30

The BEST 365 days of my life. Plus, check out my 23-week baby bump watch pic!

by Courtney on March 20, 2011

Wow, I can’t believe a year has gone by so fast. I started this blog in February 2010 as a way to capture my feelings going into my “dirty thirties” and to blog about all the exciting things I’d plan on doing with my life moving forward.  And now here I am at 31 already, and it wasn’t too long ago that I was freaking the EFF out about turning 30! I thought it meant I was old and my youth was swiftly slipping away. But ironically, the 30th year of my life has been the best of my life! And it definitely started with a bang!

My 30th birthday celebration actually started a month before my actual birthday on March 19th when my husband totally surprised me and flew me down to Palm Springs to see my favorite American Idol alum, Adam Lambert, perform in concert. On that trip, we got a private tour of Elvis Presley’s Palm Springs estate by its current owners and something really stuck out to me from that tour that had nothing to do with Elvis. Our lovely tour guide hostess gushed about how cute Jeff and I were as a couple and asked if we had any kids, and we of course said no. With that, she perked up, sucked in a quick breath and smiled before saying; “I see you having a little girl…” And she started to elaborate but stopped herself saying that this was another topic altogether, eluding that she had some kind of psychic gift! I never forgot that and well, she was right – baby girl is on her way!

Then, a week later I boarded a plane to Cabo San Lucas with three other girlfriends for a long weekend of fun in the sun to help celebrate a couple of us turning 30 in March. Too bad it rained the whole time, but it was a wonderful trip. I remember on our final night we were all sitting at a table at an outdoor bar on the beach, where we consumed THREE bottles of champagne, and I got all champagne-induced teary revealing to the girls that I had taken my last birth control pill that night. They all gasped and didn’t realize that Jeff and I were ready to start a family. And truthfully, I didn’t know if I was ready either, but I don’t think you ever really are. And besides, we weren’t going to “try”; we just weren’t going to be actively avoiding it anymore. And now a year later here I am, almost 6 months pregnant!

Then to ring in my actual 30th birthday, Jeff surprised me yet again and took me down to Hermosa Beach/LA to have a glam weekend with our friends searching for celebs at the hottest hot spots in Hollywood and Beverly Hills! I will never forget my 30th birthday – how could I? It was the best.

Because I had turned 30, I felt like I needed to do things to challenge myself and keep myself in shape despite my advancing age! So I trained for 3 ½ months for a 65 mile bike marathon in the spring and I taught myself right then and there as I crossed the finish line that I could do anything I set my mind to. So to prove that this was true, I trained for a half marathon on foot in the fall and ended up beating my own expectations for myself and ran the whole time – beating my husband by 4 minutes!! And to top it off – I was 5 weeks pregnant when I ran that and didn’t even know it!

To round out the year, I took a few more trips to LA, New Orleans, and Gulf Shores, and as you all know now, I found out I was pregnant in November and have been blogging about my pregnancy journey ever since. For news that was quite a shock to me, and something that took a few weeks to get used to, I’ve whole heartedly embraced pregnancy and I absolutely love it. And to think, all these fun travels, confidence building challenges, and life changing surprises happened in my 30th year – when I thought the “fun” in life was walking the plank! Yes, the irony! I’m here to say folks; life really does begin at 30!

Baby bump watch continues – week 23!

According to Babycenter.com, it’s time to get dancing! The baby’s sense of movement is well developed by now and her keen ears are now picking up sounds outside of the womb, like my dog barking or the vacuum running! Surely she can hear her daddy’s loudass voice too! Between you and me, sometimes on Saturdays when I’m leisurely getting ready for the day and listening to the “Hottest Hits” station on Comcast, I dance in the mirror and get a HUGE kick out of seeing the baby bump bounce around! There’s nothing funnier than seeing a pregnant girl drop it like it’s hot! I’ve promised Jeff that one of these times he can film me dancing and post it in a blog. He said that’ll be his one and only contribution to my blog! Ok, I’ll sacrifice my pride and self-respect to give you all a good laugh…well maybe.

