Creative Artist Genius Girl

New Year's Eve Party Tidbits

2009-12-31T21:04:00.000-08:00

Stepping away for a moment from tonight's New Year's Eve festivities at my sister Kim's house I had to quote a funny dialogue I just overheard with my mom, my sister Kim and my 6-year old niece Rissa (who usually has something very funny or profound to say on most subjects)

Kim: Rissa, what's so special about the New Year? What should we do to celebrate it?
Rissa: (clears throat and speaks very matter-of-factly as though addressing a HUGE crowd of people) Well, you have to forget everything about the old year and only think new thoughts about the New Year. That's what you need to do.

ALSO, a few days ago my sister Cindy was discussing Jesus with little Rissa on the car ride home from church and mentioned that Jesus was 2,000 years old, to which Rissa replied with surprise "Wow, I guess that means Jesus is older than Santa Claus!"

From the mouth of babes. Adorable! To be continued...

After Christmas and looking forward...

2009-12-31T00:45:00.001-08:00

Alas, Christmas has finally passed. No doubt we are all recovering from the crash of Christmas rituals - so much sugar, so many people, so many late hours....(exhaustive sigh). This year I celebrated the Christmas holidays in St. George with seven of my eight siblings and if you add together my parents, and all my nieces and nephews the total came to thirty-seven people together which is pretty much the population of a small town, haha. T'was lovely to get together though, kids running around screaming and playing, the adults trying to speak above the kids running around screaming and playing. Yes it was sensory overload at its finest but that's what big families are like and I am used to it, and actually, I love it, it's one of the many reasons why I love my big and boisterous family.

I got a nice Martha Stewart cookbook from my sister Kim for Christmas. I am definitely looking forward to trying out some of the recipes ever since I watched "Julie & Julia" for the 3rd time and convinced myself that someday I, too, have the potential to be an AMAZING cook. I'm not too bad now but my basic food knowledge and expertise is mainly desserts and simple dinners. I wish to attempt more exotic cuisines in the future, perhaps Indian food like Chicken Tikka Masala and naan bread (which when made right is absolutely DELISH!).

So, whilst I am daydreaming about becoming a fabulous chef in the footsteps of Julia Child or Martha Stewart this brings me to the subject of my New Year's Resolutions. Everyone has their to do lists and resolutions ready, right? I usually write mine the night of, but I am going to do it right it now as I have nothing better to do tonight as several family members are in the family room playing a crazy/loud Western-themed Playstation game even though I'm trying to convince them to watch "500 Days of Summer", haha. Nothing like the sound of gunfire and explosions coming from the other room when you are trying to become one with your inner-self and find a higher purpose for yourself in the coming year, hahaha. Oh well, one must adapt to all circumstances and so I will try.

There really is so much I want to do in the New Year. I feel I am bursting at the seams to begin like a racehorse that is waiting at the starting gate. Of course my life recently up until now has felt like one big endurance race and competition already, but let us hope 2010 makes my legs faster, my courage stronger, and my success rate higher, hehe. Without further ado here is yours truly list for the (the Cliff Notes Version because some is too private and too lengthy to share :)

Jess' Resolutions For the New Year

1. Get healthy & fit. For a long time now I have felt my health hasn't been 100%. It hasn't been all my fault but I am determined to do the best I can with what I am given. That means eating healthy. Drinking lots of water, juicing carrots & vegetables (sounds gross but when I drink vegetable juice regularly I really feel the benefits), taking vitamins, exercising at least a couple times a week, even if it's just walking.

2. Thinking and staying positive. Reading good books, listening to beautiful music, watching positive films. Keeping my mind and energy on an optimistic wavelength.

3. Record a fabulous music album this year and promote it through performing, selling CDS, etc... and make some headway with my career.

4. Visit England, Scotland and France!!! For at least a month! (this is a big one for me)

5. Finish my regency novel, get an agent and get published. I'm going to think big. Wherever I land it's meant to be and will be a learning experience.

6. Get involved in charity work. I want to find a cause that really inspires me, one that I can devote some time to and makes a positive impact in someone or several people's lives.

7. Do something towards my goals every day, even if it's just simple tasks. Look ahead and not behind, keep my chin up and go for it!!

There is of course more resolutions, but I shall save them for now as that's all I'm going to share on a public forum, hehe. In the meantime, I'm sharing with you this vintage New Year's card. I found it along with the vintage Christmas cards I was looking up during the holidays. It's kind of weird and he looks like a mini-Mozart, but I still think it's adorable.

Happy New Year to you all! May you all have happiness, good health, and much success in this new coming year. Love ya'll!

My First Blog Award, YAY! : )

2009-12-16T19:12:00.000-08:00

Courtesy of my friend Suz in the lovely green isles of Britain I won this cool blog award. Merci beaucoup chickadee!

Here are the rules:

* 1. Thank the person who nominated you for this award.

* 2. Copy the logo and place it on your blog.

* 3. Link to the person who nominated you for this award.

* 4. Name 7 things about yourself that people might find interesting:

7 Things

1. I used to be a vegetarian then I missed chicken.

2. I have 24 nieces and nephews.

3. When I was a kid I had a crush on actor Robert Duvall in “Lonesome Dove” (yeah, weird I know, haha!)

4. My right thumb is double-jointed so I usually win at thumb wars. Is that cheating?

5. I like to design clothes and make jewelry.

6. I don’t like onions – eating them, smelling them, touching them, the texture of them, (but garlic doesn’t count somehow, lol)

7. It’s one of my dreams to own a beautiful cottage in the English countryside someday – my idyllic writer’s retreat

* 5. Nominate 7 Kreativ Bloggers.

* 6. Post links to the 7 blogs you nominate:

1. Stephanie
2. Zina
3. Amy - Studio Charm
4. UKYankInOz
5. Suz's writing - BangOutTheProse
6. Pulsipher Predilections
7. The Better To Stalk You Now My Dear - Rychelle

* 7. Leave a comment on each of the blogs letting them know they have been nominated.

Heidy Ho!

2009-12-10T11:05:00.000-08:00

Salutations my blogger peeps. Alas, it has been awhile since my last post - but I see several of my friends in the blog world have been a little M.I.A. as well so perhaps I shan't feel so bad. I have been busy hibernating at my writer's retreat (haha, sounds so elegant, but this only translates to my bedroom, which is really like a dorm because several family members are living here with me and my sis and so we are - as my sister Amy's adorable daughter sayst: "crowded happiness") Yes, we are crowded to the brim in this house, but we do love each other, are grateful for a roof over our heads and having each other.

I am still busy at work on my Regency novel - done a lot of rewriting and still working on the first draft but I am feeling so much more positive about the whole novel. It felt I was hitting a writing block for awhile - somehow the story wasn't progressing in a manner that inspired me. Something had to change. And so it did, and I feel the changes improve the novel a great deal and help build a climactic plot. I've been reading bits of my book here and there to on my teenage niece Izzy and mother to test it out and the reviews thus far are good. It's always nice when people laugh at something you've written not because it's bad, but because it's actually funny, lol.

And so I have been engrossed in this story of life in 19th century England- and have been busy falling in love with the characters I created. Just the other night Izzy teased that I was living vicariously through them (the building love story between the heroine and hero especially, haha) and I admit, it's probably true in some measure, but what writer doesn't derive some form of joy or pleasure when happy things happen for their characters? That is not to say all is perfect - one can usually expect trouble and obstacles as well - but such is real life and life in literature :)

I have also been working on some new music as of late - which is really nice to get back to. I adore writing but have to admit that music is my number one passion. My goal for the new year of 2010 is to start performing live again, collaborate with some other great musicians (am searching for a fabulous violinist to accompany me) and record an album to sell, in addition to finishing my novel, sending it to agents, as well as some other projects to keep me busy.

As for everything else in my life, it's been a bit complicated, but then again, whose life isn't these days? I am holding fast to hope, and staying steadfast to my dreams, and trying to keep my head above water. So if that means sometimes I forget to eat or to take a shower because I'm busy sitting at the computer for 10 hours working on my book, then so be it, haha! J.K. Rowling didn't become who she is without a bit of artistic eccentricity (not that I am comparing my writing to hers, only my aspirations, teehee)

Well blogger peeps, I shall bid you faretheewell. I trust I shall write again before Christmas as it is the time of the year when I am most sentimental and most likely to write blogs on my feeling of overflowing good will and holiday joy, hehe. Till then!

Inspiration by a candle...The Loveliness of Fall

2009-10-13T14:03:00.001-07:00

“Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns.” – George Eliot

I love fall. And yet, sometimes I forget how much I truly do until the season comes around again and I walk into a grocery store and the aroma of cinnamon scented pine cones greets my nose. Then I am in heaven! And inspired. Feeling crafty and domestic like an 19th century young woman (minus the corset, lack of baths and basic civil rights).

Its amazing to me how one small thing can brighten someone's mood so tremendously. Scent, for me, and many others, has this magical power that can lift your mood instantly. Yesterday, in lieu of fall's newborn arrival, I went to Wal-mart with my mom and bought Mainstay's pumpkin spice scented candle. It was just a small one with a glass encasement for a $1. Totally worth it! It reminds me of my childhood in Utah, and even annual home shows where they'd always have something like pumpkin & apple pie, mulled cider, or sugar cookie wafting through the corridors making the public happy. Lets be honest, it seems Utah hands down has the best candles on the planet being that it is probably the craft capital of the world. But Wal-mart is a close second, and luckily they manufacture and serve worldwide :)

My little pumpkin spice candle is already getting great compliments and use in the household. We burned it for about 6 hours yesterday in the living room and its only a 1/4 gone. It is now positioned on my computer desk so that I may make both my nostrils happy and keep my inspiration flowing (is it odd how I use the word 'nostrils' when referring to inspiration? LOL!). But then again, think about it, scent trigger memories, and if they are good memories you can transport yourself to that feeling again, even when you are struggling to attain it at times. Its scent therapy. And it works! I should know.

All last night I was raving about the candle and its heavenly odors, to which my mother declared, "If I knew it would make you this happy I would've bought a case load!" She probably said this because during our evening watching a 2-hour episode of "Dancing With the Stars" I kept proclaiming, "Doesn't that smell so good?", "Oh, that is so divine!", "I want to make pumpkin pie!", "We should make pumpkin pie chocolate muffins," etcetera etcetera etcertera!!

As you can see I've been hypnotized by pumpkin, and for only a $1. I can't imagine what the $5 large version of that candle would do to me! Undoubtedly it would be a sound investment. When it comes to one's nose and state of mind, peace and pleasantry is priceless.

So what scent makes you happy and reminds you of happy times? I ask because I may expand my candle empire beyond pumpkin and should like to know. Thanks :D

Leaving you with lovely thoughts of fall :)

Some beautiful visual imagery....Scottish Style

2009-10-09T00:59:00.000-07:00

I don't know about you all, but sometimes, when I am really wishing I could go on holiday, I go on a mental one. No, that doesn't mean I go nuts, haha, just means I go to google image search and start typing in places I'd like to go and see where it leads me to.

From the beginning of me and my boyfriend's courtship we have always talked about going to Scotland, maybe living there someday. I am absolutely in love with England, yes, but there's something so rugged, pure and untouched about Scotland's landscape. We didn't have time to go on my last trip to the UK but what I've seen, and heard, makes it a definite destination next time around.

What I love about Scotland from what I've heard from Pete and seen from photographs is that that most of it is hills, valleys, and lochs, with no civilization for hundreds of miles, even more so than England. I love that. And wherever you are in Scotland you are always close to the sea- since its such a narrow country. I cannot wait to go there. I long to walk through the hills and valleys attempting to channel ancient wisdom from my ancestors onto paper (just kidding, I just mean writing in a journal, or working on my novel), taking photos, and listening to Enya on my MP3 player. Sounds like heaven!

During my google search of Scotland for my mini-holiday I found these GLORIOUS and absolutely divine photographs by photographer David Lloyd-Roach. When I saw them it literally took my breath away, and I've been sharing them with everyone I can since. Hope you enjoy them blog ladies and gents and they brighten your day and make you dream of glorious holidays, too :)

*Note, click on the photos to enlarge to really get the true experience :)

This is my favorite photo of all. It makes me think of a prehistoric paradise (minus the dinosaurs, of course)

My Attempt At Domesticity

2009-10-06T13:41:00.000-07:00

Two weeks ago afore I welcomed this flowerous visitor (we shall call her Miss Chrysanthemum) into my home in hopes that I could nurture her, watch her grow, and enjoy part of nature indoors whilst basking in the pride of my green thumb. I have been writing on a regency novel lately and envisioning beautiful English summer gardens in my head and thought if I had just one actual pot of flowers (however small & minute) on my desk of inspiration, that somehow, I’d have, well, more inspiration.

For a few days I did have more inspiration, and then despair, when I woefully realized that my Chrysanthemum was beginning to wilt. I tried to water it regularly (but then one has to be careful not to over water, causing root rot – these things are so delicate), and I attempted to give her some natural sunlight, but mostly incandescent light by the lamp near my desk. Miss Chrysanthemum was having NONE of it. Her largest blossoms were shriveling by the day and I felt so wretched I decided to put her outside on the balcony. First it was a couple hours airing each day – but last night, I forgot about her and left her outside the entire night.

I took this picture of her today. This is the first day (and after much trimming away of the excess dead flowers and leaves) that she actually looks perked up. Apparently, leaving one’s precious Chrysanthemum out all night is a positive thing to do (I've just learned that these flowers are supposed to be outdoor plants). If this solution does not work out I suppose I should not be too upset, however. I only spent $2 for the entire project ($1 for the Chrysanthemum, $1 for the pot; the trouble and worry of it all – priceless).

This story is to be continued. In the meantime, does anyone have any recommendations of pretty, colorful and small indoor plant I could buy (preferably a flower)? I was thinking perhaps an African violet. Something lovely to perk up my author's corner of the room. I need a backup plan in case Miss Chrysanthemum makes a dramatic exit.

P.S. Admittedly, I am quite proud of myself; I didn’t even have to look up how to spell Chrysanthemum, hehe. Reminds me of that scene in Anne of Green Gables where the teacher asks his soft-voiced blond protege how to spell it, but she ruins it, and Anne triumphantly declares the actual spelling. Hurrah!

Blogless Inspiration or should that be Inspirationless Blog???

2009-10-06T01:12:00.000-07:00

I don't know about you all, but sometimes I feel like I don't have much to say, or if I do, it shall be boring in a blog, which then in turn bores other people, defeating the purpose of a blog, haha. But then again, you might be like me and find that no matter what is going on in people's lives, and blogs, other people's lives are far more interesting to read about and news worthy than my own on paper, or blog space for that matter. So perhaps that is why I've been M.I.A. in the blog realm lately. A lot has been going on, yet if I wrote it all down, it might seem like nothing at all. HA!

But alas, I am back again, regardless of my aforementioned fears, and attempting to be creative or blog inspired once more. My blog title after all does promise such.

Let me think what I have been up to lately.... a road trip and visit to Utah to see my family (was lovely), I live in a hotel (well not really, figuratively speaking, two more family members are staying with us right now, but its been fun, and never short of laughter, only room, hehe). I have seen far too many films in the last few weeks to number, (mostly redbox, so haven't broke the bank) and have spent far too much time playing bedazzled on facebook, (oh wait, is it called bejeweled? HAHA, it is, and that just shows what a brain-numbing/addicting/make you solve imaginary equations afterwards whilst even on the toilet/sick/freaky and hypnotising game that it is). It really is terrible when one thinks about it, haha. But I can't stop, I'll probably even play just 15 mins before I go to bed after this (which translates to= 150 mins, haha).

I will say I have accomplished some good things lately as well in my blog absence. I am 100 pages through my Regency novel that I've been writing, have rewritten some of the plot (for the better I believe) and the story has evolved a great deal. I have done a helluva lot of research recently to keep my regency knowledge & vocabulary up to par which was fun, and time consuming . P.S. If anyone wants to know what an ape leader is, just ask me and I'll tell you ; P because I think we should all incorporate it into our daily vocabularies. JK.

