The Doctors at 50

One of my BFFs, Susana, turned 50 and of course, we HAD to celebrate!
If you don't know how I feel about these gals, you can read my previous posts about them.
The Gang
Tea for 5 and 1 afar
A 30 Hour Celebration

For 50, we wanted to do something memorable for her but with the six of us each being so busy, it was difficult to figure out where to go and what to do.  Planning started last August and we finally came up with something pretty memorable. Most importantly, Sus wanted us to be together.. to eat, laugh and laugh-so-hard-we-cry together.. and to do something she has never done before.

So at 50, she and the rest of us went to The Doctors.

Right smack in the front row; Sus is on the far left

The Doctors is a one hour national television talk show in which a team of medical professionals discuss a range of health-related topics and answer questions from viewers who are too embarrassed to ask their own doctors. It's filmed in the Paramount Studios Lot in Hollywood.

The audience coordinator graciously took a pic of all of us on stage in front of their screens after the whole audience vacated the studio.. but the overhead lights were off so that's why its so dim

We were thrilled to receive VIP tickets to the show (so grateful for my friend, Patrick, who had a producer friend on the show that got us in without waiting to request tickets...THANK YOU Patrick!) We had prime parking in the Studio Lot, walked through the back door of the studio (no standing in line), had reserved seats in the front and even allowed us to bring our cell phones in to take a picture or two. We were truly treated as VIPs. The studio employees were so kind and gracious. We even received a free book from one of the guest authors that appeared on the show and a Burke Williams spa gift certificate (both were for the whole audience) and a special The Doctors water bottle for just us from Brian, the Audience Coordinator, who heard that we were celebrating Sus' birthday.

Our show aired this past Monday. You can get a glimpse of us on the promo video at the :01-:03 mark.
The Doctors March 17 episode promo video

We didn't get on TV other then wide audience shots throughout the show. Below is one of the three short clips of us... don't blink and look fast!

I'm sitting on the far left front row with the rest of the gals. You can see Marj's smiley face.

It was a memorable experience since I never have been on a talk show before.

So if you've never been on a talk show before here's the scoop (at least on this show)..
Since we were VIP visitors,  we were really treated as very important people.  We were treated by everyone at the studio with kindness and graciousness, never rude nor impatient with us, never rushed us nor pushed us around.

When we arrived to the studios we were 15 minutes late. The pouring rain and traffic didn't help us at all. I was afraid that if we miss the window of time to arrive they would not let us in and we would miss our chance of being on the show. We crossed our fingers when we drove up to the entrance of the studio lot and presented my 'VIP' ticket that the audience coordinator emailed to me and all of our photo IDs. You cannot enter the lot without a personal invitation by someone working at the studio. The guard was very welcoming and kind and ushered us through and instructed us to park near Studio 30 where the show was being filmed.

Whew.. we got in! Now to find parking.. the lot was very full but Lisa managed to squeeze her SUV in a  compactish space. We left our camera and cell phones in the car (none are allowed in the studio)  and off we went to look for Studio 30.  After asking for directions from a studio employee (we were not ashamed of asking for directions since we were late already), we saw that the studio door was closed and a bright red light was blinking.. telling us that the studio was 'on air' and 'no admittance' was allowed.

Bummer! But we couldn't just stand there.  So we quietly knocked. And braced to see what would happen. Thankfully someone walked by and said she'll go get someone to help us. And then the door opened and a guy talking on his phone greeted us with a smile and told us to wait a moment. After he finished his call, I showed him my 'VIP ticket' and he said that they were still filming the first episode. (Three are filmed in a day; we came to watch the 2nd episode) and for us to come back in 20 minutes. Our seats were already reserved so we could take our time. We asked if we could take our cell phones in and he said yes if we can keep it silent. YES!

So very nice of him! We rushed back to the car to get our phones and went to the cafe' to get something to drink and sit and people watched the inner workings of a Hollywood studio.

Once we headed back to the studio, the door was wide open so we just strolled on in. It was like walking behind a theater with it's dark narrow walkways in a warehouse. We got to the end of the hall and waited patiently while Brian (the guy who greeted us the first time). We stood for about 10 minutes while people were walking by us. The hosts of the show also walked by us in bath slippers and robes (the ladies).. I didn't recognize them at first but of course I only watched the show once. They were very relaxed and smiled at us as they passed.

