hiking lake hollywood

Did you know there is a big, beautiful lake 10 minutes from the nightmare of rush hour traffic known as the 101 Freeway in Hollywood? No? Well, neither did I until recently. And today, I got to experience this man-made wonder -- known as Lake Hollywood and/or the Hollywood Reservoir -- for the first time on an awesome hike with my friend/fellow lady of leisure, Diana. 

The reservoir is nestled in the hills between Hollywood and Burbank, surrounded by expensive houses precariously built on the sides of said hills, and is accessed via tiny residential streets. 

View of the lake and Hollywood sign take from the dam.

There are great views of the newly refurbished Hollywood sign and Los Angeles' skylines to the south. And it's amazingly quiet! I seriously felt like I was up in the mountains, enjoying nature versus a mere 10 minutes from the craziness of Hollywood. 

The newly refurbished Hollywood sign as seen from the fire road.

View of the reservoir and pretty greenness, looking west, towards the 101.

As a hike, this is a great one for people just getting into (or back into) shape, as it's a mostly flat trek around the lake's paved service road with lots of shade provided by the huge trees that surround the reservoir. 

In fact, I'd go so far as to dub it "The Anti-Runyon Hike" because a) the paved road means no dust all over your sneakers... and therefore inside your car an hour later, b) the shade means you're not going to sweat bullets or get heat stroke and die like I and/or my four-legged hiking buddies have almost done in the past at Runyon and c) there are no four-legged hiking buddies (aka dogs) allowed here, so those of you that are afraid of dogs (Hi Bhavani) or hate the "smell" dogs leave all over Runyon (Hi Mikey), would have no issues here.

That said, it's still a good workout. Totally joggable if you're in shape/haven't been hacking up a lung for the last two weeks like I have ;) It's officially a 4-mile loop around the lake, but part of the trail is currently closed, so you can't do the entire loop. From where we parked on the "Hollywood side" of the lake (accessing it near the Mulholland Dam, via hilly residential roads off Cahuenga) you can head to the left for a short trip across the dam, but then have to stop and turn around. Or you can head to the right and hike the service road around the lake for about a mile and half before you hit the gate on the "Burbank side" (accessed off Barham Blvd) and have to turn around and go back. We hit both gates and backtracked from each as well, totaling a 3.24 mile hike.

It was a great way to spend an hour on a beautiful, not-too-hot, not-too-cold Friday afternoon. I will definitely be going back soon!

View of the lake and houses on the hill, looking south from near the "Burbank gate."

PS: This is "New Thing #2" on Day 4 of 2013 :)

springtime in january

It was 80 degrees this weekend and recent rain, combined with the heat, has accelerated the appearance of weeds in my garden. So yesterday, instead of a typical workout, I spent three hours weeding my front garden and all of my potted plants (which were full of leaves due to the recent winds). You can burn 200 calories an hour by weeding your garden, ya know ;)

I found a flat of 12 primroses for a mere $8.99 Saturday at Costco, so I also planted those in the pots on my patio that were previously home to a bunch of begonias that died. So pretty and colorful!

And check out my cute froggie planter pals! I hate real frogs but really love these :) I found Mr. Frog in Oak Glen last October on our annual apple and pumpkin trip. Then I was lucky enough to find Mrs. Frog in Solvang at the end of November. They are a perfect pair! 

for the return to runyon

My Runyon workout buddy is always trying to make me do painful things like sit-ups on the benches at the top of Runyon Lookout. But these moves -- Self.com: 8 Moves to Firm Up in Fresh Air Workouts -- are much more in line with what I do now at Pop Physique. So that means they shouldn't hurt as much as the dreaded sit-ups (on a hard wood bench)... right? ;) Maybe if the weather cooperates I'll go try a few out tomorrow.

hurts so good

So on my December stay-cation, I decided I needed to get my workout schedule back on track. I haven't done much since the time changed in October except weekly Wednesday Pilates (with my awesome instructor Marcy, who some of you may recognize as Quendra [with a "Qu"] on Community). Not much Runyon. Not much Wii Fit. Zero Pop Physique.... yet I had two Groupons about to expire in January. So I decided to suck it up and go to the Studio City location when my fave instructor Mackenzie K. was teaching on New Year's Eve morning. Mackenzie is great... she (per her bio on the site ;) "encourages students to honor what their body is giving them on any given day instead of always wishing it was giving them something else. In essence, be in the moment and work hard, but be patient." She works us hard, but what I love about Pop Physique (aka #buttschool) is they push you right to your limit. Just when you feel you might collapse and die, the instructor moves on to work a completely different part of your body. And over the hour, you work EVERY part of your body. But the constant change-ups, which also include changes in music tracks and volume, as well as lighting, make it manageable. And tonight, it actually went by fast. I was surprised when class was over "so soon." I hope that means I'm getting back in shape. Mackenzie said I'm looking stronger. I just signed up for class every Monday in January. Owie.

damn you delicious grilled cheese!!

