Let's Do Something New!

Well, happy halloween to everyone! The viewership has taken a dive on our infamous rants, so see what Roger and Rachel do to bring up the ratings……….

Well, it’s yet another episode of Roger and Rachels Rants.

This one is about being grateful.

You might not think that would be “something new”….. but for many of us, we get used to complaining, so being grateful is definitely doing something NEW.

And if anyone can rant about it, we can……so enjoy, and I hope this reminds you to be grateful for something.  For God’s sake people.

This is episode #3 of the new Roger and Rachel’s rants. Now I don’t want to perpetuate negativity, however, every now and again, it feels good to express ones thoughts in a rant.

In a funny way. In a direct way. In a way where someone, somewhere might learn something new, and take that information and use it for the good of human kind.

And of at the end of the day, a man might learn that women actually appreciate the effort it takes to have a PLAN.

Enjoy, and oh…..please spread the word.

In these economic times, it has forced me to be a bit creative when having to find something to get for a friends birthday, especially their 50th!!!

The birthday boy finally said to me “The best present would be you performing something..”   Gulp.   I longed for the days when I had enough cash to order a really cool watch on-line, or send a bouquet of balloons.  Okay, I guess the only thing this will cost is time, rehearsal, and something funny to say.  So I wrote a song….got some back-up from my talented friends Ethan Stone and David Sampson, and decided that this would be a funny birthday gift, dedicated to the effects of alcohol and the voice we hear when we tipped the bottle a bit too much.

SO for my NEW THING today, it was giving a gift from the heart, which is so much easier to pay down than my enormous credit card bills.

I hope somehow it might inspire you to give of your “gifts” for the present you need to get someone next time

Enjoy…….

In honor of my 2009 RICK SPRINGFIELD CRUISE, I decided to post the “Best of the Cruise” to entice anyone else that might want to go this year on his final and last Rick and Friends Cruise-it was a blast.

It is my intention to go this year with my sister, however, it looks like unless there is a miracle, because my dog has diabetes, and her CAT has diabetes, neither of us can afford the ticket AND what it cost to keep them at the vets. (OMG WHY didn’t I purchase doggy health insurance??)

Anyway, here is the video I am quite proud of as it shows the fans point of view of the cruise. Done in pure Rachel Reenstra comedy style.

Maybe one day even Rick himself will see this.

Ok, we have all heard them before, the people who don’t “get” facebook-  the people who REFUSE to be a part of the mass movement to connect on this crazy social media site.  Probably the same people who “brag” that they don’t have a television, which just means to me  you can’t afford cable. You’re not better for not connecting with the world, especially since in 2011 you can pick and TIVO the good stuff and filter out all the crap. Yes, there IS good TV out there. Discovery, History, PBS, Biography….but I digress….

Listen, people, the point is just RELAX. We are here to give you exactly 2 minutes of a little R&R and help you understand why you might live a happier life by NOT being a facebook hater. And if you ARE a facebook hater,  you probably don’t have a TV, so here is some free entertainment. Educational. Inspirational. And kinda funny.   Enjoy.

Well, since me and my favorite Gaybor next door always like to have a glass of wine and rant about things until we laugh ourselves silly, I thought why not share some rants with the world. We started with ranting about on-line dating. We had so many things to say, but through the magic of editing, it looks as if we kept it pretty short and to the point. We decided to start our own personal ranting diary and keep it going. So here is to a little ranting, and if you ever wondered what is just so wrong about online dating…well, here ya go…

What can ONE person do to help end poverty?  I always wondered that till I met the founders of a site  called www.livebelowtheline.com that has the intention of bringing people together to bring awareness and help make this happen. I took on their challenge of living at 1.50 a day for food to get a better understanding of people faced with the challenges faced by people living in extreme poverty.  I spent 5 days living at $1.50 a day for food and I was not sure how I was going to do it. I had the brilliant idea of going to the 99 cent store to get as much food as $7.50 would buy me for the week. However, as the days went by I realized I was not the wisest in my food choices…but I took on the challenge, and encourage everyone to go to www.livingbelowtheline.com and have the experience that others are having let’s come together and do something to end poverty!!!  Here was my video diary of attempting to live on 1.50 a day………

