California Knows All About Strawberries!

Mmmm... This has to be one of the most delicious appearances I have ever attended. I was asked to judge the “Berry Blast Off” Recipe contest at the 27th Annual California Strawberry Festival. Thousands of people attend the festival from all over the country as well as abroad. Hundreds of people sent in their tastiest non-baked strawberry dishes and out of those entrants it was narrowed down to 2 finalists. The two ladies made their dishes in front of an audience of onlookers with the media capturing their every move. They were judged on taste and freshness/flavor, texture, ease of preparation, presentation and creative use of fresh strawberries. The 2 dishes were Strawberry Bruschetta with Lemon Cream Sauce and Snappy Shrimp & Strawberry Coleslaw with Hotty Maple Vinaigrette. Both were very delicious and it was so hard to decide between the two. But in the end the Merry Graham's Snappy Shrimp & Strawberry Coleslaw with Hotty Maple Vinaigrette won. She received a grand prize four-night Carnival Cruise vacation getaway.

I enjoyed judging this event with Chief John Crombach of the City of Oxnard Police Department and Kate Linder of the Young & The Restless. Once the judging was over Mom and I had time to walk around and visit the different booths. There were so many unique and creative creations made of strawberries; strawberry pizza, strawberry nachos, strawberry popcorn, strawberry pasta, and so many more! I enjoyed meeting so many nice people. I want to say thank you to all the attendees who took time out to take pictures with me and hear my story. I really enjoyed the moments we shared together. I hope everyone enjoyed themselves and ate lots of strawberry items. A BIG thank you California Strawberry Festival for having me at this wonderful event. I was honored to have been asked as one of the 5 guest judges.

Santa Barbara Food Bank

Today I took a trip up the coast to visit the Santa Barbara Food Bank. I was very interested in this opportunity to tour the facility. Since I grew up at times without food I was anxious to learn about the distribution process and how the food bank works as a whole. The warehouse itself is much like a CostCo or Sams Club. Different organizations can come in and purchase the bulk food items for next to nothing. This particular facility runs several different programs. One of which is a senior "Brown Bag" program. In which every two weeks brown bags are packed with items from the food bank and are hand delivered to the seniors in the community. Another program is the "Backpack" Program, where bags of food are distributed to children on Fridays after school so that they have food for the weekend.

I had the honor of meeting Erik Talkin the Executive Director of the Santa Barbara Food Share. I was given the opportunity to sit down with him and share my stories of being without food at such a young age. We talked about the effects of not having a good nutritional understanding of foods in general and the effects it has had on me today. My obsession with hording when I finally was able to get food easily, and my not so smart decisions on my food choices still today. It's amazing what the first five years of a child's life does for them. The correlation to many things in our future are based upon what we have been taught at a young age. I am very glad to see that nutrition education is playing a role in the Santa Barbara Food Share's programs, especially those concerning the children.

I had a really nice conversation with Carrie Wanek, Director of Finance and Administration for the Food Bank. I got the opportunity to pick her brain about the ins and outs of running such a vital organization. She was very personable and informative and I learned a lot from her.

After our meeting was over I was so lucky to have the opportunity to meet the volunteers of the "Backpack" program and help in the assembly line. I am so happy that a program such as this exists, because I know first hand what it was like to be hungry without a meal and wondering when your stomach would stop growling. I want to thank all those individuals who are involved with this organization, your hearts are golden and you are making a difference that is greatly appreciated. You all are amazing!

Please join me at the California Strawberry Festival May 15th & 16th...

California Strawberry Festival

The California Strawberry Festival celebrates the region’s rich agricultural heritage while raising funds for numerous Southland charities. Since its inception, over $3 million dollars has been collected to benefit others. Twenty-four companies harvest and cool more than 207,646 tons of sweet berries in the area from 11,538 acres with annual revenues topping $300 million to ship them worldwide from the region, known as California’s Strawberry Coast.

Please join me on Saturday, May 15 at 12:00 p.m in the Promenade tent as I along with Kate Linder from the Young & The Restless judge this years Berry Blast Off recipe competition. Hope to see you there!




PRESS RELEASE LINKS BELOW:

The Young and The Restless: Kate Linder Judges Berry Blast Off Recipe Contest! | SoapOperaFan.com

Westlake Malibu Lifestyle Magazine

I am so honored to be in the May 2010 magazine with such influential people. The Angles Ball was truely a night to remember.

Heartlines Publication article

I was featured in the Spring 2010 issue...check it out below.

It takes a village to plan a Custom Car & Motorcycle Show, a BIG thanks to all the villagers!

So the planning begins begins...On June 12th the 1st Annual Custom Car & Motorcycle show to benefit Luggage of Love will take place at The Palms Shopping Center in Oxnard California. Above and below you will find pictures of some of the people who are donating their time and effort to make this event a success. I can not express my gratitude enough to all these individuals for their countless hours of dedication and support. I thank you all for joining my efforts to help the children in foster & shelter care.

This free picture collage generated with Smilebox

Orange Co Social Services Conference

This weekend Orange County Social Services held their annual conference for foster parents and social workers. The theme of this years conference was "Home is Where Your Story Starts". I was asked a few months ago to be the key note speaker for this event and have been highly anticipating it. When I arrived at the venue, I noticed that there was a "Luggage of Love" table that had a pile of luggage stacked on and around it. One of the pieces of luggage was open on the table and inside it was cash and check donations. I had the opportunity to mingle a little beforehand with many of the attendees and it really made me feel good that they all shared in the common interest of helping the foster and shelter youth of today. After eating a delicious breakfast it was time for me to speak to the attendees. I can not tell you how rewarding it was to speak to such a large group. I spoke for a little under an hour and found the audience to be very receptive of my story and thoughts on the roles they play in these childrens' lives.

Once I had finished, there was a quick intermission and then my Mom and I were off to our workshop entitled "Throw Away the Instruction Manuel". I truly enjoy speaking onstage and sharing my story there, but having the opportunity to have people see our story from both mine and my mom's perspective is very informative to say the least. My Mom gives the audience the insight that is needed from an adult care givers view as well as a counselors view. It was such a pleasure talking with those who attended my workshop. I enjoyed hearing many of them tell their incredible journeys and stories that they have encountered working with the system.

I had an amazing time and I would love to thank Orange County Social Services for putting on such a great conference and for allowing me to be a part of it! I will forever remember this day and I thank you for believing in my story and what I am doing. Because of your commitment to the children like myself you help to ensure that each and every child in the system has the opportunity for a better future.