Category Archives: Celebrations

5K #8 (or I Conquered The Big Hill)

This past Sunday was 5K #8, the weSPARK 5K at Universal Studios. This was my 3rd year doing this race, so I felt pretty prepared for it. This was also the end of my crazy 2 weeks doing 3 5Ks.

On Saturday after my work shift, I drove out to the valley to pick up my race number.

IMG_2187

I noticed while I was picking up my number that the race course was different from the past 2 years. This year, I wouldn’t get to walk past Bates Motel/House (where I worked at Halloween Horror Nights for 3 years). There was also some changes to the giant hill. The start/finish in the past were right next to the hill, so you went down it at the start of the race and up it at the very end. This year, the hill was toward the end of the course. You went up it and immediately down it toward the finish line. Also, in the past there was a flat street that you walked on in the middle of the uphill, this year it was during the downhill.

I was a little annoyed by the course changes, but since I knew this course had the hill, I wasn’t planning on worrying about my time so much this race. I got my PR a week prior and this time all I wanted to focus on was taking one break on the uphill (the last year I took 2 breaks).

The morning of the race was very cold, but bright and sunny.

IMG_2188

I knew it would warm up quickly so I wasn’t wearing a sweatshirt or long-sleeved shirt. Before I knew it, the different groups were getting organized by the starting line. I found the area for 5K walkers and got a quick before picture in.

IMG_2189

The race this year started by going next to the LA River. It isn’t very pretty, but it’s relatively flat. Next we went past Amblin/Dreamworks. There were security guards yelling at everyone that there were no pictures allowed, so I couldn’t get a picture of the E.T. crossing sign like last year.

Next, we headed to the backlot sets. We went past the courthouse from “Back To The Future” and there was one of the DeLorean out there for a photo-op. There was a huge line, so I took a photo while walking past it.

IMG_2191

We did more walking around the backlot and sound stages (I was focused on walking and didn’t take any pictures for this part). And before I knew it, the giant hill was approaching.

It starts out like this.

IMG_2192

You go around a corner and think you are getting close and then there are about 4 sections that look like this.

IMG_2193

It was a much longer hill than the past years (due to not walking through the Bates Motel/House section). We also walked up to the top of the hill instead of stopping toward the top where the finish line used to be. My hips were killing me and I was pretty out of breath, but I kept going. And before I knew it, I saw where everyone was turning around. I seriously appreciated the cheering section at the top of the hill by the water station. I turned around to go back down the hill without ever taking a break!

On the way back down, I noticed a golf cart heading by me. Lea Thompson, who was the celebrity who started the race, was in the back of the cart and waved right at me. Of course I took the opportunity for a picture while I walked behind her.

IMG_2195

I’m kind of curious to see how the official race that was taken at this moment will look.

We walked through the little Europe section and I knew I had to be close to the finish line. I looked at my watch at realized that I was going to finish either right at or right under an hour. That’s significantly faster than I though I could do with the hill.

Finally, I made it to the end! My watch said 59:37, but I know that I started it a little early and stopped it a little late. So I went over to where the printed official race results were posted (which, by the way, I love that this is being done at the race now).

IMG_2209

59:27! Another 5K in under an hour! It’s only about a minute slower than the Hard Rock Cafe 5K and that one was on a very flat course!

I got a quick victory photo with my medal.

IMG_2200

I’m so happy that I got 5K #8 done and with an amazing time! My next (and probably last) 5K for the year isn’t for a few weeks, so I have time to recover and hopefully get a bit faster. But for now, here’s to #8!

IMG_2207

By the way, there’s still some time to help me reach my fundraising goal for this race! Donations are being accepted though the end of this month!

Low Key Halloween (or Costume Flashback)

My Halloween wasn’t all too exciting. First of all, I had a full shift at work. We usually work evening shifts on Thursdays but we switched to an early shift so we’d all have time to go out after work (plus, we didn’t want to be calling people while they were out trick-or-treating with their kids).

