Days 323/365

Home sweet home! Dropped into Firestones to see Klu and John. Made an A-MA-ZING curry for dinner. It's good to be home.

Days 322/365

Flew home today. No picture. Just imagine Steve and I all spread out in the exit row we had to ourselves. We were living large.

Days 321/365

Our last full day in LA. We were going to see our friend Amy, but she was sick. Boo! We ended up going back to the Golden Mean so I could have one more of their amazing veggie burgers before we left. Soooo gooood. We drove thru Beverly Hills and down Rodeo Dr. I swear, that place looks nothing like the rest of LA. We saw cars I'd never even heard of. And in a one and a half block stretch, we drove by 3 Lamberghinis. That place is made of $$$. Then we drove down Sunset Strip and we dug it. We headed over to Burbank and hung out there. Love that place! Love LA!

Oh yeah, and while we were in Burbank, I found the perfect gift for Sarah Palin, if one were to think she deserves a gift for something.

Days 320/365

We took a drive with Chris and Andrea thru the Tujunga Canyon where the Station Fire occurred last August. I was struck by the magnitude of it all. On TV, you just see a very small portion of the devastation. Mountain after mountain, mile after mile, burned. Looking at these pictures, it is hard to imagine this area used to be dense tree forests. It looks like Mars now. Although, I was pleasantly surprised at how fast some green has appeared. We also saw houses burned to the ground. The only evidence they'd ever existed was the brick fireplaces left behind. So sad.

Days 319/365

Finally got a long night's rest and felt great this morning. Had a nice, quiet morning at the Stark-Tickners. Then headed to Malibu in the afternoon to go to a place I found online called Paradise Cove. Had a amazing meal with my toes in the sand. Love California. I really, really do.

This place was so cool. They have fun beds you can just relax on, with built in coolers and cup holders. A dude owns the whole cove and this is his restaurant. I could spend a day here...

Days 318/365

Said goodbye to Lizze and headed to Tujunga to stay with Chris and Andrea. Had a lovely day in Pasadena, followed by a great night hanging at their house. Chris made an amazing dinner and we sat around and talked and laughed and ate a strange brownie-like dessert in which Andrea tried to substitute egg with banana. It wasn't right, but it was oh so good.

Days 317/365

LA has a all you can eat vegan brunch. That's what I said. As any vegan will tell you, breakfast is the HARDEST meal to eat out when you don't eat eggs or drink the milk out of a cow. So this was a true joy. And really fantastic. After that, we picked up Eva and headed to Temecula to meet Chris and Andrea in wine country. Had a fantastical time, as Eva would say! For dinner, we stopped at the Counter, for amazing veggie burgers and fries. Just what the doctor ordered after all that wine.

Days 316/365

Day two of LA. Woke up and found a vegan restaurant that had an amazing vegan breakfast. I had pancakes with a tofu scramble that was crunchy on top. Really good. Drove down to Venice beach and walked on the beach and the boardwalk. Such a fun, weird, wacky place. Then drove down Pacific Coast Highway to Malibu. Then we drove thru Topanga Canyon, stopping at the overlook at the top. It was so beautiful. Met Shanna for lunch at a cool vegetarian joint. Have I mentioned that LA is a vegan's dream?? Went home, really tired and stuffed. Hung around Liz's apartment. She wasn't feeling very well. Finally, about 8pm, we had to either get up and out or go to bed. She really wanted to take a hot bath and lie down, so we went to the Big Foot Lodge. It's a cool log cabin bar that John hipped us to. Fun, but we were so tired, we went home early and went to bed.

Days 315/365

Finally on vacation! Day one of our LA trip. Woke up at the crack of dawn. Actually, before that, at 4am. Landed in Long Beach at 10am. Went to Liz's office to get the key to her apt. Googled vegan lunch in Santa Monica and found many options. Settled on the Golden Mean, just by chance. Well, let me tell you. It was A-MA-ZING. Best veggie burger I've ever had. I have been thinking about it since then! After lunch, we walked all over the Santa Monica Pier and the Promenade. So beautiful there. From there, we headed to the Tiki-Ti, the world's smallest Tiki bar, thanks to a heads up from my friend John. We had fun, but were sooo tired. It was rush hour by then, so our trip to Liz's was a long one. She met us there and we headed out to dinner. Was so great to see her and spend time with her. After dinner, we went home, where we fell asleep, exhausted.