I have also been doing a very difficult, but beneficial diet for my health recently - perhaps that's why I've also been inspirationless and maybe a little crabby. Its the adrenal/anti-candida diet. Which basically means stay away from all the tasty stuff, to improve one's health and vitalization. Translation = stay away from bread and sugars.

You'd be surprised the first couple days on the diet are horrible - I'd liken it to someone getting off crack (not that I've ever done crack, but I've watched that A&E "Intervention" show, it's scary!) , but after the initial few days the diet gets much easier. (I say that only because I tripped up this last week and gave into bread products and ice-cream). Oh well, back on the straight and narrow tomorrow! The good news is I already lost some weight around my middle because of it, which is super hard to lose, and its encouraging that I am beginning to be able to see inside my belly button since... well, I can't remember, lol. Encouraging stuff, haha.

Alright well, I am a bit delirious and tired. I hope this was somewhat amusing. Till I return again lassies & laddies...

Now Back To Your Regularly Scheduled Program

2009-08-10T02:11:00.000-07:00

Okay so its been a busy couple of weeks - what with family coming to town, me chauffeuring said family around town, taking my teenage niece to modeling gigs and castings (she just got signed to Wilhelmina Modeling Agency, wahoo!) helping babysit my cute 2-year old nephew, going to the beach with mom and the kids, going swimming, having BBQ's, - its been hectic hectic hectic. I just wanted to send a shout out if anyone is still around in my bloggy corner of the world that yes, I am still alive, and will be back to posting more soon, (when I'm not busy baby proofing an apartment that has never been baby proofed, since my nephew gets into everything, haha). It's been an adventure with all this new energy and excitement in the apartment, that's for sure. But I wouldn't miss any of it :)

I hope everyone else is having a grand summer. Before I go I wanted to post some things I'm grateful for (thanks to UKYankInOz for the idea). I normally do gratitude notes in my journal, but why not send some positive energy out to the blog world also methinks. And so without further ado:

I am grateful for my loving boyfriend Pete
I am grateful for my family visiting me here in L.A., and a wonderful family in general
I am grateful for the beautiful California sunshine and good weather
I am thankful for a nice place to live and good food to eat
I am grateful for laughter, smiles, music, and all the simple pleasures in life that make it all worthwhile.

Happy Summer everybody!

The Ugly Truth - My Extra Debut

2009-07-24T00:27:00.000-07:00

So I'm sure anyone in America who has basic television has seen the endless previews and media attention surrounding the new romantic comedy "The Ugly Truth" starring Gerard Butler and Katherine Heigl, and I suppose if you've been following my blog enough you'll know that I got to be in this film May 2008 when it filmed in Los Angeles and near San Diego. Now it was nothin' special, I was just an extra for 2 days, but it was a fun experience to hang with the stars up close and personal, watch a movie being made and be part of it, so I just wanted to reminisce a little.

Day 1: I was scheduled to be a night club go-er and patron at for a Salsa club scene to be filmed downtown at the train station (odd location I know, but they made a pretty impressive make-shift salsa club inside). As always with movie making there is usually a very early call, and then a lot of sitting around and waiting for hours. Luckily wardrobe approved me quickly in a red chiffon and beaded halter top, black ruffled skirt and black heels I'd all brought from home, and I was sent to wait in line outside the hair and makeup trailer for approval. About an hour and half later I was sent inside the trailer, with a little surprise as I came up the steps to see Gerard and Katherine inside by the entrance. I don't remember much but I do recall that it was very stuffy, and small in that little trailer and that Gerard Butler has a loud, infectious laugh that seemed to filled the tiny space with a sense of fun and humor.

The set for the salsa club was very large, with balconies overlooking a long oval bar I believe, and a dance floor, with rows of tables and booths on each side. Because of space, and filming tricks, they mainly kept people on one side of the dance floor tables. During filming my first assignment was to walk to a booth by the dance floor, and sit down and join my "date" (a guy whose name I can't really recall, other than he made me laugh and we enjoyed playing with the accoutrements on our prop drinks). Ours was a great spot to be because it was close to all the action, where the actors hung between takes, and apparently the camera was right on us, (my friend actually found a movie still shot with my head in it, total crack up, haha!) I know its me because of where I was positioned, and because there were no extras on the booth tables on the opposite side of the floor. Here's the pic.

LOL, I'm such a nerd! I feel like a party crasher with my head tilted like that (I promise I wasn't looking at the camera, lol!) Let's hope someday my personal and career accolades extend past something more monumental and slightly embarrassing like this, hehe, but if not, it was fun and that's all that really matters.

Overall, film day one was a great day, a long day, a little over 12 hours, but full of laughter and good people. What I enjoyed most was how friendly the other extras were, (extras usually are though) and how casual and laidback Gerard Butler was. Even though some people still didn't know who he was then, (the guys especially until they realized he was King Leonidas in"300"); he didn't act like a star. Gerard didn't sit in his actor's stool really, and instead preferred standing talking with extras and crew, or sitting in a booth next to ours squished next to some camera men. In fact, it struck me that he much preferred this casual atmosphere verses hanging out in a lonely trailer between takes, because he mainly hung out on set with all of us during that time from us extras to the salsa dancers to the crew, regardless of our importance on the film and Hollywood politics. I thought that was really cool.

Being on set was one of those observational experiences where you see this strange dichotomy firsthand with the Hollywood hype, filmmaking, and movie "stars". Its an exciting feeling to be there and yet everyone is normal, they all sweat, they all get tired, they all get hungry, restless, stressed, happy or forgetful. The only difference with famous actors is they have a job where they can have creative release, share a bit of their charisma and hopefully get a handsome paycheck for it, and depending on the press and public's mood they receive adulation and acceptance or criticism and indifference. Makes you realize how fleeting and complicated it all is.

I have to say that living in Hollywood for 5 years now you see it all when you go to parties, meet celebrities, hang with them, even date them, and your perception changes. Hollywood isn't really isn't as glamorous as people think, its mainly an endless rat race of the egos. I love the entertainment industry, don't get me wrong, and its fun to participate, but my belief is that unless you're in it for the right reasons you will get chewed up and spit out. You've got to just love your art, be passionate about it, be pure about it, and hopefully you'll get a break, AND if you do NEVER EVER take yourself too seriously to forget the people who got you there in the first place. It seems like Gerard Butler and even Heigl maintain that humbleness and I really respect that.

Anyway, not to take a completely serious and philosophical approach to this blog, I just wanted to share that portion of the experience in lieu of the new movie coming out. My other day on the Ugly Truth set wasn't as exciting I'm afraid, (though it was more drama, haha). I was cast as a wine festival go-er (they always add go-er to extra casting assignments, haha) at a Lake near San Diego. Beautiful location, but the day was rather like an endurance contest, and showed the not so glamorous side of filmmaking which includes knats attacking everyone in the bitter cold foggy morning, following by a HOT HOT heatwave in the afternoon causing sun burns, heat stroke, and exhaustion. Can we say glamorous?! But hey, at least they got some Hollywood movie magic out of it and maybe The Ugly Truth will be a blockbuster, haha!

"The Ugly Truth" opens in theaters today. I may catch a matinee this afternoon, and maybe I'll see my silly face in it, lol. Good memories :)

Eatin’ Without Wheat – Domestic Goddess Attempt Part 1

2009-07-11T20:32:00.000-07:00

For a long while now I have wondered if I am allergic to wheat flour. I’ve suffered from dizziness, lightheaded-ness, amongst some other maladies for awhile, and wonder if it could also be in something I eat on regular basis especially since the feeling seems to be increased after I eat flour. It wouldn’t be uncommon since the allergy exists in my family. And so I am on a quest, a test if you will, to see if I can stay away from wheat flour for a couple weeks, and see any changes in my health and state of mind.

Embarking on my quest I had no idea how difficult it could be at first. I’m sort of a wheat-addict if you will, plus it’s in everything, especially food on a budget. It’s in the macaroni, ramen noodle soup, cereal, bread, burritos, candy bars, dressings, and even soy sauce (gimme a break!!) Now I never really noticed how much wheat is on the shelf in every grocery store aisle product until I started really reading labels, and I found myself wondering what kind of alternatives I would have to use to substitute my craving. And it is a craving, dear readers. If there was a social profile for a Wheat-a-holic, I would fit it to a T. So what’s a lassie to do? I thought awhile and came to these conclusions:

One must get back to basics. Back when food wasn’t complicated and filled with all these sneaky chemicals and preservatives. I’m going back to the olden days and olden ways (save for grinding my own flour between two stones and cooking with a wood burning stove for hours, lol). I’ve got modern tools, a treasure trove of alternative recipes online, and a community of Celiacs to turn to, so I can do it right? This is what I’ve come up with…

My no wheat project officially started last Sunday. Thus far I have not ingested this grain in any form. A couple nights ago I decided that I would use white rice flour as a possible alternative. I found a good recipe for rice muffins on the internet and set about making my own rice flour. Lucky me I had a little mini grinder I’d never used (the kind that blends coffee, salsas, etc…), and it worked like a gem. A bag of rice came to about 2 and ½ cups of flour and was done in about 10 minutes. Here’s the recipe I used, changed up a little for more flavor, and might continue to change as a work in taste bud progress.

CINAMMON APPLE RICE MUFFINS

1 egg

1 tbsp oil

½ cup of milk

½ cup of applesauce

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups of rice flour

2 tbsp of baking powder

2 tbsp regular white sugar

2 tbsp brown sugar

½ tsp of salt

DIRECTIONS. Preheat oven to 325 degrees (May be higher for higher elevations, but I’m in California and my oven makes me do things at a lower temperature or else they will burn). Mix liquid ingredients together first (including apple sauce). Then add the flour, sugar, salt and baking powder. This recipe makes a little over a dozen cupcake sized muffins. If you want bigger muffins you can put more into the pans and you’ll get just a dozen. Bake for approximately 12 minutes. I like to check the progress with a toothpick. You will know they are done when it comes out pretty clean. You can’t completely tell by the color of the muffins as the tops don’t brown much, though the bottoms will. After that you can take them out and add butter, honey, or jam. YUM! Here are the end results:

Psychedelic rice muffins (courtesy of my crappy camera). Unfortunately I had already partaken of one of the muffins to create unity in the picture. Oh well! (Actual color of muffin slightly less YELLOW!) LOL!

My rice muffin hand- slightly out of focus, could be a lump of anything really, but luckily its a delicious and healthy rice muffin! Gobble up!

Unfortunately I don’t know the calories of these babies (though I gather it is better than regular flour). I imagine they’re not the lowest of calories due to sugar/carbohydrate content, but you can substitute the flour for brown rice flour, and the sugar for splenda, which I intend on trying in the future. They’re not as fluffy as wheat or white flour, similar consistency to corn bread, but they are a good enough alternative if you are trying to stay away from regular wheat flour and don’t want to feel totally deprived of bread-like things. Anyhoo, I think they're delish.

I am looking forward to diving into more rice recipes. May even get a little rice crazy! I could make rice milk, horchata, rice cookies, rice candy, (LOL, okay maybe that is going a little too far!), rice ice-cream (oh wait, should that be called rice-cream?) I shall let you know of my progress!

This is rice-cream, what I would like to eventually attempt to make (once I buy an ice cream maker, and also start churning my own rice butter, haha). Anyone note the irony of this photo? (The cow God looks down with envy at the bowl of rice-cream tastiness. After all, if we don't need her for milk, what will we use her for instead?!)

Which brings me to my next topic. Next thing to kick from regular diet: Dairy (this one is going to be even harder!) It’s really supposed to be a no-no for us singers, plus I’ve had sinus issues at moments when I need to sing. I will have to learn to overcome this addiction formed since childhood. I just love cheese, butter, and ice-cream! Help me Lord! Who’d have thought that the lactic secretion of Bovine in its various forms could be so addictive and alluring? I am searching for appropriate alternatives to this one as we speak. Have faith in me!

And so the journey continues!

My Lil Red Rosies....

2009-07-06T00:21:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to reminisce in the memory of these lovely agents of love my boyfriend sent me for my birthday. They are pretty much dead now and I have to throw them away(except for a few I'm drying as a keepsake), but I wanted to remember and bask in the glory of them when they were in their prime, lol :) Cue the violin music....

Summer Holiday Merriment....

2009-06-29T20:43:00.000-07:00

Not so long ago my dearest love got on a jet plane and flew back to England, but before that we had a 2-week vacation of a lifetime, a few memories of which I shall share here.

Pete flew into L.A. at the end of last May. We had a good week of taking in the sights of my city (I had fun playing the tourist again, and remembering that there are actually some pretty darn cool things to do here) before heading to Vegas to get hitched (just kidding, haha. He'd never been there, and we were meeting up with my family). Pete had a simple list of things he wanted to see when he got to America, the ocean, the Getty museum, Hollywood, the Grand Canyon, Vegas, and the La Brea Tar Pits (anyone whose ever been there will know they are not as exciting as they seem on film, lol). I did my best to make my man happy, and even though we didn't make it to the Grand Canyon, we did have a GRAND time. Here are some snaps of us on our tour of Los Angeles.

Me and Pete on the Santa Monica Pier

Pete and I at Pacific Palisades' Park

Pete at Grauman's Chinese Theater with the original Terminator's hand print (Arnie Schwarzenegger)

Me with the new Terminator Poster, trying to look dangeroooouuuus!!!

Us at the Getty museum, which looks more like an engagement photo pose, lol.
After the L.A. chapter of our trip we got in the car and headed for Nevada, which was a blast! Pete is the perfect road trip companion because he's sexy, hilarious, a great conversationalist, and can make any activity fun and interesting really (that and he's got the most dashing cleft chin and dimpled smile that makes a girl swoon. No complaints here!) Pete even had his first driving lesson of driving on the opposite side of the road in America...

Pete behind the wheel. From his expression he almost looks drunk, which, of course, he wasn't!
Don't worry, it was legal. (letting my boyfriend drive I mean, haha). It was a long drive and I needed a break so Pete took the wheel. I must admit that my student won his driving test with flying colors and I couldn't help but reward him with a kiss, or two, or three-thousand ; P

A view driving along Interstate 15, before a rain shower. The desert has a lonesome beauty to it doesn't it?
Right before Vegas we came upon a sign that was very appropriate...

We felt so privileged that the city of Primm, Nevada would take such personal measures to make Pete feel so welcome (even if he doesn't like whiskey!)
Vegas was more than Pete expected, a place wilder than his wildest dreams. He said he'd never seen anything like it, and I daresay, he never shall since because its that spellbinding (LOL!). We checked in at the Luxor, and after getting some grub, washing up, and meeting up with some of my family we went out on the town.

Happy and smiling couple, little did we know that a couple hours later we'd really have somethin' to smile about...
Let's suspend the suspense...It was not but 10 minutes after we'd entered a casino that first night when Pete and I sat down to a slot machine and won $255 (on a $10 bill!!!) We were shocked! Amazed! Flabbergasted! Especially since my sister Kim had just won a $265 jackpot on a machine a few slots down just a few minutes earlier! It was certainly a lucky night for all of us (and we kept the majority of our winnings, which is also a pretty remarkable feat). Pete had never experienced anything like it as he'd never gambled and was very skeptical about the practice. He had so much fun he said he could understand now why people get hooked on gambling, haha.

More snaps from our adventure....

Tally ho! Me, in front of the Luxor, commanding the statue goats (or were they camels?) to march! Attempted feat was unsuccessful.

Rockin' the shades, Luxor style
Some other highlights of Vegas: I took Pete to "Cafe Rio" in Las Vegas for dinner with my big family. (Anyone who knows of Cafe Rio, knows this is a BIG deal cause the food and house dressing are delish!) He absolutely loved it and said he'd never been so full in his life after eating an entire chicken salad in one sitting, haha. I felt proud that I had converted my British boyfriend to the American way of eating (bigger portions, better food, haha).

