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 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………

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……

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…..

Since I have a blog about trying NEW things, Sony wanted me to blog about their NEW video camera!!!!  In return I got VIP tickets to see Jack Johnson, and I got to keep this really cool new video camera called The BLOGGIE TOUCH!!

In this video I Unbox it for the first time, and show you some of the great features it has, then I show you what the video looks like taken with the new BLOGGIE!

So if you are wondering what NEW thing to get someone for Christmas…..this is an inexpensive video camera that wont disappoint!

They let me keep the camera, but unfortunately I had to give Jack Johnson back at the end of the night. Bummer.

Well, for my new thing this week, I drove by a doggy adoption and asked what I could do to help. The woman told me that if I could foster a dog that would be great. Wait, like foster parent? Keep them but no real commitment? Now you are speaking my language…So I asked what dog, and she pointed to a little tiny chubby dog that she said was found in a hoarders house with 38 other dogs. They were all sick and not taken care of and the police busted in and all the dogs went to the vet, and then the kennel. This one especially was very scared and very traumatized, and she did not think she would ever get adopted because she was, well, a little overweight…..and I guess people in L.A. don’t want to have to pay for the liposuction.  Well, Since I finished reading the amazing book TRANSFORMATION by Bill Phillips I had an 18 week process I knew she could go through that would help her regain her health and happiness and get back to a normal weight.  (With what she went through I am sure there was emotional eating involved as well)

So I took her in, named her Oprah, and….well, let’s just say I failed as a foster parent. Watch the video and you will see why.

When I was asked to do this I thought it was a joke. But alas, NO JOKE. Dogs can surf. All of them better than me, so how was I to judge? Well, this is one of my all time favorite new things to see, and  you HAVE to see it for yourself to believe!

Oh and when you watch this video, you might be VERY surprised at who actually WINS!!!

Now this is  a combo not to be beat.

If you like Abba you’ll LOVE  gay men singing it at none other than the Hollywood Bowl!  Then finish off the night seeing the real Pretend ABBA!

And my companions were my Gaybors—-who loved it almost as much as me…..  click play, this is  a new thing  you have to see.