On Saturday, my friend, Natalia, and I attended The Perfect Brunch, an event to fund a cure for diabetes, with NY Times Bestselling Author Brenda Novak and KCRA News Anchor/Reporter Deirdre Fitzpatrick at the helm.
And what a “perfect brunch” it was.
It was held at Mercedes-Benz of Rocklin.
That’s me standing in front of the amazing waterfall at the showroom entrance. Natalia’s behind the camera. (Thanks Natalia.)
As brunch guests, we:
- enjoyed a delicious mimosa brunch prepared by Bistro 33.
- received an autographed novel in a goodie bag (my novel was The Devil She Knows, by Diane Whiteside).
- entered a raffle for a $3500 diamond and ruby ring (Nope, I didn’t win).
- participated in silent and live auctions with fabulous items for bid (I was outbid on everything. Bad for me, good for the cause).
After my failure to outbid any of the generous donors at the brunch auction, it was time for me to go ONLINE to Brenda Novak’s Annual Auction for the Cure of Diabetes and try again.
As I mentioned in a previous post (Miracle Workers), every year I tell myself this will be the year I place my first online bid in Brenda’s auction. After all, it’s a good cause. And Brenda is a darn nice person. I know because I met her during the days I belonged to the Sacramento Valley Rose chapter of the Romance Writers. I admired her generosity and kindness back then, and I still do now.
However, each time I end up chickening out. Bid online? That would mean learning something new.
Well, in July of 2010, I started a blog, and in the process, I learned a lot about the workings of the Internet. I also lost the fear of stepping out of my comfort zone (At least where the Internet is concerned).
So far, I’ve bid on seven items, and I’m still top bidder on two. 15 days to go. Oh my. Might have to up the ante.
There are some fantastic items up for bid. Browse if you dare. You’ll find books, jewelry, gift baskets, home decor, tickets for Celine Dion, author critiques, agent evaluations, and one-on-one author mentoring.
You name it, there’s something for everybody.
To my surprise, I’m having a ball. See what happens when you step out of your comfort zone? Especially for a good cause, like the cure for diabetes.
As always, thanks for stopping by,
Good for you. I'm not too bad on the internet, but I just hate phoning strangers. Everyone has a different comfort zone, and isn't that great? How awful if we were all the same.
— K
Kay, Alberta, Canada
An Unfittie's Guide to Adventurous Travel
Hi Kay. I hate using the phone, too. I much prefer the Internet, now that I've been at it for a year. It's always hard to step out of one's comfort zone. What may be easy for one person is hard for another. What's the same for all of us, though, is that we have to keep stepping forward into the unknown, not always a comfortable place.
So Aunt Margaret…Did you win anything?
Love you!
Vanessa
Hi Vanessa. I was outbid on everything at the luncheon, but I'm still in a bidding war on line for two things. Will share if I get them!