"They Lied to Us"

My book, "They Lied to Us" is now available on amazon.com!  I hope you'll pick up your copy today!  Thanks for your support. 

I'm blessed to now offer my book in its 4th print. God has truly used what the enemy meant for evil and turned it into good.  God is so good.

Here's the Link:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1466323418/sr=1-1/qid=1330547127/ref=olp_product_details?ie=UTF8&me&qid=1330547127&sr=1-1&seller

My Night as a Comedianne!

What a rush!  The place was packed, the 10 of us waiting backstage until our name was called.  I went on second.  It was great.  My family and friends were there and I felt so comfortable in front of the crowd.  Thank God for my experience in public speaking.

I shared true stories about my Granny and Salem and waited.  Then I heard what I've been told every comedienne waits to hear.  Laughter.  And LOTS of it.  I think my family was shocked at how good I really was.  Me?  I knew I had it in me!  (I prayed all day).  Would I do it again?  Absolutely.  Will I be asked?  Already have.

Just another day in the life of Victoria Laktash!

Got Any Good Jokes?!

OK, I'm going to tell you something pretty funny.  Hilarious, actually.  You're going to laugh, which is good considering what I'm about to tell you.

Do you remember the "Bucket List" blog that I wrote several months ago?  Check out #16, "perform stand up comedy on amateur night".  Well, my friend, Josh, knew about #16 and now, he's holding me to it.  For the first time in my life, publicly, I will perform a 10 minute stand-up routine.  I don't have a writer, I can't copy Ellen Degeneres or any other comedianne which means I have to come up with my own material!  There are 9 comedienne's on the roster and I'm the only female!  When I told my family what I was doing, they laughed so hard I thought they were going to pee in their pants.  So, I guess you could say, I've already been funny.  I know they're scared for me, but I think secretly they are still laughing behind my back every time they think about it.

I'm bringing the family, lots of friends and I've even invited strangers, actually begged them, to come.  I figure with enough people there cheering me on and laughing at me, even when I'm not funny, noone will notice.  Am I crazy?  Probably, but it's for charity.  You only live once, right?  I plan on sharing stories about my Granny.  I've always said she's a walking Cheech & Chong episode.  I hope they love her crazy antics as much as I do. 

That's right, this Sunday night at 7:30 pm central time, Victoria Laktash will be hitting the stage in Tennessee.  
God help me.

Couch Potato

I've been on Christmas vacation the past week, which constitutes lots of lying around the house doing absolutely, positively nothing.  Seriously, nothing, and it rocks!  My best friend, Val, got me this amazing blanket for Christmas that's half sheep on one side and half wool on the other.  Wait, isn't that the same thing?  Anyway, I don't know exactly what it is, but I love it.  It's become attached to me these past few days.  Sitting on my couch in the same pj's, no make-up, my hair in a bun, with remote in hand!  It's been relaxing and educational.

I've watched 47 1/2 movies, 62 shows and 17 documentaries.  Netflix rules.  My favorite movies are the "Indie" ones.  They aren't as full of the Hollywood b.s., I mean hype, that you find at the box office or that "let me insult your intelligence" crap on other networks.  They're just full of real people, in real situations dealing with real life stuff.  One was incredibly disturbing and a true story, "The Girl Next Door".  You'll just have to watch, but viewer discretion is advised.  Another favorite that was fantastic is "Punching the Clown."  I laughed out loud more times than I can count.  But, once again, use caution if children are around.

I've seen my share of cable too.  Take "Strange Addictions" for instance.  Have you seen this?  It's about people admitting to strange addictions, hence the name.  Like this lady who lives with 47 hairless rats, a guy who gets off by pulling hair out of shower drains (gross), or the 27 year old who likes to eat drywall!  She says, "I've been eating drywall for 7 years now.  I think I have a problem and need help."  You think?  I had to ask myself, how does it take 7 years to figure that out?  Seriously, I'd hope that after the first time I had the urge to rip drywall from my kitchen wall (instead of making a ham sandwich) place it in my mouth, followed by chewing it up, swallowing it and going back for seconds, I'd be picking up the phone calling 911.

