Socal Mom by Donna Schwartz Mills

The Jonas Brothers: NOT the Reincarnated Beatles. And That's OK...

... because two days after I attended the world premiere of their new concert film, my ears are STILL ringing.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. This week, I found myself in the enviable position of being invited to TWO simultaneous red carpet events. The fact that this largess has nothing to do with my own accomplishments (Donna WHO?) is one of the many ironies of spending a life in the shadow of Hollywood.

(NOTE: I will eventually get to the part where I talk about the Jonas Brothers and their first headlining concert film. But this is my blog, and you're gonna have to read what I have to say about ME first.)

However, here's a little taste of what I saw on Tuesday night:

Getting Stuck at the CA Women's Conference

I spent Tuesday and Wednesday down in Long Beach for the California Women's Conference... a whirlwind of politico and celebrity chit chat by the likes of Maria Shriver, Rachael Ray, Chris Matthews, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Warren Buffet, Heidi Klum, Condoleeza Rice and Bono.

Thanks to my friends, Jill Asher at Los Angeles Moms Blog and Glennia Campbell of MOMocrats, I was given an all-access press pass that allowed me to attend this inspiring event (which SOLD OUT just THREE HOURS after tickets went on sale in July).

The conference was a kind of mixed bag, beginning with a Tuesday evening event that California First Lady Shriver described as a kind of "girls night out" and "shopping mall." There was music, dancing, cocktails... and yeah, shopping - as the exhibit hall was a mixed bag of public agencies and charities, vendors who were selling t-shirts and fashion, as well as those who were giving away all kinds of swag (lots of free food, courtesy of Safeway/Vons, Lean Cuisine and the like).

A lot of the booths disseminated information on women's and family health, including a couple of big name pharmacy chains. The most unusual swag item was offered by the folks at CVS: a free flu shot.

As I said in the video, I have put off getting the vaccination every flu season, and so far, I haven't suffered too much for it. But as I'm getting older, I do worry about my body's ability to fight the virus. I was thinking of trying out the new FluMist nasal vaccine - but now that I've experienced receiving the shot from the skilled nurse practitioner at CVS, I don't think I need to spend the extra money on the mist. I truly didn't feel a thing!

The Getty's Goats

While driving the kid to school yesterday, I heard a radio report warning drivers on the 405 that they might spy a herd of goats in the Sepulveda Pass. The goats (or rather, their herder) have been contracted to graze on the hillside surrounding the Getty Center. I guess it's a convenient and eco-friendly way to clear the brush, as hillside property owners are required to do each year by the LA County Fire Department.

Now, one of the reasons I'm grateful to be a work-at-home, stay-at-home mother is that I no longer have to navigate the city's freeways during rush hour -- especially the loathsome 405, which never seems to be free of traffic any longer. However, I really wanted to see those goats... so at 11:00 yesterday morning (a time I calculated was sufficiently between all the different little traffic clusters), I turned off my computer, grabbed my camera and hit the road.

Alas, there was nary a goat to be seen (at least, none from the vantage point of the 405 or on Sepulveda, the route I took back to the Valley).  Perhaps they were on the other side of the hill. Or maybe I just needed to park the car and get on the shuttle that takes you up the hill to the museum complex. At any rate, the photographers at the Los Angeles Times have taken some nice shots here and here.

While checking up on the story, I discovered that the Getty has been getting goats for this task for a few years now, and I wondered if this was a service that made sense for SoCal homeowners. After all, annual brush clearance is kind of an onerous task -- and goats need to eat. It sounds like a win-win.

It turns out that the Fire Department is right on top of that thought, with a list of goat contractors on their web page here. I haven't a clue what it costs, or if it makes sense to an owner of a small lot, but it's worth checking out, don't you think?.

This has been a public service announcement from SoCal Mom...