looking pretty bleak until we met some firefighters (George and Ryan) from Moreno Valley. What luck! They asked us to come visit them at their post since they were all really bored. Most of these guys have been working since June 7th. They are working on the huge Piute fire that was burning just over the ridge from where we were staying. The other firefighters are from all around Riverside and LA county. They were such nice guys, I kind of feel bad for making fun of the Captain's very miniature and not so masculine cell phone. :)

Okay, so there are my firsts for the summer so far. Next up on the list of summer plans: Coldplay concert, Deep Sea fishing and jungle zip-lines through Mexico, and another trip to Nascar. I'll keep you posted.

Vaya Con Dios

The Year of Firsts

This year I vowed to try new things and go to as many new places that my budget will allow.

Here are the "firsts" on my list so far...

1. Kimi, Shyla and I stayed in a Temecula Resort Winery and ate more food than allowable by the Arizona health code. We especially enjoyed our first "Temecula Lights" tour. People, this is a joke. There were no people singing and no amazing lights like we were promised...unless you count our rendition of Silent Night and the lights on the car of the two people making out as our tracker sluggishly creeped by them; disturbing the romantic mood I'm sure.

2. I was a sneaky 909er and got into the VIP pit section of the Nascar Races with my sister, Diana and Mike.

3. I helped drive 5 hours to spring training just to see Billy Sadler pitch against the Anaheim Angels (of LA:). True, I am an Angels fan but good o' Billy really made me start routing for San Fran. Despite the hot baseball players, it was a a beautiful perfect sunny day and I have a really bad farmers tan to prove it. Nevermind the fact that we got lost trying to find where we parked after. We laughed so hard, we almost didn't make it to the restroom. Also included in this Spring Training "first" we also ate at the wonderful, but shady place called The Wafflehouse. It was amuzing seeing the rift raft of AZ come out at two in the morning. Ohh and I can't forget, I tried the McDonald's iced Vanilla Coffee which kept me awake while driving home.

4. I went to a sample sale to rummage through Hurley clothing with Kimi and Rod. I also bought my first parka if that counts. (When am I going to use it???)

5. I literally fell to my knees in front of a group of guys in Vegas. Geeze, thanks to that group of guys who yelled out, "Hey, you need another drink" when all I drank was water at dinner!

-Not bad since it's just March. I will be sure to add more to my list.

Next up...my whitewater rafting trip up North and a trip to go fishing in Cozumel with Kimi and Ramie before heading back to Cancun for an all-inclusive vacation. Should be interesting...

My Son and Stuff About The Killer Virus and Web MD

Here's a pic of Bulande. Yes, I said it... Bulande. Say it with a bit of gusto please. Buuuulaaaande! In case you haven't heard me talk about him, he's my adopt a child from Mozambique, Africa. He's grown so much and this is the latest pic of him. He loves trucks and playing futbol aka soccer in his village. Someday, when I feel brave enough, I'd like to go meet him.

So my family thinks I'm crazy because I made them celebrate Bulande's birthday (which is coming up in May) with a cake and some gifts which I accepted in his honor. Let's face it, I'm the only sibling with no kids of my own, so I have to play up the one I do have. Buuulaaande! Yes, he likes Target giftcards and he used to like Starbucks cards, but he's cutting down on the coffee. He was driving the other villagers crazy with his hyperactive, but playful games of "hide the big leaf".

In any case, I sure hope he is doing well. I did get a Christmas card from him in December, but other than that, I haven't heard much lately. I think he's busy with his school work. If you're really reading this I encourage you to get an adopt a child of your own. Worldvision.com people! Make a difference...even if it's a small one and you never get thanked for it.

Okay, since I'm sick in bed, so here's some advice...

