lucky dodo

Aloha! Remember Me?

Okay, I realize and have heard from everyone how remiss I have been in keeping this blog current. I just have a really hard time with being consistent. So here are a few photos to bring you up to date on the highlights in my life. I spent 5 days in Hawaii with my son Andrew (youngest of four) and his girlfriend Candice. We had a great time and believe it or not, I successfully converted both of them into avid "seaglassers"...check out these photos!

This is in Maui and I have never found sea glass in Hawaii before. I take the liberty of posting Candice in her bikini as she looks almost perfect in a bathing suit. I would KILL anyone who shared a photo like this of me...but I"ll take my chances with Candice. Aren't they wonderful looking. We had so much fun. I really loved spending time with my adult kids....this was quality time!

Seriously, this is the glass we found! We arrived right after a huge Pacific storm.

 After many miles of beach-walking, Candice and I relaxed in style back at the hotel by getting a foot massage by the pool. It made our sore feet feel sooooo good.

I crashed in the room early that night and just had a light dinner on the deck. The kids went into Lahaina for dinner and came home with 6 fragrant leis for me and a wonderful card which meant so much to me. Needless to say, my room smelled like hawaiian flowers for the entire trip.

As the sun set on our trip, I once again thought to myself, "There is never enough time in Hawaii".

So till next year, Aloha!

Grandkids are the BEST!

So here is a shot of my mom Jackie, grand-daughter Kayla & my grandson, Tyler. We had all just been up at UCLA for the baseball game....T is a player....and my mom brought a few dozen donuts for Tyler after the game to be sure that he is getting enough calories!!! LOL. Kayla is looking on in amazement, as she could not imagine eating that.
Meet my other grandson, Marlon. He was chosen to be the junior announcer at the UCLA game, caught a fly ball and got a poster of the team after running the bases after the game. A very exciting night for a sports fan that is only 5 years old. He LOVES his uncle Tyler!!!! Marlon and his new friend after a UCLA game on the field of Jackie Robinson stadium after running the bases. What a wonderful memory for a young kid to run on the same field as the "Big Boys". Marlon had a blast and so did I that night. The difference is that he got to fall asleep 2 seconds after we got on the freeway back to the OC....I had to drive.

I LOVE spending time with both of my grandsons!

Sharing our Fun Family Time with Marlon Oliver

Lauren, very bravely raced around Boomers in Irvine with Marlon loving every turn~
Blaine and I joined them on the tarmac but none of us had as much fun as little Marlon.

We all got totally soaking wet on this ride. Even me..I was the photographer on the
sidelines, but the "gunners" really got a kick on getting me wet! What's up with that?

Marlon Watches not too patiently as uncle blaine brushes up on his swing....so cute!
We headed up to Westwood to visit Ty-wer who happens to be Marlons favorite person on the planet.
Marlon got to see Tylers new dorm "sweet", play x-box with Tylers friends (also baseball players) and also have the pleasure of using the boys bathroom when natured called. The only thing about that was that the bathroom had some pretty sexy girly posters handing right there.....buy the time we realized that he did notice and there was in fact interest in the scantily clad young ladies, Marlon has locked himself in the bathroom.

Back at home, Dodo was exhaused but Marlon still wanted to watch a DVD before he
went to sleep (right next to me)...so ofcourse, that's what we did. The UCLA had was not
coming off, in fact he slept in it all night.

UCLA announces it's 2009 Starting Line Up!

I'm afraid that Stephanie is going to be really annoyed with me for blogging this news (right after she told me) and before she does but I'm going to take my chances....I"m so excited! You know they say it's easier to ask for forgiveness than permission. So here goes.

UCLA baseball just announced their official 2009 starting line up and guess who is the starting short stop? Yep, you guessed it, my grandson-Tyler Rahmatulla!  He is also Stephanie's first born son, but who's keeping track. What a great accomplishment for Tyler, to be starting player on a PAC 10 team as a freshman. Really, so proud of that kid. I know he has put forth the effort.....the boy comes from a very competitive family. Looking forward to a great season....Go Tyler & Go Bruins!!!

This is a private residence in Cusco, the sacred valley where they make and sell beer from corn. They make everything from corn in Peru it seems.
The corn is sprouted, cooked in gigantic pots and then fermented. Here is a photo of my friend Dee Dee and our guide Jimmy trying the local beer.
The kitchen was pretty basic....complete with dirt floor.
This sweet lady was our hostess as well as the "beer maker" I believe.
In addition to the beer, the Cinchera raised guinea pigs which they sold to the local restaurants.
Guinea pig is a very popular meat dish in Peru. As our group was checking out all the fluffy little creatures that they were raising in the "barn", we just happened to witness a birth which made us even sadder. As you can see by the looks on our faces, we didn't dig the idea of eating the little "pets" for dinner.

