Pageant Prep Expo

Today was the Pageant Preparation Expo is King of Prussia, PA, where I had a table to market my business as a singing teacher and vocal coach. At my neighboring table was my amazing and wonderful friend, Michael Hartman, who produces and choreographs for the America's National Teenager Pageant. Mrs. Delaware Valley (and hopefully Mrs. New Jersey US 2010) Kim Meehan, Mrs. New Jersey International Heather Cunningham, and Mrs. Pennsylvania International Sheri Jenkins were also in attendance and looking beautiful, as always.

It was a long day, but hopefully I'll get a few new voice students!

Dessert-Mania!

Tonight, I volunteered to serve at the Newtown Lions Club annual Spaghetti Dinner and I baked all of the desserts. My brother is a member of the Newtown Lions and it was a great opportunity to support both him and the Bucks County Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired.

Here's what I baked:

Apple pie

Rum cake

Black Forest Cake

White Chocolate Cheesecake with strawberry swirl

Cinnamon Merlot Roasted Pears

Tiramisu

Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Chocolate Pie with Chocolate cookie crust and chocolate whipped cream frosting

Heres what I learned:

Both chocolate and cheesecake are in demand, pears are not.

Nobody wants to eat burned apple pie

The chocolate hazelnut torte recipe looks complicated for a reason-- it is.

It was a great night and I'm looking forward to next year already!

Recital

On Sunday, October 25th, I performed in a recital at Delaware Valley College sponsored by the Community Conservatory of Music. I sang my favorite songs of all time:

"Someone to Watch Over Me" (Gershwin from the 1920s musical Oh, Kay!))

"They Say It's Wonderful" (Irving Berlin from one of his later musicals, Annie Get Your Gun),

"On the Street Where You Live" (Lerner and Loewe from My Fair Lady)

and finally "The Girl in 14G" (by Jeanine Tesori)

Barbara Weikamp and Joy Keener also sang beautifully. We were accompanied by pianist Bill Gottshall- who is just a wonderful musician and lots of fun to work with.

If I figure out how to add mp3s, then I can add some samples from the performance, but no luck yet...

Greeting an audience member

Abington Lions Club

Last night, I attended the annual Comedy Night fundraiser for the Abington Lions Club. It was a great event, well-planned and well-attended, and I was fortunate to have the honor of being a judge for the amateur comedian competition. Unfortunately, I forgot to charge my camera, so I don't have photos from the event (Bad, Mrs. PA, bad!).

The evening started with dinner and continued with hilarious headlining comedian Tom Ryan, who I recognized from tv. Next, Magician Hunter Gaul gave an entertaining performance. We had some dessert and I drank a couple cups of coffee to keep my energy up for a long evening of fun. Fueled by the magic of caffeine, I was ready to judge the amateur comedians. There were 3 contestants and it was a difficult choice! The audience was kept laughing by the Christian King of Comedy and Chris Smith and some more material from Tom Ryan. My abs are still sore from laughing so much (either I am sadly out of swimsuit competition shape or these guys were really funny).

What a great night! I hope The Lions Club reached their fundraising goal to help in their noble pursuits. It was truly a pleasure getting to know the Abington Lions and an honor to be a part of their festivities.

Rock the Mic for a Cure

I met Turea Hutson when she was just 17 years old and a first time contestant in the Miss Philadelphia Pageant. Turea survived ovarian cancer at age 16 and now at a gorgeous, cancer-free 24 years old is fighting to promote ovarian cancer awareness and to raise funding to find a cure for this disease. Turea created a talent show fundraiser at Plymouth Meeting Friends School and it was a great success! All proceeds were donated to Fox Chase Cancer Center's new Women's Health Center.

Turea Hutson and Dr. Robert Burger, Directorof the Fox Chase Cancer Center's new Women's Center.

"We're going to treat the whole patient and
focus heavily on each woman's
quality of life."
— Dr. Burger

Newtown Market Day

I was proud to promote the Newtown Chamber Orchestra at Newtown Market Day on Saturday, September 19th. They receive funding from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts and have a cd for sale and a great free concert for kids planned this March at Pennsbury High School in Bucks County.

Rosh Hashana

Friday was Rosh Hashana, which is the Jewish New Year. I cooked dinner for fifteen guests and we enjoyed a special seder celebrating a sweet new year. Under the tutelage of Chef Georges Perrier, Jonathan learned to make "floating islands", which are merengues drizzled in caramel in creme anglaise.