The Price is Right........C'mon down!!!! Part Two

Sorry for the delay everyone....I finally got my computer back this evening....I was so happy to finally see it, I wanted to kiss the monitor!! But thank you for checking in to hear the rest of the story........

Anyway back to the story...........

When we were led back into the studio I noticed a young man on the stage with a clip board who looked at our group and wrote something down (I now realize that his job is probably to locate where the contestants are for the camera).
We had the audience warm up and everything....then the show began...and the first contestant called.....was my daughter Cassie (her name tag has her birth name Cassandra). WOO HOO!!
Now you have to bear with me here because from here on things get a little sketchy for me. I think my brain kinda shut down a little, so some particulars I don't remember too well.......
She ran down to contestants row and the item up for bid was a pair of Roomba remote control vacuums.....I don't remember what she bid, or what anyone else bid....BUT SHE WON!!
So she hopped up on stage with Drew and gave him a big bear hug (she was gonna "spider monkey" him, but I think she chickened out at the last minute...she is nearly six feet tall, all arms and legs and it would have been hilarious, but she might have taken Drew down). Then she had the chance to win a beautiful big sailboat. At this point I whispered to my sister...I need help on this one, I have no idea what the price is.....
The game she played (I don't remember the name...again brain freeze) was to push some number on blocks until the price appears. Now I need to clarify something......between where she was on stage with Drew and where we were in the audience there are about 5 cameras and people running all over the stage, so it is very hard to see everything...and again it is so loud with the audience...so in our defense (and you will know why)....we saw the numbers 81 and my sister said that it should be about eighty one hundred dollars and the guy behind me was yelling the same thing....so we yelled 81, 81, 81 !!! And she listened to us......well, what we didn't see, know or hear was that the price was a five digit number, not a four like we thought....so she bid EIGHTY ONE THOUSAND ON THE SAILBOAT....errrr wrong!!
At the commercial break Drew teased her saying..."and how many eighty-one thousand dollar sailboats have you been on"? He asked her "did anyone help you with this"? She said "yeah, my mom", so he came into the audience to ask me how many eighty one thousand dollar sailboats I had been on. I explained that we thought it was a four digit number, and could we have a do over...then I had to tell him how adorable he is. And he really is...he is so cute, nice and the kinda guy you would want to have a beer with.
So, the show continued....then the time came to spin the wheel....Cassie spun the wheel (again...can't remember the numbers..) but she tied with another guy and they had a spin off......AND SHE WON.....SHE WAS HEADED TO THE SHOWCASE SHOWDOWN!!
We were all shaking....poor Cassie was chewing off her fingers while the show continued. It was nerve racking and exciting all at the same time.
So the second half of the show continued and the guy right behind me (yeah, the one that agreed that the sailboat was 81) ended up winning the wheel spin and was going to the showcase showdown with Cassie.
Whooo....deep breath.......so he (I think his name was Daniel) gets to decide whether to bid or pass on the first showcase. The showcase comes up and it is some arcade games, a spa and I don't remember what the rest of it was (my mother warned me that the 70's were gonna catch up with me....brain cells burned), but it wasn't anything big. And Daniel decides to BID...we couldn't believe it...he's gonna BID..YIKES, HOLY SMOKE....WOWZA! We knew that the next showcase had to have something big...like a car, a trip..something exciting. So he bid...I think $16,000.00...which by our estimates was pretty darn close.
So...time for Cassie's showcase.....it starts out with a Nintendo Wii with 12 games, then a 40 inch plasma tv.....then....a trip to PARIS, FRANCE....6 days, roundtrip for two....OH MY GOSH.....BUT THAT'S NOT ALL.......A NEW CAR!! A 2008 CHEVROLET EQUINOX.......it was all so incredible and surreal....
So we told her to bid $33,000.00 and she bid $31,000.00..............
Time for another commercial break....then Drew tells them who the winner is...first he goes to Cassie and the actual price was 39 thousand and something....so a difference of 8 thousand....then he goes to Daniel....AND DANIEL WAS OVER!! HOLY MOLY SHE WON!! SHE WON THE SHOWCASE SHOWDOWN!! She ended up winning over $40,000.00 in prizes! We all ran up on stage...and a warning here for everyone....again, they have like 5 cameras on stage and the cameras add like 10 pounds....so my ass will look huge.....but I don't care....my baby won...and I think I peed my pants when I was up there anyway.
So that's our story!! What an exciting day...what an experience!! The show will air on January 14th.
Here is a picture of my baby with the card that they held up on stage when her name was called.

The Price is Right!!! Come on down!!

