I guest-blogged today on TJ Bennett’s blog, IMHO (In My Humble Opinion), where I was asked to write about what romance means to me. My story involves a bottle of wine, a box of chocolates, and a rented gorilla costume. Please pop over to post a comment or share your own story.

I’ve also been blogging up a storm over on Huffington Post, as the controversy surrounding the L.A. Zoo’s new Asian elephant habitat rages on, and the misstatements of the activists protesting the project continue to get me riled up. Links to all my pieces can be found here.

As awful as it has been for my zoo colleagues and I to have our work and integrity attacked on a daily basis, fighting the battle has brought many of us closer together. It has also drawn new supporters into the fold, including rocker Slash of Guns N’Roses, a big-hearted animal lover who has jumped into the fray to help the zoo battle the b.s.

This leads me to one of the most surreal experiences of my life: Earlier this week, I got to hang out with Slash and Betty White as they filmed a series of YouTube video appeals for the zoo. The dichotomy of seeing Slash and Betty White together still cracks me up. But they are both passionate about animals and committed to helping the zoo build this state-of-the-art habitat for endangered Asian elephants.

To top it off, I earned major good-stepmother points for getting Slash to autograph a Guns N’ Roses Greatest Hits CD for my stepson, a musician himself.

Rock on!

UPDATE: The zoo was victorious in its battle to keep Billy the elephant and continue construction of his expansive new habitat. On January 28, the City Council voted 11-4 in our favor!