Okay, so this is the guy…and he looks very, very happy.
Dammit!
I didn’t really expect to win the HGTV 2006 Dream Home — hoping’s more like it — but, I don’t believe I was even half as disappointed as my kids were!
We entered (along with 53 million other people) the contest,toured the house about a hundred times, and even had our bedrooms picked out as we truly thought, “this house was made for us!”
And as we gathered together to watch the HGTV Giveaway Saturday night, the kids huddled close together on the couch — along with the two cats and the dog — and my husband and I watched as they crossed…well…everything they possibly could…and listened to the names of the winners read throughout the show.
“C’mon…say our name…say our name…winning $10,000 would be so cewl!”
Nothing.
“C’mon…$20,000 would be so much better!”
Nope.
“C’mon…$30,000…we gotta win this time!”
Nada.
“Okay…we get one more shot…and winning $100,000 would be DA-BOMB!”
Was a dud.
And I swear I thought I heard their faces hit the floor…at the same time…and truth be told, my heart actually skipped a beat. Because, in my mind’s eye, I was already doing the happy dance in anticipation of screaming along with the kids:
“WE’RE FINALLY GOING TO DISNEY WORLD!”
Needless to say, we’re staying put this summer – but, I printed Mellie’s post anyway, because the happiest place in the world’s going to have to wait for us…a little while longer – and I shrugged my shoulders as I smiled at my husband and asked the kids:
“So, who do you want to win the house?”Â
They really couldn’t decide and it didn’t help that the three finalists were so…well…let’s just say it would have been easier for us to shout:
“THAT’S OUR DREAM HOUSE, YOU BIG JERK!”
If the HGTV 2006 Dream Home Grand Prize Winner didn’t seem so gosh-darned deserving, not to mention likeable!
[jumping on couch and fighting for clicker]
“Phew…thank goodness that’s over…now mom and dad can get back to fixing this place up…seeing as we don’t have to move…or sell the house, right away…see if Sponge Bob’s still on!?!”
[eyes go wide]
“You’re selling our house!?!”
“But, I don’t wanna move!”
“Yah…I wike my woom…I wike my swings…and I don’t wanna move…ever-never!”
Thank goodness for that (and Sponge Bob) because I’ve seen enough of what my friends have gone through (not to mention moving my parents out their house last October) to ever want to have to pack our large crew up, let alone out!
[doing the math that sends shivers up and down my spine]
Good luck with my your dream house — because I’ve just finished sending my first entry into The HGTV Big Back Yard Splash Sweepstakes (May 1 – May 31, 2006) to win a trip for two to Hawaii (I hear it’s nice this time of year) and that $100,000 prize — you know, to create my very own backyard paradise — is soooo mine!!!!
I can almost taste it, I swear!
Ah, well — all sour grapes aside — the way the hubs and I see it, there’s nothing wrong with dreaming of something better, as long as we remember to wake up and smell…the dirty laundry!
Because — in this full house of grubby little hands, grass-stained knees and schmutz-filled faces — happiness is…a bunch of empty hampers and a laundry line filled with freshly washed jeans.
Besides, there’s always next time — and I hear Colorado is lovely around this time of year!Â
Comments
24 responses to “Wake Up And Smell The Dirty Laundry!”
Gee, I didn’t win either. But I’ll try that link for the Hawaii thing — now that’s a place I’ve never been!
Gee, I didn’t win either. But I’ll try that link for the Hawaii thing — now that’s a place I’ve never been!
Yeah, I entered the Dream Home contest every day as well. But I knew there was no way we could afford to live there (the taxes on that prize are due almost immediately and run in the hundreds of thousands). But I planned on walking through the house and handpicking the furniture/stuff I wanted to keep, then putting the house on the market for a quick flip. With all proceeds from the sale of the house I was planning on building a truly custom *ME* house in South Carolina. Oh well. Next year!
Yeah, I entered the Dream Home contest every day as well. But I knew there was no way we could afford to live there (the taxes on that prize are due almost immediately and run in the hundreds of thousands). But I planned on walking through the house and handpicking the furniture/stuff I wanted to keep, then putting the house on the market for a quick flip. With all proceeds from the sale of the house I was planning on building a truly custom *ME* house in South Carolina. Oh well. Next year!
