Good Afternoon ...
Well ... not sure where to start ....
We arrived Tuesday afternoon ... had MAJOR trouble with the hotel ... they had us down for a King size bed room and it was supposed to be a two bed room ... FINALLY got that resolved (they were sold out - reason being for so much trouble) ... but because it was the Manager of the hotel who reserved our room over a month ago ... they made some provision and "found a room for us" ... =)
THEN ... they also knew ... that I had to check in early due to being on staff for the event at the Fox Theatre ... Once again ... trouble checking in early ...
Okay ... so by this point ... I'm stressing ever so slightly ...
FINALLY got in our room ... with enough time to grab a bite to eat, get dressed and head across the street to the Fox Theatre.
We stayed at the Indigo Hotel ... very nice ... known for their "Spa like" hotel/rooms ... hardwood floors and art work displayed throughout ...
On our way out the door ... the Paparazzi was hiding behind a pole and started snapping pictures like crazy when we came out the door ... we were laughing SO hard ... they just knew that Paula Deen would be coming out any minute and they didn't want to miss anything! ha! They also probably hit "delete" like crazy when they found out it was just us! ... too funny!
So ... because the theatre was closed, we had to go through a back door, up 3 flights of steps and through the kitchen to get to "the event"! Whew! It was like something you would see on TV in a movie! Everything was SO surreal ...
As soon as we got there (3:30) things started moving pretty quickly as far as getting my instructions on what to photograph before hand, etc ...
Paula was to arrive at 4pm to start shooting photogaphs with the sponsors ...
WELL ... the airport lost her luggage ... and it arrived late ... which put everything behind schedule and people running around like mad!
About 4:30 I was asked to go back to the hotel (Paula stayed at Indigo Hotel as well) ... and wait for her to come out. She finally came down stairs about 5:00 ... (in the meantime - my sugar dropped ... I had nothing to treat it ... so I ordered orange juice and they let me put it on my tab since I didn't have any money on me) ... was in the middle of drinking it when she came out ... Oh my goodness ... my camera wasn't on, flash wasn't fired up, etc ... panic mode for a minute!
I got a few pictures and then we walked across the street to the Fox Theatre ... went in a side door ... got on an elevator ... and the guy that was with us was so excited, accidentally opened the opposite door of the elevator by mistake and everyone waiting in the lobby saw us and started screaming! Too funny ... they shut the door quick!
Once we got upstairs things started moving very fast ... LOTS of pictures to take and they all had to be done before 6:00pm ... that's when the dinner started.
They had promised me that LeAnna would get private time with Paula Deen prior to the dinner ... that's why she went at 3:30 when I did ... hair all curled up, dress ironed ... looking pretty as a peach ...
Well ... because of Paula's delay (beyond her control) ... LeAnna didn't get her private time ... and boy I was getting nervous ...
She kept asking to see her ... I kept telling her in a minute ... then finally had to tell her afterwards she could meet her ...
So ...
The event went well ... one of the top executive chefs for the Southeastern region was there and did the cooking (from Los Angeles) ... along with Paula's husband Michael (who helped cook) ... while Paula talked ... they are SO funny together ... we laughed just about the whole time!
I stood at the edge of the set/stage to get pictures and Paula was standing right beside me a lot of the time and would look over and talk to me ... when I stopped and thought about it, it was a bit overwhelming ...
At one point ... I put me camera down to my side and stood there .... it was SO surreal ...
I've always watched her on TV ... and to actually be right there beside her and communicating with her was just NUTS!
Her husband, Michael ... is the sweetest thing ... he walked with me, talked to me ... at one point put his arm around me, held my hand ... like I was "supposed" to be right there, doing what I was doing and that I was a part of their family! It was NUTS!!!! I was thinking ... this doesn't make sense! Oh My Goodness .... and just knowing I just watched them on TV when they went to Paris, France and did a show! We even talked about that! It was crazy!
Okay ... so ... Michael said LeAnna was a gorgeous doll ... (he interacted with her before the event ... he got to see her hair all rolled up and dress un-wrinkled)
SO ... almost to the end of the event ... LeAnna couldn't take it any longer ... she fell asleep ... I was dying ... knowing I still hadn't got pictures of her with Paula Deen and knowing this was to be a part of her birthday party ... I was just dying!
So ... afterwards ... they sent Paula and Michael out to the staircase outside the Egyptian ballroom where the event took place, and greeted each person as they left ... I was SO dying - thinking I wasn't going to get any pictures with LeAnna ....
They finally told me to bring LeAnna out to get her picture ... we had to wake her up ... we started trying to give her things with sugar in it, to get her awake! Walking around with her, etc ... anything to get her awake! She was sitting in the chair with her eyes closing, with a VERY wrinkled dress, no curls and sweaty from falling asleep! UGH!!!!! When we went to take her out there for pictures, she started crying that she was sleepy ... this is that point where you start promising ANYTHING you can think of! ha!
So ... we got some pictures ...
I was happy that we got that! ... then I was like ... okay ... now I've still got my apron to get signed and I also wanted to see if she would do a video clip of her giving LeAnna a birthday wish ...
She came back in one more time and we slipped in and got her to do it! I was estatic! ... I don't think we would have gotten all that we did if it had happened at the beginning.
So ... all is well that ends well ...
Nana and Granny seemed to really enjoy themselves as well ... it was very special to share this event with them ... although - I worked all evening and only sat down for about 15 minutes to try and eat ... it was still very special.
When we got back to the hotel, Nana and Granny went straight to bed ... I was SO wired I couldn't go to bed! So ... when I FINALLY went to sleep (no telling what time it was), I got woke up with 2 phone calls before 6am (wrong #)!!!!!! UGH!!!!
THEN Nathan calls at 7ish ... he was upset ... he checks our on-line bank account religiously and had found that the hotel we were staying in had put over $1,200 pending on our account!!!! Okay ... so at that point ... I was awake!
Immediately got on the phone with the front desk to try and straighten it out!
To make a VERY long, boring story short ... I ended up paying cash for our room, so they would not have my signature on all that money! yikes!
I even spoke with our bank today and they still have the charges pending ... so we have to keep a close watch on this! Man ....
I've always said ... if it's going to happen ... it's going to find Tammy and "happen"!
There were several other things that happened ... but don't want to bore you with my "boring life"! ha!
All in All ... it was a good thing!
We got to meet Paula Deen ...
Got some really good pictures ...
Got a signed apron for LeAnna to wear to her party ...
And got a video message to LeAnna from Paula for her party too.
What an experience!
I got an email today that I had only a couple of days to submit my pictures ... they will be submitted to the Paula Deen Magazine next week for an upcoming issue ... this is very exciting!
Tomorrow we start our three day weekend at Opryland with Paula Deen as well! I am SO excited that I get to actually "enjoy" this event and not have to work! Fun ... fun!
So ... Happy Thursday as I leave you with this thought ...
"I'm all out of thoughts at this moment" !
... tammy
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