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« Paul's Extreme Makeover Blog
Season Premiere Week
Hello, Paul DiMeo here. Yeah, the Extreme Makeover: Home Edition designer with the dark glasses who cries a lot. Just call me the carpenter who cares -- in fact, I care so much about the families we help that I'm actually writing a blog!
Isn't a blog some kinda online diary? Ok, here we go:
Dear blog, I'm so happy today! I arrived in Alaska, which means that I've visited all 50 states! (Big smile showing teeth.)
OK -- it's not about me, it's about the family. And we went to North Pole, Alaska, to be the Santa Claus to single mom Betsy and her family of 13. Yes, we met Santa Claus while we were there.
Life at the top of the world hasn't been easy for Betsy. Thirteen people cohabitating in her 900-square foot home without insulation -- not a good situation when the weather can hit 60 below. And it definitely hurts brother Rob, who Betsy took in, along with his three kids, when he was diagnosed with kidney failure.
This truly was an "extreme build." I thought that we'd face blizzards and polar bears, instead we got 22 hours of sunlight. You should try getting shut-eye when it's only dark out for 10 percent of the day. The upside: we could work 24/7! We actually moved the bus at 8 pm (even though it looked like mid-afternoon).
Thank god for Landmark. Homebuilder Dave Miller, his wife, kids and the Landmark team knew exactly what they were doing -- in fact, thousands in the neighborhood pitched in, in Extreme Makeover tradition. We had the neighbors, the builders and the crew working nonstop. People do like Betsy, who touched so many hearts that we got 300 letters nominating her family.
My big projects for the week were working on the football field, doing the Alaska room with Preston for the three littlest kids, and helping the crew mud and tape the drywall. That's right, for those of you who think we are designers in name only, I was drafted by the crew (who could obviously tell I was an expert) to get my hands dirty in the mud. Later in the week, Preston Sharp and I were sent off to a local stream to pan for gold, something everyone must do if you find yourself in Alaska. It started out harmless enough, when I noticed a gleam in Preston's eye... accompanied by a gleam in his pan! It was on: We had caught gold fever. I can see why people got shot in the old days: It got competitive, to say the least.
We both walked away with a little gold dust, but no claim to stake.
After all that hard work, my pal Preston (you know, the guy who is the Encyclopedia of Architecture) and I blew off some steam by taking a road trip 'round God's country, a far cry from the "concrete of L.A.," as Preston calls it. Preston and I met while filming the pilot of Extreme and have been friends ever since. Not only do we share a love of craftsmanship and building, but we also bonded during our many jam sessions.
On this trip, we went fly-fishing (Preston has been trying to teach me for a while) and believe it or not, I actually schooled the old boy by netting the biggest Arctic char. I guess that was my present from Santa Claus.
For more from the North Pole, don't forget to tune in to the season premiere of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, this Sunday, Sept. 24, at 8 pm/ET on ABC.
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Sep 20, 2006 6:49 PM
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Extreme Makeover Home Edition does such great things for good people who really need your help. It's so nice to see.
Keep up the good work. 
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Sep 20, 2006 7:37 PM
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Paul, you've always been my favorite. Because you cry, you care, you seem so real to me. I like Preston too. I might shove the bullhorn down Ty's throat, but I'll skip over all that. Why oh why have I been forced to pick between you and Amazing Race. I hate it!
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Sep 21, 2006 12:03 AM
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Paulie! I was soooo excited to see your blog here! LOVE the show. Whenever you are crying, I'm cryin right along with you. It got to where my daughter would watch ME to see how long it took for the tears. You guys do such amazing things for some really deserving people. Watching the show brings me to realize that when I am down, and think I have it bad... there are SO MANY out there who are worse off. It's so nice to see the help you give them. I miss you whenever you take a week off. I like Ed and Preston, but love seeing you! And Ty is such a cutie. He cracks me up. One of these days I hope to be able to make it to a build in Colorado when you are here.
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Sep 22, 2006 12:50 PM
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Loved the season premier! Betsy and her family seemed truly deserving. Looking forward to your next post. Thanks Paul!
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Sep 26, 2006 3:16 PM
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Thank you, Paul for posting about this episode. I loved hearing about the panning for gold and the fly fishing. I often wonder what you do on your time off. I'm glad that you and Preston are friends. I'm afraid I have a bit of a crush on him. You two have always been my favorites. I know you get teased for crying - but it just means you're sensitive. That's not a bad thing. Keep up the great work. I'll keep watching. Looking forward to the rest of the states!
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Sep 29, 2006 8:51 AM
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Paul,
First of all, I LOOOOVE your show. You guys rock! It's so heartwarming. I cry every week, then I go in to work on Monday and tell my coworkers about it and I cry again just describing it to them! So don't feel bad for crying on camera!
Second of all, I have such a crush on you. You're my favorite. Thanks for doing a blog. I'm looking forward to reading more of them and to seeing you on Sunday nights! Keep fighting the good fight!!
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Sep 29, 2006 5:35 PM
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Hay Paul,
Great to see you got started on a blog, sorta like going from dial-up to DSL or Cable modem, you'll never want to go back!
Anyway great new season so far, know you have had many builds since Lake City, Ga, but it feels not so long ago. I know you remember the cold! Been wanting to thank you for the greet durning the build had no way to contact you. I have posted some pics and video-links on my homepage, check it out http://DaleCrissey.Net
Drop a line sometime mailto:DCrissey@gmail.com
Take care,
Dale, Carla, Sarah, Hannah, Adam, Joseph, Daniel,
The Crissey's
Dale Crissey
Parent/Volunteer
Atlanta Chapter Persident
Cure Autism Now
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Oct 10, 2006 7:56 PM
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