Finally Brian came to usher us into the audience. Almost every seat was filled. I was wondering where they would put us since we were able to watch a TV screen in the back of where he was seating everyone. I noticed the only empty seats were right in the front and that was where he put us.

At first he separated us into 3 and 2 with an aisle in between us (see above picture) but a few minutes later he moved someone and added another chair so all 5 of us could sit together. We were so very close to the stage! So close that I was checking out the female doctor's stiletto shoes. (One had Christian Louboutins).

The offices on the studio lot

Some things that surprised me:
- The Doctors look exactly like they look on TV but with lots of makeup
- Found out that the head host Dr. Travis Stork was on The Bachelor- season 8
- The hosts were miked for the TV not for the audience so their voices didn't project as loud as I expected. We had to be extremely quiet as they talked.
- They didn't have an 'audience clap' sign signaling us to clap. The director just started clapping and we followed.
- The studio was very small.. not like Oprah nor Ellen
- After each segment, the studio people will change up the set and move seat-fillers in and out of seats. That was the time we could chat. We wondered how much does a seat filler get paid?
- Being seated in the very front, we felt like we had to watch what we did and the expressions we made just in case we were caught on TV. If we sat in the back it may have been more comfortable and relaxed.
- We saw where the 'other' door into the studio was located. Not in the studio lot but on the outskirts of it and where the 'regular non VIP' people would have stood in line to enter.
- After the taping ended, Dr. Andrew Ordon (ENT & Plastic Surgeon) and Dr. Jennifer Berman (Urologist), both came down to the audience and shook hands with us and asked us if we were sisters. (Yeah all Chinese look alike). We told them we were celebrating Sus' birthday!
- The topics on this particular episode were interesting:  pet rodents are dangerous (a boy died from his rat biting him); a new law requiring all cooks, chefs and bartenders to wear gloves while handling any type of food item; a woman born without a birth canal and had to have one constructed (we saw part of the surgery on tape); how often do you clean your brushes (makeup, hair, tooth) .. that eye opener made at least 2 of us go out and buy brush cleaner at MAC right afterwards; gardening and repairing your home can be harmful to your health; and a great book on how to understand and help those you love that is or has battled cancer written by a cancer survivor.

It was a memorable experience. But on my bucket list of talk shows is to be on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. Anyone with a contact? I'd be forever grateful! :)

NEXT UP: Behind the Scenes of the Oscars

Gorging

I thought the weekend Rachel would be with us would be a quiet time at home playing with the bunnies the whole time. In fact I thought she might even get bored here.

Not so! As it turned out we were out for every meal except one the whole entire long weekend! Who knew?!?

First off....Friday after picking up the girls from school.. we headed to the Great Mall.

Unfortunately, Rachel told me that their microwave broke and she ate a half-frozen hot pocket for lunch. Hmm... not so appetizing. I decided to help her forget her 'lunch' with a yogurt snack.

Check out what/who we saw displayed at the GAP Outlet?

It's a picture of Hannah's good friend Laneya! Who knew!?!?

The mall wasn't very crowded for a Friday evening Rachel noticed. (The last time she was there it was Black Thursday! Yes I would say it might have been a little bit more crowded on THAT day!) BUT it was Valentine's Day so I was thinking who would bring their date to the Great Mall on Valentines?!?! Not many people I tell you!

Are you wondering why I'm at the mall on Valentine's Day with the girls and where was my wonderful husband?

Well.. he was here with his 'date'.. a church friend invited him to stay at his timeshare and ski at Northstar. He couldn't pass up the opportunity and of course as his loving wife, he had my blessing to go!

Saturday was the funeral for my sister-in-law Hilda's mom. I must say it was the longest-shortest funeral I ever had the privilege of attending.We sat and waited for 50 minutes and the service was less than 10 minutes. (I felt kind of weird walking up to the family to pay our respects and bowing to the deceased with Matthew and our 'three' girls right after my sister and her husband walked up with their three boys. All of a sudden I felt like my side of the family was huge!)

