I won! I won!

YAY! The Wheel was fantastic and oh-so-kind. I was paired with two super competitors for my stint on Wheel of Fortune, Satara (who ended up being the big winner) and an incredibly tall man we deemed Big Ben. He stood at a smooth six feet eight inches. Yikes. Mike and I arrived late afternoon on Wednesday and spent the night being a married couple. For those of you who get to do this often, I envy you. For those of you who never take this time, please do so soon. My husband really is awesome..and hot, which is always helpful. We have not been on an airplane without children in nine years, so you can imagine our delight when we just got to sit and watch those people chasing their kids through the airport. It was a pleasant way to begin our trip. After taking the shuttle to our hotel, we focused our night on holding hands, stealing kisses and eating dinner at cozymel's..oh and reviewing the 5 pages of information our cabbie gave us concerning our certain damnation for the meat filled diet we consume and (this doesn't really apply) our overly effeminate/homosexual ways. The next morning was the Wheel. I woke up a million times in the night, which put a crimp in my plans to sleep like a nyquil commercial promises, and finally gave in at 4:11 in the AM. I was too giddy. I showered, read my Bible, and took my time getting dressed. It was still only 6 (the original setting on my alarm clock :/)I kissed the man goodbye and prayed extra that I wouldn't get raped on the way to the studio by a crazed cabbie. All was well. God loves me like that. I wasn't the first to arrive and I made friends with all the other drunk-on-happiness contestants. We were ushered in to a secured green room and entertained between briefings and practice rounds. I seriously felt like I was at Wheel bootcamp. Those people take their jobs reeeeaaly seriously! When it came time to tape my show, I was over the top with happiness. I won a toss up, called some really stupid letters, and still managed to leave winning a little over 8k and 1000 bucks in movies! HOW GREAT IS THAT!?! The two most memorable parts of my show were when I introduced my husband as Hot Lips Hoolahan, but gave Pat permission to just call him Mike, and teasing my competition who had just won a Mexican cruise...apparently to Mexico. The screen to the left of us displayed our winnings throughout the game. Because she won the cruise during a prize puzzle, her label read PP Mexican. You better believe I congratulated her on winning a PP Mexican about a hundred times in the following 15 minutes! Crack me right up. She ended up being the big winner, but I was incredibly grateful.. I was unable to solve the bonus puzzle and she was. She won 25,000 smackers in addition to her.... PP Mexican. The rest of our trip was equally as fantastic, sharing our time with my mom, sister, and close friend who all flew in to see me play. My husband bought me the greatest hat and we chatted it up over margaritas (virgin for me, the lightweight) and guacamole! Goodstuff. When we arrived home on Friday morning, our super great friends agreed to keep the kids a little longer so Hot Lips and I could go Christmas shopping. That was a perfect way to slide back into real life. I am so grateful for my time with The Man and God blessing us so incredibly through this show. I owe so many of you! Thanks ;)