Hello All,

Here’s what new in my world:

My family and friends, my mama is particular, encouraged me to enter the “Vanna for a Day” contest.  If I win I will do Vanna White’s job for one episode.  It’ll be glamorous, exciting and awesome!  You can see my entry video at:

http://www.wheeloffortune.com/vannaforaday/viewentries/profile.php?id=30858

I have to say that I had a lot of fun with this!  I regarded it as a school assignment.  And I seemed to have a lot of peers in my corner.  🙂

I wrote a Script and timed myself performing it.  I’d forgotten how difficult it is to squeeze something so exciting into 60 seconds.  My mama reviewed and approved it for me, which felt like a high-five.

Jamie for Vanna

I made a shot list.  I wanted to feature my town, my glam appeal and myself as best as possible. If you’ve ever seen an episode of Wheel of Fortune you know that Vanna features the city they are broadcasting from – so I decided to feature my town, Scottsdale.  I recalled a great fact about it that I learned while on a tour of the Scottsdale Historic Museum with my dad back in May. Scottsdale was almost named Orangedale because the city was founded to farm oranges.  I share this fact often; I always impress my friends.

My little brother willingly climbed into the attic to retrieve my Prom dresses; it’s still so cool to me that he is big and strong and no longer afraid of the dark.  I steamed my dresses in the shower and felt quite pleased that Mama and I were getting some more bang for our Prom-buck, even if it was 7 plus years later.  My boss even offered the company HD camera, but I knew that my little camera would be just fine – plus, I already knew how to work it. Phew!

I wrote, produced and starred in my production – my attempt to be deemed a “triple threat.” But I still needed more help.  Lucky for me, enlisting a crew was no sweat.  I had lots of offers! My mama’s college buddy, Justin, offered his time.  Even my co-producer from my documentary, Stjepan, extended a creative hand.  But I decided on people I knew I would laugh with – Jennifer and Andy.

Jennifer is my bestie for a solid 23 years now.  Her and I shot countless hours of music videos, school projects, vacations, sleep overs and skits back in high school and college.  This would be just like that – minus the braces in high school and the alcohol in…well, let’s not formally address that.  Jennifer also served as my hair stylist and makeup artist.  Andy is my boyfriend. And yes, I said “boyfriend” aloud in a schoolyard, teasing-type accent as I typed it.  Call me smitten, I don’t care.  😉  He took his puzzle-making task seriously.  He used a ruler and everything.

Jennifer was my camera woman.  Mainly because I was too nervous to have Andy do it.  But once we got rolling, I wasn’t shy at all.  It’s so wonderful to feel comfortable with people.  I also felt really touched that I had two amazing people devoting their sunny Saturday afternoon to me and my project.  I gave Andy the PA (Production Assistant) and props manager titles at the start of the shoot, but quickly promoted him to AD, Assistant Director, as soon as he began suggesting shots and checking Jennifer’s compositions over her shoulder. I couldn’t have asked for a better crew!

Winning this contest would be incredible!  But more importantly, I have realized that participating in it has been an eye-opener.  I may no longer work in TV and it may never cut me another paycheck, but I sure do have fun pretending like I do.  And I can’t deny the fact that I’m pretty skilled in it.  I’ve now made a Video To Do List and decided to edit my countless hours of memories stored on tape into movies that can be more readily enjoyed.  So stay tuned!

Striving to be in Vanna’s shoes has been a positive experience.  And I can’t lie to you, I dug strutting my stuff in my Prom dresses.

Thank you for your continued support.  I hope that you are treating 2011 well.