I am antsy, I am restless and I feel like I did nothing last year. I know I did more than I thought I did so I will try to review 2018 since I have not written since 2016
Feb 27: Hansen Dam - We found a new path that led to the area where there were larger bodies of water. They had ducks and geese and of course the dog wanted to go catch them. Sometimes I wonder if I should just let her go after them just to see how far she would go to catch one. We didn't let her go because I enjoyed having the duck and geese wade around near us and see if we had anything for them.
Mar 1: Laguna Beach - we went on a mini trip to Laguna beach and we stayed at the hotel across the street from the Treasure Island Beach. They had a nice path from the street that went through the residential area that gave you sweeping views of the beach. It was so pretty out there. Every morning we would go to the La Sirena grill and have their breakfast burritos, oh that Chorizo breakfast burrito was so good.
Mar 10: Walk Off the Earth Concert - It was our second time to watch Walk Off the Earth in concert and this band is so amazing with their shows and I am never disappointed. They always sing their own songs and the song that made them famous because they played it on one guitar(Someone that I used to know-by GOTYE). The week before New Year they delivered the bad news that Beard Guy passed away, that guy made their videos very entertaining and I am very sad to see him go.
Mar 27: Gnocchi - My first attempt at making gnocchi was a success. I never knew it was that easy, well there were a lot of steps but it was worth it. I made butter sage sauce and that was amazing! Will I do it again, maybe if I have people helping me eat and make it.
Apr 2: Panna Cotta - So I was watching Ugly Delicious and they had one episode where they were having Panna Cotta with this prune sauce they've had for I forgot how many years that sounded good so I went online and searched. Lo and behold my favorite tv chef Ina Garten had a Panna Cotta with Salted Caramel recipe online.
Apr 13: Solvang - For my 40th birthday we decided to spend a little vacation in Solvang.
Apr 18: Lunasia - I celebrated my birthday with my family by having dimsum in Pasadena and it did not disappoint.
June 30: Cinemark - Ocean's 8 - I mentioned wanting to watch this movie with Florence, then we invited Sharon, then Yvette, so now we have a movie club with the Mission girls. This movie was very empowering and awesome, okay fine it was made up of women that's why it was awesome.
July 3: Temecula - So for the July 4th weekend we decided to do a last minute trip to Temecula and Oceanside because we've never been there before and we wanted to be in other parts of Southern California and see how the locals roll. We started with having dinner at the Karl Strauss Brewing Company. I always liked stouts and darker beers because they did not taste too bitter for me so I started with the Imperial Stout and we got the brussel sprouts appetizer, pork belly sandwich and some tacos and that was a good beginning to our mini vacation.
July 4: Original Pancake House - We had German pancakes and Crab Benedict which was okay, nothing memorable, the best crab benedict we've ever tried was in San Diego at the Harbor Breakfast. We liked it there because they have an outdoor patio where you can sit with your dog.
Margarita River Trail - On our vacations we always do hikes so we don't get bored and don't just keep on shopping and so the dog does not get mad too. This was a very memorable trail and we would do this again. It was bad that we forgot our water bottle in the car so we didn't really go that far.
Ballast Point - We checked out Ballast Point on our way back from our hike after leaving the dog in the room and it was okay. I forgot what we ate but I think we got some hamburgers and an Amber Ale for Mike and an Imperial Stout for me.
Ronald Reagan Sports Park - To join the firework festivities we decided to head to the park and it seemed like everyone in Temecula had the same idea, they started the fireworks at 9 pm and we had nowhere to park so we just stopped on the side of the street since nobody was going anywhere anyway and watched the fireworks, it was a best decision every because as soon as they were done we just got out of there fast. The good thing about having them have fireworks in the park was there were no fireworks elsewhere in the city and Kona was able to sleep soundly that night.
July 5: Mo's Egg House - Breakfast the next morning found us at another spot with an outdoor seating area so the dog can enjoy being with us.
1909 - After walking around town and being touristy and buying stuff at the antique store we went to 1909 and decided to sample their appetizers and they were very good. I had the peanut butter stout here and fell in love. If it wasn't so hot inside the restaurant I think we would have stayed longer.
Garage Brewing Co - This restaurant was recommended by my brother and it was like a Pizza Rev with it's own Brewery inside which was the perfect combination, pizza and beer, what could go wrong. So we ordered a pizza and taster beers and a couple of beers to go for John and my dad.
July 6: Mission San Luis Rey - We went to see the mission but since we have princess Kona we were only able to scout the outer areas which was a lot to begin with, this was one of the bigger missions I have seen so far that they still have the land bare with no buildings around them. It was very quiet and peaceful sitting beneath the trees and watching for prairie dogs.
Barrel Republic - After dropping off the dog at the new hotel we were staying at for the night we decided to walk toward the areas where they had more restaurants, I am not sure if you call it downtown though. We ended at Barrel Republic and loved their dip and flatbread appetizer, and the fact that they had everything on tap and all you need to do is serve yourself and tap your wristband and they charge you when you leave. No waiters, except to bring you food but drinks are depending on your choice. A very interesting concept.
Ramen Menma - So on a last minute invite we had dinner with Lauren and Jamal with their friends before they left for Florida. Noodles were good but since we've been munching on appetizers before this we were already full so we just shared a bowl.
