the proposal

there was an ad, it read: photographer needed. i did not see it, but my daughter, the ad answerer, did. she signed us up and said 'a job for you mom!' this job actually needed two people, one to photograph and one to video (my daughters job). what we would be shooting:  a surprise proposal.

we met the couple at the agreed upon (gorgeous) place, on the pretense of taking a christmas card photo. my daughter was worried we would accidentally say congratulations! but that was quickly forgotten when we saw how flustered (nervous, excited...) the groom to be was.

we took photos and did our best to help him relax. inside though, i was a little nervous waiting for the agreed upon word, which would mean the moment was here.

finally, he said it, the secret, get your cameras ready, word. i watched him reach down and from his pocket out came a small black box. at the same moment he went to one knee.

oh sigh. oh my goodness. i took photos and i cried. it was all so romantic, the setting, the beautiful couple so in love, the surprise he had planned. it was an honor to be a part of, it's something i'll always remember.

once upon a time you met

and shared much love and laughter

may your engagement continue the fairy tale

happy ever after

congratulations sarah and david!

p.s. writing this post is helping to take my mind off worrying, at this moment chuck is running in a fifty mile ultra trail run, the santa barbara red rock 50 mile endurance run, and the sun set over three hours ago.
this is a post made year before last on the race, everything was the same today (except i didn't bring a camera) only his time might be a little faster, and the makers mark replaced jack daniels. i hope he finishes soon. it is sometimes a challenge being married to adventure.

running mountains

here we go, up up and up, to the top of the santa ynez mountain ridge. my sister lindy and i drove up saturday morning. it took us an hour from my home which is waaay down below on the edge of the pacific ocean . i live about center and straight down next to the sea, on the other side of the middle  peak.

 we are driving up here to see chuck, my husband. he is in an ultra run. a fifty mile trail run. the run is on the back side of this ridge we're on. looking at this photo the ocean is on our right, the back country on the left. he is in the back country. along with seventy two others. running fifty miles.

 we are at one of the check points now. behind me is a makeshift tent with supplies for these endurance athletes. we waited (a bit anxiously) for chuck and cheered as each person came through. then, we saw him. he's that blue dot right above the words on this photo. notice the rugged back country from where he's come. there are a lot of hills.

 he was so happy to see his friend and fellow athlete.

now he has to replenish before heading back out. there are foods with potassium and salt. and if you think you see a bottle of maker's mark whiskey on the table, you'd be right. some of the runners might need it i suppose. (i'm quite sure i would).

 this is the check point we were at, i think there were at least five more throughout the course. i am always in awe of the people who volunteer their time to help. my husband appreciates it very much. everyone is so nice and supportive at these things (they must all be bloggers) ((bloggers are the nicest people on earth)).

he was with us for five minutes before heading back out. can you imagine finishing a marathon and beginning again? and on a trail too?

 see you tonight honey. have a safe trip. lindy and i watched him run off and then headed back down the
mountain. we had a day planned. which thankfully didn't include any running.

as we were driving down the narrow windy road, this red-tailed hawk suddenly burst out of the bushes to our right ( there was shrieking) (by us) flying almost into our car, swooping over the hood and then as if we were in the wildwood book, he soared only inches from the ground, right directly in front of us! and then, suddenly again, he made an immediate stop and an abrupt turn into the brush on our left, attacking (scaring the wits) out of a small bird. the bird flapped his wings madly and flew straight up and away and the hawk, seemingly satisfied with himself landed on the top of this small dead branch. and stayed. i was shaking whilst trying to raise my camera, i've never been this close to a red-tailed hawk ever. i counted to three as he looked at me, raised his tail to poop (which indicates flying is next) and then he was off.

 in glorious graceful flight.

 i wished for a moment wildwood were true. i would have asked him to keep an eye on my love.

chuck and i and my sweet sister lindy. photo courtsy of  kevin steele. for kevin's images of the run
go here. (chuck's photo is the first one, he's wearing his handknit hat, a purl bee pattern.)    :)

oh! lindy and i had a fabulous day, we went to a holiday fair, shopped, and played with owen (i only glanced up at the mountain once). chuck finished some time after eight p.m. and walked in the door at nine o five, after fourteen hours of (torture) running. and although he's tired now, i know he'll do it again. if your reading honey, i'm proud of you. and i forgot to ask, did you see a bold red-tailed hawk?

run, swim, run

before sunrise last monday morning, twenty one carpinteria city lifeguards and california state lifeguards from carpinteria to ventura attempted a run swim run that was a challenge even to these super fit athletes.