When you're sick, do not go fishing around on Web MD lest you fall prey to the crazy imagination you have in that nugget you call a brain. I'm laying in bed for the fourth day in a row and dummy me, I tried to look up my symptoms! Crazy girl, according to Web MD, I'm just on the verge of death and I have at least three exotic diseases that are incurable. Good lord, it's a wonder I've lived to be 31! I'm staying off that until I get much better. I think I just have a killer flu virus and I just have to get over it. Hope all you people out there stay healthy!

My Fav Pic from Europe

I wanted to just add this pic of the flamenco dancer in Spain. This show was way cool even though it was my second time seeing it, I was still captivated. The food was nasty as expected, but ahh well, it was still entertaining to try to guess what we were eating.

Kimi gets all the credit for this awesome pic!

It was a hot July in 2006

Okay, so I'm too lazy to write a post right now so I hijacked the one I posted on Kimi's site when we were in Europe in 2006. I thought I'd add it as my post because one, I was thinking about where I'd like to go this summer with my friends, and two, I was cracking up reading Kimi's blog. She blogged about her plant and took pictures of it growing. She even counts the leaves everyday. I admire that since my plant looks like it's dying right now! Blah.

Here it is. Classic me...


Kick'n it in England and Spain - by Marlene



England and Spain are great countries, don’t get me wrong. However, now that it’s 1 AM and I am winding down my trip, I can’t help but express my thoughts about some particulars regarding my stay. umm… here’s the thoughts to ponder:

Why is it…

I grew up speaking English. I mean not a lick of Spanish or anything else. I even have a degree in English! I taught English for 7 years. I dream in English. I read in English. I watch TV in English (Except for a few Spanish channel car commercials which I find amuzing). Then why on earth can’t I understand the English PEOPLE!!! I swear it’s a conspiracy. I think the British government told all the people to speak really fast and to pretend not to understand us just so they could get back at us for leaving the country. Somewhere there’s a big guy named Hans whose laughing at us. Geeze, all I wanted was ice tea already. Speak English you English people!

Okay, people don’t smell as bad as I remembered the last time I was here. I think they have (for the most part) discovered deodorant. Although I appreciate the Englanders discovering deodorant around the year 2001, I wish they could pass the discovery along to the other foreigners that visit the place. Try being squished against the gates of Buckingham Palace for 45 minutes just trying to catch a glimpse of the “Changing of the Guard”, (a beautiful ceremony held in the front of the palace in which the palace marching band plays amusing songs like “Star Wars"). I mean, geeze being squished by a group of camera happy, energetic, and fun-lovin smelly people is not the best way to spend the afternoon on the fifth day of the historic London heat wave (a whopping 86 degrees!). DEODORANT people. When all is said and done, Kimi and I are the cleanest people in all of Europe since we take two showers a day AND use deodorant. Clean enough to make even the queen proud…

The Buckingham Palace fiasco was almost worth it because a young girl was in the military band (THE ONLY GIRL IN UNIFORM AT THE PALACE!!!) and she was trying to represent us female types by being in the male dominated military band, but cheeze and rice, it was a whopping 86 degrees out there and she passed out. The men took her instrument, squeezed close together to drag her along between her shoulders. You would have thought they were going to be sent to the chopping block if they moved out of formation to help out the poor girl. Now, she’s the shame of all the gutsy military women in Europe. Okay, she made us women look weak, but hey, at least it was exciting to watch them all sweat out (hopefully with deodorant) the ceremony with one member passed out. - It was almost as good as the buck naked dude walking around the street at 2 AM on the regular city street in Barcelona. Don’t worry, everyone, along with the other tourists, our dear friend Kimi took pictures. At least the man was tan…

And the last thing…

Why don’t these European countries believe in clothes dryers? You mean to tell me that every person can walk around the country with a razor phone, but no one can have their clothes dry within 30 minutes. Sadly, my clothes are hanging out the window in Barcelona as I type. I already told Kimi that she is commissioned to retrieve all clothing from the sidewalk 6 floors below, should a breeze happen to knock them off the window. Aye dios mio. What to do with wet drippy clothing here in Europe…

Posted by kgrp on 07/04 at 05:24 PM
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