Days 313-314/365

So busy getting ready for my trip that I didn't get a picture taken. Blog fail. My apologies! Instead, here is a cool pic we took in Mexico at my brother's wedding of a circular rainbow in the sky. Steve had to block the sun with his hand.

Days 312/365

Mmmmm, my new favorite recipe. Black bean vegan chili. Sooooo gooooood! The picture does it no justice.

Days 311/365

So crazy at work, trying to get ready for vacation. Didn't take a picture today. Here is a picture of my grandma, Mimi. Today, 2/23, would have been her birthday (although today is actually not day 311, I am behind in my blogging). Wasn't she cute?

Days 310/365

So long since I've posted! Day 310 was Valentines Day. Had a great day, followed by an AMAZING 5 course, vegan dinner at Great Sage. It almost brought tears to my eyes. I took no pics of it though. I did take one of Tyler and Mags playing with Murphy in the snow. They had fun!

Days 309/365

Have been taking so many pictures lately, but I didn't take one yesterday. Here, in place of a pic, is another snow pic or two. Yes, it was waist high!

Days 308/365

Snowpocalypse II, Snowtorious BIG, Snowtrina, Snowmaggedon. Whatever you called it, it was impressive. I couldn't go in on Thursday, so I ended up working from home again. So tired from going out playing with friends and shoveling. Hung out around the house, working and shoveling. Then, headed to Moxie that night to celebrate Cakes for Cause's second birthday. It was fun, but I was so tired...

Here are Steve and MIke enjoying the party.

Days 307/365

For someone who loves snow, this has been the best winter EVER. We had a blizzard, a real blizzard, on Day 307. About 20 more inches on top of the 25-30 we already had. I worked from home for a few hours, then headed to Firestone's to meet up with some friends. We had a really fun time. Getting there and back was nearly indescribable. It was so crazy with all the snow and high winds. Really a white out condition. But worth it! We hung out with friends an a game of Apples to Apples broke out in the window seats. So much fun. Here are just a few pics of the blizzard. More on Facebook.

Days 306/365

Tuesday rolled around we were supposed to be getting a new huge storm. So I drove in to work so I could leave my car there during the new storm. When I got home, it was snowing and Tyler was pretty happy.

Days 305/365

Have been taking pictures, but not posting. Sorry for the delay! I walked to work on day 305 because the snow was just too much to drive it. Here's what I was up against...

Days 304/365

After hours of digging out, we headed downtown. Stopped into Firestones to pay our tab from Friday (when the power went out). Ran into Klu and John. Hung out with them for a while. We were so tired. We headed home and vegged out for the rest of the day. Watched the superbowl alone at home for the first time in years. It was fun.

Days 303/365

Snowmageden! What a great, great day. Snow, snow and more snow!! Went to Baker Park for a giant, city-wide snowball fight. Had a blast. Then headed to Moxie, where I made friends some (not on the menu) snowgaritas. Then, that night, we went to a Fire and Chili party at Barry's and Lynda's. So much fun.

Days 302/365

Snowpocalypse has hit! YAYYYYY!! Walked to Firestones for Happy Hour. They lost power after a few hours. Made it to Bushwallers. Stayed until a dude started singing and it was too loud and crowded. Made it to Guido's, where it was juuuust right. Made plans for the snowball fight today. I am having the time of my life.

Days 301/365

Day 301 was my birfday! It was a great day. Took the day off (and the day after off). Did some shopping, hung out with the fur kids. Played some Wii. Watching some tv. Ate a cupcake for breakfast. Then met Mike and Geri for dinner at Nola. Then stuck around for Troutzilla and a cool band from Louisiana called the Givers. They were AMAZING. What a fun time. Lots of friends popped in to help me celebrate. A little tired today. Can't stay up late like I could when I was 40.

Days 300/365

Day 300 had a beautiful start. It snowed last night and it was the most beautiful, fluffy snow that stuck to everything. Even Buddha.

Days 299/365

LOST Season Premiere party was a good time. Here are some of the confused looks we all had during the show. And also, Maggie being very camouflaged by Lynda's coat.

Days 298/365

Tofu and veggie stir fry = mad delicious.