Outside the Lane

14th Annual SoRo Community Festival

2011-05-14T19:17:00.000-07:00

Los Angeles, CA — This year's 14th Annual SoRo Community Festival will take place on Sunday, June 5, 2011 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The SoRo Community Festival will be located on South Robertson Boulevard between Beverlywood St. and Cattaraugus St. (just North of Hamilton High School and the 10 Fwy).

The SoRo Festival’s goals are to build bridges amongst local neighbors, businesses, and community and public service organizations; and celebrate the cultural diversity of our community. Local caterers, restaurants, merchants, schools, entertainers and organizations will participate. The SoRo Festival will feature activities for kids, a live music stage and lots of exciting artist and vendor booths. Additionally, the SoRo Festival will feature local school children’s presentations of art and science projects on the Festival’s theme “SoRo In Bloom.”

Plus this year, the SoRo Festival will feature a special Green Team Committee Booth. The Green Team Committee Booth will feature a canned food collection drive to benefit the SOVA Food Bank and the collection of wine corks for recycling. The goal of this year’s SoRo Festival is to be a zero waste event and will include drinking fountains provide by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, recycling of all festival materials and composting of all food waste. The SoRo Community will be presenting a special Community Award for Outstanding Green Citizenship to Green Beginning Community Preschool for their commitment to an eco-friendly lifestyle.

In addition, the SoRo Festival will feature an exciting variety of Los Angeles hottest gourmet food trucks, offering a delicious assortment of choices (including Kosher and vegetarian selections): The Schnitzel Wagon (Kosher), Bool Korean BBQ Tacos & Pastels, No Tomatoes! A New Sensation in Indian Street Fare, the Spring Street Smokehouse BBQ Truck and King Kone Ice Cream Co.

The SoRo Festival stage will feature live musical and dance performances from some of SoCal’s talented young performers, including appearances from World Garden Dance and Music Studio, and the award winning Jazz Vocal Ensemble from Hamilton High School and top 40 music from Sound Assembly and the Latin Soul sound of The Westside Crew.

The SoRo Community Festival is coordinated by the South Robertson Neighborhoods

Council and SoRo, Inc. and funded in part by a grant from the Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Department. We would like to invite the entire Southern California community to join our event. Admission to the SoRo Community Festival is free. Free street parking is also available. The SoRo Festival is open to the public and will provide plenty of fun for the whole family on a Sunday afternoon!

For additional information, call Christel Wilson at (310) 837-1710 or

visit http://www.soro.org/ or http://www.soronc.org/programs/sorofestival

Free Admissions to Museums Courtesy of Bank of America

2010-10-03T10:39:00.000-07:00

If you have a Bank of America card (either ATM or Credit Card), every first weekend of the month admissions to museums and other venues across the country are free. In NYC, the Met and the Bronx Zoo are free today. I'm going to see the new Resnick Pavillion at LACMA today. Check out the link above and find out what museums in your state are free today.

Resnick Pavillion at LACMA

2010 L.A. County Fair Tapestry Competition Entries

2010-08-31T20:07:00.000-07:00

The L.A. County Fair will open this weekend. I have three entries in the Tapestry competition. I will not be in town when the Fair opens, so I will have to wait until mid-September to see how I did. Admission to the L.A. County Fair over Labor Day Weekend (Sept 4th-6th) is only $1.

August 1st Already!!!???

2010-08-01T21:36:00.000-07:00

So the entire month of July has gone by and I'm not sure where it went. Life has been busy and taxing. It was very busy month at work, which was practically non-stop since the 6th of July. I got sick with both the flu and bronchitis at the same time this month, but since there was no rest for the weary, there was no time to take off and get better, so I took massive doses of Tamiflu and Azithromycin and hoped for the best. I feel better, but still have a nagging cough. I had exactly one bad date this month. My date had severe halitosis and was a horrible dancer. The conversation over dinner was alright, but the holding me close and breathing his dragon breath on me at the after dinner dancing made me ill. After an hour of "dancing" I just had to pack it in and insist I go home to recover from the nausea. Despite my bad date, I ended up setting up two people I know on a date. I made the introduction and I guess we will see if it works out well or not. I think it is so hard to find a person to date, let alone find someone who is relationship material. I think these two individuals are both great people and I hope they end up thinking so about each other too. On the second to last day of the month, a dear ol' friend of mine came to town for a weekend visit. We went out to dinner with some former co-workers of ours, some of whom I have not seen in about 15 years. It was great getting together and catching up. Life speeds by, but sometimes it stops for a moment of reflection. We all marveled on how "good" we still looked and that the friendships are still strong despite the time and space. That's it. Nothing really else to report. Oh, I did enter three cross-stitches in the LA County Fair competition. Fingers crossed for when the Fair opens in September.

Copyright 2010 Romy Schneider. All rights reserved.

Falling in love in Mystic, CT

2010-07-12T13:37:00.000-07:00

This past Fourth of July weekend, I traveled to Mystic Conneticut to attend my very dear friend Jason's wedding. Mystic is a charming small town on the South facing Conneticut coast, probably best know for the Julia Robert's movie entitled "Mystic Pizza". I don't fall in love easy, but I absolutely fell hard while in Mystic. In love with the town and on an early morning run, I fell in love with a house. Falling in love with real estate is much harder for me, then falling in love with people, so here it is, my new lust object. Oh, and I've included a picture of the bride and groom too. Enjoy!

View of the Harbor from the backyard of the house.

Jason and Keri Crawford

What I Love and Hate About Sports

2010-07-07T08:26:00.000-07:00

What I love about sports: Johnny Damon running around the bases and throwing his batting helmet in the air like a little boy after hitting a walk off home run last night in Detroit. Lance Armstrong battling back after a flat tire in the third stage of the Tour de France at 38 years old. The awesome World Cup matches in South Africa over the last month (Germany v. Spain today will be grinding it out for a spot in the Finals). The John Isner/ Nicholas Mahut epic Wimbledon match that went 11+ hours over 3 days and ended in a fifth set final score of 70-68.

What I hate about sports: LeBron James getting a primetime special on ESPN to announce where he is going to play next year (really a primetime special?). A shooting outside of Michael Vick's birthday party (why did this guy get a second chance?). Tiger Woods' personal failings (how do you have the discipline to be the greatest professional golfer in the world, but not the discipline to be faithful to your beautiful wife and children?).

Sports can teach you many important lessons about life. Like in order to get to the top of your field, you have to work hard and train consistently. Like when you have nothing left in the tank, somehow if you really want it, you can dig deep and find a little more. Like how sometimes you have to go big to win big or fail spectacularly (in the end, you make the history books in any event). How no matter how old you get, when you are really, really happy you look and feel like a little kid again. Like when you really want to achieve something in life, your mind and heart can rise above any physical limitation. Like if you want to win, you first have to believe in yourself. And finally, don't ever give up, because if you do, your goals will always be unrealized.

Celebrations of Life

2010-06-16T13:33:00.000-07:00

I recently attended two very special events that were remarkably life affirming in two very different and wonderful ways. Last Saturday, I attended a very dear friend's wedding. Linda Gregory and Jim Hollenberg exchanged vows at 6pm on June 12, 2010 at the First Baptist Church of Redlands. Friends and family were in attendance. I sat on the bride's side of the church and witnessed one of the happiest days of my friend's life. She was a vision in her pale champagne colored off the shoulder taffeta gown, which she made herself in less than a year. Her hair is curls around her face and crowned with gold beaded hair bands, she radiated joy and love in her face as she proceeded up the aisle to her waiting Jim. Finding love a little later in life, but well worth waiting for, Linda and Jim were about to exchange vows for the first time in either of their lives in their 40's. But when you find the right person to spend your life with, all the time up to that point, waiting and looking, just seems to melt away. I've never seen two people so perfect for each other. So completely in love and devoted. I spoke to Linda a couple of days before the ceremony and she said that as much hard work and some frustration planning the wedding was, the best part about it was that Jim had just been an absolute prince through the whole process and had been so supportive. If you can plan a wedding and even with all the stress surrounding it, you still find complete solace in the support of your impending spouse, then you know that you are marrying the right person. Maggie, the maid of honor, and another dear friend, looked absolutely lovely in her royal blue gown and deep plunging neckline (she looked HOT!). I took pictures from my prime seat on the aisle, but due to my shaky camera work (probably also due to the couple of drinks I had right before the ceremony) most of my picture came out a little blurred. Even through the blurriness, I think you can still see the joy on everyone's faces. I also want to formally thank my escort to the wedding, who made the day and evening absolutely perfect for me. Thank you dear sir (you know who you are) for being both a solid rock and wildly fun all at the same time.

My other recent life affirming event was a couple of weeks ago on May 30th, I had the honor of attending the Memorial Service for Ronnie James Dio, former lead singer of Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Dio, and most recently Heaven and Hell. Wendy Dio, his wife and manager, generously sent me wristbands so that I could sit inside the Hall of Liberty, the site of the ceremony at Forest Lawn in the Hollywood Hills. Outside of the Hall of Liberty, a large screen was set up with additional chairs for mourners. It was a public memorial and many, many of Ronnie's fans attended. It was a very warm day, but people braved the sun and gave up part of their Memorial Day Holiday weekend to attend. I must say that I was painfully uneducated about Ronnie's career and life up until this day, but the celebration of his life put on by his family and dear friends in the music industry was a complete enlightenment about what an amazing person Ronnie was and for which he will continued to be remembered. Ronnie was a slight man in stature, standing only around 5', but based on the countless personal stories about how he had touched other people's lives, it was clear that Ronnie's heart and personality were much greater that his physical body. Among the musical luminaries that spoke and sang at the ceremony were Rudy Sarzo, John Payne, Glenn Hughes, Joey Belladonna & Dio/Heaven & Hell keyboard player Scott Warren. The love that poured out these men for Ronnie was so incredibly touching. They spoke of Ronnie as a father figure and as someone who was always there for them, no matter what. Ronnie was also incredibly fun and mischievous. They spoke of Ronnie being a lifelong Yankee fan and an incredible heavy metal vocalist, maybe the best who ever lived. It was such an honor and privilege to have been invited into this Memorial and to listen to each and every person who spoke. It just goes to prove that one person can make a difference and touch so many people's lives. Thank you Wendy for allowing me to hear such incredible words about your husband, who clearly was as greatly loved as he loved others. I was truly moved by the whole event. I just wish I got to spend more time with Ronnie, than the one time I met him. But even in death, Ronnie has made an impact on my life. God rest his soul.

The Wizard of Westwood Will Live Forever

2010-06-05T05:42:00.000-07:00

God bless us with John Wooden for 99 years (1910-2010). He will always be the greatest coach of all time. He embodied the definitions of class, grace, strength, success and what it means to be a UCLA Bruin. Coach Wooden will forever be tattooed on my and every Bruin's heart. Long live the Wizard of Westwood. You can listen to him describe his philosophy of success below.

Wait is that The Cookie Monster?

2010-05-23T18:20:00.000-07:00

So I went to a bar in Hollywood last night to celebrate my friend Kimberly's birthday. Around 11pm, all of a sudden in walks The Cookie Monster. He hung out, danced to the music and then just as suddenly as he appeared, he left. Off in seach for more cookies I guess. Oh, and he wasn't invited to the party, he crashed it! Did I mention that this was an adult birthday party? Enjoy the pixs. Only in Hollywood.

Rest in Peace Ronnie James Dio

2010-05-17T06:29:00.000-07:00

I was very sad to hear of the death of Ronnie James Dio, who died this weekend of stomach cancer at the age of 67. I had met Dio and his wife Wendy a couple of years ago at the premiere of the film "Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny". Tenacious D, the rock duo comprising of Jack Black and Kyle Gass, asked Dio to do a cameo in the film, which he agreed to do. I negotiated his acting agreement with his wife and manager Wendy Dio, with whom I struck up a friendship over the phone. Wendy was extremely protective of Dio, despite the fact that they were no longer together as a couple. I finally met both Wendy and Dio at the film's premiere party, which took place at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. Wendy and Ronnie were both delightful in-person. Despite being Heavy Metal royalty, Dio was extremely humble. He was very grateful to be given the opportunity to appear in the film, in which he played himself. The scene comprised of a poster of Dio behind the door in a young Jack Black's bedroom. When the young JB prays to the Dio poster for advice, Dio comes alive in the poster and gives young Jack Black some advice. The scene gave Dio the opportunity to sing on-camera and is a small, but pivotal role in the film. A friend of mine at the premiere was a huge Dio fan, so I introduced them and Dio spent quite a long time talking to my friend and hanged out at the party for the rest of the evening. Ronnie James Dio was a slight man, thin and wiry, standing only about 5'4", but he had a monstrous voice and long curly brown hair. He started his career in rock in the mid-1970's as the lead vocalist of "Rainbow" and then eventually replaced Ozzy Osbourne as lead singer in "Black Sabbath". Later in his career, he formed the band "Dio" and later "Heaven and Hell". Ronnie was born to an Italian-American family in New York. He changed his last name from Padovana to Dio, which means "God" in Italian. He truly was a Heavy Metal god. Rest in Peace Dio.

