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Christine Brecht is my favorite BB16 house guest.

     I attended the meet and greet with Christine Brecht last night. It was held at Epicenter Church of Tucson. It's tucked into the art buildings downtown. We parked and walked towards the metal staircase that leads to the church. The outside of the building is covered with beautiful paintings that give the look of graffiti. You should check this church out sometime.

     Upon entering the church we noticed it wasn't just a church. It's a gorgeous vintage industrial building. The walls are decorated with local art, the floors are the original wood, the pipes and electrical are exposed and the pews are pushed aside to allow room for the Big Brother fans to hang out with Christine. As we walked up we saw Tim Stine her husband sitting at a table accepting donations and selling t-shirts and photographs. He was greeting everyone with a smile. We purchased a photo and he thanked us for coming in. We then headed over to the crowd of people standing in front of Christine. We stood towards the back to give others room. Christine was answering questions and sharing stories from her time in the Big Brother house. She was very attentive with everyone. A few minutes into us standing in line a man approached us. He told us that we could just get her attention and ask her to sign our picture. He explained that there wasn't really a line. We continued talking to him as we inched forward. Turns out he was Christine's Dad. He proudly shared a few stories with us. He talked about how good of a kid Christine is. He is very proud of her. You can see why she's so nice. So before we headed over to meet Christine we asked to get a picture with him. He was flattered and said yes. We each took a picture with him. 


 

     We told him that we had been fans for a very long time and he said that this was actually his first year watching it. Of course he watched it, his daughter was on it. After a few minutes he walked away to play with his two adorable grandsons. They were there to support Christine too. Very cute kids who have excellent names. Christine's family was proudly watching her from the back, smiling and waving when she glanced up. She took time with each and every person who came to see her. She answered every question, signed each t-shirt and photograph with a personal note and posed for pictures. I don't think she realized how happy people were to finally meet her after watching her this summer. The dynamic between Tim and her was fun to watch. They really love each other. Each of them are equally proud of each other. Tim had a smile on his face the whole time and he was proudly looking on while Christine met with admiring fans. He eagerly jumped in when someone wanted a pic with the two of them. They have a great bond and you can see that when you meet them. 

     I felt that it was important to blog about meeting them after all the negative things I've seen people write about them. After watching the promos for BB16 we were instantly excited to see someone from Tucson, Arizona get onto Big Brother. Usually only Phoenix gets on the map. Tucson is considered large by most but if you have lived here your whole life you know it's actually pretty small. It's hard to go anywhere without running into someone you know. We all thought it was pretty cool that a girl from Tucson, AZ would be on TV. I couldn't wait for the show to start. She was our favorite from the start. Now that we met her we know that we made the right choice. She's the best. 

Both Christine and Tim gladly signed my lunch box!

She posed for a picture with Alyssa.

I got a picture too. 

Oh and meeting Tim was just as cool. He spent a half an hour talking to us. I of course asked him his opinion about the "Sonic Highways" album since he's  a musician. He has to get back to me on that after he hears the whole album. We can't wait to catch one of his shows. He posed for pictures with both of us. Check out that smile, what a great guy!

Thank you Christine and Tim for taking time to hang out with us fans and making Tucson proud. You guys are awesome!

Meet & Greet with Christine Brecht from Big Brother 16

Come out on November 14th from 6PM to 9PM and meet Christine Brecht from Big Brother 16. This meet and greet is FREE but they are accepting donations for Epicenter Church of Tucson and Reality Rally who raises funds for Michelle's Place so don't show up empty handed. Our community needs your support. 

Meet and Greet with Christine Brecht

191 E. Toole Ave

Tucson, AZ 85701

6PM-9PM

Click here for a map!

Arizona braces for Odile

After the flooding we saw last Monday we need to be prepared for more water. Most fire departments are handing out sandbags to local residents. The news is suggesting we stay inside and be prepared. Since the ground is already saturated from last weeks storm the water won't seep into the ground. The water will just create a huge flood across the area. 

Make sure you don't become a victim of Odile. 

Here's how to protect your property with sandbags.

Step one: Contact your local fire department and see if they are offering FREE sandbags. If they are not you will have to purchase some at a local hardware store. Places like Home Depot, Lowes or Ace Hardware will have them. 

Step two: Figure out how many bags and how much sand you would need to complete the wall. The staff at your local store should be able to help you with this. Just tell them how large of an area you need to protect.

Step three: You will need to purchase bags, sand and plastic sheeting or a tarp from your local hardware store.

Step four: Have a friend help you fill the bags. One person will hold the bag open while the other person uses a shovel to add sand to the bag. Fill the sandbags half way so you have excess to material to create a flap at the open end. Some bags will come with something to secure the bag closed. If yours does not, you can simply fold the flap over to seal it.

Step five: Place the plastic sheeting or tarp on the ground where you want to keep the water out. Place the plastic sheeting or tarp halfway up the wall, window or door where you want to keep the water out. This will help create a barrier to divert the water.

Step six: Start placing the first row of sandbags on the plastic sheeting or tarp. Make sure that each bag is tight against the next bag by tapping it down. Start the next row on top of the first in a brick pattern as seen below. 

Stagger the placement of sandbags to create a strong barrier. Continue packing the bags down as you go. Build the wall up until you reach the desired height to safely divert the water.

Step seven: Relax; you are now protected from flooding waters. Stay inside and be safe.

