WANDERLUST

Welcome to the WANDERLUST Festival in Beautiful SQUAW VALLEY USA!

So we all heard about this great weekend festival at the top of Squaw Valley a long time ago, but no one wants to buy tickets to a place they get a free pass to in the winter. So here were the list of options to see the shows:

1. Write a haiku online and win tickets
2. Call into a radio station and win tickets
3. Pass out flyers on the streets and get free tickets
4. Hike up to the top and poach the fence or know the person patrolling and beg him to let you through
5. Somehow find a festival wristband on the ground and claim it

Well I went with option 2. That's right! I won tickets from a local radio station. Funny story actually. I had to work later in the day and so I woke up and laid in bed for a while. While dozing I decided to turn on the radio to see if I could win some tickets. I heard a Spoon song playing, which is one of the bands in the festival, and I thought maybe I would call in just to see if they were giving away tickets when an artist from the festival is on air. I called in when the song was over and as it started ringing I almost hung up thinking I was an idiot for trying. Howie, the host, picked up and I asked if I could win tickets. He said,

"Are you serious, did you realize you were already calling in to win tickets? Did you even realize you heard a Spoon song? You've won tickets to Wanderlust!"

Kim: "What the heck? Really??!! I will be right there. Where are you guys located?"

Howie: "South Lake Tahoe."

Kim: "On my way!"

It took an hour to get there and Howie stuck around to meet me. He even recorded my voice telling everyone to listen to his radio station. Everyone in the station was laughing when they heard I came all the way down from Tahoe City. I was PUMPED!

FRIDAY
We collected a bike gang and rode up to Squaw to see The Mutaytor and Sharon Stone and the Dap Kings. That woman is sassy! Then we saw a decent DJ and yes, actually closed the festival down. We were the last gang in the Village and scored free pizza out of it! Our bike gang rode home and got back at 4am.

SATURDAY
We took the gondola up to the top of Squaw Valley where an immense stage was set up. We enjoyed Rebecca Welsch and her folksy banjo and guitar and then were entertained by Jenny Lewis and her band. If you haven't checked her music out, do it soon! It then got a little hot and we all jumped in the mountain lake under the chair lift. Weird seeing all those little wonders that are normally covered by snow! And of course the place was full of locals and I knew all the beer pourers. This concert was pretty much free the whole weekend!

Michael Franti and Spearhead were supposed to play, but he got apendicides and so the rapper Common replaced them. Not the same, but still a good show. Then we headed down the gondola to see the other shows: The Mutaytor again and the awesome DJ Girl Talk. He mixes old hits like Bruce Hornsby and Michael Jackson to newer songs. It was incredible!

Matt and I were going to ride our bikes home, but we were lazy and stuck out our thumbs when a Jeep pulled over to pick us up. It happened to be a Squaw Kids instructor and we were grateful for the ride!

SUNDAY
Well I had to work the close shift on Sunday, but Spoon was playing at the top of the gondola and I really wanted to go! I made a deal with my co-worker. He let me ditch out of work for 2 hours to see the show and I promised to stay extra long to finish up all the work. I hurried over across the valley and met up with some friends at the top, watched the show, and rushed back to work to close up.

What an amazing FREE fun weekend!!! I hope they do it again next year!

Oops I Did It Again

So I have a new scar from another mountain biking mishap, but this time it's on my knee and not my head, which is a slight improvement in location. I was just wandering around Page Meadows to check out the blooming wild flowers and was then going to commute to Squaw to play some golf, and halfway though the plans I had to make a detour to the hospital after an "opps, I went over the handlebars and fell on a rock" moment. It's all good though; I carry a first aid kit and cleaned the gash right away...the doctor even said I did a good job. I was going to bypass stitches altogether, but it kinda kept bleeding, so I thought I better get a few. Luckily, my friend Katie P. was working at the hospital that day, so she kept me company and snagged a few photos. I have to admit I am a weirdo and don't mind messing a few things on my body up as long as it's fixable. I feel alive and almost brave when I do these things, and it's nothing that doctors and Dairy Queen can't fix. Enjoy!

