10 posts tagged “chicago”
I cheated. I wrote this first and then posted pictures and then decided this should probably be on top for the time being. So here it is.
My "trip report" is turning into a photo journal. As the others share their pictures, there will be more to come.
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The weekend was wonderful. These seven ladies are some of my best friends and it's all thanks to the Internet.
We met three years ago on the South Beach Diet section of the Prevention website. We all started the diet on October 6. As you look at the pictures, you'll see some of us were more successful on the diet than others (me!).
We range in age from 66 to 36. We are married and single. We have children and pets. We have dysfunctional families, but have raised some really good kids.
We post most every day on a forum like this one, some of us chat on Sunday nights and we hope to see each other once a year. It's amazing to me that even though we "talk" each day, that when we are together it's like we are friends who see each other all the time. There is no time or distance between us.
We all get along so well. We laugh a lot. We cover serious topics too, but we laugh a lot.
I feel really luck to have these women in my life. They have truly been a blessing to me.
Kathy, Sher, Indy, Stacie, Rebecca, Me, Mary, Laura
You would not believe the attention a tiara can bring to a group of eight women. You should try it sometime!
And yes, Sher does laugh that much. We love it!
This is us at 6a before we leave to see Oprah. Yes, Oprah.
Even though we were bumped from the afternoon taping, our employee contact was able to cull together four tickets for the morning taping. We had to be at the studio at 6:30a!
That's me, Sher, Kathy and Indy.
When we arrived, a line was already forming -- I was #14. They started to check us in at 7a. You go through security that is more stringent than the airport. I'd only brought my wallet and a lipstick, so I skipped through pretty easy. They confiscated Kathy's perfume, and Indy's pens and pencils. We heard from someone else that they took all her scrap paper. No stealing Oprah secrets, I guess.
Before we went upstairs to wait, they gave us a bag with a delicious fruit parfait and blueberry muffin. Thank heavens for that because none of us had a chance to eat beforehand.
About 8a, they started calling group names to go downstairs. They fill the floor seats first (I swear they picked the pretty people out of the crowd for those seats). We are in the first row of the stadium-like seating. Right off the aisle she walks in.
The show's producer came in to talk to us as we waited. She explained how things would work and what we should do (cheer/clap loudly). Then she told us we were getting a bonus -- they were going to tape two shows with us as the audience. Needless to say, the crowd went wild!
Right before 9a, Oprah sauntered out to her seat. A chaise chair. She is much taller in person. Prettier too.
Then her best friend Gayle came in and they settled in (discussing shoes/no shoes, curl feet under/stretch out). And at 9a, we started taping.
The show featured the winners of an O magazine contest. Oprah and Gayle took 60 women to the Miraval Spa in Tucson. It is a clip show of their five-day stay. Some of it is absolutely hysterical. Some of it is very, very touching. These are some strong women who have faced real adversity in their lives.
It was interesting to watch it from a behind-the-scenes perspective. There is a teleprompter that feeds her an intro line into a segment and then she just runs with it. When it's time to segway segue into a new video or commercial break, a new line pops up for her.
We would "break" for a commercial that would last 30 seconds to several minutes. Sometimes the floor producer would come talk with her, other times she and Gayle just sat there and shot the breeze.
As the first hour wrapped up, the audience won a gift from New Balance: a pair of shoes, hoodie, bra, shirt and two pairs of workout pants. Again, we went wild.
The Oprah and Gayle left to change. They were gone maybe five minutes while the set changed. This time, there were three bar stool like chairs. First Oprah came out and then Gayle with . . . Dr. Oz!!
Wow, is he a cutie in person. And as animated as he seems on screen is not reflective of him really just sitting there making regular conversation. I'll be interested to see the segment on TV.
They talked more about the Miraval trip and interacted with some of the women who participated. Then Martha Beck joined them on stage to talk about her role during the week
All in all, it went by reallyfast. About 11:30a, it was all wrapped up and we were outside waiting for a cab. They didn't tell us when it would air, but it should be easy to figure out. I think it will run on consecutive Fridays. I'll definitely be recording it to watch for us in an audience shot (fingers crossed!).
If you are an Oprah fan, you should absolutely try to get tickets. We had a blast.
Anyone besides me wonder why there are 16 Nokia designs? Sponsor much?
I'm home from Chicago and will post stories and pictures soon.
