DeLarla

Bubba, what time is your sister leaving Vegas? I could have given her boxes of donations. Is it too late? It's 2:00 here. Any chance of a late night flight?

Please be careful when you leave donations with charity organizations. Unfortunately, the greedy tend to get there first. After the 94 Northridge Earthquake, the Red Cross, army trucks, food banks, etc. opened up. My neighbor disgusted me when she came over and told me to run and get a box of "free food" like she did. The BITCH didn't lose anything but glass dishes and household odds and ends, yet I noticed tons of greedy people grabbing as much as they could while the needy ones were too weak to fight. It made me sick. When you get your items down to the shelters, you might want to hang around and pass the stuff out yourself. You'll know the difference between the needers and the takers. It's hard to believe, but it's also hard to believe looters were stealing blenders and cases of tennis shoes. I have a group of women in a warehouse in Baton Rouge that are accepting boxes and logging everything in to make sure the right people get it. Just watch out for those grabbing hands, okay? I wish I could go with you, nothing feels better than helping people who need it.

Could you imagine having 25 people instantly living in your home? This is from the owner of my company in Lousiana: "The staff is already receiving donations and keeping a log of what comes in to account for everything. I do remember donating to the Red Cross and never knew where my donation went - we are ready and willing to accept and do appreciate your kind hearts during this devastation. I can personally assure you, your donations will go to families in desperate need. Several of us have up to 25 people living in our homes. I have lived through several hurricanes and can tell you, I have never in my life seen anything like this."

And those of us that are unharmed, safe and dry with full bellies, we cannot feel guilty. We can't stop living the way we are accustomed to, because it's our turn to carry the torch and keep it lit till our displaced neighbors find shelter. We have to keep life moving forward and stand strong. We have to keep shopping and spending to keep the economy strong. Yes, we all need to be thankful for what we have, but we must march forward. If we stop, our country weakens. I just purchased a business that's headquartered out of Louisiana, and at first I felt horrible for being concerned with my business while my warehouse had to shut down to to a killer hurricane. My UPS shipments are missing, and all communication was lost. But then I started thinking... I can't stop now! I am part of this company now, so I have to work extra hard in the West while the South recovers. I'm not going to participate in any loss of time because the company needs everyone that's not affected to keep the business strong. Maybe my Baton Rouge facility was closed for several days, but if we all take the attidude that we should slow down or suffer because they are suffering, then our nation will fall to pieces. My business might seem trivial during this disaster, but fact is fact, and the fact is that I belong to an incredibly financially strong organization that needs me. This isn't about me and my business, it's about each and every one of us. So whatever you do, keep doing it! Whatever you buy, keep buying it. What ever you sell, keep selling it. It's time for us to work harder, hug stronger, smile bigger, GIVE MORE and be prepared for another change in our nation. The anniversary of September 11 is a sneeze away, so be strong. March forward and be strong.

First, no more apologizing for going on and on. Most of us don't know how or where to vent our anger, which is why I needed this thread and why I encourage everyone to cry and kick and scream right now, right here. I don't care how much money is on the way. They could have been air-dropping pallets of food and Water into floating rafts the minute the storm ceased. There's simply no excuse. It's unforgivable.

I've already had two parties! So far, so awesome! Francesca, is hubby a manly man? Mine spends all day in the garage smoking cigarettes, using vulgar language, playing darts, welding, tons of tools, motorcycles, grunting, union talk, boy crap. All the guys love Chris. Lots of girls love him too, but he's really rough around the edges. Any other guys coming can scratch themselves and pass gas in the garage. You know, bond. I personally don't have 14/16 in the 9 bags I have, but the box Bubbame sent looks like small sizes. I could have fit two items of MY clothing in the box she mailed, but there's a whole pile of her small size in that box. Bubba, you sure you were overweight? Bubbame smells pretty, that's for sure! My dogs & cat love that box, too. Pheromones?

There you are, Carol! Girl, you might be in trouble... This year, Las Vegas Angie is bringing on your competition with her famous Shrimp Dip! You made the party famous last year with those Rita's (by the way, I've made them famous in my circle of friends.) We'll miss you!

By the way, I certainly don't want any kind of "thanks" or recognition from anyone in Louisiana. I'm obsessed with the news, that's all. All the boxes shipped will have custom labels from: With Love and Prayers from Lapbandtalk.com and the 2005 Las Vegas Band Bash Francesca, I'm not sure that you'll find much cause you are so small now!

