It takes a very secure mechanic to have an 8-pound guard dog!

Then again, this dog rides around in a Ford F150 & on the back of a Harley

When you pull up to your mechanic’s shop, you probably figure you’re going to be greeted by a snarling Doberman or a drooling German Shepherd. The kind of dog that tells you, you’re bringing your car to an auto shop filled with guys who know machines, guys covered with grease, guys with muscles, muscle cars, let’s face it, we’re talking testosterone.

Meet Preferred Auto's Guard Dog

If that’s what you’re looking for, be forewarned when you go to the Preferred Auto Center in Thousand Oaks. There are cars all over the place, macho guys, grease, tattoos – but the dog who rules the roost here is “The World Famous Bisou,” a fluffy white ball of fur who wears a pink rhinestone collar. And, go ahead, ask the mechanics what they think.

“We talk about whether or not Bisou is here on a good hair day or a bad hair day,” front man for Preferred Auto Anthony Dorado tells Off the 23.

And he’s not kidding.

This is a place where girls – at least one girl dog – get lots of respect.

Full disclosure: One member of The Robin Team has been a longtime client of Preferred Auto and – how many people can say this – she actually trusts her mechanic, owner Mark Miller, despite the numerous heart attacks car repairs always invoke.

With one car for every member of the family, and at one time, that included the family dog, this member of the Robin Team has spent more hours than most car owners at the Preferred Auto Center. It’s been a source of immense entertainment, frankly, to razz Mark about his guard dog.

The razzing, we admit, came to a head a few weeks ago when this Robin Team member pulled her Infiniti up to the Preferred Auto garage, moments before her radiator was about to explode. Anthony graciously offered to have one of the guys drive her home while they worked on her car.

Up pulls a Ford F150, a monster of a truck with every bell and whistle imaginable. The kind of truck you’d expect your mechanic to be driving. Said Robin Team member climbs into the truck and there in the back is a car seat. Not just an ordinary car seat, but a doggie car seat. And not just an ordinary doggie car seat. This one was lined with a fur wrap!

This discovery prompted a full-disclosure, in-your-face-tell-us-the-truth-60-Minutes-type interview. For years, Mark has deferred the razzing, maintaining that he was simply babysitting the dog for his wife of 34 years, Cathleen. Truth be told, Bisou – a 3-year-old Cotton de Tulear (really, we’re not making up the name of this breed!) — is as much his dog as it is his wife’s.

“Mark,” Off the 23 razzed. “You should be embarrassed. You’re a damn mechanic. You run a successful business. You drive a huge truck. Don’t you ride Harleys?”

On the Road with Mark & Bisou

“Sure I do,” Mark replied nonchalantly (probably wishing Off the 23 would just leave him alone). “My wife and I take Bisou with us, she rides in a little backpack. She loves the wind in her face.”

Off the 23 has only one thing to say. This is one very secure macho mechanic!

If you would like to jump on the razz-Mark-bandwagon, you’ll find him at the Preferred Auto Center, 3111 Thousand Oaks Boulevard, Unit 6, where Hampshire meets TO Blvd. And if you need him to look under your hood, give him a call at 805.373.1223. Tell him The Razzin’ Robin Team sent you!

To see more pictures of Bisou, friend us on facebook at The Robin Team.

How Do You Become A Business Superstar?

Learn How To Twirl A Baton!

That’s pretty much how it worked for Susan Solovic, CEO and Co-Founder of ItsYourBiz.com, author of a new book on building small businesses, lawyer, TV contributor, self-described “serial entrepreneur,” all-around over-achiever and soon-to-be-featured Thousand Oaks speaker.

Superstar Susan Solovic

As Susan told “Off the 23” in an interview from her home base of St. Louis, MO, business is in her blood. As a World War II war widow, Susan’s mom teamed up with her brother to open a furniture store, after remarrying, she teamed up with Susan’s dad to open a funeral home.

“My mom was an entrepreneur,” Susan said. “I grew up in a household where moms worked hard, they were equal partners. She instilled a strong work ethic in me. When I left that atmosphere and got out in the real world, I wasn’t ready for the bias I experienced.”

