Twenty Four At Heart

Jacarandas

I get asked, all the time, what are those purple trees called?

"Those purple trees" are called jacarandas and they're everywhere in Orange County.  (In fact, I wrote about them a couple years ago when I first began blogging.)

Usually the jacarandas bloom in May here, but we've had a cooler than normal year and they're gorgeous right now.

I was driving through North County earlier this week and I decided to park and take a few photos for you.

I love the dark trunks and branches in contrast with the purple flowers.

I used to have a jacaranda tree in my backyard, but it had to be removed when we put in our pool.  It went to a good home.  And no, I'm not joking ... we had it carefully moved so it would survive.

It's okay though, because I see jacarandas everywhere I go.

Jacaranda trees line many of the streets here.

They're pretty messy trees.

I think the petals on the ground are pretty though.

They're like pieces of purple confetti strewn everywhere.

Jacarandas really are beautiful, majestic, trees.

© Twenty Four At Heart 

A Glimpse of Balboa Island

* Tomorrow I'll be posting a great recipe.  Weird for me, yes? *

I've been on Balboa Island several times lately.

I realized this weekend, I've accumulated quite a few photos I should share.

Balboa Island is in Newport Beach, but it's not to be confused with the Balboa Peninsula.  They're very close to each other (right across from each other in Newport Harbor), but they aren't the same place.  There's a ferry you can take to get from one to the other though.

I don't really know how to explain Balboa Island.

First of all, Balboa Island isn't really an island, it's THREE islands. 

(Balboa Island, Little Balboa and Collins Island - all man made.)

It's old.

It's cute.

It's beachy, but it's in a harbor.  

There's water, and a little (!) sand, but no waves.

A lot of people like to rent beach houses there for a week or two in the summer.

Some very famous, wealthy, celebrities own homes on Balboa Island too. 

Maybe the best thing to do is just show you a few photos ...

Charming, quaint ...

A contrast, all unto itself -

And just in case you forget what all this quaint, charm costs ....

There are constant reminders.

And also,

Did I mention the beauty?

Once the sun sets, there's a very peaceful beauty ....

© Twenty Four At Heart

Once Upon A Time ...

Once upon a time, a beach cottage stood on a hill at the edge of the sand ....

Now, about ninety years later, this is all that's left.

© Twenty Four At Heart

Day Two of Fasting

Well, today's the day I get a camera up the ass.

(Around 2ish this afternoon, if you want to know details!)

I suppose it's only fitting for someone who is as obsessed by photography as I am.

Thank you for all the helpful, and hilarious, comments yesterday.

I, literally, used your ideas for a shopping trip both to the drugstore and the grocery store.

I will try to get at least a one liner post up tomorrow letting you know I'm FINE.

Which I am, and will be.

(Although, I have been gagging down the prep stuff they make you drink.  OMG!  I don't even like to drink water.  Why isn't there a pill you can just take to accomplish the same thing?  UGH! I have to drink FOUR LITERS, a gallon, of it.  Worst.Thing.Ever!)

In other news, I stopped by to see my friends at the plastic surgery office yesterday.  (I needed more eye cream, and I buy it there.)  It was a full on hug-fest when I saw everybody.

"Twenty Four's here, let's stop working and have a party!"

I love those people, I really do.

Also,

Almost every time I stop in they ask me if I want to be a guinea pig for the latest and greatest magic beauty trick.

It's fun!

(And yes, they benefit when I write about my experiences because publicity from someone who loves and respects them is a good thing.  Their office is so busy though, it isn't like they NEED me to write about them.)

Anyway, I'm going to attend their staff meeting next Tuesday (unless some unforeseen something interferes with my plans).  They're going to be reviewing and learning about some new STUFF and I'm going to be learning right along with them.

And yes, I've already agreed to be a guinea pig for some of this new STUFF down the road.  I'm not even quite sure what I agreed to, but when I find out I'll let you know.  I do know it's non-surgical.  

When the time comes, I'll also write quite honestly about whatever they end up doing to me.  (As you'll recall, they let me be a guinea pig for Zerona treatment and I was not impressed and told you so.)  

Sadly enough, they haven't yet offered me an "extreme makeover."

While I was at the office yesterday, they zapped a little red spot I've had on my face for a good ten years.  Just ZAPPED it with a laser and it was gone.

Poof!

(And no, I wasn't asked to pay for it.  And no, I wasn't asked, or expected, to write about it.  And no, I didn't have an appointment to do it.  This is just what happens whenever I walk in to visit.  It took all of a millisecond.)

Also, a woman was waiting for an appointment.  I had never met her before, and still have no idea who she was.  She looked at me as I walked through the waiting area and out of the blue she said, "They're going to have to drag me kicking and screaming to old age."

Ha ha!

THAT is Orange County in a nutshell!

In any case, I'll keep you updated as I learn more about whatever it is I'll be doing with them.

In the meantime, I'll be hanging out at Camp Bathroom until later today.

I have, literally, set up everything I need to entertain myself for hours in there.  I'm nothing, if not a multi-tasker.

Sheesh, aren't you proud to know me?

P.S.  If you leave me a comment saying hello and/or delurking today it will give me something to read while I'm, ahem, sitting around!  : )

© Twenty Four At Heart

Mish Mash

•  First things first, the winner of Friday's contest was Pam.  And since more than one Pam entered the contest, it was the Pam with the following comment:

Happy Friday to you too! I hope you get your laptop back soon. The sun is shining here today--Thank God!!! Finally. :)

Have a great weekend.
Pam

Pam, when you send me the email address you prefer, I will have your Amazon $50.00 gift card emailed directly to you.

Thank you to everyone who participated.

•  Rooster Feather Controversy - After posting about my feather hair extension, a few readers contacted me to inform me roosters are being killed just to support this latest fashion craze.  However, I was also contacted by a hair stylist who told me most salons are using human hair extensions colored to look like feathers.  My take away on the matter is this - ask your stylist where his/her feathers come from if you plan to get a feather added to your hair.  

•  My laptop is back!  Woo hoo!  You probably already figured that out since I was able to post photos over the weekend.

•  I was all over Orange County last weekend.

It was pretty,

As it usually is ....

Did you know people photoshop sun rays into their photos a lot?

I did not photoshop the above sun rays.  Also, I never photoshop fake sun rays.

Just sayin' .... 

•  The highlight of the weekend was attending a very special wedding on Balboa Island in Newport Beach.  The reception was held at the Balboa Yacht Club and the bride arrived to the reception by boat.

She looked gorgeous!

The wedding photographer went missing just prior to the bride's arrival at the reception.  I was asked to fill in and take shots of her arrival, etc.  I was honored and the photos came out great.

How could they not, with such a beautiful bride?

© Twenty Four At Heart

Balboa Yacht Club

I was at a wedding in Newport Beach yesterday.

I wish I could have taken each of you with me.

Wouldn't we have had fun?

It was a wonderful day, and a really special wedding.

The reception was held at the Balboa Yacht Club.

When we arrived, the sun was out and the weather was spectacular.

And then ....

It became a beautiful evening.

© Twenty Four At Heart

Did You Forget to Bring Your Football?

In case you forget a beach essential, sometimes you can purchase items at little stands right on the beach.

© Twenty Four At Heart

Feathers In My Hair

* I still don't have a computer.  It makes it very difficult to get photos uploaded.  Today's photos were taken with my iPhone. *

It's apparently a very bad year to be a rooster.

Hair stylists in Orange County are paying $300 for small, minimum, orders of rooster feather hair extensions to adorn people with.

These same feather hair extensions are selling out within minutes of becoming available.  Feathers are very in right now.  I suppose we have Steven Tyler (from the band Aerosmith and this season's American Idol) to thank for that.

Yesterday, I walked into my usual salon for a haircut.

The salon always displays/sells trendy jewelry in their waiting area.

It's mainly all feather jewelry right now.

Feather necklaces and feather bracelets ...

And also feather earrings:

I decided to have my hair styled a little shorter this time, with lots of choppy layers for summer.  It came out cute and sassy.  I think it will be a fun cut for the warm weather.  I can blow dry it straight, or scrunch it up with a little styling gel right out of the shower and get on with my day.

Just as I was about to leave, my stylist suggested I add a feather extension to my hair.  She pulled out bright fuschia pink, turquoise blue, and purple striped rooster feathers.  She explained a feather extension would last for about three months.

I was tempted.

I love to play with my hair and I especially like to do fun things with it in the summer.  (Some of you'll recall, I've put pink, purple and even blue streaks in my blonde hair from time to time.)

I told her I'm definitely up for a bright color or two a little later in the summer.  (Perhaps right before BlogHer in August to help make me more identifiable in the crowd.)