UPDATE 05/20/2010: There will be a public memorial for Ronnie James Dio on Sunday, May 30th at 2pm located at The Hall Of Liberty/Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills, 6300 Forest Lawn Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90068. More details here.

Copyright 2010 Romy Schneider. All rights reserved.

Press Release - The 13th Annual South Robertson (SoRo) Festival - June 6, 2010

2010-05-07T17:21:00.000-07:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

13th Annual South Robertson (SoRo) Community Festival

Los Angeles, CA — This year's 13th Annual SoRo Community Festival will take place on Sunday, June 6, 2010 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The SoRo Community Festival will be located on South Robertson Boulevard between Beverlywood St. and Cattaraugus St. (just North of Hamilton High School and the 10 Fwy).

The SoRo Community Festival’s goals are to build bridges amongst local neighbors, businesses and community and public service organizations and celebrate the cultural diversity of our community. Local caterers, restaurants, merchants, schools, entertainers and organizations will participate. The Festival will feature activities for kids, a live music stage and lots of exciting artist and vendor booths.

Plus this year, you and your family can receive free information on how to prepare in the event of an emergency and the opportunity to purchase Emergency Preparedness supplies. The SoRo Festival will also feature a special section on Green Living, where you can receive information on how to live a greener lifestyle. Additionally, the Festival will feature local school children’s presentation of art and science projects on the theme of living Green. The SoRo Community and Los Angeles City Council Members Herb J. Wesson, Jr. and Paul Koretz will be presenting a special Community Award for Outstanding Green Citizenship to Vons for their commitment to a greener lifestyle.

In addition, the SoRo Festival will feature an exciting variety of food vendors, offering a delicious assortment of choices (including Kosher and vegetarian selections). Already confirmed are Fat Burger and a couple of Los Angeles’ hottest gourmet food trucks, the Spring Street Smoke House and King Kone.

The SoRo Festival stage will feature live musical and dance performances from some of SoCal’s talented young performers, including appearances from Rock Nation, World Garden Dance and Music Studio, dance and vocal performance from the students of Shenandoah Elementary, Dorsey High School and the award winning Jazz Vocal Ensemble from Hamilton High School and the top 40 and Latin Soul sound of The Westside Crew.

The SoRo Community Festival is coordinated by the South Robertson Neighborhoods Council and SoRo, Inc. and funded in part by a grant from the Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Department. We would like to invite the entire Southern California community to join our event. Admission to the SoRo Community Festival is Free. Free street parking is also available. The SoRo Festival is open to the public and will provide plenty of fun for the whole family on a Sunday afternoon!

For additional information, call Christel Wilson at (310) 837-1710 or
visit http://www.soro.org/ or http://www.soronc.org/programs/sorofestival10.html

# # #

End.

A New Garden at John Muir Middle School

2010-05-02T06:59:00.000-07:00

Leaving the Studio Lot

Every year the employees of Viacom, Inc. volunteer a day of serve to their community. This day of service is called Viacommunity Day, a tradition that was started in 1995. Last Friday, April 30th, the employees of Paramount Pictures donned turquoise and orange shirts and went out to various schools in the LAUSD to build, repair, paint and garden. I volunteered at John Muir Middle School in South Central Los Angeles and helped plant a new garden on the school grounds. We boarded two big yellow school buses, arrived about 10am and got to work. We planted a flower garden including building 5 benches. The kids at the school were delightful. Most of them had never planted anything before. We literally had to teach them how to dig a hole, measure how deep they should dig depending on the size of the plant and how to back-fill the hole to secure the plant in the earth. The kids ranged from very precocious to shy and quiet, but they were all eager to learn. It was an exhausting day, but extremely rewarding. The kids were amazed by the beauty of the garden and that we could accomplish so much in one day. I kept telling the kids that it was their responsibility to make sure the plants were taken care of after we left. They all thanked us profusely and the principal of the school was so grateful she wanted to cry. It was an awesome day of community volunteerism.

Students and Volunteers getting to work.

One of 5 benches built & I helped lay the brick underneath this one.

Watering all our plants, almost done!

Plants & flowers add some color to the concrete and chain link landscape of John Muir

This was truly a rewarding experience for the volunteers and students alike.

A Field of California Dreams

2010-04-26T09:03:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I decided to drive north up the 14 Fwy to the Antelope Valley to visit the California Poppy Reserve in Lancaster, CA. Every Spring, between April and May, is prime wildflower season in Southern California and there is no more beautiful wildflower than our state flower the orange California Poppy. The Interpretive Center at the California State Poppy Reserve is named in honor of self-taught artist, botanist and conservationist Jane Pinheiro. Many of her watercolor paintings of native plants adorn the Interpretive Center's walls. A long time member of the Lancaster community, Pinheiro was instrumental in establishing at least eight wildflower and wildlife sanctuaries in the Antelope Valley, ranging in size from 100 to 455 acres. Because of her tiredless efforts, we Californians have these beautiful fields of flowers to visit each year.

California Poppy in full bloom

This bug sure found a pretty place to rest

This lizard begged me to take his picture.

Ant hill

Lady Bug on my arm

"If you build it, they will come."

The long line of cars waiting to get into the California Poppy Reserve reminded me of the last scene of the movie Field of Dreams. God made these beautiful poppies for us, and with the help of Jane Pinheiro who helped established the California Poppy Reserve, they are coming to a Field of California Dreams.

Container Garden in Bloom

2010-04-18T18:51:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite places is my balcony, where I grow many things; roses, tomatoes, strawberries, and lots of other plants. Here are some pictures of Spring in bloom.

Tomato blooms

These will become Sunflowers

Fabulous Roses

Yummy berries

Better than Animal Planet

2010-04-13T08:03:00.000-07:00

I regularly feed the sparrows (wild bird seed) and squirrels (nuts) on my balcony. I love to sit and watch them from my couch while I drink my coffee in the morning. Today, I had a new unexpected visitor. I looked out and saw a relatively large bird land on my balcony railing, a young hawk. I guess when you feed small animals; you automatically attract larger animals, such as birds of prey. I had never seen a hawk up close before and I marveled at how beautiful it was. It had a light reddish color chest and darker grey wings and head. I grabbed my digital camera and tried to get a photo from my couch, which came out unfocused and grainy. I tried to get closer, but the hawk saw my movement and flew away. So with apologies for my poor photography, here are the photos of the hawk. I have also included a photo from the web, so you can actually distinguish what the hawk looks like. Who says there is no wild life in Los Angeles? My balcony is better than Animal Planet.

Finished Sampler Cross-Stitch

2010-04-11T06:47:00.000-07:00

My framers are New Creation Framing in Pasadena, CA. As always I am very pleased with the finished work.

The Tragic Death of Monica (Burgos) Beresford-Redman

2010-04-08T21:59:00.000-07:00

I was deeply sadden to hear about the death of Monica Beresford-Redman, owner of the Culver City-based Brazilian restaurant and bar Zabumba. I actually met Monica through a friend once at Zabumba and remember her as being a very nice person. Born Monica Burgos in Rio, Brazil, she was married to television producer Bruce Beresford-Redman and had two children. Monica was well known and well liked within the Los Angeles Brazilian community. Earlier this week, Monica and her family were on vacation at the Moon Palace Golf & Spa Resort on the beautiful Riviera Maya just south of Cancun, Mexico, when she was apparently strangled to death and her body was dumped in a sewer on the Moon Palace property. I've actually stayed at the Moon Palace about 10 years ago and I can't imagine how anyone could be so brutally killed in such a serene, tropical setting. The Moon Palace is a very high end resort, emaculately kept and isolated from the hustle and bustle of Cancun proper. Allegedly Monica and her husband had been having marital difficulties and now her husband is the main suspect in her homicide. It sickens my heart to hear about Monica's murder, knowing that her two small childern (ages 5 and 3) will now grow up without their mother. Rest in peace Monica.

Copyright 2010 Romy Schneider. All rights reserved.

Glee Returns April 13, 2010 - Can't Wait!

2010-03-26T07:00:00.000-07:00

I may not be in the demographic that is supposed to watch this show, but I love Glee. It makes me happy. Yup, I'm a Gleek! Last September, I had the pleasure of going to the season premiere party for Glee, thanks to an invitation from a friend (this may be a little late, but THANK YOU Kimberly). This was unlike any Hollywood premiere I have ever been to. First off, it was held at a small private school in Culver City. They set up the premiere like you were arriving for a high school event with cheerleaders, free popcorn, red vines and slushies. The guests all piled into the gymnasium, which was set up like a school assembly with even rows of metal folding chairs and home-made banners on the walls. After we sat through the introduction of the cast, they lowered a screen and showed the first episode of the series. I fell in love with the show right then and there. The dialogue was laugh-out-loud funny. The cast was likeable and outrageously talented and the music was extremely well produced. The after-party was just as fun. They set up the catering like a school cafeteria, where we had to all grab plastic lunch trays and move through a buffet line selecting our food and placing it on the tray. They we sat down on picnic-style lunch tables outside in the school yard. After we ate, the DJ started playing some great tunes and the cast and crew hit the dance floor and partied late into the night. I can't tell you how adorable it was and so unpretentious (just like the show).

After the premiere, I became a loyal viewer of the show and loved each and every episode. I think it doesn't matter who you are, you can relate to one of the lovable misfit kids of the glee club at William McKinley High. The overachieving diva, Rachel (Lea Michelle), the captain of the football team, Finn (Cory Monteith), the head cheerleader and head of the "chastity club" who becomes pregnant, Quinn (Dianna Agron), the gay teen who is too fabulous for words Kurt (Chris Colfer), the disabled kid in a wheelchair, Artie (Kevin McHale), the overweight African American girl, Mercedes (Amber Riley), the socially awkward Asian girl, Tina (Jenna Ushkowitz) and the mohawked jock, Puck (Mark Salling). For me the two highlights of the cast are the adult teachers, the boyishly charming glee club director Will Schuester (portrayed by Broadway veteran Matthew Morrison) and his nemesis, the acerbic coach of McKinley's cheerleading squad "The Cheerios", Sue Sylvester (played with gutso by comic veteran Jane Lynch). Sue's and Will's vicious, verbal banter is both biting and hysterical. In between the comedy and well produced song and dance numbers, the material is also suprisingly moving. If you have not yet seen Glee, you can still view my two favorite episodes from the first part of this season at Fox online, "Wheels" (I especially liked Artie's solo to "Dancing with Myself") and the Fall final show entitled "Sectionals" (Rachel's solo to "Don't Rain on My Parade" was frickin' phenomenal).

The cast of Glee has been asked by First Lady Michelle Obama to perform at the annual White House Easter Egg Roll on April 5th (apparently Sasha and Malia are big fans of the show). Also tune into the Oprah Winfrey show on April 7th, when Oprah dedicates her entire show to the cast of Glee including an interview with the series creator Ryan Murphy. Finally, don't forget to catch Glee's return on April 13th, right after American Idol on Fox.

Yes We Did Pass Health Care Reform! - A Healthier America

2010-03-22T07:57:00.000-07:00

Last August 2009, I wrote a blog post discussing health care reform called a "A Healthy America?". At the time, I believed that the health care system in this country needed to change, but I feared that we did not have the political commitment to do so. With the death of Senator Kennedy, it seemed that the great moral and social activism that propelled this country to enact Medicare and Civil Rights legislation may have died with him. I am grateful that it didn't. I want to applaud President Obama and the United States Congress for living up to your promises and passing the Health Care Reform Bill last night. Because of your courage, the American people will receive the following benefits:

32 million uninsured American will now have medical coverage;
insurance companies can no longer deny coverage to people with preexisting medical conditions;
young adults, up to age 26, would be eligible for coverage under their parents' policies;
seniors' prescription drug prices will be lowered;
tax credits will be offered to small businesses to purchase coverage;
lifetime limits will be eliminated and annual limits on benefits in all plans will be restricted;
new plans will be required to cover preventive services and immunizations without cost-sharing;
consumers will have access to an effective internal and external appeals process to appeal new insurance plan decisions; and
premium rebates to enrollees will be required from insurers with high administrative expenditures and public disclosure of the percent of premiums applied to overhead costs will also be required.

This Health Care Reform Bill may not be perfect, but it is the most sweeping legislation regarding health care that has been passed in over 40 years. President Obama you led the chant "Yes We Can" bring about change. With the passage of health care reform, "Yes We Did" make that change happen. I, and a healthier generation of America, appauld you. And I'm sure Senator Edward Kennedy is looking down applauding you too.

Copyright 2010 Romy Schneider. All rights reserved.

Good Luck LA Marathoners and Vin Scully's Return on Sunday!!

2010-03-20T09:57:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow Sunday, March 21, 2010 will be a very exciting day here in Los Angeles. Two important events with take place, the 2010 LA Marathon and the return of Vin Scully to the announcer's booth to call his first Dodger Spring training game of the season.

The LA Marathon has a new route this year starting at the historic Dodger Stadium, running through Chinatown, Hollywood, Beverly Hills and ending at the Santa Monica Pier. Click here to view the route. I actually know two people running this year, my former co-worker Derek and fellow blogger Los Angelista. I will be checking out the route in-person on the corner of Little Santa Monica and Rodeo Drive. I wanted to wish "good luck" to all of the record 25,000 runners participating.