I have decided to do something for a charity that brings awareness to global poverty.  It is a challenge to live at 1.50 a day for 5 days for food and drink.  I figure if I bring 7.50 cents to the store I can try to find 5 days worth of food, but that wont be easy.  Live below the line is the name of the charity and it is about living below the line of world poverty, making us aware of what millions of people have to spend on food….The project is called http://www.livebelowtheline.com/the-challenge/ click on that link to learn more about how you can join the challenge and help!!!  I will be vlogging my journey and in 5 days will post my experience……maybe I’ll spend the 7.50 on coffee and chocolate, maybe just on pop tarts and ramen noodles……that was my food intake in college, either way I know it WILL be a challenge and interesting to see how anyone can live off of only 1.50 a day….stay tuned!!!

I decided it was time for me to figure out a NEW way to handle paying my bills.  The number one reason couples divorce is over money issues. Since I can not divorce MYSELF, I figured I had to find a way to stay with me and make it work……  so here is the ANSWER!!!!
This something new is something you will learn from and will help you in ANY frustrating financial situation in your life.
This 2 minute video might just change your life and the way you feel about money.
But you will have to watch the video to see.
It changed the way I felt completely.

One of my new things for 2011 is to meditate more. Or ever. But I just get too overwhelmed that I wont do it “right” or that I don’t have the time, etc etc……so after watching Oprah’s show yesterday about happiness, she promised everyone in her audience that if we just sat down for 1 minute ( being the over achiever that I am, I extended it to 100 seconds) and got real quiet and focused on our breathing, it would change our lives. Well, I figured since I named my dog after her (little Oprah) I deserved to listen to what she had to say, and give it a try.

So my new thing for today is to try my best at meditation. For just 100 seconds.

And here is what happened.

I do believe that by second 90, I achieved a glimpse of enlightenment.   I hope this inspires you to spend a few moments alone, to breathe and get quiet today- 100 seconds to be exact.

If I can do it, anybody can.  Watch the video and you’ll see it isn’t so hard at all.

I thought this was a great way to start my new year….by re-appreciating California. Many times we might live in a beautiful place, but get too busy with our lives to take notice.

When my friend from New Zealand was in town and wanted to see more of California, I realized this would be the chance to drive up the coast- which I had never done before…..

This is a trip I will never forget, and I would recommend, for your new thing, take a day and go somewhere in your hood that you can re-appreciate….there is beauty all around us and all we have to do is take a little time to take notice.  Where would you go?  What would you do?  Do it!  Make the time.

This new thing is dedicated to California, and the people who encouraged me to take the time to drive instead of fly.

Okay Okay, guilt free if you make them really small, This evening as I was in the christmas spirit of doing something new, I got into the BAKING spirit……So if you have a sweet tooth, check this EASY new cookie you can bake –so easy it is embarrassing…..and I only was inspired to make it from a commercial……so good job Pillsbury….and enjoy..if you make the cookies small enough they are TOTALLY guilt free!!!! Oh, and make them under a mistletoe because there ARE kisses involved……

I thought about one of my biggest fears…..well, it’s really a love/hate fear relationship…and it is with comedy.  I can not seem to stay away from it….have you ever felt something in your life that you just keep getting drawn back to, and yet you resist it because deep inside you know what it would mean for you to make it a reality, or to even attempt to become a success at it??

For me it has been stand-up comedy.  I had stopped doing it for years. And when my life was beginning to starve for creativity and I looked to places I could contribute, and when I heard the glorious sound of laughter in people sparked by ideas I had in my head, I came alive again.  My goal this year was to get back to this thing I loved, and missed. When I set that intention, the universe presented this opportunity at one of the best comedy clubs in all of Los Angeles. I had to say yes, and I am so glad I did. I also hope that this video clip inspires you, makes you laugh a few times, and reminds you of what it is that you might want to start to do again in your life that once brought you joy.  I did not have time to edit it down to a shorter version, so even if you watch just a few minutes, I think you will get some laughs. Either way…..have a laugh on me.

Since my love for wine, I have always wondered what it would be like to stomp on the grapes that actually produce the amazing elixor. Let’s go back in time…to a beautiful place in California called LEONA VALLEY……and see what this wine stomping is all about…..