Needless to say, that bias didn’t stop her and she’s been spreading the small business message ever since, selling multiple books, appearing on ABC, CNBC and her own FOX News show called “It’s Your Biz with Susan Solovic.”

So why is she talking to “Off the 23?” Susan will be the guest speaker at the National Association of Women Business Owners of Ventura County’s October 27 meeting at the Los Robles Greens Golf Clubhouse (which really is “Off the 23!”).

“What differentiates me from other small business experts is I’ve actually lived and done what I talk about,” Susan says.

In fact, Susan started her first business at age 15 in Fredericktown, MO. Tired of waitressing, the young majorette got the inspirational idea of opening a baton-twirling studio. With 75 students paying her a dollar a pop – “cash!” – Susan’s business career was on the way.

There were ups and downs but her latest success is her latest book “It’s Your Biz: The Complete Guide to Becoming Your Own Boss,” a topic Susan believes it critical to economic survival in today’s world. “What we’re seeing now is a paradigm shift, not a cyclical change,” she says. “We’re going back to being an entrepreneurial economy.”

Asked what she thinks people will take away from her speech, Susan said, “I hope people will walk away inspired, with some real tangible tools that they can use in their business and life.”

For more information about Susan’s appearance in Thousand Oaks, please visit www.nawbovc.org where you can also register for the event. Networking begins at 5:30 p.m., the program and dinner begins at 6:30 p.m. Los Robles Greens is located at 299 Moorpark Road, just south of the 101 and, yes, “Off the 23!”

Happy Holidays! ‘Tis the Season! Ho-Ho-Ho!

So what if the weather outside is delightful?!?

At the risk of being politically (or religiously) incorrect, the food banks in our area would really like it if you would consider declaring the rest of the summer “Christmas in July (and August!).”

Well, they wouldn’t put it in those words (they are, for the most part, non-denominational) but they will tell you that food bank donations spike during the months of November and December. At the Manna Food Bank in Thousand Oaks, the holiday season accounts for 50 percent of their annual donations.

Manna's Mike Mathews

But, people need to eat year-round and, while the food bank stockpiles canned and non-perishable goods, the coffers start to thin about this time of year. With kids home from school, and no school lunches, it makes sense that the need is there. Not to mention the economy.

“During the holiday season, people are in the giving spirit,” Mike Mathews, executive director of Manna, tells Off the 23. “We get an amazing amount of food and financial donations. By about this time every year, we find that we have to buy more food to meet the demand.”

Manna regularly feeds about 600 families a month, all from its 750-square-foot home on Crescent Way, tucked behind the Valero gas station on Thousand Oaks Boulevard off Hampshire. The food bank serves families along the 101, from Calabasas to Camarillo – no questions asked.

“If someone is willing to stand in line for two hours to get food,” Mike says, “we know they really need it.”

So, what can you do to help? Pretend it’s the holiday season, sing a round of “Jingle Bells” and donate!! If you can’t get over to the food bank, let us know. We’ll pull our sleigh up to your house, load it with goodies and drop off your donations for you.

The top items on the “most wanted list?” Canned pasta, spaghetti sauce, tomato products and cereal. Oh, and toilet paper. You can’t buy that with food stamps. Traveling this summer? The food bank can always use those travel size soaps and shampoos. For more information on what to donate, click here.

And for our Off the 23 friends who live in Moorpark, please don’t forget the Catholic Charities of Moorpark on Fitch Avenue. Click here for their list of needs. And feel free to pass this blog onto anyone you know. Wouldn’t it be great if we could fill the food shelves before the holiday season?

Because nothing feels better than giving – any time of the year!

Kindle & Nook Users Beware!

Westlake’s Book Nook Kindles Hope ‘Cuz It’s A Real Nook for Real Books

OK, Off the 23 admits that the play on words is a stretch but it was just too irresistible. The point is, for those of us who refuse to cave to the e-reader trend – a trend one half of The Robin Team predicts will never last – there’s a great little place in Westlake that makes it worthwhile to stick with real books.

