Happy New Year to ALL

Wow, hardly seems possible that 2009 is here but I have to tell you..I am so glad to see 2008 gone..bye bye!! we lost a lot of things in 2008...jobs, friends, cars and money!! But I gained so much more than I could have possible lost. I gained a wonderful son-in-law. I gained new job opportunities. I gained many new and wonderful freinds. I gained a few unwanted pounds too...those will come off with a little work (I hope).
Our New Years Eve was a fun filled night at Wine Styles (1007 Mission South Pasadena..great place..come and visit) I work there three or four nights a week and we hosted a Murder Mystery Party. What fun that was. I was truely amazed at the level of "play" people were willing to commit to. All our guests came in costume and took tho thier character roles like fish to water. The setting was a 1920's speak easy with all the characters..Al Capone, the Ravioli Family, congressman, inspectors and the like. Amanda and Jesus were there and Amanda (as Cassandra) was a murderess, off the big boss himself (Don Wannabee. Amanda won a prize for best costume and I solved the first crime (Amandas was the second murder of the evening) and I also won for ending up with the most money. Extortion, bribery, cheating, stealing, tell tales..all got me that rpize..yeah for me.
So as we welcomed 2009 in with a great party it made me feel as if things were changing...for the better. I always try to keep a bright perscptive and this years is no different. Leela and I have a ne motto Fine in '09......

Thanksgiving

My friend from Hong Kong, Fung Yee, emailed me last night asking about my Thanksgiving. She said she should have checked by blog first but had she, she would not have found anything..I have been remiss.
Thanksgiving just seemed to arrive so quickly. I have been working a lot and the thought of doing all that work, cooking, cleaning..etc..seemed so alien to me. It was funny, when I finally got around to doing it all it was such a pleasure. I like to clean (well I like the end results) and I love to cook..I enjoy having all my family together even if they are moderatly disfunctional. So I put on my itunes and started the work..Wednesday night mind you. I cleaned and cooked until 1:00 in the morning. I got up early Thursday to escort Frederico (the turkey) into the oven, peeled potatos and just generally puttered..It was by far one of the more relaxing days I have had in a long time.
Amanda's wedding on Halloween was the best thing ever but it left me disconnected from the holidays...Thanksgiving and all the wonderful tastes and smells that joined it helped bruing them all home...Now off to Christmas...just around the corner..

My baby's Married.....

My first blog was about my daughters engagement and now...she is married. The wedding was perfection. Things could not have been more perfect and she was magnificently beautiful and from what I can tell, blissfully happy. Now this does not mean that the preperation for the wedding was not without it bumps but almost..I cannot recommend Almansor Court in Alhambra enough..they were efficient, helpful and downright tenacious in some cases. They fulfilled all of our expectations. The food was good, the service was great and they even averted what could have been a disaster when the cake order disappeared the afternoon before the wedding. Michaelene, the manager, took the issue to hand and we had the lovely cake the kids had ordered (very fresh by the way)delivered on time.
Thank you to all our guests, especially those who took the Halloween spirit to hand and dressed in costume. What fun it was to have Wonder Woman, Greek Goddesses,Pirates (including the infamous Jack Sparrow)Roman soldiers, witches, rhinestone cowboys and cowgirls among our honored guests.
I thought I did a nice job with the flowers and loved my early morning visit to the LA Flower Mart. I shall have to go again...just for fun and maybe not at 5:00 in the morning.
I thought for sure I would cry when I saw my baby being escorted down the aisle b her daddy...who looked pretty spiffy himself but I did not. I was so taken with her beauty and poise that I was almost frozen..not wanting to miss a single minute or word. She looked so amazing and I guess I was blinded by the white...She never once faultered. She was composed and you could tell, she knew she was the centerpiece. Sure Jesus looked great and he was much calmer than I thought he would be but Amanda left me breathless.. I am so proud of the young woman that we raised...a vision in white...
Now I get to pick her up in San Pedro tomorrow, as they come home from their honeymoon..I know she has so much to tell me and I will be all ears........my baby is married.....now I cry for joy...

So much to do!!!

