Brian Regan--Live! Enter for a Chance to Win a T-Shirt!

You know how we sometimes idolize famous people, and have this image--good or bad-- of what they must be like in person? If you've ever met someone famous, that image may be enhanced, or it may be cracked a bit, depending on your experience with them. Well, I'm here to tell you that my family was full of Brian Regan fans before, and our experience of meeting him bumped him even higher on our list of people we admire. He is one of the nicest, friendliest guys out there. We had a fantastic experience watching his performance and meeting him backstage!

For those of you who may be new to my blog, you can go here to learn about my story, and the amazing people out there who were kind enough to vote for a t-shirt design I submitted (thanks again! You're the best!), and why we had the chance to meet him.

My hubby and I are from a little town in Idaho. Oddly enough, Brian Regan had a performance scheduled there. By the time we found out my t-shirt design had won, all of the shows near us had already passed, so we decided it would be fun to return to our old stomping grounds to see him perform.

We were lucky enough to get tickets for the third row, right in front. Here we are waiting for the performance to begin: My Blondie, me, my sister Pam, and my two goofy sons. My hubby is behind the camera.


He had some great warm up acts: his brother Dennis Regan, as well as up and coming comedian, Ryan Hamilton who is also from a tiny town in Idaho. Ryan was recently named one of Rolling Stone magazine's 'Five Comics to Watch'. He made his national TV debut when he appeared on Comedy Central's Live at Gotham followed by NBC's Last Comic Standing as a semi-finalist . Very funny guys.

Here is a photo of Ryan and Brian in the green room at the Idaho performance we attended.


So, Brian's performance was awesome. As I've said before, his humor and expressions are just hilarious to me, and I LOVE that his act is clean---a rarity in the comedy world, I think. What also strikes me funny, is that for his encore, he will come back out and take requests for favorite jokes. He admits that it is a struggle to jump into a joke without a proper segue, and he jokes that comedy is supposed to have an element of surprise to it...something that is awkward when the audience already knows exactly how each joke ends. But he makes it work, and the audience eats it up.


My biggest regret of the whole event? We rushed to arrive there on time with cameras in hand...and I failed to bring extra batteries. From my first photo of the evening, my camera was blinking that I needed to change batteries. Aarrgh!!! How did I overlook such a thing? So I was very frugal with taking photos, knowing I wanted to take one with him when we got to meet him after the show. We also have a Flip video that my boys were using, and after a few minutes, the same thing....no more battery power. I was so annoyed with myself that I had failed to bring extras!

But anyway, meeting Brian Regan was truly a treat. He is one of the nicest, friendliest guys around. He gave me a big hug, and he congratulated me on the win. We chatted briefly about the details of the contest and about visiting Disneyland. He took time to greet each of my kids and my hubby, and to chat with each one individually for a brief moment while he signed autographs and t-shirts. It was such fun! We were able to get a photo taken with him, but sadly, it's a bit of a blur...Ah, well...we have great memories!


As a bonus, I don't know if anyone out there is interested in a t-shirt or not, but I happen to have a few extras, and would love to share them with my fantastic readers! Each shirt is valued at $20, and those that I have are Women's L and Men's M, L, or XL. You can see them HERE:


Two of you great people will each win a t-shirt in a drawing on Tuesday, August 3, so you have two weeks to enter! Please make sure you leave me an email address or a way of contacting you if you do not have a blog. Upon winning, I'll contact you to find out which size and color you'd most like (I can't promise an exact preference, but I'll do my best!)

To enter, you know the drill....

*Leave me a comment

*In an additional comment, let me know if you are already a follower, or if you have become a new follower

*Grab my new button and place it on your side bar, and let me know in another comment where I can find it

*Blog about this give-away and let me know in another comment with a link

Thanks, friends!!! You are truly the best!

Want to Combat Stress or Lose a Few Pounds? Give Hand-Embroidery a Try....

I was sitting in my dentist's waiting room when I came across a fascinating article entitled, "The Benefits of Slowing Down," from the June 2010 issue of Ladie's Home Journal. The article was all about slowing our speed in this crazy, fast-paced world that we live in, and the benefits of doing so. One section in particular captured my attention, entitled, "Slow Hobbies." Here is what it said:

"No one can knit a scarf or sweater overnight. It takes thousands of stitches, thousands of moments when the only sound is the clicking of needles. Trying to hurry the process just means making mistakes. That's not the frustration of knitting, it's the point. Slow hobbies--knitting, quilting, embroidery, woodwork--require patience and deliberation. In return they calm you, putting you in a contemplative zone that's its own kind of therapy. "The rhythmic, repetitive movements of a hobby like knitting are soothing and distracting," says Katherine Applegate, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist for the Duke University health system. "They seem to lull people."

She advises patients struggling to lose weight to take up sewing and other hands-on crafts to combat stress, which can lead to overeating. Some teachers report that knitting during class calms and focuses kids with ADHD. Even doing a jigsaw puzzle can help. The slow work of a hands-on hobby creates a pace that can soothe the soul." You can read the article in its entirety HERE.

So there you have it...a healthy reason to allow yourself to sit on the couch and spend some time stitching or quilting an item for yourself or a friend. Remember, you can download my free set of embroidery instructions and stitches by clicking HERE, and you can purchase embroidery e-patterns HERE.

Enjoy the summer---get some sun, relax, work on a project, and reduce your stress and your waistline at the same time!

I'm Back!

I'm finally back in the blogosphere! My computer took a hard hit from a nasty virus (still don't know how it got in), and I have been without my computer for much too long. I am happy to be back and have lots to share with you! Stay tuned!