I didn’t win 30 million in the lottery over the weekend either. I think it’s because I forgot to buy a ticket. Better luck next time!
I didn’t win 30 million in the lottery over the weekend either. I think it’s because I forgot to buy a ticket. Better luck next time!
We always enter the dream house (and by ‘We’ of course I mean my wife) and haven’t won, either.
The person who won last year (05? the one in Texas) baffled us:
first of all it was on a lake in Texas. Mosquito hell, even if it was a nice house, and in the middle of nowhere (which, now that gas is $3.00 a gallon, means grocery shopping is not much fun)
second, the person who won it could not afford to pay the property taxes, so they proposed that they rent out the boathouse (lake, remember?) to somebody to help them pay.
But the homeowners association or city or somebody said NO. You CAN’T RENT IT OUT. It was against the rules. So I think they had to sell the place just so they could pay the taxes on what they won.
Isn’t that sick?
We always enter the dream house (and by ‘We’ of course I mean my wife) and haven’t won, either.
The person who won last year (05? the one in Texas) baffled us:
first of all it was on a lake in Texas. Mosquito hell, even if it was a nice house, and in the middle of nowhere (which, now that gas is $3.00 a gallon, means grocery shopping is not much fun)
second, the person who won it could not afford to pay the property taxes, so they proposed that they rent out the boathouse (lake, remember?) to somebody to help them pay.
But the homeowners association or city or somebody said NO. You CAN’T RENT IT OUT. It was against the rules. So I think they had to sell the place just so they could pay the taxes on what they won.
Isn’t that sick?
I didn’t win either. sigh.
I didn’t win either. sigh.
Recently, a discussion was had about the possibility of selling our house and purchasing my mother’s house, at some point in the future.
LatteGirl, hearing this said, “No, we can not move. I love it hear. Love IT! It is only here that I can be as happy as I am now!” (At just shy of 6 I sometimes wonder if they used to watch Soap Operas at her daycare, with some of the dramatic ways she states things).
That sentence, as dramatic as it is, was enough for me to feel like I was a prize winner. After all, despite attributing it to “the house,” she pointed out exactly how happy a child she is. And that can always make me happy.
Recently, a discussion was had about the possibility of selling our house and purchasing my mother’s house, at some point in the future.
LatteGirl, hearing this said, “No, we can not move. I love it hear. Love IT! It is only here that I can be as happy as I am now!” (At just shy of 6 I sometimes wonder if they used to watch Soap Operas at her daycare, with some of the dramatic ways she states things).
That sentence, as dramatic as it is, was enough for me to feel like I was a prize winner. After all, despite attributing it to “the house,” she pointed out exactly how happy a child she is. And that can always make me happy.
My stepbrother owns a concrete company in Texas and his company poured the concrete for the HG house in Texas…..it was gorgeous! I didn’t even enter this year…though that backyard contest looks pretty sweet! 😉
My stepbrother owns a concrete company in Texas and his company poured the concrete for the HG house in Texas…..it was gorgeous! I didn’t even enter this year…though that backyard contest looks pretty sweet! 😉
I already live in my dream home and I suppose that you do too! ;~)
I already live in my dream home and I suppose that you do too! ;~)
I’d settle for movie tickets and night out at this point. We never win a.n.y.t.h.i.n.g. over here 🙂
I’d settle for movie tickets and night out at this point. We never win a.n.y.t.h.i.n.g. over here 🙂
I didn’t win either.
Quite possibly because I didn’t enter.
Every time we think about moving, the thought of getting the house ready to sell scares the idea right out of me!
I didn’t win either.
Quite possibly because I didn’t enter.
Every time we think about moving, the thought of getting the house ready to sell scares the idea right out of me!
Awww, but did you have fun dreaming about it?
Awww, but did you have fun dreaming about it?
I enter every year, too! Dammit…some day I WILL LIVE IN MY DREAM HOME. And I’m so entering their backyard contest. Goin’ there right now sister. Thanks for the scoop.
I enter every year, too! Dammit…some day I WILL LIVE IN MY DREAM HOME. And I’m so entering their backyard contest. Goin’ there right now sister. Thanks for the scoop.