I had a huge parent, high school sponsored, banquet to attend last night though and I didn't want to be quite so BRIGHT for it.  (I think I've already been labeled as "the creative type," as it is.)

"I've got just the thing," she replied. 

And she did .... 

It's subtle and I can easily hide it in my hair when I don't want to show it off.  The rest of the time, it adds a little bit of fun to my life.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with feather extensions, you can wash and style your hair just the same as you always do when wearing them.  They last around three months, and can be adjusted during that time period to coincide with the growth of your hair.

Later in the day, a friend told me she has an aunt who's 85 years old and just got several feather extensions "which look fabulous."

"I'll be that woman when I'm 85," I commented a bit sheepishly.

"That's why I love you," was the reply.

I smiled.

After all, why not have fun?

It's just hair ....

Or in this case, feathers.

© Twenty Four At Heart

Charmed, I'm Sure

I'm having a few technical difficulties on this end.

While I'm trying to resolve them, I'll share a few more photos from the historic area of Crystal Cove.

Yesterday, I mentioned there are several quaint beach cottages from the 1920's - 1930's at the park.  Many of them have been renovated and are available as vacation rentals.

The steps lead right to the sand, of course.

Enchanting, cozy, fun ....

As much as I'd love a big, huge, kitchen and endless closets, I think I could be very happy in a small beach bungalow.  

Very happy!

I was immediately enamored with the deck on this one:

Here is the same cottage from a different angle ...

Used brick steps, surfboards used as decorations, oars on the wood shingle sides, hot guy naked on the balcony ...

What?

I was just checking to see if you're awake!

When you go down the stairs of these particular cottages, you find yourself here:

And if you go on the other side of the cute wood fence ....

You're in heaven.

© Twenty Four At Heart

Crystal Cove Charm

* If you follow me on Instagram and/or Twitter, you may have already seen a few of today's photos.  Sorry about that! *

Crystal Cove is a California state park which takes up just over three miles of coastline between Newport and Laguna Beach.

I frequent Crystal Cove a lot.  It has extensive hiking trails, tide pools, generally less crowded beaches, and beautiful scenery.  Many of the beach and sunset photos I've shared with you were taken at Crystal Cove.

There's one area of the park I haven't yet shared with you though.  There's a section of the park listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  When I visit there, I feel like I've stepped back in time.  Old beach cottages from the 1920's and 1930's, some of which have been renovated, still exist right on the beach.  (People are allowed to rent some of these cottages for vacations and they're very popular.)

A few of the cottages were originally built for the filming of movies, such as Treasure Island, Herbie Rides Again, and Beaches.  Others were "real" beach cottages.

I realize many of you live in places where "old" and "charming" are common adjectives.  In Orange County, however, it's a treat to see anything more than twenty years old.  (Remember, even the ninety year old OC women try to look like they're twenty.)  

Old is not something you see a lot of here, which is a shame.

I'll share more about the cottages in upcoming posts, but today I wanted to give you a small glimpse of this particular area of Crystal Cove.

From the minute you arrive, you feel like you've stepped back in time.

It makes me wish I'd been alive in the 1920's and 1930's.

I knew I'd be staying for most of the day, so I brought my camera backpack, a beach bag and a couple chairs.

It's easy to be delighted by the little things when you pay a visit.

Speaking of little things .....

This mother duck somehow got a bit confused.

You don't normally see ducks on the beach.  Ducks are fresh water, not sea water, birds.  

Mother Duck walked down the beach for a long, long, long, time with her nine babies.  I watched her, feeling both amused and mystified.  Eventually she found her way to an area where fresh water was running off into the ocean.  She was quite happy once she got there.  I guess the whole duck family got their exercise with a long walk on the beach.

Did I mention the word charming yet?

In fact, my favorite photo of the day was of another "little thing."

He's so adorable, I think he belongs on a postcard.

(Notice how he's holding his fingers ... sand feels funny!)

I can barely stand the cute!

* I'll have more on this particular area of Crystal Cove in upcoming posts. *

** P.S.  Did you know if you do a zillion squats in one afternoon, (when you aren't used to doing them), you will have a really hard time going down stairs the next day week?  This has nothing to do with today's post ... but - aack! **

© Twenty Four At Heart

Beach Warning Sign

It was a busy day at the beach yesterday.

The tourists have arrived for the summer.

© Twenty Four At Heart

Last Night

Last night was Girl's Night Out with a few friends.

I've been forbidden from showing you most of the photos.

I've been forbidden from showing you the ridiculous text messages and videos that were recorded.

Did you know, the more tequila you drink ....

The cuter your waiter becomes?

Not that I thought so,

But maybe some of my friends got out of hand?

I always behave like an angel.

It should be my new blog name:  Twenty Four Is An Angel.

When we go out in the evenings here, we're often outdoors sitting on patios, etc.

When the evening gets cool, the restaurants start up their outdoor heaters.

It makes for a perfect evening.

© Twenty Four At Heart

Pelican

I have so many photo apps on my iPhone, it's ridiculous.

And yet ...

It's so fun to play with them.

I love this shot of a pelican.

It's certainly not "perfect," but not bad considering it was taken with a fraction of a second to compose it.

He was sure a big bird.  

It was also very kind of him to oblige me by flying so close overhead.

© Twenty Four At Heart

Fun, Fun, Fun!

* I have (finally) updated my photo site.  Photos have been added to the 2011 and Beach 2011 albums.  Sorry for the delay! *

My 16 year old son, who has been music obsessed since birth, has recently discovered The Beach Boys.  He thinks their songs are very funny and outdated, but keeps playing them (with a huge grin on his face) anyway.  The grin on his face might be because I dance around our house like a raging lunatic every time I hear California Girls.  (I also baaaa a lot when I hear Barbara Ann.)

Did you know if you listen to Barbara Ann just one time, you will find yourself singing it for days on end?

In keeping with the beach music playing in my house right now, I thought I'd share a few more glimpses of last weekend with you.

Big, giant, waves were to the left of the frame in the picture below.  I thought this was a cool shot though, with the spray behind these wave-watchers:

There are homes right along the sand on the Balboa Peninsula (Newport Beach), which is not uncommon here.

I love the charm of the beach houses.  So many of them are tended with care.

Oh, how I would love to have a beach cottage.  

(I would make mine charming too, I promise.)

Sadly, even a little beach cottage costs tens of millions of dollars here.

I don't want to sound dramatic, but can't we all relate to this rose?

It's just trying so damn hard ....

Speaking of trying hard,

Can you imagine the effort, and exhaustion, that comes with surfing fifteen foot waves?

I'm not a groupie of the surfer life, but I do admire all the talent, and hard work, it requires.

Surfers get beat to hell, tossed and thrown all over the place at the ocean's whim.  They get slammed to the ocean floor with incredible force and they get right back up and do it all again.  

It's kind of the story of my life ...

You don't have to know a thing about surfing to admire that type of passion and perseverance.

© Twenty Four At Heart 

The Incident At The Spa

Last Sunday, I spent most of the day at a local spa.

As I've mentioned before, I have my bum arm worked on by a masseuse now and then. 

(Except, even though I always say it's my arm that's screwed up - in reality, it's the entire upper right quadrant of my body.)  

It's just so much easier to say "arm," isn't it?

When I get a massage it hurts, and not in the way a massage might "hurt" a normal, able bodied person.  It hurts quite a lot, and my pain level escalates for several days after.  It's one of those things that's good for me even though it's very painful.  I always dread going for a massage.  Lately, however, my (extremely atrophied) muscles have been spasming worse and worse.  I couldn't put it off any longer.

So there I was,

Hanging out all naked-ish with just a white fluffy robe to wear. 

I knew I was assigned to a male masseuse so while I was waiting for him, I tweeted about how I was about to have my body rubbed by a hot man.

Except ...?

Guess who showed up to rub my body?

It was Tattoo from Fantasy Island.

I was so shocked to see Tattoo walk out to greet me, I asked him what his name was.

"Fabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz," he mumbled.

"Oh!  Tattoo!  It's so nice to meet you," I replied.

Tattoo just looked at me blankly.

Then Tattoo escorted me back to a dark, quiet, room with soft music playing so we could be alone.

Tattoo exited the room for a minute.  I hung my robe on the hook provided, and slipped completely naked under a sheet, face down, on the massage table.

Tattoo promptly returned.

He was quiet for a moment and then his hand lightly touched my right shoulder blade.

"Much pain?" he asked, instantly seeing the scars differences on the right side of my body.

"Yes," I answered.

And then Tattoo began working on me.

You would think, after all my years of physical therapy, I'd be used to having strangers a strange man touch me, but I'm not.

