I wanna be Oprah....

I'll admit--I haven't watched Oprah more than twice in about the last five years. Sponge Bob and Dora have a death grip on our T.V. But I have always loved those shows she does once or twice a year where she gives away all her favorite things to an un-expecting audience. Of course I would love to be in the audience. Who wouldn't want to be? If you can't use the stuff, you could always sell it on e-bay and still make out like a bandit. But, I've also fantasized about being the person to give away all those favorite things. I love to watch the audience when they get so excited and start jumping up and down, or crying....I'll admit. I've gotten a little choked up and teary eyed a few times while watching. So I decided that today, I am doing my own virtual version of Oprah's favorite things, and you are my lucky audience of unsuspecting recipients. The only problem is....I'm not a self made billionaire daytime TV diva. In other words, my favorite stuff isn't as cool as Oprah's. (go ahead, sell it on e-bay!)
Here we go.
we thought our dishwasher was broken. The dishes kept coming out nasty! I researched all over the internet and tried various ways and things to clean your dishwasher and nothing worked. we were looking for new a dishwasher and dreading all the price tags.
But one day while shopping, on just the slightest whim, I decided to get the 'expensive- name brand' detergent. Miracle of all miracles, it worked! I felt like a star in my own commercial admiring my sparkling glasses right out of the dishwasher. Bub came home from work as I was doing so, and asked me "Did you buy new glasses?" almost more of an accusation than a question. "No," I told him, "It's Cascade Complete." There really should have been hidden cameras in my kitchen. It was truly a commercial moment made for TV. And I ,the wanna-be Oprah, am giving you my dish washing miracle: Cascade Complete with Bleach and Hydro-something action . enjoy!
Next on our list today is something I could never live with out. (though I'm sure most people can, and do.) There's no way you can make pretty pictures without this three piece set: An 11x15" pad of bristol board. A bit thicker than cardstock, it can handle pencil, ink, colored pencils, charcoal,paint, and even watercolors perfectly! just thinking of it puts a smile on my face. It is what I use for all my illustrations. Of course bristol alone won't work, you've got to have a pencil and some color to go with it. My favorite drawing pencil is a simple mechanical pencil made by Zebra. With a sleek stainless steel casing, it feels good in your hand and looks fabulous too. with standard .05mm lead refills it is easy to maintain as well. pencils for you all! and last but not least, a favorite of mine for many years now, PRISMACOLOR colored pencils. Unlike most colored pencils these are wax based making them easily blendable. Versatile as well, you can use them in so many ways to create such a variety of looks, from bold and saturated color to soft and translucent. Sure to please in any artistic endeavor.

(I told you my things are not as cool as the real Oprah!)

Oprah always gives indulgent food packages too. So, I had to add some of my favorites. First of all, you'll all be getting a Hershey's Symphony bar with Toffee and Almonds. (you should be thinking of me, nodding your heads and saying: That explains a lot!)

Secondly, one of my new found tummy tickling treasures is this little yummy found for only $1 on the value menu of your local Mickey D's. The fruit and yogurt parfait is absolutely delish! and good for you too!

I am still mourning the loss of my SALAD SHOOTER. You can't buy them in regular stores anymore you know. Mine gave up the ghost shortly after the demise of my crockpot last October. Bub got me a food processor to replace it..sweet man..I'm grateful for the food processor and I love it, but it's not quite the same as a salad shooter.

After all those tasty treats, you'll need to be brushing your teeth. I love going to the dentist and I love having clean teeth. Which is probably why I've never had a cavity. But, as Wanna-be Oprah, I'll have to pass on an electric toothbrush. I like the cheap $15 Oral B with the round head. If you take your time with it, It gets into all the little corners and crevices and feels like a lovely little massage for your mouth.
A few of my other favorite discoveries over the past year or so: Digital photo books, made on sites like blurb.com, or heritage makers or my publisher. Great coffee table books, so easy to make, and you'll never have to feel guilty about not scrapbooking again.

I'd love to give you all a new mountain bike with a trailer to haul your kiddos around in.
because I love mine.

A limitless giftcard to Barnes & Noble

And, the blessing of a loyal canine friend.

This is my only extravagence: The new Ford Focus. Not so much for the car, because I don't know anything about cars, and if I had my choice, I'd be driving a mini-van anyway. But it's the "sync" that comes in the car. We rented a Ford Focus for a road trip a while back, and the "sync" is the thing you've seen on commercials that is voice operated and will play anything off your i-pod or i-tunes just by asking it too. It can also hook up to your cell phone and asks you in a soothing female robot voice if you'd like to take the incoming call from so & so. fancy! (Aiden thought there really was a robot in the car!)

And like the real Oprah, I won't be paying your virtual taxes on this either.

I'd also give you, free babysitting, a makeover and a day off. But I don't have pictures for those.

Though, I'm sure the real Oprah would have thrown in some lovely spa treatments, along with designer shoes, handbags, and bathrobes. I just can't find those things in my life anywhere! go figure! Thanks for playing along with me- even though Oprah's stuff is way cooler than mine, and worth more on e-bay. maybe I'll try again in a few more months.

It's harder to be Oprah than you think. I dare you to give it a try! I'm tagging, Emily, Rachel, Jen, Trudy, Mel, Jeanne, Ellen, Shelly and Nora.