Dancing with the Stars!!!

Big news for this mommy of three! First let me back up a bit...

A few weeks ago I was watching Dancing With the Stars like I always do. It's so fun and I pretend to know what I'm talking about as I critique everything. During the show the host announced a costume design contest as part of the "design a dance" America votes series.

Fans have already picked the song (Great Balls of Fire), they have already picked the dance (the Jive) and they are currently picking the couple who will dance it. Next is the contest to decide what costumes the couple will wear. They announced there will be five finalists to choose from.

I figured it was a long shot, but I decided I would do some costume designs and enter them in the contest. After all, I was a BYU ballroom dancer who graduated in costume design, so this was definitely a contest that was made for me!

I had to design and draw a male and female costume for the dance, so - with the help of my family and friends (thanks you guys) - I set off on my designs. Between running around behind my three monkeys and Todd being out of town for work, I was working on my designs right up to the last minute. On the last day the designs could be postmarked, I rushed to the post office and over-nighted them to New York where they HAD to arrive before the 14th or they would be disqualified.

I was rushing so fast I didn't even have time to scan my final drawings into my computer, so I just snapped a couple of pictures of them with my camera and rushed out the door. That night I went to show Todd the pictures I had taken of the drawings because he had been out of town all week and hadn't gotten to see them.

As luck would have it - for the first time in its life - my camera card didn't record the pictures of the drawings. Just like that, I had nothing to show for the entire week of work...the drawings were already on their way to New York. Todd's first reaction was "don't worry, you'll see them again when you win." I have the sweetest husband ever, but I was still pretty bummed about losing my pictures (of course the contest doesn't return the originals).

Well, the post office tried to deliver the designs on Saturday and then again on Monday but no one was in the office either day. Then Tuesday came (the delivery deadline) and I called the post office trying to find someone to help me. After talking to a number of people who couldn't do much to help out, I figured I was just out of luck. I repeatedly checked my tracking number online and it never showed that the package had been delivered. Tuesday came and went, but the post office still showed that the package hadn't been delivered. So much for my costume design contest.

On Friday morning a friend watched Brooklyn and Logan so I could spend some one-on-one time with Dylan at the pumpkin patch for a school field trip. It was so fun and so sweet; I loved every minute!

Towards the end, I panicked because I had a voicemail on my cell phone and I thought something was wrong with Brooklyn and Logan - no one ever calls my cell phone. To my surprise, it was a message from the marketing company in New York who was running the costume design contest for ABC'c Dancing with the Stars!

After a few rounds of phone tag, they finally called back again and I got to talk to an actual person. The man from the marketing company told me my designs had been selected as one of the final five! Apparently they got my package! I made the top 100 and then the show's costume designer selected the top five designs for America to vote on! It looks like I WILL get to see my drawings again (at least online)!

The designs will be posted on ABC's Dancing with the Stars website on Tuesday (10/21) and America will have until Friday (10/24) to decide the winner. If I win, my designs will be used for two costumes on the show and they will fly Todd and I out to sit in the audience to see my costumes come to life!

I am so excited, but now I NEED EVERYONE'S HELP WITH THE VOTING!!

If you have some free time to pass this along and encourage people to vote, I would greatly appreciate it. Like I said, the voting starts on Tuesday (10/21) and goes through Friday (10/24). I think you can vote as many times as you would like, so feel free to go crazy!

I don't know if my name will be with my designs, so - just in case it's not - I am attaching the design for the female costume. This one is similar to the final one I did, although it's just a rough draft. There is also a male costume that matches this one.

Thank you all a thousand times for you help; it means the world to me!

Just follow this link: www.abc.go.com/primetime/dancingwiththestars/

The voting is under "Design a Dance" poll on the left side bar from Tuesday to Friday! Thanks!!