(I'm so proud of that last sentence, for reasons I won't go into today.)

All sorts of thoughts go through my head while I'm getting a massage.

Breathe.

Relax.

Try not to grimace.

Don't moan no matter how much it hurts.

Don't moan no matter how good it feels.

Oops, my vagina just slipped.

Yes, that's right - my vagina slipped right out into the open.

(Wait ... that sounds so bad - the words open and my vagina shouldn't be in the same sentence.)

Tattoo was doing this tricky thing where he was switching the sheet that didn't really cover me very much anyway.  

I don't know how to explain it, but I've had The Magic Sheet Trick done before at this same spa.  They remove one sheet, while putting a fresh one on you.  It's a slight of hand, a magic trick, an illusion of sorts.  One instant you have a sheet on, and the next they've replaced it with a fresh one - without you ever really being completely naked in front of them.  

Except you're left wondering:  How did they do that?  Was I completely naked?  Or wasn't I?  

Except this time ...?

Something went wrong.

I think it was my fault.

It seemed like the sheet got tangled on my foot, or my leg, or something happened.

In an effort to help Tattoo with the magic trick of presto, whammo, sheet replacement, I separated my legs and kind of lifted my left leg.  At that exact moment, he pulled the sheet off and there I was all open-aired-vagina-ish-y right in front of him.

Seeing as he was only about three feet tall, which was the approximate height of the table, Tattoo was suddenly eye to hoo hah with me, brazilian bikini wax and all.

Oops!

I guess I should have kept my legs together like my mother always told me not have done that.

I yelled, "Oh no!" and then promptly slammed my legs together tight.  I immediately shut my eyes and pretended to be asleep.

That might have worked if I hadn't ...

Just said "Oh no!" real loud and slammed my legs shut with enough force to shake the room.

Nevertheless, I feigned sleep because what else could I do?

I couldn't open my eyes and SEE him after that.

Instead, I just pretended to sleep through the next forty minutes while he worked on me.

Finally, my massage was over and I felt Tattoo drape the robe over me.

"Take your time; I'll be waiting right outside for you," he said as he exited the room.

What to do, what to do?

I knew I couldn't stay there forever but I tried.

Reluctantly, slowly, very slowly, I got up and put the robe back on.

I stood there, hesitating, for a long time.

Finally, I turned the handle and opened the door to find Tattoo patiently waiting for me.

I avoided eye contact as he escorted me through a maze the spa until I was back at the door to the ladies locker room.

"I hope to see you again," he said.

I looked at him then, our eyes meeting for the first time since my vagina slipped.

I could swear his eyes were laughing.

I immediately looked at the ground.

"Um, yes, thank you," I said and I scurried away as fast as I could.

I spent the rest of the afternoon convincing myself of the following:

 •  My vagina is not the first vagina Tattoo has ever seen.

 •  Tattoo probably didn't even notice my vagina in his face.

 •  There are vaginas everywhere in a spa.

 •  My vagina probably made itself invisible when it saw Tattoo looking at it.

© Twenty Four At Heart 

A Big Swell

We had a big swell here the last several days.

That sounds like a Viagra bonus side effect, but in fact - it's when we get a lot of big waves.

In this case, we were seeing 10 - 15 foot waves in some spots.

It was a wonderful excuse to get out with my camera.

The lifeguards were keeping all but the most experienced surfers out of the water.  People lined up to watch the monster waves, particularly at The Wedge in Newport Beach.  

The people watching was just as fun as the wave watching.

(Speaking of people watching ... did you see the lifeguard photo I posted over the weekend?)

It was a nice excuse for people to skip work to hang out at the beach.

On Friday, I heard one man say into his cell phone, "Well, I don't have it right in front of me.  I stepped away from my desk for a second."

Ha!

Something tells me there were a lot of other people doing the same thing.

Did I mention BIG waves?

The waves at The Wedge are dangerous because the surf goes this way and that way and over in that direction too - all at the same time!

Right as I went to take this next shot, a surfer walked into the frame.  It's not an ideal photo, but I decided to share it with you to give you a size perspective on the waves. He was on the sand and the wave in front of him was about 11 feet tall.

When the waves would break, it would send ocean spray flying far into the distance.

CBS spent a good chunk of the day filming, because BIG WAVES are news here.

The man in the above photo was not from CBS.  In fact, he asked me to take his photo in front of the CBS van.  I'm not sure why.  I think he was very impressed by the news van.

(???)

People are funny sometimes ...

Aren't they?

© Twenty Four At Heart

Newport Beach Lifeguard

I love this photo for so many reason.

It sums up life in The OC in so many ways.

Also, from a photographic standpoint it's an interesting shot.

But mainly ...?

He was just so damn hawt.

I'd let him save me any time.

© Twenty Four At Heart

Summer, Summer, Summer!

* This is not a sponsored post. *

Oh, how I love warm weather!

We've had a bleh cold front here lately and it has made me SO restless for summer.

(I also find myself thinking about our upcoming trip to Hawaii with much anticipation.  We didn't take a vacation last year which has made me doubly eager to go on one this year.)

Warm-weather-living is an art form here.

I thought I'd share a few summer-related things I love today.

•  I love, love, love this Lands End beach towel:

It's big, it's soft, it's durable - it will last for years.  (They also make great gifts for teens anyone.)  If you swim daily, beach frequently, or just love plush beach towels, this is a great pick.  Even better - pick one up when they go on sale which is what I always do.

•  "Everyone" in The OC is wearing Tom's Shoes:

They've been around for awhile, but their popularity here is at full-fledged epidemic proportion right now.  So ugly, they're cute ...?  They're trendy, but not expensive and every pair purchased leads to one pair of shoes being donated to a child in need.  That's right - you get to feel good about your shoe habit!

(Don't order them online though - you can try on five pairs in the same size and get vastly different fits.  No two pair ever seem to fit the same. ) 

And yes, the pair I have are very comfortable!

•  Tommy Bahama makes some cute summer bags and totes.  This one, with its leather handle, makes me daydream about strolling island shops.

So cute!

Wouldn't that look nice on my arm?

Your arm?

Someone's arm?

•  I don't discuss it much on my blog, but I'm a melanoma survivor.  As much as I love the sun, I'm always very careful with sun protection.  I'm a fan of the company Sun Precautions.  (I originally learned about them from a doctor.)  When I'm out with my camera, by the pool, or at the beach - I almost always have their Women's Big Shirt draped over whatever I'm wearing.  

It's huge, it provides 30+ SPF, and for years it (or one of their other cover-ups) has always been with me.  

•  Speaking of sun protection, I hate hats.  They make me hot, they give me hat hair, they make my head sweat.  

There's only one hat I've ever liked.  Nike forced me to buy it years ago right after my melanoma diagnosis.  It's a Helen Kaminski hat.  It travels really well, stays cool in the hottest weather, and looks great too.  I've worn it for years and years.

I balked at the cost initially (Kaminski hats are not cheap), but Nike insisted it would be worth it and she was right.  Nike is always right.  It's the only hat I've ever needed and it has held up great for (I think?) eight plus years of year-round use.

I don't think they still make the exact hat I have, but they have plenty of other cute ones. 

In fact, as I was getting their link for you, I noticed this one:

How chic is that?

And yes, the one pictured above is expensive ...

But?

Gorgeous! 

•  Need a good tote for traveling this summer?

Well, here's another tip from my friend Nike.  She's carried the same Baggalini tote bag with her while traveling for ten years!  It's still in great condition.  They've got so many choices of bags, there's bound to be one you like.  (And their prices are very reasonable!)

I don't know if the bag Nike owns is still available, but I think this one looks perfect for a long flight:

It's called an "Only Bag."  I'm not sure yet, but it might be the only bag I carry onto the plane with me this summer.

© Twenty Four At Heart 

Life's A Beach

© Twenty Four At Heart

Because I Have a Bird Brain

Wow - it was a whirlwind of a weekend!

Also?

New medication ... lots of side effects.  

Aack!

I have so many things I want to blog about, but I didn't have the time today.

I apologize.

In other words, it was not my intention to post another Phoebe post today, but I ran out of time and mental focus so this is what you get.  (I know some of you love Phoebe updates and some of you don't.  My goal is to keep you updated, but NOT bore you to death with daily bird photos!)

Anyway ...

This is a not-so-great photo of our pool from our deck:

We had winds this weekend, so there are leaves floating around in it - but you get the general idea.  The water is really a deep aqua color due to the type of pebbletec we had the pool made with.  The slide is to the left, normally the waterfall runs down the rocks in the middle and off the diving ledge, and there are stairs leading up to the slide on the right.