Pete was also a hit with my family, especially my niece and nephews who enjoyed his funny voice impressions of Gollum from Lord of the Rings. My 10-year old nephew Isaiah couldn't stop bombarding him with questions about video games like, "Hey Pete, do you have Halo in England? If you have Halo we can play on the internet! Do you have a PS2? You don't? You need a PS2!" While my 5-year old niece Rissa proclaimed things like, "Hey Pete, I asked Aunt Jessie if she was going to marry you someday and she said yes!", and "EW, why are you two kissing so much?! That's gross!". Those little rascals leave no mystery for me to pretend that my family isn't loud, wild, and outspoken, haha. But luckily, Pete passed the family test as he loved them anyway and they loved him, and so he'll be moving on to another level up next time he comes to America and meets more of my huge extended family. Should be fun! (I am now trying to mentally prepare him due to my family's large and intimidating size and personalities, haha).

Whilst in Vegas we also had a chance to sample the lunch buffet at the Luxor. Pete was eager to try it since he'd had many referrals from his British comrades that if you go to Vegas, you eat Vegas style a-la the buffets. The Luxor food wasn't spectacular (but their desserts were, so we couldn't complain).

After 2 nights in Vegas of gamblin' winnin', buffet fillin', family embarassin' fun we headed back to L.A. It was a sad time as this was the last leg of the trip before Pete would go back to England. Our last day together we went took a drive to Malibu and watched the sun go down at the beach. A sad day of reminiscing, and we were prone to fits of laughter interspersed with bursts of tears. It was an emotional time, but what can I say, we were feeling sentimental, and who can blame us?

Mushy, I know, but I don't care :)

Salutations from sunny Southern Utah....

2009-05-22T21:44:00.000-07:00

So... I am here in Southern Utah after a long stay, and am finally writing a blog to say hello, sorry I've been gone, life's been busy sort of, but more than that, I've felt uninspired to write anything well, inspired (not to say that my writings are that, they're more like journal entries really, lol) Speaking of journals, I never really wrote in those religiously growing up, so it would make sense that I don't blog regularly either. Anyhoo, enough of that, I wanted to write a small post to say hello, I hope you're all well out there.

I've been spending my last couple of weeks hanging with family and enjoying Utah (though now that the HOT HOT weather has sunk in down here, I recall very vividly why I left the desert in the first place). Methinks I'm a California girl, I enjoy the sun, but not so much that it burns me on a regular basis or makes me feel like I'm in the Sahara desert. Because it's so expensive we haven't really had my sister's AC on much and so have tried to keep cool with fans and a spray bottle (makes me have great sympathy for the pioneers who hung it out here without either, and they were wearing long dresses, and warmer clothing, goodness me!!)

I wouldn't say I've accomplished a great deal of things while I've been here (unless of course, colon cleanses count, which really, I doubt you want me to regale you on that experience, HAHA!) I've babysat. I've gone to movies. Del Taco. Red Box. Wow, I sound really ambitious don't I? LOL! I haven't felt too well to be honest though, so I've started a new health regimen down here which has been good though and helpful (ha, I just realized, how odd that I say "down here" when in reality Southern Utah is north of where I live, lol). It must be habit, since I spent the majority of my life in northern Utah. Anyway, onwards and upwards I say, there is much I wish to accomplish this summer, and its definitely more ambitious than Del Taco and Red Box DVD runs, lol!

Next week I am going up to SLC for a few days, hopefully I'll get a chance to meet both my new nieces (who look absolutely adorable in their pictures) and reconnect with a few old friends before flying back to L.A. and quickly cleaning up my apartment and making it pretty before my boyfriend arrives from England for a two week stay. Yes, Pete is coming, and I am so excited to see him! We are planning on going all around L.A. and then possibly driving to Utah so he can meet some of my family (which should be lots of fun, and very interesting, considering I have a "big" family) Poor Pete, I hope he won't be too intimidated, he just has one sister, and no nieces or nephews, and I have 23? (the number changes frequently so its hard to keep track, oh, and that's nieces and nephews, not how many siblings I have, haha). Pete is a good sport though, he's very gracious and has good manners, plus he's very funny and charming, so I think they'll be impressed.

Alright well, I shall bid you adieu for now. I hope you are all enjoying the beginning of summer!

England Trip Part 5 The Lake District

2009-05-04T21:29:00.001-07:00

Well dearies, this is the finale to my trip to England, and my favorite part, (drum rolls please) ............the Lake District, former home of children’s author Beatrix Potter and a premiere holiday destination for Brits and International people alike (like moi). I have to admit, I was SOOO looking forward to seeing the Lake District as I’d already saved up dozens of photos of this ethereally beautiful place in a folder on my hard drive. Being there in person I can tell you that my daydreams didn’t even do it justice. The Lake District really is magical, and I can say with certainty it’s definitely the most beautiful place I’ve ever been.

When I arrived in England Pete asked me the top places I wanted to see in England. I told him my #1 destination was the Lake District. He told me he wanted to make my dreams come true, and he did. What a sweetie!

We had driven up to Manchester to meet his parents and I knew at some point we would make it up to the Lake District, which was about an hour and a half away from his parent’s house. But the trip up north to the Lakes was shrouded in mystery. During dinner the night before we went to the Lakes Pete was acting rather mysterious. Pete's dad suggested we stay at his uncle’s “chalet” by the Lakes when we arrived to which Pete declared that it was DEFINITELY not a chalet and basically that I shouldn’t get my hopes up about where we were staying. But Pete’s dad has a smirk on his face and I had a feeling something was up.

Pete has often warned me he is the King of Surprises, and I can definitely confirm that he is. The morning we left for the Lakes he drilled it in further that where we would be staying that night would probably be really cold, cramped, and we might not even be able to take showers there, haha. I felt like he was playing it up since he knew what a time I was having adjusting to the cold English climate. Despite this I tried to be a good sport, and it was worth it.

My whole Lake District experience felt reminiscent of the film "Somewhere in Time", because it really feels like you are traveling back in time. The Lake District is a beautiful oasis of nature surrounded by lush green hills and open pastures, old stone cottages and fences, small, cozy villages with cobblestone streets, and of course, lakes, as expected. We had a fun drive to the Lakes cracking jokes, singing random songs, and taking random pictures of the gorgeous country Landscape. As we drove along the narrow two-lane country road to my mouth was agape at the glorious splendor surrounding us. Here are some of the snaps I took along the way.

Can you see the sheep in the distance? I want to live in the countryside here! It's heaven!

Ode to Green hills! Beautiful!

I actually took this pic while we were driving, I was pleased with myself for catching an in focus image. Not shabby ey?! Lake Windermere was so lovely!

And reaching our "shabby" accommodations for the night....

As you can see Pete led me to believe we'd be staying somewhere rubbish, but far from it! We stayed at Lyzzick Hall Hotel, which was a beautiful, comfortable, lovely hotel, with AMAZING views from the window. It was so beautiful it actually brought tears to my eyes, and was the most romantic gesture anyone has ever done for me.

That night we had fun going to the nearby town of Keswick for some authentic fish and chips. I was surprised at myself, I'm definitely not a seafood person and was skeptical, but it was SOOO good!

The next day we had fun touring around Keswick and Lake Windermere some more. Here are some pics of us goofing around at the hotel, and then through the Lakes.

Me and my Pete.

Pete being the sexy beast that he is, hehe.

Keswick (pronounced Kes-ick)

Lake Windermere. Other worldly beautiful.

A cool structure across Lake Windermere.

An amazing place and fantastic trip. I can't wait to see England in the summer!

England Trip - Part 4 MANCHESTER

2009-03-20T01:33:00.000-07:00

Continuing with my journey to the motherland (of my ancestors, hehe)...here are some pictures and anecdotes of my visit up to Manchester, England. My boyfriend Pete's parents live up there and we were planning to stay with them for a days so that I could get a chance to see the north of England.

We drove up on a Thursday and the drive up was very pleasant. It took about 4 and a half hours (due to a stop in Derbyshire visiting Pete's best friend John and his gf Selina). They cooked us a nice dinner of Indian food (one of my main staples of food in England actually), and I got my first taste of orange squash (its actually a juice drink, not some new vegetable, and very tasty btw) and then we drove up to meet Pete's parents in Bury (a burrough of Manchester). I was a little nervous as this was the first time I was meeting Pete's parents, but luckily I had nothing to worry about as they were very kind, fun, and hospitable people.

Friday, February 20th we spent the day exploring the countryside outside Bury. I absolutely loved it. I found that I much prefer the north of England than the south due because it has more hills...

Pretty pretty hills.

The Rock of Gibraltar (okay, well, no, but it had been there since the Roman occupation)

Me and "the rock". It was a fine rock. A sturdy rock. A friendly rock. And it liked posing for pictures.

Petey poses with the rock. He's 6 feet tall, so as you can see it towered over him.

Rejoicing from the splendor of my surroundings (and oh yeah, it was BITTERLY cold!)

This was taken right after we stopped the car to get out and take pictures (in the middle of the road mind you, these things are allowed in the country). As I stepped out of the car, I fell unexpectedly into a ditch. Most lovely, haha.

This was a nice footpath in the country near a farm/estate that is open to the public. Public footpaths are all around the countryside, even through private property/land sometimes. I suppose its a treaty that the government made with country folk. I just love stone fences.

I have a fascination with old cemeteries. There is an air of mystery and spooky-ness surrounding them. It also makes me wonder about the people there, who they were, what their lives were like when they lived so long ago.

An old church converted into an antique shop across the street from the old cemetery. There were so many beautiful churches in the countryside, I was in awe.

A cute country pub we saw during our drive called "The Grey Mare".

A country church in Ainsworth built in the 14th century I believe. This was where Pete was christened as a wee babe :) It was so beautiful in person.

I have a thing about doors. I love them! Especially ones rusted with age. I find them very artistic, so much so that I'd like to buy a professional camera just to take pictures of old doors, hehe.

The lovely tower and clock of Ainsworth church. I would've rang the bell but I might have gotten into trouble :)

And here's me and Pete at the church (right before it rained and we had to leave). Don't we make a fine pair :)

We had a lovely time and some lovely memories, and I can't wait to go back again this summer, when all the flowers are blooming (and its warmer!). There is so much more I'd like to explore of England. Hope you enjoyed the pictures everyone!

England Trip - PART 3 Cambridge

2009-03-10T16:45:00.000-07:00

Right O', time to add some more photos and tidbits from my trip to Great Britain. Last Valentine's Day Pete and I drove up to Cambridge (it's about an hour and a half outside of Finchley, London). It was the first time I got a chance to see true blue (or rather green) English countryside and I was SOOO excited. The drive was very pleasant and nice. Along the way I enjoyed hearing a bit of the British radio stations, BBC 1 in particular (I believe that's what it was called). They played a lot of Top 40 tunes they play here in the states.... artists like Katy Perry, Britney Spears, Pink, but with some artists I've never been privileged to hear as well....(Yeah, British rap is quite interesting, lol!). For instance, Lily Allen is HUGE over there. A mega star. As is Jimmy Osmond (yeah, his posters for a Broadway show were plastered all over the London tube stations). I can understand the hype with Lily maybe, but Jimmy? What gives?! LOL!

Pete and I arrived in Cambridge in early afternoon and I had my camera in hand to snap as many pictures as was possible (scratch that, in actuality I wasn't able to snap as MANY pics as I truly wanted due to my memory card not formatting properly). I was forced to take only probably 5-7 photos to be saved on my camera's internal memory, otherwise I'd have to delete some precious photos taken in London. The rest of the pictures from Cambridge would have to be memories saved in, well, MY internal memory.

We did a lot of walking through Cambridge. Its a beautiful town with breathtaking architecture, an interesting mix of the old traditional Gothic & Georgian styles fused with modern contemporary. Most of the buildings still have the historical facades, of course, which I really liked, but were renovated inside, to suit our 21st century needs. I absolutely loved it! They also had a lot of American establishments I recognized like Starbucks, Pizza Hut and Chilli's which made me feel a little more at home.

Speaking of which, I made up a game with Pete during my time in England. Whenever I saw an American business, whether it be a restaurant, coffee shop, clothing store, etc..., I'd make a 'T' symbol with my hand and haughtily yell "T", as though we Americans somehow had the upper hand on Brits, and that's why they want to copy us. A competition ensued between us and Pete tried to trademark as many British establishments as he could in a certain amount of time against me. I always said I'd tally up the points between us at the end of the day to decide officially which nation is the best, but I never really did. Guess this trip was more a United Nations mission trying to unite cultures vs. dividing them. Which is why we held hands and kissed, ALOT, to fill in the cultural gaps, of course, hahaha! Call me a good will ambassador from America if you will, lol!

Anyhoo, here we have some pictures of our journey through Cambridge. First up we have a picture of a church I took during our drive through Cambridge trying to find parking (it was rather difficult!)

We'd finally found parking at a shopping centre and began our long walk through town. Here's me standing in front of a cute old hotel across from a park, the name of which escapes me.

And poor Pete trying to keep warm at the park (it was rather cold that day).

Walking through Cambridge.

The Fitzwilliam Museum and its grand white columns. This is one of my favorite pics of that day.

A beautiful old building used by the University where Pete deciphered the Latin inscriptions and then tried to explain them to me (courtesy of his private-school education. Why oh why don't they teach us Americans Latin in school, lol?!)

Another of the streets of Cambridge.

The historical and spellbinding King's College. It was such a massive building it was hard to capture the full building on one sole picture, so here's a couple shots!

Lastly here's a pic of a cute little church that was in the center of a shopping street. I couldn't resist taking a pic; it had so much character.

SOME MORE HIGHLIGHTS OF CAMBRIDGE

After a lot of walking we got rather tired so decided to take a break in the evening at a mall in the center of Cambridge. We stopped at a little coffee stand and it was there that I had my first eccles cake (very good pastry, crusty, flakey, nuts & raisin goodness) and the best hot chocolate ever with whipped cream (possibly the best in my life!)

While walking around we decided to stop by a pharmacy called Boots (Think Rite Aid in America). I was in dire need of a shower cap because, well, I didn't feel like washing my hair every day (my hair dryer took FOREVER to dry my hair due to the low wattage converter). We looked for one of those cheap disposable thin plastic shower caps but to no avail. All we could find is something that resembled this:

I don't know why that model is so happy. These shower caps aren't exactly beauty enhancers. Mine could only be described as a hideous, beige colored, industrial strength plastic shower cap that belonged in the 70's. Luckily Pete thought it was hot stuff and happily modeled it on his head in the line for check out to make me feel better. He even encouraged me to try it on in public, too, to my dismay, which I did, trying to ignore the curious looks of onlookers. But I tell you, Pete was so persuasive and he wore that cap with such finesse that even Paris Hilton herself would have to buy one, cause it was just HOT! (On a side note, I later lost that shower cap when I accidentally left the bag in a bathroom stall at the mall that night, not on purpose of course, or was it?!!). I later had to search throughout London to find another suitable replacement of its high quality and grace.

I also enjoyed getting lost at night in Cambridge trying to find our way back to the car park at a mall. I know this sounds odd, but it was kind of fun as we retraced our steps of the day. We finally found the right streets after I recognized various shops and restaurants from our Trademark game. Yeah, it came in really handy!

So all in all it was a great Valentine's Day. We drove home and Pete cooked me a wonderful dinner of Indian food, Chicken Tikka Masala! I couldn't have asked for more!

England Trip Continued - PART TWO - London

2009-03-04T20:51:00.001-08:00

Hey All,

So I'm back with more pics and tidbits to share on my trip to England. When I first got there I realized several things were very crucial. 1. Warmth. 2. Warmth. 3. Wearing comfortable socks and shoes (as mentioned in previous posts, I got major blisters the second day I arrived, ironically, from snowboarder grade socks. Sounds impossible, right? Nope. Its not). I will confess it was a shock to be in a new foreign country... one that was night and day from Los Angeles. But it was also VERY exciting! It took some getting used to crossing the streets looking the opposite way for oncoming traffic, or never knowing which direction was which, and where everything was, getting used to the funky appliances or showers/tubs. I did get sick on my trip...I came with a cold, lost my voice one night, got blisters, got a cold sore, and other ailments.... but I was so lucky as Pete took great care of me and I couldn't have been in better hands.