San Diego June 16-22

Hello again friends! So my sister up and moved to the lovely city by the ocean: Saint Diego, so of course my mom and I hopped on planes to come and visit. I had never been to this city before, but by the end of the trip I'm pretty sure I could live comfortably there, even though it's so close to Tijuana, which mom had absolutely no desire to visit. Here's how it goes:

First of all, we were treated like royalty. Catherine, Shelley's friend and roommate, has parents who are, well, loaded. They have a condo downtown, and I mean downtown, San Diego that no one uses, so we volunteered for the difficult job of looking after the place. It was high security and we needed our key for just about everything. And parked in the garage to use at our disposal was a BMW convertible....yeah, pretty sweet.

So we spent some days at the beach while Shelley did her surf thing, checked out a Farmer's Market at Ocean Beach and ate at a vegan buffet that actually wasn't too bad. (My taste buds are now much more flexible after The Cleanse).

So if you ever go to San Diego you have to visit Balboa Park. It is a ginormous park filled with museums, architecture, theaters, fountains and gardens. Our first visit was the Museum of Man where we learned about the early days of brain surgery (like thousands of years ago using rocks as hammers), mummies and shrunken heads. A few days later we visited the Natural History Museum where Body Worlds 2 was on tour, you know, that weirdo process that German doctor created that preserves human cadavers perfectly in tact. It wasn't as creepy as I thought it'd be and I learned heaps about the human body and the importance of keeping it healthy. They also had a life size model of a great white shark that eerily freaked me out.


We made an excursion to a Padres baseball game. Wait, it wasn't an excursion because it was right down the street from our conveniently located condo! I was so excited for some baseball culture so of course mom and I got a hot dog at the game. The Padres are a pretty good team and I found myself cheering for them as if they were the Reds...strange, I know! And mom cheered for them too: "Go Pedros!" (It's Padres mom!!!) So then they started playing some fun music and I was having such a great time I stood up and danced to "do the mashed potato (do-do), do the alligator (do-do), put your hands on your hips (do-do), let your back bone slip (do-do). Nanananananananananana." When Shelley pulls my arm and points to the Jumbo Screen, and there was a gigantic Kim dancing for the whole stadium to see! I was shocked, but the guy in front of me said, "Just keep dancing!" It was a great game and we even got to see the "Friarworks" after the game. That city is so clever!


We also visited the world famous San Diego Zoo and did we see a lot! There's actually a gondola there called the Skyfari that takes you from one side to the other and buses that pick you up and drop you off due to the size of the place. We saw pandas, zebras, koalas, loads of snakes, polar bears, hippos, gorillas, elephants and a million different types of strollers! I mean, those prams are fancy now a days: dual strollers, fat tire strollers, wide load strollers, strollers with conveniently placed cup holders, and on and on. But back to the animals. I have to say my favorites were the gorillas. It is wildly strange how similar their behavior is to ours.








So we went out to eat a bunch and on the last night we strolled around looking for a nice restaurant. Mom and I agreed on a menu with lots of variety. We all enjoyed the meal on the patio when I glanced inside and noticed words on a big screen. This place had a karaoke night going!! I was so excited that I signed up right away. It was a little nerve racking singing in a new place, but all went smoothly and then Shelley and I sang a duet: "We Built This City." People were rocking.

San Diego is quite a town filled with great taco joints, gelato places that are open until midnight, beaches, baseball, shopping and class. I would love to visit again!

Ride Around the Lake!

After 3 years of living in paradise, I finally followed through with a big goal of mine: riding my bike around Lake Tahoe. It's a 72 mile trip by car, which I have driven many times and became alarmingly aware of the many hills and climbs. I always imagined how I may struggle on my bike up those hills and if I could actually make the whole ride in one trip. I found out that I could.