Inside the little cave/grotto is a bench that can seat two people comfortably.  Our pool is eight feet deep at the waterfall end, so the bench inside the grotto makes for a comfortable resting spot.

When you're sitting in the cave, on that little bench (assuming the waterfall is not on), the view looks like this:

When the waterfall is on, all you see is a big current of water coming down in front of you.  It's kind of fun.

Lately, I've been keeping the waterfall off so Phoebe can get in the grotto to feed her babies.

Phoebe hates the waterfall.

I'm explaining all this so you understand it's impossible to see Phoebe's nest unless you get in the pool, swim to the grotto and perch your butt on the grotto bench.  If you look back at my first photo, you'll notice you can't see the nest at all.

The babies are now four days old and they're starting to look like birds.  

I think the above is my, so far, favorite photo of the babies.  (And yes, there are four in the nest even though you can only see two beaks in the above photo.)

Phoebe is feeding her babies constantly.  She will even feed them if I'm in the pool swimming, but she won't get near the nest if anyone else from my family is in the pool.

Phoebe and I have, apparently, reached a point of mutual trust in our relationship.

The babies heard the click of my camera and thought it must be mom coming in to feed them again.

Kind of cute in an ugly, newborn, sort of way.

© Twenty Four At Heart

Fountain at Sunset

I took this with my iPhone a few days ago.

I think it's so pretty with the palms in the background!

© Twenty Four At Heart

The Most Obnoxious Woman Ever

Yesterday I saw Dr. Painless for the first time in three months.

Can we all say hallelujah and sing hymns?

In the time since my car accident, I've never gone that long without seeing some sort of specialist for my bionic arm/shoulder/blah blah blah injuries.

Whoopee!

We'll ignore the one or two Dr. Painless phone calls that might have taken place over those three months, because having no (!) doctor visits is cause for celebration.

(We'll also ignore the fact that Dr. Painless has decided he needs to see me more frequently again - and that I left his office with SIX new prescriptions.)

Instead of telling you about THAT, I'm going to bitch about The Most Obnoxious Woman Ever.

She was in Dr. Painless's waiting room (or is it Dr. Painless'??  I feel like a snake with me esssses all confused!  Also, I might be on new drugs!)

In any case, she was there and she was LOUD.  It was not her first visit to see Dr. Painless.  She made it very clear to everyone she had been in to see him several times before.

Dr. Painless has a very big waiting room and we all heard about her "painful menstrual cycles" and her lawsuit against her employer who wanted her to work anyway.  She went on, and on, and ON about the lawsuit.

Seriously?

The Most Obnoxious Woman Ever (better known as, TMOWE) would not stop talking for a second.  No one was safe, because everyone could hear her.

In case you were wondering ...

SHE HAS PAINFUL MENSTRUAL CYCLES AND SHE JUST CAN'T DO A THING WHEN SHE'S IN PAIN.  ALL SHE CAN DO IS SIT IN HER CHAIR OR STAY IN BED!  IT WAS REALLY HARD JUST TO COME TO THE DOCTOR TODAY BECAUSE SHE'S ON HER PERIOD.

Don't get me wrong, the pain from my car accident (and subsequent bazillion eight surgeries) has made me very empathetic towards people who live with severe pain.  I want to apologize to every single one of them and say, "Forgive me for not fully understanding before what it's really like."

Because you know what?

No one can understand debilitating pain unless they've gone through something really terrible.

But this woman?

I felt like slapping her in the face.

I know, I know ... I'm not a very nice person sometimes.

I'm sure she DOES experience pain, and I'm sorry.

But ...?

The other people in that waiting room?

Those people have cancer eating them alive, are missing limbs, or have bionic parts.

None of us were feeling love for the woman with cramps.

And please don't write me and tell me how painful your cramps are, because I'm sure they are.

Nonetheless ...

I watched the receptionist use every ounce of restraint to deal with The Most Obnoxious Woman Ever.  She nodded noncommittally when TMOWE told her every detail of her lawsuit and even MORE details about her periods.

LOUDLY!

(Have I mentioned The Most Obnoxious Woman Ever was very, very, LOUD?)

Finally, TMOWE was ushered into a room and everyone in the waiting area sighed with relief.

Except?

A few minutes later I was ushered into the treatment room right next to hers.

I would confess to eavesdropping, but I DON'T THINK IT'S CALLED EAVESDROPPING WHEN SOMEONE IS YELLING LOUD ENOUGH FOR THE ENTIRE BUILDING TO HEAR.  (Although, maybe it was eavesdropping when I strained to hear the responses Dr. Painless gave her?)

I might have snickered a little as she went through her entire routine again about her LAWSUIT and her CRAMPS.  

Here's a recap of the rest of their conversation:

TMOWE:  ALSO, MY KNEE HURTS WHEN I HAVE MY MENSTRUAL CYCLE.  

"Your knee?" inquired Dr. Painless.

TMOWE:  YES, MY KNEE - IT ONLY HURTS WHEN I HAVE MY PERIOD.  ALSO, CAN YOU BELIEVE MY LAWYER DIDN'T CONSIDER THIS REAL PAIN??  I'M GOING TO FIRE HIM AND FIND A LAWYER WHO UNDERSTANDS.

"Did you make an appointment with the gynecologist I referred you too?"  Dr. Painless asked.

TMOWE:  I'VE BEEN MEANING TO BUT I'D RATHER COME SEE YOU, DR. PAINLESS.

"You need to call her," Dr. Painless insisted.

And then ....

Dr. Painless told The Most Obnoxious Woman Ever to go for a walk.

I laughed.  (I was in a separate room and I couldn't help myself.)

TMOWE:  I DON'T THINK I CAN WALK.  I CAN'T DO THAT.  I HAVE MENSTRUAL PAIN.

"Do you walk around your house?"  asked Dr. Painless.

TMOWE:  WELL, OF COURSE!  I WALK AROUND MY HOUSE A LOT.

"Did you walk from the parking lot to see me today?" he asked.  

(Aside:  The parking lot isn't right next to the office.)

TMOWE:  YES, BUT MY TOES HURT.

"Your toes?" Dr. Painless asked incredulously.

TMOWE:  MY TOES HURT WHEN I HAVE MY MENSTRUAL CYCLE.

I might have laughed again.

"Your toes probably hurt because you aren't using them.  You need to get some exercise," Dr. Painless answered matter of factly.

TMOWE:  I DON'T LIKE EXERCISE.

"You need to exercise. Try walking around the block when you get home today."

TMOWE:  I DON'T THINK I CAN.

"I think you can."

TMOWE:  ... mumble, mumble ... TOES!

"Walk past three houses and then come home.  Each day walk a little further. You could benefit with some movement," encouraged Dr. Painless. 

TMOWE:  ... silence, mumble, mumble, silence ...

The Most Obnoxious Woman Ever had finally been quieted.

Kudos Dr. Painless!

(I didn't even hear her leave.)

 © Twenty Four At Heart 

Oh Baby Baby Its A Wild World

* Today is a "nature" post.  If you hate the outdoors, come back tomorrow!  (Or go smoke a pack of cigarettes, have a few martinis, and watch a movie - whatever!) *

I was recently talking with a woman in our neighborhood and she commented my backyard is "amazing, it's like a bird sanctuary and wildlife refuge mixed into one."

Indeed it is ....

Our yard backs up to a national forest.  A few large critters are stopped by our fence, but a lot of the others don't really understand where the national forest leaves off and our backyard begins.

Many times I'm too busy running here and there to observe them for long.  Lately, I've been trying to take small breaks to just sit quietly with my camera and watch, shoot (in the photography sense), and enjoy them.

If you've been reading here for long, you already know a lot of hummingbirds hang out in my backyard.  They live here year round, unlike areas with cooler climates.  In fact, we have more hummingbirds than we know what to do with. 

I love everything about the above photo.  I don't know what it is, exactly, that makes me love it so much - but I do.

Leapin' lizards!

This lizard jumped the distance down from our fairly high patio step.  I love how his shadow, as he flies through the air, is visible on the patio below him.  Briefcase wants a copy of the Leapin' Lizard photo for his office.  

Why?  

I guess it's a guy thing ...??

I think this is a Chipping Sparrow.

I might be wrong - and if I am, you're welcome to tell me what type of bird it is in my comments section.  Whatever it is, we have a lot of them.  In fact, we have so many birds of varying species in our yard this year, it's sort of ridiculous.  I won't bore you with all of them, but I'm going to keep trying to get decent photos of the hawks and owls.

Remember Phoebe?  She's (surprise!) a Black Phoebe and has a nest with four eggs in our pool grotto.  The eggs still haven't hatched.  (I check every day when I swim.)  I took this photo of her early one morning with my iPhone.  