I really had the time of my life. And I'll tell you why...let's start with the supermarket first, haha. Every night Pete and I shopped at Tesco's. I felt like a kid in a candy store and everything seemed like a novelty. All the unrecognizable and new products that I haven't seen in America I wanted to try (except for maybe haggis, or other weird unidentifiable meat, haha). I quickly learned what my favorite English food/snacks were.

Breakfast always consisted of buttered croissants, a banana, and black current tea (positively the most divine tea of all mankind, in my humble opinion). I'm one of those people that if I find something I like, I stick with it, and I'm practically obsessed with it. So every morning like clockwork I ate this.

I also found that the bakery made cookies from Tesco's were actually quite cheap, (and also exquisitely divine). Pete was amused by how much I loved these chocolate chip cookies. I confess I began to convert him to their calorie-ridden goodness (and Pete is a health nut!). When his mum asked him what kind of stuff I liked, the above items were what Pete mentioned. She was so nice to have them on hand we traveled up north and stayed at his parent's house.

We bought some Vimto which is a black current flavored drink. It comes concentrated like this and you add water....tasted pretty good. I was noticing a pattern that I loved everything black current, lol!

I also was in love with Chicken Tikka Masala (which isn't an English cuisine, but its very popular there, and it's my favorite dish any where; any time. I think I asked to eat this almost every night, haha! Poor Pete!)

People say that English food isn't always the best. I never ate anything that tasted bad. We cooked most of our food (well mostly Pete did, upon his gentlemanly insistence!) and when we went out everything tasted fabulous. No complaints, only compliments!

I also fell in love with British candy bars....particularly one called Toffee Crisp
and Munchies (which Pete introduced me to in the Lake District). The best!

Unfortunately, all the junk food I purchased from England and brought home to the states has now been consumed. I should feel guilty, but I don't, and only wish I had more of those chocolate/orange Kit Kats! HAHA!

Walker's Crisps (potato chips) Worcester Sauce flavored

and lastly, Sticky Toffee Pudding (the most divine dessert, an earthly creation with heavenly taste!)

We spent our first week touring London and the nearby countryside....Thursday the 12th we stayed in the neighborhood, (after my blister incident), Friday the 12th we saw Trafalgar Square, the National Gallery, Covent Garden, then we stopped at a cafe near the Thames River...then by moonlight walked hand-in-hand along the river... and finished the evening with a meal at the pub. I confess it was all very romantic. I might have been wearing 4 layers of clothing, 2 pairs of socks, plus leg warmers, a scarf, and the hood of my sweatshirt covering my ears, but I was blissfully content.

Saturday, Valentine's Day, we spent in Cambridge(pics to follow in my next blog). Sunday we stayed around Finchley. Monday and Tuesday we traveled on the tube and saw more of London. Wednesday we drove around the beautiful countryside of Essex, near London. The next part of the journey we went up north to Derbyshire, then Manchester, then the Lake District.

Here are some more captures of our travels through London. We managed to cover a lot of ground during that time. Big Ben, Parliament Buildings, Tower of London, Buckingham Palace, some museum (which the name fails me), and some other great sights. Hope you enjoy them as much as we did!

England Trip - PART ONE London

2009-02-26T17:06:00.001-08:00

Hey all,

Well, I'm back in Los Angeles after an amazing two-week trip to England. I got in late last night and was, and still am, absolutely knackered (as the Brits say, it means tired). It was a long 11-hour flight back, but I have to say it went pretty smoothly as far as flights go, and even though I'm not a big fan of flying I have to give kudos to British Airways, which in my opinion is the best airline I've ever flown with. Definitely the best service ever.

I want to share my trip adventures in parts, because my boyfriend Pete and I really covered a lot of places and miles throughout the country, so this first travelogue blog will be devoted to all things London. The first week of the trip, and the last 2 days were spent in England, and these are some of the photos taken during out journey. I had some camera trouble so some of the shots were taken with a kooky digital camera, and a one-time use Polaroid camera, but I think they turned out pretty good. Here ye go, enjoy!!!

Me & Pete at Trafalgar Square, aren't we cute :D

Trafalgar Square

Art Gallery at Trafalgar Square at sunset

Big Ben, & some guy's head in the picture, lol. Darn!

The Parliament buildings

Westminster Abbey. Absolutely beautiful architecture

More close up picture of the exquisite detail of Westminster Abbey

Beautiful building and statue at a park in London

A view of The Thames River as we walked along. Across the river you can see the London Eye and an aquarium located in that enormous old building

Pete during one of our walks through Finchley, London. Here he is, looking more innocent than a cherub. The only thing missing from this pic is his halo

As you can see he's very versatile. Here he is trying to instill the look of fear with a mortal kombat pose. But don't worry, he's a harmless gent!

Hope you enjoyed some of these tidbits. More pictures from London and around England to follow in the days to come!

Salutations from Merry Ole' England...

2009-02-12T09:31:00.000-08:00

So, I have some free time whilst my bf is at the store (picking me up some stuff to help my blistered feet from walking around today). Who'd have thought that socks can make someone have blisters? We walked only about 45 minutes today around Finchley, London, and my feet started hurting like crazy the way the socks rubbed on them. When we got back to Pete's flat I found that I have huge blisters on both of my feet. Not good considering I'm going to be doing a lot of walking on this trip and I want to see all the sights around London and the countryside. I suppose we won't be going anywhere tonight, which is fine though as my feet need time to recover and its snowing outside. Ironically it was VERY sunny this morning/early afternoon. I am now learning a great deal many things about England on my first trip here, and one of them is the unpredictable weather.

My trip has been surreal and a bit of a blur thus far. I had a long 10-hour flight here (there was a lot of turbulance which was unsettling), although I can thoroughly recommend British Airways as the creme de la creme of Airlines if you must travel. I felt so posh having my own personal movie player (equipped with New Release DVDs, older films, TV shows, and Music Albums). I could choose whatever I wanted to watch and it helped pass the time well. I watched "How to Lose Friends & Alienate People" (very funny btw), "Nights in Rodanthe", " High School Musical 3" (was actually quite cute) and an episode of "The Office". The food on the flight was also not that bad, they had a lot of desserts and the nice beverages and the British air stewardesses were all very nice.

I'm sure this happens to everyone who travels to a different place, foreign locales especially, but the change in time zone, directions that you're familiar to, makes it kind of funny. Luckily I managed to stay awake after my flight and set my body clock, but I still get confused as to which way is north, east or west, etc....

I saw some interesting old buildings today as Pete and I walked in Finchley. There was an old church with a graveyard. The church reminded me of something you'd see on a movie set, as I'd never seen something so old. It was very fun. The graveyard had a very mysterious vibe about it, and even crows were making sounds in the trees, giving it quite a bit of ambience, haha. I loved seeing the old headstones covered in lichen, aged with time, some of the inscriptions had been worn off, but the place had a feeling that made you wonder who these people were, and what were their lives like?

I know this is only the tip of the iceberg. Tomorrow we want to go around London (central part I believe). I'm really anxious to see the famous sights of Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Trafalgar Square, etc... And then I can't wait to see the countryside, because I figure that if I am fascinated by just one old church and a graveyard today, there will be endless things to see and enjoy!

On another note, its quite an adjustment with the cold weather. Being a California girl I've had to bundle up extra (hence why I also wore that rough pair of socks, that are meant as snowboarder/skiier socks actually, thought they'd keep me warm, which they did, but they also did a number on my feet). I dressed warm enough today though when we went outside and I didn't feel cold like I was yesterday. Also, one more thing, it was fun to do simple stuff like go to the grocery store yesterday (Tesco) and see all the different products they have vs. American stuff. I noticed they have lots of baked goods/pastries and meat. And that the baked goods are really not that expensive, for instance, it was only £1.05 for a 6 pack of fresh crossiants. In America this would easily be $3.50 at least.

Anyway, I will try to post pictures when I can. Not sure if that will be after my trip, or during, we'll see!

The London Countdown...

2009-02-07T12:20:00.000-08:00

Well folks, its only 3 days until I get on the plane and fly to beautiful green isles of the United Kingdom, and most specifically London. I cannot even describe how elated, how excited I truly am. This is a lifelong dream coming to fruition. I am finally going to the place I've dreamed about since I was a little girl, the place I lived vicariously through movies and where my ancestors came from . Yeah yeah, I'm getting all sentimental now, haha. Seriously, I am just so grateful and happy about it!

I never realized how much one has to think about when they are going on an international trip, and England specifically. I already had my passport so no problem, but now we have...plug converter, money exchange, emergency contact numbers, international phone card, thermals, etc.... Luckily I found a really GORGEOUS black wool coat from Burlington Coat Factory the other day to keep me nice and toasty keeping in mind how cold England is this time of year. Its not waterproof though so now I think I'm going to have to get a little water poncho just to keep it try from getting wet, argh. Not exactly a great fashion statement but oh well!

I've been consulting with family and friends who have been overseas just for tips of anything else I should know, or places they would recommend I see. I'm also touring the countryside, like Manchester (where my bf is from), the Lake District hopefully, etc... We'll see I guess. I don't care where we go really, I'll just be glad to be there! Here's some stuff I definitely want to see....

Buckingham Palace

Big Ben

Hyde Park

Tower Bridge

Westminster Abbey

AND IN THE BEAUTIFUL COUNTRYSIDE.....

Breathtaking villages like Castle Combe in the Cotswolds

Towns like Bath, Avebury

Into the distance, The Lake District

Beautiful country estates like Shrubland

Hey, how did my future house get on here? LOL!

Ancient little churches with character and history

And AMAZING CASTLES....

Bamburgh Castle

Porchester Castle

The spellbinding Lowther Castle

Doesn't get any better than this ey? Not sure if will see all these places but a girl can dream! Anyone who has been to England have any other must-see recommends before I leave? Please let me know if you do! I will be taking plenty of photos! Hope all is well with all my blogging pals! Let me know how ya are!

2009 Salutations

2009-01-16T09:50:00.000-08:00

Dear Blogger Peeps,

Just coming up for air to say hello, I’m alive, I’ve missed you all, and sorry I’ve been M.I.A.,( I’ve been busy falling in love ((more about that later ; )) Lol, that’s not the only reason why, but I’m just gonna use it for an excuse, mm k? So… it’s 2009, a whole New Year, a year full of adventure and promise. Boy does time fly. I’m still re-adjusting to a slower pace of life after the hustle and bustle of the holidays. I spent Christmas and New Years in Utah with my family and left 2008 behind with some fond memories, love in my heart, and 5 extra pounds added during the holidays to my stomach that transferred into 2009 (HEY YOU!!! Yes, you, stubborn belly fat! Go away!) I thought the pounds would magically disappear when the clock struck twelve New Year’s Eve(which would have been quite a sight to behold as I was sitting at a slot machine at a casino in Mesquite, Nevada, haha) but then when it was 12 o’clock I looked down, and nope, the 5 lbs were still there.

Special thanks to my sister Kim for hosting me during the holidays and feeding this lassie well (oh, and also kudos to Café Rio and Durango’s Grill in St. George for their superb, affordable (and FATTENING) cuisine!) Thanks thanks thanks! I am now going about how to remedy the situation by eating according to my thyroid, and blood type, and also the singer's diet (which excludes dairy, or at least can only have small amounts). Several of my sisters have lost a bunch of weight doing similar stuff so it’s been fun to converse and share tales/advice. Now I just need to work out more! (Reinstating that New Years Resolution again now, lol!)

Anyhoo, anyone noticed that I’m in such a good mood, lol? If not, I am pointing it out, haha. Because I really am. And I feel really blessed. It must be love (it is!) Oh yes, promised to mention something about that…guess I can share that me and my boyfriend will be in England for Valentine’s Day (a 2-week trip, woohoo!). Don’t want to be one of those sappy, bragging couples that annoy people, just wanting to share on my blog that I’m just really happy, and especially after all my doleful tales about my dating life I thought it would be good to share some good news. So yes, I’m in a relationship, and we are sappy to think of it, lol, and in love. And we’ll be in London for 2 weeks! Woohoo!

Okay, so now here is the part where I say I want to hear from all of you, because I genuinely do! If you don’t comment I’ll go on your blogs and stalk ya anyway, lol! I’ve missed my bloggy friends. This time apart has made me realize that friendships are like pet fish ( goldfish to be exact) if you don’t feed them, they die (then again, goldfish die regardless anyway, so maybe that’s a bad analogy). You know what I mean peeps! Just want to say I’ve enjoyed getting to know each of you through blogs & such in 2008, and maybe we’ll catch up and some of us meet in person in 2009. It’s a little late, but oh well. Happy New Year!

Sister is coming home today...where's my cleaning fairy?

2008-12-13T04:34:00.000-08:00

So my sister is coming home today from NYC. She's been there for a month as a nanny for a movie director and his family. Since she's been gone I've had the entire apartment to myself. I've never had an entire apartment at my disposal for this vast amount of time before. I have always lived with family or roommates; so I must say it was nice to have the freedom to do what I wanted in the apartment.

And I did the usual things most people do when they have freedom like...

Walk around/Sing around the house in my underwear

or dance in it while I played music loudly and showed off my best dance moves inspired by West Side Story...

Or do the dishes in it...

NOTE* Just kidding, that's just gross!

But I did watch the movie "The Holiday" like ten times one week with a bag of chocolate chips in hand (that I intended for cookies, but yeah, I was too lazy to make them then!).

And sometimes forget to take out the trash...

All in all, I tried to behave. And in retrospect, I have to say it was MUCH easier to keep a place clean when there is no one to clean up after (if you are feeling so inclined to clean that is). I noticed that I could do my dishes in five minutes (which was really nice) or leave them for a couple days (HAHA!), and I enjoyed that freedom, lol. I also was feeling/becoming more domestic as the main hen in the chicken coop and even felt brave enough to try out new recipes (oatmeal cookies in particular, minus chocolate chips, but they tasted great, though much too crumbly I might add!). I am also proud to say that in my sister's absence I even cooked a whole chicken for the first time one Sunday night (a disaster I shall describe further down below).

Can I say something else about living alone though (even temporarily)? It can get lonely. I found myself leaving the TV on just to feel like someone else was around and felt a lot like this...

Wish I could have rented a pet cat or dog for a month, haha. Being the holiday season I just found myself feeling particularly sentimental...after all my Thanksgiving was a real bust. I didn't go anywhere that day! Was really planning on driving to Utah to join my family but was struck by mother's nature's curse to women (you ladies know what I'm talkin' bout), and that in combination with having adrenal/thyroid problems again I was much too tired to drive that long distance so I stayed home. In fact I didn't even go to my friend Alisi's house for Thanksgiving dinner, I stayed home, called my family and listened them laugh and chat animatedly in the background. (I know, I know, cue the sympathetic violin music).

So...in retrospection.... I'm looking forward to having another person in the apartment again. And its my sister's birthday today, so I'm planning on cleaning the apartment up real spiffy and baking a cake before she returns, a cake which I hope will turn out like this... (my latest culinary confection masterpiece) ...

NOT! Anyway, looking forward to the day but I can't say I'm looking forward to telling my sister about the missing bottom glass shelf in our fridge (refer to above chicken cooking mention then read on...).

I suppose I better practice fessing up about what happened to the shelf before she comes...so here goes, lol... After I toiled away in the kitchen for 3 hours one Sunday night not long ago (this includes thaw time, and being over paranoid about salmonella poisoning so it took longer to prepare/cook time) I had made the most beautiful meal of chicken, rice, potatoes and carrots. I was so proud. And it was delish!