This chick is literally eating her own house!  I'm not trying to make fun, ok.  I have some bad addictions too.  I religiously record "The Real Housewives" and I bite my nails too much, but eating drywall, living with rats (although I admit I was married to one once), or playing with wet, slimy hair from a drain?  This stuff is disgusting, frustrating and makes my skin crawl.  My DVR is already set up to record next week's episode!

Yes, it's been an interesting couple of days.  Well, gotta go, "Cheaters" is about to start!

Happy New Year.

Wishes of the Past

How many people do you think you've hurt in your life?  Seriously and unfortunately, I don't think I could count the number of people I've hurt.  Ask me how many have hurt me and I could probably tell you an exact number.  That seems much easier, doesn't it?
My mother is 67 years old.  Divorced now for over 20 years, she lives alone with her thoughts and loneliness.  She makes me sad.  I've heard her comment many times that her mind often wanders to her past.  Daydreaming about the mother she failed to be, the wife she longed to be, her regrets and so on and so on.  I've tried my best to help her move forward, but she's just stuck.  Sure, she made choices as a mother that I don't agree with and my brother, sisters and I paid a price for those decision.  But, who am I to judge?  Who among us is free from that kind of guilt?

I've royally screwed up throughout my 47 years.  Royally.  Each day, I'm doing my best to be better than the day before.  Sometimes I succeed and sometimes I dont.  I want to make right choices, even though some are rather difficult.  Like my mother, I daydream too.  I find myself remembering times from my past that were good and satisfying and long to relive those experiences again.  Some more than once.

But, I can't.  The past is gone.  It's over.  It never comes back.  I suppose that's a blessing, isn't it?  Some parts belong in the past.  They're better to be left there because of the pain.  It's the good  memories that are the hardest to forget.  The longing for that part of our past that was happy and so satisfying.  I could live those all over again if I could.  I do sometimes when I'm sleeping through my dreams.

Life is so hard.  I don't understand it all the time.  Sometimes it makes me cry.  I miss the innocence of being a child.  I think about those I've loved before that I can no longer see or talk to.  So many people in my life that I miss so much. I miss friendships that I treasured.  But, this is now and that was then.  Doesn't seem fair if you ask me.

I guess I get it.  My mom, that is and why she sits in her lonely house all alone dwelling.  I get it, but I don't want that for me.  If the only chance I have of not thinking about past regrets in my old age is avoiding them, I'm out of luck.  I'll make more tomorrow and the next day after that.  Just another hurdle to accept in our old age. 
Yes, life is so hard.  But, God is still good.

Thanksgiving

Mine was great, how was yours?  This year, we decided to rent a cabin in Pigeon Forge for Thanksgiving.  It turned out to be a great decision.  What a blast!

The cabin was beautiful, scenery spectacular and the company was second to none.  I don't think it matters to me where I am as long as I'm with my family.  Nothing in the world makes me feel content like having all four of my daughters and now granddaughter with me.  Salem loved the hot tub, the trail walk and the food.  She pulled out every game in the place and we were still searching for game pieces the morning we left.

Family.  Nothing like it in the world.  I am so in love with mine.  I wonder if it's unusual this closeness I share and love that I have for all my girls.  It's like I'm obsessed. 

On the morning of our departure, Salem couldn't stop crying.  She said, "I don't want to leave the cabin and go back to Nashville!  I want to stay with my family."  I told her, "Don't worry, baby, you'll always have us."

Life is good.

Busy, Busy, Busy

My first two radio shows have been great!  So great that the station owner is already changing me from my 6-7pm time slot to prime time at 4-5:00 pm central time!  He and I are excited about "Real Talk" and believe the time change is going to be great for the show.

I already have guests booked into February and so many more to invite.  I am having a blast!  Today, I spoke to the Kiwanis group.  I thought it went well, with one exception.  I was so conscious of the time that I forgot to ask for financial support for the center!  And during these economic times, we are in desperate need of help. 

The good news is that Ken, (who introduced me) invited me to return as his guest to make a plea for financial help.  So, I'll be visiting again soon.  Ken was a great host.  He knew so much about me.  He said reading my blog gave him great insight as to who I was and what I was about, especially my "Bucket List" blog.  My daughter, Tawni, came with me and she couldn't stop talking about how delightful Ken was.  I'd have to agree.  I know you'll read this Ken, so thanks again.  You are precious!  This Sunday, I will be preaching at a Methodist Church and here's what I'll say about that.

I hope they're ready for me.