Phoebe is almost a member of the family at this point.  One of my readers suggested I get a Phoebe-cam so you could watch her eggs hatch.  If anyone wants to donate one, let me know!

And last, for today anyway, is the wildest animal of all.

Are you ready?

Brace yourself ....

(Taken with my Canon S95)

Yes, dogs DO smile.

I have a companion with me every single time I'm in the pool.  

I don't think he could be any happier.

© Twenty Four At Heart

Snips and Snails and ...? Bits and Pieces

It seems like so much has been going on these last few weeks.

My list of topics to blog about is long.

In an effort to get partially caught up, I'm going to share random snippets today.

I'm always a little random anyway, aren't I?

•  A couple weeks ago, I attended a bridal shower for a woman who used to be the primary babysitter for my kids.  When did she become a woman and not a teen babysitter?  The shower was held in a beautiful home on Balboa Island in Newport Beach.  Here's the view from one of the balconies:

The shower was an all day affair, and beautifully done.  I dreaded getting dressed up and having to act like a girl girly, but it ended up being a very nice day.  My only regret was not having any time to stroll the island.  I'll have to make another trip to visit sometime soon - it's very close to me.

•  I bought this cookbook for my daughter.  Before mailing it to her, I looked through it and decided I wanted a copy too.  So yes, I did go back and buy a second one for myself.

The key words on the cover being "easy" and "fast."

•  Remember Problem Kid ... the mentally ill college student who was threatening my son before being institutionalized?  And then he was released, but threatening my son from New York?  We've been informed his family has taken him to Peru for treatment.  (Which is odd because didn't his family live in Brazil?  On the other hand ....)

It's a bit of a relief to have him out of the country.  I do hope he gets the treatment he needs.

•  I opened a fortune cookie a couple weeks ago and this is what the fortune said:

I feel like I should do something with my life now, but I'm not sure what ....

•  I bought a couple flowers to plant for the first time since the car accident.  (So yes, that means in nearly five years!)

And no, I don't have enough function in my arm to plant them.  They've been sitting around for days now.  I keep batting my eyelashes at Briefcase, but he hates gardening so he ignores me.  I'll let you know if they every get planted.  Sigh!  (Blogging about it today might help .... it's called husband-guilt via the wife's blog.  Not that I would ever resort to tactics like that ....)

•  Mocha enjoys holidays because she gets a few extra table scraps.  Can you tell she's interested?

And lastly, I have a new avatar for Twitter and Facebook.  I took a quick snapshot in the car Friday night and then edited it with the ColorSplash app.  (Don't worry, Briefcase was doing the driving.)  Telling you about our night out deserves an entire post of its own because celebrities (!) and OC madness might have been involved.

In the meantime, if you're on Twitter or Facebook you'll find me looking like this:

(The red scarf was my effort to show team support for the Angels baseball team.)

I know, I know ... Mocha is much cuter.

© Twenty Four At Heart 

Waxing Salon Easter Sign

I stopped in at my waxing salon last week.

The sign they had up in the waiting area made me laugh.

Several people asked me on Twitter ...

So for those of you who don't already know -

A Brazilian Bikini Wax is when you are waxed front to back bald ....

A Playboy Bikini Wax is when a small "landing strip" of hair is left in front.

© Twenty Four At Heart

A (Sort-of) Photography Friday: Photo Walk

Lately, more and more people have been asking me for photography lessons.

Knowing how to do something, and teaching it are two completely different things.

I think I'm becoming a better teacher though.

(Although, with photography there's always a lot more to learn no matter what level you're at.  Trust me, I realize I still have a lifetime of learning ahead of me.)

In any case, I thought you might like to see a few of the photos I took recently while on a combined photo walk/lesson.  In small print under each photo, I've added what aspect of photography I was trying to demonstrate at the time.  (For you non-photographers, just ignore the small print and enjoy the photos.)  

My student was a just-beginning photographer. 

(Go high or go low vs. taking all your photos at eye level.)

I intentionally let there be a little lens flare in the above photo.  I'm weird like that.

I love the sun-weathered sign.

(Difficult lighting - what do you do when metering isn't clear-cut?)

Morning light shining under the pier.  No, I didn't alter the colors in this photo ... the ocean really did look golden-ish with the morning sun on it.

The exact same photo in black and white ...

(How you post-process a photo can make a huge difference in the emotions a photo evokes.)

Do you, personally, prefer the above photo in color or black and white?

(Leading lines!)

Railroad tracks on the ocean's edge.

And what good are railroad tracks ...

(Object in motion, approaching you.)

Without a train?

© Twenty Four At Heart

Child's Footprint

I took this a couple weeks ago, and still love it.

I was wandering a local beach (as always?) when I looked down and saw a child's footprint in the sand.

© Twenty Four At Heart

From Under the Pier

I spent most of last Wednesday in San Clemente giving a photography lesson.

I chose the San Clemente pier as the spot to begin the lesson.  

I love piers.

I love being under piers.

The lighting under a pier is more challenging for beginning photographers ...

The end result, however, is so worthwhile.

© Twenty Four At Heart

Why is a Hole in the Rocks so Appealing?

The other day I told you I'd share a little more about one of my favorite beaches.  Some of you may know where this particular cove is, but I'm not telling.

Well, that's not true.

I'll sorta tell.

It's one of many coves in the city of Laguna, but that's all you're getting out of me.

Looking north through the arch:

Why is it caves, and arches, and holes in rocks are so appealing?

(If you make some sexual/Freudian connection you will forever ruin my love of our local beaches.  I do not think "sex" when I'm at the beach, I think "beach."  Oh wait, that isn't always true, is it?)

Anyway ....

Remember when I spent my "24th" birthday at the Surf and Sand Resort?

Well, there it is framed in the arch.

I thought you might like to see some local landscaping in progress too.

Do you see the two men on the hill above the beach?  

They're building a retaining wall and re-landscaping the hill.  When it's done it will be green and pretty again.  (And yes, those homes do cost tens of millions of dollars.)

Now, let's go back to the arch for a minute.

I bet you're wondering what's on the far (south) side of the arch.

Aren't you?

C'mon, admit it!

Well, when the tide is out ...

You can walk through the arch to the other side.  

And when the tide is out, and it's not covered with ocean, it looks like this:

© Twenty Four At Heart

Sunday Afternoon

* For those of you who requested it, I will have news on ordering the hummingbird standout photo in tomorrow's post. *

It was a perfect day yesterday.

Of course, perfect weather meant ... beach.

Here's a look at the road leading to one of my favorite (secret!) beaches:

Beautiful, isn't it?!

You really have to be careful not to drive over the guardrail or you'll go tumbling off the bluff onto "my" beach.

Here's a look at the little cove below:

See what I mean?

Perfect!

Isn't it pretty?

The water was so BLUE and AQUA-ISH yesterday!

There's a little hidden path, which in turn leads to a zillion stairs down to the beach.

Even the path is pretty.

When my kids were young, they loved the attraction of the arch (shown below).  I wouldn't let them near it if I wasn't with them.

The arch is more dangerous than it looks.  The tide comes up quickly and you can get trapped on the other side of it.  There's also a "hole" right as you step through to the other side.  You think you're on solid footing and then whoosh! you're in deeper water than expected.

Last week, a woman nearly drowned after she went out on the rocks near the arch.  A wave knocked her in the water and she didn't know how to swim.  Why would she have gone out onto rocks in the ocean if she didn't know how to swim?  Why do people do stupid things like that?  In any case, a man was on the balcony of his beach house, saw her plight, and went in after her - saving her life.

When the tide is down, it's a much safer situation.

(Funky colors in the above photo - sorry!  I was experimenting with filters!)

In upcoming posts, I'll share more about this special beach.  I don't want to bore you with too many photos in one day.

I do have to say again, though .....

It was a perfect day.

© Twenty Four At Heart

April Showers

We had a cold front come down from Alaska yesterday.

It was really cold by OC standards.  I'd tell you how cold, but then you'd laugh at me.

We even got hail which is very exciting around here.

Hail on the cushions!

And ... 

Hail on the grass!

Temperatures stayed cool, but a short while later it looked like this:

(View from my deck)

Even when we get fun "bad" weather, it doesn't last for long.

© Twenty Four At Heart

The Runoff

In spite of wearing sunscreen, I'm sunburned from yesterday's baseball game.  It's been in the 90's the last two days here.  But, Orange County had a cooler than normal, wetter than normal, winter this year.

The snow in the mountains, the rain in the hills ...

Eventually it makes its way to the ocean.

Most years, it's just a trickle.

This year, a river has been born.