Share

{ 6 comments }

Why 2010 was my Best. Year. Ever.

by Courtney on January 1, 2011

I started Life At Thirtysomething in February 2010 because I felt like it was just going to be a big year for me. First and foremost, I was turning the dirty thirty, so I felt that was reason enough for me to create a space online where I could whine about getting old. In addition to turning 30, I wanted to blog about events, vacations, and my general perspective on life that I of course thought would be wildly funny – at least in my own mind. And you know what, 2010 didn’t turn out to just be a big year for me, it turned into my favorite year ever! So I thought it would be appropriate to do a little rundown of what makes the last 365 days my best year to-date.

You may recall, I was making a big deal about turning 30, or more specifically, leaving my 20s at the beginning of the year. I felt like this monumental birthday meant I had to grow up and act my age – whatever that means. Was life going to get boring now? Well, no. In fact, quite the opposite – it got way more fun! I ended up having a month long b-day celebration that started with my husband surprising me and flying me to Palm Springs to see one of my fave singers, Adam Lambert, perform live in concert! Then, my girlfriends and I took a 30th b-day trip to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico for 4 days of fun in the sun. Too bad it actually was more like fun in the rain, but either way, we had a blast. And to round out the month-long celebration, the husb and I drove down to Hermosa Beach near L.A. to stay with friends and had a fun weekend bar hoping in Hollywood. This was def the way you want to start out your 30s!

Then in April, after 3 months of training, my friend Melissa and I completed a 65 mile bike marathon. Believe me, this felt like such a huge accomplishment. When originally considering this feat, I couldn’t imagine being on my bike for 5 to 6 hours straight. But through this journey, I realized that with a little hard work and dedication, anything is possible if you set your mind to it. That’s a really powerful realization and I’m SO glad we stuck with it and met the challenge head on. My majorly sore ass and numb feet as a result of the event were just casualties of war.

I enjoyed the summer laying by the pool at our new gym, taking another super fun trip to Hermosa Beach over 4th of July weekend (where I earned the Top 3 Hangover of all time), and going to yet another Adam Lambert concert.

Starting in August, I began training for a November half marathon with my husband Jeff and my friend Melissa. Actually, this was Melissa getting back at me for making her do the bike marathon with me, so I had no choice but to do this with her. And so I wasn’t the only one in my house suffering the relentless training schedule, I forced Jeff to do it with us too! This was yet another major feat for me because I kind of HATE running. And there I was, running and working out 6 days a week to prepare for this nightmare race. Luckily, on the day of the half, which was set in beautiful Paso Robles, California wine country, we enjoyed 70 degree weather and blue skies. Amazingly, I felt great throughout the race and ended up running the whole time with the exception of walking through water stops and the occasional hill because THERE WAS SO MANY FREAKING HILLS! (Oops, sorry for the shouty caps.) My time came in at 2 hours and 19 minutes – 4 minutes ahead of Jeff, I should add!

Then over Thanksgiving Jeff and I met his brother and wife in New Orleans for a few days of fun, followed by a day in Baton Rouge stalking Twilight stars filming Breaking Dawn, and ending the week lounging in Gulf Shores, Alabama for turkey day. It was at this time that I found out that I was pregnant. As you’ve seen in my blog “Nursing a hangover with a positive EPT test (oops!),” this was quite the surprise! It took me a few weeks to adjust to the news and move into the excitement phase, but I’m definitely there now and am so appreciative to be able to have this experience.

So as I look back at the last year of turning 30, taking fun vacations, concerts, athletic challenges, and becoming preggers, I can officially say that 2010 has been my favorite year ever. If you would’ve told me that life really begins at 30 I would’ve scoffed at you and thought that’s only what people in their 30s say to make themselves feel better! But it’s so true, at least for me. And yes, saying this does make me feel better!

Looking ahead, *raising my Shirley Temple in the air* here’s to a fabulous 2011 with even more fun times, character building challenges, and happy blessings. I can already think of one big blessing that will be arriving in July of 2011, so I can’t imagine this next year being any less memorable!

Happy New Year to you all and hoping that 2011 proves to be your best.year.ever!

Share

{ 0 comments }

Happy b-day, America! Let’s binge drink!

by Courtney on July 9, 2010

Hiya! I know I’ve been on a bloggy hiatus from this blog address since mid-June, but I promise I haven’t forgotten aboutcha. I’ve just been thinking of a game plan for blogging on Life at Thirtysomething, as it’s my secondary blog behind Pop Culture Junkie. And I’ve decided that I’m not going to give myself a hemorrhoid trying to squeeze out a blog that just isn’t there. I’m just gonna let it flow. If I have a topic, I’ll blog…and if I don’t, well, *crickets*. 