So yesterday, in honor of National Grilled Cheese Month, there was Grilled Cheese Cook-off in my kitchen. It destroyed my possibly achieving my 3-month Wii Fit goal that is due tomorrow. I now have 3.2 pounds to lose instead of the 1 pound I had left as of Saturday morning. (So my deadline may get pushed back to this coming Saturday, with two more trips to Runyon, plus Pilates, in between, but I digress...)

What made me gain 2.2 pounds you ask? Well, other than too much delicious Taco Dip, it was yummy recipes like this one for "Sophisticated Grilled Cheese" and other yummy concoctions including roasted garlic and truffle cheese; bacon, gruyere (I think) and loganberry preserves; caramelized onion and cheddar... ooh all washed down with freshly-squeezed margaritas.

Yep. I knew that damn grilled cheese would do me in. Oh well. At least it was delicious! :)

long time, no type

It's been two months since I've been on here. It's been a rough two months. My workplace has been torpedoed and my professional support systems removed one by painful one since December. Been doing a lot of thinking... and pouting... and thinking. The last week finally started to feel normal there somewhat... a new normal, I guess. I was actually busy for the first time in a long time. But still thinking. However, I don't want to dwell on that here. This blog is supposed to be my outlet from that, to focus on entertaining nonsense that means nothing in the grand scheme of things but still makes me smile. So, in keeping with that, here are some of the few bright spots of the last two months...

I discovered an amazing singer a lot of people cooler than I probably already know about... the awesome Adele. I bought her CD "21" on iTunes in March and have been listening to it non-stop at home as I cook and garden (yes, I've been cooking and am welcoming spring so I can get back to my beloved yard work ;) Here's her current video "Rolling in the Deep" -- amazing! (Have I said that already?)




Since January 12th, I've been sticking to my "Get Healthy" goal, and have been working out on my Wii Fit 4-5 days per week. I've also being eating healthier food (lots of salad, lean cuisine and yogurt) and less of it, with just one cheat day per week. I've lost 11 pounds and have four more to go by April 12th to hit my first 3-month goal on the Wii so my little animated Wii Balance Board won't yell at me :p Last week, I decided it's crunch time and I needed to kick it up a notch, so I went back to Runyon Canyon for the first time in more than a year, since my knee problems. I finished the stair-side loop in one hour exactly...just in time to save my car from the "No parking after sundown" ticket in the Mulholland Parking lot.

Finally, my LA Kings have been playing awesome, despite losing our top two leading scorers six days apart last week. They are one game away from securing a playoff spot. They could have secured it today had the Sucky Ducks of Anaheim beaten the Stars, but alas, the Sucky Ducks of Anaheim never do anything Kings fans want them to do. So now we wait till tomorrow night for a hopeful win against the Sharks (eek).
The Kings' magic number remains at two - latimes.com

That's all for now... I'll try to be back here before June ;)

2010 -- the year that was

It's New Year's Eve, my most hated of holidays. People put way too much emphasis on going out, drinking, and cheering when the clock strikes 12. Any time I've tried to "celebrate" this "holiday," I usually regret it... I get in a fight with someone, or the evening doesn't live up to the artificially manufactured expectations that it be awesome, and I feel like I've failed the Party Gods. So this year, I'm sitting on my couch watching movies, with a vodka cranberry in hand. This has been a not-awesome year, and I prefer to just let it slip quietly into the past.

The year 2010 actually started off really well. I was the happiest I'd been in a long time... for about six days. Then things went awry. Sadness, worry and stress took over my personal and professional lives. I'd like to say those feelings lessened as the year went on, but alas, they did not. My mom was diagnosed with MS in June. Work got all re-org-ish over the summer, some people I loved working with are no longer there, and it now seems more in flux than it's ever been. And since July, four colleagues, all under the age of 50, have passed away, three from health issues that took them from this earth way before their time; and the fourth was killed the day after Christmas at the hands of a drunk driver in Vermont. (RIP Johannes, Leslie, Wayne and Kaye.) So sad.

