TOO FEMME?

My brother doesn't think this is necessarily the wisest - or masculine costume for a pit bull but I think it fits JJ quite nicely.
My intention is to also dress PD (the dog formally known as PT or Johnny Hazzard's dog) as a bumblebee too! It's a cute costume and I think they will be so adorable especially if Johnny and I go as either a bee's honeycomb and a bottle of honey - SOOO CUTE!

Of course I need to talk with Johnny Hazzard over this but if he agrees we will have a blast, wish me luck!

PLAYING CATCH UP

My life has been so crazy the last two weeks that I haven't had ten minutes to blog - yah that crazy!

The 'Italian' and I are still together and things are really going extremely well! It still weirds me out to say 'my boyfriend and I' but on the opposite side of the coin it's comforting to know that there is someone in this confusing city that likes me as much as I like them! I guess the best word to sum up the relationship between us two is 'effortless.' It seems like anything and pretty much EVERYTHING we do is effortless and comes natural to us. We never argue on what to do, where to go and each others friends - he loves Tj, Chris, Moses and I think Derrick *wink* and the few friends of his I've met seem extremely nice and welcoming.

Last weekend we attended a Halloween party thrown by my distant buddy Mario in Downey. Mario always throws the best party's and the turn outs are always amazing, this time he had well over 200 people of of which most of them were in costume - 'Italian' and I were NOT! I was a bit disappointed that we didn't dress as 'ketchup' and 'mustard' or something like that but the time permitted was minimal so we couldn't get it together in time! =(

Regardless we still had a great time and he was able to hang out with Moses and Derrick so that's a good thing! I think we called it quits at about 1 a.m. and then we went home. The next morning he surprised me and took me to a restaurant in Marina Del Ray for brunch (I think the restaurant was called Shangai Red's, I'm not quite sure) which was extremely nice. We arrived around noon and we ate brunch facing the marina and while it was a tad cold it was nice that it was just him and I - no JJ or anyone else.

MY SECRET GARDEN IS NOT SO SECRET ANYMORE!

As JJ eagerly looks on, I show off my first red tomato - EVER, grown in my garden!!!!

EARTHQUAKE 1987

The earthquake that struck on Tuesday was a throwback to when I first experienced the ground shake in 1987!

It doesn't matter that this time around I was sitting on my bed working while Petey and JJ were asleep on the floor just before the earthquake struck just before noon, what does matter is how many memories came back to me after the house stopped shaking!

I remember the earthquake of the 80's like it was yesterday, I was sitting at the kitchen table early in the morning eating a Pop Tart (I'm almost positive it was a chocolate flavored Pop Tart) watching some random television show before my mom took me to school. When the house started to shake I remember my mom screaming "I knew it was going to happen!" I can't remember if she told me to get under the table or not - granted I had never been in an earthquake so didn't know what the normal protocol was for such an event. I remember walking into my mom and dads bedroom and my mom was in the middle of folding laundry and she kept telling me how she knew it was going to hit, that she had a gut feeling - strange huh? After that day I never doubted the power of my mom... to me, she was psychic!

DOG DRAMA

It's been a while since I've written about my dog, JJ! He has his own picture folder on MySpace but hardly is mentioned on my blog, sorry pup!

I've been dog sitting the past few days for my good friend Johnny Hazzard (www.hazzardcentral.com.) Make sure you check out his website and become a member, he's a worthy star to be a fan of and a good guy to boot! I first met Johnny at Fubar in West Hollywood when Chi Chi LaRue had her Wednesday night club Dirty Deeds every week.
I was relatively new to the industry and I don't think I knew Chi Chi very well yet, or maybe I did, not sure! My bud TJ obsesses over Johnny and I think we were going to meet there but that didn't happen. I remember meeting Johnny and then calling TJ so he could talk to his porn idol... ever since then we've been pretty good friends. The thing what I like most about Johnny is that he's an honest person with a good work ethic. I love to be around people that have a good energy around them and he is just that!


His white pit bull mix pup Petey, above, has been here since Saturday with JJ and they've been (sorta) getting along. Here's the deal, JJ love to play and Petey doesn't really want to. JJ gets too crazy and Petey has to put JJ in his place, I am behind Petey 100 percent.

Do you see how crazy and involved I have become with these two?? Here are some pictures that I've captured from their days together... they are so crazy!!!
The picture above is of JJ and Petey after they both got into trouble. I made them lay down where they were at that point and told them not to move. The funny thing, if you notice, is the placement of JJ's tail. It rested on Petey's face and it didn't move for the next several minutes until they were done with their timeout!

WWYD

I am sorry that I haven't uttered a word about last weekend yet, trust me I am getting around to it. But first, if you live in Los Angeles and experience the hail, heavy thunder storm and almost unbearable rain then please keep reading. Actually, if you've ever experienced that kind of shit keep reading, I want your opinion!