I ate my portion for dinner and was REALLY looking forward to having my gourmet left-overs for the rest of the week. I covered the glass pan with tin foil and put it on the bottom glass shelf. About five minutes later I hear this loud shattering sound coming from the kitchen. I looked around and decided to open the fridge to figure out where the sound came from...suddenly tons of glass came pouring out of it like one of those jelly belly dispensers at the grocery store.

Why has no one ever warned me that if you put a medium warm pan on a glass shelf in the fridge, it will shatter the glass, and into pieces so small you'll be cleaning them up for a month? I've never heard of such a situation, nor witnessed it! My mother is a good cook, and mothers should pass this information along to their daughters; what gives?! I had to throw an entire chicken (minus one breast) out in the trash because tiny glass pieces had gotten inside it after it fell through the glass shelf and crashed into the produce bin. LOL, yeah, yeah, laugh all you want, but I was MAD!!!

Anyway, this month has been a grand adventure you could say. In closing I'd like to give a few thanks to the following.... THANK YOU MY CAR, MY PHONE -MOM, PETE, KIM, THE WORLD WIDE WEB - MYSPACE, MSN messaging, PEOPLE.COM, 7-11 convenience store, IN & OUT BURGER, and RED BOX, for graciously giving their services or company and making this long month on my own an enjoyable one.

Internally Yours...My Christmas Wishes to All....

2008-12-13T04:19:00.000-08:00

Hi all,

Having some time on my hands, and having a really bizarre sense of humor, I found this Christmas e-card on jibjab.com tonight and just had to post it. Consider this my pre-Christmas card to you all!

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

P.S. I'm really not that mean, (nor do I have as bad a potty mouth), hope it made some of you laugh, lol.

Ode to Christmas...and all that warm fuzzy stuff

2008-12-09T20:14:00.000-08:00

So, I am sitting here at my computer desk with a plate of rice and vegetables for dinner on my lap (got to love Zatarain’s New Orleans black beans & rice mix, yum yum! ) and I am FINALLY updating my blog. Yes, I’m back, and I hope some of you missed me, or if you did not, at least this post will help revive the life force so to speak in our blogging friendships :)

I don’t know why I’ve been gone so long, (ok so it hasn’t even been a month, but it feels like MUCH longer) other than to say maybe I had writer's block (which doesn't make much sense since I've been working on my Regency era novel in the meanwhile) Okay excuses excuses, lets just say then that I've been distracted by life, and in particular, occupied by thoughts of a certain English gentleman who makes me laugh and smile like no other, has a cleft chin to die for, and talks with a sexy British accent like Daniel Craig (and no I'm not talking about the imaginary romantic hero in my book, though there is one, but this is a true-life romance of yours truly, yay!)

Anyway, without giving too much away about that...this evening as I sat before my computer I contemplated what to write about for my return to the blogging world, and the idea struck me, why not write a blog that is an ode to all things Christmas? Now I know that is not a very original idea mind you, and most of you are probably doing the same, but who does not love another warm fuzzies in your pocket, touch the cockles of your heart, sentimental blog post? HUZZAH!!

I know with the state of the economy and money crunch many of us are wondering what kind of Christmas we'll be having... less presents...more stress, but I don't think that means we can't all have a memorable, happy, and exciting holiday. I really like to think its all about the simple things and gestures anyway, the way it was when we were kids, so here are some of my happy thoughts and recommendations to get us all in the festive holiday mood...

JESS' FAVORITE THINGS ABOUT CHRISTMAS
SNOW!!!(We don't get it in southern California, but I always go to Utah for Christmas anyway)

SNOW PEOPLE!!! (with cute scarves, top hats, stick arms & carrot noses!)

SAPPY CHRISTMAS MOVIES ON TV...in particular the Lifetime channel for women, like this one called "Christmas on Chestnut Street" which looks particularly moving by the picture...

HOT COCOA FOR TWO WITH CINNAMON AND WHIPPED CREAM (or I can drink both, if I am alone, haha)

COZY SWEATERS AND HATS

COLORFUL KNIT SOCKS WITH POM POMS (I have some, and they're my fave on a cold winter's night!)

GRAHAM CRACKER HOUSES (making them with your loved ones covered in frosting and candy goodness) In my dreams my perfect Graham cracker house turns out like this...

But it usually ends up more like this in reality...

Note* That's okay, they all taste the same when you end up eating them...teehee!

CHOCOLATE YULE LOGS (my sister Kim made a particularly DELICIOUS one last year)

PAPER SNOWFLAKES - We used to make these all the time growing up, and its always a fun craft project with your kids, (or if you are single, in my case) your nieces and nephews if you have some

And MISTLETOE - cause well, its just a really great excuse to kiss someone you like, even if you're both, um, cartoons...

And some other things that always get me into the Christmas spirit...

JESS' TOP FAVORITE CHRISTMAS FILMS

A Christmas Story - Yes, I know, this is generic probably, but come on, its a classic Christmas staple in the American household...

The Original Christmas Classics Collection - This includes Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, Frosty the Snowman and T'was the Night Before Christmas (I think). It makes me feel like a little kid again, and it makes me happy, pure and simple!

It's a Wonderful Life - Can somebody say, "Clarence!" in that cute Jimmy Stewart voice? Yeah, yeah, all the cliches are true, this movie just warms the heart and makes you feel super sentimental about your fam. And don't forget, every time a bell rings, an angel gets its wings.

BRIDGET JONES DIARY - All you single, and even happily married gals, you know what I'm talkin' bout, this movie is fabulous! Who is more endearing than Bridget Jones, and more charming than Mr. Darcy, and how many of us have felt single and alone at Christmas time? If you haven't seen this flick, watch it! Note* Heads up beforehand, this ain't for kiddies, there's quite a bit of swear words and cheeky humor, just FYI

And some special Christmas musica ...

JESS' TOP FAVORITE CHRISTMAS TUNES

Oíche Chiúin (Silent Night) - The Gaelic version by Enya

O' Come, O' Come, Emanuel - The version by Enya or Manheim Steamroller, both are brilliant!

White Christmas - Bing Crosby (something so comforting about his rich and smooth voice)

God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen - Loreena McKennitt

The First Noel - Any version really, but Sarah McLachlan's is pretty great

All I Want For Christmas Is You - Mariah Carey, yeah, I'm not always a fan of the diva, but this song just makes me want to jump around and spread Christmas cheer with hugs and kisses

Last Christmas - Wham (cause it makes me smile, and almost everyone has had a Christmas relationship like that!)

So there you go, these are just a few of my favorite things, and in the spirit of that last song, "Last Christmas" I'd like to close this post with the video of it, and why? Because it's cheesy and fabulous, and it has '80's fashion and hairstyles, which always make me laugh, and might make my readers smile or reminisce, and even though we know ole' Georgie Porgie was pretending to like women in this video, who cares, because its such a great song and he has an amazing voice anyway (despite the funny breathy vocal parts, lol). Hope you all have a fabulous night and here's me sending Happy Happy Christmas thoughts and wishes to ya'll!

Ode to "Twilight"...And a lil' Rob Pattinson action...

2008-11-20T08:44:00.000-08:00

Hi All,

I'm sorry for being M.I.A. in my posting lately, I've been a little distracted (but in a very good way distracted). Not sure if I mentioned this before, but one of my good friends (and former roommate) Stephanie had the once in a lifetime chance to interview THE Robert Pattinson from the upcoming fan frenzied film of "Twilight" last week in San Francisco. Yes, I was just as shocked when I heard the news of her latest work assignment, too (lucky gal!!). You see, Steph works for this great company called Common Sense Media that focuses on family oriented media in film, tv, and literature and so sometimes she gets these really amazing opportunities (hence the Rob interview).

Anyway, yesterday Steph and I were chatting about her whole Rob Pattinson experience, (bells & whistles and all, he was such a sweetie she says) and then I watched the video, and it was just fabulous! Nearly 3 minutes of heaven! I'm so proud of her. So I wanted to devote a post to her journalistic debut.

So without further ado, here's the link of Stephanie my friend with none other than Robert Pattinson aka Edward "Vampy Hottie" Cullen: Stephanie Interviews Rob Pattinson From Twilight

(note, I would have embedded the video here but her company forbids it, so hope you will take the link and check it out on youtube)

Love ya Steph! You did a superb job and I can't wait to see who you interview next!

Winter Fashion Wishlist...London Style

2008-11-13T06:49:00.001-08:00

I'm not sure about all of you, but when I'm bored, I like to look for new clothing and accessories online. Granted that doesn't mean I buy it all, far from it, but I like to fill my head space with pretty stuff for my imaginary closet. Also, in lieu of recent plans, I'm going to London next January or February 2009 to visit a guy "friend", so I want to be prepared to make my British debut in style and warmth (it will be rather cold there during that time so I need a good wool coat!). Of course this will all be done on a budget, so I am on the lookout for fabulous wear at a nifty price.

Here are some recent finds that really excited me. So just in case any of you want to buy them for Christmas for me... or Santa is reading this... here's the pictures and info (just kidding, but a girl can dream can't she?) Its alright, I'll probably buy at least one of these for myself anyway by the time I go.

COATS: I definitely need a new winter coat. Here are some I found on victoriassecret.com that I really like.

ITEM #1 Victoria's Secret "Via" black A-line wool blend coat. $149 Very chic and Audrey Heburn-esque but with an urban flair, plus its a wool blend so should keep me nice and toasty. PROS: Goes well with any color and is a good price CONS: Can't think of any as yet.

ITEM #2 Victoria's Secret Via double-breasted white military coat in wool. $178 I love the classic white and detail with the silver buttons, big lapel, belt and buckle at the waist, which gives a nice tapered silhouette. PROS: Sophisticated and timeless, would be a staple piece in my winter wardrobe. CONS: Is white so may show dirt easier and be harder to clean, although it could be bought in a different color.

ITEM #3 Victoria's Secret Double Breasted A-Line coat in Red. $139 I love the big collar and popping red. Of course I might look like the Queen from Snow White with that collar, but I always like making a big statement with fashion anyway. PROS: Sexy and sultry color, long, which means more coverage= warmer. Good price. CONS: Doesn't match everything as well, but then maybe it wouldn't matter since it would cover up any mismatching tops anyway.

Or the cheap de la cheap...but still cute...

Old Navy Double-Breasted White Wool Coat $89.50 Very classic. Simple. PROS: Price but still some flair CONS: Only 60% wool so may be not as warm as looks. May have to wear more layers because of it. In addition, not as good quality probably.

Now we must move onto boots, an essential part of the English wardrobe. I've taken a fancy to these four...but must only choose one pair probably...

Via Spiga Bronze Brown Leather Boots from zappos.com $394. Yes, a girl can dream can't she? I love the color, wrapped leather and medium-thick heel. Totally gorgeous boots, out of my price range so I won't buy them. But I found a good compromise...

White MT Celebration Boots in Dark Brown Suede from zappos.com $93. These are almost nearly as gorgeous as the Via Spiga ones but monumentally cheaper. PROS: Simple and classic CONS: Is suede so will probably need protective suede spray for English rainfall. Also, is 4 inch heel, so may get tiresome after long bouts of walking.

Or we could go a totally different style or texture...

RSVP Poet Victorian Brown Leather Boots $125 from zappos.com These boots are pretty classic and would go with most anything. They also look very sturdy and more comfortable than the aforementioned boots. PROS: Classy, good heel, only 3 inches vs. 4 inches. Cute touch with the buttons at the top and tighter on the calf, which I like. CONS: Can't think of much really other than a little more expensive than the others.

and lastly...

Chinese Laundry Turborn Dark Brown Suede Boots $98 from zappos.com PROS: These babies would look great with a pair of skinny jeans or a skirt (though it may be too cold in England for that). Very comfortable for walking distances as a tourist. CONS: I like them a lot but perhaps they are too long, and also, I kind of miss the taller heel, it adds more sex appeal to a foot in my opinion.

And I haven't even gotten started on clothes and accessories, but once again, it will be done on a budget. So much to take in. What do ya'll think? What would you choose if you were moi?

When an hour really means 35 minutes...

2008-11-13T04:28:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, after a 45-minute ordeal of washing a mountain of dishes as high as the Himalayas and cleaning a most disorderly kitchen I was happy for the space to attempt my first ever batch of Banana nut bread (without the nuts I realized). My sis and I were given a copious amount of bananas recently and they were going downhill at a very rapid pace and since I'm no monkey I decided we should make use of the bananas in a useful fashion vs. letting them go to waste. Mind you, I am no culinary goddess, but I figured, how hard can banana bread be? You just follow the recipe, right? I was wrong. For even recipes are sometimes wrong.

Here is the recipe I followed...

GENERIC BANANA BREAD (sounds delish doesn't it, lol?)

1 cup of butter

2 cups sugar

4 eggs

¼ tsp salt

2 tsp baking soda

4 cups of flour

6 large bananas mashed

The directions were to mix butter and sugar. So I did. Add eggs one at a time. I did. Sift dry ingredients together and then add to creamed mixture. Roger that. Mash bananas and add to mixture last. Yes, mam. I followed all of these precisely, and it was the perfect batter, perfect consistency, perfect mashed bananas. I was so very proud. I ended up having a lot of batter so I filled 2 half a dozen muffin pans in addition to the glass pan as well, thought they’d come handy as snacks.

Now the directions said to cook the bread in the oven at 325 degrees for one hour. I had a moment then where my intuition said, “One hour, that can’t be right?” But alas, I did not listen to my sixth sense. I looked at other banana bread recipes online quickly and they directed the same amount of time. So putting aside my intuitive nudge I popped them in the oven, and put the first timer for 15 minutes for the muffin part of my project.

15 minutes later, the muffins were done. Took them out and looked at the main pan of the bread, it was evolving into a golden color rather swiftly. But then I thought, maybe that’s how it goes? The oven browns the edges before it cooks the middle?

Now I have estimated the banana bread would have been cooked just right between 30-35 minutes of cook-age (I just made that word up, haha) which was right around the time the alluring smell of cooking bread began to stop floating out of the oven. Would have being the key words to avoid disaster. I should have pulled the pan out during that time period but was busy chatting away with my mother on the phone, la dee dah. Why did I put my faith and trust into an internet recipe?!! And I should've realized that when you're on the west coast, cook time is MUCHO shorter. At about 42 minutes in I said to my mom on the phone, “Hmm, something smells kind of burning….Oh my gosh…MY BREAD!!”

This is what I pulled out of the oven…

All that time to prepare! All that pride, and all that hard elbow grease mashing the bananas and blending in the flour! All of my TLC put into a mixing bowl and pan, for what?!! I saved bananas so they could be burned alive by the evil oven monster. I am ashamed. So very ashamed.

I console myself that the bread would’ve been perfect if I had listened to the cooking fairy conscience that sat on my shoulder. She was a cute little sprite with spaghetti hair and green bell pepper shoes and she said, "Hark! Do not listen to the recipe Jess, for it lies, and makes false promises of beautiful tasty banana bread in an hour. But it is is wrong my friend, so very very wrong!" But I did not heed her warnings.

So now I make this vow... next time I will listen to you, oh dear cooking fairy, and I shall know the error of my ways...and hopefully the fruit of my labors! At least in edible terms!

In the meantime, I'm going to be reading this as my culinary go-to reference book...

*Note* Though maybe I shouldn't be taking cooking or dating tips from someone named "Jinx". Just an after thought!

Halloween Night...A Night of Youthful Remembrance...

2008-11-05T02:07:00.000-08:00

Right now I am sitting here with a bag of Branch's mix of Mellowcreme pumpkins and candy corn (don't you love those post-Halloween candy sales, 65 cents a bag) and reminiscing on another holiday passed. It was a holiday with memories that will last a lifetime and stories that will pass on for generations and generations (just kidding, not really, it wasn't that special but wouldn't that make for an intriguing intro of a story? lol). Basically Halloween 2008 was a fabulous day of tricks and treats, kooky costumes and random meets, a night of laughter and fright, and all manner of excitement and delight.

