For the love

I'm sort of sick of talking about my book. LOL Is that weird? Probably. I'm usually pretty weird.

I went to shopping today and bought a new pair of jeans. I swear the only jeans that work on my body are the Long & Lean's from GAP. And while I love them... I always end up ripping them. You know, right when they're at that perfect point of worn-in-ness and you're totally in love with them everytime you put them on. Yeah. That's when they rip. Huge, gaping rips. So I had to get some new ones. And I'm sitting here in my living room, trying to do like yoga stretches and bends so that these freaking things will stop suffocating me and S-T-R-E-T-C-H out. Don't laugh- new jeans are super tight at first! Then they stretch all willy nilly and fit perf. :)

I look forward to stupid things. Like tonight, I know we're going out to dinner at a Mexican place and all I can think about is the fact that I get to eat salty chips & salsa later.

Seriously. I'm drooling right now just thinking about it.

Clearly, I have issues. This shouldn't be news. lol

My head hurts. Sometimes I wonder what's going on inside my head- like, do little people live in there with hammers and stuff and they just chip away at things? I think they must. Cause that's what it feels like sometimes.

Speaking of my head- I read a book the other day called The Mind Readers by Lori Brighton. Holy crap, it was FANTASTIC!!! I totally loved this book so much. The concept was awesome- about a girl who can read minds, but was raised not to ever tell anyone because "people" are out to get her, and those like her. So she's always kept it to herself... until this guy comes to school who can do the same thing. There's WAY more to the story than just that, but anyway. It was awesome. I can't wait for the second book to come out. If you haven't read it, I highly recommend it. :)

Alright. i'm off to play with my doggies. And kiss my puppy (not a puppy) on his smooshy, fat, face. I can't get enough of that face. I mean really, could you? i <3 him!!!!



Have a great weekend everyone! I'll think of you while i'm stuffing my face with chips & salsa later! lol

inspiration!

fyi- i found an editor who is AT THIS VERY MOMENT, working on any grammar issues within In Dreams. I should have the newly edited version up this weekend! just wanted y'all to know! YAY!

moving on... lol

I have a "Wall of Inspiration." lol, That's what I call it. Basically, it's the wall next to my desk where I'm supposed to work (but never do because I move around constantly, sit in weird places and go wherever feels best that day to write), filled with all sorts of quotes, song lyrics and goodies. They make me happy. :)













Fellow author, Veronica Mordem, shared a quote with me the other day that I have completely stolen, adopted, want to put onto a t-shirt and wear everynight to bed... I sort want to get it put on hats I make my dogs wear as they follow me around the house like stalkers.

"If you want to be successful, you must be willing to be uncomfortable." Gil Eagles

I am in love with this quote because "uncomfortable" was the perfect word to describe how I was feeling after all the crazy download madness! Everytime I start to freak out a little, I read those words and I feel better. Here's to making the un-comfort-ness TOTALLY WORTH IT! :)

Do you have any quotes or things you like to surround yourself with? Share them with me!

Should i UNPUBLISH my book?

I'm seriously weighing the options on whether or not I should unpublish In Dreams and get a professional edit done?

I know that it might be a little late since the book has already been around for months and there have been a lot of downloads lately, BUT I am beginning to think that I will have more success with it if I take it down now and fix it.

So on 1 hand, i'm sitting here thinking, "I should unpublish it... pay an ungodly amount to an editor and then republish it with a note saying it's been edited and updated. Maybe then people will hate it less?"

But on the other hand, i'm also thinking, "The women who are really bashing it aren't my target audience anyway. And everyone who has been in my target audience, has loved the story and hasn't complained about the things the older women are complaining about."

But is that any excuse to leave the book in the shape it's in when I know it can be fixed? I hate the thought of having a crappy book on the market, when I know I don't "have" to.