The year was not all bad though. I traveled a lot, (although most of it was for work) and went three places I'd never been before. I also saw a lot of great shows and concerts, participated in three great volunteer events, and made a great home improvement. This year also saw me convert from PC to Mac at home, and I must say I love the freedom of my light, easy to use, virus-free MacBook now, even though converting all my files (or not, as the case may be) was a pain. I got my awesome Droid Incredible phone. And I went to Pilates almost every week of the year. (But went on only one hike due to my knee problems, finally diagnosed in May as runner's knee... although I do not run). Here are some of the highlights of the year:

January:

• My mom and dad celebrated their 40th Anniversary

February:

• Bon Jovi Concert #1 in Anaheim
• Saw Cast and Producers of LOST at PaleyFest

March:

• Bon Jovi Concert #2 in Los Angeles @ Staples Center

April:

• I started blogging (here) again!
• Michael Buble Concert @ Staples Center
• Trip #1: Seattle, WA, for the first time
• The Los Angeles Kings make the playoffs for the first time since 2002!

May:

• Trip #2: San Francisco for Web 2.0 Expo
• The 2010 Summer Movie Blockbuster Club kicks off its season
• Renoir in the 20th Century @ LACMA, with Mom, on Mother's Day
• Trip #3: Boulder, CO
• Upgraded to the Droid Incredible
• Trip #4: New Orleans (my one non-work, just for fun trip, for Jason & Nora's wedding!)

June:

• Sting's "Symphonicity" @ the Hollywood Bowl
• Jonny Lang @ House of Blues, Hollywood
• Grease Sing-Along @ the Hollywood Bowl
• I got my new, gorgeous back patio installed!

July:

• Hosted my first 4th of July BBQ
• Went to the Grammy Museum

August:

• RENT @ the Hollywood Bowl, directed by Neil Patrick Harris
• Trip #5: St. Louis, MO, for the first (and hopefully last) time ever
• John Williams @ the Hollywood Bowl
• Goo Goo Dolls @ the Greek Theatre

September:

• Trip #6: Raleigh, NC, for the first time... at the same time as Hurricane Earl
• Trip #7: Palo Alto, CA
• Southern California Coastal Cleanup Day
• Trip #8: San Francisco, again

October:

• Trip #9: Phoenix
• Trip #10: New York City & Hackensack, NJ
• Apple and pumpkin picking in Yucaipa, CA
• The Kings season begins... awesomely. 

November:

• Volunteering for Operation Gratitude
• Disneyland with The Z's 

December:

• My first year with outdoor Christmas lights!
• Volunteering @ LA Regional Foodbank
• Christmas Cocktails
• 12 days of vacation kicks off

And here's what I did this year, according to some of my favorite Facebook status updates:

As 2011 nears, I'm thinking about what I can do to make it better than 2010 was. I think my overall goals are to take care of myself, and strive for happiness in my life and the lives of those close -- and not so close -- to me.

To that end, I want to:

• Get Healthy: I will eat better and utilize either my Wii Fit or the treadmill -- that I plan to "borrow" from my parents' garage -- at least three times per week, in addition to continuing Pilates. I also want to resume hiking when the time changes.  
• Write More: I will not put my journal in a drawer. I will keep it in eyesight and use it to brain dump feelings and ideas not for public consumption here.
• Read Actual Books: A minimum of four this year. One per quarter. That's doable, right? (Sub-goal: I will not let my magazine pile deter me from this goal, no matter how tall it gets.)
• Volunteer More: Operation Gratitude takes place four minutes from my house. I can give up three hours of my life every few weekends to bring some happiness to the lives of people sacrificing theirs for our freedom. I also plan to participate in the "Walk MS" in April to raise funds for the National MS Society.
• Host More: I love my house, I have a great kitchen and I just spent a lot of money on an awesome patio. I need to invite people over to enjoy it with me more. I also need to practice cooking more, minus eating more (see goal #1 ;) 
• Travel for Me: I will go to Portland this year to spend time with friends -- I've made that promise. I also hope 2011, one way or another, will finally be my Italian vacation year. I'm thinking either April for someone's birthday, or a solo tour in the Fall. 

That's six things, some more complicated than others. But I was quite amazed with everything I got done in December simply by planning my month, day by day, and checking things off a list. Tomorrow is the start of a new calendar and I can start filling it in right away :)

my perfect workout?

Boxing and Pilates mixed together = Piloxing, and it may just be my perfect workout. I get to breathe in and out, in and out... then punch, punch, punch! AND it's down the street from work. I may have to try this soon.