July 7: Rehab Brunch - We had breakfast with Lauren without Jamal this time because he needed to go to work. We also checked out their house and hung out a for a while before all their things were boxed and carted to Florida.
San Elijo Lagoon - Of course another spot to see before we headed home. It was under renovation when we came but hopefully next time we go it will be finished. They were rehabilitating the wetlands to make it habitable for the birds living in it.
Beach Break Café - We stopped here before heading home. They had huge Burritos and a very cool bathroom. Very nice outdoor patio, but since it was summer, it was a little warmer than I am used to.
July 4: Red Lion Tavern - Celebrated Dominique's birthday at the Red Lion Tavern in Silver Lake. They served German fare, sausages, spätzle, potatoes and of course beer. I wish I knew about this place when I lived in Echo Park. It would have been a nice place to hang out in.
Aug 4: Din Tai Fung - I started spa weekends with my mom and we decided to check out Din Tai Fung 'coz she's never been. I think this place is a bit pricey and overrated with it's very expensive food but we came so she can say she has been here and we might not come back again, Mama Lu's is still the best.
Aug 5: Cinemark - Spy Who Dumped Me - Omg this movie was hilarious from beginning to end. The plot was regular spy has a gf, gf doesn't know and now has to finish his job and so it goes... Loved laughing together with the Mission girls.
Aug 12: 626 Night Market - I should be tired of this by now because I think this has been my 3rd time doing this, but this is my mom's first time at the 626 Night Market so we went. There were a lot of new stuff this year but we made sure we tried the Giant Squid and we settled for the first one we saw which was King Squid and we made the right choice because their squid looked bigger and juicier than the other giant squid stalls. Yummy.
Aug 26: Mini Reunion with CCS classmates because John and Shay and their kids came cross country to see us. Madeline broke the news that she was expecting. Craig and Nancy came all the way from Oxnard. Kate and Ernie and the kids came to join in the fun because we did not have kids so I made sure people with kids came hehehe...
Aug 27-31: Roof under construction. Just when we cleaned the house thoroughly for the party.
Sept 22: LA County Fair - It was very far and there was a lot of walking. Cathy's cookies was soooo good, yummy hot cookies. Most of the food were fried. Animals were cute. It was okay but I do not think I will come back.
Sept 30: A& W BBQ Seafood Restaurant - I always wanted to come here because they have the dumplings in carts. It was a little overwhelming because 4 people with different carts were just asking us if we want this, or that, I guess we came when they were near closing so they wanted to make sure we were satisfied. It was very good food and they were fast with the orders.
Oct 4: We were leaving for our anniversary trip for the weekend but Mike P was in town so I brought him Jollibee for dinner. He was babysitting his friends cutest little baby.
Oct 5: Solvang - Drove out to Solvang for our Anniversary, Mike has a new job so we could not go on a longer trip.
Oct 6: So for our Anniversary we started the day by going to
Ostrichland, we walked around and fed the Emu's and Ostriches. After that we had breakfast at Ellen's Danish Pancake House, walked around town and decided we wanted to try the Tandem Bike. We were ready for dessert so we went to Ingeborgs.
To share the love we decided it was okay for Florence and Justin to get married on the same day hahahaha (like we had a choice)... It was a good decision though because they did a good job celebrating our anniversary by having all our friends together and paying for our food and the venue to make it special.. thanks Florence and Justin(wink wink)
Oct 12: Burgerim - I checked the accessibility plans for this newly opened restaurant in Sylmar and since Sharon was in the area I decided to include her in my food trip... fine...I didn't want to go there alone.. They had this very nice courtyard that had a Bobba place and a very nice wall to take photos in.
Oct 13: Mendocino Farms - I forgot Florence's gift so I met her for lunch and to just catch up after the wedding. We bumped into Kate and Ernie so when Florence's lunch was over I stayed and caught up with Kate and Ernie. There was this annoying couple sitting at our table though that just kept on trying to stick their tongue in each other's throat which kind of made me a little uncomfortable.. Let's get it on... meh...
Oct 20: Don Cuco - Greg and Nancy
Oct 23: Farm Table - Since Kate loves me so much we had lunch together ... okay fine she was at the Van Nuys courthouse for jury duty and they gave her a 2 hour break.
Oct 27: Filipino Food Festival
Nov 2: Tam O' Shanter - Mama's Birthday
Nov 3: Gyu-Kaku
Nov 10: Wood Ranch
Nov 22: Thanksgiving - Instead of the traditional thanksgiving dinner we decided to forego the turkey or chicken option and decided to go Asian this year. We decided to celebrate with shabu shabu(hotpot) and because we go to the extreme we decided we were going to do Korean bbq as well. It was a very successful first attempt.
Dec 15: Nutcracker Ballet
Dec 12: Crepes de Paris - Departmental Christmas Party
Dec 14: Castaway - LADBS Christmas Party
I got tired by the time I finished re-capping last year. It wasn't all that bad as I thought, I think I might have had cabin fever because everyone was going on a vacation of some sort and I was just here working too much.
I should also add that by this time I'm down to 2mg Prednisone from 40mg that started 2 years ago, 250mg Mycophenolate from 1000mg. I can't wait to not drink any of these things again, though I think some may have given me a full head of hear that I never had, hence the long hair.