I know it was my first book. I know it needs a lot of work. I want to make a living writing books. And I know that going forward, I will have to pay for a professional editor. There is no way around that anymore. If I want to put out the best work that I can, I owe it to myself to have my work professionally handled. Plus, I want to put out good books- and if In Dreams is any indication to my potential appeal to a broader audience- well then it's clear... I lack appeal. lol

I think my biggest fear in regards to hiring an editor is that they won't understand my vision, or get where my story is coming from. I don't want my story to change. I don't want what i'm trying to convey to get lost in the quest for a "professionally" done piece. I can't tell you how much I genuinely LOATHE people trying to put me in a box that says "one size fits all."

I don't want to be generic.

I'm not trying to please publishing houses and this isn't a quest to sign a big book deal.

I just want to tell the stories my heart wants to tell, in the way my heart wants to tell them. I guess I just fear that my heart will get lost somewhere in an editor's personal opinion or style/taste/preference. Is that a crazy concern?

I'm straying (per usual)... so I wonder what's the best thing to do? Unpublish and polish the book? Or leave it as is?

Ugh my gut is SCREAMING at me to unpublish it and fix it. I want to feel like what i've put out there is the best it can be- and right now, it's clearly not.

Thoughts??

it's all good in the hood

hey everyone. thanks for listening to my pity party the past few days. i'm EXTREMELY happy to say that i'm in a far better place then i have been the last week. i feel good. i am determined to take all the negative feedback in regards to my writing and apply it to my actual writing. i want to write better. i want to tell my stories better. i want you to care about the characters. so i'm trying to learn from all of the crap. :)

anyway, enough of that. i'm sick of talking about it.

i went home and i don't think i ever posted any pics!!!! so without further adieu, here are some pics of my crazy brother and sister, my hot nephew and my soon to be hot son. :) is that weird? eh, so what.

the pier in santa monica... it was a gorgeous day!


blake walking...


i guess you're never too old to chase birds! :)


my brother, my sister and me!


LOL- this pic makes me laugh


this is awesome! i wish blake's face wasn't cut off


when my books become movies, i want him in them


playing on the lifeguard tower


cousins. or brothers as they like to tell people


sisters

public service announcement regarding MY cell phone

dear world,

just because i choose to own a cell phone, does not mean that i am obligated to be at your beckon call.

my owning a cell phone does mean that i must answer it when you decide to call me. it also does not mean that i am required to respond to any text message, voice mail, or missed call within YOUR allotted time frame.

it is my cell phone.

it is my life.

it is my personal time.

it is my choice.

just because i can be reached, does not mean that i want to be.

and that my friends, is my mother fucking prerogative.

if i don't feel like answering the phone, i won't. if i don't see your text in the amount of time that you wanted me too, sucks for you.

my phone is not attached to my hip. i often leave it in rooms where i'm not. it's upstairs, i'm down. it's in the kitchen and i'm nowhere near the kitchen.

ooooh, how dare i.

the thing is... while there are many things i love about cell phones, there are a few that i don't. and it's mostly the fact that everyone thinks you should be reachable and available at all times... in their time frame... on their schedule.

but you know what? if you're one of those people- that's your problem.

no one is obligated to be available to anyone at all times. unless they choose to be. (or unless they work for you, you pay for their cell phone and have made it clear that they are your bitch.) but other than that- it's time for a reality check.

i don't give a shit that you can call me when you want, text me when you decide to, or want answers the exact moment you send me a question.

sometimes, i don't want to talk on the phone. sometimes, i don't want to deal with text messages. sometimes, i'm not even thinking about my cell phone (ooooh, the horror). when the most important people in my life are sitting next to me on the couch, i may not care whose calling my cell.

and that's my choice. because owning a cell phone does mean that i'm required to give you anymore of my time if i don't want too.

it's just weird how much we expect of others... especially when i can remember a time when there were no such thing as cell phones. there were .10 cent pay phones. and people called your house- and you didn't know who was calling. and when you weren't home, they left messages on your answering machine... the machine that recorded them with cassette tapes. tapes. and all of those people who had to wait however long it took for you to get home listen to their message and then call them back when you choose too- they all lived.

and you will too.

i won't apologize for not being at your beckon call.