Martha Abbey Miller

You know the kind. They’re made of paper and you have to turn the pages. These books rarely cost more than a buck and the money you spend on them supports local library programs.

The Robin Team was introduced to this magical corner tucked next door to the Westlake Village Library on Agoura Road by Martha Abbey Miller, volunteer director of the Book Nook for the past three years. The Book Nook is officially supported by “Friends of the Library,” a non-profit organization.

Martha, a writer who has actually been spotted using a pen to compose her first drafts, oversees a volunteer staff that works Tuesday through Sunday, taking tax-deductible donations, sorting the books, stocking the shelves and, of course, selling.

“We have two equal objectives,” Martha tells Off the 23. “We want to generate funds for library programs and we want to circulate books within the community. Money is important but it is no more important than getting books back into the hands of people who will enjoy them.”

In fact, an afternoon visit to the Book Nook was another reminder of what our community is all about. A couple of people stopped by to drop off books, volunteers chatted with shoppers, the place felt homey and comfortable. The Nook is easy to find – it’s co-located with the Westlake Village City Hall on Agoura Road and Oak Crest, just east of Lakeview Canyon.

Books are priced at $1 for a hardcover, 50 cents for paperbacks and children’s hardcovers and 25 cents for children’s paperbacks. The Nook also accepts (and sells) DVDs, CDs, and VHS tapes. It also accepts magazines, which are given away for free.

“We don’t have a big storage area so we have no incentive to mark the books up,” Martha says. “It works really well!”

Clearly it does. While the exact amount the Nook raises for the library wasn’t available, Martha says sales have increased by 10 percent in each of the past few years with 100 percent of the proceeds going to library programs.

For more information about making donations or volunteering, please contact Martha at martha.a.miller@sbcglobal.net. Or click here for more information about location and hours of operation.

And, by the way, we’re pretty sure Kindle and Nook devotees are always welcome!

Stop Exercising — IMMEDIATELY!!

You’re Using Up Your Body Parts

For years, my Dad, who turns 84 in November, still practices medicine part-time and is right now on a cruise somewhere between Moscow and Leningrad, has bragged that the reason he looks young for his age is that he never exercised and, therefore, he never used up his body parts.

Faithful readers of this column know that a few months ago, I had a partial knee replacement. Upon learning that I needed this surgery, I insisted I was way too young for it. My doctor kindly disagreed. Turns out, not only am I not too young, I’m not alone and there’s actually a name for people like me.

As The Today Show reported the other day, I am officially a certified member of the “fix-me” generation, people between 45 and 64 who have undergone record numbers of knee replacement surgeries – not because we’re aging or obese. Rather, by exercising to stay fit, we are – and, there’s no other way to say this: We are using up our body parts.

This may also explain a trend we’re seeing in the real estate business. In fact, the “fix me” generation could also be called the “no-stairs-at-any-cost” generation. The same people who play tennis, walk an 18-hole golf course, jog and ski are asking us about single-story homes or, at the very least, homes with a full bedroom and full bathroom downstairs.

The National Association of Homebuilders reports that not only are we “Baby Boomers” (that is, after all, our original moniker) looking for single-story houses, we want smaller floor plans and amenities such as nonslip floors, larger medicine cabinets and lower kitchen cabinet – the better, one assumes, to preserve our aging body parts.

I cannot believe my Dad may actually be right. Maybe I should be investing in a new Barcalounger!

When A Sick Child Makes A Wish

Dreams Really Can Come True

Last week wasn’t a great week. Tragedies seem to come in waves and I was touched by more than my fair share. By Sunday, I was pretty drained. On my agenda for the afternoon? A fundraiser for The Make-A-Wish Foundation, sponsored by my favorite volunteer group, the Moorpark Women’s Fortnightly Club. Just what I need, I thought.

The Make-A-Wish Foundation, for those of you who don’t know, has been granting wishes for children with life-threatening medical conditions for more than 30 years. I was late getting to the Moorpark Country Club, where the fundraiser was held. (For once I had a good reason for my tardiness – I was showing our listing.)

