One Busy Bee

I met this sweet girl while working together at The Bridges Golf Course in San Ramon. We both worked in the restaurant and we immediately got along even though there was a slight age difference. I believe I was 23 and she was still using a fake ID. We'd eat our lunches together after our shifts on the balcony, hyperventilate from laughing so much, and go out clubbing in Walnut Creek and San Francisco. She was all about having a good time but she was a sweetheart as well. Definitely a beauty and talented. Not only was she able to tear it up on the dance floor, she writes her own songs and sings. The first time I heard her sing was at the Pleasanton Hilton during the summer where her father performed out on the deck. About a hundred people came out after work on a weekday and danced til the sun went down. I asked her if she was going to sing and I was blown away when she got up there. She eventually moved down to Los Angeles to make her dreams come true. Every time I go dow...

Listen, I am ALL for bicyclists to get from point A to point B. It’s amazing how long, far and how steep people bike. I commend them! It’s a good work out, it helps decrease pollution, decrease the increasing rates of obesity, etc. I personally know avid riders, competitors and people that have made it their profession. When I move out to Brentwood, I’ll be more than happy to ride my bike more. What I cannot stand is that bicyclists want to be treated equally as cars or have the right-of-way like pedestrians at all times, but in my experience in just driving the short 5 blocks West of San Pablo Blvd. to work in Emeryville, they do NOT follow the rules and guidelines in the CA DMV Handbook . At stop signs like at the intersection of 45th and Horton (see The Emeryville Tattler ), I have had to slowly follow a bicyclist riding in the center of my lane on the 2-lane street of 45th. And no, he did not stop at the stop sign, nor signal he was making a left turn. I always use my turn sign...

Every parent thinks they’re kid is the cutest, most talented or the smartest. They could be just a little biased, right? I know some people think “Oh, sure” when I say my nephew, who is a big Jason Statham fan, is the cutest thing. But isn’t he though? Well, I don’t have any children of my own but my little Boston Terrier is super cute. One of my clerks thinks he’s pretty ugly but Bevo gets compliments all the time because he’s always smiling and his face is extremely expressive! He’s so friendly with people and not a bit territorial with other dogs. I have entered Bevo in some online cutest pet contests where your dog has to be rated the highest or get the most hits. He always received high ratings and I was joking with Momma DB last night that his cuteness is going to waste. He needs to make Mommy and Daddy some money and start pulling his weight around here. Though a cash award wasn’t available, on Twitter , Kristen Kelly from Season 5 of The Bad Girls Club in Miami las...

We are basically all packed and ready to go. Notice how pooped Bevo is from all the packing going on. We were hoping to get the keys in our hands yesterday. A couple of days ago, I get a call from my fiancé while at work saying that we may get our keys on Tuesday, if we’re lucky. The original title company erroneously provided the wrong lot number on the deed when it was foreclosed upon, but it was successfully recorded. Now, we’re trying to get the deed transferred to us and in order to transfer it, the correct lot number needs to be on the original deed. Our title company did everything right, or so I believe. But now that we have a few days to kill as documents are sent overnight to here and there. We want to move in already. We had everything scheduled to be transferred over like phone and internet, Dish Network and all of our appliances to be delivered. I have had to get back on the phone, go thru the many prompts, wait on hold, be transferred to the correct person to fulf...

I'd have to disagree with Ricky Bobby's saying of "If you're not first, you're last!" because I'm really liking that my blog posting is the 6th link (out of 1,270 results) to appear when you Google "Rockpango" ( The Los Lonely Boys ' new album releasing 3/29/11). I just thought it was pretty cool to appear the Top 10 search results when there are so many music-focused sites out there. Check it out! Traffic to my blog has been growing steadily since it began in July of 2009. I believe this month will have the highest hits ever. Thank you to all that are following and reading, or following me on Twitter ! It's much appreciated! I am open to exchanging links! Perhaps I should highlight a blog/blogger every month in appreciation and commending people for taking advantage of their freedom of speech. Hmmm, who should be my first?? ---- UPDATE 1-28-11 ---- My spot increased to the 4th spot with 1,380 results now for 'Rockpango'...