i may not answer when you call (and if you call from a PRIVATE number, you can rest assured that 100% of the time, i will not answer), i may not respond to your text for hours, i may not listen to your voice mail for days (haven't we established how much i hate voice mails already?).

that's just the way i choose to be when it comes to my cell. speaking of, i better go find it. no clue where it is. ha

if you see me in the grocery store, you should probably run the other direction

um.

y'all?

if you know me, know me.... (you know, like in real life and stuff) then you know that i'm not really a klutz. i do however do lots of stupid and silly things like, put gravy on my salad as the dressing... or fall completely sober on the dancefloor while having a pretend makeout session with my girlfriend during the song, "i kissed a girl"...

but otherwise... i don't think people think of me as a "klutz."

at least not to my face. haha :)

so, these last 2 trips of mine to the grocery store have been completely out of character. not to mention, dangerous! oooh, i've become dangerous. how sexy.

no no, this is not that kind of dangerous! it's the bad kind. the dangery kind. for reals. so if you see me- i am not kidding when i tell you... RUN THE OTHER WAY! get as far away from me as possible!

because two times ago i was in the pasta aisle and i turned a jar of sauce to read the label on the back, it fell off the shelf. i tried to do the whole juggle thing with my hands, while one arm was holding a carry on cart thing, and then my hair fell in front of my eyes and i had no idea where the jar was anymore. so i just threw my foot up in the air in the hopes that my leg would have eyes and be magical or something and i'd actually catch the freaking jar of sauce on my foot. or at least break its fall.

but no.

i don't think my magical foot was anywhere near the jar of sauce as it plummeted to the ground. do you know that my brain actually thought, "oh, it's not going to break. it's going to hit the ground and be totally fine. i broke its fall enough with my mad juggling skills that maybe it will BOUNCE when it lands."

ahem.

bounce?

i think my brain bounced.

that bitch SHATTERED to the floor below and broke into a billion pieces. did i mention that this aisle is right by the door? so everyone walking in was muttering things like, "awwwwww" and "oh no!!!" and there were gasps of horror. because this was clearly a tragic moment in grocery store history.

and i realize that people probably break things all the time in stores, but i never have before. and it looked like a freaking crime scene. it would have been awesome if someone had busted out some tape and outlined the blob on the ground. lol

okay... moving on to TODAY!

i grabbed a cart that had a weird front wheel. but me, being the non-discriminatory cart person that i am, stuck with the disabled shopping cart.

so once i was done shopping and the cart was filled with all my stupid shit... the front wheel STOPPED moving.

it just stopped.

have you ever had a cart stop moving on you before? well if you haven't, let me tell you what happens. you turn into a complete non functioning person. because your body doesn't stop trying to push the damn thing. but it's done moving. and then, everything happens really quickly.

so the wheel stopped.

but i didn't.

and the fucking thing TIPPED OVER ON ITS SIDE!

holy shit, i can't stop laughing right now. lol

it was so loud as it crashed to the freaking ground. and everyone waiting to check out was like, "OH MY GOD!" and "OH NO!" "WHAT HAPPENED?" "ARE YOU OKAY?"

what the hell? who has a shopping cart just tip all the way over? and do you know how ackward it is trying to put it back upright is? it doesn't want to go!!! good lord. lol

did i mention the eggs? oh yeah, they died.

another tragedy in the grocery store. thanks to yours truly.

clearly the lesson here is that i should no longer be allowed to grocery shop unsupervised.

or supervised.

i should probably be banned altogether.

there once was a mouse named christmas

the other day while the boy and i were chilling downstairs, i saw something scurry out of the corner of my eye.

