I bought some new sunglasses yesterday, the polarized kind. I’ve been sun blocking my face but not really protecting my eyes that well, but polarized lenses affect the color of things. I see purple shades in the sky and green trees look greener – it’s kind of nice. My stepmom left but she’s coming back next Sunday so I’m preparing the house for her and her husband. He is having stomach cancer surgery on June 7th at the Veterans Hospital and will be recouping at the house. So I’m setting up a bedroom downstairs in case they can’t manage the steps. And I’ll be making my special “wound-healing soup” for him, as well as giving him our positive thoughts. I thoroughly believe that a positive attitude can promote healing and wellness. Oh, and I just posted a new video of my first interview on Larry King Live. I think it was done in 1990. Check out my fancy earrings!

It looked like a big leaf with a stem but it was a big rat with a tail at the bottom of the pool. Yuk! I’ve decided it’s better to see a live rat than a dead one because the live ones usually disappear before you get a good look. But when they’re laying on the bottom of the pool with the still water acting as a magnifying glass, you want to turn away but you can’t. So you stare at this humungous rodent with his raccoon hands and buck teeth that can chew through metal, and you think, “If one of these ever gets in the house, I’ll have to move.”

My stepmom is still here and we are going back to the Veterans Hospital tomorrow. I expect us to be there most of the day so this time, I’m bringing a picnic lunch so we can all eat healthy. I’ve packed water, hard-boiled eggs, salt & pepper, homemade bread and blueberry cake, almonds, apples, tangerines, and a banana. I realize this survival kit could take us across the Mojave Desert but it will be a touch of home during a stressful day of medical tests for her husband.

What a nice surprise to see that my show was mentioned in David Archuleta’s memoirs.  The American Idol phenom is 19 years old now but when we he was only eleven, he tore up the Jenny Jones stage with the Dream Girls song, “And I Am Telling You.”  I have a copy of his performance to be viewed.  Sorry that it’s not a good quality but it’s still exciting to watch.  He got a standing ovation!  Click here to see it.

What an experience I had today.  My stepmom’s 2nd husband, who’s a veteran, had to go in for some tests at the veterans center in Los Angeles so I took them both in today.  We were in the main hospital building and it was not at all what I expected.  I saw state-of-the-art equipment, efficient nurses and lab technicians, super clean surroundings, and a very friendly staff. We explored the main floor and found a huge food court, a general store that carried everything from bandaids to flat screen TVs – no sales tax for veterans. There’s more… upstairs in a quiet, peaceful corner was a lovely chapel. It was tough to see some of the injured soldiers, but it did my heart good to see the quality of services available to the men and women who have served our country.

My sister and I spent the weekend (with our respective partners, Shawn & Denis, of course) going all over L.A. and today we went to Universal CityWalk – what a fun place to go. It’s part of Universal Studios in Hollywood and it’s kind of like a midway filled with music and lights with restaurants, shops, and today… street performers. We were there for Streetfest and saw jugglers, acrobats, dancers, and tons of people.  It was a super way to cap off a fun weekend. She still has chipmunk cheeks and I still look like I’m expecting twins in that outfit.  We had a good time but she is leaving town in the morning, heading back to Canada. 🙁

She used to lock me in the closet and tell me there was a monster in there but now my closet is the size of a small gymnasium so I have nothing to fear. 🙂 My sister is coming in from Canada today for the weekend.  She arrives tonight and we’re going to have fun, fun, fun! We’ll be doing the Hollywood thing, see the Hollywood sign, Beverly Hills, Rodeo Drive, Farmer’s Market, the Grove, Santa Monica Pier, and shop.  This photo was taken in Italy in 1949.  She’s the one with the chipmunk cheeks and I look like I’m expecting twins.

Last Saturday at the mall, I was walking towards two women and I could see they thought they recognized me.  They seemed excited as they nudged each other, so I stopped, nodded and smiled as if to say, yes it’s me.  “I know you!” one of them said. I tried to stay humble but it is always flattering.  “I’ve seen you on TV!” she said, “I know you, I know you… Oh my God, you’re Jenny Craig!” I didn’t know whether to laugh, cry, or give her some weight loss tips.

I made some awesome meringues today. I experimented by adding dark chocolate and ground toasted almonds and WOW, they were soooo good! These are definitely going in my new cookbook but I posted the recipe if anyone wants to make them. You might also need to make a sign:  Limit 3 per person!

It’s a special day for some people, but not for me.  So I chose to do something I’ve been meaning to do for months – I cleaned my oven.  There are quite a few things I’d rather do, like having my nose hairs tweezed out, one buy one, but the oven had to be cleaned so I put on my protective gear and got to work. Okay, it is a self-cleaning oven, but still…