LA's beloved Dodgers announcer Vin Scully gave us all quite a scare last Thursday night after hearing reports that the 82 year old ended up in the hospital after a fall at his home. Vin Scully has been the Dodgers' play-by-play announcer since 1954 and has been inducted in the Baseball Hall of Fame. To me and many Los Angelenos, Vin Scully is Dodger baseball. I have been listening to him call Dodger games since the 1970's. Just a little girl growing up in the San Fernando Valley, lying on a lounge chair in my backyard in shorts and a t-shirt on a hot August afternoon, listening to Vin on my old transistor radio, scoring the game on a piece of paper along with Vin. The way he describes the batter's stance, the pitcher's wind-up, the crack of the bat, the outfielder's bob and weave to get a line on the ball, the missed catch, the base runners hesitation at first base and acceleration into second, made me feel like I was right there with him in the booth watching the action on the field. I felt like I could actually smell the grass and taste the Dodger dogs. The boyish enthusiasm in his voice, which is clearly the product of his love he has for the game and the boys that play it, still rings out even 35 yrs after I first heard him call a game. The thought of not hearing Vinny call a Dodger game this season brings me to tears. (Really, I'm that invested in Vin and the Dodgers who both feel like family members). The good news is that Vin Scully was released from the hospital on Friday morning, actually apologized for worrying everyone over a little bump on his head, and vowed to travel to Arizona to the Dodgers training facility to call his first Dodger Spring training game of the season on Sunday at 1:05pm, which will be broadcasted on KCal 9. If you are not running in the Marathon, check out the master Vin Scully and our Boys in Blue.

Copyright 2010 Romy Schneider. All rights reserved.

Take a Tour of the World and Support Fair Trade at Ten Thousand Villages

2010-03-15T09:39:00.000-07:00

I recently stumbled upon an amazing store that I wanted to share with you called Ten Thousand Villages located at 567 South Lake Ave., Pasadena, CA 91101 (located near the corner of Lake and E. California Blvd). Ten Thousand Villages is a non-profit program that provides a vehicle for Third World people to market and sell their handmade crafts in North America. Ten Thousand Villages works with artisans who would otherwise be unemployed or underemployed to provide for themselves income that helps pay for food, education, health care and housing.

The store is amazing and you can spend quite a lot of time looking at the variety of arts represented. They literally have beautiful handmade objects from all over the world and part of the fun is looking on the tag to find where something is made. For someone who loves traveling, it's like taking a tour of the world in my own backyard. The jewlery selection is beautiful, exotic and very affordable.

Rose Pink Pendant

This Rose Pink Pendent necklace was made by Taja-8, a workshop of Tara Projects. Taja-8 is a village workshop in Delhi, India that provides a self-help group for young women, allowing them to organize themselves and use their wages for the collective good. This necklace is only $20.

Variegated Serpentine Necklace

This Variegated Serpentine Necklace is made with variegated green serpentine stone in a braided and coiled alpaca silver setting. It's made by the accomplished artisans of Tika Rumi (“flower stone”) workshop in Peru and is only $28.

They also have delicate ceramics that would look fabulous on your table or as a gift. For example, these sectioned trays.

Floral Five-Piece Tray Octagonal Basket Tray

This pottery is from the village of Bat Trang, just east of Hanoi, where there are as many kilns as houses. Ceramics skills in Vietnam are passed down through the generations. Each only $44 and $48 respectively.

Ten Thousand Villages has many other types of hand-made objects for sale including soaps, cards & stationary, planters, tablecloths & placemats, toys, sculptures, vases, rugs, pillows and much, much more. If you live in So. California, you can stop by the store in Pasadena or you can visit another one of their 155 stores throughout the United States and Canada. Support Fair Trade in the Third World.

Find a store here.

My Picks for the Best Dressed at the 2010 Academy Awards

2010-03-08T08:01:00.000-08:00

Love the Oscars every year. It's the Super Bowl of Fashion. My best dressed for the 2010 Academy Awards hands down was Sandra Bullock. The fit of her golden, beaded Marchesa gown was perfect as it hugged and sculpted her body from the off the shoulder asymmetrical neckline to the shimmery sleek bodice, which pooled at her feet in a small train. Sandra just looked radiant. Her face reflected the golden sheen of her dress. I love that she wore her long dark hair straight down to one side, slightly covering her bare shoulder to balance out the asymmetrical look of her neckline and framing the paleness of her face. Her hair was sleek like her dress. Her eyebrows were perfectly arched and her eye make-up was smoky which made her eyes pop and darker colored lips. Bravo Sandra, you lead the game from the moment you stepped on the carpet, until the game clock ended the show.

Runner up is Jennifer Lopez. Jenny from the Block rocked the carpet in a pale pink Armani Prive textured strapless gown, with a side slit that showed her legs and a tiered train that starts gathered at one hip. The strapless bust line of the dress was enhanced with folded over fabric of the lining on one side leading down the side of her bodice to the start of the train. The dress has a lot of fabric, but JLo carried it off like a pro. I even liked the dyed-to-match pumps. To counter-balance the volume of the dress; Lopez wore her hair up off her radiant face in a slightly messy up-do. Her make-up was also flawless with a darker eye and a shimmery pink lip.

The second runner up is Queen Latifah, in a lavender custom-made satin gown with a silver beaded embellished one shoulder strap that runs down underneath her breasts and crosses down horizontally in an angle, creating a very flattering waistline. Her Covergirl make-up of course is flawless with a shimmer nude lip and a smoky plum eye, accentuated by her sleek pulled back hair do. The pearl drop earrings offset the severity of her hair and perfectly matched the detail of her dress. Girl you never looked better. Take a picture, frame it and look at it every day. You deserve a standing ovation.

Oh, and I want to give a shout out to Gabourey Sidibe, who had the best line of the night, "If fashion was porn, this dress would be the money shot." Girl, you were money, looking fabulous in a robin egg blue Marchesa Greecen gown with silver beaded leaf accents on the bust-line and waist. I absolutely thought she shined, with a fierce attitude and a genuine sense of joy to be there. This girl is not going away quietly into the night, she will be back again someday and I hope I'm around to see her.

And so you see ladies, no matter what size, shape, color or age you are, anyone can look fabulous.

Copyright 2010 Romy Schneider. All rights reserved.

Doughboys is Back Open on Third Street in Los Angeles!

2010-03-01T09:05:00.000-08:00

After a 3 year absence, one of my favorite places to eat in L.A., Doughboys Cafe and Bakery is back open in their original location at 8136 West Third Street and I couldn't be more happy. Doughboys is one of those rare combinations of great quality food in a relaxed, casual location. Everything on the menu is good, but I am partial to their fantasic home-made soups. My favorites are Soup au Pistou - delicious French tomato based vegetable soup topped with a big dollop of homemade basil pesto; New England Clam Chowder - chock full o' ocean clams in a creamy clam broth with potatoes, carrots, celery and scallions; Stracciatella -shredded spinach, scallions, slivered steamed egg, and shredded asiago cheese in a flavorful broth and the soup that I dream about at night, their wonderful French Onion Soup - tons of onions in a flavorful broth topped with gooey Swiss cheese and home-made French bread. YUM!

Dreamy French Onion Soup!

I'm also partial to what they call "The After School Special", which is a grilled cheese sandwich (butter toasted french pan de mie bread, filled with gooey emmanthal, white cheddar, and fontina cheese) and a terrific tomato soup that has chunky fresh tomatoes, basil and a touch of cream. Under sandwiches, I really like the Prosciutto with Camembert - with wafer thin sliced prosciutto ham with camembert cheese, fresh melon, and arugala on a French baguette and the Grilled Eggplant - with zucchini, roasted onion, roma tomato, and goat cheese drizzled with a little extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar on a pesto coated French baguette.

If you love breakfast, try Doughboys pancakes, which a light and fluffy and HUGE. If you feel really indulgent try the Almond Crusted Strawberry French Toast - sourdough bread dipped in egg batter and ground almonds, then grilled, served with toasted almonds, fresh strawberries, and a warm honey butter syrup or the P B C & B - a chunky peanut butter, bittersweet chocolate, and banana sandwich on pan de mie bread is dipped in egg batter and grilled and served with raspberry dipping syrup (You'll need napkins!). They also have a variety of egg dishes, including great Frittatas and Scrambles. Everything here is hearty, so bring your appetite.

Famous Red Velvet Cake

Finally, the pièce de résistance, Doughboys famous (Oprah approved) Red Velvet Cake, which is da Bomb. It's moist and delicious with creamy frosting. They serve them in small round individual portions (kinda like big cupcakes) that are so sinful, I suggest you ask for two forks and share them with a friend. They also have individual portions of Hummingbird Cake (a spiced banana and walnut cake with creamy frosting) and German Chocolate Cake.

Doughboys Cafe and Bakery is located on 8136 West Third Street, Los Angeles, CA 90048. There is only street parking, which can be challenging on Third Street, but don't give up, Doughboys is worth it!

Copyright 2010 Romy Schneider. All rights reserved

Newly Framed Cross-Stitch. What do you think?

2010-02-28T13:33:00.000-08:00

Received my Angel cross-stitch back from New Creation Framing. What do you think?

Single Men Watch.....Figure Skating?!!!

2010-02-23T08:40:00.000-08:00

I plug my mobile phone into the charger in my car and notice that I have a voicemail message. Hmm, a call must have come in last night when my phone was turned off. I quickly put on my Bluetooth wireless ear piece, dial into my voicemail and this is what I hear:

"Romes, hey, Happy Winter Olympics! I just want to let you know that I'm a single guy right now...I'm a single guy, [pause] watching pairs figure skating, [pause] by myself. I can only admit this to one person on the earth and that's you, because I know how much you love figure skating. I wish I lived with my fiancée, so I can blame it on her that I am watching pairs figure skating, but I can't, so I'll just admit that yes, I'm watching it by myself...."

At this point, I'm laughing out loud like a hyena in my car and I'm getting strange looks for other drivers around me at the traffic light. How sad that a straight single (albeit engaged) man is so embarrassed to confess to watching Olympic pairs figure skating and actually liking it. I'm sure my male friend (I'll refrain from mentioning his name in this post in order not to bring on further embarrassment) isn't the only straight man out there that secretly likes to watch figure skating. To me the sport of figure skating is the most perfect blend of athleticism and artistry. Top competitive figure skaters work just as hard as any other professional athlete at the Olympic Games, whether it be a alpine ski racer, a hockey player, a ski jumper or cross-country skier. Imagine gliding full speed across the ice on a 1/4 inch metal blade, then using all of your strength to propel yourself into the air to complete the three tight rotations of a triple salchow only to perfectly land backwards on the blade of your opposite foot. Nope, that does not take any skill or strength at all. Yet, because figure skating costumes have sequins and lace and the skaters compete to classical music or show tunes, somehow, real men are embarrassed to watch this sport. This totally cracks me up. The thought of my friend sitting on the couch in his apartment, alone, watching the pairs figure skating competition on TV and having no one to talk to about how much he is enjoying the competition is both sad and sweet at the same time. So for all you straight men who like figure skating out there, I just wanted to share this story, so that you don't feel so alone. You are not a freak. You should not feel ashamed of your deep, dark figure skating secret. Here is a link to the top ten reasons men watch figure skating.

Guys, it really is o.k. to watch figure skating!

The Color Purple with Fantasia

2010-02-17T08:30:00.000-08:00

Missed watching both American Idol and the Vancouver Olympics on television last night to attend a performance of "The Color Purple" starring the 2004 American Idol winner Fantasia. Well as it turned out, what was happening on television last night was the farthest thing from my mind, because the live performance of "The Color Purple" was fantastic. Fantasia was born to play the role of Celie, the heroine of Alice Walker's Pulitzer Prize winning novel of the same name that was previously adapted as a motion picture in 1985 by Steven Spielberg and now as a staged musical which originally opened on Broadway in 2005. Celie is the pre-cursor to this year's Precious, a young black woman sexually abused by her father, who bears two children by him by the age of 14. Then she is given away to be the wife of a horribly abusive man, where she basically lives in domestic servitude. Celie is repeatedly told she is ugly and worthless, and lives in passive acceptance of this fact for many years. Fantasia plays the role of Celie with remarkable finesse and restraint. Anyone who has seen her perform in concert or on Idol, knows that in real life, Fantasia has a big voice and a big personality to match. The role of Celie requires passivity and quiet resolution for most of the play, which Fantasia pulls off very well. Her voice remains strong throughout the performance, but her ability to play down her personality and transform it into the beaten down by life Celie is remarkable.