WHAT WAS THAT??!?!?! i wondered to myself before i saw IT scurry again.

it was a mouse!

a mouse!

in my house!!!

which most of you are probably freaking out, and shuddering, or being like EWWWWWW! right? because i think that's probably a normal reaction to a rodent being in the house.

but um, not if you're me.

cause if you're me... then you're like, "oh my god, he's sooooooooo cute! and little! and FAST! and can i catch him and keep him as a pet? pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease?"

because clearly, i am not a normal.

and probably also because when i saw that little mouse, i give him a name like CHRISTMAS, and i dressed him in clothes and hats in my head.

you know, like this (blame bass/rankin)

aren't they cute?!?!?!!

told you. :)

okay, so i want to catch christmas and keep him as a pet and watch him fix my broken clock that sings christmas carols to santa, but boyfriend is all like, "YOU ARE DISGUSTING! WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU? IT'S A FILTHY RODENT THAT CARRIES GERMS AND DISEASES AND YOU CAN'T KEEP HIM AS A PET!!!!!"

clearly, boyfriend sees christmas like this

anyway, after his response i made my bestest sad face and eyes.

he was unfazed.

he's heartless.

so tonight... just now in fact.. i was looking under the kitchen sink and THERE WAS CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!

dead.

in a mouse trap.

and that my friends, is the short story of a mouse named christmas.



i'm going to go cry now.

gray hair? REALLY???

shut.
the.
front.
door.

y'all?

is this thing on? *tap tap*

cause um... not only did i find a gray hair last night in my beautiful luscious golden locks... that mother fucker had friends.

LOTS.
OF.
FRIENDS!!!!!!!!!

i am WAY too young, and FAR TOO immature to have gray hair.

so imagine how much i freaked out last night when i saw the first unruly little fucker sprouting out of my head. it literally became GRAY HAIR WATCH TWENTY ELEVEN up in my bathroom.

i think i seriously spent about an hour searching for all those stupid things and then yanking them out.

they were easy to find though. wanna know why?

CAUSE THEY ARE UNRULY!!!!!

they are all weird, and curly and don't lay right! not to mention the fact that they reflect the light ALL WRONG! they don't glow with golden prettiness- they are dull and brassy.

why can't they grow out in colors like dark blue, purple or pink or something? i would love that! random little bright hairs scattered throughout! FUN!

but nooooooo. they're gray.

GRAY!

i have gray hairs! that grow! out of my head!

why is this happening to me?!?!? can i make it stop? can i will it away? act more immature? start wearing diapers? WHAT CAN I DO???

i am too cute for gray. i am too happy for gray. i am too fun for gray. i refuse!! help me.

the 40 mile MS bike ride

it happened folks.


oh yes, did it happen.


i did 40 miles ON MY BEACH CRUISER for the second year in a row! (go me) it's not that riding a bike 40 miles is all that hard... cause let's face it, it really isn't. but you try going uphill on a freaking beach cruiser.


that.shit.sucks.

this year was WAY harder than last year. i have no idea why. other than maybe i was uber motivated last year? or maybe cause i KNEW where the hills were and when they were coming this year?! i have no clue, but i feel like i had to get off my bike a lot to walk it up those stupid hills. i'm a failure.

not really.

i totally rule.

like our team tent- WHICH HAS WON BEST TENT TWO YEARS IN A ROW MIND YOU! we (and by we, i mean robin the tent designer, decorator, purchaser of all things tent) TOTALLY ROCK!!!!!!!


speaking of our tent, did i mention that we had an arts & crafts section for the kids to make beachy picture frames? ahem. i'm a kid. so i made one. BUT LOOK HOW PRETTY IT IS!!!! :)
i named my frame MALIBU. like the beach, not the rum, alchies.


until the REAL pictures come back, all i have are blurry camera phone pics. cause i'm awesome like that!


to everyone who sponsored me... THANK YOU SO MUCH! i had fun (even though it may not sound like it)... i will be doing it again next year. i'll complain more then! ha


and YES, i did cut the sleeves off of my shirt. i don't believe in sleeves people. i'm not sure HOW MANY TIMES i have to tell y'all this! :)

today is my birthday

(and leah oliver's too)

in a day and age where we don't hand write letters anymore...
and 99% of my birthday wishes come in the form of a text message or a facebook post...

i wanted to post a couple of the ACTUAL! BIRTHDAY! CARDS! i got in the mail.. cause they are funny! and they made me happy!