HOWEVER, a few nights later in a very nice restaruant in Cusco, Kayla, Madyson and Peri actually did order and taste the fluffy little morsels. YES, they ate guinea pig! Go girls. Very adventurous.

I'm not sure, but her reaction might be due to the fact that she once had beloved guinea pig pets named Golly & Domp!

Did I mention that they also ate quite a bit of chicken in Peru?

The Air is THIN Up Here

The altitude in Cusco, Peru is 11,500 ft above sea level. We had been warned that "altitude sickness" could affect us and we even had medication for that. However, what we did not realize is that it hits you as soon as you step off the plane. We were all breathless, tingly and felt as though we had run a marathon just walking through the airport. It was almost impossible at first to get your breath.

Fortunately, there was oxygen everywhere, in the car, at the airport and in the stores.

Oxishots was sold at the airport for $15.00. Ofcourse, we bought a couple immediately. It's amazing how important breathing is when you can't!

The poor donkeys don't seem to be bothered. But we were dying.

This is the sacred valley area of Cusco where our hotel was located. The mountains in the background are the foothills of the Andes....It was really a beautiful part of the world.  We all adapted really well to the altitude and lack of oxygen after 24 hours....so the photos above make us laugh now.
So the adventure begins. I will post more soon.

My South American Adventure

I spent ten days in Peru this Christmas with my grand daughter, Kayla, my friends Dee Dee and Nyla and their two daughters, Peri & Madyson. We had a blast! It was quite the adventure packed trip filled with many  memories. One of the first things we did after landing in Cusco, Peru was visit a Llama farm. Yep, you read it right....a LLAMA farm. Here we are!
 
Thought this girl was a cutie! So, the sheared coat of the Llama is called Alpaca. We enjoyed the full tourist orientation of how the yarn is prepared and products to sell are made. All of the dyes are made from natural plants...it was really interesting. We bought alpaca scarves, socks, hats, rugs and I even bought some colorful yarn to knit my own scarf.

The process certainly makes you appreciate the bright, woven clothes that the people wear. It takes forever.

Did I mention that I also bought a cool, hand-woven blanket from these ladies? It's being sent but I think it will be PERFECT for the cool nights at the UCLA baseball games next month. Granted, the colors aren't quite right....but, I'll be warm just the same.

I can't wait to get my YARN!!!!

Best New UCLA Fan

That's ME! On my morning walk in Maui proudly wearing my UCLA baseball shirt.
I was smiling at myself....as I ingored remarks from the passing USC fans, I gave a "thumbs up" to my fellow Bruin fans....(mostly other grandparents like me)The funny part is that I'm just a fan...do I look like a "player?" ....not! I did not even graduate from college and I strut down the beach with such LA pride. Well, I was not exactly strutting....rather doing my best to walk a few miles. I am so proud of my grandson, Tyler who is the legitimate Bruin who has earned his spot on the UCLA team by many years of hard, work (and a bunch of natural talent I might add).....I will always be your biggest fan T....Have a great season and thanks for letting me wear the shirt!  I love you....Dodo

Hawaii Sea Glass Photos

Check out my findings! We are home now and I have unpacked and sorted the laundry, run my errands and spent the day getting organized around the house. Now, for the good part! I dumped out all my seaglass findings and began sorting them by color.....okay, I get that that is wierd...but I love the mindlessness of it. There was so much on the beach, literally the sand was glass pieces....so, we just brought a few baggies of the stuff home.

Here is the stuff on my ping pong table.

Ta....dah! No shard of the year, Nyla Jo......but lots of glass.

Thanksgiving in Paradise!

We spent Thanksgiving here in Hawaii on Maui and Julie & Ryan came to spend the day with us here and have dinner. We swam, sat on the beach, enjoyed the sun and it was a really nice day. We had dinner at a hotel restaurant right on the beach....Turkey....yum! Sitting here so full, but I guess that is almost a Thanksgiving standard.
Here are a few photos of our day. We missed everyone who was not with us here. Happy Thanksgiving to all.

This was our time on the beach today.

We watched this doggie....a 12 year old whippet who ran all afternoon fetching the ball....he could swim and retrieved the ball many times from the breaking waves....it was fun.

Bob and I with full tummies.
Julie & Ryan at dinner.