i was on a reality tv show this summer. and survived.

Yep, it�s true! In July, I appeared on Come Dine With Me Canada, the Canadian version of the hit UK television show Come Dine With Me � a dinner party competition series.



The premise: each night for one week, our zany and wacky fivesome (more on them later) took turns cooking up our idea of the perfect evening � including the menu, cocktails, wine, entertainment and ambiance. After dinner, each of us would rate the host�s performance and at the end of the week, the host with most votes is crowned the winner and rewarded with the �ultimate dinner party host� title and a cash prize.

The week of filming was one of the most intense of my life. I felt as if I was living in some surreal crazy town. It was beyond anything I had ever experienced in my life. By the end of the five days, I was utterly exhausted and ready to never lay eyes on the other participants again (this has since changed). Heh.



I was the third of our fivesome to host. My menu consisted of an elderflower cocktail as the welcome drink, shrimp bruschetta and ogoniok as the appetizer, baked halibut with chimichurri as the main course, and a berry pavlova with double raspberry sauce for dessert.  I thought I did a fantastic job and was proud of my evening. God only knows what the others had to say. Yikes.

The others were the oddest group of dining companions; Brett, the 29-year-old liquor salesman/actor, 31-year-old Jana � a stay-at-home mom and tanning salon owner, 42-year-old Barbara � a communications manager of a non-profit organization and Philippe, the 48-year-old great grandson of the French painter Renoir. The hilarity that ensued with our zany quintet is a producer�s dream. Although, I saw things I can't unsee, I also can't remember the last time I laughed that hard.



You can watch the 5 back-to-back episodes on Monday, October 29 beginning at 8:30 p.m. MT (7:30 p.m. ET) on the W Network.  I'll be watching at an airing party (fancy schmancy!) with my family and friends plus the other participants and their peeps. Should be a riot!

Until the show airs, you can check out my audition video (& pics) on the Come Dine with Me Canada Facebook page.  Um, it�s real interesting. (;

Wondering why the heck I did this? This article in the Edmonton Journal does a good job explaining.

p.s. Scotty and I just got back from NYC. We had a blast and took over 1,000 pictures! Blog post to come later as soon as I get my act together. Thanks to everyone who suggested things for us to see and do. You guys rock!