Work was ok. The co-worker who hates me was not as mean to me as she was the other day. She still mumbled whenever I said something and made it seem as if I was completely unwelcome at work, but the horrible name calling did stop. I’m applying for new jobs every day, but it’s very hard to find something that pays enough and has the flexibility for auditions. But I’m trying.

I did dress up on Halloween. I figured why not? But I did pick a costume that didn’t look too outrageous while I was working. I decided to go as Minnie Mouse.

IMG_2155

Yes, I wore the hooded scarf I bought the last time I was at Disneyland! While I was working, I just kept the hooded scarf off to the side (I really couldn’t make phone calls while I was wearing it). And without the hooded scarf, my outfit seemed pretty normal so I blended in with my work (where only 2 other people dressed up).

This technically is a repeat costume for me since I went as Minnie Mouse for Halloween once as a little kid.

IMG0004

I think if I could combine the dress I wore as a kid with my hooded scarf, that would be an amazing costume!

After work, I met some friends at Bodega Wine Bar (where I had my 30th birthday party). We were there during happy hour so we took advantage of the cheap drinks and food. While there were a couple of people dressed up for Halloween at the bar, not everyone was in costume.

After some drinks and food, we all headed home. I didn’t want to be up too late since I had an early shift at work the next morning, plus I wanted to be off the road before there were a lot of drunk drivers out. I was home around 9:30 and enjoyed the rest of my Halloween relaxing and watching “Grey’s Anatomy”.

While in some ways I wish I had had a crazy fun Halloween night, I’m okay that I did something low-key. Halloween can be stressful and right now, I don’t need to add any more stress to my life.

The only regret I have about my Halloween is that I didn’t get too many opportunities to wear a costume this year. I missed out on my favorite Halloween party this year so that was one fewer costumed outing than I thought I’d have this year. I’ll just have to make up for it next year.

Acting Like A Grownup (or Missing Out On Fun)

I love Halloween. Besides my birthday, it’s probably my favorite holiday of the year. I’m not sure why I love it so much, but I do. And I have no idea if I loved Halloween as much as a kid as I do now. If my mom is reading today, maybe she’ll let me know.

There is one Halloween party that I go to pretty much every single year since I moved to LA. It’s the party that Marie and Chris throw. They go all out with their costumes and really are amazing party hosts. I try to do great costumes every year, but I seem to never be able to compete with how amazing all my friends’ costumes are. But I think that I’ve had some cute costumes the past few years.

100_0699

Little Red Riding Hood (with wolf head in the basket)

P1000098

Swine Flu (this was a last-minute costume)

IMG_1082

Where’s Waldo?

This is one of the few parties that I look forward to all year-long. The only years I’ve missed it in the past were the couple of years I worked at Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios and worked until 3am. So of course, I’ve been trying to plan what my costume would be for this year. I had it down to a couple of options (I was leaning toward using my “Let’s Make A Deal” pig in a blanket one again) but I knew it was going to be something simple because I had a 5K early the next morning.

On Friday, I was feeling a bit off. I overslept and barely made it to my 9am work shift (I’m lucky that I live close to work). I just figured it was my body getting adjusted to work again. And on Saturday, I was starting to have the sniffles.

I wanted to go out, but I couldn’t risk getting sick. Not only did I have the 5K on Sunday, I needed to work because I’m missing so many days in the next month.

So I made the adult choice: I missed the Halloween party. It wasn’t the fun choice, but I know that it was the right one. I’m sad, but I’ve been enjoying looking at the photos that everyone from the party has been posting on Facebook.

I still have Halloween to dress up (and I’ll be going to a happy hour after work so I might do some sort of costume). And of course, now I’ve got a year to plan the best costume ever for next year!

Exciting News (or Sometimes It Pays To Wait It Out)

I’ve got some exciting news to share with all of you! I’ve wanted to share it for about a week, but I had to wait for it to be official.

