Remember how I won the Ultimate CBS Experience back in August to see the CBS comedy MOM? Well last week, my mom and I flew to L.A. and truly had the Ultimate CBS Experience!
My CBS Comedy MOM Experience – What Do I Begin?
Where do I begin when I win a free trip to L.A., when I receive expense money to spend, when I get VIP tickets to the hottest CBS shows, and when I get to bring my mom with me for this amazing CBS adventure?
How do I begin to put into words my last four days with my Mom?
- Do I talk about the amazing mom/daughter quality time we had?
- Do I talk about VIP seating and how much fun it is to be a VIP?
- Do I talk about all of the priceless mom/daughter photos we took when we are in L.A.?
- Do I talk about climbing Mount Hollywood with my mom? Seeing the Hollywood sign? Looking at the gorgeous views of L.A. from the Griffith Observatory?
- Do I talk about Hotel Amarano? About how luxurious the hotel was? How we had our coffee every morning overlooking the pool? How we were living the life of luxury?
For the last four days, I have been living the dream thanks to CBS. Thank you CBS, Beth Feldman, Beth Rosen, and MJ Tam for sending me (and my mom) out to L.A. for this once-in-a-lifetime unbelievable + unforgettable experience.
Here’s my recap.
Day #1…
On Wednesday, September 18, my mom and I flew from Chicago out to L.A.
We then sat in typical L.A. traffic for two hours to get to our hotel in Burbank.
Once we finally arrived at our beautiful hotel, we quickly dropped off our luggage and headed straight to Warner Bros. Studios where we saw the taping of Mike and Molly.
We were in somewhat of a travel daze by the time we got to the set of Mike and Molly.
We had VIP front row seats.
One by one, the cast came out. We cheered. Then they started taping.
I’ve never seen Mike and Molly before but the episode that we watched was hilarious.
I didn’t realize how long it took to tape one episode. The taping started at 6:30 and it lasted until at least 10pm (which was 12am my time and 1am my mom’s time). After the taping, we headed back to the hotel.
Mom Confession: It was super fun being in the hotel room with no kids to put to bed.
Day #2…
I woke up to silence. No kids wanting food or begging me to be on screen.
We leisurely walked to Starbucks across the street to pick up coffee and breakfast. Then we headed back to the hotel and ate breakfast by the pool.
Next, we walked back to Warner Bros. Studios for a VIP set visit of the new CBS comedy Mom, which also included a Q&A session with the cast.
We watched some behind-the-scenes taping of Mom with other parenting and lifestyle bloggers and had a delicious lunch.
Next, we actually went on to the set and had a very intimate Q&A session with Anna Faris, Allison Janney, Sadie Calvano, and producer Gemma Baker.
They were all so sweet, so kind, and so down-to-earth. Click here to read all the details about my set visit and Q&A with the cast.
After the Q&A, my mom and I headed over to The Burbank Studios to watch the taping of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. It was fun, but since we were not VIP, it required a lot of standing around and waiting before we were seated. Seeing The Tonight Show was interesting, but it definitely was not the highlight of my trip.
After The Tonight Show, we went to Universal CityWalk, which is an entertainment, dining and shopping destination just outside of Universal Studios. We walked around, grabbed a bite to eat, and did a little shopping.
Then we headed back to the hotel where (I am proud to say) I fell asleep early and had 12 long overdue hours of sleep.
Mom Confession: It was so great to go to bed and wake up without kids. It was amazing just having me time at the hotel.
Day #3…
We had most of Friday free, since we didn’t have to be on the set of Mom until 5pm.
We didn’t want to do the touristy stuff, so we decided to spend the day at Griffith Park and walk part of the Mt. Hollywood trail. It was beautiful (a little overcast) but still beautiful. We were on the top of L.A. looking down into the valley and into the city.
Then we walked back to Warner Bros. Studios for the taping of the new CBS comedy Mom. We had VIP seats again and enjoyed every minute of the taping.
Day #4…
All good things must come to an end. Saturday morning we headed to LAX and flew back to Chicago. My mom was able to stay the night in Chicago, so we went out to dinner and had game night with my boys. It was a perfect ending to my trip.
On Sunday morning I dropped off my mom at the airport and realized I was back in reality. Clothes needed to be washed, kids needed to get to soccer, launches needed to be made for Monday.
But my memories of my Ultimate CBS Experience will last forever.
Thank you again CBS for your amazing hospitality (and for gifting me this amazing trip).
Join Me Tonight for the Premiere of Mom!
The Mom fun doesn’t end here. Tonight is the premiere of Mom (9:30pm ET/8:30pm CT). I’ll be live tweeting during the show tonight with the cast of Mom. Be sure to follow tweets from the cast…
Anna Faris: @AnnaKFaris
Allison Janney: @AllisonBJanney
Sadie Calvano: @sadiecalvano
Nate Corddry: @imnatecorddry
French Stewart: @FrenchStewart
Also follow @MOMCBS and @CBSTweet.
I hope you’ll join us.
http://www.cbs.com/shows/mom/