The last part of our Kitchen Makeover Application was a video submission. Unfortunately video producing and editing is neither of our strong points. Maybe if I had someone other than my twelve year old daughter do the video-taping and if Carolyn had not been so busy planning her wonderful wedding, we could have created a better video…
And then here’s was the rejection letter I received from Angie Jedlicka of RIVR Media after submission…
Thank you so much for your submission to our new kitchen makeover television series. We received hundreds of great entries and it was a very difficult task to sort through them all in search of our participants. Unfortunately, you were not chosen for the program but we will keep your video and application on file for future shows.
We want to thank you for all the hard work you put into your submission and your interest in our show. We had some amazing videos come along and we can’t thank you enough for your participation and creativity.
I was so sad that we didn’t get chosen as I thought it would be super fun to work with Nicole Facciuto and hang with Carolyn in Chicago for a week! The new kitchen for Carolyn and being on an HGTV show would have just been a bonus.
P.S. Carolyn still promises she’ll cook pizza on the grill for me!
Imagine Carolyn’s and my utter excitement when I received the following email from RIVR Media…
Your submission has made it to the next step in our show’s casting process. In order to be considered, we need additional information about you and the person who you think deserves a kitchen makeover.
Again, we are a new television show looking for energetic and passionate people who are not shy about being on television. We believe both you and your nominee are excellent candidates for this show.
As part of the Kitchen Makeover Questionnaire, we each had to tell a bit about ourselves and our families, etc. Here is an excerpt from what we submitted:
Kim:
Born and bred in Nebraska. In high school, my dream was to live in a big city and produce television commercials (my original major in college was Art). That dream took a detour when I got pregnant, got married and had four children before I turned 25! But I wouldn’t trade my kids for anything. I still think of myself as a big city girl stuck in a small town (population 1700). I can see myself living in Chicago or New York City (these are my favorite cities for walking and public transportation as I don’t like to drive) when all the kids are grown and gone.
Being a young mother, I had to be frugal by cutting coupon and sending in rebates. My hobby of saving money was paying for my husband’s (now-ex) hobby of flying airplanes. Once I discovered the invention of the world wide web, I started a website to help other’s save money and in turn, that website now supports my family (and I let my ex-husband keep the airplane in our divorce). I originally met Carolyn years ago at an internet marketing conference, and we’ve been friends ever since.
I am now dating a wonderful man that has even more kids than I do (we could have our own football team). Plus he is the cook in the relationship. If kitchen makeover applications were being accepted for the middle of nowhere in Nebraska, I may have nominated him instead.
Carolyn:
I’m originally from San Diego, but moved out to Chicago in 1995 to go to school (Northwestern University, also in Evanston, where I live now). Everyone always asks, “You left San Diego for this?” But seeing the seasons change is a lot of fun for me! This last autumn was our first in Evanston, and it was absolutely incredible to see the leaves change color around our own home. On Halloween, we raked the leaves into a huge pile on our front lawn, and were rewarded later in the evening when a trick-or-treater (it was the tiniest Harry Potter you’ve ever seen) took a giant flying leap right into the middle of the pile. The exhilaration in his face was phenomenal! That right there shows the warmth and friendliness of the Midwest spirit.
My fiancé Jeff (now husband) and I met over 10 years ago, while we both worked for the same company. We were always really great work buddies, but lost touch for about five years when I went back to school to get my MBA. Two years ago, he sends me a text message out of the blue, and we meet up for a couple drinks. We’ve been together ever since. And this August, we’ll be married! (Want to come? The ceremony is in Kauai, followed by a reception in Chicago, followed by a campout for anyone who wants to join at Sleeping Bear Dunes in Michigan! I can’t promise you a nice kitchen while we’re camping, but I can promise you some good grub!)
Special talents…I love to write, so I freelance for the local newspaper and for a business magazine just to keep my pen nimble; I love to decorate cakes and I can make a pretty decent rose out of gum paste; I can trade knock knock jokes with the best of them; and I can get a meat and potatoes man to eat tofu.
Pretty funny story too… stalker