End o' Week Musings

The end of the holiday season is drawing near, but that doesn't mean I'll be any less busy...

Friday (Christmas Eve) I took my mom to Westminster church in Pasadena for the 10:45 p.m. service. It's a huge gothic styled structure that is so beautiful and amazing, I say if you don't like the music or the sermon, just enjoy the scenery. But we did enjoy the music.

The evening began with a bell choir and continued with the church choir, a string ensemble and more. Just before midnight, the minister asked everyone to make a big circle around the pews and we took turns lighting a candle from our "neighbor" and then helping our neighbor on the other side light theirs until the church glowed. A bell rang 12 times and then we all sang "Silent Night." It was really nice.

Christmas day I slept in a bit and spent most of my time in my red satin pajamas. I did a bit of writing, some television watching and basically took it easy. I even had dinner cooking in my crockpot. My friends Andrew and Byron stopped by for a visit and gift exchange and in the evening my mother came over and hung out for a while. Now, I wasn't completely lazy, as it was a nice day so I took two long walks.

Tuesday I met my special guy and his son for lunch and a couple rounds of mini-golf. The kid and I were paired up against my guy and we beat him soundly. The kiddie got a hole in one and I managed many of the tees with only two strokes. The loser bought us ice cream and yesterday was still moaning about his bad game. Hey, it's about time we showed you how to play! ha ha ha!

I have a fairly quiet weekend planned. Tomorrow I will be going with my friends Linda and Vernor to the Autry museum. I haven't been there in forever, so it will be interesting. In the evening, my mom and I are planning to go to a Chinese restaurant for dinner-- an old tradition of mine. I'll probably watch the Rose Parade from home, curled in my warm bed with a cup of hot chocolate.

My big excitement is that on Monday I will be interviewing Paul Zaloom of "Beakman's World." For the unfamiliar, "Beakman's World" is a crazy, fast-paced show that teaches children about science. It's fun to watch and encourages learning. Zaloom will be bringing a stage version of the show to Caltech in Pasadena in late January. I'm jazzed to speak with Paul, as I am a big fan. Yeah, yeah, it's a kids' show, but it's one of the best things I've seen on TV in a long time.

The rest of my week will be filled out with interviews with artists and musicians. I'm also going with my friend Jules to see "Hair" at the Pantages.

In rotation: I felt like keeping the holiday season going, so I've been listening to the same music as last week....

Photos we got 'em: Some cute animal pictures from the Web and a photo by Keith Durflinger of Rob Halford and his bass player (and my friend) Mike Davis in concert last week. You will be able to see more concert photos and read my review at http://www.dabelly.com/ this weekend.

Thought o' the week: Two things. As the new year rolls in, many of us make resolutions, which are often left in the dust after a week or so. I think most of this is because we make goals that are too big or too demanding, instead of taking the challenge on in little steps. That is why I am asking you to resolve to do two things-- two small things.

One: Pick one bad behavior or habit that you would like to fix. Make it attainable, such as remembering to say thank you to the waitress at your favorite restaurant when she brings you your meal or giving a credit where it is due like when your boss praises you for a job well done and the truth is a co-worker helped out, tell your boss about your helper instead of mutely accepting all the praise.

Two: Pick one nice thing you would like to add to your life. Here, also keep it simple, such as greeting the receptionist at the office every morning when you come in with a big smile instead of a grumbled hello or nothing at all. Or opening the door at places where people have too much in their arms so they can go in or out easily.

There's tons more things you can change and add, I'm sure you can think of several already. As I've said before, a little kindness goes a long way to making the world a better place~ start with two things.

Happy New Year and keep on rockin'

Mickie