Today it was bad rain - filled with, well I told you! I was in a hurry to get back from work and the gym because if you know my dog he hates any kind of water, so I couldn't imagine him dealing with the hail and thunder. The roads and freeways were congested and icky so minutes seemed like hours. Pulling around to my street I was excited to see my roommate was home. Who knows how long he was home for but it didn't matter because JJ was in the house, warm and safe.

I walked into the house and didn't see JJ in my room, in the living room or in my brothers room - NO WHERE. I opened the back door and called out his name and he came out from under the house and running in the house - dirty paws and al!

WTF he didn't let him in!!!! WHY WOULDN'T YOU LET HIM IN? I AM SO FRIGGIN' FRUSTRATED RIGHT NOW THAT I JUST SHOOK MY HEAD AND CLEANED UP THE DIRTY PAW PRINTS ON THE KITCHEN FLOOR AND HAD TO BLOG THIS!

Would you let me dog in if you were my roomie? UGH... so careless!!!

RUNNING JUST AS FAST WE CAN...

On Wednesday I not only ran 9.6 miles but I also hiked 5.4 miles... that's a whole hell of a lot of cardio to do in only a few hours!!!

The run (3X) around the Rosebowl with Anna was pretty incredible - and emotional at the same time. Driving to the arena with JJ as my copilot it instantly hit me that when I run the Pasadena Marathon my mom would not be at the finish line waiting to hug me and congratulate me.

When I ran the Honolulu Marathon in 2002 I remember finishing the marathon and looking for my brother, my best friend Joseph and my mom of course. Have you ever been in a large crowd and were desperately searching for a familiar face? It was kind of like that!

The Pasadena Marathon will not have my mom there but it will have lots of friends there waiting to greet me - hopefully!

JJ ran with Anna and I the first 3.2 miles and then we threw him in the car and finished the remaining miles on our own. What a test of mental and physical strength it is to just run!!! I can remember when I was almost finished my body all of a sudden stopped running and started walking for less than five seconds - it was a completely natural and non-cognitive. I quickly woke up out of my daze and started running to finish the 9.6 miles... I am so proud of me!!!

Next week we are going to do 11 miles - cutting the mileage down by one mile to reduce injury, I think its a good idea and so does Anna!

Afterwards I met up with Johnny Hazzard to go hiking with his new dog. JJ and his dog, Petey, could be brothers - they looked so cute together and played nice too. I couldn't believe JJ walked by Petey side the entire time and was so well behaved. Petey was so well behaved and cute, I told JJ to take notes on how well behaved Petey was acting, hoping JJ would learn some obedience tricks - yah right! I volunteered Hazzard to drop of Petey whenever he needs to, I think JJ and him would make awesome play buddies since they are around the same size and both pit bulls!

Next week we are going to try and go hiking again... I can't wait to run and hike!!!

I THINK I CAN, I THINK I CAN

Sometimes cardio is a real bitch!

On Saturday Anna, my coworker and training partner for the Pasadena Marathon, told me that instead of running the Rosebowl that we should opt for running up this mountain in Pasadena. I am up for usually any challenge someone puts infront of me so of course I accepted with a grin when she said we can go as slow as I wanted to and walk if needed. 'Walk?' I thought to myself, lol, I don't walk if I am training for a marathon.

Little did I know that I woudl end up walking the majority of the time uphill. This 2.6 uphill climb was making my lungs beg for oxygen, putting me out of breath faster than ever. I have to say that for the first 30 minutes I was the Little Engine That Could. Unfortunately after that my body was begging for me to slow down and relax. The mountain we climbed was referred to as The Haunted Forest. I can remember in high school we would go up into the woods that surrounded the infamous mountain and drink alcohol. There were so many stories surrounding the woods that the truth was turned into anything but the truth.

After climbing up the mountain we were treated to a historical lesson of how wealthy Pasadena used to be. Check out the picture above, this hotel used to sit on the top of this Altadena mountain. From 1894 until the year 1900, the rich would take the train up the Mount Lowe trail and stay at this well-to-do hotel for $5 a night - $25 a week. Of course, at the time this was a lot of money for the time. This magnificent hotel operated for six years until a fire devasted the entire mountain top, taking out both the hotel and the railroad. That is the short story, however if you hike up to the top the full story, sans how many were killed, if any, is up there. The foundation of the hotel is still up there and the railroad tracks too - so friggin' fascinating!!! Below check out a YouTube clop someone posted of the top of the mountain, you can see the foundation and the reminents of the historic hotel! Another YouTube clip below that is of the old trolley that would take visitors to the top... amazing huh?


After we poked around Anna and I ran down the entire mountain - about 30 minutes to do 2.6 miles downhill!

Today I am so sore, mostly my chest. Anna said in two months I will be able to run all the way up Mount Echo without stopping once - yah, we'll see about that!!! Digressing just a bit, I have become a bit obsessed with Mount Lowe and Echo Mountain in the last 24 hours. This may sound a bit weird but I felt strange when I was up there yesterday; almost as if the history and people who had stayed here from yesteryear were beckoning me and telling me to stay and poke around more. I think I am going to go up there again this week with JJ and take pictures... I can't wait!