Taste of Ladera.
I love my little town...which Doug insists on calling Arizona - because it's SO far away (10 miles). It's quaint and young and focused around community. Really, it's the greatest.
So on Saturday after enjoying some time at the pool, my husband and I headed to the 2nd Annual Taste of Ladera. It's an opportunity for all the restaurants to set up booths and sell samples of their food. 2 tickets got me 3 ribs and a salad from the Newport Rib Company, delicious. Eric opted for Pizza from the Back Bay Brewing Company, and then we shared some dippin dots - always a highlight. There was also a fondue restaurant represented, some staples such as Baja Fresh, and all sorts of activities for kids - a hoola hoop contest (I got third), face painting (eric was a lion), and a Black Eyed Peas performance by the neighborhood Performing Arts Center. This was the highlight of our time there...
Probably 30 kids from ages 5-12, all dressed in flourescent t-shirts and stiff baseball caps trying to rap and dance to "Let's Get It Started". About one minute in the sound system went out. The kids looked around for a minute and then kept going, singing the last two minutes acapella and trying to stay on beat. Hilarious. They were all running into eachother. It was painful to watch.
But the all around Taste of Ladera experience, I'd give a solid 8.

Stick It.
Last night I took my mom out for dinner and then to see the new movie Stick It. I am a lover of teenie bopper movies, so the fact that it was really stupid didn't bother me at all. Poor writing, choppy character development, and lots of bad jokes - I eat this stuff up. I would recommend this movie to anyone who watches the Olympics solely for the gymnastics (like myself). The skill displayed in the movie is outstanding, and they found a gymnast who looks just like the actress, so it wasn't too distracting when it would switch from one to the other. That's a good thing. A solid one star for me.

I'm that good!
Let me clarify however, that Chris was my favorite from the very beginning. I projected him to win the whole thing - and he probably should have. But this bet was about analyzing performances and knowing the general audience. Poor Nadim, he never wins.

Chris is going home. Sad but true. I've been a fan of his from the beginning, but last night he did nothing special. Taylor is getting votes from idol haters - so I think he's fine, Kathryn is hot and the only girl so I think she's fine too. I am a super fan of Elliot, he pulled out some magic in the clutch last night. Very impressive performances. I think he has the best vocals of anyone. So, although I don't necessarily believe that he deserves it - Chris is going home tonight. I have a $3.50 lunch bet with Nadim on this. So please let me know - who's with me?

San Luis Obispo is my favorite town to visit. My husband went to college there, so I've for many years been in the habit of retreating there for rest and relaxation. It is a cool small college town that boasts an impressive Thursday night Farmers market and the best Tri-Tip sandwich.
So we arrived Thursday afternoon with beautiful weather; stopped at the beach for a couple hours and soaked up the sun, before meeting up with some friends for dinner and Farmers. Fantastic way to start our trip! We spent the day at Avila Beach on Friday reading and getting nice and sunburned, a mini hike through Montaña de Oro to the sand dunes where we got a beautiful view of morro bay. We found a romantic spot in Los Osos for an authentic Cinco de mayo dinner - yum.
We stayed through the weekend and got to visit with lots of Eric's friends from college. He participated in an alumni soccer tournament, and we were able to attend a Campus Crusade for Christ reunion. As always, we felt so encouraged and blessed by our time there. It's great for our marriage too to head out of town (4 hours) and just rest. Lots of new and interesting conversations on the car ride...no email, or tv - no distractions at all really. Just quality time together. I recommend it!