Vegan Mofo! Vida Vegan Con 3! And a Baby Squirrel!

If I didn't have you at mofo or VVC, I bet I had you at "baby squirrel." And there will be a baby squirrel in this post, but you'll have to wait for a few announcements.

1. It's Vegan Mofo 2014, y'all!
It's hard to believe that the Vegan Month of Food (MOFO) is here again. Didn't we just do that? Time really flies when you're gettin' old. But in case you're new to the vegan blogosphere, Mofo is the month when every vegan blogger comes out of the woodworks and vows to blog more often and typically with a fun theme for the month. Some of us, like myself, have been blogging all year, and Mofo is just business as usual.

But some of my favorite bloggers only get super-serious about blogging around this time, so I love catching up on what they've been doing all year. You can find round-ups everyday on the Vegan Mofo website.

And after years and years of participating in Mofo without a theme, I've finally decided to commit to one this year. My theme is Pantry Raid! (Get it, like "panty raid" but with "pantry." Ahem.) My pantry (and freezer) are out of control again because I'm a food hoarder who can't turn down a Kroger Manager's Special. So every dish I make at home this month will be centered around ingredients I already have. I'm allowed to buy fresh produce and the occasional supplemental ingredients, but the base of the recipe must come from things I already have.

2. I'm speaking at Vida Vegan Con 3!
I'm super thrilled and honored to have been chosen to speak at VVC again this year. Somehow, I've been lucky enough to speak at the past two cons, and I figured they'd be sick of me by now. But nope! I guess not! Yay! I was gonna go anyway because I wouldn't miss it for the world, but I'm so excited to be speaking.

I'll be leading a talk (or maybe a panel?) on the Ethics of Vegan Dining and Boozing. We'll be discussing how we each handle sticky situations in non-vegan restaurants. Do you ask lots of questions? Are you more concerned about being an easy-going vegan and not asking questions? Do you worry about whether or not your wine is vegan? Do you tell someone at the table when they accidentally order something not vegan?

The conference is in Austin from May 29th-31st. And I'm super excited that my BFF Sheridan and her partner Drew are coming this year! Vegan breakfast tacos, here we come! If you need tickets for VVC, go here. 

3. And now the moment you've all been waiting for.

That, my friends, is Baby Herman. A few weeks ago, Paul let the dogs out in the backyard and heard a loud screaming sound. He went outside and Maynard, our pittie, was playing with a tiny baby squirrel and most likely about to make that baby a snack. The baby was screaming for help! Paul scooped him up and took him inside. We never saw a nest or a mama squirrel, so we took the little guy in. I googled "how to take care of an orphaned baby squirrel" and got some good tips. He loves puppy formula. Here he is in the first week or so. Look how tiny and wrinkly!

It's been about 4 weeks now. Herman's eyes are open, and he's getting way more active. He's such a crazy little guy! This morning, he discovered that my pants are basically the same as trees.

We plan to release him when the time is right (websites say between 12-16 weeks), but for now, he's still on formula. Hoping to introduce solids this week since he just got in his baby teeth! I'll certainly keep y'all posted.