SOOO, I thought I’d update you on my latest trip to SoCal… 

                                                                                                 #

This past weekend, my husband and I went down to Hermosa Beach near LA to hang with our friends over the 4th of July holiday. We had a great time, but now, I need another vacation. There’s nothing more exhausting than binge drinking all day and all night. It can really wipe you out when you’re 30(+).  But when in Rome, you do as the Romans do. And while celebrating our nation’s b-day in SoCal, we drink like we breathe – nonstop. 

On Saturday, we did a “crib crawl” where we hopped around from house party to house party, socializing and you know, drinking. I even enjoyed a little bit of college nostalgia when I was peer pressured into doing a beer bong! I mean, why waste time being sober? My friend reasoned with me, this will just get us to the ultimate goal faster.  Ok, well, like I’m really going to look like a puss here – gimme that nasty germy thing and let’s get the party started.  Fuck watery eyes and beer running down my chin – there’s nothing to be ashamed of here. Everybody’s doin’ it.  

After a long day of boozing, we slid into comfy seats in an IMAX theater and watched “Eclipse” and swooned like it was for our health. Well, the guys didn’t, they slept with their mouths WIDE open in the seats next to us, but my girlfriend Ashley and I def cried happy tears during the chaste but oh-so-sexy love scenes. 

The next morning, Ashley and I went out to the beach to support our signif others who were in the process of completing the “Iron Man” competition. But really, all we were doing was standing there watching the guys pound the required minimum of six beers at the end of the event, in which they both admitted to half-assing the actual competition.  But oh no – there will be no half-assing the beer chugging portion of the event! Geez. It doesn’t matter how old they get, guys can always channel their inner meat head. 

Later in the day we had a BBQ and I realized that I should never pour my own margaritas. I tend to over-serve myself. I mean, it was fun, from what I can recall… except for when I sort of had a freak out moment when I woke up at 3am on the couch and found my foot standing in a puddle of someone else’ upchuck. YUM-MAY! Apparently I was running around the room in hysterics shouting, “I can’t believe this, I’m almost 31, I’m almost 31” – like this shouldn’t be happening to me because I’m almost a mature age of “31”. The problem with this rant is that I’m not almost 31. I’m barely 30 and a half, please. Drinking can make you say crazy things. 

It goes without saying that for the next two days I had a wicked hangover. But despite this, I had a blast. 

Now, I should be clear that this is NOT my normal lifestyle. This is a slice of life I like to dip in and out of on rare occasion. It’s the SoCal life. Well, in all fairness, it’s the 4th of July SoCal life. If there was a theme song for the weekend, it would’ve been Katy Perry’s new gem “California Gurls”. Like the song, this place is light, fun, and definitely not how life really is. And I can’t wait to go back! But next time, I’ll definitely be putting a little less “ta-kill-ya” in my margs, like,  for realz.


MusicPlaylist
Music Playlist at MixPod.com

Share

{ 5 comments }

Blogging during my blogging *hiatus*

by Courtney on June 14, 2010

Did you miss me?

I thought I’d check in during my blogging hiatus and let you know what I’ve been up to. Yes, I know blogging during my “blogging hiatus” sort of defeats the purpose, but it’s what I want. . .

So, I just watched the season 3 premiere of “True Blood” and it was ok. I mean, I was kind of confused the whole time, like I had no idea what was going on.

I’m re-reading “Twilight Saga: Eclipse” before the movie comes out in two weeks so that I can be really annoying and point out every single detail of the movie that doesn’t match the book.

I re-joined Weight Watchers because guuuurl, my pants are TIGHT. I’m a pro at WW. The first time I did it I was super motivated because I had a wedding dress to fit into 9 months down the road. But now I do it because another day in this fat suit is going to make me wanna jump. Ok, I’m not really fat. But I’m really hating on these rolls around my waistline that I’ve recently acquired. I blame my chunkiness on turning 30. My metabolism hit a brick wall. See how easy it is to not take responsibility?

I just dropped a small fortune at the GAP because they were having a big sale and if you used your GAP card, you’d get an additional 25% off. Let’s hope I don’t lose too much weight or else these ill-fitting purchases will really piss me off.

