Funny/Awesome

A few funny/awesome things lately:

We live in a ward full of elderly folks (the famous Leisure World is in our ward boundaries!). It was inevitable that sooner or later one of them would take a liking to us! This cute lady is someone we sit by occasionally at church, we help her out to her car when she needs it, she brings us bread to church,, etc. You know, the usual old lady/young couple relationship. So she leaned over to us one day and said, "You know, I don't think you need to be sick to get a free meal. I want to have you two over for dinner."

This is the first thing she showed us when we got there:

Peekaboo the tortoise! She's had him for 25 years! She keeps him on her porch. She then showed us her pictures of her friends and neighbors holding Peekaboo, from the recent "Coming Out" party she threw for him. Yes, tortoises hibernate for 6 months a year, and when it was time to come out for the the spring she wanted to celebrate! Hilarious.

We went in and she had a candle-lit, 3 course meal for us. It was really cute. While we ate, we learned ALL about this cool lady:

-She came to America from Sweeden to be a nanny at age 24, on a dare from her boyfriend.

-She moved to Vegas and worked in the tables in the Casinos.

-Married her husband, not knowing he was LDS, later was baptized after MUCH work from the Elders.

-When her husband died, she forwent a Realtor and sold her house by herself to her needy neighbor kid.

-She buys season tickets for the USC football games every year, decks herself out in USC colors, and tail gates with her girlfriend before every game.

-She's going on a trip to Thailand for the 3rd time this fall.

The list goes on... pretty funny/awesome experience.

Next funny/awesome thing:

The other day I was getting on the scooter and spotted something nice hanging out of a garbage can (I can't help it). It was a pair of brand new pajamas with the tags still on. I found a bar code from Marshall's, so I decided to take them back and see what happens! I got $17 worth of credit and these sweet kicks were $30, so BAM! My new favorite shoes for $13. Just call me Thrifty Sal.

I hope I have more funny/awesome blogs in the future :)

Adventures in Hollywood

While waiting in line to see this awesome lady at Jimmy Kimmel...

we were entertained by THIS guy:

The two of us, in heaven, dancing to our favorite diva, Robyn :)

A few days later, while waiting in line to see THIS guy (Legend, Paul Simon to be exact):

We made friends with THESE 2 guys (we recognized them, and they hopped in line with us - it was around the block!):

The guy on the right is Josh Meyers, brother of Saturday Night Live head writer and Weekend Update anchor Seth Meyers. Josh was on MADtv and the final season of That '70s Show. He told us that he just finished a role in Peewee Herman's Playhouse on Broadway - pretty cool!

The other guy is Hayes MacArthur, star of our most recent favorite show, Perfect Couples (which has been cancelled!! Total non-sense.) He's hilarious and awesome on the show.

He's married to THIS lady, Ali Larter, best known for Legally Blonde and Heroes, whom he introduced to me inside the show:

The concert was amazing. It was at a club - we were standing about 20 feet away from Paul! Here's some footage:

Cheers to Adventures in Hollywood!

Lehi comes to Long Beach

Shane's parents, Lewis and Toni, and aunt Mike came to party with us! They had so much fun last year that they came back for more :) We had great time. Shane took them straight from the airport to Laguna Beach, where they explored and stayed over night in Dorothy's apartment. (I had to miss out due to my aqua aerobics class, which is going well by the way!)

We enjoyed a leisurely, Sunday coastal bike ride to the pier. My favorite!

Monday, we hit up 6 Flags, Magic Mountain! Yes, Toni and Mike are coaster lovers! They couldn't wait to feel the thrill. We lasted until about 3:30. Not bad!

Tuesday, we hung out with Jay Leno! I gave the ladies some insider tips, and they ended up getting this sweet photo with the man himself!

We were lucky to have Bryant and Sarah join us in our adventures.

Afterward, we went out on the town and got a little crazy. (Click on this photo to check out this statue's nice glutes.)

And of course, the trip wouldn't be complete without some beach bocce ball, in the beautiful Long Beach sunshine.

Big THANKS to Lewis, Toni, and Mike for making the trip down, treating us to lots of dinners, and being game for our shenanigans! We all had such a good time, I think we should petition to make Lehi and Long Beach sister cities.

Hiking Yoga

My good friend Lindsay is awesome. She recently bought a Groupon for her and I to try HIKING YOGA! We headed to the Santa Monica mountains ready for an adventure. It was exactly what it sounds like: hike, stop, do some yoga, hike, repeat. SO FUN!!!

It was a beautiful afternoon, a great hike, and featured some amazing views.

I'm not sure if you can tell I was having fun...

I had never done yoga before, but I really liked it! As our instructor (a struggling actress, what else?) guided us, our bodies and souls became connected with mother earth. Haha! But really, I could use some weekly yoga in my life. I think it would be good for me - mellow out a little :)

Shane would not object to that.

Thanks to Lindsay for this radical new experience! I had a total blast.

Anyone who is coming to visit: you can expect to go on this hike! And maybe by then, I'll be able to teach you some yoga too!

Life Latley

Life lately has been fun! Mostly because my bother ALEX came to visit!! For those of you who don't know, Alex is living in Canberra, Australia, earning his masters degree in International Relations. AND...his cute wife Morgan is PREGNANT! Yes- we're very excited to get another niece or nephew!

Alex was in town for week, checking out some future job options, and we were lucky enough to get to play with him! We went surfing in San Clemente with Morgan's brothers, who schooled us on the waves :) We had a total blast.

Shane and Laura (Morgan's little sister), cheered us on from the sidelines. Sadly, Shane tore his meniscus surfing about a month ago. HUGE BUMMER. But he's been slowly recovering and has been KILLING it at work!! Last month was his biggest month EVER and I'm SUPER proud of him. Really, he's owning that biz.

Dorothy and I have been having some good times lately. She calls me her "fashionista." I get to dress her (she has closets full of fun things!), and shop with her lots. The picture on the left was "Red Cross Day." The picture on the right, she's wearing what she calls her "Oprah Shirt" because it has a beautiful neck line :). We found it shopping at a thrift store, which is one of our favorite activities.

Above, you can see her happily watching the golfers (me included) at the driving range. We've got to come up with things to do every day - so why not have some FUN, right?! Often, I'll set her up on the beach while I go out for a surf session. Other days, we'll go to the movies, read books on the patio, stroll through the mall, get our nails done...it's tough! And we go to lunch just about every day. Because of that, you can find me sweating it out in her living room to Jillian Michaels workout DVD's!!

Below is a piece of original art given to me by one of the cute kids in my pee wee soccer class at the Jewish Community Center. I've been teaching soccer every Monday to a group of 20 3,4, and 5 year olds! The first day was INSANE, but I've been slowly getting things under control week by week, and I think the kids are getting close to understanding the no-hands rule! Hallelujah!

Also, I am still teaching swim for Dorothy's son, Hank, every week at a pool on the beach! It's not easy, but it's fun and drains my energy - which is a GOOD thing!

That's all for today's Life Latley Update.