Hell's Kitchen!

I love a good haunted house! Our neighborhood has a fun Halloween event and this year we've decided to add a Haunted Kitchen. I'm in charge, so I'm calling on all my creative friends to send me your great ideas! I've come up with some scary "menu" items: Mice-A-Roni, Hot Apple Spider, Spaghetti and Eyeballs & for dessert a nice slice of Frosted Chocolate Snake! We also got lucky because one of our neighbors produced the Halloween movies, so we have access to some cool props and costumes. I'm thinking that we stick with the kitchen theme and have people dressed like scary chefs, waitresses, etc.
We'll have a less scary version early in the night for the younger kids and a teenage version later on. Any suggestions on how to totally transform a banquet room catering kitchen?

Fight On!

I love college football! The USC-Ohio State game tonight was absolute perfection. Have you ever ridden a roller coaster and found yourself laughing hysterically and totally exhilarated? That's how I felt after tonight's game. Led by our true freshman quarterback, Matt Barkley, we're going to have quite a season.
Great job kid!

Fried Pickles?

When I was in Junior High and High School, our family did weekly theme dinners, like "taco night" (which we still occasionally do) and "fry"day, which ironically we had on Thursday. Keep in mind this was quite awhile ago and folks weren't as health conscious. Our family had a deep fat fryer (just sounds unhealthy, doesn't it?) and my mom would cook up a tasty assortment of sizzling treats: fish sticks, tater tots, vegetables. As an adult, I'm not a huge fan of fried foods, but I do enjoy hearing about the latest crunchy offerings that they come up with each year at the county fairs. We took the family to a fair this summer and one of my sons was delighted with the deep fried pickles, which were actually better than they sound. I recently heard about one of the most disgusting sounding treats ever: Deep fried BUTTER! I wish I were kidding.

Firestorm!

I'm a big supporter of lifelong learning. I try to take a college course every semester on a topic of interest. I'm also not afraid to admit that I don't know something. If I can't answer a question, I turn to the internet (much as I turned to encyclopedias when I was young.). This week I was confronted by something that I'd never seen or heard of before (see photo above). I learned about clouds when I was a kid: stratus, cumulus, nimbus; but somehow, I'd missed out on learning about pyrocumulus clouds. They're formed when a rapidly moving fire sucks all the moisture out of the atmosphere and burning brush. The most amazing example of nature taking care of itself is that the clouds can turn to rain and extinguish the fire! In an ironic twist on the workings of Mother Nature, the clouds can also produce lightening which can start another fire.

In Living Color!

I was reading to my youngest son about the history of Sesame Street, which happens to be celebrating it's 40th season. The story featured lots of photographs, including a black and white shot with Bill Cosby. He asked me what year the photo was from & I guessed somewhere around 1970. My dear little boy asked "When did color start Mommy?". I explained about color television and photographs. I told him that when I was young, lots of people only had black and white television sets and NBC had an animated peacock that would open it's tail with a voiceover that said "The following program is brought to you in color". My sister Diane & I called it the "following peacock". After I'd finished explaining, he said "I mean when did color come to the earth,like the sky and the trees?". My sweet little son thought that the entire world was black and white in 1970.

The Joys of Summer

Do you remember Otter Pops? Of course you do, they're still around. I'm a fan of Strawberry Short Kook. There are so many things that I love about summer, but today while watching my kids invent new dives (Look I'm a pencil! I'm a question mark!), I realized that not many people have diving boards anymore. I wonder if they were deemed too unsafe, like those merry-go-rounds that used to be on every school playground and now you only see in deserted parks. When I was little, we had a diving board and our parents also got one of those big fiberglass pool slides. Boy, did we have fun with that! These days, it seems like people only have rockslides that look like something you'd find at a 5 star resort. Since my childhood home is only a couple miles from our current home, I drove by and took a peek in the backyard. The pool's still there, but no diving board or slide! Oh, well.
Another thing that I'm enjoying this summer are popsicle stick jokes. Example: Where do actors go camping? The Holly Woods! Is that funny, Mommy? Yes, it is.
Summer is all about the simple pleasures. Put on some sunscreen and Enjoy!

Reading is FUNdamental!

Summer is here. Hooray!! Even though summer is associated with outdoor activities, I thought I'd write about one of my favorite indoor locations: the library. We visit our local library at least once a week all year long. Where else can you get all the current magazines, bestsellers, the latest dvd releases and internet access...FOR FREE!? Our library has fireplaces, comfortable chairs and year round activities for kids. We read nightly bedtime stories on school nights and the current favorites for 5-9 year olds are the Roscoe Riley Rules series by Katherine Applegate and the My Weird School series by Dan Gutman. If you haven't been to the library lately, check it out (pun intended!).

You're Still The One!

I thought you might enjoy my birthday photo (Thanks John!) and also footage from the Celebrity Brides show I did:
http://www.joost.com/201rs8y/t/Celebrity-Brides-Unveiled-S2-ep-4

Play Ball!

