We love Ellen!

I apologize for not writing about our trip to the Ellen Show sooner, but if you recorded yesterday's episode, then you will have a chance to see me and my mom on TV. Yep, there are a couple of times you can see us, but of course, you have to look really close or rewind and play on slow-mo to catch us. We are on the very top row on the right side of the audience. Hope that helps you find us in the crowd. So here's a recap of our experience on Monday.

Mom and I headed out pretty early and arrived at NBC Studios at 9:30am. We wanted to get there early because we weren't guaranteed seats, so we wanted to get a good number for Standby. We were checked in at 10am and then told we didn't have to stay there. We could leave if we wanted but to make sure we were back by 2. Since it was cold and drizzly and we had a perfect parking spot, we decided to just sit in the car and hang out. Of course with my mom, there is plenty of talking to be done, so we had a great time hanging out and chatting away for a few hours. I had packed a lunch, so we ate in the car as well. That way we didn't have to walk a few miles to get food too. There were quite a few picketers outside the studio lot. We ended up seeing the actress who plays Nurse Rose on Grey's Anatomy, the one who McDreamy kissed on one of the last episodes. And when we were leaving, I saw this picketer who looked totally familiar. I smiled at him and he gave me a hearty hello there. Right as we passed him I remembered he played the school counselor on Freaks 'N Geeks and I recently saw him on an old episode of Gilmore Girls. He played the fruit vendor guy who fights with Taylor Doose. Later I remembered he was also the Naked Trucker from a show on TNT or USA or something like that. See we kept ourselves busy while we waited around. I digress. We then took a short walk, went to the bathroom, and headed back to the line about 1. Good thing too because they started letting people into the studio area around 1:30. We still had to sit outside but at least this time there was an awning to cover us from the drizzle and they played a couple episodes of Ellen to keep us entertained. They finally started lining people up around 3:30. We were numbers 23 and 24 in standby. They let all the guaranteed people in and then started adding standby people. They cut off at number 15. Jacked only 8 people away from getting in. They then escorted us into the Riff Raff room in the studio, which is where the remaining standby people get to hang out and watch the show on big screen tvs. Then they let another 4 in. We were then only 4 away from getting in. Then they let 2 more in. I was getting anxious hoping we'd get in. Finally, they called for a few more of us to get in. They let me and my mom in and 3 more people behind us and that was it. We made it! Our row was making the most noise because we were so excited we got in. While the crew were getting ready, DJ Stryker was playing music and we were encouraged to dance. Finally Ellen came out and everyone started cheering. We did so much cheering that my voice was hurting when I got home. My hands were also sore from clapping so much. It was totally worth it though. The guests on the show were the Scotto family who own a restaurant in NY, singer Alice Smith who was amazing and this was her TV debut, and two human interest stories, a girl who survived an in-home burglary and the 12 year old Guitar Hero wiz. I was bummed there weren't any big name celebrities on the show, but it was still great that we got to see Ellen. She is so damn funny and genuinely sincere. I was so glad that I got to do this with my mom too. That made the whole experience even sweeter. I can't believe I've waited so long to go see a recording of a show. I highly recommend doing it. We thought it was worth the drive and the wait, especially since we love Ellen so much.