Spring 'Cleansing'

I have a new obsession.  I wish I could say it was cleaning our house, or making crafts, or fixing up our planter boxes, but no, I'm just crazy about Juice Cleansing.  Now, I've never been known to even miss a meal, let alone a whole day of food, and forget about three days, but this cleanse is amazing!
These juices are made from a hydraulic press at the Pressed Juicery and they're packed full of fruits, vegetables & other great nutrients.  During their 3-day cleanse, you drink so many juices it's impossible to be hungry.  There's even an almond milk that's to die for.  It's the last drink of the evening and tastes like a lullaby that puts you right to sleep.  I happily make the schlep out to Brentwood (a 2+ hour round trip commute) to get an entire 3-day supply of these delicious beverages. I love the feeling of cleaning all the processed foods & chemicals out of our systems, and during & after the cleanse we sleep better than ever!
Mass is a believer too.  I was shocked that he was able to stick with it as well (with very minor deviations).  And let's be honest, the first round wasn't so pretty (side effects can include a serious case of the grumpies), but we just did it for the second time and definitely worked out the kinks.  Who knew carrot juice could be so delicious?
Cheers!

Friends...

Friends are like clothing.  Some of our clothes are frequently used, some not nearly as often, but all have a place in our wardrobe.  High quality friends (like quality clothing) just have a way of making us feel good.  Our oldest & closest friends are like those staple items in your closet that you could never live without.  One might be that perfect old pair of jeans- they always fit, (on fat days or skinny days), you know exactly how they'll feel, and you can wear them for so many different occasions.  Another one might be your favorite hooded sweatshirt- it's been with you on some really bad days when you're down in the dumps, but also been there during a super fun night of laughing hysterically and drinking wine on the couch.  Then there's the little black dress- that perfect go-to piece you can always count on for a fun night out.  It helps boost your confidence- you know you look good, you're comfortable, and there's an ease about it.


These 'old' friends are something we've missed dearly over the last 20+ months of living in Claremont.  Don't get me wrong, the people we've met here are incredibly nice, friendly, and welcoming.  But as with clothing, the older we get, the harder it seems to shop.  I'm not sure if it's simply because we've changed over the years, or if we've just become more selective.  I remember the days of being able to spend hours on end at the mall, and loving so many things that it was hard to decide what to get.  Nowadays, I feel like nothing looks good on me!  I get tired more easily, and give up after a couple unsuccessful visits to the fitting room.  Those gems that we do find though, are new exciting pieces to add to our wardrobe, and somehow we're always able to make room in the closet for everyone.


Back in junior high, high school, and even college (or 'undergrad' as Mass would call it), the selection process was so easy.  Is this person fun?  Are we often in the same place at the same time?  Do I enjoy their company?  Great! We're best friends for life.  :)  Not all of those friendships still exist of course, but the ones that do, I truly believe will be our dear friends forever (and you know who you are).  Even when it comes time to move far away, you take your favorite pieces of clothing with you. For some reason, the process of shopping has become a bit more complicated.  Partly because there are now two of us (well three, if you include Mahoney), which means differing schedules, opinions & interests, and often we're spending time with other couples- what if you have a lot in common with one person, but not the other?  Interestingly enough, we've all grown and changed over the years, but with those old friends- the little black dress, the favorite pair of jeans, the hooded sweatshirt- we've grown to love and appreciate our new differences & lifestyles, because we have history. Roots. A foundation of friendship that (hopefully) won't ever be broken.


Needless to say, we've met some really great people here in Claremont, but we honestly haven't put in as much time & effort into our new friends as we probably should have.  It's going on 2 years now that we've been here, and we've definitely had some fun times with new friends, enjoyed various social gatherings & couple's dinners, but there's always been this little thought in the back of my mind that's afraid to get attached, because we don't know how long we'll be here.  In fact, some of our new friends have already moved away!  So does that mean we shouldn't make the effort, because soon we could be leaving again?  Regardless of the reasons, I'm now making a conscious decision not to worry about that, because friends just make life richer.


Our most recent addition- Sara & Anthony.  They've been Pilates clients of mine since November.  From day one, they were super easy to talk to.  They're fun, hilarious, and don't take life (or themselves) too seriously.  I can honestly say I've looked forward to every one of our sessions together.  Don't ask me why it took us 5 months to get together outside of the Pilates studio and introduce them to Mass, but it did.  Better late than never, right?  Absolutely.

Photo from dinner with Sara & Anthony

New Discoveries- Johnson's Pasture

We're approaching almost 2 years of living in beloved Claremont now, and have realized there are still quite a few places around here that we haven't yet experienced.  One of them being Johnson's Pasture- a scenic trail in the foothills of Claremont that provides beautiful views for your novice hiker.  Considering how incredibly outdoorsy we are, it's surprising that we haven't tried it yet. (That was a joke. In fact, we're so not outdoorsy, we weren't even sure what to wear)

Needless to say, the hike was truly beautiful.  We hadn't been surrounded by so much nature in....well, I have no idea how long.  More new discoveries that were made along the way-

• I'm not nearly as tough or adventurous as I'd like to think.
• The people of Claremont are quite neighborly.  This was actually not a new discovery, but I've noticed over the past several months, that people are very quick to warn us that coyotes like to eat small dogs.
• I seem to think every plant that brushes against me is poison ivy (I've learned this is probably not correct).
• There are some incredibly beautiful parts of Claremont.
• And perhaps we've taken a little too long to appreciate certain things about where we live.

Oh well, better late than never, right?

(Ladies and) Gentlemen, Start Your Engines

This past Sunday our friends Dave & Stephanie graciously invited us to attend the Grand Prix races in Long Beach.  I love these types of events, not only because it's a fun new experience to break up the monotony of living in the "IE" (Inland Empire), but also for the plentiful, quality people watching.  Oh, and the disgusting amounts of fried foods available (that's definitely a plus).  All that aside, car racing has never been high on my interest list, (much to my father's chagrin).  With some gentle persuasion from Mass (a skill he's far too good at), I was actually excited to give it a try.


What did I learn from our day at the track?-

• The quality of port-a-potties has slightly improved
• It's always good to have a tall person in your group when weaving through crowds of people
• There is a new brand of Viagra-type medicine on the market that I wasn't aware of
• There are currently at least 3 female race car drivers
• and I'm now fairly certain why my dad is losing his hearing.

In all seriousness, the race was a blast!  Who knew that car racing could be so thrilling?  To be honest, I never knew who was winning or losing, and we could only see one small section at a time, but I think the sheer speed of the cars and especially the sound of the motors was the most exciting part.  I had never understood it before, but now I do.  At times I found myself shouting and cheering for no apparent reason.  It was fun!  I gained a new appreciation for how cool it was that I had an Al Unser Jr. go kart as a kid.  Massimo and I both talked about our dads all afternoon, and thought they would be proud of us for attending the Grand Prix.  We tried to get some good shots...here are a few:

Testing....

...So I never thought I would start a blog.  Certainly not before having children, or at least a growing baby bump that I could show everyone week by week.  I somehow thought that starting a blog would mean that I think our life is interesting enough that people would actually want to read about it.  But after a couple years of occasionally spending way too long on the computer, bouncing from blog to blog, and after living away from our family and friends for some time, I've decided that I no longer feel like starting a blog makes me self absorbed or narcissistic, but in fact, it's considerate, because our friends (and especially our family) just might want to know what we're up to, and let's be honest, the days of communicating live on the phone are becoming a fading memory.  ;)  I'm still really new at this, and quite technologically challenged, so bear with me...and hopefully it'll get interesting soon enough.  :)