I rode 22 miles on my bike this past Saturday with my cycling group. After one hour and 45 minutes in 85 degree weather, I was so ready to get off that mutherfucker. How I ever did a 5-hour 65 mile bike marathon back in April, I’ll never know.

You can blame my bloggy hiatus on my recent 10-day trip back home to Indiana. I was on the go so freaking much that I never had time to sit down and veg in front of the computer. On the one hand, I was itching to blog as soon as the opportunity presented itself. But on the other, I kind of welcomed the break. Blogging can be such a therapeutic way to purge and cleanse, but it can also drive you mad and make you feel incompetent and uninteresting if your blogs suck enough to not elicit a single comment from readers.

I’m also driving myself crazy contemplating a blog name change. I don’t really like “Life at Thirysomething” anymore. I named the blog before turning 30, when I thought it was going to be this big deal. Now that I’m 30, I know that it ‘aint no thang and so the blog title no longer fits my focus. Problem is; I can’t think of anything cool that’s not already snatched up by some other douche blogger.  I’d ask for readers to post new blog name ideas in the comments section, but I have this terrible fear of blogging rejection in the form of “0” comments when I ask the question, therefore, I won’t ask. But if you want to offer a suggestion despite me not asking for your opinion, go ahead. I won’t stop you.

Part of the reason I thought about taking a blogging hiatus is that I think I need to focus on things such as getting more sleep, spending more time in the gym, cleaning my house, and spending time with my husband. You see, all these things suffer when you have a blog. They almost die when you have TWO BLOGS! So I thought perhaps I’d step away for a bit, work on being a little less selfish with my time, and then after a month hiatus or so, I can come back with fresh new topics!! I can already see this going down the path of my Lent sacrifices. I give up a bad habit for 40 days and then indulge in said habit with 10 times the fervor when the sacrifice time table is up! But I’ll try not to let blogging re-take over my life again like Diet Pepsi did.

This blog feels more like an email…

Alright, I’m going to get back to my blogging hiatus. I just wanted to say “hi” and give you a bunch of really random bullshit so that you didn’t totally forget about me.

I will be back.  Hasta luego!

Share

{ 6 comments }

Dear Mom: HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!

by Courtney on May 9, 2010

Ok, I know I may be a bit biased, but I really think you’re the best mom in the whole wide world. I don’t even know where to begin in describing how amazing you are as a mother; and how much I just really, really like you! But I’ll do my best…

Growing up, I always looked up to you. I know you’re my mom and that’s kind of natural. But it was a little more than that. I remember thinking it was so cool seeing you dressed up in suits going off to work every day. You always looked so pretty and sophisticated! I mean, truth be told, I was always jealous of my friends who had stay-at-home moms. But seeing you striving for success and being good at what you do, yet being home by the time I got home from school, being a phenomenal cook, AND making all of my basketball games was quite the example of a woman “doing it all”. And you showed me that I could too.

Can’t nobody get you down!

I wasn’t always in awe though. Sometimes you did drive me nuts! For one, you were a little too positive! That sounds funny, but you were like, over the top about it! Driving around in the burgundy Ford Taurus listening to positive affirmation tapes is where I draw the line! But, even when I didn’t realize it, your positivity was pulling me through some of my down times as a kid. When I was a chunky middle-schooler, crying about the fact that I couldn’t see my toes when I looked down, you told me to tell myself that I was the most beautiful girl in school – and one day I would be! And although I wasn’t the most beautiful girl in school, I definitely grew from the chubby short girl to the tall athletic one. Off came the braces, straight went the perm, a fashion sense developed – and suddenly, I wasn’t doing so bad!

Geez Court, you're making me wish she was MY mom too...

In fact, however annoying this; “I think I can, I think I can” attitude of yours was to my bratty teenage self, it somehow rubbed off on me. And today, I’m a bouncy ball of optimism! I’m never down for long before I bounce right back up and keep on going!  And once again, this has pulled me through some of my tougher times as a young woman trying to establish and grow my career.

I’ve never met a more driven and hard working person than you, Mom. In sales, you were always finding new ways to market yourself and your business. And in the past several years, you took that drive and innovative spirit and taught yourself all about this new world of social media and blogging. In fact, you’re the one who got me started on this whole blogging thing and you encouraged me until I finally broke down and tried it out. Now a year later, I’ve developed a deep passion for writing and creating this little space that is all my own. And I have you to thank for opening up this whole new world of ideas and opportunities for me, and if nothing else – an extremely addicting hobby!