This year, in light of all the political excitement and also lack of personal finances, I had to be creative when it came to my costume. In an ode to India I scrounged together my collection of colorful Indian-esque fabrics and jewelry and dressed up as a woman from India. If people asked me I decided to tell them I was going as political activist Indira Ghandi (the Bollywood version mind you, as we didn't bear much resemblance in retrospect). Little did I know that this 'persona' would become very apropos as I later immersed myself in some very highly-spirited political discussions with friends and strangers. It was an interesting and fun night.

Together with a collection of friends and my sister Cindy we ventured out to good old West Hollywood for the Santa Monica Blvd celebrations, which was basically a big party of live music, food, and crazy people in crazy costumes. The traffic along the way was madness so we decided to park in the Beverly Center, (which felt like a mile away from Santa Monica Blvd). We did not mind, however, as there was much to be seen and keep our minds and eyes occupied.

Here is a collection of my random photos with random folks at the street party and the anecdotes that follow...

I like to call this photo "The Bloomin' Brownies". I didn't know the names of these girl scouts, but I sure wanted to know their plastic surgeon's. The girl scout(far right) expressions were priceless!

Me and the Blooming Brownies. They were such friendly gals and even told me how to get my own "Hello kitty" achievement patch.

Random Guy dressed as Superwoman. Despite this he was very masculine and could even fly. Well okay, not fly, but he was handsome, and flirty so why would I care?

Me and Mr. Planter's Peanut Man. He was such a friendly fellow. He even did a little tap dance for me with his cane. Just kidding, but that would've been really funny.

My friend Jared and a "friendly monster". The pic is grainy but I can't get over Jared's expression. He looks like an innocent little kid posing with a buddy on the playground or something.

Jared the 80's rocker and the12-foot monster's wife. So candid and precious.

Wizard of Oz meet Bollywood.

These gentlemen told me oil was $60 a barrel, but I was more interested in their bling.

In a moment that can only be described as pure kismet I found Ghandi in a crowd of thousands. The first photo didn't turn out so I had to run back to him again and ask for another photo op. He kindly obliged. This is my favorite photo of the night. Doesn't it just ooze peace and tranquility, lol?

Pouring a spot of tea from Miss Pott's. As you can tell I have the most delicate and proper of manners.

Me and some "wannabe" missionaries. After this photo I quickly confiscated their cigarettes. Tsk tsk!

I like to call this photo "Moral Dilemma". Yeah, the devil in this pic is pretty freaky and I didn't particularly like his creepy hands on my head, lol.

Can someone identify this superhero for me? He was REALLY blue he glowed in the dark. Not sure about his superpowers but he'd make a great night light.

Random snap of our group towards the end of the festivities.

Cruella DeVille inspired car at a crosswalk on La Cienega Blvd. My friend Jared was even crazy enough to pet the cat in the window whilst passing. Hilarious!

Some other highlights, or interesting notes of the night. Walking down La Cienega Blvd we passed the club and saw Lo from "The Hills" posing in front of the paparazzi on the mini-red carpet. She was dressed as Little Red Riding Hood, and she looked, well, little (people on television are always shorter than you imagine). On the way back from the Santa Monica Blvd party I also saw the actor Jesse Spencer (from the TV show "House). He kissed a girl by a parking meter, and it looked like he was having a bit of a tiff with her from the look on the girls face and he was trying to mend things with a kiss? It probably worked, he's a cutie. I've seen him in person once before on the "Fox" lot when I was an extra once. Seems a nice fellow.

Anyway, that's my recollection of Halloween night ladies and gents. And I've just realized...I just finished my bag of candy whilst making this post. WOOPS! I think there's such a thing as too much of a good thing. Will try not to gorge oneself on too much candy again, at least until Christmas! Hope each and everyone of you had a lovely holiday!

Want Change? How about a new Hairstyle?

2008-10-26T15:26:00.000-07:00

As most women know, when we get restless for change, a quick change, there are a couple things we can do…

1. Buy a new dress, top, or outfit, because of course there is always NOTHING to wear in the closet, and new clothes always make us feel great.

2. Get a manicure (not sure how this helps change, but its nice to have pretty nails, and will help clear one's mind on how to change other things about one's self in the future). New makeup also does the trick, too.

3. Change your hair.

I usually choose 3. As some may or may not know, I dye my hair. Only to make it darker, because my natural hair color is just a blah color of brown. But whenever I am feeling super restless, dying my hair is a sure fire way to feel better. I can't even tell you how refreshed and happy I feel when I've just covered up 3-months worth of roots (don't ask me why I put it off that long sometimes, but I do, haha)

I'm sure you can all agree... whether you cut it, dye it, crimp it, curl it, blow it, braid it, there's nothing like a new hairstyle to make ya feel like a vibrant new woman with a better state of mind.

Admittedly, I am rather attached to my long hair. It took quite awhile to grow, and its part of my 'image' as a musician I feel, but I do often wonder what I'd look like with a new style, and perhaps a different color. As a teen I was a chameleon constantly changing hair colors and styles, but as an adult I've always stayed with the dark brown/black hair color family. Boring I know. But that doesn't mean I don't wonder what kind of attention I'd get as a blond or redhead, or how much time would I save if I had shorter hair that didn't take an hour to dry and style.

Now thanks to: Instyle Hollywood Makeover I can be brave and bold with my hair, without the risk and remorse. And there's no shock over why my hair turned orange and gray in one night of hair dye mishap (I looked like an Olympic torch). With this online makeover its all the gain without the pain. Of course its just a picture to see what I'd look like with a new do, but I figure if I like it enough that way, I might have the guts to take the plunge and make it a reality. Granted I don't have top-notch hair stylists at my disposal, but there are some pretty low-budget salons that can help duplicate the styles.

So here are some new hairstyles..(keep in mind that some of these are for entertainment purposes only, I wouldn't be caught dead in some of these do's!)

JESS' TOP 12 HAIR STYLES

12. The Ashlee Simpson. Makes me wanna paint my nails black and proclaim that "I didn't steal your boyfriend!"

11. Bleach blond bowl cut. Its just wrong when real hair looks like a wig!

10. Mandy Moore, girl next door. Not bad. But not exciting either.

9. Hallo Deutschland! Its the Heidi Klum. Um, can we say, auf wiedersehen? I could also get on Star Trek with this one.

8. The 1930's Writer. Cute like Margaret Mitchell. Just give me a typewriter and I'll write the next "Gone With the Wind".

7. The Julia Roberts. Red and sophisticated. Makes me look very grown up. Think I could pull off red?

6. Michelle Phiefer look. If I was going to sport blond, I think I would do it golden with highlights.

5. The Keira Knightly. No description needed. What was she thinking? And what was I thinking?!

4. The Katie Holmes. Très chic and sassy. Reminds me of Vogue magazine editor Anna Wintour. Um..looks better on Katie methinks!

3. The Supermodel. Who hasn't looked at Giselle Bündchen's luscious golden locks and dreamed of looking like Rapunzel, too?

2. Rachel Bilson. I love the warm tones, highlights and long layers. This is probably my favorite and one I may attempt in the future.

And lastly, the crème de la crème, the cream of the crop of all hairdos...my number one hairstyle...

1. The Senator do. Dignity and class personified, inspired by Hillary Clinton. Granted I look about 50 instantly with this, but maybe then I could run for public office, too?

I was just kidding about the Hillary Clinton one of course, but what do you all think? I would love some feedback people! I'm really stuck as to which one of these to choose should I undergo a hairstyle transformation, and as you can see these are all GORGEOUS, lol! :) So HELP me out!!

DaVincis in Training...I'm a Proud Aunt...

2008-09-30T21:01:00.000-07:00

The rambunctious duo, my nephew Isaiah and niece Irissa
I come from a big family (9 kids in all, I'm the youngest) and being unmarried and without kids I sometimes wonder what my role in the family is (besides being the black sheep or token single person at family gatherings, haha) But then I realized, what am I thinking? I play a very important role in the family structure, because I am an aunt!!

Yes, I'm the one who gets to spoil my nieces and nephews rotten when I'm in town, take them to the park, play games with them, make paper dolls and craft projects, or babysit them until they get cranky then send them back to their parents, haha, it's not a bad gig.

Admittedly, I am not a perfect aunt and should do more. I don't send many birthday cards or call. I think when my life is more settled (i.e. I am married, or just live a less chaotic lifestyle) I'll probably be better at sending out cards, gifts, etcetera... I just hope my nieces and nephews know I still care, and adore each and everyone one of them (all 23 of them, including one on the way, congrats Zina!!).

Now, speaking of things that warm your heart, recently my sister Kim sent me over some drawings she scanned that my niece and nephew had done. Lately my 5-year old niece Irissa (whom we call Rissa, or Stinky Toes Lolita, its a long story, lol) has been drawing a lot of pictures, and she's getting pretty good at it, too. She insisted on drawing a portraiture of yours truly. So without further ado, here's Rissa's masterpiece...

I really love the detail. Not bad for a 5-year old. The orange shirt is super eye-catching isn't it? My niece knows her Aunt Jessie well, I love red lipstick and accessories, and check out those hot purple earrings! Orange is also my favorite color, which she didn't know, so intuitive drawing choice, lol. I also loved that she wrote my name and hers at the top, in that cute wobbly kid handwriting of hers.

Here are some other Irissa renderings included in the bunch.

As you can tell she is excited for Halloween (the orange thing is a pumpkin) and loves writing her name and numbers on everything. And here's another one...

What's more cute and cuddly than an adorable bear with a smiley face? Irissa also loves putting dots on everything so she can connect them later, too cute! Also looks like she's getting fancy with her name, too, the 'A' looks like rather scribbly and sophisticated, lol.

Her older brother Isaiah (Zaya as we call him) also loves to draw. Here's one of his recent drawings...

Isaiah is the typical 9-year old, obsessed with robots and video games. This particular drawing reminds me of a mix between a Teenage Mutant Ninja turtle and a robot. Isaiah is also very precocious and creative, for my mom's recent 63rd birthday he made her a card that read "Congratulations Grandma, 63 is the new 25!!" Wish I had a picture of it, I'll see what I can do.

Anyway, as you can see I'm a proud aunt :)

Attack of the Killer Seagulls...

2008-09-27T16:33:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time, in a city named Los Angeles, there were three lovely roommates, by the names of Jessie (that's me!), Jessie's sister Cindy, and Jenny. One hot September afternoon (last Monday) after feeling restless, like sardines trapped in a can (such is apartment living) they decided to go to the beach. After all, it was only 15 minutes away (without traffic) and seemed such a fun thing to do (and Jessie was desperate to work on her tan that should have been worked on months ago, but alas, she had spent too much time blogging indoors, ha!).

So the three roommates put on their beach attire, grabbed their towels and books and went on their way (with one pit stop to Subway for a $5 foot-long tuna sandwich, and another back to the parking garage after Jessie remembered she'd forgotten her darn sunglasses!). They drove down the 10-freeway which turned into the Pacific Coast Highway, and at long last, they could see the sparkling waters of the Pacific Ocean...and the beautiful smog that hung above it. Yes, it was delightful. While Cindy drove Jessie snapped random photos along the coast. Like this one...

And this one...

Jessie was trying to spot/take a pic of Cary Grant's old Santa Monica house on PCH. She's still not sure where it is. It may be demolished :(

Finally they reached Temescal Canyon Drive... where they parked (got to love free parking!) and walked down the hill to Will Roger's State Beach. This is what they saw...

And this...

And this...

It was pretty. And inviting.

When they settled by the sandy shore (conveniently close by to a group of four tall, blond guys sitting on towels) Jessie said to her roommate, "Jenny, I want you to take a picture to commemorate my excitement today." This is that commemoration...

Jessie also couldn't help but notice all the precious little seagulls hanging around nearby. Being the animal lover she is she decided to tame one. Or at least make friends with one.

Here she is blowing kisses at the little bird. For a moment their eyes met, and perhaps a token of trust was built. Jessie decided the next best thing she could do was pick up her camera and do a photo shoot of the little birdy, (sort of like Glamour Shots in the mall, but for birds). Even though the bird seemed shy Jessie knew that there's nothing like a camera up close in his personal space to make him otherwise. Here is pose number one:

See, at first he was reticent, stiff, barely looking at the camera. You could say he was an unwilling subject. Next thing you know...

He's posing like a pro, beak pointed at camera, intense gaze, feathers all fluffed up. He's a hot shot and he knows it.

Jessie felt good about building the seagull's self-confidence. Its these little charity missions that she takes great pride in. Little did she know that her charity mission would soon mean nothing a couple minutes later...when a group of seagulls attacked her bag with the Subway sandwich in it. She should have known, after all, it was tuna, too much temptation for them I guess!

Luckily they only took a few bites before the girls noticed and shewed them away. But the damage was done (should have taken a picture but was too upset at the moment, haha). Thankfully, the sandwich was salvageable, but the girls were on guard. Nearby, an old old seagull, (whom Jessie dubbed Clint Eastwood, or Capt. Eastwood) hung around, looking terribly suspicious, with almost a smirk on his beak. Jessie knew he was the instigator.

Captain Eastwood had no neck and a funny walk, sort of like a Sheriff in an old western town near the OK corral, but he was fierce, and definitely the bird in charge. The other seagulls looked up to him, you could say he was the leader of the Dirty Seagull gang.

Here he is Capt. Eastwood leading the troop in a training march after the first Subway sandwich attack. He's front center row.

People who think birds are not that intelligent are sorely mistaken. Their brains may be the size of a pea but they are calculating creatures. The girls knew it was only a matter of time before destruction struck again.

But they decided they were going to ENJOY the beach regardless. Jenny and Cindy suggested a walk down the shore. It was the perfect place for an impromptu photo shoot...with seaweed (by suggestion of Jessie). Here are some of the momentous snaps...

Jessie (that's me) modeling the new seaweed hairpiece. It is tres chic, no?

Roommate Jenny channels her inner-mermaid.

Sister Cindy is fabulous as a seaweed Medusa

Props are not food Jenny! Even if seaweed gives you extra nutrients.

Coming out next fall...Seaweed Couture's new line of belts. I was the first the model it, felt so proud!

The girls were so busy having fun taking photos that they didn't see what was going on at base camp. The Dirty Seagull gang had attacked again! This time Cindy was their victim. They got into her plastic bag and ate her notebook paper (with song lyrics) and popped her soda can with their beaks. Talk about vicious!

The damage close up.

Cindy was flabbergasted. What was the point? It was pure maliciousness. Here is her reaction upon finding her belongings vandalized...

The girls couldn't stop laughing. And just when they thought that was all, out of the corner of Jessie's eyes she saw something written in the sand nearby. As she came closer she was astonished to find this...

With birdy feet prints everywhere it was obvious who did it. But why write her name in the sand? But what was the point? And how did the Dirty Seagulls gang know her name anyway? They must have been listening to the girls' conversation earlier which further solidifies the theory that seagulls are VERY intelligent and calculating creatures. The message in the sand was being used as a tool for intimidation. Basically it was Capt. Eastwood way of sayin' "You come to my beach you deal with my rules! And if you don't let me and my gang eat your tuna subway sandwich you're gonna pay! Bigtime!"

The girls were afraid. Very afraid. What was next, a scene out of Alfred Hitchcock's "The Bird's"? Seagulls flying everywhere pecking people's eyes out?! The girls decided to leave the beach. And in a hurry, too.

On the way home in the traffic jam they saw an amusing car license plate that Jessie just HAD to take a picture of.

Yes, if you look closely it says "Dumplns!". Which is so ironic because mine says "Honeybuns!"

The End

Funny Random News...

2008-09-24T21:36:00.001-07:00

GOOD NEWS…Having Nightmares? Stop keeping rotten eggs by your bedside table!

