Another One of Those Days

I just got home from another "one of those days." I got a nice pep talk from bro on my way home and then got an IM from BF when I got home, "hurry! Go to yahoo.com"



Of course this brought a smile to my face. Long-term goal: I can't wait to swim with sea turtles. Short-term goal: I can't wait to finish reading Voyage of the Turtle post-Saturday!

Fake Last Day of Vacation

Although I began school yesterday, I am psyching myself out to believe that today is my last day of vacation. Of course by the first day of class, we were supposed to have already read Chapter 1 so I was already behind in my assignments when I got to school.

This morning, I began my "last" day of vacation by accompanying BF to the local bowling alley for his first "real" bowling lesson. I cheesed out of taking bowling lessons and read Chapter 1 of our dysphagia text while he learned how to approach the line. One and a half hours, Chapter 1 and a few pages of Chapter 3, and 3 bowling games later, BF and I bowled two games. BF thinks I was subconsciously "itching" to bowl b/c in my first game, I bowled 3 strikes and picked up a spare, totalling 136! My second game was a bummy 80 something but I still had fun. Unfortunately, BF noticed that his ball was chipped so he was incredibly bummed out! Fortunately, his new coach is doctoring his ball over the next few days.

Afterwards, BF and I went to Costco. One of his New Year's Resolutions that I made for him is to eat out no more than once a week (and to eat healthier). That means we need to stock up on food that he will eat at home so we went all out at Costco (my favorite "market"). The rest of the day inclued more errands such as stopping by one of my doctors, who gave me a calendar of "Beautiful Korea" and bid me a very enthusiastic "Happy New Year!" in her accented English. That made me really smile. I also went to Food-4-Less and picked up a few more stuff...including peppermint and vanilla extract to make ice-cream! Yeah!

I decided at the last minute to join Bro and FBIL for a night hike at Temescal Canyon in Pacific Palisades. I thought we were joining a large group of their friends since they said we were hiking with a "large group." Turns out we were hiking with a large group of people. Strangers to be precise. I have to admit I was a little leary, especially since it was a full moon (all the crazies are out) and we did not know to bring flashlights. Still, we ventured on.

Our hiking leader, a 6 foot 8 inch naturistic dude, led about 25+ of us on a really dark hike that takes place every full moon. The theme of tonight's hike was "Feast of the Senses." The guy made us narrow down which sense we would not want to live without. Most of us chose vision. Quite appropriate since we were going on a night hike where those of us without flashlights would have to rely on our other senses (well, not taste) rather than our vision, which I am certainly most used to. For a few yards, we hiked silently and listened to all the sounds. We walked farther away from the highways and traffic died down and all we heard were crickets, trampling of leaves, whispers, and Coco the dog sniffing around. Our next trek honed in on our sense of smell. Lots of sage and other herbs. For the rest of the hike, we just went uphill and didn't really zero in on any of our senses b/c we were too busy huffing up and up and up. I was so not ready for such a wild hike.

Nevertheless, we made it to an opening at what seemed like the top of a mountain. The view was magnificent. We could see Santa Monica Bay, LAX (sort of), and Downtown LA. I was more enthralled by the moon and the stars above. The full moon often reminds me of my mom. I could be wrong, but I think every full moon, my mom and her temple put on a big celebration of sorts. What really surprised me tonight was the thought of how I haven't seen Orion, his Belt, and the Big Dipper in probably years. That thought made me happy and sad. As corny as it may be, I thought about the "light pollution" that our cities have (and made me think of stuff I'm reading in Voyage of the Turtle). The only times I really look up at the stars are when I'm at Ama's. She lives at the base of the Foothills, so we can actually see the stars.

Rewind: I was actually star-gazing New Year's Eve with BBN. I asked him if he could see the moon. He said yes and pointed to the moon. I asked if he saw the stars. He said no. I tried to point them out to him. Then he finally said, "Those are spaceship!" LOL

Anywho, the view was wonderful and the dude made us do a pirate's trick of staring at the moon with one eye so that our rods and cones would adjust to the dark. It was a neat trick that I am not explaining very well b/c my mind and body is mush from the hike. Bro, FBIL, and I ended up leaving the crowd and treking downhill IN THE DARK all the way back down.

Our downhill trek was interesting for me. When we were going uphill, I was so anxious about tripping in the dark so I kept running after the stranger ahead of me w/ a flashlight. I didn't really enjoy my surroundings. Going back down in the dark with no light except the full moon was such a different, calming (occasionally scary when I tripped over rocks or missed a step) experience.

I'm glad I went on a night hike. It was my first night hike and my third hike, said the sheltered girl.

Last minute relaxation and shopping

After I dropped BF off at his sister's, I came back home, found out I'm placed in IngleWOooOod!, blasted Sarah McLachlan's Wintersong with BF's new home theatre system (mu-hahaha! I got it for him for Christmas), cleaned Lil F's tank, and then headed off to my spa pedicure.

My spa pedicure at Peponi was absolutely fabulous! The place is so chic, cozy, and lovely. I arrived early to my appointment so Kaamilyah started me 10 mins before 2. My appointment went way over (which I totally appreciated). I asked for a 40 min Rejuvinator tx, but I walked out 2 hours later! I had such a wonderful time w/ the girl, and she did a great job. Not only that, but she is also a Dexter and America's Next Top Model fan!

