Introducing....

 ELPHIE!!

Have you heard of elf on the shelf? I heard of it a year or two ago and I SOOO wanted one. It might be a little (a lot) strange that I wanted one but I love things like that so whatever. I found a deal at barnes and nobel where the girl elf on the shelf was $14 as opposed to $30. So I snatched that Elf on the shelf right up. 

I named her Elphie. Her namesake is Elphaba from Wicked :). I thought Elphie was fitting since she is an elf. 

She is mischevious and moves silently from place to place causing  mystery and intrigue everywhere she goes. 

Her first day she ended up riding the antelope I glittered. His name is cantaloupe the antelope.  

Night one found Elphie hanging by her legs drinking syrup straight out of the container. Tisk tisk. Maybe her older brother is Buddy the Elf.

Day 2 we found Elphie Defying Gravity just like Elphaba. She had a broom and cape and was soaring with the coffee filter snowflakes.

Day 3 tonight before bed, I found Elphie on the table making snow angels. Goofy little elf. She also made a very rudimentary snowman.

Please don't judge the fact that I have an elf on the shelf and that I pretend it is magic even though I am the one putting her in these situations, haha. Just pretend I have a 4 year old or something to make it seem less weird.

you're welcome

Helvetica

Last night on Instagram I posted this photo:

                                                                         

I was working on a wedding shower invite for my cousins friend and I randomly took a picture of my screen and posted it just because I can. One of my many IG followers (really I'm super famous on IG) Kristin commented on it and asked what fonts I used. (Perhaps I'll change the invite info. and post the completed invitation someday too).

I have a confession. I am in love with fonts. I don't care who knows it. I don't care if it's a sans font or an un-sans font they are (almost) all wonderful. Comic Sans is not wonderful and I will flick your earlobes with all the strength my double jointed fingers can muster if I catch you using it.

Confession, the first thing I did when I got my laptop was google fonts and downloaded about 80.

To commemorate my love of fonts, and my ever growing collection I decided to do one of those little fonts I love things that are all the rage right now. At least in my digital font loving world.

Disclaimer: I am at work doing this on my laptop so I don't have photo shop. I made this in word then took a screen shot so it's not great quality but it's the best I can do tonight.

I didn't want to find the sources of these fonts, I literally just google them and download them as I find them. They are all FREE.I really wish blogger would get some better fonts. I actually like all the fonts they have it would be fun to have a few more options #firstworldproblems.

Anywhooo here it is:

 

This does not even begin to scratch the surface of my favorite fonts. But it will have a suffice for now whilst I am without photo shop.

PS: Kristin, the fonts I used in the first photo are- DK Suco De Laranda, Janda Stylish Script (it's also the font I used for the 'my favorite fonts' title), Simon Script, and Baskerville? That last one that says Fredrick was changed and I didn't save the file on my laptop.

The Janda fonts are all great, for some reason they didn't make it on here so perhaps I'll have to do another one.

I < 3 fonts

just for fun found via pinterest

 it's really true, even using a san serif font wouldn't look as official

if the world ran on comic sans.....

You did what?

I get made fun of a lot in my family. I admit I do/try some pretty quirky things that probably warrant that teasing but still....

One time I bought Main and Tail shampoo/conditioner. The kind they use on horses. Someone told me it would make my hair shiny like a horses mane. It didn't. When I went to the local feed store to buy it, I had to pretend I owned a horse so I bought other horse related items to make it seem 'legit'. That's embarrassing.

One time I put mayonnaise in my hair because someone told me it would make it shiny. It didn't. And it was disgusting.

One time I rinsed my hair out with vinegar to make it shiny. It didn't. I just walked around smelling like Easter all day.

One time I beat up an egg and spread it all through out my hair to make it shiny. Guess what? It didn't. That was the worst one I think.

One time I used coconut oil in my hair just to make it softer/hydrate it. It worked but it was messy and made my hair greasy for a day or two.

One time I made up this concoction of the following: 1 t. apple cider vinegar, 1 t. glycerine, 1 beaten egg, 2 T of castor oil. Mix the first two ingredients then add the others and mix well.