I’m the new festival co-director for the Beverly Hills Shorts Festival!

You all might be wondering what I’m talking about since I haven’t mentioned this festival before. Here’s a little back story.

About 7 years ago, I heard through The Actors’ Network that there was a film festival that needed volunteers. I was unemployed then so I figured I should check it out and maybe I’d meet some cool people. I enjoyed volunteering so much that I returned for every screening for the festival! I got to know the directors Dan and Laura pretty well because of that.

The next year, they asked me if I’d like to volunteer again. And of course I said yes! After the second year, they asked me if I’d like to become a staff member of the festival and be the volunteer coordinator. And again I said yes. So for the past few years, I’ve worked as the volunteer coordinator.

The only reason I haven’t mentioned this festival on the blog yet is because last year, the festival was held before I started blogging (I almost don’t remember a time I didn’t blog!). This year, the festival was moved to November.

But I’ve been a part of this festival for 6 years (this year will be my 7th) and I’m so excited that my role with them is expanding into something amazing.

I never would have guessed all those years ago that volunteering on a whim would result in something so cool. And I didn’t go into this hoping that one day I’d be a co-director. It just naturally happened.

I’m so grateful that Dan and Laura think that I should be the co-director of the festival. It means so much that they can trust me. I’m excited for the festival this year and just a little nervous to be running the show for the first year. But I know that this is only going to lead to more and more good things in my life.

And just in case any filmmakers are reading this, I still don’t get a say in the programming of the festival. Submissions for this year are closed now, but if you want to submit for next year, you are all welcome to. Just know that sucking up to me isn’t going to help you any! But if any of you want to help out with the film festival this year, leave me a comment and I’ll make sure to get back to you when I’m putting together the volunteer list!

It’s Halloween Time! (or Another Disneyland Outing)

While I am looking for a new job while I’m unemployed right now, I’m also trying to make sure that I have fun before I either get a new job or go back to working 6 days a week at my old one.

So yesterday since I didn’t have much I had to do, I decided to go to Disneyland to check out the Halloween decorations and rides.

The last time I was at Disneyland was when I went with Lindsey Kelk, so it has been a while. And I love seeing all the Halloween decorations and flowers in the park.

DSCN1124 DSCN1123 DSCN1125

I didn’t really plan on going on a bunch of rides (I’m going back on Sunday with some other people), but I wanted to focus on riding the things that I love and want to do while it’s in Halloween mode.

My first stop was the Haunted Mansion. For Halloween through Christmas, it is decorated in “The Nightmare Before Christmas” mode.

DSCN1127

This was the 13th year that they have done this holiday overlay, so there were some new features on the ride.

I love how they decorated the outside of the ride and put bows on all the headstones in the line area. I especially liked the bow on the top of this squirrel.

DSCN1129

I really liked the new things on the ride. There were a bunch of changes to the elevator portion as well as the hallway you walk through to get to the ride. I’m sure I’ll be going on this again because it is this overlay through Christmas.

But one overlay that is only there for Halloween is at Space Mountain. They turn this ride into Ghost Galaxy and I’ve only gone on it a few times this way (I’m normally not able to make it to the park at Halloween). I got to sit in the last row of the coaster (my favorite!) and I took a quick selfie before the ride started.

IMG_2103

This overlay is pretty fun. I liked the ghost projections throughout the ride and it really does feel different from the typical Space Mountain.

After those two rides, I took a roundtrip on the Monorail. I love going on the Monorail as it gives a nice look at a majority of the park. It also allowed me to take this amazing picture of the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage and the Matterhorn.

IMG_2104

After the roundtrip and coming back to Tomorrowland, I headed over to the Disneyland Railroad. This is another thing I love! When you ride the railroad between Tomorrowland and Main Street, you get to go through the Grand Canyon Diorama. The diorama has been a part of Disneyland since 1958 and it’s something that my mom remembers from when she was young. I love getting to see this almost-original part of Disneyland and it is a way to get around the park.