The rest of the cast is just as strong. As Celie's abusive husband Mister, Rufus Bonds Jr. is terrific, with a strong domineering stage presence and voice to match. Two more standouts were Felicia P. Fields as Celie's "take no prisoners" daughter-in-law Sophia and Stu James as her happy-go-lucky husband, Harpo. Sofia, played most memorably by Oprah Winfrey in the 1985 motion picture, is the antithesis of Celie, big, proud, beautiful and strong-willed. When Harpo seems unable to take firm control of her, Mister urges Harpo to beat Sofia to keep her in-line. Harpo, deeply in love with Sofia, is reluctant to do so, and goes to Celie for advice. Celie passively agrees with Mister and also urges Harpo to beat Sofia. Well one attempted beating was enough for Sofia to turn into a hurricane, to make Harpo look like a "mule had kicked him" and to pick up and leave. Sofia parting song "Hell No", sung to Celie after confronting her about advising Harpo wrongly, is rousing and masterfully delivered by Fields. Another standout is Angela Robinson as Shug Avery, a tawdry blues singer who Mister has been in love with all of his life and who comes to live with him and Celie for a spell. Robinson plays Shug with sass and sophistication, as she seduces everyone around her, even Celie. Another nice surprise in the cast is fellow Idol alum LaToya London, who portrays Nettie, Celie's younger sister. Fantasia and LaToya do a wonderful job harmonizing together and their real life friendship clearly enhances their roles as close sisters. Despite the rather harsh subject matter, there is always an undertone of hope that things will eventually work out for Celie. The stage design is minimal, but the costumes are colorful and the relatively large cast fills the stage with great dancing and song.

If you live in Los Angeles, you have only until February 28th to catch Fantasia in "The Color Purple" at the Pantages in Hollywood. You will definitely enjoy it.

Copyright 2010 Romy Schneider. All rights reserved.

Rosemary, Lavender and Cross-Stitch

2010-02-12T11:53:00.000-08:00

I received a sweet little bouquet yesterday of rosemary and lavender. I can't tell you how wonderful it smells with such a small amount. I have placed the bouquet in a little vase. I am definitely going to plant some rosemary and lavender in my patio garden so I can recreate this bouquet again.

I also wanted to share some of my cross-stitch with you. Here is an angel, which I completed last year and is currently being framed at New Creation Framing, who always do a fantastic job.

Here is my work in progress, a sampler called "The Stitcher" designed by Sandra Sullivan. I have added the floral border and changed the color scheme and design slightly. I should be finished stitching it this weekend.

Gentlemen, are you a Gastrosexual?

2010-02-06T02:00:00.000-08:00

Gentlemen, have you ever made a fabulously delicious dish to impress a potential or current lover, hoping that the savory flavors that invade your date's mouth peak their sexual desire for you? If so, then you may be a gastrosexual. Don't know what that means? Pursing the Urban Dictionary, the term is defined as "Men who use their culinary skills to impress their friends and potential love interests." Personally, I find a man who can cook well, extremely attractive.

Food can be very sensual. Certain foods are capable of emitting powerful odor that invade the nasal cavity and literally make you swoon with longing. For me the smells of baking bread, braising pot roast, fresh brewing coffee, simmering marinara and of course sizzling bacon, are irresistible. Everyone can relate to the welcoming smell of home cooking when you walk through the front door. The aroma is an irresistible force beckoning you towards the kitchen. The person preparing the meal becomes the center on your attention and fascination. Watching a man cook can be a revelation. The measuring of spices, the chopping of vegetables to the precise shape and size, the kneading of dough, the carving of meat, and the tasting of sauces, the ability to know what is working and what's not and how to make it better. Preparing food requires a difficult balance of concentration, delicacy, decisiveness and stamina. If you think about it, these skills, all very important to have in the kitchen, could translate as well in bedroom!

Of course after all of that build up to the meal, the real payoff for a gastrosexual is his date's reaction to the carefully crafted food as it is savored in her mouth. A reaction to well prepared meal can be very intense. A sudden burst of flavor can provoke the taster's eyes to flutter and an uncontrollable "mmmmm" to utter from the back of her throat. The savoring of a deliciously prepared meal, together with a good wine and conversation, can go a long way in impressing a woman. Even if the meal is not professional chef quality, it does not matter. It's just the effort put into the planning and preparing a home cooked meal can be enough to make a woman swoon. So, gentlemen with Valentine’s Day on the horizon think about skipping the reservation at a crowded restaurant and break out the pots and pans. You too can be a gastrosexual.

Copyright 2010 Romy Schneider. All rights reserved.

A Valentine for Art Lovers, Free Renoir Lecture at LACMA

2010-02-04T16:18:00.000-08:00

"Gabrielle with a Rose" by Pierre-Auguste Renoir

I wanted to pass along the news about a Free art history lecture about the works of Pierre-Auguste Renoir entitled "Late Renoir and the Eternal Feminine". At 2pm on Sunday, February 14th, Jim Herbert, Professor of Art History and Visual Studies at UC Irvine, will discuss how Renoir devoted the latter years of his career to creating paintings, drawings, and sculpture that were both traditional and modern. This lecture is Free and no reservations are required. The lecture will be held in the Bing Theatre at The Los Angeles County Museum of Art located at 5905 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles 90036.

Also opening on February 14th is the LACMA exhibition of Renoir's works called "Renoir in the 20th Century". This exhibition focuses on the last three decades of Renoir’s career. This is the first time an exhibit of Renoir's work solely examines the latter period of his life, during which he abandoned impressionism and concentrated more on the classical style. This exhibition was organized by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Réunion des Musées Nationaux, and the Musée d’Orsay in collaboration with the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The "Renoir in the 20th Century" exhibition will run through May 9, 2010.

A special valentine for Art Lovers.

More information here.

An Evening with an Old Master

2010-01-28T08:06:00.000-08:00

"Young Woman Seated at the Virginals" - Johannes Vermeer

This was originally written on July 11, 2004, when I was studying law in Cambridge, England.

The wind and rain are howling, but that did not deter my classmates and my Art Law professor from donning our finest outfits and heading off to London to attend the Sotheby's Old Master's Auction. We take the train from Cambridge to London's King's Cross Station and then the Tube to Oxford Circus. Then we walk several blocks in Mayfair, a fashionable part of London, in the rain, past windows full of fine dress and expensive shoes (the Summer sales are on and all the signs in the store windows say 50% off, which is sheer torture, since the shops are all closed by this time of day). We arrive at Sotheby's about an hour and a half early. To avoid the inclement weather, we duck into a restaurant called Browns. Browns in Mayfair turns out to be a quite famous pub and restaurant, with dark carved wood interior and a glass solarium, but what we are most excited about, was that it was dry and warm. So we order a round of drinks and some appetizers. Well, 1-1/2 hours later, we all brave the inclement weather again to attend the big event.

Sotheby's Old Masters' Auction happens only once a year in London. Tonight's event is special, because they are auctioning off a recently discovered painting by the Dutch master Johannes Vermeer called "Young Woman Seated at the Virginals." None of Vermeer's work have been up for public auction for 81 years and this is speculated to be the last time a Vermeer will ever be up for auction, since all the other known Vermeer's are in museum collections. The list price is set at £3 million (that is about a little under $6 million USD); however, everyone expects the price to go higher. We walk into the lobby and the room is filled with the art world's finest. Men with beautiful Italian custom made suits and women draped in jewels and pearls. One old grand dame, sitting on a bench, inspects my dress as I walk by. My dress is long, almost to the floor, made of beige silk with a pink floral motif, off the shoulder, with a matching wrap. The grand dame nods at me, as if to say she approves of my attire with her gaze. I definitely look the part of a potential bidder even though my pocketbook is empty.

Up a flight of stairs to the auction room we go. The main room is crowded with people absolutely buzzing. Each chair is marked "reserved" apparently for only those who are seriously bidders. I and my professor push our way into the room, the rest of my classmates go to an ante room to watch the auction on closed circuit video. At the front of the room is a podium and an easel, where each piece will be displayed as it comes up for bid. The surrounding walls have huge paintings that will apparently be auctioned off at some point in the evening. Underneath these paintings is a row of phones, on which anonymous bidders will call in at the crucial moment. The possibility of me findng an open seat is slim. I spy an unoccupied phone bank on the opposite side of the room on a raised platform, where I could possibly snag a place on the edge of the platform to prop myself up without blocking anyone's view. I deftly move in front of the podium and make my way over to the far side of the room. Sure enough, I find a spot at the bottom of the phone bank platform to wedge my backside against and end up sitting next to some French gentlemen, who like everyone else, are immaculately dressed. I ask if they mind if I sit there and they said it would be their pleasure.

A distinguished man mounts the podium and the auction begins. To the left of the podium is a screen, which flashes a computer image of the artwork for auction and to the right of the auctioneer is the easel, where the real work is presented by white gloved assistants. The first few items are sold in the £100,000 - £300,000 price range. The Frenchman next to me allows me to follow along in the auction catalogue and points out the estimate prices along the way, commenting under his breath as the gavel falls, as to whether each particular painting went for a good price or not. This is his way of educating me, the young novice in the silk dress propped up next to him. Lot 8 is the Vermeer. I look up at the computer image close-up of the painting that shows young girl sitting at what looks like a miniature keyboard instrument called the virginals, which is similar to a harpsichord. The painting's young subject's hair is in curls and her dress and shawl have a yellowy-gold hue. My eyes then move to the easel to look at the actual painting, expecting a massive painting in an ornate gold frame, but instead a white gloved man holds the painting up unassisted. The painting is tiny, only about 10x8 in. This is totally unexpected. I thought that a painting worth £3 million would be a bit larger. But no, it is the quality and rarity which makes it special. The bidding starts and quickly rises above the £3 million estimate. The auctioneer cries out "£9, £10, £12, £13," the bids were going up by millions of pounds without a moments hesitation. Two anonymous bidders at the phone banks are vying for the prize. The crowd murmurs as the price continues to rise. The gavel finally falls at £16.2 million ($32 million USD). The crowd bursts into spontaneous applause. The auction comes to a halt as people jump out of their chairs and begin to discuss what they have just witnessed. The Frenchmen excuse themselves and leave the room, the main show is now over. They bequeath me their seats. The auction resumes after several minutes. It is all very exhilarating, being in that room, feeling the excitement of this sky high auction. I will never forget it. The next day, one of the London tabloids has a two page article in which a noted London art critic opines that the Vermeer was a fake and the anonymous bidder got ripped off. Sounds like a potential libel suit to me. The doubt surrounding the origins of this painting still do not tarnish the thrilling effect of the evening.

Update 2010

If you are wondering who bought the painting, it was Vegas hotelier Steve Wynn. The painting in now held in private collection and was displayed at the Philadelphia Museum of Art in 2004 and last year at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, in New York City. It seems that art experts have come to a consensus that the painting was indeed created over 250 years ago and at least partially painted by Vermeer's hand. The gold shawl may have been overpainted by another artist at a later date.

Copyright Romy Schneider 2010. All rights reserved.

Rainy Day Meatloaf - The Most Delicious Ever!

2010-01-22T00:06:00.000-08:00

It's been very cold, windy and rainy in Southern California lately. The local FOX 11 weather anchor, Mark Thompson has been calling the storms we have been experiencing this week "biblical!" LOL. Such nasty weather has me craving something warm and filling on the inside. My solution for my craving is oven baked, hardy MEATLOAF. But not just any meatloaf, I have the recipe for the most delicious meatloaf ever and I wanted to share with you all.

Ingredients:

2 tbsps. of Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 cup of (yellow or white) Onion (diced small)

2-3 cloves of Garlic (peeled and diced small)
2-3 stalks of Celery (diced small)
2 medium Carrots (peeled and diced small)
1 dried Bay Leaf
Splash of Dry White Wine (I prefer Pinot Grigio)
2 tbsps. of dried Parsley
2 tsps. of dried Thyme
2 lbs. of Ground Beef (you can substitute Ground Turkey, if you want)
2 large Eggs (slightly beaten)
1 cup of dry Bread Crumbs (unseasoned) (I use Progresso brand)
1 cup of Ketchup (1/2 cup mixed inside of meatloaf and 1/2 cup reserved for the top of loaf)
1 tbsp. of Worchestershire Sauce
2 tsps. of Kosher Salt
1 tsp. of ground Black Pepper

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Line loaf pan with piece of parchment paper width-wise. Cut the parchment paper so only about a 1/2 inch is above the rim of the loaf pan.

In a skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Sauté diced onions, garlic, carrots and celery with bay leaf until tender.

When vegetables are almost done, add a splash of white wine, parsley, thyme and continue cooking until the alcohol has burned off and vegetables are tender. Remove skillet from fire and let contents cool off. Discard bay leaf.

Thoroughly wash your hands with soap before next step.

In a large bowl, combine ground beef, eggs, bread crumbs 1/2 cup of ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, cooled vegetables, salt and pepper. Mix together with your hands.

Once all ingredients are thoroughly combined, form a ball and transfer to parchment-lined loaf pan. Push down on ball to form a loaf evenly distributed in the pan. Coat the meat loaf with remaining 1/2 cup of ketchup. Use a knife to smooth ketchup evenly over the top.

Bake meatloaf for 1 to 1-1/2 hours, until meatloaf is firm. Let stand for about 5 minutes before removing from pan. Lift meatloaf out of pan by the edge of the parchment paper and then slice. Yummy.

