First Place

Today I competed at the Area 4, District 33 Toastmaster's Humor and Evaluation Speech Contest. I competed in the Evaluation portion of today's event against another Toastmaster. The speech that the other contestant and I evaluated was that of Dana LaMon who is a World Class Speaker and has all the various letters after his name to prove it. I hadn't expected to evaluate such a renowned speaker! He gave a wonderful presentation that I really enjoyed. After his speech the other contestant and I had 5 minutes to prepare our evaluations and then present them to the whole room. There were about 20 people total at the contest. The 5 minutes to prepare were very helpful to me and I was thankful for the opportunity to organize my thoughts before speaking. When I was finally up to speak I was very nervous but somehow managed to not show it and instead just focused on doing the best I could. I managed to share what I wanted and hit most of my points from my written notes. I had the option of using notes but did not because points are deducted for use of notes. I found it easier to speak without the notes as my scribbles tend to be distracting. I felt really good about my performance. In fact when I had finished and was sitting down again I had more nervous energy than before I spoke! It was a really wonderful experience and at that point I didn't care how I placed I was just pleased I did well. I was very surprised and elated to discover I won first place. I've only been in Toastmasters since July of this year and the person I competed against has been in Toastmasters for 4 years. I had the occasion to hear her give an evaluation once before and I thought she did a great job. Her evaluation was organized and accomplished the "sandwich" concept: 1) positive comments, 2) area of improvement, 3) positive comments. At the contest today I was not allowed to listen to her evaluation and she went first. I had no idea if she covered the same topics as me or not, but I didn't have time to worry about it. I'm just happy that I did well and had the opportunity to compete.

This squirrel is on CRACK!

We tried this cereal and let me tell ya it's no Peanut Butter Crunch Heads, but it'll do in a pinch if you have a hankering for a peanut buttery taste. In TN we liked the store brand (Bi-Low) Cap'N Crunch knock off and here in Cali this is the best we found. The real deal is too sweet. This crack like substance pictured here is just right.

I can't believe this is at kid level in the Vons stores! What are they thinking? Are kids today just not hyper enough? Have a few yougnin's not yet been labeled ADD or ADHD?

Busy Week

Tomorrow night I'll be attending a networking function for Antelope Valley Business Women. I had some business materials printed up so I could distribute them. I'm looking forward to making new contacts .

Wednesday I have a meeting regarding a parade Nov. 11th. I was asked to oversee and organize some of the people, tasks, events, and details leading up to the event and of course on the day of the parade too. This will be an interesting endeavor and a great opportunity to meet lots of interesting folks.

Thursday night the High Desert Toastmasters meeting will be held at my house since our usual meeting location is not available. My sweetie has volunteered to make chili and other goodies. Should be a lot of fun!

Friday a few of us are trying to coordinate efforts to go to Mojave to check out the Sept. 30th Contest location. I'm in charge of the breakfast fare. I want to see the space before the 30th because I'll only have a 1/2 hour to set up. I want to know the layout and what resources are available before the big day so I can better plan for it. I need to be there about 7:30 am as things will kick off around 8:00 am. Unfortunately this is about 45 minutes from home so that'll be an early morning for me and Erik. He volunteered to help out with that too, what a guy! He wants to make little baby quiches. Whatever makes him happy. I like his quiches so I'm sure they'll be a big hit at the contest.

On Saturday, the hubby's birthday, I'm competing in the Toastmater's A4 Area Contest for District 33. That's from 12:00 pm - 3:00 pm. My poor baby will be left alone for a few hours, but then once the contest is over, he'll be stuck with me again. He said he'd attend the contest, isn't he the best?! I told him he doesn't have to unless he really, really, REALLY wants to. It's his b-day after all he should do what he wants.

I'm also gathering supplies this week for the upcoming events. The more I can do ahead of time the better!

LARRY!!!!

My buddy Larry from St. Louis stopped by yesterday to catch up and watch some football with the hubby. It was great to see him, the last time we got together was over a year ago... maybe even 2 years ago?! He's in CA on business and drove up from Irvine to see us.

It was fun to hear what's happening with him, his kids and life in general. He spent 3 weeks in Spain earlier this summer so it was neat swapping stories of European adventures.

He heads back to Missouri on Thursday and I'm afraid I won't be able to get together with him again before then... but at least I got to see him at all. I miss my friends in St. Louis. Hopefully someday the hubby and I can make our way East and visit them all.

Beverly Hills 90210

Last night the hubby and I attended a party in Beverly Hills. I didn't know what to expect and went with no agenda or preconceived notions (well, mostly). I have found that doing this prevents feelings of frustration and disappointment. Also, I usually have much more fun as I'm more open to just letting things naturally happen and occur as they ought to.

Last night was a blast! I met some incredibly nice and fun people. A hairdresser, personal trainer, a CSI, several lawyers, an interior designer, horse trainers/breeders, and many others. It was a very interesting evening to say the least. The open bar and food were great and the setting was amazing! Beautiful landscaped yard, cool blue pool, tables with candles, and soft yard lighting all came together to create a gorgeous scene.

I was initially nervous going to this party because I wouldn't know anyone there other than my spouse. After about 20 minutes we both mingled separately and found our own little crowds to gather with. We joined forces again late in the evening, not too long before returning to our Palmdale residence. We even met someone who also lives in Palmdale. Go figure.