the longest drum roll.....

Okay, so i check my email this afternoon and here’s what in there:

“Thank you for entering our Backyard Contest. We would like to invite you to a special reception where we’ll serve hors d’oeuvres and announce our Grand Prize Winner.
The event is scheduled to take place on THURSDAY, AUGUST 3RD, FROM 5P-7P in the KZRA Courtyard.
Please reply to this email with your RSVP and how many guests you will bring.
Thank you!
KZRA Promotions Department”


so, now i’m thinking it’s one of two doors:

door number 1) i’ve won...

or door number 2) they’re inviting lots of entrants to the reception because all the vendors will be there to pass out brochures and little coupons for all the folks with the cruddy back yards. now i do live in southern california, but taking time off work, finding someone to watch my son and driving into the los angeles area during the high traffic time is not my idea of a fun afternoon. granted, the lure of mini quiches and a wine in a plastic cup are quite enticing, but i’ve become such a social hermit, i’d rather spend the evening with my 4 year old than schmooze with other garden challenged black thumbs.

i will have a better idea which is my fate when i learn from my sister if she received the same email… that'll give me a hint.

oh, and did i mention they changed their website? the contest logo/verbiage on the website used to read "Oasis $100,000 backyard / patio makeover" now it just says "patio". granted, the email says "backyard" but hey, a girl can dream, can't she?


okay. i just heard from my sister and she did not get the same email. she's going to go up to L.A. with me after i find someone to watch my son. arghhh. the suspense is killing me!

maybe...just maybe....

remember how i mentioned that my backyard is a pitiful area of dirt and boring concrete? well, there's a los angeles talk radio station that i listen to and guess what? they're having a contest...win a $100,000 back yard or patio makeover. to enter the contest one had to tell why their back yard was in need of a re-do...in 50 words or less.

on a whim, i emailed my shpeel (saving my last seven characters to say, Thanks!...being polite never hurts) along with a goofy picture of my back patio. i checked out their website this morning and lo and behold, the photo of my patio* is one of the 50ish photos being shown as entries. the caption says, "look at your neighbors' back yards!" or something like that. how embarrassing. i didn't know they'd show my dusty hovel on the net. eGADS! *note: my yard is NOT the one with the toilet in the dirt. perhaps there are needier(filthier)peeps than myself. and hey, one or two of those yards look nice. hmmm. do they really need a makeover? kinda like farrah fawcett thinking she needed a facelift.

a drastic change is not always for the best.

a funny thing: i mentioned to my sister that i had entered the contest and she said that she did, too! this is only funny if you know that she and her hubby recently bought a m-m-million dollar home and have already had an architect draw up an awesome multi-level back yard dream design (complete with putting green, horse shoe pit and lanai) that they've been planning for some time now. i guess it doesn't hurt to try to win it for free...just like i'm trying to do. our budgets are just a bit different, that’s all. ;0)

and another interesting thing is the radio website's headline says Patio makeover...not backyard. could it be that they've picked a winner (moi?) and they know it's a patio?? the radio station will be announcing the winner this saturday morning on the air. i suppose i should clear my busy social calendar to see who wins.


update: they did not announce the winner this morning. maybe next week? who knows?? they read some of the 50 word essayettes, and i must say i'd rather have the mom who's hubby is away fighting the war be the winner. how cool for him to come home to an awesome backyard.

changes in my routine

my son is away on his first camping trip with his dad, which leaves me alone for several days (i will save you all the pity party woe's me stuff). so with my added free time after work i thought i would go to the gym...and guess what?

i re-discovered something i forgot i already knew. i hate going to the gym. i think i will actually cancel my gym membership.


* # * # *

for the past two weeks or so, my television's been on the fritz. it's done this before and i shelled out around $300 to get it repaired about a year ago, which isn't too bad to spend on a tv we paid 3 grand for back at the start of the millennium. now it's back to its same old tricks - it just won't turn on. *sigh* i hate spending money on stuff like this. i've waited for it to magically get better...which it has done in the past, but since it actually seems to be dead this time i bit the bullet. oh well. here's what i bought online last night: for you technogeeks, it's a 42 inch vizio hdtv plasma w/ tuner. i have no idea when it will arrive, but i sure hope the delivery guy will be kind enough to carry it upstairs for me.