My lovely daughter is getting married in less than three weeks. There is so much to do. I remember my first blog was about the proposal and now the day is drawing near. I still have bridesmaid dresses to sew but all in all..things are pretty much handled (I think). Last weekend we had our big show..Arabia Exotica. Wow, it was pretty amazing. For that event I made another 18 costumes for a drum solo number. Then there were the 32 other costumes I made..and I a have orders for Jane Austin costumes and more belly dance costumes....All of which I am grateful to do in this challenging economy..but after November 22..the sewing machine and all my stuff gets tucked away so that I can use my dining room again ....as a dining room. The holidays are also fast approaching. Amanda and Jesus should be in their new house before the wedding and I can barely wait to help them make it a home. So much to do....so little money :)

I am ready for my close up!!

All righty then!! I am a girl who enjoys looking nice. I make sure my hair is styled, my make up is good and that there is no lipstick on my teeth most of the time. So how is the world did I end up in a life vest, covered in mud, looking like the Pillsbury dough boy - on NATIONAL TELEVISION....
Oh my gosh...the things I do. This would have been so much easier to explain had I been able to keep my WipeOut blog posted but ABC asked me to remove it because I had posted it before the show aired...certainly..I understand. So I took it off. It was pretty brilliantly written and I forgot to save it in a file..so you won't see it....but let me just tell you...that picture represents the easy part of the WipeOut course. So here I am, stuck in the mud, doing mud angels...having the announcers point out that am not familiar with the true spa experience....Duh!!! If I was would I be languishing in stinky, weeks old mud that has strange fruit floating in it...NO!!..
So glamorous is not in my past...and maybe not my future either but I am still ready for my close up!!!! P.S. I might use this for my Christmas card......

Semi Automatic or 38..and good customer service

OK, as I have mentioned before, my life is never boring.....I try but things just happen.
Today, while on my way into the local Von's to get some chicken for lunch ( I was going to McDonald's but went for healthy) I was confronted, at the door, by two men. They stopped and looked at me, I looked at them, we played that ..who is entering and who is leaving game. One man dropped his bandanna...hmmmmm. As they bolted out the door the manager looked at me and said the stores just been robbed. I am not too bright sometimes. All I could think about was, Damn them..how dare they!! I went after them to see if I could catch the lic. number on their car. As they dashed down the sidewalk one of them dropped his gun..a semi-automatic handgun..probably .9 mm .45 mm. They took off running no vehicles in sight.

I go back into the store to do my shopping...well that was not going to happen right away. The police came and questioned me..yes I am a great eyewitness, down to shape, size, hats, clothes, ages...then the loss prevention guy...all good. Police ask me about the gun..I told them and he asked me barrel or semi-automatic. Semi-Automatic, of course. How could you tell maam...? Well A barrel gun would not slide as easily across the concrete and this one was flat and by the way, did I mention I used to shoot with my friend Gene, years ago..I know a 38 from a 360 magnum..a semi-automatic from a .22 caliber and a 30-6 from anything...

I think I kind of scared the checker Leon, who actually sold the guys a gallon of milk (later found dumped behind the Marshall's) and handed them an application for a Von's Club Card....Now that is customer service......

Silk veil or giant bedsheet ??

So our belly dance troupe is getting ready to film a DVD using veils. It really should be a beautiful piece of work. Leela is such a brilliant choreographer and never ceases to amaze me with her innovative concepts. This one is no different with a veil origami theme. Unfortunately I am struggling with the whole veil thing. I am 4 feet 11 inches and the veils are bigger and longer than me. Monday night in class I felt like the veil was made of velcro and I was the target. It stuck and clung and got hung up. After about an hour it's weight was 10 pounds instead of 10 ounces. near the end of rehearsal Leela suggested I get a smaller veil so it did not look like I was struggling with a king size bed sheet. I did not think I was that bad but on reflection..probably. I hate not doing everything spot on from the very start so this just sent me into a furious tailspin.
I went home (at 11:30 no less) and got out every veil I own. Played the music and test drove all of them. Nothing was working except the lovely silk veil my mom got me for Christmas. It drives itself. But that one would not do for the shoot. they have to be all one color and mine is tye dyed. After all was said and done I managed to take control and drive the lovely blue, standard size veil....and no one was hurt in the process.......