they would run when they could and swim when they couldn't (run), from carpinteria's state beach to ventura's main lifeguard tower. a distance of approximately twenty miles, barefoot, in swimsuits. starting in the dark.

a super low tide meant the only swim was underneath the pier at mussel shoals located approximately four to five miles south of carpinteria.

because my husband chuck participated in this lifeguard endurance quest, i woke early too, to show my support, get some photos and give him a ride back home.



it wasn't a race (but chuck came in fourth, i couldn't help counting). still, i felt just as proud of each of these dedicated lifeguards, well done on the first lifeguard endurance quest!

tomorrows paper will run an article on this event including some of these photos, it's  here on page 18.
 *happy*

(trying out the new tab feature, it was fun to make, i feel organized!)

hello december

but first, some novemberly things...

thanksgiving olive fingers

crafts fairs and flea market finds...

one, two, three, four, five happy guys...

tiny santa's, tiny snowmen, trees, some with feathers...

a sweet autumn wedding...

a challenging trail run for my husband...

christmas projects slowly coming together....

goodbye november. i can say it was a great month for our family, delivering the most beautiful weather here on the california coast, maybe one of the prettiest novembers i can remember. it was perfect training weather for my husband, he ran in a 40 mile trail run last saturday. although he did great and i'm proud of him, i think he's glad novembers over. while he was running through the foothills and backcountry, my sister and i walked through the flea markets and crafts fair in town. after i found the cute things above, we passed by a country wedding, so simple and serene, november winds were gently blowing leaves like confetti for the happy bride and groom. i do love this time of year.

welcome december!

♥ lori

A Clearing Run

If you don't mind seeing more beach photos, then please come along with me on my morning run! the beach pictures I've posted before are about a mile north of here. This is officially "our" beach, the one my kids grew up on, the one my husband and myself have both worked on, and my husband still lifeguards on in the summer months...

Oh, and we met on this beach, right up there, where you see the trees. And our first date was here too, we went kayaking. And we were married at a house on this beach. And...my husband grew up in a house on this beach. So, that is really actually alot of things that happened right here. Now that i think of it, many many moments in our lives, happened right here. Including running... so let's go! (or walk if you like, I am more than happy to do that too!)





Oh, ok, here is another thing. My kids all play volleyball here, on these courts. The very bold western seagulls are occupying the space right now. It's a quiet morning, not many people out, just you, me and the gulls...





We'll do a 6 mile out and back, it won't feel like it at all, because there is so much to see, it'll be fun. Really. Really...







We will be running through the Carpinteria Bluffs, an incredibly beautiful treasure in our town. Here is some information that you may be interested in:" In September of 1998, the City Council of Carpinteria adopted a resolution conceptually supporting public ownership and management of the Carpinteria Bluffs with the intent "to preserve the property's value as scenic, natural open space; to protect and enhance existing Bluff Habitats; to provide for the restoration and expansion of native plant communities; and to provide the community the opportunity for passive and active recreation." The Council agreed that acceptance of public stewardship of this property would include the establishment of an on-going endowment fund. We know Carpinteria citizens clearly value their open space and parkland". I like whoever wrote this!





....so our children and their children and on and on forever can enjoy the beauty of the last of the wild open spaces here on the California coast. If you squint you can just make out Santa Cruz Island in the distance. Wouldn't it be nice to sit right here with a cuppa hot coffee,chai or tea, mmmmm...but! not yet! we're not done, we've got a way's to go... let's keep going.. :)



can you smell the ocean air? it's already warm out at 7 a.m. Here the trail comes right next to the cliff, don't get too close to the edge, it's a long way down.

...along the way, you might see some educational signs, full of information and photos. We have a LOT of tourists in our town, so it's important to have these. I am also partial to them because, if you squint again, you can see my husbands name on it. He is the photographer and writer of these brilliant signs. Thank you honey, good job!

...we are in luck! we get a little rest in our run/walk. Here is the Carpinteria harbor seal rookery. The rookery includes a haul-out area where the females bear their pups. During the pupping season, volunteers watch on site to protect the newborns from human disturbance and to educate onlookers about the federally protected seals. The rookery at the Bluffs is significant in that it is one of only four along the Southern California coast and is the only one accessible to the public. Let's stop and watch for a bit.

...here they are, the California Harbor Seals, I don't think they've begun to pup yet. In the spring you will begin to see the little ones... so cute!

...along the way there are a few turnouts for the beach. But the tide is too high for us to go very far, so we'll stay up on the Bluffs this morning...

....isn't this worth getting up out of a warm cozy bed for? It's this very picture I keep in my head to sometimes motivate(bribe) my oh so lazy self...

