Becky in Wonderland

To say I had an interesting weekend would be a slight understatement.  Yep that's me with Ozzy Osbourne:)  Have you ever seen a more opposite pairing??  Sweet little Christian Becky with "the Prince of Darkness."  I'll explain everything in a minute, but I had to show you this picture first.  See the Ozzy tattoo on his fingers?  I couldn't take my eyes off it.  Apparently he did that with a sewing needle and pencil lead back in the day...ouch!

Met his lovely wife Sharon too, all decked out in her leather outfit:)  I had to scrunch down to her height for this pic.  I'm only 5'4", so I loved feeling tall next to her.  She is the equivalent of Paula Abdul from American Idol.  She's the nice judge on America's Got Talent.  What a fun job.  I used to watch episodes of The Osbournes too when it was on.  They are practically the only couple to allow a reality show to film them that has come out unscathed by divorce.  That's saying something. 

My beautiful friend Kristine was kind enough to ask me to be her date for Saturday night.  Her husband Brady works for the Starkey hearing foundation and is responsible for all the fund raising that enable teams to travel the world on mission trips fitting and donating hearing aids.  It's quite an amazing thing. 

Anyway she knew I would love this sort of thing and really couldn't wait to see my reaction.  So I got to keep her company while Brady worked:)  Lucky me!!

We parked in a lot nearby and a limo shuttle bus dropped us off at this red carpet.  This is Brady's boss' house, Bill Austin.  There were approximately 500 people there.  Can you imagine having 500 people at your house? 

They had a live band.

(Verne Troyer aka Mini Me in Austin Powers)

It was a gorgeous night, so people gathered all over the house.  His house is on the lake, so the back patio was teeming over with tables and people everywhere.  The garage was transformed into a Mad Hatter themed wonderland with black and white diamonds painted on the walls, funky furniture and chandeliers.  It was crazy!

Apparently when you are really really wealthy you collect things.  Brady's boss is an avid music lover and sports fan.  His walls were lined with autographed guitars, albums, shoes, baseballs etc...  The whole time I was looking at his collection I was trying to think of what I would collect if I could.  I'm still thinking:)

He's really good friends with Elton John and in his lower level sits this gorgeous red piano given to him by Elton John himself.   I thought I'd make myself at home:)


Oh and by the way...I felt so cute that night.  I found this dress at Kohl's for under $20 and then got 30% off that.  So amidst the fancy and famous I was decked out in my $12.00 dress.  SCORE!!

I can't forget to show you the art room.  In this room and scattered throughout the home were original Picasso's, Norman Rockwell, Walt Disney, John Lennon, Andy Warhol etc...  It was amazing.  I've always wondered about people who buy expensive paintings and artwork.  The reason they are so wealthy in the first place is because they understand money and I'm sure these works of art only increase in value, so there you have it...a good investment and it's art!
 

Top left to bottom right...John Sullivan (center for Minnesota Vikings), Michael Irvin (played for Cowboys and was on Season 9 of Dancing with the Stars), Larry Fitzgerald (wide receiver for Arizona Cardinals...went to Superbowl in 2008), Roy Williams (safety for Cincinnati Bengals)

Several years ago I had the chance to meet Mike Ditka.  I was in Chicago with my Honey.  He was at a seminar and I spent the days aimlessly wondering Michigan Avenue with Big Chick in tow.  She was just a baby at the time.  I was in the Walgreen's on Mike Ditka Parkway when low and behold he walked in.  I couldn't believe my eyes.  I knew my honey would be so impressed if I could get the Coach of the Chicago Bears to take a picture with me...so I rolled on up to him and kindly asked for a picture.  He didn't look to happy about it.  I remember feeling really foolish for impositioning him, but oh well.  Turns out my camera broke and I lost the picture so I couldn't really prove that I met him!

Anyway flash forward to Saturday night.  There were a lot of professional athletes, so I made up for it ten fold I think.  Do you think it's bad to say to them, I don't really know who you are, but my husband loves sports?? 

By far the best thing about the night was meeting some new friends.  This couple (Laura and Dermot Cowley) posing with Ozzy and Sharon were two of the nicest people.  Laura and I hit it off immediately.  She was just so sweet and it was a ball hanging out with her.  I mentioned to the Osbournes that it was her birthday and Ozzy sang Happy Birthday to her!  How cool is that??

This is Muhammed Ali.  He walked right through the kitchen with body guards surrounding him.  By the time I saw him and snapped my shot all I got was his back.  My camera has the worst delay!

This is Melissa.  We were kind of "stalkers" together.  We hung outside the VIP room and hoped to could get a glimpse of anyone coming in or out!  This is her face when she saw Ozzy come out to go to the bathroom:)

These are her parents Becky and Steve Chepokas.  Their son died several years ago of a rare form of cancer, so they have a cause that they are very active for now.  They run their own foundation called Miracles of Mitch.  Very nice people and he was just a character.  I love people that are fun to be around.

And of course my good friends Brady and Kristine.  I was a little nervous coming to this event.  I can feel lonely in a room full of people and I wasn't sure if Kristine would be fluttering around here and there and forget about me.  It was exactly the opposite.  She was the perfect date.  It seemed like she knew everyone and she introduced me to all of them.  Not once did I feel out of place or awkward.  She made me feel special:)  I am just so grateful for her friendship.

After I got home and showed Honey all my pics, I literally tossed and turned for hours.  I think I replayed every single part of the night over and over.  It was really fun to get dressed up and do something completely different.    It was a night right out of a fairy tale and one I will never ever forget.

Have a blessed day.