January 26, 2007 - Chopper Goes to Hollywood

Now, what kind of pet owners would we be if we went away to California and didn't bring Chopper with us? I found a pet friendly hotel, and while Brian worked, Chopper and I saw the sights!

For breakfast, Brian and I found this bakery, Porto's, near our his studio. The bakery was phenomenal. I asked Brian to go in and pick out a few things for us to share, while I watched Chopper outside. He came out after about 10 minutes and said, "This place is amazing. You have to go in." I was floored. The place is huge, and they have so many gorgeous things! It also smells fantastic. I chose a Spinach Feta Croissant, a Apricot Cheese Croissant, and this beautiful three chocolate mousse pyramid. Even with both our coffees, the breakfast cost us only $8! And, wow, it was wonderful. I noticed that they had some Cuban dishes, so we decided to go back on Saturday, but you can see more of that in the next post.












Chopper and I spent most of the morning exploring Burbank and North Hollywood. Brian's studio is an a residential area, so I checked out some of the neighborhood. I've never seen such tiny houses! I looked up the real estate when I got home, and I could NOT believe that these houses, smaller than our condo, go for $750,000+. I know Cali is expensive, but wow.

I took a short break and picked up some snacks in the hotel room vending machine. I go with my favorite sour cream and cheddar chips, but I also try this "Lesser Evil" Brand Black and White Kettle Corn.








After I refuel, Chopper and I head out to check out the Hollywood Walk of Fame and Sunset Blvd. Here's Chopper posing by the star of one of his idols.

Chopper and I also had one of our scariest moments together. As we were walking past a store, a Rottweiler ran out and went right for Chopper. I had to grab him and pick him up and hold him up by my shoulders, as the dog tried to bite him on his hind legs! She had her leash on, so either her owner let her be loose or she pulled away. The owner came running out of the store, and she and these two guys tried to restrain the dog and finally got her back inside. Chopper was panicking, and so was I. The owner tried to apologize and said, "She's just playing, she'd never hurt another dog. She loves small dogs." Which, believe it or not, I've heard that from other dog owners as well. The bottom line is, you might think your dog is friendly and fine, but if my little dog feels threatened, and barks or tries to attack your dog, how can you be sure how your dog will react? A big dog like that could kill Chopper easily. Bite his head right off. I told her, "But, if my dog is scared, I don't know what he might do that could upset her." I think she understood, said she was sorry, and went inside after the two guys and her dog. As I was calming down and soothing Chopper, a passer-by that saw the whole thing said to me, "That was some bullshit. I was scared to death." I told her I was too. And we went on our way. Luckily, Chopper wasn't hurt at all, and only my pride was hurt, as in rescuing Chopper and holding him up high, I managed to bunch up my t-shirt up over my bra, showing all my business to Hollywood and Vine. In all the commotion, I'm not sure too many people noticed. Let's all pretend no one noticed.

Chopper and I found some sanctuary for a late lunch at The Cat and Fiddle Pub. They have a large patio and don't mind if you bring your dog in. The service was great, and the people were really friendly. Chopper made a lot of new friends! But, I was disappointed with the food. I got the soup of the day, Shrimp Bisque, which was really pale and floury. And, I had a spinach salad on the side, which was fine, I guess. The only thing was the menu said it was a spinach salad with new potatoes and feta, but I got more of a Cobb Salad, with eggs and bacon on it, which I don't eat. So, I picked all that stuff off. Otherwise, it was good. I wanted to come back the next day to give some other items a try, but we didn't get a chance. I want to go back on our next trip. Chopper and I were pretty tired after all that walking around and excitement and had to take a break back in the hotel room. Chopper says, "Relax."

Brian got done with taping, and brought me home some food from Carl's Jr. (AKA Hardee's in some parts of the country.) Here's my chicken swiss sandwich and fries.

January 25, 2007 - Take Your Chopper to Work Day

For breakfast, I choked down some of that weird chocolate Special K cereal. It's not so great at breakfast time. So, I enjoyed a bagel and cream cheese at work.

Once in a while, we have the luxury at my job of bringing in your beloved pets to spend the day with you. Today, I brought Chopper to work with me! We had a great time! He enjoyed many treats, belly rubs, and lots of affection and attention! And, he got to spend some quality time with his "real" dad. Here's some cute shots of Chopper in the office - watching me work, and watching out the door to see who will stop by with some treats next!








For lunch, a lovely cheese pizza, just for me.