After exiting the railroad at Main Street, I decided to head home. The after-school crowd was starting to come into the park and I had gone on the rides that I really wanted to go on. But going to Disneyland is a nice way to spend an afternoon (and get a lot of walking in!).

I’m excited to be back at the park in a couple of days!

Another Spa Adventure (or A Belated Birthday Celebration)

I mentioned back in June that my friend Kate turned 30. For her birthday, I told her that I would take her to Burke Williams. Somehow, time got away from us and the summer went by without us going to the spa. But now with me unemployed again my schedule was nice and open and we finally went to the spa this past Friday!

We went to the Burke Williams in West Hollywood, which is where I went to the Spa Night Out event earlier this year. And I finally got to get the anti-aging facial that I won at the event!

As soon as we entered these doors, we were in spa paradise.

IMG_2102

I had learned from when I went to the Burke Williams in San Francisco that you want to get to the spa nice and early so you can enjoy all the amenities. Kate and I got to the spa about an hour and a half before our treatments. We first had a tour of the spa (I only saw parts of it at the event and Kate had never been there before). Then it was time for relaxation!

First we went into the hot tub. They had aromatherapy wash cloths next to the hot tub so we both grabbed those and sat back and relaxed. We also spent some time just chatting and catching up (fortunately there weren’t a bunch of people there so we didn’t feel bad talking). After the hot tub we went into the cold mist room. I hated the cold mist room in San Francisco, but in West Hollywood is was exactly what you would expect. There were chairs in there and you just sat back and let the cold mist fall on you. Next we tried the sauna, but I’m not a huge fan of dry heat. We were only in there for a few minutes. And then we went to the steam room. That was nice until the steam machine turned on and it was so loud! We decided to head out of there after that.

We still have plenty of time before our appointments so we did another cycle of the hot tub and cold mist room before walking out to the lounge area to wait to be called.

I’ve had facials before, but never an anti-aging facial (I still think I’m a little young to have to worry about that). But it was really fun. There were the traditional facial things (cleansing, facial massage, extractions, masque, moisturizing), but there were also two different peels. The first peel was very tingling. But I guess that’s how you know it’s working! The second peel didn’t tingle or burn at all. When it was all done, I did look a little red, but nothing too bad (I just looked like I had had a little sun).

It has been a few days and my skin looks amazing! I don’t know if this is something I will do on a regular basis (it’s a little out of my price range right now while I’m working on paying down my credit card debit), but it was a very nice treat!

Thank you Burke Williams for another amazing day! I’m so tempted to get the monthly membership just so I can enjoy the amenities there more often!

Sailing Time (or An Easy Day After The Big Day)

The day after the wedding, my mom had arranged for a sailing trip for our whole group (almost everyone who went to the wedding was able to join us).

I actually never got pictures of the boat, but you can check it out on their website.

I was a bit nervous about going sailing. I haven’t been on a sailboat since 2005 and since I have a tendency to get carsick, I was afraid of getting seasick. But I wasn’t going to let that fear get in my way of having fun.

It was a perfect day to be out on the water!

DSCN0976

The boat was pretty spacious considering it was a sailboat. I spent most of my time sitting on the deck, but there were plenty of seats as well.

DSCN0987

We didn’t really have a destination on this adventure, we just sailed around for 3 hours. There was food served on board, but I didn’t want to risk the seasickness feeling. I’m sure I made the right choice because I never got seasick! I can’t say the same for my brother though.

DSCN1028

After Ross took a nap, he felt better.

I spent most of the sail just taking fun pictures of the group gathered on the boat.

DSCN1024 DSCN0996 DSCN1026

We even sailed by the rental house!

DSCN1022

You can’t quite see it in this picture, but we were able to find our neighbor’s house pretty easily due to some very colorful flowers they had in their yard.

Toward the end of the sail, the sun started to set.