you know what is the most hypocritical part??? i am just realizing how much i love getting cards in the mail- the little notes, the funny sayings... but i NEVER freaking send any!!! to anyone!!!

but you know what? i never have. it's not like i just stopped one day because the internet got popular or something. i've never sent cards- not at christmas- not ever.

i really need to start. cause if these cards bring me this! much! happiness! then other people might love it just the same!! :)

this freaking card made me LOL so hard!!!! thank you ali! :)





and this card just made me happy! apparently, the word FOR jennster is AWESOME!!!! i'll totally fucking take it! (thank you catjacks)



i think i may change my name to jennster, the gold star of awesomeness! you know, just for today!

so i crashed a funeral today

don't judge.

and i mean, i didn't really crash some random strangers funeral... i went with my girlfriend who didn't want to go alone (totally don't blame her at all. funerals alone SUCK!!!)

what i found the most interesting though, since i obviously didn't know the person who had passed... was that it doesn't really matter if i knew her or not.

human emotion is human emotion, no matter what.

people expressing how wonderful and amazing an individual was- is so touching regardless of who it's coming from, and who it's about. i found myself in awe of how many lives one life can affect. and how deeply one person can affect another.

human life is human life. people touch each other every single day. and we are so blessed when we have others in our lives who give us so much positivity, encouragement and love.

i found myself bawling at one point during the service because an ex-student got up to speak about his old teacher. he talked about how he had never expected a caucasian teacher to take such an interest in an african american child, during a time when racial tensions and issues divided a nation. he was moved by her. he was inspired by her. he said she made him feel less like a student and more like family. he didn't know why she chose him, all he knew was that he was so incredibly grateful she had. he credited her with giving him the courage to be who he is today... for inspiring his fearlessness... for taking chances...

i was beyond moved.

i was inspired by his words. his emotions. his being.

and i found myself hoping that someone would be able to say something half as nice as that about me when i leave this earth.

we never know what kind of profound impact someone may have on us.

we never know what kind of impact we can have on another.

i say we go out and impact each other with magic! :)

holy shit

the post below is a clear example of how much of a complete psycho i am.

i mean, first i make this huge, exhausting case for the end of all voice mail as we know it... and then i end the fucking post telling people that i love their voice mails... that drunk ones make me laugh... and the ones from people i rarely hear from are the bestest and i keep them forever... MAKING MY WHOLE ENTIRE POST NULL AND VOID!!!!!

wtf?!?!?

oh look! pictures! of new york! and random shit! you know, like my brain.

wait.

these aren't pictures of my brain.

they're just random stuff... like how my brain is all random and crazy and insane. argh, just go look!

hi, i'm the one who can't stand voice mail

i hate voice mail.

i mean, not your voice mail. yours is lovely. i should clarify that i mean, i can't stand CHECKING voice mail on my cell phone.

it irritates the living crap out of me. clearly, i've seen that you called. do you realllllly have to leave me a message that says you called? no shit.

it's right there.

on my missed call notification.

unless you have some super hot sighting of ryan gosling in the street in front of my house, there is really no reason to leave me a voice mail (and in all honesty, by the time i check the freaking thing, he'll be long gone anyway). can't you text me the information you need to convey?

it's just SO.MUCH.EASIER.

i don't say this because i'm lazy.

i say this because i enjoy being efficient. and checking my voice mail is ridiculously time consuming.

it takes forever.

i have to call it. then the stupid annoying lady bosses me around with all these directions i've heard 100 times before. the worst part is when i'm just trying to get the message you just HAD to leave for me, and i hear her say, "you have 2 messages that will be erased... first message from..." and then i have to deal with all of that crap just to get to your stupid message that says, "HEY. CALL ME."

i think to punish you...

i won't call you back.

for like a week.

you hear me voice mail leavers?

you're all on time out.

and i know you, friends of mine... you're all tempted to call me and leave me voice mails now just cause i told you not too. well don't get pissed at me when you tell me something "important" and i don't check it for a week.

that is seriously how much i hate checking my voice mail. and why i don't leave voice mails for other people. i assume y'all can't stand the amount of time it takes to check your voice mail either. if i call you and you don't answer, i trust that you saw i called. and if i just HAVE to tell you something, i'll text it to you. or if i NEED to talk to you, i'll text you to tell you to freaking call me cause i need to talk to you.

so i guess i don't really dislike my voice mail... i just dislike the amount of time it takes to check. i like things quick and easy.. you know, like my men.

you?