A Special Place for CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta

2010-01-18T11:53:00.000-08:00

Recently, I have become quite a fan of CNN's chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta. Dr. Gupta, a practicing neurosurgeon based in Atlanta, frequently appears on CNN's Anderson Cooper 360 and on ABC's Good Morning America, to discuss various medical issues. He also anchors his own show on CNN on Saturday and Sunday mornings called Sanjay Gupta M.D. Dr. Gupta travels on location as a reporter for CNN to report about breaking medical related news, including traveling to Mexico City during the H1N1 outbreak and Sri Lanka in the aftermath of the devastating South Asian tsunami. So, on January 12, 2010, the same day as a devastating 7.0 earthquake hit Port-au-Prince, the capitol of Haiti on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, Dr. Gupta was on his way to witness and report on behalf of CNN from the aftermath of this latest world crisis. I have been following Dr. Gupta on Twitter for some time, and these are his tweets discussing his travel and arrival in Haiti:

@sanjayguptaCNN: Spent a lot of time in #haiti. now heading back to report on this awful tragedy. this poor country has been hit so hard. #cnn tomorrow 7:46 PM Jan 12th from web

@sanjayguptaCNN: Many have asked: of course, if needed, I will help people with my neurosurgical skills. yes, I am a reporter, but a doctor first. 7:07 PM Jan 13th from web

Dr. Gupta's statement "I am a reporter, but a doctor first." would be tested on January 15th, when Dr. Gupta was reporting from a field hospital set up by the United Nations. Dr. Gupta and his CNN crew started out by reporting on the work being done by a UN medical staff from Belgium conducting surgery in makeshift tents attempting to save victims of the earthquake.

@sanjayguptaCNN: http://twitpic.com/y8ftg - view inside a field surgical suite in haiti. operations in a tent with generator power. finally! 2:07 PM Jan 15th from TwitPic

However, at some point during that day, the UN Belgiun medical staff was ordered to leave the field hospital and take most of their supplies with them. Apparently violence had broken out nearby, and the UN felt it was unsafe for the medical staff to stay at the field hospital throughout the night. Patients, who were just recovering from surgery and still new wounded coming in, were going to be abandoned to fend for themselves. In a report from the scene, Dr. Gupta seemed very distressed that the evacuation of the UN medical staff was happening and his concern for the patients at this field hospital was palpable. Unable to leave the patients at the field hospital, some suffering head trauma and recent
amputations, alone without medical assistance, Dr. Gupta, his CNN staff and one Haitian nurse remained at the field hospital throughout the night. With no blood or sufficient medical supplies, Dr. Gupta remained at the hospital caring for the injured as best he could, taking vital signs and administrating pain killers. At one point the generators gave out, leaving the field hospital tents in pitch black, and yet he stayed. Here are his tweets from that night:

@sanjayguptaCNN: At field hosp. the UN evacuated the docs, but my crew stayed with me. 25 patients - injured badly, but we are making sure they get good care. 10:55 PM Jan 15th from UberTwitter

@sanjayguptaCNN: All my thanks, blessings and well wishes to @daniellecnn, @timcrock, and jonathan schaer for sticking with me tonight here in haiti hosp. 10:58 PM Jan 15th from UberTwitter

@sanjayguptaCNN: 345a. Pulling all nighter at haiti field hosp. lots of work, but all patients stable. turned my crew into a crack med team tonight. #proud 12:49 AM Jan 16th from UberTwitter

@sanjayguptaCNN: 5a update. We lost all generator power. sun will come up in about 30 minutes. now confident we will get all these patients through the night. 2:04 AM Jan 16th from UberTwitter
@sanjayguptaCNN: So sorry to not anchor my show today. couldn't break away from the field hospital. if #cnn doesn't fire me, promise to do the show tomorrow. 9:18 AM Jan 16th from UberTwitter

Today, Dr. Gupta has continued to prioritize his role as a doctor over that of a paid reporter. A 12 year-old girl named Kimberly, who has suffered a very significant skull fracture, needed a neurosurgeon to extract a piece of concrete from her brain. The medical staff of the USS Carl Vinson, a Navel carrier that had been deployed off the coast of Haiti to provide assistance in the relief efforts, was unable to help her because they lacked expertise to perform the delicate surgery. After seeing the CNN reports of Dr. Gupta helping out at the field hospital, the USS Vinson personnel contacted Dr. Gupta who agreed to come aboard and perform the surgery on this little girl.

@sanjayguptaCNN: honored to operate on a beautiful 12 yo girl, kimberly. suffered terrible brain inj/was taken to uss carl vinson. she will do great! #hope 3 minutes ago from web

My words cannot adequately express how impressed I am of Dr. Gupta's courage and dedication. His ethical duties as a doctor and his humanity have taken precedent over any responsibility Dr. Gupta may have to his current employer CNN. CNN you should be proud to have such a hero working on your payroll and I know that God will have save special place for you, Dr. Gutpa, when this is all over.

Copyright 2010 Romy Schneider. All rights reserved.

Haitian Earthquake Relief - LAFD Urban Search and Rescue

2010-01-14T01:08:00.000-08:00

As most people are becoming aware, the Caribbean island country of Haiti has suffering nearly complete devastation from a 7.0 earthquake centered in its capital of Port-au-Prince just a little over 24 hours ago. The images on the news are haunting; home, hospitals, schools, and even the presidential palace has collapsed. The devastation is of catastrophic proportions to Haiti’s already impoverished population. People are wandering the streets, homeless, disoriented and wounded. Thousands of people are still trapped under the rubble and the domestic Haitian aid-workers are both understaffed and lacking the equipment and expertise to effectively help save the victims. The international response to the crisis has begun. Within the last hour, 75 members of the Los Angeles Fire Department Urban Search and Rescue, along with 5 search canines and specialized recovery equipment boarded a U.S. Air Force plane at March Air Force Base and are now en route to Haiti to help with the rescue efforts. This mission to Haiti will be the first international mission for the elite LAFD Urban Search and Rescue unit, who specialize in locating and extracting victims trapped in collapsed structure. Domestically, this unit has previously helped in the rescue and recovery efforts in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina and at the World Trade Center in New York City after the terror attacks on 9/11. Within 8 hrs, the unit will be on the ground walking into a completely chaotic situation. Most of the infrastructure of the country has been damaged, roads are impassible and basic services such as water and electricity have collapsed almost entirely. They will also be dealing with a severe language barrier, since the primary languages spoken in Haiti are French and Creole. The LAFD Search and Rescue team has been trained to be logistically self sufficient for the first 72 hours and to function up to 10 days. Given the severity of the situation they are walking into, the team will need to rely on all of their mental and physical strength and stamina to carry out their mission successfully and return back here to Los Angeles safe. To say that the 75 members of the LAFD Urban Search and Rescue unit on their way to Haiti are brave is a gross understatement. I will be praying for their safe return along as for all of the Haitian victims of this terrible disaster. Godspeed to everyone.

If you would like to donate to the Haitian earthquake relief, below at some links to organizations assisting in the relief efforts:

The Red Cross

Oxfam America

World Food Programme

UNICEF

Doctors Without Boarders

World Vision

Copyright 2010 Romy Schneider. All rights reserved.

Taking Care of Your Breasts

2010-01-11T22:34:00.000-08:00

(AP Photo/Stuart Ramson)

Yesterday, I saw an interview with the fabulous actor Stanley Tucci on CBS Sunday Morning. In the interview, Mr. Tucci spoke about the recent loss his wife of 14 years, Kate, to breast cancer on May 1, 2009. Kate Tucci was diagnosed four years ago with Stage 4 breast cancer. She left behind 3 children who Stanley Tucci is now raising by himself. My mother was also diagnosed with Stage 4 breast cancer over 10 years ago. She died only four months later. Just last week, a viral message was sent to the female population on the social networking site FaceBook that asked women to post their bra color in their status update to raise awareness of breast cancer. I complied and posted my bra color (it was red, btw). Posting your bra color on FaceBook may have been fun, but not enough to make a difference in fighting this disease. Early detection is the key. If you catch breast cancer early, this disease does not have to be fatal. Please ladies, do your self-breast exam every month and your mammogram as recommended by your physician. Taking care of your breasts can save your life. If you don't know how to do a self-breast exam, please check out this link below.

How to perform a breast self exam.

Copyright Romy Schneider 2010. All rights reserved.

Twelfth Night - The Holidays are Official Over

2010-01-06T21:00:00.000-08:00

Well it's the 12th Night of Christmas, the Feast of the Epiphany. The Three Wise Men made it the baby Jesus in my Nativity and it's time to tuck the holiday decorations away for another year. I can honestly say that I really enjoyed the holiday season. For the first time in about 20 years, I bought a real Christmas tree. I loved it. I came home every day and put on the colorful tree lights. It just made me so happy to look at the tree. I also decorated my mantle with white lights, candles, and all of the Christmas cards I received. Every card made me feel cherished by the wonderful friend who had sent it. In a busy electronic world, with texts, e-mails, blogs, Twitter and Facebook as the main source of communication, it is so nice that people still take time to track down your address, write a holiday greeting, buy stamps, and mail actual cards to you. I arranged them on the mantle carefully and looked at them often. I had ten days off work between Christmas and New Years. I went to the Main Library in downtown Los Angeles and checked out several books. It was absolute heaven to sit at home and read for pleasure. I also took advantage of the time off to cooked new recipes I found in a cookbook and to do some nagging tasks around my home like cleaning out the freezer, rearranging books on my bookself and haul off some donations to Good Will. I also slept in every day. I loved being under the warm blankets knowing that there was nowhere in particular I needed to be on any given day. What a peaceful, relaxing holiday season.

Holiday reading material checked out from the library:

Biggest Accomplishment of 2009

2009-12-26T10:58:00.000-08:00

I have been doing embroidery and cross-stitch for many years now. My needlework has just been a hobby that I do to relax in the evenings and keep my fingers busy on airline flights. An old roommate of mine got me into cross-stitching and I have kept it up over the years. At the urging of my old roommate, I entered four of my finished works in the Los Angeles County Fair this last September. To my total shock, I won four ribbons, 2 first place blue ribbons and 2 second place red ribbons. I was so amazed. I was actually giddy when I saw the ribbons for the first time. I never imagined that my needlework was prize worthy. Winning the Los Angeles County Fair ribbons was my biggest accomplishment in 2009.

Getting Ready for Another Decade

2009-12-15T09:16:00.000-08:00

In a few weeks, New Years Eve will mark the arrival of 2010. Another decade of my life has come and gone. I never seem to know how to answer the standard interview question "Where do you see yourself ten years from now?" In order to decide what I need to focus on during the next ten years, I suppose I should take an inventory of what I've done and where I have been this last decade.

Looking back I've accomplished quite a lot. I've travelled more places than I've ever imagined. I've been to London 3 times, Paris twice, Monte Carlo once. Spent two weeks traveling throughout Italy with an Italian boyfriend, which was amazing because we visited lots of little cities that I would have never know about if I had gone on my own.  Considering my parents never visited Europe in their lifetime, the fact that I made it across the Atlantic as many times as I have thus far means that I have been pretty successful in fulfilling my childhood goal to go out and see as much of the world as possible. Visiting new places and experiencing how other people live has given me a much broader perspective in how I look at the world and how I approach living in it. Through travel, I think I've become less myopic in the last ten years. I've realized what a young country the United States is, and how we are still struggling to develop our own identity as Americans both internally and in our dealings with the rest of the world. I grew up hearing in school that the United States was a "melting pot", but I really didn't truly understand the meaning of this euphemism. Traveling to America's roots in these different European countries and experiencing their cultures has allowed me to appreciate how America, as a newer country, has been able to embrace the influx of disparate cultures and fused them together as one nation and to also understand why our country sometimes has difficulty coming to a consensus on various issues. In the end, it's our nation's diversity and our freedom to express our diverse opinions and insights that helps define us, as Americans.

On a personal level, I believe that travel has made me more tolerant of individuals who have opposing views to my own. I think I am more likely to listen to others who have opposing perspectives in order to try and understand their viewpoint, instead of immediately jumping into arguing my own thoughts on a matter. Recently, I have become close to someone who has a drastically different political viewpoint than my own. I'm a tree hugging liberal Democrat and my friend is not. I think ten years ago, it would be difficult to have this person in my life as a friend. It would have been hard for me to listen to his perspective on politics without turning our every conversation in a serious heated debate. Now, I'm the type of person who can listen to this friend and just appreciate his opposing viewpoint. Of course, I still engage in discourse and may voice my disagreement with his assessments of issues, but there are also times when I simply hold my tounge and just let him speak his mind. I have realized that having people in my life with disparate social and political viewpoints have helped me realize that sometimes issues are not so black and white.  More tolerance and global consciousness; these are a couple of things I've learned this past ten years. In the next decade, I want to continue my exploration of the world and hopefully expand my understanding and appreication of the diversity of the fellow people who populate it along with me.

During three of the last ten years, I got my masters degree in entertainment and media law by returning to school part-time at night. Working full-time and going to school was a shock to my system, but I adjusted to the rigorous schedule and learned quite a lot. I have always loved being a student and I am always looking to learn new things to stimulate my mind. Because of this decision to add another professional degree to my resume, I was also able to take five weeks off of work and study comparative law in Cambridge, England over one summer. It was an amazing opportunity to temporarily walk away from my full-time employment to be a full-time student again for a summer. I was with a group of students who were all about ten years younger than I was. There was a lot of drinking, laughing, talking, sightseeing and an utter sense of freedom. I got up early and ran every morning before class. The whole trip was an invigorating experience, and a bit exhausting. I look back at this summer abroad program as one of the most cherished, memorable times of my life.  I hope in this next decade to continue taking classes and never stop furthering my education. I'm not looking to add another degree to my wall, but you never know.

