Sorry for the delay in posting lately.

I have been studying for microeconomics course and each unit seems to get harder and more confusing. I did wonderfully in macroeconomics so I don’t know where the disconnect is for the current course. I did turn in Unit 4 yesterday, so I feel a little more on track and less stressed about the whole thing. I will go on tomorrow and load another set of pictures from our trip to Los Angeles. I will be going on a cruise to Cozumel this month and will be loading pictures from that trip as well.

Please stay with me and don’t give up on this blog. I just need to do some follow-up and make it happen again.

The Sixth Floor view from the Beverly Wiltshire Hotel

The view from our sixth floor balcony was awesome. We could see the Los Angeles Skyline  and the second floor pool, spa, hair salon and Weight and Yoga center. The smog had cleared some and the view of the skyline was magnificent. The temperatures stayed fairly warm during the day but cooled down to the 30″s at night  The rain in the mornings also cleared nicely by about 9 or 10 in the morning giving us lots of time to see the sights.

Sorry for the delay in posting, I am swamped at work right now and swamped with schoolwork. I am burning the candle at both ends and am looking forward to some real downtime this weekend. I worked over the weekend trying to get some files cleaned up and organized for one of the programs I am currently working.

Dinner at Spago

I made a fun New Year’s resolution this year. I am going vegan. You might be asking yourself, “What is Vegan?”  Vegan is a form of vegetarianism that eliminates all meat, eggs, and dairy from their diets. Instead they substitute plant proteins into their diet to maintain balanced nutrition for their bodies. Now your asking yourself, “What did you eat at Spago?” Fifteen years ago I had the Osso Buco and it melted in my mouth. This time I talked to our waitress who was the most amazing person to have waiting on you. She suggested that I go for the Asian pear salad and the Chestnut Anglonotti with Champagne sauce. This is what is in the pictures on the top of the page. Again, Wolfgang Puck did not let me down. Even the vegetarian entree and salad were amazing. I say vegetarian instead of vegan because both had some dairy in them. So it was not 100% vegan.

He was not at the restuarant that night to sign books like he had been 15 years ago. He is opening a new restaurant in the Beverly Wilshire hotel called “Cut” and that is probably where he was when we were dining at Spago.

Fun in the Sun in Beverly Hills, CA.

We arrived in Los Angeles from Gulfport, Mississippi at about 11:30 am pacific time. It took an hour before our bags came down the chute at the Los Angeles International Airport, but both bags arrived with us, which is an oddity these days when you travel with any airline. It took us thirty minutes to arrive at the rental car terminal and get our rental car. It was a brand new copper toned Chevy Malibu. We used Tom Tom to get the Beverly Wilshire Four Seasons Hotel. The hotel is known for being the hotel that “Pretty Woman” was filmed.  The waitstaff was excellent. Our bags were brought to the room within 30 minutes of our arrival.

We were hungry after our flights and didn’t want to spoil our dinner later that evening, so we walked down Wilshire blvd to an organic restuarant called “Green leaf”. I had a salad and my husband enjoyed a wrap which was the size of my head. It was all very tasty. We walked Rodeo Drive on the way back to the hotel. Spago is just two block away from the hotel and we walked past there as well. I will put in a better explanation of our food in another post. Our hotel room overlooked the second floor heated pool and from the balcony we could see the skyline. Los Angeles is huge and you would need more than a week to really get the full ambience of the city.

It was a wonderful day in the 70 degree weather and the sunshine.

Keep following for the meal at Spago.

“Last Day of Work before Christmas”

I am sitting at my desk wondering which item I need to tackle first. The train whistle is blowing its forlorn horn, but at least it is not raining. I hear there is snow in Spokane, WA. So there will be a white Christmas for the family which is a good thing. The building is quiet today and I am sure we will start to see people leaving early on the lower floors as this day progresses. I really love my job and no longer have the cubicle blues that I had with the last one.

It is actually nice to be free to use the skills in database development I have been honing for the last six years. I have also picked up some other skills with the Microsoft Office Professional Suite that have been invaluable to my career. And even though my deputy contracting officer in contracts, years ago, had me fiddling with vizio, it has been an invaluable skill for making complex one line drawings in my new job.  I am looking forward to carrying my workload home for the Christmas break, because the quietness to think through the puzzle in my database will actually help me to get it up and running faster. Being salaried and loving the job makes the task not even seem like work, so will be fun to see how much I get done.