© Twenty Four At Heart

Ruffled Feathers

I get a lot of wildlife roaming through my backyard.

People always seem surprised to hear it because this is Orange County, the land of Disneyland and bad reality TV shows.  Nonetheless, I live adjacent to a "national forest" and I see a lot of critters.

Recently, a pair of doves have taken up residency in a tree adjacent to my patio.  I imagine they're building a nest because our yard seems to be the favorite nesting place of every.single.bird living in our little canyon.

Yesterday, one of the doves became upset when Mocha (our chocolate lab) chased her off our patio. 

In fact, you might say Mocha ruffled the dove's feathers.

I'm feeling like that dove today.

I have a second round of house guests arriving tonight.  I have a lot to do to get ready for their arrival.  I'll be driving up to LAX to pick them up, and I don't expect to get home until well after midnight.

I shot a baseball game yesterday which means I also have a team full of parents waiting for me to edit several hundred photos.  I have no time to edit them, because ... house guests.

In other words, I'm feeling very overwhelmed by my "to do" list.

I plan to continue posting through the chaos of the next week, but if I miss a day you'll know why.  I might even subject you to whatever else I find in my old photo albums if I don't have time to write.

Also?

I'm very excited because next week I'm going to do a giveaway.  I'll be giving away one of my photos which I made into a "standout."  It turned out so beautiful!  (I'll have details next week.)

In the meantime, if any of you have any tips on house guests made simple for hosts with one working arm, please let me know.  I tend to stress myself out way more than I should when I have visitors.

© Twenty Four At Heart

And Then I Went to the Beach

I'm basically a corporate widow these days.

Actually, I think I've always been a corporate widow - but even more so lately.

It's making me grumpy.

On top of being single-ish, last week was a dreary week without a lot of sunshine.  

It's supposed to be up to 80F/27C by Wednesday.

Thank Gawd!

Anyway, I feel for all of you who live in cold climates because I go stir crazy after a day or two without the sun.

On Sunday afternoon, I knew I had to get to the beach regardless of wind, rain and/or clouds.  I drove about 20 minutes and was quite pleased to discover the weather was actually better at the beach than at my house.  (Often, that's not the case.)

The storm clouds were still present, but the sun was (sort of) shining through and there was blue sky.

Yay!

I roamed up and down the beach with my camera, happily clicking away.

Have I ever (four hundred bazillion times?) mentioned I love pelicans?

I wonder how they decide who gets to be their leader?

(Yes, I AM drinking wine as I write this post ... why do you ask?)

I took a lot of photos, most of which I haven't even looked at yet.

Nonetheless, I wanted to share this next photo with you.  Technically, I know it's not a great photo, but do I care?

No, I don't care ... because I LIKE it, and sometimes that's all that matters.  I took it from inside a cave at the beach, looking out at the pretty view in front of me.

I like the above photo because the sun is sparkling in it.

Can we all applaud for the sparkling sun?

(I seriously have only had ONE glass of wine.  I'm such a lightweight with alcohol.  In case you're interested, the wine I'm drinking is called Decoy and it's made by Duckhorn but it's more affordable than most of their wines.)

Back to the beach!

Isn't it pretty?

© Twenty Four At Heart

It Must Be Dog Weekend

I don't mean to inundate you with dog photos this weekend, but ...

I met Daisy yesterday at the baseball fields.

Daisy's tongue stays out All.The.Time.

I was with Daisy for three hours and her tongue never went IN her mouth.

It was hilarious.

Apparently she also snores very loudly when she sleeps.

Yes, I'm easily amused ....

Why do you ask?

© Twenty Four At Heart

The Wild, Wild, West!

Yesterday, I mentioned we're total weather wimps here in Southern California.

Sure enough, those statements were followed by a big storm complete with hail.

Can you see it?

It's just a phone pic, so it may not be THAT visible - but it's real hail!

Very exciting stuff here in Orange County.

Before we move on from Saturday's exciting encounter with a bobcat, I wanted to share a couple other photos from that same hike.

I think the road into (or out of) the park is so pretty all on its own.

Also, did you know there are actually places here with creeks, and streams, and waterfalls?

Real running water that isn't the ocean, or coming out of a faucet ...

It was pretty shallow and mossy which is why it looks so green.

(The entire park was green, green, green ... and no, I did not adjust the intensity of the greens in any of the park photos.)

A few weeks ago, I shared a photo of the prickly pear cacti blooming.

Now they have fruit:

And yes, you can eat prickly pears.  I've had them myself before.  You do have to be very careful picking, handling, and preparing them though.

Otherwise?

Ouch!

© Twenty Four At Heart

Tigers, And Lions, And Bears ... Almost!

Southern Californians freak out about any type of "weather."  It can't be helped.  The local TV stations go crazy predicting end-of-the-world-doom and we all stand around wringing our hands, flipping out, because there might be wind, or rain, oh ... omigod snow!

I apologize on behalf of all of us.

On Saturday Briefcase and I listened to reports of a storm due to arrive the very next day.  We knew we had to get some type of adventure in immediately, because what if it rains and we never can leave the house again?

You think I'm joking, but I'm not.

We decided to hike around Aliso & Wood Canyons Park which is a bit inland from Laguna Beach.  The park has over 3,900 acres of nature to explore.  It also has the worst name ever for a park.

Everything was very green.  In fact, I don't think I've ever seen the park as green as it is right now.

We got a late start so we decided we'd hike to Cave Rock (which is not a super long hike, only a few miles).

As you can probably guess from the above photo, we made it.

Along the way, however, we had a few adventures.

First, we ran into deer.  

We see deer from our backyard, and in our community also.  Still, it takes my breath away to see them roaming around.  I know some of you will tell me they eat your flowers and ruin your gardens, but I love them anyway.

Just a few moments after seeing the deer in the above photo, I was startled by a bobcat crossing the path right in front of me.  He walked across the trail, kept looking back at me to see what I was doing, and then meandered into the deep grass away from us.

Again, my house backs up to a wilderness area.  I've seen bobcats before.  Being out in the middle of nowhere and having one that close, is different.  I didn't feel afraid of it, but please, oh, please, let me get a photo of you Mr. Bobcat!

He obliged.  

In fact, he seemed very curious about the sound of my shutter.

Then he walked away.

After he was gone, the following thoughts went through my head:

•  I'm glad he was a bobcat and not a mountain lion.

•  I'm glad Briefcase was with me and I wasn't alone.

•  What would Briefcase do if I was attacked by a mountain lion?

•  He couldn't do anything - we know someone who was eaten by one.

•  I should have brought my pepper spray.

•  Does pepper spray work on mountain lions?

•  I've seen a lot of bobcats, but THAT was a big bobcat!

Shortly after, we found ourselves exploring the caves at cave rock.

And then Briefcase reminded me we had a high school fundraiser we needed to go to and it was time to leave.  

I made a joke about leaving behind bobcats to embrace cougars.

The hike out of the park wasn't nearly as exciting as the hike in, but it was beautiful.

© Twenty Four At Heart

Happiness

It looks like it's pool time again!

© Twenty Four At Heart

Money Town Photo

I was in Money Town yesterday, visiting a friend.

As most of you probably know, real estate in South Orange County is outrageously expensive.  I tell you that only so you realize a large home here costs a zillion times more than a large home in most places elsewhere.

The only camera I had with me was my phone.

I don't have a perfect photo to share with you, but I did take this:

Welcome to Money Town!

For millions, upon millions, upon millions, of dollars - you, too, can have a home like this.

© Twenty Four At Heart

Lake Mission Viejo

When Briefcase and I first married, we lived in a small starter home in the city of Mission Viejo.  The city, and the Mission Viejo lake, hold a special place in my heart.

© Twenty Four At Heart

Knock, Knock??

Are you still there?

Thank you for your patience while I'm completely out of my mind this week busy for a few days.

Today is PR's 16th birthday!

He's the little one on the right.

Except?

He's not little anymore.  In fact, he's bigger than me.  (*sob*) 

My house guests leave Friday afternoon.

By Monday, I will (hopefully) be back to my normal routine.

Yesterday, I took my guests out to lunch in Laguna.

We had beautiful, perfect visiting-from-the-east-coast (never-been-to-California-before) weather!

The above shot was of my car thermometer as I was driving around Laguna.  My guests were in heaven!  (It was in the low 30's back at their home.) 

Here are a few shots from my afternoon.

My car GPS:

I've lived in California my whole life and I STILL think it's awesome to see all the blue showing up on my GPS indicating OCEAN!

Remember the flooding I wrote about back in December?

It washed out a portion of the boardwalk at Laguna Main.  They're rebuilding the damaged section now.  Do you think it's marked clearly enough?  Maybe they need a few more caution signs?  How much do you want to bet someone will still manage to fall off the boardwalk?