As for my work life and career, I've have been employed full-time and thankfully, self-supporting these last ten years. I've worked at three different companies, all entertainment industry related. One company I loved, but after 7 years I needed to grow and diversify. One company I tolerated, because I needed to take a step backward in my title and compensation in order to learn new skills. That was hard, on my ego and pocketbook. But ultimately that job lead to my current company, where I have a better position and greater compensation. I like my current place of employment quite a bit, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that my employment at this company will last for quite awhile into this next decade. In furtherance of my career, in 2003, I decided to take the New York Bar exam on a whim, six years after I passed the California Bar exam. I studied for the NY Bar exam for about three months on my own, using a bar review book I bought used on the internet. I took a week of vacation time, and flew to NYC a couple of days before the exam and studied on the grass in Central Park. It was July and the Park was brimming with New Yorkers, who were sunning themselves and playing with their dogs and children. I sat and studied flash cards in Sheep's Meadow and quizzed my memory as I walked around the Lake, watching lovers and families in row boats. I then rode the Amtrak train up the Hudson River to Albany to take the exam. Two, six-hour days later, it was over. I had no idea whether I passed the exam or not, but there was really no pressure on me, because I was already a licensed practicing lawyer in California. I travelled down to the Jersey shore for the rest of the week to visit friends. That November I found out I passed the exam, and laughed for two hours in disbelief. For a lawyer, California and New York are the two hardest bar exams in the country to pass, and I passed them both on the first try. Looking back I think I've done quite well career-wise this past decade. For the next decade, I hope to continue to move forward in my career, with a higher position, more autonomy, and to continue loving what I do, contributing my small part in the making of movies.

I think the area of my life that was least fulfilling in the last decade was my personal life. Focusing on work, school and travel consumed most of my attention. It's not that I didn't date. I dated quite a lot. But no long-term commitments were made on my part. As a child, I beared witness to a very nasty divorce. I grew up in a household in which I was an only child and my parents were my whole world. When they split up when I was 11, it really was quite a trying experience. In my teens and twenties, I tried to stuff the hurt of my parents' breakup away and pretend it didn't matter. I forged on with my own life, determined that I would build a different life from theirs. Well I have. I've never been married and have no children. I could have, but I didn't. I'm really not sure if this was a conscious decision or not. I can make excuses, cite circumstances, blame the men in my life or chalk it up to fate, etc. But, perhaps I have been avoiding making a commitment, so as not to fail, like my parents did. This has been a powerful realization on my part recently. So what I hope to accomplish on a personal level in this next decade is to be part of a truly intimate, long-term committed relationship and to hopefully become part of a loving accepting family.

Phew, that was a long interesting decade and quite a lot to talk about in one blog post. I think this inventory has been useful. Of course there are a bunch of other things I want to take on in the next ten years including, learning the Argentinean tango, buying a new car and a house with a garden, finishing my novel (which I started about 10 years ago), losing weight, remaining healthy and a whole bunch more. But before this turns in the the most epic post ever, I think I will stop.

Well, I think I'm ready to tackle another decade, bring on 2010!

Copyright Romy Schneider 2009. All rights reserved.

A Healthy America?

2009-08-24T07:44:00.000-07:00

"Quality health care is a fundamental right, not a privilege"
- Sen. Ted Kennedy

I am really puzzled by the health care debate in this country. I question why there is a debate at all. There are so many friends of mine who don't have healthcare coverage. I worry about them. Why is it that we are the only industrialized nation in the world that does not provide universal health care insurance for its entire population? When I was in Italy last summer, my boyfriend's sister was experiencing severe stomach pains. There was no question in anyone's mind that she should go directly to the hospital. If you are sick, you go see a doctor. No questions about the cost of seeking such medical help cloud this decision. Of course being the only American in the room, the cost of going to a hospital was the first thought that ran through my mind. It shouldn't have been. In Italy, as well as most of Europe and Canada, there is no cost to the individual who seeks medical care. The cost is all covered by the national government. It's part of the country's social services. Like trash collection, road paving, tree triming, the sewage management system, etc. A country can still have a capitalistic ecomonic system and provide social services. The United States is no different from Europe in this respect. Why can't we add health care to our social services system? Especially, since the U.S. has a partial social sevice health care system all ready in place, Medicare, for our senior citizen population. Why are Americans so resistent to expand this system to the younger population?

We, as Americans, need to switch our way of thinking. As the greatest industrialized nation in the world, shouldn't we be taking care of our own. Isn't a question of humanity? If someone is sick, should we be able to help them? When there is a disaster somewhere in the world, whether it be a famine in Africa, or a tsunami in east Asia, aren't we the first country to send our military parachuting in medical aid and food? Yet, there are people in the house right next door who are unable to afford the medical help they need because they have an employer who doesn't provide medical insurance, or they are an independent contractor, or they have recently been laid off and can't afford private coverage. This is a humanitarian crisis right here in our own country. Let's step up and solve it.

Copyright 2009 Romy Schneider. All rights reserved.

Bake for Hope - Red Velvet Cupcake Recipe

2009-05-06T05:40:00.000-07:00

This Sunday, May 10, 2009 is Mother's Day in the United States. This Sunday will also be the 10th anniversary of my mother's passing from breast cancer. I lost my mother when I was 29 years old. It was horrible and unexpected. My mother developed a backache that just would not go away. After about a month of struggling with the pain and when over the counter medication just did not work anymore, she finally went into to see the doctor. Turned out she had a tumor pressing against her spine. The source of the tumor was stage 4 breast cancer that had metastized. We have no idea how long my mother had cancer before her death, it could have been several month or even years. By the time of her diagnosis, the cancer had spread so invasively that there was no treatment, except to make her comfortable. Four months later on May 10, 1999, she mercifully left this earth. As sad as it was, I was grateful that she was out of pain and now with God. She faced her death bravely, responding to her terminal diagnosis with the simple statement, "Well, I've had a good life." I hope that someday I can say the same thing in the face of my leaving this earth too.

In honor of my mother, last Sunday May 3rd, I participated in Bake for Hope. This first ever nation-wide, 100% volunteer run, event is hosting hundreds of bake sales across the nation. The nation-wide bake sales run May 3rd - 9th, the week before Mother's Day, honoring mother's and women everywhere supporting a cure for breast cancer. 100% of the sales go to local Susan G. Komen for the Cure affiliates. I found out about participating in this event through the meetup.com website. I signed up because I'm a pretty good baker and I thought this would be a wonderful way to honor my mother, by proactively raising money for breast cancer research. I did not know anyone involved with the event, but through a series of e-mail correspondence I meet a wonderful group of ladies, who were also inspired to participate. Our leaders for the bake sale here in Los Angeles were Lisa Pederson and Kelly Neilsen, who tirelessly organized our group. We selected the Hollywood Farmer's Market as our venue. We all baked and then showed up. It was an amazingly beautiful sunny Southern California day. We worked shifts, donning specially made Bake for Hope aprons. The people who attended the Farmer's Market bustled by and many were lured in to our brightly pink colored table filled with homemade bake goods. At the end of the day, our cookies, brownies and cupcakes raised a staggering total of $1,310.47!!!!!!!

There was no doubt that the event was a rousing success and I'm thrilled. Isn't wonderful how complete strangers can get together and create such a positive change in the world?! The generosity of the bakers and all of those who purchased from the sale is amazing and inspiring.

So for all of you who asked for the Red Velvet Cupcake recipe, here it is:

Ingredients:

1 stick (1/2 cup) of unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups of sugar
2 large eggs (room temperature)
1/4 cup of red food coloring (I used the gel kind available at Surfas in Culver City, CA)
2 teaspoons cocoa powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup of buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups plus 5 tablespoons sifted cake flour (or if you don't have cake flour, use all purpose)
1 tablespoon of vinegar
1 teaspoon baking soda

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 F. Use cupcake liners and place in muffin pan.

2. In a large bowl, beat together butter and sugar with an electric mixer until smooth. Beat in eggs, one at a time.

3. In a smaller bowl, whisk together food coloring and cocoa powder. Then add to butter and sugar mixture.

4. In a small bowl, mix together buttermilk and vanilla. (I mixed these ingredients in the same empty bowl that I had mixed the food coloring and cocoa powder in step #3 above. It saves on clean up and the remnants of the food coloring get incorporated in the buttermilk and vanilla liquid.)

5. In a medium bowl, sift flour and salt together. (I don't own a proper flour sifter, so I used a fine mesh strainer and shook the flour through it. This actually works!)

6. Now you are ready to combine everything. Alternate adding flour and buttermilk to the butter mixture. Use an electric mixer to combine the ingredients.

7. Now for a chemical reaction, in a small bowl add vinegar and baking soda together. It will fizz up. Gently fold into batter (Don't use electric mixer. Use a large spoon instead.)

8. Scoop batter into individual cupcake holders. I suggest using an ice cream scoop or small gravy ladle to prevent spilling. Only fill cupcake holders half way up. The cupcakes will rise to the top as they bake.

9. Bake cupcakes for about 20-25 mins. depending on your oven. Test cupcakes with a wooden tooth pick, and when it come out clean, they are done.

10. (Optional) When cupcakes are cooled, frost with a can of cream cheese frosting or any other flavor you like!

Copyright 2009 Romy Schneider. All rights reserved.

Red, White and Blueberries

2009-04-04T08:05:00.000-07:00

Originally written on July 4, 2006

My dear friend Rachel is a little unique. God bless her. She really should have been born in another time. She's a contradiction in terms. There is this one side of her that is a prim, proper, conservative girl, who likes to quilt, do cross-stitch, bake pies and wear button down shirts and khakis. This is how the girl looks like on the outside: She is tall 5’8”, and very thin, dare I say willowy? With long spindly arms and legs like Audrey Hepburn. She also has long cascading curly brown hair, that at 36, she normally wears down to her waist, but she recently cut so that it now reaches her mid-back (she said she cut it so that I would not yell at her to get a haircut when I saw her). If you look at her and me together you would think that there is no way on earth that we would be friends, but we are, because deep down, I have a Martha Stewart/Betty Crocker side of me too, except I don’t look like it on the outside.

Today is the 4th of July, and it is Rachel’s only day off this week from her job at a federal governmental agency. So Rachel wants to spend the entire day with me. She has already decided what the first activity will be, berry picking. Sounds nice, huh? Berry picking. Has a nice ring to it. Sounds simple. Sounds kind of Little House on the Prairie-ish. You are right, except when it is 92° with about 85% humidity. But, in the spirit of friendship, I don my tank top, my white shorts, slather on the sunscreen, we pick up Rachel's mom and drive out to Conte’s Farm, which is located somewhere in the interior of the Garden State down long country roads. When we finally make it out to Conte’s Farm, we grab buckets with strings attached to their handles and climb aboard a stake-bed cart pulled by a little old wrinkled farmer on his tractor and take a very bumpy ride out to the berry field (nobody warned me that I need a sports bra for this activity). So here we are the three of us standing at the end of the rows of blueberry bushes. The weather beaten farmer gives us a tip, the best berries are down low to the ground, because most people do not want to stoop that low and therefore, all of the good berries at eye-level and above have already been picked over. Great, I come all the way to New Jersey to become a stooped over migrant farm worker, somehow I think if I wanted to do this for a profession, I would have found plenty of work in California.

“Ok,” Rachel says, “now only pick the biggest berries. I don’t want to see anything in your bucket less than the size of a nickel.” Rachel's mom and I look at each other and roll our eyes.
“I’m going to inspect your buckets afterwards,” Rachel continues. “And remember think like a berry!” “Yes, I’m thinking like a berry,” I respond.

Then we tread down our respective rows and start picking. I repeat silently in my mind, "Think like a berry, think like a berry!" I now begin an onesided conversation rearding this mantra. "Think like a berry. Now that what exactly does that means? If I was a berry, what would I think about? Well, I would think about how to survive this terrible heat." I stoop over a pluck a few large blueberries at the base of one of the bushes. Hmmm, the good thing about stooping down near the base of the bushes is it’s kind of cool down there, because the bushes kind of makes their own shade. “If I were a berry,” I think, “I would grow near the base of the plant so that the leaves and the other berries would provide me with some shade.” I go slowly down the row squatting down near each bush picking the nicest, largest berries at the base of every plant. There are other crazy people in the field picking too, but everyone is so intent at the task at hand that they are silent in their endeavors. There is a stillness and calmness in the silence. It’s almost meditative, except for the pounding relentless heat and thick humidity bearing down on you.

In my picking, I’ve discovered that if you turn over a bunch of berries, the ones underneath the bunch, closest to the ground and shaded by the others in the cluster are the biggest. “If I were a berry, I would grow on the backside of the bunch, facing the ground, so the other berries in the bunch would protect me from the relentless heat of the sun.” It also makes sense to grow closest to the ground, so that I would be first in line for the hydration and nutrients, which come up the stem from the roots. “If I were a berry, I would be first in line for water, because it is stinking hot out here!”