As previously mentioned, I don't do the club thing much anymore but I'm still down to have a good time. Last week, I came across an ad for Nikki 's appearance at a club called Status in Pleasanton, California. It used to be named Aura and I've been there once before. My fiance used to be roommates with the daughter of the owners or some far-fetched connection like that. Regardless... As a fan of the show on Oxygen , now into my 4th season of watching, I thought it'd be cool to meet this girl. I can honestly say she was the one I liked the most from the beginning. I didn't really want to declare it as my initial favorite from last season's ended up not being my fave anymore. Then again, you can blame editing for that. (So is it reality TV?) I liked Nikki because she was funny, sporty and not a girly-girl that was always in front of the mirror. And it never appeared that she was wearing a lot of make-up, and natural beauty is way better than wearing a ca...

I love entering contests online. I previously blogged about winning Los Lonely Boys tickets (twice!) for drawing traffic to their site about their new albums, I've won bottles of wine and photo sessions from wedding planning vendors from bridal fairs, movie tickets, DVDs, and even a trip to the Grammy's in 2000. Some people are hesitant to enter contests and drawings online as they believe they will not win or there never IS a winner and it's just a scam to get your personal information. Make sure there's some legal mumbo jumbo that you can view regarding the contest. This is my attest that the below and future giveaways I execute and fulfill with Sarah Michaels are, as she says, LEGIT. Entrants' and winners' personal information (beyond what is already public) will never be sold or released to any third parties. Have you heard about Chad Ochocinco Tweeting that the first person to meet him at a certain location will get a shopping spree or a new pair of...

We are off today to sign papers on our new home. I am so thankful for my fiance taking care of majority of the negotiations, dealing with our Realtor and gathering all the documents, details, etc. It also helps that his mother has been a Realtor for over 20 years in Pennsylvania, that my father is a broker and referred us to an awesome loan agent that has gotten us a fantastic deal on closing costs. It was amazing to go to our parents for advice because they have been thru the process once or twice, but that they're in the industry. It's been a crazy month and all these documents with legal verbiage and contingencies we've had to read, sign, scan, fax back, and re-sign about a bajillion times were a bit overwhelming for DB. I think he did a great job. My name is pretty long so I've cut down my signature to just my initials when signing all these documents. It's also nice that my married named will have the same initials so the abbreviated signature will remain...

My fiance is a coach for the NorCal Grizzlies . Please come support the team and the organization by attending their 5th Annual Crabfeed for Cocktails, Dinner, Dancing, Raffles, Silent & Live Auctions. Saturday, February 5, 2011 @ 5 PM Robert Livermore Community Center 444 East Ave. Livermore, CA Cost: $55 Email me for tickets!

We have already purchased the appliances and this weekend we discovered what the new range that the bank installed looks like, and though it's new, it's damn ugly and replacing it is now on our list. But we have other things we need for our new home and we picked up some things today. The list of general needs has not been narrowed down to the specifics, as in a registry. I had to make notes as to what current pieces of furniture and the mere decorative items I have will be placed in whichever room. I think I have a general idea and Momma DB is asking if she needs to buy anything in Pennsylvania and bring it with her when they arrive next week. They have done so much for us already that that is not necessary. I was looking forward to shopping and browsing for things that we could possibly register for. I thought it was going to be a good time for us to pick things out together, to build our home. But like a man, that's not the case and it was really frustrating becau...

Just like the Demand It! feature on Eventful.com to get bands to come to your town, I thought I'd start a list of fans/supporters (petition, if you will) that want Sarah Michaels to come to your town! Promoters for clubs, lounges and special events need to know there's a following - and from what I've seen, they (YOU!) are out there! I have been in marketing since before I was legal to drink and have done well with guerilla marketing, which is creatively getting results/exposure without a marketing budget. If you love Sarah and want to meet this 'Bad Girl' and possibly bring her 'Bad' friends, let it be known HERE! This will be an ongoing list of fans that promoters can review and say 'YES! Let's book her!' And...who knows, Sarah might review this list every now and then. *wink* *wink* How do I get on this list? Either comment below or email me at bernadettemanzano@hotmail.com with: 1) Your first name and last initial (ex: Bernadette M...