It's T-Ball season in Southern California! If you've never been to a T-Ball game, let me explain it for you. It's played by 5-6 year olds who have very limited knowledge of the sport. The ball is hit off a "tee", so no one strikes out. After the ball is hit, the coach "reminds" the hitter to run. Every player on the opposite team leaves their respective positions on the field & runs for the ball. The result is a large pile of little children. The sport, at least in the league where my kids play, is completely noncompetitive. The score is always a tie & the parents shout encouragement instead of orders. Definitely a fun way for a family to spend an afternoon. Play ball!

Magic Castle & They Liked My Dress!

Alright, I'll admit it. I do now & have always loved magic! I don't think it has anything to do with being on Bewitched, but who knows. One of the coolest places in the entire world is the Magic Castle in Hollywood. I guess you could describe it as a really hip private club where magicians gather & perform. Last night Darren & I went to the Academy of Magical Arts 41st Annual Awards at the Avalon. Neil Patrick Harris was the host of the event. NPH is not only talented & funny, but he's also a lifelong fan of magic. He's on the board at the Magic Castle & was part of their junior program when he was a kid. The show was amazing & to top it off the press liked my dress!
http://jezebel.com/5166626/the-stylish-had-tricks-up-their-sleeves-at-the-magic-arts-awards#c

Potentially Great News!

I don'​t know if they'​re jokin​g with me, but I got a call that as of today​ I'm in first​ place​ for the Wrest​ling Radio​ Award​s Femal​e Inter​view Of The Year!​!​ I was just hopin​g not to come in last.​ I just talked to one of the DJ's who interviewed me. I told him how surprised I was that I was getting votes. I believe his exact words were "You can't be more surprised than I am!"
If you have the time,​ you can keep votin​g for me once a day & maybe​,​ possi​bly I might​ even win!​!​
You guys are the greatest.
http://wrestlingradioawards.com/ballot.html

Who Likes Wine?

The correct answer is EVERYONE! OK, everyone over 21. You know how hard it is to find the perfect bottle of wine: one that you don't see at every grocery store, one that tastes great & is reasonably priced. Where do you go to find friendly wine merchants who will happily answer your questions & make you feel like family? Two of my favorite people in the entire world (my wonderful sister, Diane & her equally wonderful partner, Laura) have entered the wine business! Their new venture, Classic Vines, has just launched their website:
http://classicvines.com
Since we've already agreed that EVERYONE loves wine, now you know where to shop for those "hard to buy for" folks on your Christmas list. Or get a couple bottles,some cheese & crackers & host your own holiday wine tasting party!
Cheers!

Holiday Travel

We were at the airport the other day & a woman in a very sparkly, very purple, very tight pantsuit suddenly ran right in front of our car (against a don't walk light I might add). After my husband slammed on the brakes, he said "How could someone see that outfit hanging on a rack & want to try it on?". Then I recognized her. It was Paula Abdul!
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving everyone!

CCW Backstage Interview

http://www.cmt.com/shows/series/hulk-hogan-celebrity-wrestling/series.jhtml

I thought you might enjoy this article about my strategy on Celebrity Wrestling.

http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Wrestling/2008/10/22/7166416.html

Red Carpet Interview About Celebrity Wrestling

All Erin, All The Time!

This Saturday, even those of you who love me, may get sick of seeing me so much. Not only is episode two of Hulk Hogan's Celebrity Champonship Wrestling on four times, but you can also see the episode of Over Your Head that I did for HGTV & WGN is playing a couple episodes of Bewitched. The shows couldn't be more different. On HGTV I'm building flagstone steps for the kids play yard & on HHCCW you can see me...well, that one you'll just have to watch!
Building flagstone steps is almost as challenging as fighting Bonaduce (although I tackled both!).

Celebrity Wrestling to Air on VH1 & TVLand!

Hey Friends!
Thanks for all the positive feedback on our premiere episode. For those of you who don't get the CMT network, I've got some great news. HHCCW will also be running on VH1 & TVLand starting this week. Check your local listings!
http://www.cmt.com/shows/series/hulk-hogan-celebrity-wrestling/series.jhtml

Home Sweet Home!

Thank you, thank you for all your prayers. Our entire neighborhood was saved & we are now back home. An extra special thank you to the firemen and other emergency workers who camped out in our yard to make sure that we all had homes to return to. Words can't express how much we appreciate your efforts.

Evacuated!

We're finally settled in for the night & it's impossible to answer all the e-mails. Yes, we were evacuated today. It was one of those surreal experiences where I watched the news reports about a fire, miles away from our home, drove to pick the boys up after school & came home to Police, Fire & Search & Rescue Officers telling us we had five minutes to evacuate. What do you grab when given five minutes? What is truly irreplaceable? We left our home with our children, pets, family photos & some jewelry. I also packed things to make the kids feel safe & comfortable for our temporary relocation: some small toys, school supplies, clothes & a book to read as a bedtime story. The kids are sleeping soundly, but I don't think Darren & I will be able to. They're expecting 70 mile per hour winds tonight & the fire is headed straight towards our neighborhood!