I arrived in time to hear a young lady named Charae Gibbs talk about her diagnosis at age 10 of acute myloid leukemia, an adult disease that rarely afflicts children. Charae – her name is the combination of her grandmothers’ names – described her painful treatments, being kept in isolation for two months at Children’s Hospital in Los Angeles, of losing her hair – a horrifying experience for anyone, but especially so for a young child.

When Charae was finally released from the hospital, her friends and family threw a welcome-home parade, complete with a limo ride and yellow balloons that lined Tierra Rejada (Off the 23!) from the freeway to her home in Moorpark.

By the time I got to the fundraiser, the ballroom was filled with 255 guests and a sea of yellow balloons, a reminder of Charae’s homecoming. Sold at $20 a pop (I couldn’t resist the pun!), the MWFC raised $1700. With the sale of those balloon, ticket sales and the live and silent auctions, the MWFC raised enough money to grant three wishes to ailing children – about $15,000!!!!

As for Charae, she’s now 31, works at Amgen, loves to salsa dance and travel, and she has a great boyfriend, according to long-time family friend Carol Sanders, who helped organize the MWFC fundraiser. In her speech, Charae happily recalled her own wish all those years ago – a big thank you party for all the people who supported her and her family while she was ill.

Sadly, many of The Make-A-Wish kids do not survive to share their stories. Hearing from a young lady who did was exactly what I needed.

The Cowboys Are Coming!

Dare We Say It? Conejo Valley Days is Good ‘Ol Fashioned Fun

My list of reasons to live Off the 23 is a long one and the annual Conejo Valley Days would easily make my Top Ten! Why do I love it? It’s the best reminder that, even though the population Off the 23 has grown since I moved here 15 years ago, we still live in a small town.

Not to sound corny but Conejo Valley Days are a throwback to a different time. Heck, this is its 55^th year! How many events can make that claim? And, yes, I think that’s a great thing! You’ve got the rides, complete with Ferris Wheel, game booths, food booths, even cotton candy and a Midway. No matter when I go, and I’ve gone pretty much every year I’ve lived here, I always run into friends and neighbors. It’s almost as fun as shopping at Vons!

What many people probably don’t know is that the Conejo Valley Days food and game booths are run by school booster clubs and non-profit organizations. For many of them, it’s the biggest fundraiser of the year. (I should know! I spent three years grilling hot dogs for Westlake High School’s WIT – Westlake Information Technology – Academy. (And, not that it’s all about me, but someone recently sent me a picture of my husband and me — we’re the two in the middle — in our hot dog booth. Notice, we sold everything except one bag of chips!)

For those of you who have never been to Conejo Valley Days, mark your calendar for Wednesday, May 4, through Sunday, May 8. You and, especially, your kids will not want to miss it! Now, some of you may ask, “That’s a month away. Why is she reminding us now?”

Well, my Conejo Valley Days volunteer days apparently are not over. I’ve been asked to coordinate fundraising ticket sales. In just another way to help out local PTA/Booster Club/non-profits, Conejo Valley Days allows those groups to sell tickets in bulk, with part of the proceeds going back to the fundraising organization.

Here’s how it works: Any non-profit group can sell tickets for $25 a pop. For the first 200 tickets sold, your group gets $3 per ticket (an easy way to earn $600!). For tickets 201 to 500, your group gets $4 per ticket. More than 500 tickets sold, you get $5 per ticket. Do the math!

Since Conejo Valley Days has something for everyone, the selling possibilities are endless! So, if your organization is interested in selling Conejo Valley Days tickets, please feel free to contact me at robinhagey@therobinteam.com. I have almost 2,000 tickets and I want every single one of them sold!

For more information about Conejo Valley Days, please click here. Or, click here to see a YouTube video! And, by the way, the five-day event actually takes place as close to Off the 23 as you can get!

Westlake Sterile? Bring it on!

I want to go back!

Please, send me back to TOSH!! After five days of “cooking” (i.e., serving food that my wonderful friends dropped off for me), my husband threw in the towel, saying he just couldn’t take it anymore. I miss the fresh salads, caramelized onions and salmon at the Thousand Oaks Surgical Hotel – I mean, Hospital!