Ladies, last year our extras went to Opportunity Village, where they got tossed in bins and eventually put on racks. This year we can get stuff directly into the hands of women who need it most almost immediately, as I'll ship the boxes Monday after the Bash. I just got word directly from my corporate office in Louisiana that many of my co-distributors have their houses FULL of now-homeless families that lost everything. Everybody that has a home now has extra families living with them. The owner has people from 6 months to 83 years old living with her, and she just got electricity so they've been packed in crammed houses with no electricity since the storm hit. I'm personally adding to the boxes 5 tubes of toothpaste, 5 bars of soap, 10 toothbrushes and 5 Slumber Bubbles (they deserve to soak in our bubbles made with California Champagne after all this.) Here's a direct quote: "Their needs are great and all donations will be greatly appreciated. We have extra warehouse space - Kim has everyone from 6 mo to 83 years old in her home. Money, gift cards, food, clothing, toys, etc, you can send them to the corporate office and they will go through everything and make sure they get to those who need it most. They are all so grateful for your prayers and concerns. Many now have no where to go. Kim just got electricity today." Sounds like they could chocolate but it would probably melt. Is everyone else having a hard time digesting all that devastation?

Everyone thank Bubbame for sending a box of clothes for the exchange! I didn't have time to go through anything, but they appear small, very nice, and the box smells Heavenly!

Vine, we'll have to take the remote control away from Terri! HEY EVERYONE, don't forget about free Harley rides! If you want a fun ride with either me or Chris, make sure to bring some jeans and sturdy shoes. Attire for Buca isn't formal. I'll probably be in jeans and sandals. Attire for the Bash is bathing suits, shorts & sweats. I have a really cute size 20-26 bathing suit dress that I can loan to someone for the day. I'll probably be in a one-piece suit with sweat shorts and barefoot or slippers.

Wow, wow, and wow. Did I say WOW? Megan, if can make it, YOUR house key is under the rock and the Jimmy keys are hanging on the hook. I'm a hop from the airport and beds will have clean sheets! Did I mention me and you cruising the Strip on my Harley? Girls, don't forget about the Harley rides! Chris will want to take you up to Mountain Springs or down the Strip. Bring some jeans and sturdy shoes!

Terri, my late mother-in-law rode a scooter. One night we were at a casino and I saw this cute guy flying through the casino way too fast, then I noticed it was my husband riding Mamma's scooty. Boy was that funny. They're fun to ride. Now he has 3 bulging discs so we joke about trading in his Harley for a scooter that we'll paint with flames and add some chrome and a racing flag. My 50 pound Pitbull will probably try to jump in your lap and go for a ride. Sorry in advance! I called the local Red Cross who gave me the headquarters in DC. Once I have the stuff boxed up, I'll arrange for shipping. Or I can ship directly to the warehouse of my corporate office. Lots of gals there are doing joint efforts to help out, so they might be able to distribute them directly. Thanks for thinking of the kids.

"Sometimes bein' a bitch is all a woman's got left to hold onta." Kathy Bates as Delores Clayborn

Looks like you're not so alone afterall! Love, your weirdo friend.

Wow, that's a very realistic dream. Lots of people are turned down for being 11 pounds shy of morbid-obesity. Women shove rolls of quarters in their pockets just to get the surgery!

"Wow, I've never met a woman who demanded the respect due a man." Holy mud, Vine... if you only knew how much trouble I get into because my husband tells me to stop acting like a man! I'm very girly and don't like boy stuff at all, yuck (except my motorcycle, which hubby keeps clean and running.) But as far as attitude, don't NO man get in my way. I recently had an enormous fight with the head of the Welding School at the Local 525 Union, a friend of hubby's. When Bob says "jump" the entire union jumps to command, and his wife obeys every word. I told him to F-off and he went ballistic. Everyone thought he was going to kill me because "nobody talks to Mr. N. that way!" Bullship, I do! He told me I had to respect him at three different levels, first cause he's a man, second cause he's older, but most important is because he killed in the war to protect MY country. I told him to F-off and said I'd have done the same thing for my country if I was called to war. I told him he has to earn respect from me if he wants any. I honestly thought he was going to end up in jail after beating the crap out of me, but a couple days later he asked me to lunch. He told me I struck nerves that nobody has touched before. He had never met a woman that had so much "man" in her. The severe hatred he had for me eventually earned me a great amount of respect, and now we have a very tight bond and a very special friendship. He's hard as nails and gets out of line too often, but I'm always there to slap him down to Earth, and he's always there to tell me that even though men hate me for acting that way, that he admires me because he's never met a woman that could take down any man. I'm not saying I could protect myself against any guy, all I'm saying is that I'll go down kicking, screaming and scratching before any man gets the better of me. Vine, this comes from our being forced into independence at an early age. We didn't have anyone to protect us or raise us, so we ended up as fighters. Woof.

