You Guessed It: A Guest (and a Contest too)

(Me practicing my surprise face. Still working on it.)

SURPRISE!!

Yes, I am the surprise. I hope you weren't expecting one of Michele's fabulous recipes, or a visiting celebrity like Sean Connery or Michael Bolton. If you were, you might be feeling a bit disappointed. I have, truth be told, graced the cover of People magazine on occasion, but that's neither here nor there. Actually, it's here and here. But I digress.

I am writing with some surprise news, shared here on Nephron News at the gracious invitation of Michele---whose blog always (1) makes me hungry or (2) makes me want to go watch the sunset. This entry will do neither of those things, but it might win you $18,000.

And that, for once, is no exaggeration.

At this very moment, I am one of ten finalists competing in a NATIONAL CONTEST to win my mortgage paid for a full year. The challenge was to submit a video to home builder Taylor Morrison on the topic of "homemade memories," and, feeling inspired, I immediately set out and hired some talent...

... and a good director.


Oh no wait---that's me and my family. We're the only people I could find who would deliver Academy Award performances for less than $20 million. Fortunately, I was able to pay in graham crackers, which is always a plus.

Anyway, the final winner will be determined by VOTE, so I am asking all of you---and anyone else in your household age 21 and up---to please vote for our movie!! In case our Academy level performances aren't enough to inspire you, here's another incentive: Everyone who votes will be entered into a drawing to win an identical prize---your mortgage or rent paid for one year! Seriously, folks. That's a whole lotta graham crackers.

To vote, CLICK THIS LINK and vote for "Week 2: Memories Made from Scratch" (second from the left). The voting period ends at 11:59 p.m. on August 31, so don't delay! Our video is currently in FIRST PLACE, but anything can happen between now and then! If you blog, please blog this. If you Facebook, please Facebook this. If you Twitter, please Tweet, and if you are in the habit of shouting things off rooftops, please shout this: "VOTE FOR WEEK 2!"

And while you're there, you might as well watch the sunset. I'm hoping Michele will fix us a snack.

THANKS!