That's right, according to ABC news, the smell of rotten eggs can lead to bad dreams. First it was spicy food, now they’re saying its eggs that cause nightmares. Here's a transcript of the news clip:

"What you smell before drifting off to sleep could affect what you dream. Researchers have found smelling nice things like flowers and perfume leads to pleasant emotions in your dreams. But when researchers made people smell rotten eggs at bed time (okay why the hell would they make people do this in the first place?) they had negative dreams (well DUH!). The study also concluded that young women have the best sense of smell and therefore, perhaps the most intense dreams."

So next time you’re tempted to take a deep whiff of a sulfurous rotten egg before you go to beddy bye-land, ask yourself, do I really want to dream I'm Mick Jagger's love slave? (that's from my own personal repertoire of nightmares mind you, but still, I'm sure you all have your fair share of equally frightening bad dreams).

Geeze, I must have smelled something mighty lovely the other night before I went to sleep because I had a great dream about some random bachelor guy off of ABC's last season of "The Bachelorette". Anyone remember Jeremy Anderson?

That's him. I only watched a couple episodes with the guy, but thought he was devilishly handsome. He also seemed down-to-earth and kind of sweet. Apparently that was enough to embed him into my subconscious a month or so later, hahaha!

I suppose this study might be somewhat true, I used to spray a really good guy's cologne on my pillow before I went to bed at night (reminded me of the guy I was dating at the time, lol) and then I had some REALLY good dreams, haha. But rotten eggs, no, I don't think I'll be sniffing them anytime soon, bed time or no bed time. Thanks ABC news!

Mystery Blog Readers Around the World...

2008-09-23T00:35:00.000-07:00

To mystery readers from around the world... yes, we know you’re out there. Greetings. Sometimes you post comments. Most of you don’t(wish you would, as long as you're nice :) . Some of you type random things into google.com and magically my blog pops up.

How do I know this? Thanks to a nifty little widget called FEEDJIT LIVE I can track most of my worldwide visitors, and sometimes I can even view where they came from, how they found my blog, what they typed into a search engine to find it, etc... This recent google.com search from one of my visitors today caught my eye, and gave me quite a laugh (my sister Kim laughed herself silly over this, too, much to my vexation, lol). Here is my anonymous reader's google.com search, verbatim: true artists who didn't have a lot of romantic partners

Apparently if you type that in google it makes my blog pop up. Should I feel proud that I’m a “true artist” according to google, or should I feel pathetic that I also “didn’t have a lot of romantic partners”?(yes I know its poor grammar, I didn't write it in the first place, lol)

It’s true, my romantic life has not been what it ought to have been (am more Bridget Jones pre-Mr. Darcy than Elizabeth Bennett post-Mr. Darcy) but that does not mean my situation will not improve very very soon. I am hopeful. But, until then, I will amuse myself with random FEEDJIT LIVE searches. - Jess the Blog Authoress

UPDATE: My sister Kim suggested I should google the aforementioned search to see how far down, or how many pages you'd have to read to get to my blog link. I am the 4th one down on the first page. Not good, lol.

Saturday Night...Live from Jessie & Cindy's Apartment!!!

2008-09-20T23:13:00.000-07:00

Funny conversation happened two hours ago. My sis Cindy and I had just returned from In & Out Burger and McDonald's for dinner and dessert (what a healthy lifestyle we do lead). I laid down on the chaise lounge in the living room, an exasperated, complacent look on my face...

You see, its Saturday night, and somewhere ingrained in me that means I should be doing something social. After all, I'm young, only 25, and single, but I've been living like a nun. I could have gone to one of my local hang outs, but am feeling lethargic. I hadn't showered all day (haha!!), and was too tired to do it now, and just thinking of the minimum hour process that follows a shower (what with drying my big pile of hair and fixing it up somewhat decent), exhausts me. Then of course putting makeup on and finding something clean and cute to wear is a new career in and of itself so I just wasn't feeling it. In addition to...

I woke up this morning with the stiffest lower back known to man (like I said to some e-friends, feels like I just moved a houseful of furniture). Can't figure out the culprit of my ailment but I feel like a geriatric patient, but without the jello (can someone get me some cherry jello in a dixie cup stat, puh-leeze? LOL). I think I need a handsome physical therapist (say maybe a handsome Puerto Rican with muscles and a nice accent, that would lift my mood tremendously, haha) Anyway, am going off on a tangent...so here I am, had just laid on the chaise lounge, was feeling somewhat comatose from my state of mind and stomach full of fast food, and I said...

Me: I'm feeling lame on a Saturday night.

Cindy: Hey we should invite some guys over.

Me: No, I look ugly.

Cindy & Jenny (our other roommate) in unison: No you don't.

Cindy (to Jenny): Does she look ugly? I don't think she looks ugly.

Me: Thanks, but I feel ugly. My hair is greasy. My laundry is dirty.

Cindy: You're being silly. You are so weird. You look fine.

Me(in a very serious tone): No, I don't. (Pause) And I don't want them to see me like this... because if I'm not glamorous then I'm not showing who I really am.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I was of course, only half-serious. But don't you love oxymoron statements? I looked over at Jenny's face, to see her reaction, her expression read, "Are you kidding me?!". We all burst into laughter. And laughed for quite awhile. It was good laugh therapy. Now I feel a little better and had to write about it. I'm still not showered, not glammed up, back is still stiff as a board, but am feeling better somehow. Laughter truly is the best medicine and can be a girl's best friend (along with chocolate chip cookies from McDonald's drive-thru and "Pride and Prejudice" on DVD, which is like the epitome of a good night to me right now, hahaha ) Thanks for reading - Jess the Blog Authoress

The Perfect Man...

2008-09-16T11:45:00.000-07:00

Now, I know many of us gals have often wondered...does the perfect man exist? And if so, what does he look like? I've thought long and hard on the subject and after much deliberation (and photoshop fun) I have come up with some composites of "The Perfect Man". Yes, I do have too much time on my hands...

I have found that if you take different features from already perfect-looking men and pair them with other perfect-looking men's features, you can create perfection...or disaster. You decide.

Let us begin with The Perfect Man Version.1
The Perfect Man Version.1 is a combination of:
1. The style of George Clooney (the main photograph/body/smile is George's)
2. The chin of classic film star Cary Grant
3. The hair of Ricky Martin (because every perfect man should have the Ricky Martin haircut)
4. The eyes and nose of male model Gabriel Aubry (Halle Berry, you lucky gal!)

What do you think? I think he's kind of seductive, it's Gabriel's eyes and George's smirk I tell you that make the picture.

I made just a slight variation by adding Jude Law's eyes and got...

N'sync's Lance Bass? What the F?!!!
I changed the eyes again to actor Eric Bana's (Mr. Aussie hotness). After all its the subtle changes that make a man.

Now he looks like Jim Carrey. Very funny!
I thoroughly enjoyed interchanging various famous men's facial features like a photoshop game of Mr. Potato Head. I consider the next photo my shining glory of accomplishment (spent way too much time on this one, lol)

The Perfect Man V.2
This gentleman is a combination of:

1. Singer Gavin Rossdale's base photo of body, chin, eyebrows & nose
2. Actor Jude Law's lips
3. Actor Gerard Butler's eyes
4. And of course, John Stamos' hair, because come on, he's had great hair since like the 80's

Okay, maybe not. But it was cool then and John's got a pretty good hairstylist now, and his modern hairstyle is what I used for the Perfect Man V. 2 picture.
So, now I'm sure you wondering, all of these photos are relatively normal and could be considered handsome. What does a Perfect Man gone wrong look like? Sometimes its all in the subtleties. For instance, take Jude Law, one of Britain's on screen gifts to women. Here he is without any alterations...

Yum!!
Now add two famous comedic personalities to his picture and you get...

Reba McEntire? Just look below

Yes, there is a striking resemblance. Not good.

Okay so how did this happen? Well I'll tell you... when you pair up a perfect-looking man like Jude Law with comedian Carrot Top's hair and eyes (yes he plucks his eyebrows) and add the chin/mouth of Gilbert Gottfried, disaster is unavoidable, inevitable, unforgettable. (Yes, I hope you will erase Jude Law's alter ego from your mind, as I probably will from my hard drive, haha)

So tell me public, which Perfect Man is your fave?

Adventures in Audienceland...X-Mas in September?

2008-09-11T12:40:00.000-07:00

G'Day ya'll (am feeling cheery Southern hospitality t'day, lol). Its been another interesting week or so doing audience work for television. I suppose I'll first start with my gig yesterday which was...drum rolls please..."Deal or No Deal"!!! I emphasize the drum rolls and exclamation marks because it was quite an exciting day... one of awe and wonderment, one of magic and delight, one of anticipation and exhaustion, but above all, a day of abundance. Without further ado, here's the scoop...

Yesterday's taping of "Deal or No Deal" took at Sony Studios (conveniently located down in nearby Culver City). Call time was 8:15 a.m. The show was an especially important one that day.... it was the Christmas day special,(yes they film these shows this early here) which means they'd be giving out huge free gifts to the audience(Oprah-style). Everything was hush hush about the show, because this is a PRIME show to attend. I mean, come on, who doesn't want free stuff?

And free kisses to Howie Mandel under the mistletoe, like HELLO, LOL!
Apparently last year word had spread around faster than wildfire about the "Deal or No Deal" Christmas special and it was practically a riot outside the studios with 1,000+ people. You see, there is only about 300 audience member spots to fill, so you can imagine the pushing, arguing, and negotiating that was being done to get in.

Luckily, we made it into the show with relative ease (except for the brief moment when the casting lady had forgotten she'd added me onto her casting list the previous day, but it was sorted out). There were no riots or fights breaking out either. The casting people made the show top secret so that they didn't have a repeat experience of last year.

There was however, a little drama that morning (as seems to be the case all too often). We're standing in line before we get checked in and I feel a wave of nausea hit me. Yes, my life is beyond ridiculous sometimes, the main theme should be "Expect the Unexpected". I was dressed up in high heeled boots and a skirt, not the most comfortable ensemble to kneel down in, but I didn't care! I crouched down to the sidewalk and tried to do that whole mind-over-matter control trick, taking deep breaths and saying "I am well, I am well, I feel better" to my subconscious. Eventually I started to feel a little better (guess it worked, sort of like a Jedi mind trick?) and I got through the day but cursed my breakfast of granola bar and lemon yogurt (isn't yogurt supposed to settle your stomach instead of upset it, argh!)

We didn't make it onto the actual set till probably 11:30, maybe later. The set was rather large, decorated as a winter wonderland with fake snow, Christmas trees, colorful lights, a fireplace (with cute stockings), and a little ice-skating thing in front of the stage (didn't think it was real ice at first but then I saw some kids skating on it). It was really cool and luckily Cindy and I got to sit together in a tiered section behind the main stage. I was also glad that the crew didn't recruit me to move because they were looking for girls dressed up and they almost made me sit down on this area next to the ice and stage. I would've been on camera most of the show but it would have been uncomfortable and my stomach was still iffy-feeling at that point so I was glad to stay in the background.

Here are some Highlights of the Show:

Seeing Howie Mandel in person, can I admit, he is kinda hunky? Hunky and bald! Woohoo!

Just generally being a part of the show, seeing it behind-the-scenes was really cool and everyone got super into participating, clapping, cheering for the contestants.

Watching the cutest little kids ice-skate on the small makeshift ice rink onstage. Dressed in colorful coats, vests, hats, scarfs, and leggings they were so precious, and impressive, too, with their Olympic-style spins. I couldn't even skate like that NOW if I wanted to, and they looked about six! Guess I missed my calling!

Getting free candy from the crew was much appreciated during the taping (my sister and I remarked that when you spend long hours going without food or freedom you learn to appreciate the little things, even if its a box of raisinets to be shared between 30 people, or a melted miniature candy bar thrown at you, I mean, tossed to you, from the crew) Sure, you could buy any of that candy stuff in your own, free good time, but when you're a captive audience member for endless hours you appreciate EVERYTHING you can get.

Getting free stuff was also much appreciated

Did I mention getting free stuff was also much appreciated? LOL! I'm saying it twice to emphasize the point that I'm REALLY and TRULY grateful.

We got about seven presents throughout the show. I don't think I can say what they are, so you'll have to watch episode# 417 aka the Christmas Special of "Deal or No Deal" on NBC, which airs on Christmas Day I believe.

I will of course be trying to sell the majority of my gifts as I am temporarily in debt, (yes, I use temporarily because my current state is only "temporary", you can blame that philosophy on "The Secret", lol) But I do feel my spirits renewed (its amazing that $3,000 worth of swag can turn ya into a giddy schoolgirl) cause now I have some assets to sell, besides my body, lol (just kidding of course, I would never sell-out, the utter despair and desperation hasn't quite peaked to that point just yet, hahaha). I feel special right now...after all I didn't get much for my birthday, and when you're single you don't get many presents for Christmas either, or like ever...(might as well just skip Valentine's Day ALL AROUND) My sister Cindy and I were joking that we were going to set up our own eclectic goods Emporium in our apartment with all this new stuff we got. What'ya think?

Here's a quick rendering I did to give you a visual of me and the free stuff. Don't worry, I really can draw better than that...but do I look too greedy? Cause I probably was like a kid in a candy store.

Now now, before I make you pea green with envy, just remember that it required great sacrifice to attain aforementioned gifts (I think the LONG hours of endurance, my nauseous stomach, sore feet and bum are witness of that). We were on set for about 10 hours with no lunch break and one bathroom break. Besides, lately my life has been a lot like Oliver Twist's... everything in upheaval and humility...

Yes, I did think that pic would incite sympathy. Did it work? Cause it should. I can TOTALLY relate to that character. Okay, I'm not an orphan in 19th century London, but I'm a single, starving artist in Los Angeles and that does make one desperate from time to time. I have been praying a lot lately for some good things to come my way and help a gal out. And the Universe answered, unexpectedly, with a bunch of gifts from Deal or No Deal, LOL! Guess I should count me blessings ay? (sounding like Ollie Twist in a cockney accent) And I am, 'tis a blessin' indeed, make no doubt! P.S. Let me know if any of you are interested in checking out the Eclectic Goods Emporium at my house cause we got some good stuff there, haha! - Jess the Blog Authoress

Don't Forget The Lyrics! The Life of a P.A.M...

2008-08-30T04:44:00.000-07:00

Last week was quite busy, though entertaining at times and full of adventure as always. Due to a tight job market my sister Cindy and I have temporarily become Professional Audience Members(P.A.M.'s I will call us from now on) for TV shows, haha. Note I also use the word "temporarily" as this is definitely not our calling in life and one can become rather depressed if they think of it as permanent.

So what exactly does a P.A.M. do, say you? Well I'll tell you, for each audience member gig is unique. Last week we were on the "Dr. Phil Show", "The Dr.'s"(with a hunky doctor host Travis Stork who was once on "The Bachelor"), and "Don't Forget the Lyrics!" with Wayne Brady. Though most would think the job of a P.A.M. is rather simple, just sit in an audience, clap when they teleprompter or Production Assistant P.A. directs you to. And yes, you do all of this, but what they also don't mention is you have to have TONS of energy in every shot, which means clapping and cheering on cue for hours, getting paid next to nothing, standing around waiting for hours(sometimes in the hot sun), waiting to have a bathroom break for hours, (which is just plain INHUMANE and a violation against human rights in my opinion) having your phone confiscated sometimes all day. You are basically considered an underling and not to complain or make a fuss(though I digress, some people that work with the shows are nicer than others).

My cheeks have never been more sore from smiling, and my hands have never been more raw from clapping. Its tough being a P.A.M. The "Dr. Phil Show" was relatively easy though. It was a 2-hour filming process and took place at Paramount Studios on Gower St. in Hollywood. Being a rather hot day we were VERY appreciative of the powerful A.C. that greeted us when we got inside. The set is larger than you expect, and we were looking forward to seeing Dr. Phil in person (I especially enjoyed entertaining a few people with my mock impression beforehand of Dr. Phil, and his infamous saying, "Well, Duh!" in a southern drawl).

