Mt. Baldy

Our friends, Keith and Shannon, go hiking every year to Mt. Baldy.  Usually there is tons of snow on the ground and they hike up to a hut which is about the halfway point and they all spend the night in the hut and then some people continue hiking the next morning to reach the Summit.  Once those people are back from the morning hike, everyone packs their stuff back up, cleans up and heads back down the mountain.

Now, I'm not exactly what you'd call the outdoorsy type - and here's my big backpack on the left.

Shannon and Beth

Me and Jules

I honestly thought that I wasn't going to make it all the way up the hill at one point.  I was carrying what felt like at least 50 pounds of stuff in my backback and the weather was surprisingly nice so I was sweating horribly.  I did manage to make it up - and here's some pictures of the cabin to prove it.

Inside the hut

View from the hut

Relaxing after our monstrous hike - Beth, Keith, Jules, Shannon, Me

Keith signing the log book of all the people who visit

Getting ready to watch the sunset:

Kevin, Brittany, Keith, Jeff (Pants), Shannon, Jules, Beth

Group pic!

Me, Jules, Brittany, Shannon, Jackie, Beth

Kevin, Keith, Jeff, Danny

Keith and Shannon

The lovely outhouse

Kitchen

The sink where fresh mountain water streams in - it was cold and refreshing

Playing Apples to Apples (which I ended up winning!) :)

The next morning a few people were going to Summit to the top of the mountain.  I thought they were crazy and had no intention of going, but, 6:30am Shannon asked Jules if she wanted to go.  Jules asked me if I was going and I said no, then two seconds later popped out of bed, got dressed and headed out for another crazy hike.

Shannon said we did about 75% off trail hiking up to the top - it was icy, had some snow and was pretty steep.  And - Keith was the leader for four girls: Shannon, Jules, Beth and me.  Where were all the boys?

Beth, Shannon, Keith, me

This is me impersonating the tough hike

Up we go

Finally at the top!

10,000 feet

Yea!  Back down to the hut.

Beth relaxing 

Where we slept 

Group pic - 

Top row: Kevin, Brittany, Keith, Shannon

Middle: Jules, Me

Bottom row: Danny, Jackie, Jeff (Pants) and Beth

Jules and I 

Heading back to the cars

Finally at the bottom - Shannon, Jules, Brittany, Beth, Me

It was such a fun, exhausting weekend.  And I'm still sore.

Trapeze!

Two years ago on my birthday I went trapezing.  It was so much fun and a whole bunch of us bought Groupon's to the place about a month after we went.  Sherri had never done it but she also bought a Groupon and we decided that last Friday was the day to redeem them.

We went at 6:15pm on a Friday night in Santa Monica and it was the best possible time.  There were only 4 of us in our class and we got to go repeatedly through the routines.  The first time I went I only got to go 4 times - this time, I went 4 times within the first 15 minutes.  It was awesome.

We had such a good time but I was so sore afterwards - and almost killed the catcher guy haha.

What I've Been Cookin'

Ashlie had put on her 30 for 30 list that she wanted to try 5 or 10 new recipes.  I thought that that would be a great idea - so, here are about 10 things I have made since November.  And they are all pinned on Pinterest except the Minestrone recipe

Creamy Chicken Artichoke Lasagna

http://tandriantastytidbits.blogspot.com/2011/11/creamy-white-chicken-and-artichoke.html?showComment=1320724777727#c2360032814037639630

Baked penne ziti

http://www.thecountrycook.net/search/label/dinner

Kale chips

http://steamykitchen.com/6926-crispy-kale-recipe.html

Baked apple pies

http://domesticdilettante.com/2012/01/11/applepie/

Skinny Chicken Parmesan

http://www.feedingmytemple.com/2011/10/skinny-chicken-parmesan-recipe.html

Buffalo chicken spring rolls

http://www.canyoustayfordinner.com/2011/01/31/buffalo-chicken-rolls/

Brussels sprouts with bacon and pears (I used green apples)

http://eisforeat.blogspot.com/2011/10/b-is-for-brussels-sprouts-roasted-with.html

Chicken caprese

http://dinnerwiththedonnells.blogspot.com/search/label/Chicken

Baked spaghetti

http://www.plainchicken.com/2011/11/baked-cream-cheese-spaghetti-casserole.html

Delicious cookies

http://sorumblyinmytumbly.blogspot.com/2011/12/my-favorite-chewy-chocolate-chip.html

So good - Olive Garden Minestrone copy recipe

http://restaurantrecipesbook.com/olive-garden-minestrone-soup-recipe/

6 months ago I'd have said you were crazy if you told me I'd make all these things - but honestly, Pinterest has made it so easy and everything looks so good on there.  Maybe cooking isn't as horrible as I used to think it was :)

Room

I have seen this book everywhere.  It's in every bookstore, airport, amazon list, etc and I would always read the back of the book and think, eh, don't really know if I'd like it.

My friend Carrie told me that her friend recommended it so I put it on my list of things to read from the Redondo library.  I've had it sitting on my kitchen table for about three weeks and finally cracked it open two days ago and finished it last night.  It was that good.  

It did take me about fifty pages to finally get into the book because it's all from the perspective and language of a five year old.  However, once you are able to understand his language and thought process, the book moves very quickly and there was even a part in the middle where I simply couldn't put it down and had to find out what was going to happen - even though I was dreading that I wouldn't like the outcome.

Yes this book is slightly depressing and sad - it's the story of a five year old who only knows the room he was born into and has lived his whole life with his mother.  He doesn't know anything outside of that room and I think the author said the book was inspired by Jaycee Dugard and Elisabeth Fritzl.

I keep thinking about this book - and everyone should read it.

MOCA

I really wanted to visit some L.A. museums because I've never been to any of them since we've lived here (almost 5 years!).  Therefore, I put visiting MOCA - Museum of Contemporary Art on my list

Thursday evenings from 5-8pm are free, so Erik and I met halfway and went to the museum for the evening.

We had to park across the street at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, which was really cool

Art!

Erik appreciating the art

Me participating in art haha

A random guy looking at art

Then we walked down the street and there was another open art exhibit going on

And there was a super creepy bathtub with a guy in it and all you could see was his arm because there was a sheet on the rest of him - and stuffed animals hanging from the ceiling

Then, the best part of the evening was that we came across a trolly in downtown L.A!

It costs a quarter, and it was a super short ride called Angel's Flight - and it was so cool to just be walking down the street and come across this.  And it led us right to where we needed to get

This is some info on Angel's Flight:

For just 25 cents you can board one of the two orange and black incline railway cars and ride "The Shortest Railway in the World." This funicular dates back to 1901, when Bunker Hill was one of the most fashionable neighborhoods in Los Angeles and the cars, Olivet and Sinai, ferried prominent citizens up and down the steep slope between Hill and Olive streets. The beloved landmark was dismantled for "urban renewal" of the area in 1969. In the early 1990s, the Railway was refurbished and relocated a half-block south, reopening adjacent to California Plaza in 1996. As short as it is (298 feet), Angels Flight is an essential Los Angeles experience.

The Angels Flight™ Railway connects 351 South Hill Street (ZIP Code 90013), near the Metro Red Line Pershing Square subway station at the corner of Fourth and Hill Streets, with the California Plaza Watercourt at 350 South Grand Avenue (ZIP Code 90071). Recorded telephone information: (213) MA 6-1901. The Railway is open every day, 365 days a year, from 6:45 a.m. until 10 p.m.