Mostly, I want to thank you for being the most supportive person in my life for the past 30 years. You’ve made me feel like I can do anything I set my mind to – no matter what. You listen and you don’t judge when I admit failures and cases of poor judgment. And most recently, in the days when I annoyed everyone in my immediate circle with my “Twilight” obsession, you listened to me! You let me go on and on – and you even read the books and fell in love right along with me! Ahhhh, now that’s love!

So on this Mother’s Day, I just wanted to say thanks for being my mom; my biggest cheerleader, and my shining example of what a mother should be. Oh and, thanks for being the best best friend I’ve ever had!

I love you. Happy Mother’s Day!

Share

{ 6 comments }

How my 65 mile bike marathon changed my perspective

by Courtney on April 13, 2010

After 3 ½ months of early Saturday morning training rides, no Friday night social life, a sore ass, and more McDonald’s than the average person should consume, I’ve finally completed my big 65 mile bike marathon! Yes that’s right people, I did it! And I lived to tell the story!

If you recall in a blog post from a couple months ago, I saw this marathon as my “30th birthday challenge”. But about 35 miles into the training schedule, I was really starting to doubt my sanity! I just couldn’t picture myself being on a bike for six hours! Say whaaaaaat? I mean look – I’m not a cyclist. I had to purchase a bike and all the fixin’s in order to do this. But something clicked in my head when the opportunity presented itself… Like, DING DING DING: I’m going to prove that I can do anything I want to do – and if I don’t? Well then I only have my lazy 30-year old ass to blame.

So for 13 weeks, my riding group and I got out there and reached a new mileage milestone each week. And remember how bad my arse was killing me back around 35 miles? Well it turns out that when I purchased that new, cushier riding seat and had my husband, Jeff, put it on my bike – he put it on backwards!! The little “head” thingy that the seat sits on was turned completely around, causing the narrow front portion of the seat to be facing upward instead of flat. What this means is that for about four weeks all my weight was coming right down on my baby maker and it was KILLIN’ MEEEEE! And to think after that got fixed I could ride 50 miles virtually painless! This gives true meaning to the phrase, “my husband is a royal PAIN IN MY ASS!”

Race day

On the night before the ride I wasn’t nervous for the actual cycling part. I felt confident – I had trained well. My anxiety rested solely on getting up at 5am and being at registration by 6:30am. And sure enough, I set my “weekday” alarm for 4:45am and then turned my “weekend” alarm on. At 5:35am I flew out of bed and proceeded to fly through the shower, makeup application, dressing, bossing Jeff around, etc. all while saying; “shitshitshitshitshitshitshitshit” until I was in the car driving to the fairground’s starting point.

As far as the actual ride went – it was rough. It was cold, extremely windy, gloomy, and it even rained on us for about 45 minutes! I’ve experienced a couple rides in 70+ degree weather and blue skies, and I can’t stress how much weather impacts your overall attitude during the ride. Plus, we only trained up to 50 miles, so I could definitely feel my body reacting to the extra 15 miles. It was like; “Mama, get me the FUCK off this bike!”

A new perspective

As we turned onto the street that would be our final mile, my friend and riding partner, Melissa, gleefully said; “We’re almost there! We’re almost there!” and at that moment something caught in my throat. Was that a lump? Was I about to cry? I guess I was. Because all these weeks of hard work and determination was coming to an end. And suddenly I was sad about it. My 3 ½ month journey began to flash before my eyes and I realized it was more than just a bike ride. It was the realization that if I set my mind to something, I can do anything I want to do. That’s a really powerful thought. I’m now a true believer that anything is possible with a little determination and hard work. And I’m not just talking about athletic events either – I’m talking anything in life.

Gimme a break!

So now that this is over, the ladies in my group are talking about a 75 mile bike ride next month and a century ride (100 miles) through Lake Tahoe after that. And I’m thinking; just because I know I CAN DO IT – it doesn’t mean I want to! I’m ready for a new challenge.  But first, I’m ready for a break. Namely, I intend to get drunk this Friday and sleep in on Saturday…

Share

{ 9 comments }

My “Us Weekly” birthday weekend

by Courtney on March 24, 2010

My So Cal friend, Ashley, and I have always talked about me coming down to LA and having an “Us Weekly“ weekend in which we hit up all the celeb hot spots that we read about in our fave goss mag! Of course being the Pop Culture Junkie that I am, this is right up my alley! So to ensure that my 30th birthday is forever engrained in my memory, my husband Jeff drove me down to LA this past weekend for one last birthday hoorah!

