a thousand words

Inside Idol

Last night I finally made it IN to the American Idol taping! Hooray!
It was so. much. fun.

If you've been reading the blog for the past few weeks, you know we were denied a few weeks ago. With priority "turnaway" tickets in hand, we bypassed a lot of waiting around yesterday. By "we" I mean myself, my husband, my brother-in-law and sister-in-law (nikki). Luckily, we were placed standing in "the pit". (boy I like the quotation marks today, don't I?) I was right on the outside edge, with Randy Jackson sitting about two arms lengths away from me.

Highlights for me:
-a handshake from Simon, and a few seconds later from Randy
-a serious hug from Paula (she really likes the fan attention, you can tell)
-Randy telling Morgan he was funny, after Morgan said Simon's critique was on the money
-seeing Rascal Flatts, Carly Smithson, and talking with Idol families
-chatting with Maria, winner of The Shot (a reality photography show that I LOVED!)
-one of the producers asking if we would surround David Archuleta and Jason Castro during a transition. um... yeah!!!! Because of this, we had our 2.3 seconds of fame on national television.

proof:

I enjoyed seeing how everything worked together like a well-oiled machine.

I was the guest blogger over at the Gillespie's blog today. Sara does the Idol recap each week, and she let me help out today. :) So, head on over THERE for lots more detail and a photo from me!!

And if that isn't enough for you... go check out Nikki's recap of the night too.

e, out! :D

ick.

the blog is being neglected. i am achey and sniffly and generally feeling gross. it's all I can do to keep the kids fed and to and from school!

the dailies are being neglected too, I know. i have so many posts swimming around my head, i can't wait to feel 100% again. i want to tell you about my visit with college friends, the silhouettes i created in photoshop, the school days project maryclaire and i tackled, and on and on. see you on the other side of this little bug...
xoxo
e

elizabeth.ttf

I am now legit.

My many years of margin doodling in high school and college, writing random words while chatting on the phone, and a brief stint as a calligrapher, have all paid off!

Instead of using a service (like fontifier) to turn my handwriting into a font, my new talented friend Allie did it for me. Isn't she cool? She also has great taste in blog names. :) I wrote this font with the 1.2mm side of my favorite pen, the ZIG writer.

So, if you want the original "elizabeth" font for your very own... download here:
Download e.ttf

Let me know if you do anything fun with it. I'd love to see me/it in action!

edited to add: HERE is a great link that gives instructions on how to install fonts. Mac and PC directions. If you have problems with the actual download, I can try e-mailing the .ttf file directly to you. Just give me your e-mail address!

word.

there has been lots of talk around the 'net about picking a single word to direct 2008.
this idea may have started on ali edwards' blog. it has received quite the response!

i like the idea of choosing a word, a theme, a mantra.
i spent some time on the looooong drive home from UT last week thinking about the word I might use.
i've decided on...

FOCUS

I tend to be easily distracted. By the phone, the radio, the TV, the internet (anyone else get lost while blog surfing?), and on and on. I'd like to spend this year focusing on what's lasting & important. My husband, my children, my faith, my friends, & my talents. I know I can make some improvements to my life if I choose to focus on these things. I also like that "focus" plays on photography... bonus!

I've made three goals for 2008 with my word in mind:

1. get on the floor (or go outside) and play with the kids daily
2. read scriptures daily
3. get personal photos into memo books & journal them

There are many other things I want/need/have to do this year, but I'll begin by focusing on those 3!

what are you FOCUSed on in 2008?