First, I don't have my computer back, so I can't post any images yet....but hopefully tomorrow I should have it.
So, have I got a story to share with you....
My oldest daughter Jona decided that to celebrate her birthday she wanted to go to a taping of The Price is Right. We had tickets for November 4th for the 1:00 and the 4:00 taping. I stayed in Las Vegas and drove to LA with my youngest daughter Cassie, while my oldest daughter drove to LA with my sister DeeDee.
We arrived in LA in the afternoon and had booked a room at the Farmer's Daughter Hotel which is located right across from the CBS studios. We knew from previous experience that you had to be in line early in the morning for a number for the best seating in the audience, also they overbook the shows so in the event it is way overbooked then you want one of the first numbers so that you can attend the taping. All large groups have priority and get first seating.
So we all had an early dinner and went to bed early and asked for a 3:45 a.m. wakeup call. (Let me tell you there are only three times in my life when I will get up before the sun.....fishing, a good sale and ok...The Price is Right)
So after a very restless night and very little sleep (it's kinda like the night before Christmas as a kid....you look at the alarm clock about 50 times to make sure that you don't oversleep) we all got up before the wakeup call and were surprised to find that it was raining outside. So we went to the Hotel lobby and asked if they had any umbrellas...knowing that we would be standing outside...the gentleman at the desk asked what the heck we were doing so early in the morning and we told him we were headed to the line for the Price is Right numbers....he then led us to the front of the hotel and pointed across the street..."See those people standing there? That is the line....you don't need to be out here this early. I will watch the line for you...go back to your room, go back to sleep or have coffee and I will call you when you need to get back in line". So keeping the umbrellas he loaned us we went back to our room and waited. I don't think any of us went back to sleep but we had coffee, read or watched tv. Then at 5:30 he called and said "it's time".
So we headed across the street to get into line. It was hard to tell but I think there were about 20 people in line. The rain had let up so we didn't need the umbrellas, but it was still pitch dark. While we were waiting in line a transformer blew out across the street which caused a little excitement with everyone.
After about an hour they started handing out the numbers and we were instructed to return to the studio at 10:00.
We walked across the street and had breakfast at a local restaurant then headed back to the hotel to check out of our room and have the front desk hold our luggage.
We headed back to the studio for a long day of waiting.
Taping for the show was to begin at 1:00...and from 10:00 to 1:00 you go thru a series of providing your identification, filling out release forms, having your picture taken....then the all important question from the show's producter, Stan.
Stan usually takes a group of 6 or so, before they enter the studio and asks a question or two and this how they choose the contestants for the audience. He asked us "Where are you from and what do you do for a living"? Although they don't tell you anything...you know they are looking for personality and enthusiasm.
After answering the question they then lead everyone into the studio.
First the studio is much smaller than what you expect. And it seems very "old school" and rather drab (that is until they turn on the studio lights). Once everyone is seated then they play music and encourage everyone to dance and get ready for the show. Rich Fields (the annoucer)then comes out answers any questions anyone has, explains a little bit about the show (like where to enter the stage in the event you are called) and they explain that because the show and audience are so loud, if your name is called you may not hear it, so there will be a young man standing on stage with large cue cards that will show the contestants names as they are called.
So the show got going....everyone is excited and dancing around (some of us more than other....) then they began the show with Drew Carey coming out.
I have previouly posted in my blog before about attending a taping of the show back in April, and I have attended two tapings of the Ellen DeGeneres show.....but Drew Carey is the nicest host and he mingles and talks to the audience members during the commercial breaks. He truly wants everyone to win and they encourage you before the show that if you are called on stage, you can hug and kiss Drew and if you win a prize, to play with the prize, sit in it.....they want you to be EXCITED!!
The show was awesome....I don't remember much from the first taping, because the second taping is so much more memorable (more to follow on that). But they asked if you are staying for the second taping you need to exit the studio, you are given another number, name tag and then directly to Stan (the producer) for another question....then the show is to begin taping at 4:00.
So we went thru the process....but before we did...my daughter Cassie who had to work that night at midnight in Vegas, thought that she wouldn't attend the last taping since she had a long drive...but her sister talked her into staying, since it was her birthday.
Stan's question this time was.....What do you like to do for fun? My sister said" I like to bake goodies for my son's who are in the service". Cassie said "I love to play my guitar hero...I am addicted to it". Jona said: "I like to chase my two little monkeys around...ages 4 and 2". And I said...I like to take her 2 monkeys feed them lots of candy and chocolate and send them home".
Then we were led into the studo for the taping...........
OOPS, WOULDN'T YOU KNOW...I AM RUNNING OUT OF ROOM HERE.......HEE HEE
STAY TUNED FOR PART 2 OF THE STORY TOMORROW!!!!