Lulu vs. Tofu Day at the Office

I am worried I am going to be dubbed the "dog lady" at work because I brought Lulu and Tofu to work so close to each other. :P

Lulu has her routine down at work. She hops around and greets everyone, spends the morning sleeping in my cube, then becomes escape artist by the afternoon, roaming the hallways and cubicles.



To avoid tying her down, I made her lie down on my desk next to me. I cleared a spot next to my files and she snoozed for a good 20-30 minutes.



Then, for some odd reason, she got up and walked to my computer and just sat down, facing me. She sat here for a while and even almost snoozed off.



So then I thought, why not give her some entertainment. I found some birdie videos on Youtube which amused her for about 2.5 seconds.



Then towards the late afternoon, the little princess just collapsed on the chair behind me and slept until it was time to go.

On Tuesday, I brought Tofu with me to work for the first time in almost a year, and found she was no different than Lulu.



She slept next to me for a good 80% of the day, and under my desk for the rest of the time.



In fact, she only came out when she smelled that I was eating lunch. ^.^

Bill it to the dog.

Runyon Canyon Hike

On Saturday I went on a doggie hike with Max, Yona, Aai, Phil&Judy and all of the doggies: Lulu, Tofu, Monty & Luke. Phil and I have been planning this for a long time (before winter); the last time we had a hiking trip planned my car was broken into so I had to skip.

So I really wasn't sure what to expect. I thought it would be like a long walk through a hilly path. Mostly dirt, lots of doggies, maybe like an extended version of a dog park. As we followed Phil's car up the canyon to the parking lot, we all grew nervous as we realized that the path would be up and down the entire canyon.



We started at the top where the view was stunning. We took a paved road down to some vantage points. There were a few benches and a watering hole and my sisters looked relieved to take a break. That's when Phil broke the news: this was the starting point. We chose to go down the steep path so that we could walk up the paved, less steep road back to the top of the mountain.



It was a little bit unsettling that we were walking downwards and in every direction all you could see was down. I was a little worried that one of the dogs might slip at the edge and roll down the side of the hill but they were a lot more agile than us humans.



The path was getting more and more steep and at it started to get tiring trying to keep our balance as we make it down the steps. None of us were wearing hardcore hiking shoes so there was a danger of slipping and falling. I think Joanna was crying inside -- with her fear of heights it's a wonder she made it to the bottom without crying.



The dogs had a great time. Lulu was so exhausted that she kept resting in the shade on the way up. We gave her a summer cut the day before we went and that was a BAD idea. Her paws were exposed to the hard, hot gravel for the entire run so she had some sore spots by the time she was done and was limping for a good 2 days. Poor baby toes.

Brunch in Malibu

Mmmm! Finally I wake up early enough on a weekend to drag Max out to Paradise Cove in Malibu for breakfast! They stop serving their breakfast menu at 12pm and it takes a good 1/2 hour to drive up there so usually by the time we're up and ready to go on the weekends we miss breakfast.



Max had the seafood omelete, which he had the first time he visited (without me).



I had my usual favorite, the macadamia coconut pancakes which were so good as always. Something about the toasted coconut and macadamia nuts on top with what seemed to be coconut syrup was just so satisfying.



And then, of course, I couldn't help but order the clam chowder. I have to say this is probably the best-tasting clam chowder in all of Southern California. And it also makes me want to try making some at home and do it right this time with bacon or salted pork. (Sorry Yona & Ai)

Lulu Friday

Lulu is always so excited to come to the office. She spends the first 5 minutes hopping around and visiting her favorite place: Barbara's office where she typically gets fed Chipotle. Then, without fail, at about 10:30am she always just knocks out behind me.