Saturday night I danced for my friend Hara's charity event in Garden Grove. She belongs to the Orange County Imperial Court (www.orangecountyimperialcourt.org) , which is part of a worldwide organization that holds all kinds of social events that also raise money for a plethora of charities, such as animal and children's hospitals. What could be better than having fun and giving to others?!
Hara and her friend Mary cooked a huge dinner for attendees to the Satin, Leather & Lace Christmas Show. There was turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes with marshmallows, cheesecake, cookies and lots more. Since I was going to dance, I could only have "Brownie spoonfuls" of the yummies, but that was OK.
There was a good amount of performers and absolutely no repeats of music (many went with holiday selections, so this was a surprise). I danced with my swords for one number and then worked my way through the venue dancing for tips during my second song. I, like all the entertainment, donated my tips to Hara's charity of choice, the Orange County Animal Assistance League. I had a great time, not only shaking my groove thing, but watching all the other acts.
On Christmas I went with my friend Dean to his brother and sister-in-law's house for dinner. Karin served up roast pork with mashed potatoes, stuffing, green beans and rolls. We also enjoyed a persimmon pudding (very English) with cream sauce, lemon meringe pie and German stollen.
I got a big kick out of George and Stanley the Labradors. One of them stood staring intently at me when I was sitting on the couch. I petted him and talked to him, but his gaze didn't waver. Finally he walked to the end of the couch and got up on it gently making his way behind Dean, who was also sitting there, and me to lay on the plump back cushion. It turned out that I was sitting in the way of his favorite snoozing spot!
Wednesday I saw the film "Seven Psychopaths." It was violent, yet quite funny. Christopher Walken practically stole the scenes he was in and Tom Waits was creepily charming as he pets a white rabbit while telling a tale of a murderous spree. But for the real review, visit my friend Vernor's website www.insidesocal.com/vernorsticket or the Ticket Please column at www.DaBelly.com
This weekend I have been invited to go to Equifest, the horse show featuring equestrian groups that will be in the Rose Parade in Pasadena on New Year's day. I'm really excited, as I love horses and I know the riders are awesome. Also, Uggie (the dog from "The Artist") will be appearing at Vroman's in Pasadena 2 p.m. Sunday Dec. 30 in support of his book. I may drop by if I have time.
I have to use some of my weekend to prepare for the Rose Parade because I am going to assist Dean in his live webstreaming of the event Tuesday, Jan. 1. We will be going there early to chat with float riders and other parade participants before march-off and then watching the beauty go by. It won't be active until early morning Jan. 1, but here's a link you can watch:
Video streaming by Ustream
In rotation this week: Annie Lennox, "We Wish You a Metal Christmas," Doctor Dream's Christmas compilation, Tracy G, "Wilderness Christmas" and 38 Special.
Photos we got 'em: A couple of animal images from the web that made me grin and I funny baby photo from my friend.
Thought o' the week: Small steps. Everyone is sooo into making resolutions for the new year. They want to drop a bad habit, lose weight, do something really dramatic. But do they stick with it? ... Yes... for about two weeks and then the goal seems so big and so unattainable that why bother?
The problem is that people try to make huge, overwhelmingly huge, changes overnight. Consider a smaller change. Instead of a drastic diet, try substituting potato chips with crunchy carrots, instead of pounding it every day at the gym, try walking around the block 2-3 times a week, and so on. Make one little bit of difference and then build on it and you will be more likely to stick with it. If you fall back, don't guilt yourself, wake up the next day and take your plan back to heart.
This is not only fitting for a new year, it is good anytime throughout the year when you know you need to do things differently. I've been cleaning out everything in my house that I don't need so I have more room and less stress. I began by going through my videos, books, CDs and other media and giving a lot of it to my local library. Now I'm working on clothes and have already taken two huge bags of stuff to the thrift store. I work on this clean out for a couple of hours whenever I have a quiet day. Sure, it's slow, but doing it this way is not as daunting and as I see the new clear spot, I am encouraged to continue until I reach my goal. Go for it, whatever it may be, just remember-- small steps.
Happy New Year
and
Keep on rockin'
Mickie
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