Beach Day!

Good morning

I woke up this morning and our room was filled with pink light

Tacos & Tunes

Had a great time last night having dinner with friends... I finally put the crock pot to use and made carnitas.  It turned out great and was pretty easy.  I set it up in the morning, with the meat, an onion, garlic, jalapeno, orange juice and rind, and lime juice and rind.  It cooked for 8 hours and then we easily shredded the meat.  We had tacos with fresh guac and coconut chocolate ice cream for dessert.  The highlight of the night was listening to "The Sea" record which was music and sounds of the sea with Rod McKuen speaking poetry over the top.  The record was from the 60s and it was hilarious.

Together at Last!

Emily, Chris and I went up to LA to see Pete Holmes and Rob Bell in a show called Together at Last.  It was hilarious and great.  We randomly went to dinner first and had a great meal and spotted celebrity Joe Lo Truglio who is a hilarious actor, we love him as Boyle on Brooklyn 99.  I had a deliciuos cocktail with honey in it and we shared a bunch of plates - brussel sprouts, chicken sliders, and devilled eggs.

We walked about 15 minutes through downtown LA to the Regent Theater, which is a weird space with folding chairs, but it worked.  Pete and Rob came out and would alternatively talk about topics like wonder and joy, then did a little Q&A, then gave advice... it was unlike anything I've been to.  

I suck at taking selfies.

We got a few minutes to talk to them and I asked Pete to sign a scientific article that I happened to have in my purse.  I had to present it in my cancer bio class, it was quite interesting about breast cancer heterogeneity and cancer stem cells.  Anyways, I thought it would help give me perspective and joy while preparing to present it, and it did.  I got nervous and didnt ask Rob to sign it.

A great night.

Old LV

Chris started our last night in Vegas with a giant margarita.  We also got an awesome show by a mentalist while our food was being made... I'm still trying to figure out how he knew the name of the person that someone was thinking of....

We went downtown, and the light roof is crazy!!!! There was also a sax man, zip lining over our heads, a Doors light show, chippendales, cops, showgirls, gambling and drinking on the street.

The Strip

The beautiful glass in the Bellagio

We wandered around for a couple hours and I hit it big on the slots (I turned $10 into $50 woohoo). I was very excited to see there is a Serendipity and Shake Shack - NYC is coming West!  We also caught the water show in front of the Bellaggio- surprise it was to the Titanic song- it was great, water + music = the best.

New Years Day with Red Rocks

We stopped at the Visitors Center where they had a cool exhibit about Earth, Fire, Water, and Air of the desert, showcasing the animals.

Chris discovered a new mode of transport

Then we took the scenic drive to look at the red rocks. I forget how alive and diverse the desert is, so many different kinds of plants and rock formations. And how did those rocks get so red???

Count the shrubs!

I love all the layers in these rocks, or are they mountains? 

All in all, a great way to start the New Year!

Happy New Year!

We drove out to Vegas baby for New Years.  Had a great time dining, drinking and dancing the night away!