Needless to say; Ashley didn’t disappoint as we had Friday night reservations at one of the hottest celebrity hubs in Hollywood – the Chateau Marmont!

Act like you belong

Upon arriving at the shabby historic Chateau Marmont hotel, we were immediately ushered next door to Bar Marmont. Wait – whaaaaat? Perhaps they direct the “common folk” to the Bar next door so the celebs can eat their salads in peace. One thing we realized is that the name of the game around here is: “act like you belong”. So as we drove to the Bar valet Ashley’s fiancé, Jon, said; “We have reservations at BARMAMA”! To hear him flub the name as one word trying to sound French was the absolute funniest thing on the planet! As soon as we were out of site from the valet we died laughing! This still cracks me up!

Once inside, we were in awe of the Bar. It had the coolest ambiance ever with hip hop and jazz music playing in a gothic, darkly lit room, with candles and an open skylight. The meal and martinis were superb! Before leaving the restaurant we made a quick trip to the restroom where Ashley had to politely decline an offer of drugs from a fellow restroom attendee. You know you’re in LA when…you’re offered acid in the bathroom at dinner.

We made one last attempt to see the Chateau Marmont hotel but we were once again stopped dead in our tracks by the same woman with a clipboard in hand. She spoke to us in a French slash bitch accent and told us to come back tomorrow during the day when it’s less busy. As we walked away Jeff commented that he kept tripping on his tail between his legs. Of course I felt somewhat deflated as I was reminded of how ordinarily civilian I am, as in – not famous, so PISS OFF! Jon reminded us that at least we don’t have her job. YA, she can keep her silver clipboard. (P.S. We did go back and see it the next day – and we got in!).

Next up: bar hopping in Hollywood! At this point I texted my friend who’s a producer at one of the nightly celebrity magazine/news shows and asked him to take us to the celebs! He made sure to let us down gently by telling us there was not a chance in hell that we’d see celebs on a Friday night. Of course I’m thinking; F*CK, $HIT, DAMNIIIIIIT! But whaddya gonna do?

We spent the rest of the evening bar hopping between trendy little bars with velvet ropes and bouncers in black suits deciding on our entry fate. Being that we’re in the land of pretty and prettier, I had scary visions from a scene in the movie “Knocked Up” when older sister Debbie (in her late ‘30’s) tries to get in to a club and the bouncer tells her: “It’s not cause you’re not hot, I would love to tap that ass. I would tear that ass up. I can’t let you in cause you’re old as fuck. For this club, you know, not for the earth.”

Thankfully, I heard no such thing. I mean, I’m barely 30! C’mon!

Let’s go somewhere, like, really high profile

We woke up on Saturday morning to a gorgeous 80 degree day and OH F*CK, our reservations at The Ivy in Beverly Hills were in 20 minutes! NOOOOO!! Ashley called to see if there was a later reservation, and since God loves us, there was one at 12:45! Relief! We got all gussied up for lunch and headed down to the place where we swore we’d see at least one celeb lunching on the outdoor terrace.

This place is very interesting. It’s where you get a real sense of what it would be like living in Bev Hills. First of all, any time a person gets out of a car in front of the restaurant, walks up the steps, or enters a room – EVERYONE looks up. It’s because everyone is a possible celeb. This can really play on your insecurities. It’s truly the essence of where you go to “see and be seen”. And I’ve never seen more plastic and Botox in my life. Eeks!

The Ivy was utterly adorable in its French country décor with an endless array of fresh flowers on every table or ledge in sight. The food and drinks were stellar too and my husband even commented that this was the most memorable lunch he’s ever had! If I ever go back to BH, I will definitely return to The Ivy. But next time, I better see a freaking celeb – Hmph!

We spent the rest of the afternoon shopping around at big name boutiques such as “Kitson” and doing map of the stars! We saw Jennifer Aniston’s house, the Playboy mansion, Madonna’s “block”, and the creepy home where Michael Jackson died. We ended the evening dining and bar hopping in the laid back setting of Hermosa Beach.