My favorite band, the Los Lonely Boys, will be releasing their new album, 'Rockpango', on March 29, 2011. I am so excited for it. I heard one new song at the Napa concert last year and I believe it was called Rockpango. Check out the article below with the track titles. OBTB and La Onda will have to get together for a release party and make swag to promote the new album. Hmmm, what to do, what to do? They love us here in Northern California. We get 3-4 shows each tour (with the exception of their home state of Texas) and I hear it makes the rest of the nation a little jealous. Our group is very well organized and we really come together for the love of the music and the Boys. And it's also not bad that we get some love from the Boys as well. They know most of us by name and appreciate the promotion we do for them on our own dime. I'm at my 45th concert and I can't wait for my 50th because I'm going to do something special. I can't say what it is just ...

Today is my fiance’s birthday. We are complete opposites. In terms of similarities, besides loving each other, we love sushi and our dog. He and a couple of good friends threw me a surprise birthday party for my 30th at our condo. I have never had a surprise birthday. I’m always planning the parties and get-togethers so it was definitely a treat. Today, per his request, we have absolutely nothing planned to celebrate his birthday. Just like Christmas, he made me agree not to spend any money for his birthday. He actually is headed to his coaching job as we speak. It’s what he wants to do. He took Monday night off from coaching to watch the BCS Championship game with his friends. Although we’ve been together for three years, I had to realize and accept that we have different wants. He wants to celebrate his birthday by doing nothing special. I like celebrating my birthday by going out and being with friends. This year, I’m giving him exactly what he wants and he’ll be happy with it. ...

This past Saturday's FREE Women's Health & Fitness Seminar in San Mateo, CA was a good time. From my posting on Yelp , I received a few "That's Cool" clicks and one confirmed attendee. Great! Her name was Christine and was originally from Southern California, now living in Concord. She was open to the information and using the WinSpa products AND working out with my colleagues and I with P90X. It was a 40-45 minute work out, then we did 15 minutes of abs. When the time came for high intensity move to kick in, I was not expecting it whatsoever and said out loud "Oh, Jesus." It was early on in the work out and I started to get nervous. But I finished it. I couldn't finish the push up section but I tried. I really, really wished I took my Sure2Endure before hand because I was dying. Let me just say, this event was on Saturday, it is now Monday morning and I am still having a hard time moving. It really kicked my butt and my colleagues, who a...

2011 has arrived and I say "BRING IT!" I really have quite a few things going for me this year: got engaged, in the process of buying a new home (which the listing was officially taken off as of December 28th), I surround myself with wonderful people and as far as I know, no one is really sick or ill. (Thinking of you still, Cousin Nat.) Because DB and I are so focused on saving money and preparing to move to a new part of the Bay Area, we stayed in for New Year's Eve. We ended up getting into bed at 6 PM with Bevo and his buddy, Toby, whom we were dog sitting while his mommy partied it up in San Francisco. We watched about 5 episodes of LOST on Netflix . Yes, we are a bit behind. Still on the 2nd to last season. DB called his parents on the East Coast right after midnight as usual. We watched the ball drop and I had my New Year's kiss from my fiance, my puppy dog and from Tobes. A pretty chill evening. We promised each other that we'd party it up next year....

Updated 2/8/12. $1650 a month for rent. $1500 deposit Available mid-March, 2012. Rent is due the first of the month. Check or cash. SCHEDULE an appointment to view the unit and the grounds by emailing bappletree@gmail.com or calling 925.895.7136 2 Bedrooms 2 Full baths Carport 2-car tandem garage Top floor unit View Security gate Granite counters on kitchen and bathrooms Large extended kitchen counter New kitchen appliances High ceiling in living room Fireplace Ceiling fans in living room & master bedroom Walk-in closets in both bedrooms Washer & dryer Balcony Storage on balcony New painted walls No popcorn ceiling Stainless steel door knobs Complex amenities: Pool Spa Gym Clubhouse Dog-friendly complex Walking distance to Safeway and downtown Easy access to Hwy 580 Less than a mile from Hayward Bart Living Room - Shot from the foyer Living Room - Shot from the dining room View from the balcony Kitchen - granite countertops, a...