My roommate Katie, who seems to always be by my side in these adventures, is racing for a cause around the lake next week, so I promised I would encourage her by riding by her side around the lake before the race. We planned on doing it in 2 days because the furthest I've ever ridden had been 30 miles. We were going to stay in South Lake Tahoe, but Katie invited 2 other girls who wanted to do it in one day. I was a bit disheartened knowing I would be the slowest in the pack, but then I walked into the bike store to buy a spare tube and a very nice clerk told me I could easily do it...no big deal. My spirits started to lift. I also wore some awesome 80s style thrift store spandex to keep a sense of humor.

So we started on our adventure tackling the West Shore first climbing to Emerald Bay on our way to South Lake. I quickly learned that the trick about riding around the lake is to make sure your tires are fully inflated and to go in the early season so a car doesn't shove you off the shoulder.
It was a cloudy day, which was nice because the first climb was a killer and I probably would have worn out easier if the sun was beating down on me. Here's my reaction to that first climb:



We got to South Lake and I scarfed down a hummus bagel and carrot juice blend...I definitely needed the energy. We started climbing the hill that leads to the Carson Valley, which seemed to never end. Then we made our way to the East Shore and experienced some glorious downhill where we abruptly came upon some orange construction signs and found that we couldn't bike through. Instead, we had to pile our bikes into the pilot truck and be driven by a very nice construction worker to the end of the site. It was less than 2 miles, so this trip still counts!

It only started to rain toward the very end when we were almost home. I felt great during the whole ride and could have even gone further. I wasn't too sore the next day and I could be talked into the trip again! I feel full of energy and am glad we did 75 miles in 8 hours!! And look Mom, I'm wearing my helmet!

Spring Time 2009

SAN FRANCISCO
The weather has finally stabilized as warm and sunny and I'm in between jobs again. After Squaw Kids terminated, it rained for about a week, which meant I didn't feel guilty relaxing inside all day! But Casey and I decided to hit the coast to get away from the Tahoe chill and gloom. So we packed our bikes in the car and headed to our friend's house in San Francisco where we did the typical city thing and spoiled ourselves by buying expensive makeup from a shop downtown =0)
[Chris, Casey and Kim with San Fran in the background]

SANTA CRUZ/CAPITOLA
Then we headed to the best camping spot: New Brighton Beach near Santa Cruz. We rode our bikes into the nearby small town of Capitola and took lots of walks on the beach. Oh yeah! And
on our way down we stopped at a lighthouse and saw Blue Whales migrating north for the summer!!! We also learned how to swim away from riptides at a little museum we ran into on one of our walks.







BENSON HOT SPRINGS
The next camping excursion took place in the middle of the desert with my two bosses Karen and Robyn. Robyn took the two of us seriously into the middle of nowhere: Benson Hot Springs; Population 13 1/2. We had our own hot tub at the site with the local hot water source flowing from a spring nearby. As we set up camp I thought to myself: what in the world are we going to do for the whole day tomorrow? Well, we attempted a hike that led nowhere into the hills, we drove to a local river that was more of a stream, and then headed to Mammoth Lakes to get a cup of coffee. It was actually a great and relaxing trip with lots of reading and good eating involved (Robyn is a wonderful cook). Pictured below are Robyn and Karen at the campsite, a view from our hot tub and exploring the river.

















And of course with all the melting snow we had to explore all the new waterfalls exploding all over the place. So here are two hikes taken in the Tahoe area:

HORSETAIL FALLS, past South Lake Tahoe
[Bradford, Katie M., me and Katie Kuber scrambling up the granite rock]












SHIRLEY CANYON
Located in Squaw Valley, all the snow melt caused some raging waterfalls!
[Ryan, Joy, Jack and Kim]

HAPPY SPRING! Enjoy the changing of the seasons. XOXO

The Cleanse

Yes, the title of this blog sounds like a bad horror flick, and in reality, the actual cleanse is in fact a little terrifying. First, there's the uneasy suspense of eating healthy organic foods, most of them greens, only in amounts specified on the daily menu. Second, there's the actual consuming of the food, which mostly tastes like healthy super green shakes and pureed broccoli (oh wait, that actually is a meal item). Third, there's the massive temptations lurking around every corner! Today alone I've avoided zucchini bread, rice krispy treats, mac n cheese, coffee cake and even granola bars. But, I've committed to the cause and I'm in it to win it!