10:01pm... um- edited to add.. this isn't entirely true cause um, i like hearing some of your voices. and i'd be sad if i didn't have voicemails from my drunk friends, my hot friends, etc... there is a reason i have three voicemails saved. it's cause they rule.

10:15pm pss- i think i just had a bad night. i had like 4 voice mails to check and 3 ones to get through to hear them. and then each voice mail was REALLLLLLY long.

10:21pm ppss- carry on people. call me. leave voice mail. do whatever. i just may not listen to it for a few days... but if it's good, i might just keep it forever!

let's talk grilled cheese sammies!

i just have to tell you that while in cooperstown, i had THE BEST GRILLED CHEESE SANDWICH I HAVE EVER HAD IN MY ENTIRE LIFE (sorry mom)!!!!!!!

first of all... look at the size of the freaking bread!!!!!!!! screw no carbs, i was all over this thing!

that is seriously the THICKEST bread i've ever seen in my life!!!!!!!!

but look at this thing. oh.em.gee. doesn't it look amazing?!?!! and i haven't even opened it yet!

OH DEAR GOD! for the love of all that is holy, LOOK AT ALL THAT CHEESE!!!!! and it's white cheese! white american cheese! i've never had a grilled cheese with white american cheese before. *dies*

that freaking grilled cheese was literally the best i've ever had in my life! has diners, drive in and dive's been to this diner in cooperstown?! if they haven't, they should go. like now.

i mean NOW.

oh yeah, and bring me with em.

the state of MY unemployment

oh yeah, i'm unemployed.

remember?

i bet you forgot, cause i don't really talk about it that much.

if you haven't lost your job within the last 2 years, then you can't possibly understand just how bad it truly is out there. unless your significant other has lost their job... or someone who affects your finances.

when i got fired, i thought i would literally go 2 months (maybe) without having a job. i never thought in my wildest dreams that i would be one of those 99 weekers. but here i am. closing in on that 99 week gap far quicker than i'd care to admit.

see, i work(ed) in the entertainment industry in some form or another for what feels like my entire pretend grown up life. and so now that i'm living up in the wrong part of the state for that- well, my entertainment options are limited. not limitLESS (cause that would be rad) but clearly, without fail, reminded almost daily that my job options are... limitED.

if you haven't lost your job lately, then you don't know what it feels like to apply for (literally) hundreds jobs you have no interest in really doing. or to send your resume to hundreds of places you think won't make you want to kill yourself at the end of the day.

see, if i learned anything from my last work experience, i learned that life is too short. that we all spend way too much time at the office. our whole lives revolve around work, being at work, doing work for (usually) OTHER people, and then we constantly stress about fitting our family and the rest of lives into our work schedule. if we're going to be spending THAT much time doing something, we should really LOVE what it is that we're doing.

so the state of MY unemployment, is my daily search for jobs that don't scream "I SUCK" in my face. not to mention the fact that i have sent what feels like a million resumes for jobs in LA, doing all sorts of things back in the entertainment industry. have i failed to mention that most of the jobs i apply for, i'm recommended for? have i also failed to mention that i don't even get so much as a phone call for any of these jobs?

it's an AWFUL job market right now. and i say this because if you're working, you don't have any idea what it's like. you truly don't. you can hear people say it, but if you're anything like me, i'm sure you think it doesn't apply to you. and there is also no way you can relate while you're continuing to get a steady paycheck and pay all your bills on time.