I do have pictures of my beach themed tree and I will post them when I get a few minutes to breathe.

Have a blessing filled Christmas and New Year to all my readers of this blog.

Merry Christmas!

Swimming with the Manatee at Crystal River, FL

This is one of the most exciting adventures you could ever go on. The manatee come into Crystal River during the winter months because the water is much warmer than the ocean. They are technically called “Sea Cows” or “Birds of the Sea” depending on which dive shop you are taking your shuttle out to them. You have to leave in wee hours of the morning in early January. You usually rent a wetsuit at the shop and if your lucky it won’t have a hole in the knee like mine did. That little hole just constantly surged the cold water into my suit with every kick. These creatures are really impressive and you have to stay quite still for them to come up and see you. Needless to say, when they do come to see most times it is frightening the first time. These creatures can tip the scale at 1000 pounds easily. This one pictured really liked us and hung around us for quite some time. I had to give up being in the water after about an hour as I was frozen from the constant churning of water going through my wetsuit.

My husband stayed in for at least another hour because he was wearing a dry suit and he was toasty warm. There was hot chocolate for us to warm up with when we got out of the water and also a place to change back into our street clothes. I recommend this trip for anyone who wants to be in the water with these impressive animals. They are well worth the 8 hour trip from Mississippi.

The shop was called “Birds of the Sea” and it was very near our hotel in Crystal River, FL.

Brunch at Brennan’s in New Orleans

Brunch at Brennan’s in the French Quarter is a treat to be experienced. It is white tableclothes and excellent service from start to finish. Our table was right next to the wine cellar. The rustic features of the restaurant only add to it’s historic nature.

The Brennan family is renowned in the New Orleans area for the finest food and drink. Besides Brennan’s the family also owns Commander’s Palace. Also a wonderful dining establishment in the area.

I loved our waiter, he was attentive to all our needs and made sure our breakfast entrees were cooked to order. For the finishing touch, I ordered Banana’s Foster which is their signature dish and my husband ordered Cherries Jubilee. These desserts are done tableside with the whole flambe which made a perfect ending to our meal. I can assure you we did not leave the table hungry. In fact, we were quite full and actually looked forward to the walk back to the hotel to work off some of those calories.

If you ever find yourself in the New Orleans area, be sure to make reservations at Brennan’s in the French Quarter. You will not be disappointed with the food or the service. They are definitely a five star restaurant in my book.

“Snow on the Coast”

Looks like the gulf coast may get a touch of snow tonight. It happens occasionally when there are converging fronts coming down from the North and from the South.  It is not supposed to happen until later this evening so I don’t expect to see much of it in the morning. We are already bundled in our winter parkas ( those of us that have them) while others are just adding extra layers and wearing socks with their shoes instead of flip flops.

The caution will be not to get on the road until the snow and ice melts in the morning. People tend to fly in their cars down here rain or shine and that little bit of ice will make for some exciting events on the road tomorrow morning.  One of our favorite sushi places down here as a sushi called “Snow on the Coast” and it is amazing. People line up at Chef Scott’s just for his wonderful creations. In fact, my mouth is watering for some right now. I like his sushi and sashimi because he makes it bits-size and easy for me to eat. I may run my errands and stop by his restuarant on the way home and get an order to go as my family has eaten late and our dinner schedule is messed up for the night.

Whenever you come to visit in Ocean Springs be sure to stop by Chef Scott’s for the best sushi on the gulf coast.

Invited to go to Hollywood!

The plans are made and I am traveling to Hollywoood with my husband to an awards ceremony for his job. I am so excited! We already have reservations for Spago on the day we arrive.  We are also staying in Beverly Hills this time and not near Long Beach. So it should be a completely different experience from the last time.  This will be a good time to take my camera and do a photo journal of what is happening all around us while we are there. January will be cold, but being a native northwestern girl, I will adapt my clothing to suit.

Still working on my Christmas decorations, but I will have them done soon. I am putting my tree up this weekend and will add the picture to the posts.

“Geaux Saints”

There is much celebrating going on today. The New Orleans Saints are now 10 and 0. The Biloxi Mayer has declared today Saints day in his town and the dome will be packed with adoring fans as they cheer on their team.

I have to admit that I am rooting for them to win as well. Saints Fever has taken a hold of me. I probably will not watch the game as it does not start until 7:30 tonight and I will be in bed by 8:30. So I will find out the score in the morning.

Go Saints!