I'm in love, love, love, with the above photo.  (I'm crazy about the lens flare.)

Yes, I AM a photo geek - why do you ask?

Here's what my arm looked like yesterday:

Those are Lidoderm pain patches wallpapering my body.  Pretty?

I think it's safe to say, I shouldn't be photographing baseball games.  The lens I need to use is big and heavy.  The games can easily last three hours.  My pain level is currently off the charts after taking, (very poor), photos of just one game.  

I have another game to shoot this afternoon.

What the hell was I thinking with this official team photographer stuff?  Maybe the monopod I ordered will save me.  It should arrive for next week's games.

Will I ever accept just because I want to use my arm, doesn't mean I'm able to use it?

Denial is really an art form, isn't it?  

I seem to have perfected it.

One last Laguna Beach photo, via my phone ......

Ahhh ... it was such a beautiful day yesterday!

* Yes, this post was written under the influence of pain meds.  Did I make sense?

© Twenty Four At Heart 

Girls, Girls, Girls!

I'm sorry for the half-ass-ish-ness of this post.  (And possibly a few more posts to come.)

I'm crazy out-of-my-mind busy with house guests, PR's 16th birthday this Thursday, and a baseball tournament which accounts for FIVE games in a one week period.  

I could just NOT blog ... but that's sorta against my religion.

On the other hand, have I mentioned I love my iPhone?

I especially love the camera on it.

I hope you don't mind if I update you with iPhone photos until my life settles back into a normal routine.  

Last Friday night was Girl's Night Out.  

I got together with a couple girlfriends and went to a local Money Town bar.  The people watching was fantastic - there were plastic OC/Barbie women everywhere.  One woman, sitting in a booth near us, was particularly entertaining.  She had long, long, bleached-pure-white hair, all sorts of OC fakeness going on ... and her foot in her date's crotch all night.

It was good for a lot of giggles since the entire room was watching her elaborate foot action.

Of course it was too dark to get decent photos in the bar.  I forgot to bring my tiny Canon S95 camera (which takes excellent low light photos).  I'll try to go back to the same bar sometime soon - just so I can bring you pictures of some real (plastic) OC people.

My night began with a pomegranate martini:

I'm not a big drinker ... which is code for saying I get drunk on one drink.

But did I stop after ONE drink?

No, I did not ....

Cheers!

Drunk girlfriends:

They seem to be having a good time.

I had a good time too.

In fact, by the end of the evening I looked like this:

I should be embarrassed to show you the above photo, but hey ... it's not the first time I've humiliated myself by over sharing.  

(And I'm sure it won't be the last either!)

© Twenty Four At Heart

House Guests

I have people staying at my house for the next week which means I'm busy, busy, busy!

I also have a really bad migraine.

The migraine is tied to the very (!) bad pain flare up I'm experiencing.  (My neck/shoulder/upper back muscles get all spasm-y-ish as a result of my injuries and cause migraines sometimes.)  I attempted lifting something I shouldn't have over a week ago and my pain has been spiraling out of control ever since.  

In any case, I'm not in great shape right now ... and did I mention I have house guests?  (Very bad timing for a pain flare up.)

We had a beautiful weekend here though.

Absolutely beautiful .... 

Beach volleyball anyone?

I even got a little sunburned at the high school baseball game on Saturday.  It was 85F (29.4C).  I was way too hot in jeans and a long sleeved t-shirt.  I'll be at the baseball fields a lot over the next several months.  The spring baseball season has officially begun and there are five games this week alone.  

Have I mentioned I'm the team photographer?

THAT should be good for my arm, don't ya think?  

I just ordered a monopod and I'm hoping it helps.  I don't think I'd be able to do a season's worth of games otherwise.  (Baseball requires big, heavy, lenses.)  It will make things much easier on my bum arm.

Of course, not all the local kids are hanging out at the baseball fields.  You'll find a lot of them shopping here:

I thought you might also want to see one of my favorite little shopping centers.  It's in Crystal Cove (Newport Beach).

There are a couple great restaurants, a lot of shops, a Starbucks, etc. located in this center - all conveniently overlooking the Pacific.  There are days when I just like hanging out in the parking lot because the view is so nice.

When it comes right down to it though, I'd rather be ON the beach instead of just looking at it.

Breathtaking, isn't it?

© Twenty Four At Heart

The Red Gate

For some reason, the red gate was left propped open after the rain.

It charmed me when I came across it.  It's not often I find a little bit of "country" in the middle of Orange County.

© Twenty Four At Heart

Prickly Pear

The Prickly Pear Cacti are blooming.

It may not be official yet, but spring is here.

© Twenty Four At Heart

Friday Randomness

I've been really busy lately.  The next ten days are going to be even busier (house guests).  I feel like I've got a lot of topics, and a lot of photos, to share.  I just haven't had much writing or photo editing time.

Here's a dose of randomness in honor of the upcoming weekend.

 

My car can only take premium gas.  Ouch!  It makes me want to cry!

This is Charlie, the basset hound.  He loves me.  I love him.  I especially love his soft ears and droopy eyes.  I met Charlie while out for a walk one day.  Believe it or not, one of my readers spotted me as I was just beginning my walk.  She introduced herself by saying, "I'm not a stalker, but ...."   We ended up walking a few miles together and she took the above photo.  (Thank you Cathy!)  By the way, Cathy is not the same person (at all!) as Pigtails from my recent post.

 

My pink pepper spray arrived!  Stalkers beware!

My new Twitter avatar.  

Of course, I Photoshopped out my wrinkles, wouldn't you?

A heron watching the traffic go by.  (The above photo was taken as I walked around the Mission Viejo lake - more MV lake photos in future posts.)

A bee caught mid-flight.  I love how he looks all fuzzy since my camera was focused on the flower.

My favorite sneakers drying after they once again got soaked by a wave.

Speaking of ...

I hope you have a great weekend!

© Twenty Four At Heart

The OC - It's Not All Beaches

* I'm sorry if the photo quality today doesn't seem as high as usual.  I've been having a number of my photos stolen lately.  I've decreased the resolution of recent posted photos as a result.  I hate to do that, but I feel like I've got no choice.  Photos will continue to be of the highest quality when purchased off my photo site. * 

I'm a total beach rat, which you clearly know by now.

I do enjoy other parts of The OC too, though.  I grew up in the mountains north of Los Angeles and I love hiking in mountains and canyons.

Last weekend, Briefcase and I decided to go out for a "non-beach" hike.  We brought our two retrievers.  

It was the day after a storm and temperatures were on the cold side.  After a day of rain, it felt wonderful to get outside and do some exploring.

As you can see, there was a dusting of snow on "my" mountains.  

The main trail in the particular area we chose to hike is paved.  People ride bikes, walk, and jog along the paved trail.  There are a lot of smaller trails which shoot off in various directions.  The smaller trails are dirt and rock paths.  

It didn't take long for us to venture off onto the smaller trails.

We almost immediately ran across signs of storm damage.

(The color/saturation in the above photo hasn't been touched in Photoshop at all, it really was very, very, GREEN!)

There's a creek nearby too.  Most of the time it's nothing more than a dry creek bed.  After storms sometimes there's a little water running in it.  I've never seen it like this before:

 

The water was muddy, but in some areas there were white caps.  It was *almost* like a real river.  Amazing!

I got a lot of great photos, most of which aren't in this post.  Why is that?  Sometimes I baffle even myself.  Here's one of my favorites though:

There's nothing like a hike, a creek to splash in, and MUD to make me my dogs happy.

I put the next photo out on Twitter last weekend, but I'm going to post it here too.  

See?

Dogs DO smile!

(And for those of you who love my chocolate lab and wish I'd shown a picture of her too ....  Mocha was happily chasing rabbits down trails and not cooperating for a photo!)

© Twenty Four At Heart

How to Lose a Reader in One Pedicure

If you've been a reader for a long time, maybe you think I don't stick my foot in my mouth as much as I used to.  (I do!)  Maybe you even think I've stopped embarrassing myself on a regular basis.  (I haven't!)

Maybe you've also noticed I'm not as snarky lately. 

I used to make fun of OC people a lot, but now it seems like a lot of them are reading what I write about them.  It makes me feel ... censored.  It kind of takes the fun out of it when I know they're lurking about.

Also?

It's a lot easier to make fun of people when you don't know them.  Most people, no matter how odd they might be, end up being nice once you get to know them.

That being said ....

About two weeks ago I stopped into a Money Town nail salon for a much needed pedicure.  Before you say, "How OC of you!" I'd just like to point out it's not easy to clip your own toenails with your non-dominant hand.  Go ahead, try it.