if you know me at all, you know how fucking utterly ridiculous it is that i haven't found a job in a year and a half. but i can't tell you enough, how NOT easy it is. how when someone does actually call me back, it's usually to tell me that they love my resume, but unfortunately:

i'm way overqualified
or i'll be bored
or why would i want to work in that industry, when my background is clearly all entertainment based?
or you'd be great, but we can't pay you enough (and by enough, i want to be clear that i will not work for $10 or $12 dollars an hour, fuck you very much)

but you know, that's even IF i get a call or an email response. 98% of the time, i feel like i fall into some black abyss of resume hell, even though i feel like i should rise to the top with all the flying puppies and rainbow makers.

the state of MY unemployment means we're losing our house that we bought less than 3 years ago. because i lost my job, we can no longer pay our mortgage. you all know the hell we've gone through with bank of america, and how we waited an entire year to get an answer (OF NO) for a home loan modification. you all know we've stopped paying our mortgage and we are trying to short sale our house, instead of foreclose.

i interview for temp jobs i don't get. HOW DOES SOMEONE NOT GET A FUCKING TEMP JOB?!?!

the other day i ran into the guy who owns the local ice cream shop in town. he told me that he has grown men, who have all sorts of degrees, asking him for a job. asking if he can pay them to scoop ice cream. men with degrees, willing to scoop ice cream for a paycheck.

if that doesn't say it all about what the hell is going on out there, i don't know what does.

so yeah, i'm still unemployed. and that unemoployment check is going to stop coming real soon.

then what?

oh, harry potter.

i won't give any spoilers away regarding the last movie, but i will tell you this...

I

FREAKING

LOVED

THE

HELL

OUT

OF

IT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i mean really!!!!!!!

i went in with not high expectations because i was SO disappointed after seeing the last one. probably because i hadn't read any of the books, right? and so i felt like it was SO boring. but in all honesty, i watched it again a few weeks ago and i loved it a billion times better than when i saw it in the theatre.

in all honesty, it was the first harry potter movie that i didn't walk out of confused. normally, i am pretty confused (who was that guy? what are they talking about? what the hell is a horcrux? why don't they explain anything?! maybe i should read the books!) but this time? NOT confused at all.

well, i'm not confused, confused.

i mean, i do still have a couple questions. but i don't want to ask them right now in case people haven't seen the movie yet, OR read the book.

can i please still talk about the fact though i do not like (at all, never going to like them) ginny and harry together?!

ugh.

it annoys the living crap out of me. and i don't know if it's because i don't really like the chick who plays her in the movies. that could be part (most) of it.

she just seems like a fan. like a harry groupie. i don't get why he likes her. at all. it reminds me of edward of bella. i GET why she likes him. but what i don't get is why the hell on this green planet, he even is remotely interested in her?!?!

i'm harsh huh?

this may totally come back and bite me in the ass someday with my books.

eeek

okay. so harry. the final film.

i loved it!! i wasn't disappointed! i wasn't let down! i thought it was really well done. REALLY well explained. i just thought it was overall, freaking awesome!

i totally want to go see it again. like RIGHT NOW! i will say that everyone said they thought this entire movie would be one huge action scene, but it's not.

at all.

there is good action, but it's not ALL action. there are slow parts.

but i don't know. i'm on a total harry high right now! if i had harry potter glasses, i would wear them around all weekend waving my magical wish wand at people, casting spells.

hell, i still might do that.

anyway, if you're on the fence about the last potter movie. jump off it! go see it! and then tell me how much you loved it, so we can be on harry high together!!!!! :)

HOW word of mouth really works

um. i'd like to say i feel like a sucker right now, but...

i don't.

but all you marketing people, you should pay attention. because THIS is truly how word of mouth works.

here we have DRINK NEURO.

now, i have seen them in the grocery stores a lot lately. i paid them attention to them at first because i liked their bright, fun colors. and i liked the shape of the bottle. it was different. SEE- PACKAGING TOTALLY WORKS. but we know this already, because i posted years ago about buying herbal essence because their new bottles were pretty! remember that?! yeah. packaing.sucker.

so... carry on to me forgetting about the drinks. or not wanting to try them because they were pricey. even though i would LOOK at them everytime i passed them in the store, i was never really pulled to BUY any of them.

cut to twitter. and my buddy Matt posting about this stupid drink on it.


so then i was like, "hmmmm, what is this drink all about? maybe i'll REALLY check it out the next time i go to the store."

but then i let that thought go and sort of forgot about it.

cut (again, yes. we're doing a lot of cutting. it's fun for me.) to an impromptu get together a few days later at a friends house. and her teenage daughter (who i LOVE, WORSHIP and ADORE!) starts talking about the dang neuro drinks! she says how they are her most favorite drinks ever, she drinks them all the time, she LOVES them, they are so good, etc.

and that my folks, was all it took.