I’ve been home for about a week and have had lots of time to catch up on my reading. I came across an article in The New Yorker about filmmaker Guillermo Del Toro who “owns a mock-Tudor mansion in Westlake Village, a sterile suburb northwest of Los Angeles.”

Sterile?!?!? What’s that supposed to mean? We don’t have graffiti on the sides of buildings? No drug dealers on street corners? Boo-hoo! If I had to choose a place to live, that’s what I’d look for.

This is what Westlake Village is really about!

You want to see the real Westlake, pop over to Westlake Haircutting on Lakeview Canyon Road, a few doors down from the Twin movie theater. Westlake Haircutting has been around since 1967, when Ron and Joan Davison opened their first shop in First Neighborhood. Ten years later, the Davisons moved to the shop’s current location and their daughter, Sandy Funcich, is now in charge.

Westlake Haircutting is what Westlake is all about. I was there Saturday and the place was buzzing.

With 20 hairdressers (and room for two more, if you’re a hairdresser looking for a great place to set your blow dryer), two manicurists and an esthetician, Westlake Haircutting serves everyone, all ages, men and women. Even my son, a punk rock drummer, visits hairdresser Fran Marks, who performs miracles on a stubborn and skeptical client.

What makes the place special is that – despite the fact that you will see the occasional celebrity – Westlake Haircutting is like the TV sitcom “Cheers,” where everyone knows your name. It’s also a family place. Sandy’s husband, Chris, who has more hair than any man his age should, holds court in the front. Sandy keeps an eye on things from the back. In between, there’s always coffee, donuts and lots of chat between clients and hairdressers.

Sandy herself is a bundle of energy – she’s developed a new product that hairdressers use for hairweaving and waxing, and on Saturday she was decked out in feathers (see the picture of her finishing off my hair), a look that apparently is catching on, given that pretty much every woman who walked into the salon on Saturday walked out with a gorgeous feather necklace or hairpiece.

So here’s what I say to The New Yorker. Sterile!?!? Bring it on!

Winning! All Around!

TOSH – A Hospital Like No Other!

I’m in the hospital and I don’t want to leave! I mean it. This place is better than a five-star hotel. The Thousand Oaks Surgical Hospital (TOSH, to those in the know) is a 50,000 square foot treasure, just “Off the 23.”

Not that I’m thrilled by the circumstances that put me here – a partial knee replacement – but, if you gotta go, this is the way to do it. Private rooms with sleeper sofas for family members who want to stay overnight, state-of-the-art medical facilities and gourmet food prepared by a bona fide chef served on real dishes with real silverware. Haven’t seen one Styrofoam cup since I got here! This is a picture of last night’s dinner. Tonight is filet mignon!

The only thing missing is the manicurist and hairdresser! Click here for more info: www.TOSHospital.com.

Dream Listing or Disaster? What do you think?

On paper, it has to be a realtor’s coup – listing a Beverly Hills home for $7.5 million – a completely renovated six bedroom, eight bathroom gem with views of the city and mountains. According to the Wall Street Journal, the home is in escrow. But add this to the formula: Charlie Sheen is the buyer! Can you imagine what those contract negotiations will be like? I can see him standing across the table yelling at a beaten down realtor: “WINNING!”

Make Your Donations Now!

There’s a great group of gals – and I’m proud that I’ll soon be one of them – called the Moorpark Women’s Fortnightly Club. The name may sound a bit antiquated but that’s because the club has been around forever – in the days when meeting twice a month meant fortnightly.

They do AMAZING things for the community, including this year raising money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation at their annual Spring Luncheon at the Moorpark Country Club, May 15, beginning at 11 a.m.

Tickets are $35 but MWFC raises the big bucks from its silent auction baskets. Donations can be anything, from collectibles, cooking classes and spa treatments to gift cards and movie tickets. If you’d like to donate and item or sponsor a basket with a monetary donation, please contact Carol Sanders at 805.529.1646 or Fran Levy at 805.523.7787.

For more info about the club, click here: http://mpfortnightly.webs.com.

Notice Our New Format?

