Since I met Kara I thought, "She belongs on Oprah!". Her hair is like no other! I just entered her into a Oprah's LAST makeover search! Please cross your fingers that she ,"and a guest will fly free to Chicago Illinois!"
My submission:
Casper white, blue eyes, heart of gold with a blond fro describes my best friend Kara perfectly. When Oprah announced her final season my first thought was, "Oh no. Kara will never get a shot at normal hair now". I have known in the depths of my heart since I met her we would come to Chicago and she would be one of your stylists best successes. Never have I known a more generous, down to earth, accepting soul. If I called her in the middle of the night and requested $5K immediately her only response back would be, "small or large bills". Honestly, she would do anything for anyone. She would not only give you the shirt off her back but would offer her arms to go with it. Now, her hair. I have never seen anyone else that compares. When I first met her I thought she was just madly stuck in 1988 with a really bad perm and had a rough night with peroxide. Nope. It's real. When it's just washed and dried it looks like a blond version of one a 2ft wide halloween afro wig. She uses half a can of mouse per day in attempts to tame it and has even tried to buy cases directly from the manufacturer she uses so much. Even then it's nuts. She uses a roll of masking tape as a pony tail holder! She can't eat at ethnic restaurants because her hair soaks up the smells so strongly it disrupts public situations elsewhere. It's spectacular and can be a spectacular disaster. We have been friends since 1994 and the reactions I have witnessed vary greatly. People treat her differently and for the most part I find it negative. The amount of money she has spent seeking stylists and purchasing products is unreal. If they have made it, she has owned it. Surely someone has the skill to tackle this mane. If anyone deserves a switch up, it's her. (I took this picture tonight 3/22. It’s only washed and brushed. It is NOT teased or enhanced at all...just not over moussed)
Oprah! We can't wait to be a part of your show! Thank you in advance!
UPDATE
I listened to my voicemail today and discovered I missed a call from Oprah! Well...not her but her show. It went like this, "Hi Hope. This is Megan from Oprah and I would love to talk to you about the submission you sent in regarding your friend Kara. Please call me back." Ahhhh!!!! Of course I did but by the time I heard it with the time difference it was almost 5:00 there. I am hoping they work weird hours and she calls me again today. Oh, how exciting would it be to go? In reality I hope Kara gets picked so that I can come too. Even if I don't get to go I would be thrilled beyond belief if she did! Please hope that this turns out in the best possible way!
UPDATE
4/30/11
First of all Kara really does deserve this. Everything I told them, sent and shared was accurate and honest. I am really proud of that. I didn't want to do any "tap dancing" to get her on. I wanted to tell them what I really thought, felt and the reasons they would miss out on for not picking her. She is really selfless and kind. She also happens to have a nutty mop on her head that she puts 1/2 a can of mousse in a day. To get the chance of a lifetime on a show that is ending at a time in her life that a some new open doors would be appreciated is just cool. Now, it's a bit comical as well. I have actually believed in my heart of hearts for 10 years that I would do this and she would go. SURE of it. I just kept not doing it. At first I didn't because it wasn't right. I didn't want to say, "you need a makeover" because it's usually from a negative humiliating place. It was more like I wanted her to have the opportunity of a makeover for the chance to have some options with her hair and an experience to cherish. It just never felt right. When Oprah announced this year was it my first thought to myself, "you stupid procrastinator you screwed up by waiting so long!". I went on the website that day but there were no "upcoming shows" that would fit. Now, with only 6 weeks left of 25 years I ran across a link that led me to a link that led me to the entry page. I told Kara I was entering and needed to do it ASAP because it was the last chance. She came over on her way home, brushed her hair and I took a few pic's. Her hair was NOT assisted. Picked or brushed it's huge and crazy. The only way to tame it is with enormous amounts of products. I understand but wish it wasn't the case because it's more of a burden for her that fun. It's also been the source of a lot of pain. What she really needed were resources and help. Who better to bring in the big guns that Oprah!