Rachel's mom and I are at the same point in our respective rows. We stumble upon a family, mom, dad and two boys, out in the field with us. The mother and father are discussing their third son, who has elected to stay at home (clearly an intelligent boy!). They are worried that their son is spending too much time reading Ray Bradbury.

“He stayed up all night reading this Ray Bradbury,” the mother complains.

“Who is Ray Bradbury?” asks the father.

“I don’t know, but I am going to have to find out, because I am worried about him,” the mother replies.

“Yes, you should definitely check out who this Ray Bradbury is,” the father instructs.

“I’m sorry to overhear your conversation, but Ray Bradbury is a wonderful author,” I interrupt.

“He is wonderful,” Rachel's mom adds.

“Oh, that’s good to know, because our son has become obsessed lately,” the mother explains with a quite relieved look on her face.

“Ray Bradbury is a literary legend. He has won every literary prize there is. He writes mostly science fiction with a little horror thrown in. But, it is very high quality science fiction. I don’t like science fiction, but I have read and like Ray Bradbury. He has been writing since the 50-60’s and is still writing today,” I explain.

“Well, that really sets my mind at ease. My son was up all night reading and did not sleep, so that is why he did not want to come berry picking with us this morning,” the mother explains the son's absence.

“How old is he?”

“16”

“Oh, well that is the perfect age to read Ray Bradbury. You should try reading some too. Try the “Illustrated Man”. It’s one of his short stories. It’s about a tattooed man, who starts to go crazy and at night believe that his tattoos come alive and talk to him and do things. You would really like it,” I advise.

“Oh. that sounds good,” the father responds.

“Yes, it is very good. I waited three hours in line at the “L.A. Times Festival of Books,” one year to meet Ray Bradbury and have him autograph my copy. I still have it on my bookshelf at home,” I explain.

“Wow, I definitely will read one of my son’s books then. Thank you,” the mother smiles.

“I think that if I had a 16 year old son, who was into reading anything, I would be very proud. It means you raised him right. And if he is reading Ray Bradbury, then he has quite an imagination. Which is going to help him later in life when he has to go out and find a job,” I surmise.

“You’re right,” the mother responds.

“It’s going to help him with the ladies too. You see when you have been dating as long as I have, you realize that in the end you want a man who is interesting to talk to and I find that men who are literately inclined are the most interesting. They think about the things that they read and that stimulates great conversations. Women find that attractive.”

“I think you are right. Boys are you listening to this lady?” the mother addresses her two younger sons. “They are only 12 and 8, but it is never to early to understand what's important in life.”

I look at the 12 year old. “You should ask your older brother to lend you some of his books. It will make you popular with the ladies when you get to high school.”

The 12 year old looks at me and shakes his head no. I smile. I recall what was important in high school, good looks and athletic ability. But those things fade with time and what remains is what is on the inside, the mind, the soul, the spirit. Thank goodness for Ray Bradbury, because without him, young men would probably not read at all. I’ll also silently give a nod to Mark Twain, while I’m at it.

After about 2 ½ hours of bending down in search of nickel-size or larger berries, I am covered from head-to-toe with soil (don’t wear white shorts to go berry picking because they will not be white for long) and I am thoroughly soaked from perspiration. I retreat back down my row to the dirt road and call out, “Rachel, I am ready to go back now.” Rachel's mom quickly responds, “I hear ya. I’m ready to go back too." Rachel reluctantly answers, “All right, all right. I’m coming." Rachel and her mom emerge from the bushes, completely drenched in sweat too. Rachel would have had to pick the hottest day of the year to pick berries. They are blueberries however, and it is the 4th of July, so I guess in scheme of things, it's a kind of appropriate activity.

After the tractor pull back to the check out stand, we drive back to Cherry Hill with the air conditioning on full blast in the Lancer (my unfortunate rental car assignment). Before reaching home, we stop at a roadside vegetable stand to buy fresh sweet corn and Jersey tomatoes. They don't call Jersey the Garden State for nothing.

Next up, showers for all, plus a mid-day nap, in preparation for tonight’s activities, fireworks in Philly (this is my choice of activity now).

I am going to drag Rachel into Philly to the steps of the Philadelphia Art Museum (yes, the Rocky steps) to watch Lionel Ritchie in concert (For you young ones out there, that’s Nicole Ritchie’s father. He use to be in a band in the 1970’s called the Commodores. I seriously had to explain who Lionel Ritchie was to some pimply faced clerk behind the check-out counter at the local Wa Wa), and watch fireworks light up the sky behind the museum. Rachel hates crowds and most people in general. She does not like to socialize with the rift-raft, but because I only come once a year and Lionel Ritchie is sort of cool, she is coming along with me without any complaint. We decide to take the Speed Line from Haddon Field, NJ into Philly, PA. Haddon Field is the next town over from Cherry Hill.

Rachel and I get into the Lancer and I select from my CD collection, Eminem’s “The Eminem Show.” You see, this is why Rachel is such a contradiction in terms. Prim, proper Rachel LOVES rap music. She knows every single word of every single Snoop Dog song by heart. For a girl who would not dare cuss in public (or private), she loves those fowl mouth rappers. She also loves Howard Stern, and adult cartoons like “South Park” and “King of the Hill.” I swear to god, she made me listen to Howard Stern when we lived together, just to see my outraged reaction to most of his schtick. And she would make me stay up to 10pm every Wednesday night to watch “South Park” and fowl mouth Cartman was her favorite. Go figure. A Jewish girl from Cherry Hill, has a wild streak in her. That’s why we get a long so well. We have fun and try not to take life to seriously. Plus, she hates Christian conservatives, who she thinks are taking over the country and trying to tell everybody else how to live their lives. I’m right there with her. In the end, words are just words. They mean nothing, except when you apply meaning to them. So if you think of it that way, then bad words can’t really be “bad”, they are just words like every other word on this page. You as the reader/listener apply the meaning to them. So think of Rachel as “Slim Shady” and me as “Dr. Dre”, as we cruise the Lancer toward the Haddon Field Speed Line.

We jump on the Speed Line and end up a block or two from the famous William Penn statute in the center of town. From there, it's just a hop, skip and a jump down the Benjamin Franklin Parkway to the museum's steps. Actually, it is quite a walk and I am enjoying every minute of Rachel asking “Are we there yet?” as payback for oppressively hot berry picking earlier in the day. The Streets of Philadelphia are shut down to vehicular traffic. The whole city has turned out for Lionel Ritchie. Eventually, we slap our blanket down on the grass to the right of the museum stage, which gives a clear view of the large big screen that they have set up to televise the concert. And then we wait. We are surrounded by a sea of humanity. White, black, brown, red, yellow faces are all around us. It is wonderful. I love being in the center of a crowd. Be a part of something larger than myself. The power of the human race is awesome. Even Rachel remarks that she is enjoying being part of the diverse crowd. A man a couple rows behind me has on a t-shirt that read “Roscoe’s Chicken and Waffles” a reference to a venerable Los Angeles dining establishment. Can’t escape L.A., where ever I go.

First up this the Philadelphia Pops orchestra. The play mostly patriotic songs with a little Mozart and Beethoven thrown in for culture. The next performer is Fantasia Barrino the 2004 American Idol winner. She is great. A burst of energy. She sings “Tell Me Something Good” from the Chaka Khan song book. The crowd and I rise to our feet and sing along with her. I raise my hand up to the sky during the refrain. "Can anybody tell me something good?" What a great song. Rachel remains seated in her little conservative, prim manner, with her legs folded neatly behind her and hand clasped in her lap. Although I did detect a slight head bob. After Fantasia, was a performance from Cirque du Soliel. Nice, and short thank goodness. I don’t know about you, but I have had enough Cirque du Soliel, thank you. I refuse to see another of their hundred millionith shows in Vegas anymore.

Finally, the performer we are all waiting for, Lionel Ritchie takes the stage. Ladies, he still looks good. Slim and handsome. Yummy. He sings all of his old Commodore music. “Easy Like Sunday Morning,” “Say You Say Me,” and “Once, Twice, Three Times a Lady.” Some women and men in the crowd slow dance together. It’s sweet. Then he cranks it up with classics like, “Dancing on the Ceiling,” “Brick House” (my personal anthem) and “Fire”. I am on my feet shaking everything. Even Rachel can’t sit down, she is up too and dare I say, dancing? I think I detect some hip movement. And do I see her mouthing the words? I think I do!

Then it starts to rain. I hand Rachel an umbrella, which I have packed inside my purse and I rip open my emergency rain poncho that I brought all the way from California ($1 in the bargain bin at Target!) and slip it over my head. Lionel Ritchie’s set ends early without him singing “All Night Long” (a disappointment) and the officials decide to start the fireworks display. It was magnificent. Even in the rain. With the museum as the foreground, the pyrotechnic colors light up the sky in synchronization to music ranging from John Melloncamp’s “Pink Houses”, to James Brown’s “Living in America” to “Independence Day” from the Dixie Chicks. You see, we all can get along, even with diverse musical tastes, if we think of something greater than ourselves, like our nation’s birthday.

Once the fireworks display was over, we trudged back down Benjamin Franklin Parkway carried by the sea of humanity, back to the Speed Line, then into the Lancer with Rachel and I rapping in tune to Eminem all the way back to Cherry Hill. A great time with my BFF as always. I just love that girl.

Red, White and Blueberries. A satisfying 4th of July indeed.

Copyright Romy Schneider 2009. All rights reserved.

Moving on...?

2009-03-24T22:16:00.000-07:00

The e-mail's subject line read "Moving On...." It was from a work colleague, Roger. I dreaded reading the contents of the e-mail, wholly expecting a goodbye message from another co-worker, who has been laid off. About 100 people at the company have been laid off since December. I really like Roger and my heart sank thinking he had been another victim of corporate downsizing. I pointed my mouse cursor and clicked on Roger's e-mail. "Hi, I'm sure you have already heard, but I just wanted to let you know peronally that I have turn in my resignation and my last day will be April 9th. My new contact information is ...." I sank back down in my chair and stared at the screen. At a time when there is record high unemployment in the state of California and national economic crisis, why would Roger just up and quit?

I yank at the phone and immediately ring his extension to obtain the details. "Hi Roger. I just got your e-mail. No, I did hear you were leaving. I guess I'm out of the loop. So far out of the loop, I didn't know there was a loop! Where are you going?" Roger's chipper voice responds, "I'm leaving Los Angeles. I'm moving to Mendocino County. Bought a bank owned home for 250K. It's a 3 bedroom, 2 bath, overlooking a ridge. I completely changing my profession too. Going to be working in the food and beverage industry. I am so excited!" I quickly google "Mendocino County". It's a county in Northern California, above San Francisco. Population 88,109. I try not to sound too perplexed. "Wow, Mendocino County. That sounds really pastoral. That's a big move." Roger doesn't skip a beat, "Yes, it is pastoral. I needed space. I got tired of living in Los Angeles. I had an opportunity to move north and since the timing was right, I decided to take that opportunity and start a new life. I'm closing on the home which I bought based on photos on the internet, so it's been very stressful. Lots to do in a short period of time."

Ah yes, haven't we all thought about starting a new life? Picking up and moving somewhere different from where we are now. The opportunity to start over again, new job, new home, new friends, new love life, just new. Lots of people I know are dissatisfied with living in a big city. They come here for opportunity and instead find cold callus disconnection. People steaming anonymously past each other, focused on their destinations, steadfastly avoiding eye contact. All they find is concrete, noise, crime and pollution. Relationships are always in question. What can you do for me? Are you my ally or my enemy? Are you going to be my BFF or a casual acquaintance? Are you the love of my life or just Mr. or Mrs. right now? Are you lifting me up or shoving me down the corporate chain? Yes, moving to a small town in a pastoral, sparsely populated county sounds very appealing, doesn't it? It's like shedding an old uncomfortable, complicated life and trying on a new, stripped down one. It feels a lot lighter.

Perhaps in this economic down turn, with layoffs and corporate reshuffling, people are being forced to reexamine their current state of existence. Instead of seeing this as a time of crisis, instead it is a moment of opportunity. History had proven that strife and hardship are the catalysts for change. Before every major shift, humans have become uncomfortable with their current circumstances. When all needs are being met, people seem to be lulled into a state of complacency. When needs are lacking, and people become uncomfortable, then they are motivated to produce a change. They strive for a better existence. Sometimes it's a group effort akin to the American or French Revolution, and other times it's a very personal revolution, like Roger's.

I admire people who can pick up and move somewhere unknown. As a native Los Angeleno, I have never lived anywhere outside a 15 mile radius. I have actually lived at only 3 addresses, my parents' home, my first single girl apt. and my current residence. My lack of moving experience is rare in a city as hugely populated as Los Angeles. I have met people who have moved here from all over the planet. I quietly marvel at their bravery in moving from Chicago, New Jersey, London and Tunsia! My goodness, I think, they have left everything behind, their family and friends, to start something new in a strange, foreign metropolis. Sometimes it's not even the distance that one travels, people surprise me for how they have radically changed professions too. From ballet dancer to nurse, from lawyer to nature photographer, from actor to police officer, from high power stock broker to stay at home mother of three. So Roger, I wish you the best in your big move up north. It's time for you to take a leap, in search of a better life. Your own personal revolution. Moving on indeed.