According to the blogging experts, we’ve been going about this all wrong! Our original plan was to “report” on the goings-on in the cities “Off the 23.” To be successful at blogging, we’ve been told, we have to write more often, more informally and in the first person. When someone tells us something, we listen! So we’re getting with the blogging program!

One thing that won’t change is that we’ll be talking about the everyday happenings, events and people who make living “Off the 23” what it is. Robin Hagey will be doing the commenting, Robin Martino will chime in and we’re hoping you’ll keep passing along news about what’s going on in our neighborhood. Stay tuned and let us know what you think!

For more info about us, click onto: www.therobinteam.com.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Music & Politics: They Do Go Together!

Help The Band (and Orchestra!) Play On!

Ask just about any parent in our area why they live Off the 23 and somewhere high on the list will be the quality of our schools. Even in times of tight budgets, through fundraising and community support, our kids have access to some incredible programs.

Studio Jazz Band I, selected to perform at the CBDA (California Band Directors Association) / CMEA (California Music Educators Association) state conference on Feb. 19, in Fresno, CA.

Which leads us to a great fundraiser at the Canyon Club that will support Westlake High School’s Instrumental Music Program and the 260 kids who take part in the orchestra, marching band, color guard, various jazz groups and the drum line.

Please mark your calendars for Feb. 13. Doors open at 5:30 p.m., the first show begins at 6:30 p.m. and the main event, featuring Elvis tribute artist Raymond Michael, begins at 8 p.m. Ticket prices vary, from $20 for general admission to $75 for VIP seating and dinner. For more information, log onto www.whsband.org.

What makes this fundraiser so special is the opening act. Brian Peter, director of instrumental music at WHS, tells Off the 23 that a dozen “super talented” parents, some of whom are professional musicians themselves, and WHS staff members will entertain the crowd. Parents entertaining their children’s friends?

OK, as parents, we think teenagers agreeing to let their friends be entertained by their parents is reason enough to support this program. In general, though, we asked Mr. Peter why the music program – any music program – is so important to kids.

“There are so many answers to that question,” Mr. Peter says. “It’s the experience of playing and creating music. It’s an escape, it about teamwork and bonding. And, unlike sports, you don’t get to have a bad day. Everyone is playing the same notes.”

Congrats to Colina’s Future Leaders!

Speaking of special programs, congratulations to the Conejo Valley Unified School District’s Colina Middle School, teacher Kris Olson and his honors social studies class, winners of the annual California State We The People competition, which took place at the University of California Irvine School of Law on Jan 29. The students first competed locally, then moved onto the state competition, bringing home top honors and half the awards that were presented.

For those of you who are not familiar with We The People, it is a nationwide program that introduces students to the U.S. Constitution and civic responsibility. Students work together to learn about governmental issues, they prepare answers to some tough questions and then community leaders grill them on what they’ve learned.

“My daughter felt like she was memorizing the constitution,” parent Anne Francisco said of her daughter Amanda’s participation in the program. “Now, she says, she wants to be a lawyer!”

It doesn’t get any better than that!

Real Estate News You Can Use

Planning on buying a home? Here are some tips on how to avoid problems at closing from the most organized escrow officer on the planet, Kathy Mills at Outwest Escrow. Hey, it’s our blog and if we want to indulge in some well-earned hyperbole, so be it!

Kathy advises homebuyers to keep the credit cards in the wallet and warns them not to change their employment status while in escrow. Credit and employment may be verified as late as the escrow closing date.

Be sure to send your initial escrow instruction package back to your escrow officer in a timely manner and apply for homeowner’s insurance right away.

Make sure your closing funds are ready and available to be wired into escrow well before the escrow closing date. If you plan to withdraw funds from a stock account, make arrangements early since stock accounts do not normally have funds available on the same day as requested.

Finally, you’ll need a valid picture ID for closing documentation. Notify your escrow officer if that ID has been lost or stolen. And, if you’re going to be out of town during the escrow period, let your escrow officer know.

Please feel free to contact Kathy at 805.777.7777 ext. 5058 or email her at Kathy@outwestescrow.com. Tell her The Robins sent you!