...we're past the halfway mark now, heading back. I ran into friends and forgot to photograph the south end of the bluffs. Next time :) In the above photo you can see just a little of the campsites. There are facilities for tents and campervans. The campgrounds are usually full year around. It's hard doing this run in the mornings or evenings because the campers are always cooking delicious things and the smells waft on the breeze...

...well, we did it...back where we started. I thought about stripping off my running shorts and tee and jumping in the ocean like these brave camper kids. But I changed my mind when I dipped my toes in. It is shockingly cold. I have a better idea, how about a hot tub instead? ahhh...

xxx lori

...Readin' Rolling Stone, Readin' Vogue..

It is about 7 a.m. Look how dark it is now. The days are getting shorter, I like the later morning dark like this, but it's hard for the kids to wake for school. Pretty soon the time will change when we go to Daylight Savings. We're on our way to see if we can find a mountain lion. Well, not really. We are on our way to trail run, but I can't get the lion's out of my head. So I will be looking and listening. Believe me.



Romero Canyon Trail, in Romero Canyon, Montecito. This trail is one of my favorites. It's a beautiful hike/run. You can make it as long or as short as you want. But it's always hard. It's up. Up. up. Of course, until you go down, which can be even harder, on the knees. Here is the start of the trail and the signs I was telling you about in a previous post. There were several. We noticed only 2 other cars besides ours. It's probably just because of the wind. not the (gulp) lions.

We started out just enjoying the morning, me at a slow jog to keep up with my husbands long stride. We looked all around at every turn. There are so many places out here that a mountain lion would love. There are sandstone outcroppings in the chaparral. Big flat rocks that you can just picture a cougar stretched out on. We only saw one mountain biker and two trail runners. One of the reason's I love this trail is because often times you can be the only one on it. Just you and the mountain lions and bears and rattlesnakes and tarantula's...

You can see my husband going up the right fork, this leads to the top of the ridge. Most of the time I go to the left, which leads back down and it makes a big loop, about 5 miles. The way we are going today is about 10 kilometers in all.


Would you believe I forgot my bells? In my morning fog brain I forgot them. Instead, in my waistpack I put the most basic bare essentials. Here is what I grabbed. A beanie. My reading glasses, you know in case I run into a newsstand or something along the way. A debit card. Same reason. A box of tictacs. A lip sunscreen and my mobile phone. Oh, and a Sigg water bottle. We're not supposed to buy plastic bottled water. What was i saying about running with excess weight? I never said I was brilliant. I'm just sayin'.

It is so dry. It may not look it, but California is in the middle of a drought. Water is our most precious resource and wildfires in this area are one of our biggest threats. Yet even in a stressed state the trees and plants have so much beauty. The hardy oak and it's acorn.


Here is one of the creek crossings. Sometimes the water comes all the way up to the tree on the right. That is an incredible sight, watching the creek rush bubbling over the rocks!

This is all over the trail. Sage. It has the best smell. Its uses are many. My favorite besides to smudge is to put a bundle in my husbands truck and then it doesn't smell so awful. The truck. Not the sage.

Look! A porcupine! ok, not really. But doesn't it look like it? Well, I try running meditation but I'll admit, my mind wanders.In fact I want it to so I can pretend I am somewhere else. Some place other than trying to run up this hill.


Can you see him? If you look really closely you can see my husband, he's in that little divot in the hillside. He was calling "wifey! here I am!" I don't even try to keep up anymore. I tell him to go ahead. See ya when I see ya.

This may not look steep to you. But it is. Oh it is. My mantra "one more step, one more step, one more step..." sometimes turns into " take me now, take me now, take..."

Look how high we are. Here you can see Santa Cruz Island in the distance. This is part of the Channel Islands chain. Santa Barbara Island (the one we were going to) is way behind this. Hi. I see you islands. Now there is no wind. Not a bit. Stop laughing at me islands.


There is my husband. Sitting waiting for me. He is enjoying the wonderful view. I can't wait to join him. We are half way done.



I made it! Time for a little rest before we head back down. My husband said to me, "I heard you coming a long way away. What is in your pack?" I pulled out all my stuff. He saw the tictacs. "There's your bells."

He was right. The tictacs (which if you are not familiar, is a tiny box of mints) were making a sound like mexican maracas. There was a fiesta in my pants all the way back down. La Cucaracha!

Oh, and in case you were wondering why I titled my post this way, it's because that is what I did the rest of the day after our trail run... And...

after taking my grandbabies to the zoo!

xx lori