Hardy Highlights : Ellen!

     I have the most fun friend in the world! Her name is Ronelle Cannon and she has pulled me out of my introverted comfort zone to do some really fun things. Most recently, she got tickets to the Ellen Degeneres Show and gave one to me! She just amazes me how she is always living life to the fullest, finding fun things to do. I never would have even thought to apply for tickets to be in the studio audience of Ellen. But Ronelle did so I got to have the fun experience of going with her and two other fun ladies, Becky Trimble from 4th ward and Ronelle's sister-in-law, Jennifer Cannon.
     We went to see Ellen on September 24. The taping started at 4pm so we were supposed to arrive by 2pm. We got there at 1:30 and it was already VERY crowded! We had guaranteed tickets so that wasn't a concern, but by the time we did get in, we didn't get the best seats. We weren't too far from the front but we were in these side seats and the cameras didn't really point our way. Basically it meant that we didn't get to be on TV. We haven't had a satelite dish or cable for a few years and even before that I rarely watched TV at that time of day (right when the kids come home from school and start their homework). So even though I think Ellen is very funny, I hadn't seen her show for years. I had no idea how much dancing there was!! It wasn't so bad physically even though I was about 7 months pregnant. But the introvert in me wasn't terrible excited about dancing it up in front of tons of strangers. But they play some fun music that helps you get past it all. :)
     Ellen was hilarious, of course. One thing that was different for our taping was that the music guests, No Doubt, weren't able to be there that day so they had been taped the weekend before. So our taping was much shorter. We saw two guests. A little girl from a show I don't watch so I don't remember who she is, and Zooey Deschanel. I also don't watch Zooey's new show (pretty much everything on TV these days is inappropriate) but I really liked her on the movie 'Elf.' Because our taping ended early, Ellen stayed and chatted with the studio audience for about 20-30 minutes. She opened it up like a question/answer session. She never disappoints with her humor but she also impressive just as a really sweet person. There was a disabled girl in her audience and Ellen told her that she was inspired by people like her who are able to stay positive even in the midst of great trials.
     On the way home we ate dinner at Claim Jumpers, which was a first for me. SO yummy! We stopped at one fun store because it was right next door, but then we headed back to our families. It's always fun to just get out with the girls for a little while, but I am always so excited to get back to my sweet husband and babies. Thanks to my mom for helping with the kids so I could go on this fun adventure!