As
most of you know, Memorial Day is my birthday weekend – which means I get to
claim the entire weekend for my birthday. This year, I decided to choose 1 thing that I
wanted to do each day and invite people to come along. It was such a fantastic weekend and I was
able to fit so much in, I could probably write an entire post for each day . .
. but I won’t. Instead, I will give
truncated descriptions of my activities over the past weekend.
Massage
On Friday,
I went to Burke Williams and got a massage.
No, I did not invite anyone to join me for this birthday event. It was pure “me” time. I had a coupon for their Burke Williams
massage, which is usually slightly more expensive than the “Pure Relaxation”
massage that I have had before. The
Burke Williams massage started with the masseuse sprinkling Chinese herbs on my
back and legs and then using a polish glove to scrub them in. Then she placed a heat pad over my back to
loosen up the muscles while the masseuse works on your legs. Once she was finished with my legs, she moved
the heat pad to cover them and started massaging my back. The massage was good, but felt very
short. All that Chinese herb stuff
really ate into the time for the actual massage. If I ever were to get that massage again, I
think I would need to do a longer session.
But, honestly, I think I’d rather just save my money, get the regular
massage and have them focus the entire time on getting the tension out of my
back. After the massage, I used the
steam room, sauna, Jacuzzi and quiet room.
OMG. The quiet room alone was
almost worth the price of admission (not
really, but it was the biggest perk to me).
I’m not sure what makes that room so appealing to me, but it is. It’s a long room with several comfy chairs,
each divided by a soft wall/cubicle thing.
Each chair has a reading light, pillow and blanket. I brought a book with me and sat and read for
a bit. Then took a quick catnap. Maybe I just liked that room so much because
I hardly ever get peace and quiet and time to myself to read.
Hiking
Saturday,
Aaron and Guinevere and I went for a hike at Malibu Creek State Park, along with
several of our other friends who have kids.
We had a nice array of ages with us – 20 months, 14 months, 10 months,
and 3 ½ months! I hadn’t been to this State Park since I was a kid. It was so
beautiful! If you hike in far enough,
you can find the location where they used to film MASH, the tv show. They left some of the set pieces there, so
you know you’re in the right place. We
didn’t actually make it that far because we had a couple strollers with
us. But, if you ever want to take that
hike, you should know that there definitely are trails that are ok for
strollers. I would highly recommend a
jogging type stroller (such as the Bob) and not an umbrella stroller,
though. Otherwise you might wear out
your wheels too quickly.
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| Aaron and Guinevere. |
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| The girls and their girls. |
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| Me and G |
Ballet
Sunday,
Aaron was on baby duty while I went to a ballet class. Ever since Guinevere was born, I’ve been
trying to find an adult ballet class on Sundays and having a really hard time
doing it. Most studios, it seems, are
closed on Sundays. Plus, I’ve been
having a hard time finding a class that’s at my level near home. I love Westside Ballet, but it’s all the way
in Santa Monica. Going to class on a
weeknight is hard, and I really don’t want to drive over the hill on the
weekend if I don’t have to. I’ve taken a
couple beginner classes at other studios, trying to get myself back into shape
to even show my face at Westside. It’s
good to go back and take a beginner class every now and then to focus on
technique – especially after a long break.
But I was definitely feeling that it was time to find a class that was
at my level . . . even if I wasn’t at my level yet. I think I finally found my class! I took the
intermediate/advanced class at the Los Angeles Ballet Academy. It was a pretty full class - we even needed
to pull out the portable bars. Class was
a full hour and a half and I was so sweaty and winded by the end, but also very
happy. The best part was that because it was my first class, it was only $5! I am definitely going to try to take that
class on a semi-regular basis.
Disneyland
On
Monday, we went to Disneyland! As of
now, we have officially gotten our money’s worth out of our annual passes! We got kind of a late start, so I was a
little worried about Memorial Day crowds, but we were pleasantly surprised when
we got there. It was not too crowded at
all. In fact, the crowds didn’t start to
appear until around 3 or 4pm. The best
part about this Disneyland trip is that all of the friends who joined us a)
also have passes and b) also have kids.
It was really nice not to feel like we were holding any individual back
because of the babies and they were trying to get their money’s worth out of
the day. It’s also fun to go with other
friends and their kids because every time we discover something else new. This time, we were joined by my friend,
Tania, and her 3 year old daughter. Her
daughter really wanted to go on the “pirate ship” (the Columbia), which goes
around Tom Sawyer’s Island (which is now a pirate island, but I can’t remember
the new name – to me, it will always be Tom Sawyer’s Island). It never in a million years would have
occurred to me to go on the Columbia.
But there was no line, and it was a great thing to do with the little
ones. So now I think maybe I’ll make a
new rule for myself: always try to find 1 new (or new to the adult me) thing to
do at Disneyland each time we go.
Guinevere seemed to love almost every minute of Disneyland! We took her on Pirates, Ariel’s Adventure,
and Snow White. She did really well and
seemed to enjoy all the rides. I don’t
remember Snow White being that scary! G
did fine, but Aaron and I were scared for her!
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| At Disney California Adventure, just after riding Ariel's ride |