Copyright Romy Schneider 2009. All Right Reserved.

Confessions of a Contest Junkie

2009-03-21T08:34:00.000-07:00

I love contests. If I am reading a magazine and an advertisement mentions a contest like "Win a Tip to Maui" at http://www.whymilk.com/" or watching a local new and the anchor says "the secret word of the day is 'surfer' got to our website at http://www.kabc7.com/ to enter our wake up and win contest", I find myself compelled to enter. This is not a recent addiction. When I was younger, before the convenience of website entry forms, I would enter contest by filling out standard size postcard and sending them to a p.o. box frequently destined for Burbank, CA or Ansonia Station, NY. I would decorate the postcards with stickers, hoping that an extra splash of color and creativity would better my chances to be selected by the contest organizers. Even at county fairs and trade shows, I have to fill out those free entry forms with the little yellow golf pencils. They call to me, "fill me out, you may be a winner." It doesn't matter what the prize is, whether it be a new washer and dryer (which don't fit in my apt.), a free trip (to a place I am not interested in going), concert tickets (for a band I don't like), a free portrait (for a family I don't have) or a lawn mower (for a lawn I also don't have), I sign up for it. I know that most contests are all about creating customer lists that can be sold to other companies that will result in really annoying and useless solicitations filling up either your mailbox, in-box or voicemail and in some cases all three. But yet I am still undeterred. What is it about contests that draws me into their vortex?

Is it the promise of getting something free in life? Is there comfort in thinking that you could obtain something of value, which requires so little work or skill except to know how to fill out your name and address and contact phone number. A 6-year old could do it, except most contests require you to be at least the age of majority, (a requirement surly imposed on the contest sponsors by state and/or federal law, and not any sense of corporate morality). Just think of all the time and energy spent earning a paycheck. The hours spent commuting to your office, then the hours in front of the computer, on the phone, sitting in meetings, navigating the office politics, dealing with your demanding boss, just to get in the car to commute home again. That's of course if you have a desk job. Think about the energy spent by a construction worker, a police officer, a grade school teacher, a brain surgeon, a farm worker, a short order cook, etc. It's both mentally and physically exhausting earning a living. But the chance of winning a $50,000 cash prize or a fabulous 7 -day trip to St. Lucia (meals and airfare included) and all you have to do is fill in a couple of blanks on a website, or slip an entry form into a clear Plexiglas box, well that is something that can't be passed up. You would be a fool not to enter.

Or is it a more ethereal sense of destiny. Let's face it, intellectually everyone knows that the odds of winning a contest that thousands or sometimes millions of people enter are very slim. But then you rationalize the reverse. Somebody has to win, right? Why not me? Then as you are filling out that entry form, you think, "Ok, this time it's going to me! It has to be me. I'm the lucky one!" I'm sure this is the same rationalization that goes through gamblers' minds in Vegas. These next cards will be a royal flush. This next throw of the dice or spin of the wheel will make me a big winner. Of course the difference between contests (with no monetary entry fee) and games of chance or lotteries, is that when you enter a contest, the contestant is not giving up or risking anything to win. There is no entry fee or skill involved. It's more random. If you get picked as the winner, then such achievement is purely fate. A calling from the universe that you, of all the people who could have won, are special. It was your destiny to win. Aah, what a nice sense of validation. If you win a contest, then that proves you are special. You are a lucky person. The fates are smiling down on you.

Perhaps I will never fully understand what fuels my drive to fill out those entry forms. I know that if I actually win a trip or a car one day, I probably will not end up liking it. I know that I will have to pay more taxes that year based on the cash value of the prize. I know that I will get more junk mail flooding my already too small mailbox, more spam in my in-box and more annoying phone calls in the middle of dinner. But none of these will deter my dream of actually being called one day by the disembodied voice of a contest god telling me that he is giving me something for free and confirming that it was my preordained destiny to be a winner!

Copyright Romy Schneider 2009. All rights reserved.

Does anyone really ever know who you are?

2009-02-12T17:15:00.000-08:00

I recently had a revelation about a someone in my life (to protect the innocent, we'll call him Norman). This is how I know Norman. He is a tall, handsome, sophisticated, button down suit type. He is reserved, thoughtful, well educated and cultured. Norman is clean shaven, with neatly trimed hair, always dressed in a jacket, buttoned down shirt. He also has impecable manners. He had told me that he had a musical background and was once in a band, but I assumed that was long ago, maybe in college or high school. All I was acquainted with was the clean-cut financial analysist side of him. Or maybe that was the only side of him I wanted to see. The side that I was attracted to as a friend. But, this week I discovered another side of Norman.

Knowing that he had clients in the music industry, I asked Norman to recommend some musicians who might be interested in playing at a local music festival. I am the music director of the festival this year and was looking to put together a diverse line-up. In response to my inquiry, he nominated himself as potential entertainment. Well this turn of events caught me off guard. He said that he would like to perform solo, playing guitar and harmonica. He pointed out that he recorded an CD that was available for sale on the internet. A quick google search pulled up his CD, which was released 6 years ago and his MySpace page.

There Norman was on his MySpace page sitting on the couch strumming a guitar with a cowboy hat and boots! What the heck? According to his MySpace bio, he had made up this entire persona of an outlaw guitarman, living in Mojave, CA, playing in local honky tonks. Now I don't know if he ever lived in Mojave, CA, but he certainly does not live there now. He works for an accounting firm in downtown Los Angeles. Who is this person? Was he living a double life? Did he just create this alter ego out of the air, a complete fabrication, a ruse to sell his music?

I was thrown a little off balance. Then I began mining my memory. You know, I have seen him in boots before, when we have casually met for a movie or a drink. At happy hours, Norman did seem to prefer to order beer instead of other more sophisticated well drinks or wine. He did tell me that he played guitar. I just assumed that he played jazz or classical guitar music. I never imagined that Norman was an outlaw country/folk guitarist. But that was my own projection of who he was and not about the reality of who he is. I realized that the window that I was peering into was just a small part of his life. I almost exclusively knew him in a professional context. Our relationship has developed over time into a warm more personal friendship, but not an intimate one. I realized that there were subtleties of Norman's honky tonk musician side peaking out from underneath his Brooks Bros. suit persona, but I either ignored or refused to acknowledge them.

This all started me thinking about who I am and whether the people in my life really know the whole of me. The fact is that most of us know each other in a narrowly defined context. You have your work friends, who know that you wear your favorite Calvin Klein skirt to work on days when you have a big meetings and drink cosmos with grey goose at happy hour. Your school friends, who may remember that you once had a crush of the lead singer of a 80's pop band, and that two wine coolers could make you sick. Then there are your old roommates, who know that you like to buy old cookbooks and make random recipes on the weekend and read every section of the newspaper on Sunday morning along with a whole pot of coffee. Does anyone really know the whole of you? Are there some parts of you that are so compartmentalized that really no one knows all of them but you? Who you are on the phone or on a business call? Who you are at a rock concert? Who you are the first thing in morning? Who you are on vacation in Cancun, Mexico? Who you are in your heart? Gives you something to think about doesn't it?

Copyright 2009 Romy Schneider. All rights reserved.

Weather Porn - A Postcard from California

2009-01-17T19:04:00.000-08:00

It was just too beautiful a day to stay inside. I threw my bike in my trunk and headed for the beach. Riding along the bike lane that divides Ballona Creek from the Marina del Rey Habor, the temperature is a perfect 72 degrees. The sky is a bright blue without a single cloud. The ocean horizon is dotted with white sails and the sun glistens off the ripples of water. Everyone is in shorts with girls in bikini tops and guys walking around shirtless. I stop to stare out on the bridge that crosses the creek and survey the environment. The air is completely clear and upon turning your back to the ocean you can see the snow on top of Big Bear Mountain in the distance. The seagulls and pelicans in the creek are sunning themselves on the rocks. Everyone looks happy, couples strolling holding hands, children playing, bikers, runners and rollerbladers all seem content and smiling. It's January! The rest of the country is bundled up in snow and freezing temperatures. This balmy California weather makes the earthquakes, fires, mudslides, snarled freeways and plastic people in pleather pants all bearable.

With love from California, wish you were here!

Copyright Romy Schneider 2009. All Right Reserved.

Running Through Kensington Gardens

2009-01-07T22:23:00.000-08:00

June 28, 2004

I was delighted when I emerged at the Tube stop at Lancaster Gate to find just across the street a large park. Fabulous I thought, I will definitely have to run there in the morning. In retrospect, I should not have been surprised, since I am staying at the Gresham Hyde Park Hotel. I picked the hotel because of its proximately to the Tube stop (after lugging my enormous black suitcase through the streets of London three years ago, I learned my lesson), but I didn't realize that the name of my new quarters referred to its location within a block from Hyde Park. The next morning, plagued with insomnia, I started out for a run at 5:30am. Now, I have not ran with any regularity for approximately two years, but since I am now on vacation, my normal excuse of "having no time" does not hold any validity. Besides when I was in London three years ago, I ran every day and it was wonderful because the air seems so much cleaner here than in my home town of Los Angeles and the temperature so mild in comparison. The morning of my run was no exception...

The sky is blue without a cloud (really) and the sunrise is peaking up over the trees. I choose the serpentine pathway around the lake. Knowing that my progress will not be easy, I give myself the goal of the whole length of one side of the pond. The pond is four times as long as it was wide, so this will be a healthy challenge. I start with small even steps and just keep moving. My legs feel old and creaky. My first encounter with another being turns out to be a family of swans taking a morning swim. Mummy and Daddy are positively regal with their beautiful long necks and their white feathers. The six babies however have squatty bodies and storm-cloud grey feathers. It just goes to prove that even swans have those ugly, awkward stages to go through. Then to my right, a bronze statue appears, a young impish boy on a pedestal surrounded by female admirers. It is the physical incarnation of the world famous boy who refused to grow up, Peter Pan. As I make my way down the path, I am surrounded by flowers on either side, beautiful trumpet vines opening to meet the dawn and delicate purple bristly flowers on a bush I can not identify. To my right is a field of grass, with a multitude of color, greens, yellows and purplely-browns, over grown and glorious in the morning sun. As I progress my body becomes a little warmer and my movements have loosened. As I passed "The Lido," a small area that is sectioned off for swimming, elderly men with their wrinkled, yet still athletic bodies waded into the pond for their morning exercise. The elderly swimmers' dedication to their physical upkeep provides a source of inspiration. I pick up my pace a little.

As I round the bend, I reach the part of the waterfront where the geese gathered to sleep. About 100 of them, all in various states of waking up on the bank. An unbelievable sight. I veer off the path and navigate through the trees to avoid startling them. None of the fowl pay any attention to me as I run pass. Around one more bend and I reach the far end of the pond where a little stone bridge leads to the opposite side over a small waterfall. I slow my pace as I approach the bridge. On the shoreline near the bridge, ducks and pigeons have gathered. A middle-aged man with two grocery bags approaches the bridge from the opposite side. He wears glasses and has a progressively balding crown. I slow to a stop on the bridge and bend over in exhaustion. The man turns toward the pond and the birds lurch forward to meet him. They know him. He reaches into one of the plastic grocery bags and begins to fling breadcrumbs at his feathered friends. They hoot and squawk their appreciation. He does not say a word, but pitches the crumbs with vigor. I smile and think about how delightful it was to go to the park and feed birds when I was a little girl with my father. The simple joy of making the birds happy with a stale loaf of bread was one of my favorite activities as a kid. Unfortunately, it is rare for us to carry on this simple childhood past-time past puberty. This man however has carried this joyous act well into adulthood.

I decide to leave the man alone with his friends, and wander over to the opposite side of the bridge to look at the waterfall. Quietly on the edge of the falls is a Heron waiting ever so patiently for a fish to reach the shallow edge of the falls so he can peck at it for breakfast. I am careful not the lean over the bridge as to interrupt the bird's vigil. Suddenly he lurches his neck forward and snaps up a silvery object from the water. Unfortunately, it is a piece of cellophane trash, which has fooled him. He shakes it in his beak with disgust and then drops it over the edge of the falls. I wonder if there are any fish in the water at all and whether his quest for food is in vain. I bend over and silently go through a series of yoga movements to stretch my tired body. I close my eyes and breath deeply. I spread my legs apart and bend at the waist. I open my eyes to greet the world upside-down and come face to face with a squirrel, which has crept up three inches away from my face. He is completely tame and looks at me in a way as if to say, "Hello, do you have any food?" I adjust myself into an upright position. I shrug my shoulders as if to say, "I have no nuts for you." Surmising I have nothing to offer him, my bushy-tailed friend sanders off into the bushes on the opposite width of the bridge. I turn and leave the Heron, the squirrel and the birdman and slowly walk back down the shoreline path towards my hotel. My legs feel good. I feel youthful and invigorated. A successful run indeed.

Copyright Romy Schneider 2009. All Rights Reserved.