Can you help support families in the hospital this Thanksgiving?

We know how hard it can be to spend the holidays next to your child's bedside in the hospital. It would be great to have a home cooked meal. Well that's exactly what we thought. Mended Little Hearts of Tucson is feeding families Thanksgiving lunch again this year.We have received a lot of food donations but we still need more. Please click the link below to help out locally or you can make a donation that we will use to purchase food. 

Thank you all in advance for your kindness for others this year.  

                                                    

FREE haircuts at ULTA on 10/13/13 100% of proceeds go 2 Breast Cancer Research

Come out and get a FREE service of your choice. You can choose from Shampoo & Haircut, MicroZone Skin Treatment (sorta like a facial),  or A Pink Hair Extension?

Stop by THE SALON at ULTA on October 13th from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. for their annual CUT-A-THON.

 

Just a minimum $10.00 donation you can pick a FREE Shampoo & Haircut, a MicroZone Skin Treatment or a Pink Hair Extension. You can donate $30.00 and get all three services. They will also be collection hair for Locks of Love.

 

100% of the proceeds go to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation ! No appointments accepted. Walk-ins only. 

 

To find the location closest to you go to http://www.ulta.com/salon/

Good news story ~Please Share~

I wanted to tell you about something amazing I've witnessed recently at CDO high school. They have a senior special education student named Kevin who has Down syndrome. The whole student body recently rallied to make him homecoming king. They used social media to spread this news. They came up with #kevinforhomecoming2013 on Twitter and the news grew fast. On Friday October, 11th he will be crowned homecoming king. I think this would make an excellent story for our local news. It's a feel good story that shows our children in a wonderful light.

 Please share this so we can get this awesome story on the local news.

My trip to the Tucson Reptile Show

I saw a commercial for the Reptile show last week and thought it would be a fun family activity. So off we went………Never in a million years would I believe you if you told me that I would be attending a reptile show. See, I still scream like a girl when I see a spider. I freak out when a snake slithers by me. Living in Arizona we see a lot of tarantulas and rattlesnakes but that doesn’t make them any less scary. I decided to push my fears aside and be brave. After all they’re just “animals” right? I mean, I love animals so this shouldn’t be too bad. After a quick pep talk I headed towards the entrance. Thank God there was a line. This gave me a little more time to prepare myself. Upon walking in the door it appeared that we were at a zoo or museum.  I guess I was expecting creepy crawlies everywhere. At first glance it wasn’t that bad at all. Actually pretty interesting!

We started near a snake vendor. All the snakes were tucked into plastic

containers and organized by type.

 

               

 

 

This is a "Bumblebee" snake.  

 

 

Did you know, there are over 2,600 different types of snakes in the US? You can read more about the North American population of snakes here http://www.pitt.edu/~mcs2/herp/SoNA.html

 Our next stop was the chameleons.  Boy were they cute, just like in the Disney movies.

     

                 

 

 

 

They also had frogs. The frogs are actually pretty cool. They can't bite you but some are poisonous if you touch them. 

 

This frog is safe to touch. He will not bite and he is not poisonous.

 

 

Ewww and they had spiders, scorpions and centipedes too...................... 

 

 

                 

 

Oh and lizards. I’m okay with lizards. Someone handed me a bearded dragon at the exhibit. Trying to act cool, I held him in my hand, pet his tiny head and rubbed under his chin. He didn’t bite me and was surprisingly cute for a lizard. The people who ran the exhibit were very informative and actually got me to consider getting one. After I held it I passed it off to Alyssa. It was love at first sight. The lil guy actually fell asleep in her hand.  Oh so cute!

 

                 

 

  

  

  

  

       

 

  

This was a huge lizard guy just hanging out and letting everyone touch him. The bottom right picture is me petting him :) 

 

             

 

             

 

The several different types of tortoises.

            

 

            

  

  

  

 

  

  

                       

 

Random butterflies frozen in time.

 

 

While walking around a young man about eight years old hands Alyssa a lil mouse. She was scared at first then thought it was super cute. At only one dollar a piece we almost went home with one.

                  

 

The next exhibit was called 'Recycled Roadkill". The guy named Dale has been collecting roadkill for many years. He turns them into amazing products. He had everything from snake wallets to earrings for sale as seen below.

 

                  

 

                  

 

Have you ever pet a real alligator? We did! Cool fact: The alligator with the blue leash had a prosthetic tail. It was the very first of its kind in the US. Their handler explained that these two are very good friends. Just remember, you must sanitize your hands before and after petting the alligators.

                  

 

                   

 

                  

Oh hello there!

    

 

Look at this guys teeth!

 

 

 Oh and here is a picture of me being totally brave and holding a snake.

 

Here are more of the snakes and iguanas we saw on the way to the GIANT tiger python.

                

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

This guy was my favorite snake.

 

                

 

 

 

 

                  

 

 

 

 Are you ready for the GIANT python?

 

 

 

 

Okay here is her face peeking out at us.

 

This is me petting her.

Alyssa dared to touch her too.

 



Notice she's not behind any glass. That blew my mind. All I could think off was her trying to eat us. I ask her handlers what she ate and they said large bunnies and frozen goats.

 

So yes, if she wanted to eat us she could. However she wouldn't because she loves people. They think she is so calm around people because she was hatched in a humans hand.