Thursday, May 21, 2009

Racer Steve Larsen Dies

BEND, OR (BRAIN)—Steve Larsen died Tuesday night after finishing a run on the track near his home in Bend, Oregon. An exact cause of death isn't known at this time. He was 39 years old. A former professional road and mountain bike racer and triathlete, Larsen also once owned a bike shop in his native Davis, California, called Wheelworks, which is still in operation today. He had renamed it Steve Larsen’s Wheelworks. “I just did a bike ride with him at Sea Otter,” said Sean “Wattie” Watkins, vice president of sales and marketing at Triathlete magazine. “It’s a shock to all of us here. He was a friend to everyone at the magazine.” Larsen sold Wheelworks about five years ago and relocated with his wife and kids to Bend, where he opened a commercial real estate business, while still competing in races on an amateur level. “It’s hard to believe that this could happen to a guy that is that healthy and together,” said Scott Montgomery, general manager and vice president of Scott USA’s bike division. Montgomery said he had known Larsen for more than 10 years, and that Larsen actually played an instrumental part four years back in the development of the Scott Plasma tri bike. “He was really gracious about helping us out,” Montgomery said. His most recent venture was starting an online tri shop, www.worldtri.com. He is survived by his wife, Carrie, and five kids. For more on the life of Steve Larsen, be sure to read the June 15 issue of Bicycle Retailer and Industry News. (PHOTO courtesy of Triathlete magazine) —Jason Norman

Adam Lambert

He should have won. But I'm glad he didn't. He's too cool for Idol and it would have been torture listening to him record those cheesy Idol "inspirational" songs. Soon Kris Allen will be forgotten and we'll be watching Adam Lambert scream his heart out!


Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Sunday, May 17, 2009

What's the Hold Up Cali?

If civil liberty isn't enough of a reason...

Study: Gay marriages pump $111 million into Mass - Boston.com

Click on link above to read the full article on Boston.com.

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It's festival season! How to choose? All in one weekend we had the Strawberry Festival, the Cherry Festival, the Chocolate Festival, the Zin Fest, and the Asian Pacific Rim fest - of course we would have chosen Lumpia over strawberries but Pete was heading out of town Sunday for Zona golfing so the Strawberries won out!



Dad and Claudette were in town this weekend and Alex and Carlos came along - we ate all kinds of strawberry creations and saw a hypnotist! I'm still laughing at the guy playing Mariachi in Cabo San Lucas!

We also saw the new Star Trek... it was pretty bad ass.

www.strike-the-root.com

These guys are total extremists but entertaining and some good food for thought on certain issues...

Monday, May 11, 2009

Nhem Family Weekend

Peter and I don't make it to Beaverton nearly enough. It's been since Christmas of 2007! We made an impromptu, last minute decision to head up north and visit the family. We went with Mai, Big Phan & Samath to play at Spirit Mountain - it's becoming a tradition:) Sam had a BBQ at her house on Saturday - we got to see almost everyone - think we were missing just Robb and the twins! Still haven't met those little cuties, but we'll be up again next month when Paul and Kaci are in town from Dallas... can't wait!

The Nhem sisters - hey where am I? I think I must have been scoring touchdowns at the park!


Couldn't resist - oh well swim suit season...

Kaden has to be the most entertaining two year old I've ever met - I don't think he ever stops talking! It's hilarious!


If Kaden is the most entertaining two-year old, Kayla may be the most entertaining 20-something.


Mai taught me to make Baba - Peter and Mai are making egg rolls and black bean crab for the BBQ.


Ready for my close-up? Good thing Andy is cute!

Andy and Maiko took me to coffee while Peter whooped ass on the golf course.


Relaxing on the swing - not sure what's so interesting about the feet?


More sister pics.


Pretty sure Sam deserved to win the pull-up contest!

Thanks for a fun weekend Nhems. See you in June.

Monday, May 4, 2009

Mimosas, Jewish Heritage Festivals, Fanny's...

What else could you want on the perfect lazy sunday but a K street pub crawl! I can't believe we've lived in Sac for over a year and have not taken advantage of all that Midtown, Downtown and Old Sac have to offer... we started at the Capitol Garage, through Capitol park stumbling upon the Jewish Heritage Festival. Then made our way to "C" on K street, down to the Hard Rock Cafe, through the Westfield Mall to Fanny Anne's and back - all in about 7 hours - what a fun day!

Here's a little blurb on the JHF in Sac:

In conjunction with national Jewish American Heritage Month, the Jewish Federation of the Sacramento Region* brings a new tradition to Sacramento - the first annual Jewish Heritage Festival. Building on the success of “Salute to Israel”, which drew thousands to the Sacramento Capitol West Steps for Israel’s 60th anniversary last May, the 2009 Jewish Heritage Festival will celebrate Jewish life around the world, from the shores of Ellis Island, through Europe, Africa, Latin America and the kibbutzim of Israel.

With so many differences and divergent upbringings, there is much that we share as a global community – Jews and non-Jews alike. Join us Sunday, May 3, 2009 as we celebrate all that unites us with traditional food, live music and entertainment, dancing troupes, cultural exhibits and displays, family and children’s activities, a special teen zone and much more. Global values like Tikkun Olam (“repairing the world”) will be highlighted in cross-cutting themes such as “The Green Revolution: Repairing the World One Step at a Time,” which will bring attention to this increasingly critical subject all throughout the festival.

Jewish Heritage Festival offers sponsors a unique opportunity to reach a highly desirable audience through this heavily publicized and widely attended cultural event. Join us this May when we celebrate the Jewish contribution locally and globally and all that we share in our past, present and future.