* # * # *

since i refuse to go to the gym, and being a tv watching couch potato isn't an option, tonight after work i plan on taking my dog to huntington beach (the real, one-and-only Surf City, USA) for a bit of fun at the famous dog beach. it's a great place to run around and let your pooch have some fun. i've never taken my mutt there and he can be a bit of a scaredycat, so it'll be interesting to see how he reacts to the beach, the ocean and other dogs running around without a care or leash. i'll be sure to take my camera.

i learn something new every day

this morning i was reading my Real Simple magazine and i learned something new. did you know that the little strawberry on the tomato pin cushion is filled with sand, which can be used to sharpen your needles and pins and will also help remove any rust on your little shiny things?

neither did i! what a tiny bit of information that is, but i know i'll never forget it. it made me think of my sewing kit. it's a small wooden sewing box that belonged to my grandmother. the box still has old fashioned wooden spools inside, some still bound with silk thread. i don't know how old it is, perhaps 80 years old? each time i take it down from the shelf, sit on my bed to repair something, i think of grandma memories as i sew. funny thing is, they are never about sewing. They’re usually how she taught me to play gin rummy for nickels and dimes. whenever i would walk to her apartment to visit we would always end up sipping coke and playing gin. at the end of the afternoon i would always leave with a little fistful of coins. it took me years to figure out that she let me win, which was her way of indulging me...letting me think i had outsmarted her of her coins that day. i guess she outsmarted me.

mckay and hattie

i promised jamie dawn that i would post a picture of me in my old age makeup. i tried to get a good picture while on stage with the lights, but the playwright didn't get a good shot. i guess he needs to stick with the pen (or keyboard) and leave the camera to others.

i'm glad i got to do the show, but there were some frustrating times dealing with the diva and nonexistent audiences. let me say that i will (probably) never do another production for this theatre. if we can donate our time and energy to put on a show then the theatre company should do some advertising and promotion to fill the house. there was one night when the only people in the audience were friends of the cast - six people. the dad of a cast member was rather old and not feeling well, so he and his family left after her show was over (remember, this was an evening of two 1-hour one-acts). so after intermission ended, there was a grand total of one person in the audience - a friend of the diva's. i hadn't heard that the audience number had dribbled down one sole soul until i was in places, ready to go on stage in one minute. the diva comes trotting up to me saying, "there's only one person in the audience and he's my friend. he can come see me another night, so we're going to cancel the show."

this is the first time i've ever heard of an actress canceling a performance. *rolls eyes* whatever. three other cast members thought canceling the performance was a great idea. i wanted to do the show, just as a pick up rehearsal, since due to the diva hardly ever showing up to rehearsal, opening night had been our fist runthrough with everyone present. no luck. the show got canceled that night. like i said, i won't do another show for a place that can't do their job and sell some tickets. as much as i like to act, i really prefer there be some people in the audience.

what i liked most about doing the performance was getting to create a believable older character for the fist time. in the past i've played ingenues and character comedy roles. i bonded with my character, hattie. hattie was my grandmother's real nickname and my mom's middle name was harriet, so i felt a bit of a spiritual bond with the ol' gal. okay, okay, that's my story. here's a recent picture of me and a backstage picture of my character, hattie. my apologies for the picture not being under the theatre lights, which would make the old age makeup a bit more realistic.

blogger question

have any of you ever had a problem with receiving email notification for new comments? i'm getting comments, but no email notifications. i checked my settings and that's all correct.




i had to reset my mac administrator password over the weekend because i was using the sleep mode so much i forgot my password (duh). now i keep getting prompts for my 'keychain password' which I DON'T KNOW. arrrgh! i don't think it's related to the mac, though, because if i access my email via the webmail site, i still don't have any blogger emails. weird, huh?

sigh.

any idears?

mckay's triple berry pie

first, let me send cyber apologies for not blogging in a while. my daughter's in town and i tend to spend tons of time shopping (ugh) and goofing around (yippee!) with her as much as possible. we just got back from the beach and i am quite sunburn.

now, for the pie. the votes were tallied and berries of all types were mentioned with much fervor. being the people pleasin' gal that i am, i made up a concoction of blackberries, raspberries and blueberries with a creative raspberry glaze. this amazingly delicious mix filled a braided pie crust. i'm not much of a pie fanatic, but i must say that this was fabulous. mine is the round pie in the lower right corner. and isn't that a beautiful dessert table? my sister made rice krispy treats shaped like lobsters (she says she doesn't do pies)...there was an apple, a peach, an apricot, a ruhbarb, a blueberry tart....