As we walked into the tempanyki restaurant I promised my husband Jeff that I would not mention to a soul that it was his birthday. At this particular restaurant the staff likes to come over to your table and sing HAPPY BIRTHDAY (with drums, nonetheless) when they catch wind of these type of celebrations. Which my reserved husband does not enjoy at all.

Food is prepared benihana-style, which means you're seated at large tables with other diners. Strangers. Sometimes they become friends by the end of the meal. Other times they remain strangers.

This evening we quickly knew that our fellow diners were friends. Drinks were ordered, soup was slurped and soon we were watching our talented chef juggle knives while building onion volcanoes and stir-frying calamari cubes.

Conversation was lively, spiked with laughter and lubricated with cocktails when our waitress asked the all-important question:

Is anyone celebrating a birthday tonight?

Jeff shot me "the look", which was caught by the friendly lady sitting next to Jeff and before you could blink, the cat was out of the bag. Everyone at our table knew it was my quiet, attention-dodging husband's birthday!

Our new friends, who obviously felt like part of our family now, asked the question:

"How old are you today, Jeff?"

I actually like this question because the answer always astounds people. This simple question quickly can turn into a quiz show.

So I said "guess".

First guess: 45. Higher, I said. 50? Nope. One of our new friends shaked his head left to right and said he certainly couldn't be 55???? Nope, I quipped and stuck two thumbs up to indicate go even higher.

By now the whole table was looking at Jeff like he was some sort of circus exhibit. He really does look 45. And, I just told them that he was even older than their new guess of 60.

Jeff's real age? 63. But really, he looks at least 15 years younger.

Jeff always says that he looks younger because he married a younger woman. 13 years younger, to be exact.

I just hope that I look half as good at 63 as Jeff does today!

Yep, I've been writing this Blog for one year now. I originally started it out of curiosity. I wanted to know: What exactly IS a blog? Why does everyone have one? If everyone else has one....I've got to have one, too!

From what I had been reading on the web, a Blog is a good way of having a platform to voice one's own opinion. A Blog would be my own personal soapbox, so to speak. Who doesn't want that?

Over the last year I've used this soapbox/Blog to talk about things I love: doing voiceovers, my kids and grandkids, my husband Jeff, our cat Wilma, my hobbies. I've used it to complain and brag, share funny stories and then later in the year, I started sharing some of my favorite recipes. Ironically, the recipes get the most hits of everything I've posted! Food is indeed the common denominator.

The interest in recipes did surprise me. And, it almost makes me rethink my business model. Maybe I should open a voiceover bakery. Can't you see it....."I'd like to order 2 -60 second radio spots, light on the energy and could you throw in a dozen of your pumpkin whoopie pies, too?"

If you haven't tried my whoopie pies, I highly recommend whipping up a batch on a dreary winter day. Works better than pharmaceutical anti-depressants! Click "Recipes" under the tags to find these ooey gooey treats.

I will be posting more recipes in the weeks to come. At our voiceover workshops we always have a "treat of the month" and then I post the recipe. And, if you have a recipe that you'd like to share, by all means, let me know. The more recipes, the merrier, I say!

The Blog has also been a great forum for voiceover artists and aspiring voiceover artists everywhere. In the past year Jim and I have taught dozens of workshops with over 300 people in attendance. All thanks to the Blog!

In addition, in 2008 there were 4105 hits on this Blog, coming from all corners of the world including every state in the union and as far away as Ethiopia.

It's been quite a journey, to say the least. And I thank YOU for being a part of it. It's the people that make any journey a great one and this has been amazing!

Here's to a fabulous 2009!

It used to be, back in the old days (like 5 years ago), that all voiceover work was done in a professional recording studio. The client, producer, engineer and voice talent would all drive to a local recording studio and produce audio.

Nowadays a very high percentage of voiceover work is produced in home studios. In my case a good 80% of all the voice work I do is done in my home studio. Clients love voiceover talents that have home studios as it as it saves them money and time. And with today's advanced audio editting software a professional sound is easy to achieve. Not only that, but it creates opportunities for you as a voiceover talent to do work for not only local clients, but for clients spanning the globe.

While putting together a home recording studio sounds like an expensive proposition, in reality it is surprisingly affordable. In most cases, a quality-sounding studio can be put together for less than $300.00. Really!

This is a "must-take" workshop for anyone serious about building a career in voiceovers! Our next session of building your Home Recording Studio will be will be scheduled in May. This is also a great opportunity to "try it before you buy it"including a variety of microphones, mixing boards, etc.

Make your reservation by calling our office at 916-446-2004. Cost of the workshop is $75.00 and includes all materials.