Six months old! Growing up so fast, our little Paisley is. She is smiley and chubby and sleeping well and eating solid food. Seems like only yesterday she was born. She won't be a tiny baby much longer.
Above, Paisley with my llama Alphonse. Below, a comparison of Natalie (left) with Paisley (right) at about the same age. Can you spot the differences between these two babies? 
What.
WHAT!
WHAAAAAAAAAAT?!
If Apple and Cold Stone had a baby, it would look like Pinkberry. The product tastes more like a yogurt that has been frozen than your typical "frozen yogurt." And the shop is so modern--so clean!--that it seemed to belong in a video game set in a fictional utopian city.
I ordered a cone with the seasonal peach yogurt, topped with sweet peaches and creamy Swirly Whip. It was so good, there's only one thing I can say about it: go to Pinkberry. Oh, and then open a franchise in Minnesota, so that I can get some too!
On my last business trip I suggested that Strong Hearts vegan cafe was the Syracuse analog to the Minneapolis stalwart Hard Times cafe. But that was mostly because I was over-eager to ascribe its legendary qualities to another deserving restaurant. The truth is that the similarities mostly ended with the menu.
Which I why I make the following statement confidently, but with a couple of crucial caveats: Pokez is the Mexican, omnivorous, version of Hard Times Cafe. Check it out: totally sketchy-looking inside and out, loud music, and good vegan food for not a lot of money. But here there are differences too: a family with young children occupied the table next to mine, a sight that I can't quite imagine at Hard Times. Also, lucky me because I was low on cash, Pokez takes credit cards.
I had the tofu, potato, and mushroom taco; and a machaca burrito, which was a scramble of tofu, mushrooms, and vegetables. The taco was great. The burrito was as big as my arm and I barely made a dent in it. I also ordered a Sangria and then only took a few sips. 
There are few pleasure in life I savor as much as an expertly-made cocktail. It's also very rare for that cocktail to be made by someone other than myself. I was determined to have a good drink in San Diego, and that's what brought me to Craft & Commerce.
On Friday I ate one orange, one white chocolate mocha, one bowl of melon pieces, one apple, one crepe, one bottle of Orangina, one cocktail, one taco, one burrito, one basket of chips and salsa, and one sangria. That night I had a stomach ache.
On Thursday all of us had dinner at the Fish Market Restaurant. It's a three mile walk from the hotel along the harbor. The restaurant sits right on the bay. I had high hopes again and again I was not disappointed.
On Wednesday we took a road trip to Stone Brewery in Escondido, California, about half an hour's drive north of San Diego. It's a big, beautiful facility; everything Surly aspires to be. You walk into a gift shop, can see into the brew rooms through a floor-to-ceiling glass wall, and stroll around a landscaped courtyard garden. Even the bathrooms were impressive, with big egg-shaped urinals and a countertop carved from a solid slab of rock.
On Tuesday we had dinner at Old Town Mexican Cafe. In contrast to the setting for last night's outing (quiet, trendy, and not crowded) this place was packed, wild, and totally unpretentious. It was highly recommended by a member of our group as the Mexican restaurant in San Diego.
On Monday night I visited Yard House restaurant in San Diego's Gaslamp district. I had the pepper-encrusted Gorgonzola burger. It was pretty fantastic. The patty was a small, circumference-wise, but tall. Cooked well-done to order and covered in mushrooms and spinach. The thin cut fries were good too. Not really amazing, but they hit the spot after a day of flying. 
My company is sending me to San Diego. I haven't traveled far (or flown anywhere) since the last business trip to Syracuse. That was three and a half years ago! Which means Natalie would have been three months old.
This week I started studying for the GMAT. Now, you might think the important news here is that I'm thinking of getting an MBA. But considering that I started my previous blog to write about going to law school, then got rejected by nine different programs... let's not jump the gun. For now I'm just focused on this exam. Specifically, the math.
On Sunday morning I was watching some Juncos pecking around on our lawn, when I saw a flash of white out by the compost bin... our first Spring bunny! At first I just snapped a few photos but as I got closer, it was clear that this was a tame rabbit. My neighbor helped catch her and I spent most of Sunday building a rabbit hutch.
Natalie named the rabbit "Faye," but soon changed her mind to "Sasha" (pronounced "Sha-sha"). I have no idea where she came up with either of these names. We got some food and treats and bowls at the pet store. Then we moved Sasha from the pet carrier into her new hutch for the night.
I'm trying to figure out the breed; my best guess is a "broken brown" Rex. That would mean she could be either a juvenile or fully grown, depending on whether she's a standard or "mini" Rex. Coincidentally, when I checked on our hens I found the first egg of the year, and I told Natalie that Sasha laid it.