Afterwards, I went last-minute shopping with my bro at the Westside Pavillion and the Century City Mall. I rather enjoy shopping with my bro b/c we get really silly and have a grand ol' time. I love the Century City Mall, except I always get lost either going there or leaving. Now, I even get lost in the Mall b/c the maps just aren't correctly oriented (IMO). My bro and I walked in so many circles. The best site was walking into the Swarovski store. I was actually looking for a turtle brooch (that shouldn't be a surprise!) and I saw something far more marvelous.
First I saw in the case some sea shells. I thought they were adorable. They were scattered along the bottom of the first display case you encounter when you walk into the store.


My eyes moved along the display and I could not believe my eyes! There to the left of the sea shells was a huge sea turtle crystal figurine. On the other side of the case were 2 hatchling sea turtles! Beautiful.

Ever since I started reading my sea turtle book, I've been spewing off random sea turtle facts to BF and Bro. I even brought my book to Peponi so Kaamilyah asked me what I was reading about. Of course I had to start off talking about Lil F. I am on a quest to convert people into turtle lovers. :)

Lil F's Second Birthday

Scott remarks, "It'll be so exciting to see where she goes. I've seen them do the most amazing navigational things. One came off the Flemish Cap and beelined for the Canary Islands. Now, that's what, three thousand kilometers [1864 miles] across open ocean? If you laid a straight edge over her track on the map, you couldn't have done better yourself using GPS and satellites. You look at those tracks, and their capabilities blow you away. Then you realize -- fishing off Iceland and Africa can affect the turtles on this beach."

That remark makes the world seem both oddly small and strangely large at the same time, because Iceland seems a world removed from this warm beach, with its palm shadows and tropic breeze. And it is. But to be a Leatherback is to be perpetually on the move from one world to the next.

~Voyage of the Turtle by Carl Safina~

I am slowly making waves in my book, and I am really enjoying how the author portrays sea turtles as such mysterious but magnificent sea creatures. I hope that one day, I can witness the miracle of a sea turtle nesting on the beach shore.

.·:*¨¨*:·. .·:*¨¨*:·..·:*¨¨*:·. .·:*¨¨*:·. .·:*¨¨*:·. .·:*¨¨*:·. .·:*¨¨*:·.

Sea turtles are amazing, but so is Lil Fawker! Today is her second birthday! Lil F received a wonderful e-card from her newly-deemed God-Parents, BILsF, that read:

Happy birthday, Lil F! We wish you a happy day and a happy year! We hope you get a yummy treat today! Enjoy your special day, M... and K...

Lil F actually got 6 yummy treats, which is more than enough. She will get a whole leaf of lettuce after the Lakers game (we have been very curious to see how much of a whole leaf of romaine lettuce she can eat. We may, however, intervene the lettuce binge). Last year, Uncles B&B, gave Lil F a dozen+ fish, which was waaaay too much. That's what she gets for being the first turtle in this family. :)

This is Lil F when she was two months old and 1.25 inches in Daddy's hand. This is also when we thought that she was a he.






Here she is two months ago at 5.25 inches in Mommy's hand. Today, she is 5.5 inches!

In the past year, she has been deemed runner-up for a RES photo contest and winner of the RES photo contest.


Happy, happy birthday Lil F!

Candied Caramel Apples

"Poet laureate Billy Collins says poetry should displace silence, so that before the poem there is silence, and afterward, silence again. A sea turtle, suddenly appearing at the surface for a sip of air, displaces water. And afterward, water still. This is the turtle's poetry, a wordless eloquence stated in silence and, in a moment, gone."

~Voyage of the Turtle by Carl Safina

I started reading my book from BSILF and I found that quote so profound and beautiful. Isn't it?

ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø

Today, I attempted to do some more things on my Winter Break To-Do List, but didn't get around to too much. I ran some more errands and then finally wrote evaluations for both my Dx and Tx supervisors. Afterwards, I headed over to my bro's to start on our candied caramel apples. After we coated the caramel on, we ran out to Target and stopped by Honey's (?) for delicious fried chicken. We got back and globbed on a layer of semi-sweet chocolate and put on nuts and called it a night.

Every time we make these apples, we tell ourselves to take notes b/c something always goes wrong, and we forget how we managed the previous times! This year, our apples got stuck to the wax paper. My bro ended up having to blow dry underneath the wax paper to get it heated up enough to pull off. Hopefully, we'll remember to Pam everything well enough the next time.

I really enjoy making these apples with my bro. A part of it is because I LOVE eating them! I love giving them away, too. :) I am not great at baking nor cooking so when the recipient thinks it is store-bought, it is a great compliment for me! Above all, I feel like it is me and my bro's thing (and sometimes FBIL, except that he has finals this week). I have secretly been trying to make it a tradition between us. This will be our 3rd time in 4 years. I also really enjoy making them because I can make mine however I want. One year, I made a mother huge one for myself. It had like 5 layers of chocolates and caramel and then some more candies. It was ridiculous. I think my stomach did somersaults every time I ate just one slice. I may be inspired to make a mother huge one tmrw. :D