Next, try not to gag and saturate your hair with the mixture (it makes your hair really stiff and difficult to comb through so be sure to brush your hair before you start). I tried using one of those hair coloring brushes but my hands worked better. If you're hair is longer than your shoulders I would probably double the batch (I will next time, half my hair was still dry-ish when I ran out). Then I put one of those plastic granny caps on and wrapped it turban style with a towel (is that politically correct?) and let it sit on my hair for 2 hours. Ya....kind of embarrassing but whatever.
After two hours I hopped in the shower to wash that gunk out. I shampooed it twice and conditioned once then ran my hair under the tub faucet for a few minutes after I was done to make sure it all got out.

Then I blew it dry and it wasn't even that crazy!! Usually my hair is frizzy and poofy but after using this stuff it's a little smoother and lots softer. You're supposed to do this 2x a week for 1 month then just once or twice a month after that.

I still need to get a cut/trim at some point but for now this will help a bit.

Chapped

Do you suffer from dry cracked lips and/or heels this time of year? Does your face get so dry it hurts and does your hair develop a brittle texture?

No? Oh. 

I guess it's just me then. On Monday I felt the dreaded heel pain by the time I got off from work, I couldn't even step on that heel without wincing in pain and I could feel the other one start to get sore too. I looked at them when I got home and saw that one was close to bleeding (soooo TMI). Yikes. 

I got out my trusty bag balm

Yep, the stuff that was developed for cow udders (see the picture in the red circle?) Well let's just say I don't have cows but I have several of these little tins. I spread this stuff all over my heels and put my socks on, it was almost instant relief.

I occasionally use it on my lips also but I find I like it better for my heels and elbows.

 Have you seen the new Chapstick flavors? I have the apple cider one and I love it. It's a little 'spicy' and feels good on chapped lips. However my lips get so chapped (even when I use chapstick- note overuse of chapstick can cause chapped lips too) that they get swollen and it effects my sleep and when I talk it gets so bad. So that's when I bring in the big guns:

Coconut oil. For some reason this is a miracle product. If you have an ailment I feel like this can cure it (I am not a doctor obviously so this isn't a true statement in case you were confused). I use it on my lips and it's the only thing that brings the swelling down and allows my lips to go back to normal. I also love it on my heels it's great stuff. You can use it on your face for pimples and whatnot.
I have used it in my hair several times too. I just saturate my hair, put plastic over it and wrap in a towel for 30-60 minutes then I wash it two times with shampoo then conditioner then I wash it again. It does cause you to have kind of greasy hair if you don't wash it thoroughly enough. I sometimes will submerge my hair in water after using the actual shower and swish it around to get all the oil out. The hardest part for me is the crown of my head because I have a lot of hair there.
I hear you can also use coconut oil on canker sores, I've never tried it but it would be cool if it worked. Maybe I will try that today.

Ok this has been officially TMI and random. Hopefully you don't suffer from these same ailments but I'm sure some of you do. We need to break the silence, cracked heels are awful and we need not suffer alone. Huzzah!!

Silhouette

I have had a box sitting on top of my freezer downstairs for several years. It's an electronic machine that you connect to your computer and you can cut out any font you have. You can make many shapes in the downloadable 'craft room'. You can also go online and buy shapes from the Silhouette website and find many free ones online.

I finally took it out of the box for the 2nd time ever the other night and started using it. I really love it. I think it's more versatile than the cricut is and frankly, easier to use.

This is a great little machine. However, there is a newer version that is a little bit wider that I am looking at getting. I did some research and found that people are selling their very used Silhouette's for $120.

If anybody would be interested in buying mine, it's literally been used 2 times and has all the parts/pieces still. The program is free and is included on a CD. If you are interested leave me a comment or email me. Obviously I would want to sell it for what others are selling theirs for but you can email me and we can discuss it :)

I would just put it out on ebay but that's just a hassle and I don't have time for that.

What's your story?

Today at work I had the opportunity to take one of the residents I work with to a performance at the community college to see a Native American story teller. She'd seen him before and really liked him. I was able to find a free local performance so we jumped on it. After driving around the parking lot for literally 12 minutes we ended up parking in the furthest parking spot from the building we needed to be in, normally this is whatever, but today it was monsoon season outside and we were drenched through our coats and jeans.