(And yes, I DID just pull out the I've only got one working arm card to justify getting pedicures.)

In any case, I had been at the salon for awhile when a woman arrived and I began snarky-tweeting about her.  I couldn't resist.  She was approximately 48 years old.  She arrived in The OC Woman Uniform of skin tight clothes, lots of exposed man-made cleavage, and her face botoxed into an unmovable object.  I've taken up the hobby of analyzing what plastic surgery people have had ... and this woman?

Well, a better question would be what part of her was remotely real?

So there I was, soaking my feet and relaxing in a massaging chair while snarky-tweeting.  The OC woman was seated in the massaging chair next to me, reading.  Twitter was telling me to take a picture of her.  They especially wanted to see her PIGTAILS.

Yes, PIGTAILS!!

Who wears pigtails when they're 48 years old?

And no, it wasn't like she'd just come from the pool/beach/gym.  It would make (some?) sense if that had been the case.

No, she was dressed all-out to attract an OC man.  Her outfit included high heels and blinged out jewelry - but then ... pigtails!

And not only did she have two, short, sticking-straight-out-like-a-little-girl's-pigtails, she had big RIBBONS on each pigtail.

What the hell?

Do OC men have fantasies about 48 year old women with high heels and pigtails and ribbons?  (Dear Gawd, don't answer and please pass the mind bleach!)

I distinctly remember the last time I wore my hair in a similar fashion.  I was in seventh grade which means I was 12 years old.  My best friend and I wore our hair in sticking straight out of our head pigtails with big huge ribbons to be intentionally ridiculous for "twin day" at school.

I was not 48 years old, in high heels, and wearing tons of man-made cleavage topped with pigtails and big fat ribbons in my hair.

Anyway, the women was also loudly insisting the salon use "Oh!-pee!" nail polish on her toes.  What she wanted to request, of course, was OPI (oh-pee-eye) nail polish.  This made me snicker and think I'm a way superior person.  

Of course I am ... because really - OH!-PEE! nail polish?

My toes were nearly done drying when the woman who gave me the pedicure (who did not speak English very well) began looking at the tattoo just above my ankle.

"Tw-en-ty Four!" she sounded out triumphantly, and then looked at me questioningly.

Before I could even consider explaining why I have the words "Twenty Four" and a heart tattooed on my leg, I realized I had the sudden and total attention of the pigtailed woman sitting next to me.

Did you ever see The Exorcist?

With the head spinning on the shoulders thing?

Yeah, THAT.

She stared at my tattoo, she stared at me, she began texting and/or tweeting frantically on her phone.  It became immediately clear she recognized me.

Oops?!

I began concentrating intently on my toes.

"I know you," she said.

I smiled demurely and looked away.

What?  You don't believe me?

I can be demure if I try.

"I follow you on Twitter," she said.  "I've read your blog several times!"

"Uh oh!" I thought.  "Not anymore ...."

I almost tweeted, "Oh shit, Pigtails follows me on Twitter!" but I didn't.

"Do you have a sense of humor?" I questioned, smiling.

"Yes ...?" she replied warily.

I nodded.

"That's good," I said.

And then ...

As quickly as I could, I left.

© Twenty Four At Heart 

Beauty THIS? Beauty THAT?

About a week and a half ago, I told you about visiting my friends who work at Pacific Plastic Surgery Center.  At the time, I let my friend Suzanne, a nurse, do pretty much anything she wanted to me (in terms of non-surgical cosmetic procedures).  I only had to pay for the actual cost of the product(s) which made me much more open to experimenting.

If you missed my earlier post, you can go back and read it by clicking here.  

First, I wanted to give you a quick update on the results of the hand treatment I received.  Suzanne injected my boney hands with Radiesse.  Initially, my hands were swollen and bruised.  Now, nearly two weeks later I'm happy to say I LOVE the effect this treatment had.  Love, love, love!  My hands now look like real, live, hands and not skinny chicken bones covered by skin.

I'll also confess, if I had initially been told I would have to pay for the full cost of this treatment (around $1,800), I would never have done it.  Now that I've seen the results, however, I'm floored at what a dramatic improvement it made.  I've been self conscious about my hands for years, and my results have been fantastic.  I'm absolutely thrilled I had the opportunity to receive this treatment.

Thrilled!

(Note to Radiesse manufacturer:  Please make your product more affordable - women would LOVE to use it!)

In my previous post, I also mentioned Suzanne did two other treatments to me while I was there.

The first was injecting Dysport to my forehead.  Dysport is, apparently, the new rage in Orange County.  (I had never heard about it before my visit.)  It's similar to Botox, but much less expensive.  By the way, I always wear a hairstyle with bangs because hello forehead wrinkles.  

Suzanne injected Dysport in my forehead and it seems to have smoothed out those lines.  It's nice, and seems to give a "softening" effect.  I don't have the harsh, frozen, Botox mask so many women walk around Orange County with.  (Which, by the way?  Doesn't look good!)  I can also still move my eyebrows and express my (many?) emotions.  This may be a tribute to Suzanne's expertise more than anything.  Of course, I also didn't use Dysport all over my face ... I'm sure that makes a difference too.

I still have bangs so I don't know how noticeable my temporary Dysport change will be to anyone but me.  It's, of course, nicer to NOT have forehead wrinkles than to have them.  I think the Dysport wears off over the course of about three months. 

Suzanne, by the way, is very good at her job.  In fact, she's so good she trains other nurses in the correct way to use all the latest injectable beauty aids.  She's very conservative and very conscious of avoiding the overdone Plastic Barbie look.

Suzanne told me when she looked at me there was really one thing that stood out that she really thought I needed. 

(Uh oh!)

Suzanne told me, as women age (<---AGE:  what a terrible word!  Boo!  Hiss!) they lose volume in the upper cheek area which, in turn, makes our "laugh lines" get deeper.  A lot of women in Orange County put fillers in their laugh lines and then they walk around looking like chipmunks.

(Um, the chipmunk thing is just my opinion, but omigod they look like chipmunks!)

Suzanne asked if I'd let her inject Perlane in the area near my upper cheekbones.  More volume there, causes softer laugh lines.  The added volume pulls your skin up where it used to be, before gravity took its evil toll.

I agreed to let Suzanne do the Perlane injection, but to be honest - it's something I never, in a million years, would have done on my own.

Here's my "before" photo.

In the above photo you see:

•  The scar on my lip which I usually photoshop out of pictures.  (I had melanoma surgery several years ago and the scar is my forever reminder to wear sunscreen!  I'm VERY self conscious about my lip scar!  It also gives me a crooked smile.  I am so FLAWED!)

•  A bumpy forehead - I had just had the Dysport injected in my forehead and I was a little bumpy/irritated from it.

•  My wrinkles.  I have a lot of them.  (Amazing since I'm only 24, don't ya think?)  Take a good look at how deep my "laugh lines" are.

Here's the photo Suzanne took of me right after she injected the Perlane:

* My hair is not actually yellow or green - weird lighting, I promise!

I'm not going to lie, the injection HURT!  (The needle started on the outside area of my upper cheek but then moved in towards my nose.  When it got close to my nose - sheeeet!)  At the time, I quite honestly was thinking, "WHY did I let her do this to me?"

BUT ... when it was over, it was over.  There was no lingering pain and the whole experience was over very quickly.

It's immediately apparent in my "after" photo the Perlane, injected high on my cheeks, made my laugh lines near my mouth appear softer.  Nothing was injected into my laugh lines.  I didn't look at these photos right off the bat, so at first I didn't think the Perlane made much of a difference.  Looking at before and after photos makes the change much more apparent.  

In the last ten days I've had one person ask me if I "had my eyes done" because I looked "so rested and refreshed."  I've also had three other comments from people telling me I look "great!" "younger" and "beautiful."  

None of the people making the comments knew I had volunteered for non-surgical cosmetic procedures recently. 

[By the way, my husband noticed absolutely nothing and I don't think he even knows I had anything done.  His not noticing doesn't mean anything much though because I've come home with giant purple streaks in my hair before and he didn't notice them either.)]

I still have wrinkles; I'm still far from perfect. 

I think, however, there are improvements.

Would I do it again?

Would I do it if I had to pay full price for these treatments?

What happens if you do all this stuff for ten years and then you stop?  Do you look like a wrinkled up prune over night?

These are the things I'm left to wonder about ....

What are your thoughts?

© Twenty Four At Heart

Arctic Storm

The weather people are predicting "record cold temperatures" for us this weekend.

We also are under two severe weather warnings -

One is a flash flood warning.

I'm thinking about building an ark.

© Twenty Four At Heart