DSCN1058

It was nice being able to watch the sunset on the water, however it was a bit of a dud sunset. The sky never really lit up like we’ve seen it do before.

Of course, I tried to get some pictures in front of the sunset, but it was getting a bit too dark by then.

DSCN1069

After 3 hours, we headed back to the marina. After the sail, I had to say goodbye to my cousin Adam, Ross’s friends, and Krystle’s family as we weren’t going to see them again on the trip. I’m actually not too sure when I’ll see any of them again, so it was a bit of a sad goodbye.

But I did still have one more day of vacation ahead of me. And tomorrow, I will have photos that prove that I got over my fear of the ocean (at least for that day)!

The Big Event! (or The Reason I’m In Maui)

On Tuesday the 10th, it was finally the wedding day! (BTW, this is a very photo heavy post, but I think you will all love the photos.)

Since the wedding didn’t start until 4:30, my brother and the rest of my family spent the morning relaxing at our rental house.

IMG_2079

My parents and I got ready at the house, but my brother got ready at the hotel he had reserved for that night. We all went to the hotel together and just before we left for the wedding, we got this picture of all of us.

DSCN0687

Yes, I wore that dress to Marie and Chris’s wedding last year, but Krystle wanted me to wear it. Her mom, my mom, and I all wore lace dresses so I think she wanted us to match a bit.

We then drove 5 minutes down the road for the wedding. It looked just as beautiful as it did for the rehearsal the day before.

DSCN0696

While we waited in the air-conditioned bar, guests started to show up. Ross had a couple of friends from elementary school and college there.

DSCN0691

And the guys got him this gift for his wedding.

DSCN0693

Finally, it was time for the wedding to start. I walked with my parents down the aisle and took our seats in the first row. Then Ross was there waiting for his bride.

DSCN0705

Because the sun was in our eyes, it was tough for me to get photos of the wedding (I’m sure the professional photos will look awesome though). I did get one that turned out nicely.

DSCN0725

It was a pretty quick ceremony (they did write their own vows though). And before you knew it, the officiant was announcing the new Dr. and Mrs. Levin!

DSCN0734

We all headed back up the aisle to celebrate the wedding.

DSCN0739

I got a picture with my new sister.

DSCN0745

And of course a picture of the bling.

DSCN0743

Then the family headed over to the side for the official pictures. I tried to snap a couple of my own between shots. This one is of me, my brother, and our cousin Adam.

DSCN0765

Then Ross and Krystle went off to take their photos alone and the rest of us went to enjoy cocktail hour with an amazing sunset.

DSCN0779

Just as cocktail hour was coming to a close, Ross and Krystle joined us again.

DSCN0782

And we headed inside for dinner.

I was seated at the head table with the rest of the immediate family. It was nice that we all got some time to chat because I know how tough it can be at some weddings.

DSCN0790 DSCN0831

Dinner was 4 courses (when you counted cake). And it was seriously delicious!

DSCN0795

DSCN0800 DSCN0812 DSCN0815 DSCN0835

There wasn’t really a cake cutting (just a photo-op), so I didn’t get any pictures of that.

After the food, it was time for dancing.

There was the traditional first dance.

DSCN0843

And then even though I think technically we weren’t supposed to have music out on the deck where the dance floor was, the wedding coordinator plugged her iPhone into a speaker so we could have some good dance music!

DSCN0951 DSCN0953

I spent a lot of the dancing time just catching up with family. We don’t get to see each other all too often, so I take advantage of any time I get.

DSCN0903

I also got this picture with two of Ross’s oldest friends (they’ve all known each other since kindergarten). My dad may or may not have said a pretty dirty word to try to get us to smile (which explains the surprise face on one of Ross’s friends).

DSCN0971

Overall, I’d say it was a pretty great wedding. It was very small, but that made it easy to talk to people. And I think Ross and Krystle were beyond happy with how everything turned out.

I still have a few more Hawaii posts ahead with the rest of my activities, so those will be coming next week!

