GONE WRITING

Be back next week!

OPRAH WINFREY Doesn't Know She's My Best Friend

Now here's a Bucket List idea whose time has come, going to the taping of the final season of The Oprah Winfrey Show.

I can certainly understand why Going To See Oprah would be on anyone's Bucket List, but I may as well put Going To The Moon on there because Oprah tickets are impossible to score. It's trickier than Criss Angel over a swimming pool walking on water (like hubby Sarge thinks he does); trickier than me getting a three-book deal with Simon and Shuster; trickier than having a hit TV show that doesn't have the words Law and Order attached to it; trickier than me getting a job as a joke writer.

However, someone has been lucky enough or smart enough to cop the rare seat in Harpo Studios. You can read her story here.

What's on YOUR bucket list?

WARPED WEDNESDAY

........where YOU write the caption using the words "bucket" or "list." How smart are you if you use both!
(photo courtesdy of Sister 72)

DWIGHT HOWARD

(Photo courtesy of Howardthedunk.com)

Periodically, on Martini Mondays, I highlight someone else who is living their dream, doing the do, practicing what they preach by scratching off their Bucket List item by item. Dwight Howard helped one woman to do just that. See how it all went down over at the Look to the Stars Blog
Kudos to them both!

BUCK-IT LIST

FREE FALL FRIDAY is where anything goes.

This post falls right in line with Monday's post about the Orange County Fair. Check out this Rodeo In Twin Elm, Texas (say that five times real fast) that had an event specifically for Bull Riding Bucket Listers!

What's YOUR Bucket List idea?

WARPED WEDNESDAY

. . . where you write the caption.

(Photo courtesy of Brass Pix)

Fair Ladies

Life is not fair; get used to it. (Bill Gates)

Life may not be fair, but at least you can go to one. (Ms A.L. Walker)

And so that's what I did . . . I went to the Orange County Fair, and dragged my daughter along with me.

<~~~~~This is us clowning in the photo booth. I hadn't been to the County Fair in decades, so this was going to be a refresher course in how to re-live my youth. Upon entering the gates, the first thing to hit me is the sweet smell of cotton candy. While letting the pink sugar melt in my mouth, we pass by booths with BBQ corn-on-the-cob and chocolate-covered bacon. What a way to start your day! Get thee behind me, Diet Devil. As we pass through the food court, I realize that County Fairs invented supersizing, not Mickey D's. One corn dog could feed a family of four, and don't get me started on the buffalo-sized burgers, and the BBQ ribs look like they came off of bison. We then sashay over to the carnival booths -- (the snarky daughter refuses to swing her partner 'round and add in a little do-si-do) -- where I'm surprised I don't hear game barkers beckoning us to come play, but - WHEW! - I breathe a sigh of relief when I see that overstuffed animal prizes still line the walls.

We see exhibits, too, like ice sculptures, a pictorial history of the O.C. Fair (my personal favorite), and a cake decorating challenge. And who knew they had a Scrapbooking competition?! I'm entering this in next year's contest:

We do our part as conspicuous consumers, too, buying things we don't really need. Boy, those salespeople are good at what they do. We bought a picture of the Rat Pack, a steam iron, and not one but TWO, count them, TWO lumbar supports. "But wait. There's more." Snarky daughter bought a ton of beef jerky.

All in all, it was a lovely trip down memory lane, and some fun mother/daughter time, too.

Throw a dart in that Bucket List balloon, and burst Number 112 off the list.

FREE FALL FRIDAY

On FREE FALL FRIDAY, anything goes, and this is something that happened to me and it's not even on my Bucket List.

I'm in the UCLA Writers Program, and they like to feature participants (students and instructors alike) on their website. I am flabbergasted (or just gasted as hubby Sarge would say) that they selected me
as one of their success stories.

You can find me on their website here.

Remains of the Day

It's WARPED WEDNESDAY, folks, where you write the caption using the words "bucket" or "list." Bonus if you use both!

Earth, Wind & Fireworks

Whenever you escape to L.A., you must also make a break for the Hollywood Bowl. And be sure to go on a night when there's fireworks. It happens several times during the summer, and even though I've lived on the left coast my entire life, I've never seen their pyrotechnics in person. So it became Number 109 on my Bucket List.

My sister got us tickets to see the legendary R&B group Earth, Wind & Fire, and it just so happened that they were being backed by the L.A. Philharmonic. Take a moment and imagine that!

The Hollywood Bowl knows how to take care of their patrons. We took advantage of their Park & Ride where for five bucks, the Bowl Bus picks you up at designated spots in and around Los Angeles so that you don't have the hassle of driving and having to find a parking space. They make it real easy for us imbibers.

When we get to the Bowl, we unpack our picnic (cheese, wine and sandwiches) and chat/munch with friends who met us there. Pre-show, the arena is one big picnic area; like a small town community.

And then the show begins.

EWF has won six Grammy Awards throughout their career, and their music -- Reasons, September, After the Love Has Gone -- took me back to my time as a teenager. It was all done with orchestral accompaniment and bursts of fireworks in the backdrop. Very much like a Hollywood set. Sparkles flared and lit up the night sky followed by fountains, pinwheels, rockets, then repeat!. It was FANTACULAR, at once fantastic and spectacular. (I love making up new words.)

This won't be the last time I see fireworks at the Hollywood Bowl, especially since the whole event only cost me twenty of my budget bucks. Light a fuse and blast Number 109 off of my Bucket List.

What's on your Bucket List?

Anything Goes on Free Fall Friday...

. . . so today FREE FALL FRIDAY is going to be THROWBACK THURSDAY, only a day late. Confused?

You're not the only one. Welcome to my world.

WARPED WEDNESDAY

. . . WHERE YOU SUPPLY THE CAPTION.