So it all began when my roommate Katie came home with a printed copy of a cleanse she researched on the internet. I looked at it semi-interested and thought, "I could do this." The cleanse consists of mostly blended items ranging from fruit, greens and even fresh salmon (not blended). I loathe the word diet and think most of them are silly, but cleanse has a different ring to it. So I went in on it fairly certain I would follow through with the whole menu for the whole week.

Katie and I traveled to Reno to gather the ingredients at Whole Foods (aka Whole Paycheck) and we were laughing hysterically trying to find all the items. I've never heard of half the greens required, but the produce stockers were very informative and helpful in leading us all around the store finding wakame, water cress, rice vinegar, etc. When we got to the cash register, we both went into shock. I won't specify, but lets just say that after spending all that money, I'm not backing out of this cleanse.

So here is a true blog of my 7 day cleanse/detox with my roommate Katie. If you are at all interested, check out http://goop.com/

DAY ONE

7am (or upon rising): Glass of room temperature lemon water
8am: Herbal tea
10am (breakfast): Blueberry and Almond Smoothie
11:30am: Coconut water*
1:30pm (lunch): Salad with Carrot and Ginger Dressing
4pm (snack): A handful of mixed pumpkin and sunflower seeds
6pm (dinner): Broccoli and Arugula Soup
*Make sure that the coconut water has no added sugar. Fresh is ideal but the brands Zico or Vita Coco are readily available.

To be honest, I couldn't sleep because I was so excited to embark upon a healthy and dedicated week. I definitely yearned for some Lucky Charms with delicious 2% milk for breakfast, but had to settle with lemon water.

The smoothie actually didn't sound too bad, and it wouldn't have been, save for the super greens and whey powders that taste like crap. But I finished every last drop. By the end of the day, I wasn't too hungry, but it is difficult to come home after work and resist some chocolate indulgence. Instead, Katie and I had to settle with purred broccoli, which looks a lot more watery than the picture portrays. Overall, the day was a success and I peed about every 2 hours =0)

Photos of blending the ginger dressing and eating the broccoli soup

DAY TWO

7am (or upon rising): Glass of room temperature lemon water
8am: Herbal tea
10am (breakfast): Raspberry and Rice Milk Smoothie (follow method for Blueberry and Almond Smoothie)
11:30am: Coconut water
1:30pm (lunch): Detox Teriyaki Chicken and Steamed Greens
4pm (snack): Miso Soup with Watercress
6pm (dinner): Pea and Basil Soup (follow method for Broccoli and Arugula Soup)

I think I'm already getting used to this cleanse. The breakfast smoothie went down a little smoother and I even got to indulge in some chicken for lunch! The biggest pain was having to make all 3 meals the night before because I'm going to the Banff Mountain Film Festival in Reno tonight. It may be a little rough heating up some pea soup while everyone else dives into the best pizza in town. But you know, I'm really not tempted by other food anymore. This cleanse is only for one week and I can eat all that other junk any other time (and I will). I can't really tell a difference in my energy levels, but I'm sure my organs are all thanking me right now. I just hope they don't serve finger foods at this film fest.

DAY THREE

7am (or upon rising): Glass of room temperature lemon water
8am: Herbal tea
10am (breakfast): Oatmeal (make with rice or almond milk instead of water so it’s a bit more substantial)
11:30am: Coconut water
1:30pm (lunch): Blueberry and Almond Smoothie
4pm (snack): Cucumber, Lime and Basil Juice
6pm (dinner): Super Greens Juice / Miso Soup with Watercress

Ok, avoiding the food last night in Reno was harder than I thought. It wasn't the pizza that got me, but the popcorn at the film fest!! I love popcorn almost as much as I love ice cream! I eat it everyday, sometimes as meals, and it's all I'm craving!