Rehearsal Time (or A Relaxing Day Of Vacation)

Monday was the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. In the morning, my brother had to go and get his marriage license (got to make sure it’s official!), so my parents and I spent that time reading by the pool for a few hours.

Once my brother got back, it was time to change into our nice clothes and head over to Kapalua to Merriman’s for the rehearsal. My parents and I had driven by Merriman’s before but it wasn’t open so we hadn’t gotten a chance to see the venue.

It was pretty gorgeous at the ceremony space.

DSCN0635

All my parents and I had to do for the rehearsal was sit in the chairs and watch the rehearsal take place.

DSCN0632

This was the first wedding rehearsal I’ve attended, but I’m pretty sure this was just a standard rehearsal. The guy marrying them just went over the order of the ceremony. Easy peasy.

DSCN0644

After the rehearsal, we got a sneak peek at the reception room. It was getting set up for another wedding, so the tables weren’t what would be there tomorrow, but it gave us an idea of the room.

DSCN0662 DSCN0663

After that, the rehearsal was technically over. But we sat at the bar and waited because another wedding was happening at the ceremony site right after that, and we wanted to see how it looked. While we waited, we had some drinks.

DSCN0666

I, of course, had a Dirty Shirley (and water because it was so hot out!).

DSCN0667

After spying on the other wedding for a bit, we headed over to the rehearsal dinner at Lahaina Grill. We had a semi-private room (it was a private alcove in a small part of the restaurant). We got our waiter to take a picture of the entire group.

DSCN0679

The food there was incredible! For a starter, my mom and I split a mozzarella tomato salad (this picture is my half of the salad and it’s still pretty big).

DSCN0681

And for my entrée, I got the pork shank. What I didn’t realize was how huge this thing would be!

DSCN0683

The whole middle of it was the bone, but it was still a huge meal. I ended up taking over half of it home.

DSCN0684

Although we all laughed at my doggy bag because we all thought it said “pork smack” instead of “pork shank” (we might have found that extra funny because of the wine at dinner).

After dinner, Krystle’s family headed back to their condo and my family headed back to the rental house so get a good night sleep before the big day tomorrow!

Day One In Maui (or The Only Way To Start A Vacation Is In The Hot Tub)

I got to Maui safely on Friday (only minor panic attacks on the plane which was nice). I had a direct flight from Los Angeles, so there was 5.5 hours to spend watching movies that I loaded on my laptop (I only with I had invested in some noise canceling headphones but I will do that one day).

Once I arrived, I called my parents, whose flight landed about an hour before mine and had gone to get the rental car. They came to pick me up at Kahului airport and we were off to the rental house.

I had seen some photos of the rental house before when my mom emailed me the website, but it was way more awesome than I expected!

DSCN0468 DSCN0467

It’s so amazing here! I’m so lucky that my parents rented such a cool place for us.

As soon as we arrived, we got a tour from the house managers, but all I could think about was getting into the hot tub. So as soon as the tour was done, we turned on the tub to heat up and we all went to get changed into our swimsuits.

I spent a good majority of my afternoon in there. It felt so wonderful! I also spent a lot of time on those patio chairs reading my book (I’m currently reading “Scarlet”). My parents are both book nerds like me, so we were all super happy to just relax and read.

My Aunt Nancy stopped by our house for some snacks and then it was time to go back into the hot tub!

And of course, as soon as the sun was setting, we had to take some sunset photos.

DSCN0485

I’m finally putting a photo of me in a bathing suit on here! I know it’s not the best photo, but I’m sure in the next week I’ll have plenty more. But I wanted to do this one at least.

Plus, check out my badass mom!

DSCN0487

We were all pretty jet-lagged (and Hawaii is 3 hours behind California time) so we all went to bed pretty early. But considering that I left LA at 9am and took a 5.5 hour flight, I think we got a whole lot done on our first day of vacation!

More fun and adventures to come (plus my brother’s wedding)!