During his performance he talked about personal experiences and told a few ancient stories about the raven, killer whale, and bunny. Honestly it wasn't my kind of thing but it was fun to see how much she liked it. She would wave to him and clap along and at one point she started chanting with him and everyone else started to too.

A few things did stick out though. The first thing was he asked how we introduce ourselves. I thought about it and realized I say my name is Amanda, and that's about it. He said we are constantly introducing ourselves to others. The way we walk, talk, act, etc....people around us who notice are getting a glimpse into our personality. I wondered how I 'introduce' myself in those terms. Not that everyone is watching you all the time, but chances are someone is paying a bit of attention. It just makes me think that I need to try to be nice and good even when I'm frustrated out of my mind trying to find a parking spot and get sopping wet.

He also talked a lot about our personal stories. He said we are the ones who write our story and we have the ability to change it if we don't like the direction it's going in, and make choices that will help our story be 'strong'. I thought about what I want my story to be about when I'm old, I didn't think too much about it because he started chanting and drumming but it's an interesting topic. If I were to write down my story up to this point, then write what I think will happen in the future it would be interesting to read back when I'm old to see where I thought I would be and where I actually end up. I guess that's the point of a journal, but maybe a journal on steroids. I always think of watching my life 'movie' after I die. I think if I thought about that more often, I would do things a bit differently so I should change my crazy ways.

The last thing he said that stuck out to me was how he was 48 years strong. He said he doesn't like when people say they are such and such 'old', because he's not old. He said he knows a lot of younger people who are 'old' and warned us that we need to be 'strong' and not 'old', no matter what our age is.

This is totally random and I have way too much stuff to do so I'm done.

Conversation

I hope that this obsession will subside soon because I need to stop thinking/instagraming/googeling/singing/texting about Wicked. This is what happens when I'm much too tired.

I started texting Nicole about this, I'm not sure why she even talks to me. The pic is super blurry because of how I had to capture the image. I'm sure that just ruins your whole week darn it.

just in case it's really hard to read here are the individual screen shots you can enlarge, you're welcome :)

 

No, just no.

Would you wear it

in a box?
Would you wear it with a fox?

Not in a box.
Not with a fox.
Not in a house.
Not with a mouse.
I would not wear it here or there.
I would not wear it anywhere.
I would not wear a fedora.
I do not like them, Sam-I-am.

Would you? Could you?
In a car?
wear it! wear it!
Here they are.

I would not,
could not,
in a car.

You may like them.
You will see.
You may like them
in a tree!

I would not, could not in a tree.
Not in a car! You let me be.

I do not like them in a box.
I do not like them with a fox.
I do not like them in a house.
I do not like them with a mouse.
I do not like them here or there.
I do not like them anywhere.
I do not like fedoras.
I do not like them, Sam-I-am.

Let's talk about fedoras. You shouldn't wear them. You shouldn't think they make you look cool. You should take it out back and throw it in the burn pile, you shouldn't even give that thing away. You shouldn't compare fedoras, you shouldn't have a fedora with feathers. I never realized how passionate I am about spreading the word about fedora-cide.

The only way you can get away with it can be explained in two words.

Johnny Depp

That's it!! If you were never in the following movies, What's eating Gilbert Grape?, Edward Scissor Hands, Benny and Joon, Pirates of the Caribbean, Chocolat, Alice in Wonderland, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, or Secret Window (we're not going to talk about the Tourist) then you may not wear a Fedora (I guess if your name is Helena Bonham Carter you can just by default).

I don't care if you have been in a Nicholas Sparks movie, don't wear it.

ewwwughhhhyuckkkkk that's not ok. I don't like the guy anyway and with the fedora on I want to kick him in the knees.

No and double no.

Take this as a public service announcement. They are allowed on October 31st. Or if you want to be an ironic hipster for the afternoon as a joke. Otherwise, I will judge you and your fedora clad head if I see you in public.

If you are a lover of the Fedora, I apologize if I offended you, but only halfheartedly.

For the first time I feel....WICKED

This last weekend was great!! My mom, aunt, and I drove down to Seattle for the night. We had a genealogy conference on Saturday and we planned to stop at the Seattle temple on our way to our hotel. We got stuck in a little bit of traffic but it wasn't too bad. I felt bad because I was so tired and kind of car sick so I felt a little out of it until we ate afterwards. We got on the road again and headed to our hotel. We got a little lost but I knew where we were the entire time, nobody listens to me though :).