I'm not sure how much this detox is cleansing out my body. I feel super hydrated, which is great, but as far as the bowel cleansing goes, it's about normal. So here's what I'm thinking: maybe I can just have a little popcorn without butter or salt because this is a healthy food and vitamin plan, not a detox! I'm just eating pureed veggies instead of taking vitamins, but I can have a bit of popcorn along the way. Ahhhh! I can't think like that because I will just keep pushing the envelope. Today is my day off and it is not easy to be at home or skiing on the slopes and be satisfied with coconut water and almond milk.

Ok Kim, pull yourself together, it's not that bad...I'm still in it. I can do it!!!

DAY FOUR

7am (or upon rising): Glass of room temperature lemon water
8am: Herbal tea
10am (breakfast): Mango and Coconut Milk Smoothie (follow method for Blueberry and Almond Smoothie)
11:30am: Coconut water
1:30pm (lunch): Miso Soup with Watercress
4pm (snack): A handful of blueberries
6pm (dinner): Steamed Salmon and Greens

I'm hungry!! For the first time on this cleanse, I'm truly hungry. I had oatmeal in the morning yesterday, but after that it's been all liquids. I came home from skiing and was about to walk out the door to go to Katie's work so I could juice my snack, but she called and said I couldn't come until 6. So I sat around and had a major moment of weakness. I put the popcorn kernels in the popper and plugged it in!! Then I felt incredibly guilty and weak and so immediately unplugged it. I was a good girl and made some miso soup as a snack instead.

This shouldn't be hard. There are so many people out there who survive on so much less. I've already lost 3 pounds and haven't weighed under 150 lbs since I was 17. It's not worth it after this week though. I don't know how models and dieters do it. I'd rather be eating what I want (and be fairly healthy) than go to extremes! But I can certainly suck it up for the week; it's good for me. 3 more days to go!

PS- I hope I don't pass out playing pick up basketball tonight! If I do, I should just tell the players to pour olive oil down my throat =0)

DAY FIVE

7am (or upon rising): Glass of room temperature lemon water
8am: Herbal tea
10am (breakfast): Peach and Almond Smoothie (follow method for Blueberry and Almond Smoothie)
11:30am: Coconut water
1:30pm (lunch): Raw crudite (carrots, green beans, radishes, cucumbers, zucchini) with Carrot and Ginger Dressing
4pm (snack): Beet, Carrot, Apple and Ginger Juice
6pm (dinner): Cucumber and Avocado Soup

I'm getting used to this cleanse and have graduated from the temptation stage probably because I'm more than half way through! There have been some strange things happening to me though. For example, I drank a whole juiced beet today and I had no idea how strong its dye is! Red stained my fingers, my lips, and YES, my pee!!! I thought something was wrong with me when I went to flush the toilet, then I remembered the beet =0) I suppose it's normal.

Eating only raw veggies for lunch wasn't too fun and the cucumber and avocado soup was so unfun I threw most of it out. Both delicious items independently, but not so good blended together with a little salt to qualify it as cold soup. Something positive did result from the soup, however- my favorite quote from the cleanse:

Kim- "This is gross."
Katie- "Just keep eating it."

DAY SIX

7am (or upon rising): Glass of room temperature lemon water
8am: Herbal tea
10am (breakfast): Blueberry and Almond Smoothie
11:30am: Coconut water
1:30pm (lunch): Mixed Greens with Steamed Salmon, Olive Oil & Lemon Juice
4pm (snack): Super Greens Juice
6pm (dinner): Detox Teriyaki Chicken, brown rice, steamed zucchini

Whoa! I get two very substantial items today: fish AND chicken! I have to admit, I am pretty full still from the salmon I ate 5 hours ago. Would you say my stomach has shrunk? YES!

I did receive a bit of enlightenment strolling through the grocery store today to pick up some more tasty rice milk: there is so much junk that we eat everyday!! This detox glaringly juxtaposes my normal food regiment, which I always thought was fair compared to most people's diets. There is just so much sugar in EVERYTHING and so many items are over processed, so that even if you think you are eating healthily, most of the nutrients are simply enriched or have been lost in the processing. What does this mean? I don't know really, but I do know that anything you can buy in a package doesn't compare to the raw and blended health I've consumed over this past week. Who knows what causes cancer and what the best route to health is, but I do know that I've never eaten as well as I have this past week, and that's worth some consideration.

