Jewelry Show Open House Tonight

If you're anywhere near Tucson this evening, please stop by my dear friend, Salleé Gerbing's house, where all my newest designs will be on display and for sale at wholesale prices. Just in time for Mother's Day, find something for your mom, your girlfriend, your wife, yourself! Earring, Necklace and Bracelet designs feature copper, sterling and fine silver, and a variety of crystals and gemstones. Each piece is one of a kind!

Can't make it? Many pieces are available on our website: www.sandypointproshop.com. If you see something you like, call our toll free number 888-588-3233 and we'll answer any questions you may have. We ship anywhere! THANK YOU!

The Joy of Being 11 Years-Old

Camille hosted her Zona Volleyball Club team for an end-of-season party the other night. Their coaches, Belinda and Laura, first met the girls at the mall to see a 3-D movie and then they all came back to our house to spend the night.

What a joyful group of girls. They swam, ate Egee's, played volleyball and danced the night away. Whether or not they're aware of the controversial lyrics they're singing while dancing to Britney Spear's "If You Seek Amy" song doesn't matter--at least not to me. (I think they're fully aware). Frankly, I find the song about Helen Keller's hips a little more offensive. And my guess is not one of them knows who Helen Keller was.

Oprah and the Hot Pink Connection

Mary Beth had her Oprah day yesterday. She wore a hot pink shirt to the show, and was very pleased to see Oprah wearing a hot pink dress. Hot pink is clearly the hot color for spring.

“I sat in the second row,” said my sister, “and I swear Oprah looked right at me a couple of times. She really connected.”

I think it was the hot pink connection.

Meanwhile, I learned that Oprah no longer (if she ever did) shakes the hands of her audience members. So, aside from the eye contact, there wasn’t a direct connection, and certainly no comment on Mary’s outfit or her jewelry. Further, audience members are required to sign some kind of confidentiality agreement or exploitation waiver, indicating they won’t use Oprah’s name to endorse personal products or services.

This is completely understandable. I mean, if the World Bunco Association can hold supplemental rights to the word “bunco” and attempt to block the use of this word in book titles, I’m quite sure Oprah and her people were wise enough to obtain primary rights to the word “Oprah.”


The back-story on this is about my second novel, It’s Not Your Mother’s Bridge Club. It’s NOT the first name I had for this book. The working title was, The Bellisimo Valley Bunco Squad. I wanted “bunco” in the title because, well, it’s a story about a group of women who play the dice game bunco. But when my publisher sent an endorsement request to the World Bunco Association, he received anything but an endorsement. What he received was a terse, cease and desist order.

Looking for a win-win, we attempted to work with the World Bunco Association, however, when it requested 50% of the revenue from book sales, we ultimately decided to change the title and be done with that. We changed the title and we changed the spelling from bunco (with a c) to bunko (with a k). What’s in a name? It’s still a story about women who play with dice.

Anyway, there will be no “As Seen on Oprah” endorsement for my jewelry, regardless of whether or not Mary Beth gets her beautiful, hot-pink clad mug on TV when the program airs. (May 12, 2009). It’s enough for me to know that Mary made her personal connection with this bigger-than-life celebrity.

On second thought, I wonder if I can change the spelling and use Mary Beth’s original Facebook announcement: “As Seen on Opra?”

Nah. I think that might alert the Chicago Bunco Squad.

The Oprah Chronicles

My sister, Mary Beth, is beside herself with excitement. This week, she will meet Oprah Winfrey. Yes, THE Oprah Winfrey. I first found out about this momentous upcoming event by a post she printed on her Facebook wall:

“Going to Opra . . . . . . . what to wear?”

I responded immediately and suggested two things: Number one: Wear a piece of MY jewelry and number two: Add an “h” to the name of television’s most famous person. (It’s Harpo spelled backwards, dear sister).

My sister is one of the cutest women you’ll ever meet. And there’s no one who gets more excited about new clothes and new jewelry. Each year she goes through my newest designs and picks out presents for all her friends and, of course, herself. And she is the perfect model. She tells me that every time she wears a necklace I’ve made for her, people stop her on the street and ask her where she got it.

I should probably arrange it so people can buy the pieces right off her neck since they rarely follow through by going to my website.

But all that may change this Thursday, when Mary Beth is a guest in the audience of America’s most watched talk show. “People have to wait forever to get tickets,” she said. “It’s like Bozo Circus was when we were kids.”

The pipe dream is that Oprah will say the same thing to her as the saleswoman at Lord and Taylor said today when Mary Beth showed her the necklace she'll be wearing on the show. Oprah will shake her hand (I hear she shakes the hands of all her audience members) and say, “Girl! Where DID you get that necklace?” Yes, a pipe dream, I realize. I’d settle for a quick shot of my sister in the audience that I can freeze-frame and capture, and then forever market my jewelry with an “As Seen On Oprah” tag.

We’re not yet sure when the show will air. Hopefully my sister will have that information on Thursday. There are rumors that an upcoming show will be Oprah’s last with Dr. Oz. Could it be true that Oz signed his "death warrant" by making provocative comments about stem cell research during his recent appearance with Michael J. Fox? It's more likely that this schedule has been in place for months, since the news of a Harpo-produced show with Dr. Oz ala Dr. Phil. Regardless, I wonder who really goes to the Oprah show to see the guests?

It's Oprah who is the star. She’s certainly a star-maker, and a star-breaker. Hmmm. I wonder what she thinks of turquoise.

High School Romance Lives

My favorite 17-year-old, Chelsea, was on the receiving end of a very romantic gesture last night. According to her parents, who sent me the photo, “a boy with the initials A.D. used the backstop to ask Chelsea to the prom.”

Chelsea is a first class athlete at Cienega High School. She was captain of the soccer team and now is once again a star on the varsity softball team. At last night’s game, Mr. A.D. used 200 red plastic drinking cups to make his offer. And by the way, it was a foul ball that knocked off part of the A in his red cup artwork.

Her parents thought the whole thing was very “sweet” and obviously wanted to share the event since they sent the photo. However, they left out what I considered to be a very important detail.

Did she say “yes?”


I sent Chelsea a text to find out. She replied immediately, as she always does. “LOL, of course I did! I’m not that mean.” Apparently he's on the swim team, and in some of her classes. She also said he was cute.

Well, he sure had a cute way of asking her to this momentous event. I hope the actual date is as good.

Does My Brother Look Like Stephen Colbert?

Yesterday I sent a couple photos to my Michigan sister, Debra. They were jpegs of our brother, Tommy, and sister, Mary Beth, during a recent visit. 

It must be said that I can count the number of emails I've received from Debra over our lifetime on one hand. A brilliant physician, she's also a classic luddite. Computers just aren't her thing. It's amazing she wrote me back to me to thank me for the photos.

She also told me that our brother is often mistaken for the television personality, Stephen Colbert. People have even stopped him and asked for his autograph.  This photo of Tommy on his hot, new motorcycle, the one I sent to Debra, illustrates her point. Until I looked at it again, I hadn't made the connection. But golly, I think she's right.

What do you think?