We turned the corner to get to our really swanky hotel and low and behold what is right in front of my face?..........The freaking Paramount Theater with the Wicked sign just up there mocking me. It was all over once I knew that the theater was right there. The front desk asked what we were in town for and I said, not Wicked like a dejected child. I am SO glad I opened my big fat mouth. He told us to go talk to the info desk and she told us that they have a ticket lottery drawing 2.5 hrs before each show and explained the details. Ummmmmm so then I was completely obsessed. Of course the dumb hotel didn't have free wifi, they did have a connector cord but then I needed some info that I didn't have so I couldn't use the internet, lame. But we talked about the possibility of skipping the conference and hanging around downtown Seattle the next day then we could see if we could win tickets to the 2pm show. At 10pm and I sat by this window in our room for an hour waiting to see everyone walk out, talking excitedly about the show that was happening that night. I was so dang excited.

The murphy bed I got to sleep on. It was on my bucket list :)

The hallway of the hotel. I thought we were on the Titanic or something

This is why it reminded me of the Titanic.....JACKKKK

The view of the Paramount from our hotel room

Well the next morning my hopes were dashed as we got ready, called valet to get our car (yes valet!!) and started driving towards the conference.

Our view as we drove over the lake towards the conference

I was pretty darn bummed. Once we got to the conference, it was packed. They held it in one of our church buildings so we were crammed the heck in there and it was uncomfortable and hectic. During the first class I took notes, but my mind was on that dang lottery. Halfway through class I realized I would NOT be able to sit and listen to all these classes so I was on my phone getting directions back to the theater, I could take the car while my mom and aunt stayed there.

In between the first and second classes there wasn't really a class that they wanted to go to so I convinced them to skip it, go enter the lottery, see if we won then come back if we didn't.

It worked.

I don't know how, but my persistence worked. We showed up, entered our names in the cauldron and started the cold 30 minute wait.

I didn't realize that they were giving away 20 front row seats. They were. For reals. My aunts name was the 2nd one they called!!!!! We got 2 front row tickets for $25/each such a dang good deal!! You can't even get last row tickets for under $100 right now. Unfortunately we only got 2 of those tickets then they mentioned that if you entered the drawing, you could buy $40 tickets, awesome!! It was decided once my aunts name was called that the genealogy conference was history (baha get it?).
We got ourselves a $40 ticket which ended up being a seat four rows behind ours, incredible.

they give you a pin if you win, that's the best part ;)

my aunt and I are SO excited!!

Then I realized that I lost my phone. Awesome. We determined it was back at the conference. Luckily we were pretty well versed in how to get there now and it only took about 30 minutes total to get my phone and get back to the theater.

This is the map of Oz that is on the stage when you first get there. The top photo is from when I went with the Chapins, they were great seats and allowed us to see the entire stage. The bottom picture is how close we were Saturday, there is no zooming in either of these photos.

I got to sit in the first row of Wicked Saturday afternoon. Sitting up higher was great and I loved being able to see more of the stage. I also loved being close and seeing the facial expressions and spit coming out of the actors mouths while they sang. I had goosebumps mostly because it was cold but also because it was amazing. Both times were so great, I seriously love that play. The music, the acting, the characters, the funnyness, the seriousness, the message, the plot, the twists, the costumes, the atmosphere, everything. I wish Wicked came to Seattle every year, or at least alternated Seattle, Portland, I would totally go to Portland to see it.

It was so amazing, I loved it, obviously. I'm a lunatic. Elphaba is my favorite fictional character ever. I think the part of me that makes me so obsessed to see it again and again is the fact that I REALLY like this cast and it won't be the same cast each time I see it. I think each character is so amazing and talented and the singing is seriously incredible. I have NO idea how they get up there and sing that amazingly each night, sometimes 2 times a day for a year at a time with a few days off in between. Incredible.

Anywhooooo after that fun stuff, we headed home, stopped at Chipotle because it just makes sense. Then made a quick stop at the Gap Outlet so I could use my 40% off entire purchase coupon.




Yep that happened.