Canard L'Orange!

Canard L'Orange!
Originally uploaded by Twitchietai.

I did a dry run last night and roasted a duck as practice for a French Dinner party that I am hosting in a few weeks. It was sooo much work and I was a little worried about how it would come out. Surprisingly it was fantastic! I can't believe I made something this elaborate and had it come out so scrumptious. Yeah me!

San Diego Wild Animal Park

San Diego Wild Animal Park
Originally uploaded by Twitchietai.

Joe and I and our friend Teresa took a trip to the San Diego Wild Animal Park yesterday. It was a gorgeous day and we managed to get a lot of good photos.

I posted some of the other photos on my flickr page and if you click on the photo to the right, you can see a slideshow of the best shots.

Why my butt?

Why is it that when you go on a diet, the first place you lose inches is the place in which you least need to lose inches?

I've been on the South Beach Diet for about a week and I've lost 5 lbs--all in my rear end. If there is any part of my body that does not need a reduction it is in my rear end. I guess I should count my blessings. I will never have a huge ass. Yet, I think I will be much happier when it finally shows in my waist.

Hiking Rabbit Mountain

Hiking Rabbit Mountain, originally uploaded by Twitchietai.

I just love it when my silliest creations make Flickr Explore!

Saturday hike

It's a little after midnight, early Sunday morning and I just got home from work.
Here's how my Saturday went:

Joe and I started watching Return of the Jedi Friday night. I had forgotten how dorky that movie is! I guess it was really cool when it first came out, or at least it seemed to be...
Anyway, of course, I fell asleep 20 minutes into the film. Joe watched it for a while and then watched the rest on Saturday morning.

I woke up really depressed this morning. It's a great thing that Joe was here. He had suggested that we do a small hike before I went to work this afternoon. I'm so glad he did. We wanted to do a hike near my house. We usually hike the Santa Monica Mountains in Malibu and the surrounding area. (He and a few friends just did the last leg of the entire Backbone--they did it in sections)

We ended up in small park in Hermon California and started out from a trail near the parking lot. It was quite a nice little hike! We found a reservoir on the top of the trail that offered a great view of the Arroyo Seco and Los Angeles looking west. We walked about 1/2 mile further and ended up on top of a hill opposite the Southwest Indian Museum in Highland Park.

Of course, I forgot my camera..Uggg... but here's a picture that I took when we hiked the Upper Solstice Canyon in the Santa Monica Mountain Backbone Trail last year. I want to go back to the little park in Hermon soon, with my camera!


Break time
Originally uploaded by Twitchietai.

Anyone want to go to Kenya?

My friend Erisa sent me this wonderful link about an animal sanctuary in Kenya:

"Formerly known as Bamburi Nature Trail until 1999, Haller Park is a unique ecological restored quarry situated on the North Coast of Mombasa along the Mombasa Malindi road... Open to the public for the last 21 years, the Nature Park Sanctuary is home to a variety of plant and animal species ...

"Visitors have the unique opportunity of close up contact with the variety of animal species, through our educational guided tours tailored to their requirement... The attractions to be found in this Coastal Sanctuary include a Crocodile Farm, Reptile Park with a rich variety of snake species, beautiful serene Palm Garden and Game Sanctuary....

Haller Park is also the home of that famous couple, Owen and Mzee.There are three very popular childrens' books about these two unlikely friends and they are all wonderful.

If you don't know the story of Owen and Mzee here's a brief overview:

In December 2004, a frightened young hippo, separated from his family by a devastating tsunami, bonded with an Aldabra tortoise named Mzee. The 130 year-old tortoise accepted Owen as his own, and an inseparable bond was forged

So, who wants to go to Kenya with me and visit Haller Park? I'm free next friday.
heh...

I finally broke down...

... and made myself a blog. I suppose I should say something stupendous but I can't think of anything to say...

I guess I will post a picture instead

Originally uploaded by Twitchietai.

This gigantic wave was coming right at me!!!

I snapped the picture just before it was going to swallow me up! And if that happened, I would be washed out to sea and never be seen again!

Well, ok, it wasn't that big and I was in no danger, but it sure looks powerful, doesn't it? These were about the biggest waves I've seen on Point Dume.

Oh yeah--and I made this slideshow yesterday. Check it out!