Megan, Michelle deserves the thanks - she's the one that figured out your number for me I'm waiting for a response from Megan to see how much her plane ticket will be. She's got free room and board at my place, and the SKINNY LITTLE B*#@% certainly can't eat much. GEEZE, Megan, look at your boney face! Estela, maybe you can start the Pity Party thread this year! Last year a bunch of people that couldn't make it stayed on-line during Saturday's party. We all took turns coming to my computer and posting updates. We'll post pictures almost instantly so those of you that aren't here can really be here!

Vine, I think you're talking about the famous Rabbit Pearl! It was voted the Number One toy by Glamour and Cosmo, but it got super famous in an episode of Sex and the City. Charlotte bought one and didn't leave the house for weeks (I haven't seen the episode, but I want to.) Yes, I carry the famous Rabbit Pearl, but I don't want to embarrass anyone! My lingerie and goodies are always on a very tasteful display in my den, but anything that MOVES is zipped up, locked up and stored! If anyone wants a private demo, just yank me by the ear and drag me to a private room. Once again, if ANYONE has a problem with the lingerie and lotions that are on display in my den, let me know now and I'll re-arrange things. Please don't be afraid to ask. The Bash came first. If I had a bigger house, I wouldn't even have mentioned Slumber Parties till after you all left, but it's getting squishy around here! The bags of clothes for the exchange are shoved behind doors, in my closet and even in the bathroom! To give you an idea of how serious I'm taking my new new business, I bought five of those big storage bins (like giant Tupperware) but they filled up too quick so I went back and bought three more. Then another, then two more. I'm up to 10-12 bins packed with inventory. I'm getting really creative with storage space!

KATRINA RELIEF Last week I went to New Orleans for the first time because my new Slumber Parties sisterhood is centralized in Louisiana. The sky was thick, hot and shattered with lightening last week - you could tell something horrible was brewing. Chris and I made it home safe, but lots of girls got trapped in the airport with no electricity for four hours and missed their flights because of a flash monsoon. That monsoon scared the daylights out of them, but it was nothing compared to this week. The timing is strange - the fun, feathered Mardi Gras masks I bought are sitting by the TV as the news flashes death and destruction. I'm so very, very sad and very lucky at the same time. I suddenly have a profound connection to New Orleans, and if my training was one week later, all 500 of us girls in training would be trapped there right now. Some of you know I just bought my own business called Slumber Parties by Lisa B. Slumber Parties was founded by Kim Brecheen, and it's all about women! About half the distributors work part time, but half the full time WOMEN earn about $212 an hour, all because Kim had a dream to promote women. I had never been to a Slumber Party, yet I invested a hefty sum in the business because I was simply blown away by Kim's background and the reputation and success of her business. Even though Kim has 6000 distributors nationwide, she treats each one of us like a sister and individually makes each of us feel special, independent, and empowered. Her generosity is remarkable - even though her warehouse (an hour away from New Orleans) wasn't affected, she closed the doors so her employees could stay home with their loved ones, and then she opened up her own home and packed in people that needed shelter. I wish I had the resorces to be half as generous... but WE DO! I just saw a plus-size woman crying on TV after swimming down her street. She survived because people pulled her out of the Water and gave her the (plus size) clothes she was wearing. So after the clothing exchange, I'm sure Opportunity Village won't mind if we send the extras to victims of Katrina. I will pay for boxes, tape and shipping. I'll personally do the research to find out where to send all the badly needed clothes and toiletries. If you want to contribute to Victims of Katrina, bring to the Bash clothing and toiletries. Not just plus size, but kids, mens - whatever you can contribute. The return labels will come from Lapband Buddies around the Country (or something from all of us.) I don't want to hire a moving van, but even if it's just enough clothes, soap, toothpaste and shampoo for one or two families... Maybe we can all pack the boxes together at the Bash? Wait...this just gave me a great idea. Maybe every year we can do something similar as a joint effort to a charity that needs us? Now back to our regularly scheduled Bash! Comments, ideas, suggestions?

Plane Caramel or Peanut Butter

Jodie, you made it! Congrads girly!

I wish I had time to respond, but I'm swamped. I just wanted to wish you a quick "good luck" before you go. I hope you do well.

Saturday menu: 30 Item salad Bar (I've never attempted this feat so don't get mad if there's only 27.) Poo-poo platter food: Buffalo Meatballs (I found this recipe here at LBT - sounds good!) Pork Sausage Eggrolls Crab Rangoons Rumaki DeLarla's Famous Ice Tea (potentially toxic) La Madam is bringing some fabulous berry/cream cheese delight dip.

Big Fat Band Hug From Vegas!