On Sunday, after lunch and a super cute bike ride along the Hermosa Beach board walk (where we passed the original “90210” beach house) we were on our way home. AHHHH – what a weekend!

I’m glad I got to taste a slice of LA life. I can see how one can overdo it in Hollywood. I can see how one could overspend in Beverly Hills. But hell, it’s a badass place to visit!

You should know that despite all the dramatic blogging I’ve been doing lately about exiting my twenties, I’ve been having the time of my life in the past few months! This trip to LA marked the final event in a month long celebration that started with a surprise trip to Palm Springs to see Adam Lambert in concert, and a girl’s trip to Cabo San Lucas. This is one birthday that I will never, ever, forget. And it’s all thanks to my uber thoughtful husband, Jeff.

So it’s official; I’ve hit the big 3-0. The “dirty DIRTY thirty”! And TA-DA: life has never been better!

Share

{ 8 comments }

30th Birthday challenge: 65 mile bike marathon

by Courtney on February 16, 2010

On April 10th, 2010 I’m riding in a 65 mile bike marathon that will take more than six hours to complete. Am I crazy? Or, am I crazy? At this point I can’t really wrap my head around this notion of being on my bike for six hours. So for now I just focus on each Saturday training ride as they come and I’m sure eventually this reality will sink in. But after this past weekend’s 35.6 mile ride my “ass” is begging me to quit.  Oh Lord, how did I get myself into this predicament?

Rewind to three months ago…

One of the things I’ve noticed from day one of living in the San Francisco Bay Area is that bike riding is engrained deep into the culture.  We’ve got the hippie bike riders trying to save the planet from unnecessary car exhaust and we’ve got the avid cyclists who wear the skin tight biking clothes and think they own the road in their riding packs. Up until a few months ago, the former REALLY annoyed me.

So it’s pretty ironic that when a woman from work sent a mass email asking who would be interested in riding in the Cinderella Classic 65 mile bike marathon that I would raise my hand. Being a few weeks after my big milestone birthday I figured it would be a great “30th birthday challenge”. So I ran straight into my girlfriend’s office and begged her to do the ride with me. I reminded her that her 30th b-day was only five days after mine and she needed a challenge too! Much to my delight, she reluctantly agreed to do the ride.

So our journey into the San Francisco cycling culture began. First let me say that this is an extremely expensive hobby. I say “hobby” because I don’t think I’ll ever become a true “cyclist”. I’m a Saturday rider. But it seems that just about every Friday I’m plunking down a hundred bucks at REI on some new gadget for my bike or article of clothing.

Well this past Friday my big purchase was a new – cushier – bike seat. I never knew how taxing bike riding is on your booty! But each week as our training mileage increases from 17 to 25 to 27 my poor little bum has been feeling the burn. But nothing could prepare me for 35 miles.

A beautiful – butt challenging ride

We had the most beautiful ride through the Livermore vineyards with the green rolling hills of the California countryside as our panoramic view. The blue sky 63 degree day and smell of fresh cut grass made for a spectacular ride. But by mile 25 I was gritting my teeth in pure agony! OH MAMA, my ass was grass. By the time we finally completed the ride and were packing our bikes up in our cars three hours later, one of my new riding friends made the comment; “Up until this point I’ve been fine with these rides, but this is the first time I’ve really been like, GET ME THE FUCK OFF THIS BIKE”. I laughed outloud because this was my nonstop chant in my final 7 miles! And to think I’ve got 30 more miles to ride to the actual finish line in April. Unnngh!!!

Two days later I’m still waddling. I have to shift a lot in my chair in order to get comfortable. Now this is freaking me out a bit because I have a 37 mile ride in just five more days. The pain may subside by then, but the memory is burned into my brain! So I ask that you please pray for me that I can get through this insanely crazy 30th birthday challenge schmallenge!

I have an idea for next week though. See pic to the left. You don’t think anyone will say anything do you?

Share

{ 8 comments }

My first spring break since college

February 10, 2010

In exactly three weeks I’m leaving for Cabo San Lucas, Mexico for a long girl’s weekend. I cannot freaking wait to be laying in 85 degree weather having a hot pool boy bring me a free pina colada upon command. I say “free” because we got a sweet deal on an “all-inclusive” resort and it’ll [...]

Share
Read the full article →