Competition

Yesterday I competed in the Division contest for Toastmasters. There were seven (including myself) who competed in the Evaluation portion of the Humor and Evaluation Contest. I spoke last and therefore was not allowed to hear the evaluations of those six who spoke before me. As such I have no idea how well the other six performed. I did not place, so I don't know how well I did - if I came in 4th or last or somewhere in between. However, I've only been in Toastmasters for a few months so I'm very pleased that I even attempted such a thing. It was exciting to speak before a crow of 50-60 people. There was a microphone, which I am NOT used to, but fortunately it worked out fine. It was a great experience and I enjoyed listening to all the humor speeches, especially since 2 of the 8 speakers for the Humor portion were from the High Desert club of which I am member.

The Area Governor who ran the Humor and Evaluation Contest asked me to provide the breakfast fare for the event. I of course jumped at the opportunity to do this. I was given a $200 budget. When I told Erik I was going to providing the breakfast for this event he immediately said, "What do you need me to do? I can set up a "create your own omelette" bar or maybe make baby quiches." What a guy! He ended up making his world famous Danish Egg dish (which are scrambled eggs with chives and Havarti cheese) and a Country Hash Brown casserole with Sausage. Both turned out great! Together he and I made a HUGE fresh fruit salad. I make 2 loaves of banana bread (one with nuts, the other without), and we had some Nutrigran bars and store bought pastries. We have regular and decaf coffee as well as several other hot beverage options: tea, hot chocolate, and apple cider. In addition we had bottled: water, orange juice, and cranberry juice. It was a huge success! Everyone loved the food and Erik received many, many compliments for his culinary skillz. That's my man!

Aside from the fact that we were up till 1:00 am preparing the food, loading up the car, etc. It was worth it. The getting up at 5:00 am to get ready, drive to Mojave (about 1/2 an hour away) set up the food, get the coffee going, etc. by 8:00 am was grueling. But, I'd do it all over again. Not sure if Erik shares those same sentiments or not. We were both really sore from standing so long, all the prep work to make it happen, lugging all the food, bottled beverages, serving dishes, and what not. It was a lot of work for a 3-hour event. We were originally expecting about 40 people, then the week of the competition I was receiving e-mails daily explaining that more and more people were registering for the event than originally planned. This was exciting as far as the competition was concerned, not so exciting regarding the breakfast. We could have gotten more money for the budget (an additional $100), but we managed to feed the extra 20 people for only $11 bucks more than our original $200. I feel we did a fantastic job for only $211 and the short notice of discovering extra people were expected.

Erik also had requests from others attending the contest for his culinary skills at their events! Way to go babe! He's not sure yet if he wants to do this all over again... but I think he is at least considering it. As I understand it, this other event is NOT scheduled as early in the morning, but rather is an afternoon affair - much easier on our sleeping schedule. I told him if he decides to go through with it I'll be his little helper. Part of me hopes that if he is contacted for this other event that he takes it. I think it would be a fabulous opportunity to delve into catering/cooking which is something he already LOVES to do, so it seems like a natural fit, but it's his choice.

As for me and competing, I did not make it to the next level. This is actually fine by me. I'm helping out at the next contest, which is the BIG one, the Fall Conference, that takes place Nov. 3 - 5th. I'm heading up the Table Decorating Committee. I have what I consider a very UNREALISTIC budget of $100 bucks, to decorate both the lunch event on Saturday and the dinner event on Sunday. I am told there will be anywhere from 125 - 175 people per event! This translates into anywhere from 18 - 24 tables seating 8 people each - per event. I will need 36 to 48 table top centerpieces - which will be given away at each event. Thus, I am unable to reuse the lunch centerpieces for the dinner event the following day. The committee members and I are still trying to figure out how we're going to do this for only a 100 smackaroos! $25 for lunch and $75 for dinner? $50 per event? If YOU have any ideas or suggestions I welcome them! Please, I'm begging! )pen flames/candles, bird seed, rice, and other such items are not permitted.