After the burial, we went to Moonstar Buffet for the lunch reception.

We love Moonstar! It's one of our favorite buffets. (I think our Buffet Club gave it 4 bibles but I have to check with our Prez & VP to confirm)

They have cotton candy!! Rachel said she had to roll out of that restaurant. Luckily she had a swim class after we got home so she can swim off the calories.

BUT after swim class, we headed straight to DINNER with Matthew's family at Happy Kitchen. I don't think I could have eaten another bite! I mean lunch only ended at 3pm and dinner just 3 hours later?!?

But we did eat.. they have great food! And we even got dessert at Tapioca Express. We rolled home and fell into a food-induced coma.. until the next morning!

Church! After church service.. Dim Sum!

Yes.. we went to Fu Lam Moon to have dim sum with the Louies, Wongs and Matthew's ski date, Doug.

That afternoon the girls got on their bikes to ride off their calories. Matthew washed his car and I did what I do best: I took a nap!

The next day... Monday - President's Day Holiday.. no school.. no work.. so what did we do? .. go EAT!

This time with our Buffet Club Prez & VP and their girls. Grace wanted to try Chicken and Waffles in Oakland.

We gave this place 2 bible rating. The waffles were nothing special and the prices were high!

We ordered waffles, fried chicken and fries.. the garlic fries were delicious along with the side of grits. I never had grits before!

After breakfast, we checked out Jack London Square. It has changed so much since the last time we were here which was eons ago. Owen reenacted his marriage proposal to Grace at the same spot where he proposed.  Well.. Grace told us 'her' version of what happened!

The Mr & Mrs.. (one of the many weddings I coordinated)

The 'spot' where she said YES.

Then we headed to a tourist attraction... the huge Mormon temple!

I have never been actually on the church property before. Always drove by. It was huge! But the views were amazing!

And last but not least we ended the fun filled day with dessert at Castro Valley's Rita's Ice & Custard
I was very impressed with their ice. Loved the watermelon flavor!! So many choices! A must to come back to if we were ever in the area again.

We finally got home and quickly packed up Rachel's bunnies to bring them all back to her regular home to have dinner with her grandparents and brother. I wonder how much weight she gained this past weekend with us? LOL! Hope you had fun with us, Rachel!

Rachelsitting

Our good friends Michael and Angela went to Europe to visit their daughter Michelle who is away studying in Oxford with Azuza Pacific University. We took their youngest daughter, Rachel, in to stay with us for the long weekend.

And YES.. she came with her bunnies!

Can you guess who's Cocoa and Coconut?

And again I transformed my living room into a bunny room.

These sisters always ate together, slept together and groomed each other.

I wish humans would act the same way. LOL!

I have to say.. the Febreze Refresh stand up air freshener works wonders on masking pet smells!

Cocoa and Coconut take up more room since there are two of them compared to BunnYee. They are more playful and eat a lot more too.. which means they poop a lot more.

Coconut is huge next to Cocoa.

But of course she eats more.

So Cocoa has to get as much as she can before her sister eats it all away!

Isn't Coconut adorable?

If they weren't transforming my whole house into a gigantic bunny-castle playground (they took over my kitchen and eating area also to let the bunnies roam around), they also went outside to explore  the neighborhood...all by themselves.

We discovered that Hannah can ride Emily's bike now and Emily can ride my bike! Who knew they grew so big already! Rachel is riding our friend, Carolyn's bike which we are storing while they are in China.

They rode down to Shinn Park.

Everyone had a great time. Mostly they gorged on food. Yes, we over fed her. Rachel. Not the bunnies. Check out how on my next post.

Yes, Jesus Loves Me.

A few Sundays ago was "Sanctity to Life Sunday". One of our women ministry leaders, Marge' Brandt spoke on the Right to Life for all.
Here is her message:  Right To Life message

But before she spoke, four young children came up on stage to sing "Jesus Loves Me". One of them was our own Hannah.

Nathan (preschool), Peter (1st), Erik (2nd) and Hannah (4th)

They did a great job. My videoing wasn't so great but you get the picture.