There has actually been a lot of "action" between my last update and tonight. Tons of phone calls and emails. However, I had to keep it secret. We ended up talking for about 40 minutes after my update the call on 4/12/11. I told them why I thought Kara deserved this and answered all the questions they had. She said they needed pictures and needed them that night. I went out to her house and snagged a good stack. For hours I tried to send them but they weren't going through so I made a little slideshow and uploaded it via YouTube instead. I She said she would share them with her team and get back to me early the following week. She didn't. No one called the following week either so I figured it was over. I kept trying to convince myself that just getting the call was super fun and honestly putting together the slideshow was worth it to me. I did have a ball. She told me they loved everything but then didn't call. I finally got a call Wednesday this past week with more questions and requests for more specific photos. I called her husband for help and sent them in Thursday. I was on my 3rd Oprah employee (Brian, Producer) by Thursday afternoon when they told me they had made a final decision to include her in the Oprah Final Season Final Dream Makeover Show. What's weird is as soon as he called I recognized his voice. I had just watched an Oprah episode that he was on. I have been way behind and have 25 recorded (Matt loves that). When I watched it there was something about him that really stuck with me. He shared an emotional story but it was way more than that. I had watched that show maybe 3 days before and thought of him many times. I prayed for him the day I watched the recording because of it. I knew right away it was him. It was a shock that I would be going to. Honestly I was only hoping I would be included in some way. Had Kara gotten to go alone I still would have been ecstatic! Being given the chance to go along is just awesome. I felt it was no accident he was the one that called.He said they wanted to come here "Saturday" to do a surprise. "Saturday? Like the day after tomorrow?" Wow! He gave me some additional details and we discussed possible surprises. I barely slept. I went to bed just excited and fine but somewhere in the night that totally changed! I freaked! On Friday he called and gave me the exact plan. It was totally different than what I had thought was going to happen. In that rundown he said, "We will come to your house first to film your part and then you will take us to her house and film there". My house! What!!!! Are you kidding? This is following a conversation 10 minutes prior in which I told Matt I would rather burn it down than clean it again. Crap! I had just seen a cartoon a few days prior that mother frustrated and not motivated to clean. She then gets up and heads to the phone. Her son asks who she is calling and she answers, "someone influential". Ha! I can relate. If I really need motivation to clean I plan a party. I did not expect to live it on such a grand scale only days later. Seriously! Nothing like getting you in super-hyper-scub-mode like a visit from a National TV Show let alone The Oprah Show. Well, it's clean. Come see it while it lasts! That should give you about an hour! Hurry. Anyway, my anxiety went from high to off the charts with that additional detail. I had no idea what they intended to do here but we wanted to be prepared. Matt and I were superhero's! I had no idea what they meant when they said they would shoot my part. I do now! They showed up here and briefed me on the plan, put a microphone on me and asked several questions. We then drove to Kara's house in which they recorded me driving. That was interesting. I said, "I am having a hard time just sitting still and looking ahead". The camera man replied, "I see that". That made it a lot easier! Ha! I could feel one lip quivering so I am sure that's going to turn out great. Once we got there they shot me driving down the road, pulling into the driveway, walking up to the house... I thought that would be the extent. Me involved but just quick little clips. It wasn't. I talked for the next 4 hours with a camera 12 inches from my face. He was shorter than me too so most of it I am certain was up my nose! We shot all types of sequences and things so I will leave those details a mystery until airing. A few of their ideas really threw me for a loop so I pray I did Kara justice. I wish I had known sooner what my portion entailed but it coming as a surprise I think may have transformed me into a nincompoop. The whole experience is still surreal. I feel like I am making it up. I am now in a different zone than I was on Thursday and Friday. I am nervous in a whole new way. What did I say??????????? I have no idea anymore. I am thinking of tons of things I wish I had said, a few come to mind I really wish I had NOT said and the rest is a blur. My hunch is 4 hours of tape is going to boil down to 11 seconds but who knows. I hope it's longer for the sake of all that was involved but I am genuinely concerned about the freak show I put on. I really wanted to be myself but it wasn't coming out right. I think if I had known I was going to do that I could have put on an actors hat and prepared myself differently. I don't like what I see in video when I am just normal. I can't imagine what it's going to be like when I know I was weird. They kept saying, "that was perfect...got it...good job" but I am not so sure. I was talking in circles as fast or faster than normal and had some wild hair after the outside windy portion. At one point my stomach growled. Normally no one would notice that but I had a microphone in my bra. I asked them if they heard it in their headsets, they did. I am sure they heard my heart POUNDING OUT OF MY CHEST as well. They made me stare directly into the camera the entire time. I warned them about my freaky eye but I am not sure they were listening. I am really glad that I get to see it before everyone else see's it so I know whether or not we should move!!!!!!! In the end Kara came in, was totally caught off guard and is really excited. It hadn't fully hit her when I left her house but I am sure it will at 2:00am tonight! We fly to Chicago Wednesday morning, she will be separated from me Thursday morning and I won't see her again until Friday morning. I will be carted off to a different hotel Thursday night so I don't see what has been done. She will be finished Friday morning and then the show will tape later in the morning. During the show she will apparently be revealed to me. It's also going to include clothes. That night we will be on a plane back. I really would have been alright with a buddy pass on the plane and a ticket to the audience. I had no idea today would go down as it did and that I would be part of the reveal. I am so excited, so nervous, so confused, so so so grateful I don't know where to begin. My favorite part of today was Kara's comment as it started to soak in right when I was leaving. She said, "Man. I should shave my legs". I wish I could be a fly on her wall when it finally hits her!
This is Patrick giving me the run down. He had an amazing energy about him. He flew in the night before from New York and at the end of the day was going to drive to Phoenix so he could fly to Chicago in the morning. He is sweet, kind, funny and really real. I don't know what I expected but not that. He made me far calmer than I had been which helped a lot. Otherwise, I may have needed a diaper :) Ha! One thing I have certainly discovered so far is that her employees work their hearts out for her!