I had to work that evening at an Employee Appreciation Fair at the Hilton. They gave exhibitors free food. Here's my plate of salad, fish, potatoes and veggies. I also had a pineapple petit four, which was great, a chocolate fudge one that was really rich and chewy, and half a piece of a tiramisu, that was a little mushy, but pretty okay.









After work, my coworker, Rocio, and I enjoyed these Melon Melody Martinis at the hotel bar, Tempo. They were delicious. We also had some snack mix.
That night, Brian and I drove to Los Angeles so he could work on UPC, and I could enjoy a day off. Here's a sign that made me laugh when we stopped for gas. One stop shopping.

January 24, 2007 - Veggies are good for you.

I'm trying to recover from the lousy day I had yesterday, so we go to Starbucks. Yes, again. This time I get something that appears healthy - a five fruit muffin.




My lunch isn't stolen, thankfully! So I can enjoy my hummus wrap sandwich with spinach, and also cherries and yogurt.

For dinner, I made veggies tacos with mushrooms, red pepper, and more spinach. I also made some guacamole, that we had with some multigrain chips.








And, for a treat today, I go with E.T.'s favorite- Reese's Pieces.

January 23, 2007 - A Series of Unfortunate Events

Well, it was bound to happen sooner or later.

Today, I forgot my camera at home. So, I was not able to take pictures of the bagel I ate at our staff meeting. I took this picture the next day of the ones that were left over. For the record, it was a wheat bagel with honey walnut cream cheese. I also had one of these banana bread squares my manager made. (This is also a picture of the leftovers.)








Now, that was only the first of several things that went wrong today, one of which being: SOMEONE STOLE MY LUNCH OUT OF THE WORK FRIDGE!

This is unacceptable. What I had packed for lunch was: a peanut butter sandwich, some cherries, and some yogurt. It wasn't anything worth taking OR easily mistaken for someone else's food. Now, I am on the hunt for a fancy lunchbox to distinguish my lunch from others. I tried to shrug it off, but I am shocked and annoyed.

So, I ended up eating a second bagel - the same kind I had earlier in the day. And another banana square. I also finished off the few soy crisps I had left.

Now, dinner, at least that was better. Brian made me a tortilla chip crusted chicken, with cheese, salsa, and cilantro. He also made some sugar snap peas. It was great.
I snacked on some tortilla chips while he cooked.For dessert, I decided to try this chocolate Special K cereal. It is so strange. It's like regular Special K flakes, but with little pieces of chocolate bars mixed in. I thought when I was buying it that it'd be more like Coco Krispies or something. It was okay. But it can't compare to these damn Oreos. I only had one today.

January 22, 2007 - More of the Same...

The usual...














Some more of those soy chips.








For lunch: salad, mango, and yogurt.
















For dinner: Brian cooked me up some shrimp, rice, and peas and carrots.









And, yeah, gotta have those Oreos.









None of this could prepare me for what happened tomorrow.

January 21, 2007 - Football Playoffs

Yes, Starbucks. And half of this piece of berry coffee cake. (They didn't have any banana chocolate chip at the Starbucks in the grocery store.)


Brian and I cooked up some snacks to enjoy at home during the games: spinach dip, salsa, chips, chicken wings (I ate half of one), and jalapeño poppers. And, yes, those double stuff chocolate Oreos. BUT I also had salad.


I made these spinach and ricotta tortellini with olive oil, garlic, tomatoes, and some more spinach. And salad with vinaigrette on the side.

January 20, 2007 - Just Don't Look

I worked today, and I ended up eating pretty horribly. I skipped dinner because I was pretty tired, and kinda felt gross after the junk food.

Yes, I had half a blueberry muffin, and a mini-croissant.
Food from Taco Bell- a burrito supreme and nachos supreme, both without beef.
And, yes, half a banana nut muffin and half a chocolate chocolate chip muffin.

Shame on me, seriously.

January 19, 2007 - Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.

Ooh, Starbucks. Sugar-free cinnamon dolce latte, and banana chocolate chip coffee cake. I think I'm hooked on banana chocolate chip type things.


I came into work this morning and found this note on the dry erase board across from my desk. It's from my coworker's daughters. It reads, "Shaun you don't love us! You're never here when we are!" God, it's like they posted a huge billboard in my office that says "SLACKER!"




Another wonderful orange.

And, yes, Lunchables. Those chocolate cream Oreos they put in there should be illegal. They are way better than the regular ones.

Leftover lasagna.


This is supposed to be a chocolate chip energy bar made for kids. Kids need energy bars???