2 people who i know talking about the same brand of drink within about a 3 day time period.

so what happened next?

if you guessed that i went to the store and bought one of each drinks that they were carrying...

well...

YOU'D BE RIGHT!



so far i've tried 3 of them (sleep, sonic and sun). and up to now, THIS one is my most fave.


(yeah. that's me. sitting IN the sun, drinking SUN for the full affect. brilliant i tell you. how someone hasn't hired me is beyond all reason.)

it's freaking delicious!!! and i half wonder if i love it the most because it was the first one i tried? i dunno, all i do know is that it's really yummy.

and i didn't even want to buy it to be honest. i thought it sounded stupid. but the boy wanted it. he said i HAD to get it. so of course i love the one the most that was the least appealing to me. HA!

go figure that one out geniuses. :)

was there a lesson to be learned here? probably for marketers everywhere. and matt, i hope you get buttloads of cases of neuro sleep (and send the NEURO SUN's to meeeee) for free!

and um, if you're in the market for a new drink... you should try them out. and i should mention that i did drink a sleep before bed (i thought the taste was EH. i mean, not awful by any means, just not super yummy like SUN) and i feel like i slept more soundly than i have in weeks. but that could be the exhaustion setting in? or maybe the drink really does work?

if you try them, let me know! if you already love em, tell me which one's your most favorite! and you think i'm a total sucker, you can tell me that in the comments section right before i tell you to go blow yourself. ha

thursday night, also known as THE BEST NIGHT EVER!!!!

so i'm with my friends sandi and mike right now. and after dinner, we decided that we wanted something sweet.

"like dessert, jenn?"

yes reader.. like dessert.

i wanted fro yo (per usual), but mike yelled out, "DONUTS!!!!!" sandi and i both looked at eachother and then were like, "OH HELL YES!!!!" and we all practically ran to the car.

all three of us wanted the same kind of donut. white cake with white frosting and rainbow sprinkles. yes, we're donut snobs. or we just know what we like. anyway, we get to the donut store and the guy doesn't have any.

i whine a little and ask him if he'll make us some. he does, cause he's awesome like that!


then i ask him if I CAN make us some?!?! and he says YES! because he is REALLY awesome like that!!!!! imagine my excitement when he opens the donut shop door for me to COME INSIDE and make my own donut!!!!!!! well you don't have to imagine, cause HERE is the proof!!!!


so i am really giddy, and jumping around a lot and trying to pose for pictures AND make delicious donuts at the same time. which is clearly much harder than it looks.


since i am IN LOVE with donut white glaze frosting stuff, i tried to double dip one of the donuts. you know, cover it entirely in frosting. but that stuff is thick. so um, i used the spoon.


and since the donut was freshly made... can you guess what happened?!


it crumbled into a billion pieces in the frosting! and i couldn't save it. this is what a donut fail looks like.


donut disaster 2011!!!!


but never fear! i'm no quitter! so i tried again!




look at all those sprinkles!!!! now that's how a sprinkled donut should look!!!


i told the guy that my donuts looked better than his and that if i was a customer, i'd want the donuts FULL of sprinkles, not just barely there.


so he redid all of his donuts to match mine! i'm SO influential in the world of donuts. look how happy i am that he is making the sprinkle-ful!


like a kid in a candy store!


thank you marteen! you were so freaking awesome for letting me come in and make my own donuts!


i think the only thing that could ever top this would be if taco bell let me make my own nacho bellgrande! you listening, bell!?!? :)