In a perfect world, I'd buy fresh organic items at Whole Paycheck everyday, but it's not convenient or reasonable to my wallet. So what should I do? I think there are some items that are worth buying fresh: meats, fish, veggies and fruits, and probably milk. The rest is up to your own diet, likes and dislikes. And that is my conclusion for the day =0)

HAPPY EATING!

DAY SEVEN

7am (or upon rising): Glass of room temperature lemon water
8am: Herbal tea
10am (breakfast): Raspberry and Rice Milk Smoothie (follow method for Blueberry and Almond Smoothie)
11:30am: Coconut water
1:30pm (lunch): Miso Soup with Vegetables
4pm (snack): A handful of almonds
6pm (dinner): Steamed fish, quinoa, roasted squash

THE LAST DAY!

I cannot believe I didn't break down today. Sunday is an extremely busy day at work because of a locals program we put together every season. Today was its grand finale and the magic carpet area (the area I supervise) was packed with an obstacle course for 130 kids. It was busy and afterwards all the kids and instructors indulged in ice cream topped with a warm gooey brownie.

That part isn't what got me though.

Immediately after work was a memorial for Shane McConkey, the Michael Jordan of skiing, who died base jumping in Italy. His home base was Squaw Valley, and the memorial was packed. Some volunteers at Squaw Kids, including myself, babysat for the parents attending the memorial. A little 2 year old walked in with his big sister and the parents bolted. Then the 2 year old looked around anxiously crying, "Mommy? Mommy?! MOOOMMMMY!!!" So I picked up the screaming kid and took him outside to try and calm him down. Now, I deal with crying kids everyday, but they are between the ages of 4 and 6, so I had no idea what to say to this 2 year old to get him to stop freaking out. As he screamed in my ear, I started crying myself thinking, "I can't handle this right now." Then, the kid threw up all over me. I walked into the bathroom and started laughing and sobbing from work overload. My boss came in and almost broke down too! And all I could think was, "When that pizza for the kids gets delivered, I'm eating most of it myself!!!"

But I resisted and made it through the whole 7 days without cheating once. Yeah for me!

So in conclusion, I don't feel different, but I lost 5 lbs overall and don't feel hungry all that often. I'm more aware of what I'm eating and am going to throw in way more fruits and veggies and buy organic whenever possible...after I indulge in some delicious Skyline Chili during the NCAA Championship Basketball game!!! Hahahaha =0) I LOVE FOOD!
YUM! Greasy cheesy deliciousness with a side of salty chips!!!

POW!
So if you've been in the loop at all with the Weather Channel, you know we've been getting lots and lots of snow and I've been enjoying every minute of it! My roommate, Casey, coaxed me into getting up early on my day off to stand in line at the Funitel (our gondola) to get fresh tracks at the top of the mountain, which hadn't opened yet due to avalanche bombing. I rolled out of bed, got a Chai after getting my car checked out due to the snow tearing off the mud guard under the engine, and then headed up to Squaw. Here is a photo guide to our adventures on the POW day and a nice BLUEBIRD day from January.
(Congratulations....you've now learned some mountain lingo. If you feel confident, you can use the phrase: "We were shralping the gnar gnar on a bluebird corduroy day.")



















Ok, so I have to explain this face shot story. I was going off a little jump off a groomer and didn't realize it was all powder below me. My skis stuck straight into the power while the rest of my body continued to propel forward. I double ejected and my head and face landed straight into the pow. When I pulled my head up I was laughing so loud as Casey stood over me laughing herself stupid too. I LOVE POW!


And then the groomer day. I'm holding the Notre Damian, my high school alumni newsletter. Lots of alum take photos of themselves all over the world and then send them into Notre Dame to show how much they've utilized their education. Well, this is what I've done with mine....

...and I couldn't be happier!!!!!!!!