Cindy and I joked at what Dr. Phil's advice would be if he took a look at our lives, and here's what we came up with:

Dr. Phil: "So, you're professional audience members, don't you want to do more with your lives?"

Cindy and I in exasperated unison: "Yes, but it's tough, what with the economy, bills, getting sick, and trying to make it in Hollywood."

To which Dr. Phil would undoubtedly reply, "Well, duh! This is life baby, get used to it!"

Looking at his picture now, you know he'd probably point his finger at us like this, too, haha!

My favorite show was probably "Don't Forget The Lyrics!" It was also the longest taping, 12 hours, with a 30 minute lunch break in between, (and two bathroom breaks in between that, with about 50 women lining up each time for a 3 stall bathroom, which is pretty brutal!) But lets get to some of the good part of the day, one that doesn't involve bathrooms, haha. Filming started early in the morning at CBS studios and Cindy and I were seated in the upper balcony above the band. For those of you unfamiliar with "Don't Forget The Lyrics!" its a game show hosted by comedian Wayne Brady, basically a contestant sings along with lyrics of popular songs old and new, and tries to fill in the blanks to the lyrics. The ultimate prize is 1 million dollars.

As we sat in our seats and looked below at the band I saw a tall, good looking older guy with shaggy dark hair, dressed in distressed jeans, boots, and a retro-cool t-shirt working with the in-house band. Just as I was about to say, who is THAT?(cause I got a thing for male musicians) Cindy proclaimed, "That's Rick Springfield!" (children of the "80's" think of the song "Jessie's Girl" cause he sang it!) Cindy thought he must be in his late 40's, (I didn't care though) and we both agreed he looked hot (as pretty much every woman thought in the audience that day, too) Turns out he's 59!, but he could charm the socks of a cat and I think he knows it, too.

We were so excited, a free concert and we were getting paid $8 an hour (hahaha). He performed "Jessie's Girl" and a new song of his called "What's Victoria's Secret" (which you will notice is the first song on my music player at the top of the page) Rick sounded AMAZING live and was so charismatic we were all drooling...which goes to prove, you can be a sexy rocker at any age, truly.(though 80 is pushing it!) I'm sure if people saw Rick's pics they might say, oh he looks kinda old, but I am tellin' you gals, he was HOT stuff! (and his voice was really sexy, too) He was also incredibly friendly and graciously greeted audience members in between filming, giving hugs, high fives and autographs (which is a no no for P.A.M.S to ask for them, but Rick was a nice guy and didn't care).

Sexy Rick doin' his stuff, ooh la la
Wayne Brady was also very funny, making funny commentaries in between filming. At one point during rehearsals the assistant director (whose omnipotent tone of voice reminded me of what God would sound like) spoke over the loud speaker and told Wayne to get out of the way and lighting and stand behind Rick while he came onstage performing. Wayne laughed good-naturedly and said, "All my life, all I have ever wanted is to just stand behind Rick Springfield!" It was so funny.

Later on in the day I was separated from Cindy and positioned front row, right behind Wayne. It was fun at first, but a little stressful, too, especially when they put the camera right on you and leave it there for prolonged moments of time. You begin to run out of interesting facial expressions, and have to fight the random urge to do something crazy (brought on no doubt by food, water and bathroom break deprivations). You feel like making a goofy face, or just standing up, stretching or running around the studio screaming like a wild banshee, haha. (I assure you, I was not the only P.A.M. to have this urge, many of us felt this way when on camera)

Additional performers/guests of the show were the band "Air Supply", the old host Chuck Woolery of the 1960's "Love Connection", singer and Extra TV correspondent Mark McGrath and more. We had pretty prime seats so it was fun to see them 5 feet away, (you also notice how much makeup they put on some of these people for TV).

The other show we attended was "The Dr's" for ABC. I'm not sure it has aired yet, but a hunky doctor hosts (Dr. Travis Stork, formerly on The Bachelor) and dispenses medical advice (he can be my doctor any time, just not my gyno, hahaha) with a few other doctors. That filming was Friday, and we had a miracle that day.

Everything wasn't going right that afternoon. Cindy was scared because her car battery (oh the timing!) was giving her trouble the day before. The day of the show she was jipped at the Gas station, they were supposed to give her a $5 bill and some change, instead giving her a $1 and change (a mistake she rendered after some terse words of exchange with the cashier) Then we got stuck in traffic, and Cindy and I, in our stress, drove to the wrong studio (CBS studios on Beverly, which was where we filmed "Don't Forget the Lyrics!"!) Cindy was freaking out at this point, and I tried my best to calm her, then we started laughing and said, to hell with it, because it was all too much to take and if we didn't laugh we'd have breakdowns.

By some miracle we MADE it in to "The Dr.'s" show. We were 20 minutes late and needed the $57 each desperately, (I needed the money to pay my bill for my now cut off phone). Luckily the lady who schedules people was surprisingly understanding (I told Cindy if she chewed us out I'd probably crumble on the ground and start crying cause I've been feeling really frail, lol)

We ended up having a pretty good afternoon. They gave us water while we waited, we sat in the shade, (it was a gray-ish day, too, thankfully, or I couldn't take the heat), the fellow P.A.M.'s were really nice, and the show was interesting (probably the most interesting part was Dr. Travis Stork, a very appropriate name for a doctor don't ya think?). Cindy and I also got featured on the camera for long periods of time which was funny, and a little daunting but we're looking forward to our P.A.M. debuts on television sometime in the near future(update: The Doctor's debuts on ABC, Mon, Sep 8th, 11:00 a.m. and is a daily show. I think the episode we were on airs that week, it's about teenage obesity and pregnant mothers with cancer).

Dr. Travis Stork former ABC's the Bachelor
Check this doc out, six-feet and two inches of pure hunkyness!
This week we are scheduled again for "Don't Forget the Lyrics!" and some more shows, I'm sure I'll have more silly stories to tell y'all. Until then... Jess the Blog Authoress

Public Television, a Cure for boredom?

2008-08-25T19:41:00.000-07:00

Last Friday night I didn't feel like going out so stayed in for the evening watching "Sex in the City", "While You Were Sleeping" and "Forces of Nature" back to back on TBS. My sister was out for the night but came back just in time for us to make fun of, um... I mean watch random shows on late night television.

We particularly enjoyed the clips on KCTV (our public station in Los Angeles), which included some Italian opera, Austrian youth choirs, an eccentric female xylophone player (who looked like a mix between Loretta Lynn and Elvira), a rail-thin pianist with wild long hair (who reminded me of a Tim Burton character) and a crazy-looking 1950's composer Igor Markevitch (who with the combination of bad lighting, old film and freaky facial expressions and mannerisms looked like a character out of an old Vincent Price horror film) .

We were beginning to notice a pattern that all the musicians featured on the program looked like they were from horror movies (not that I'm bashing eccentric musicians, 'cause I probably am one, but I hope I don't look like it, haha). It was strange, and telling? I've included a pic of the composer Igor Markevitch for all the readers here so that you can be privy to what I'm talking about when I say he looks crazy...

Dear Igor

We were relieved when the program became more lighthearted with an Austrian teenage choir singing in a beautiful tiered theater. The TV screen then split and organ keys and cherubic choir faces faded in and out of the frame in a nice ode to the '70's. We couldn't stop laughing (maybe it was the late night, but no, I don't think so)

And being that it was a show for public television they probably couldn't pay much for actors so the teenage choir singers were then promoted as actors in a collage of videos set in the Austrian outdoors with the accompanied choir music. Basically imagine about a dozen of goofy-looking teens, with minimal expressions and energy,(couldn't they have been just a little more energetic for television, lol?) walking around putting flowers in their hair, or picking up flowers, or giving side hugs, or just awkwardly sitting on windowsills. The comical crescendo was one girl who sat by a pond, stirring a little stick in the water, staring into the unknown with a solemn, blank expression (I suppose she was supposed to be pondering, get it? haha)

When our ab muscles couldn't take any more from all the laughing we decided to submit ourselves to one final clip of exquisite Italian opera. The clip seemed rather new, filmed in Venice, Italy. As the music played in the background a couple, dressed like Romeo and Juliet, played cat and mouse, running through the cobblestone streets of Venice, laughing and playing. The young lady acted very coy and shy, as her suitor chased her through corridors and around corners when finally she stopped and they ran towards each other and dramatically embraced. Being the romantic I am I suddenly turned sentimental. Here is Cindy and I's commentary on the scene:

Jessie: Wow, look at that couple, they look so happy, and in love, and look, he's running towards her! Isn't that sweet?

Cindy: Yes, Jessie, I know its hard to believe but some men and women actually run towards each other.

Maybe that's why I'm single? I didn't realize you have to actually run towards someone to catch them, hahaha. Guess I need new running shoes and a renaissance costume- Jess the Blog Authoress

Alma Awards, a Night to Remember & Then Some…

2008-08-24T02:42:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday night I attended the Alma Awards in Pasadena, California. It was a night of excitement, magic, and as has been my experience in life, unexpected adventure! My friend Sarah was working for the Alma’s backstage as a talent escort and assistant and said I should come along as seat filler. I attended last year and had a good time so decided to go again. FYI: for those unfamiliar with the Alma Awards, it’s an award show on ABC that celebrates and pays tribute to Latino Stars in Hollywood, everyone from film, television, music & fashion.

The afternoon of the show I was running a little late, (due to a last minute wardrobe change which meant a tedious ironing job on my red, floor length Marilyn Monroe-esque gown) When I got on the 10 freeway I was relieved, there was no traffic! Woohoo! The call time was 4:00 pm, and I had 45 minutes, so plenty of time, or so you would think. Just as anyone who lives in Los Angeles knows, the traffic is unpredictable. When I reached the 110 freeway it was gridlocked with a major accident. I tried to remain calm (keeping in mind all that great advice from Eckhart Tolle to just be in the “moment”) Yes, this worked for awhile. But then, as the clock ticked away I realized I might not actually make it to the show.

Miracles of miracles, with about 10 minutes to spare and 10 miles to go, I finally passed the accident to an open freeway. I managed to find parking rather quickly a few blocks from the Pasadena Civic Auditorium. Like Cinderella out of a fairy tale I began running down the sidewalk in my gown and heels. A cop was nice enough to stop traffic (even a limousine that might have had a star waiting to be dropped off for the red carpet, let them wait, haha) and escorted me across the street.

I made it, don’t know how, but they still let me sign in despite my tardiness. I met up with my friend Lisa who had also come to be a seat filler. We seatfillers were then ushered into a large auditorium, it was magnificent in size, an ode to art deco, the velvet seats and carved architecture giving the feel of an old, 1930's Hollywood theater. But it was the painted murals on the tall, tall ceiling, that gave inspiration to much debate and laughter. Was I crazy or were the painted murals on the ceiling of naked mermaids and mermen on top of little Lochness monsters? No, I wasn't crazy, Lisa concurred. It did look like naked ocean people on sea creatures. It was quite comical and quite scandalous I daresay.

The stage was big, but much less controversial, mostly I just remember it had red banners, a huge wide screen television and a catwalk, the design of the stage changing with each performance or presentation.

Now, being a seat filler you know that you will usually be moving seats thorough the night and playing musical chairs. In fact, everyone plays musical chairs that is close to the front of the stage, even the stars. The way they identify the seat fillers is we wear a black bracelet. Every time there is a commercial the assistants with headsets may move you to fill up a spot for a celebrity, etcetera. But it is all coordinated, when a celebrity is nominated they have a specific place to sit so the cameramen know exactly where to find them and point the camera when it’s time.

The experience of seat filler can be both fun but also stressful. If you like where you are sitting, and in a prime location, then you may be suddenly moved to a less idyllic spot when say America Ferreira needs to be placed in your seat to accept an award. You are also constantly reminded that you are basically a peon and subordinate and not to speak with the stars (like I really care anyway, lol). You are not to ask for autographs, take pictures and are not paid for your services. So you should just be grateful you get to hang out with the “special people” and watch the show. But I didn’t really come to make chit chat with Charlie Sheen and Paula Abdul, I just wanted to get out of my apartment and do something interesting, see a few stars and performers I admire.

I was very fortunate to be seated so close to the stage. I was center 10^th row in front of the podium, a great location, and surprisingly, I was never relocated. I got to see all the action up close, without having to move and I really enjoyed that. My friend Lisa, on the other hand, got up to use the restroom, and in doing so was moved right up front next to Ugly Betty’s Ana Ortiz (who seemed nice). And then suddenly she was moved by Eva Longoria’s husband Tony Parker, and then behind Charlie Sheen, etcetera. I think she enjoyed herself.

ATTENDEES OF THE SHOW

I suppose first I’ll mention most of the stars that were there… Eva Longoria, Shakira, Wynona Judd, Cristian de la Fuente (hot hot) Jessica Alba,(looked very lovely post-baby), the Cast of Ugly Betty, the tenor Placido Domingo, Edward James Olmos, Linda Ronstadt, The Black Eyed Peas, Jon Secada, Brian McKnight, Sergio Mendes, Charlie Sheen, Q’orianka Kilcher, soap actor Galen Gering (whom I met once while playing volleyball at Santa Monica Beach) Eduardo Verastegui (great acceptance speech, very handsome), Dancing with the stars performers, singer Mario, Paula Abdul, Terrance Howard, singer Lisa Lisa, fashion designer Narciso Rodriguez, Cheech & Chong, Zac Efron, Selena Gomez and more… Oh, and I forgot, yours truly was there, Miss Jessica DiMond, hehe.

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE SHOW

Watching Wynona Judd perform “Blue Bayou” in a tribute for Linda Ronstadt. She looked beautiful in a long, nearly floor-length floral-inspired jacket, pants, and her beautiful trademark curly red hair. Wynona’s performance gave me chills, her voice was so expressive and lovely, absolutely amazing!! She also seemed very humbled (and is from what my friend Sarah said of her backstage) Towards the end of her song Wynona looked down at Linda Ronstadt and touched her hand to her heart and said, “Life moment, right here." I guess even superstars have idols, too.

Singer Jon Secada’s duet with Brian McKnight at the piano, both surrounded by dozens of white candles was also brilliant. Their voices blended well together, with Jon singing mostly in Spanish. He really has a big voice, very passionate. I’ve loved him since he sang “Just Another Day”. I used to listen to that song over and over as a kid on my little walkman and sing along. It’s performers like him that inspired me to love music and be a singer today.

I also enjoyed the Narciso Rodriguez fashion show. I really do love fashion and it had all the energy of the New York, Paris and Milan shows with its pumping techno beats and long-legged, peacock-like strutting models.

The taping took almost five hours. Which will be edited down to a 2-hour show to air sometime this fall. It’s funny to watch the taped versions of the shows because celebrities tend to mess up more when presenting, and then everything is re-set and done over. All in all it was an enjoyable experience, and I thought the night would close just like that, but just as things with me tend to be unpredictable, there is a cliffhanger to that night's story, and you will have to read on to find out what happened... And I doubt its what you think would happen...

After the show my friend Sarah finished working backstage, we hadn’t hung out since last year(she lives out of state) so I said I would give her a ride home and catch up a bit. It was late and we were hungry so we went to Del Taco to pick up some food and then I'd drive her back to her grandmother’s where she was staying.

I parked near Sarah’s grandmother’s place and turned the engine off. Then Sarah said that maybe I should park closer to the house. I turned the key in the ignition to start my car, and suddenly there was no power, the engine would not start. The battery was dead. I was freaking out. My car is only 4-years old, has never given me any mechanical problems. It was already after 11pm by then, and I was exhausted, I just wanted to go HOME! We decided to go inside, eat our food, and see if we could get my car jumped. I remembered having jumper cables (courtesy of the emergency car kit my sis Amy once gave me as Christmas present, Thanks Amy, they came in handy).

So we ate and Sarah’s sister said she’d help me charge the car (I’d never done it before). Just as we began charging the car I was hit by a wave of nausea, and the feeling that I might vomit. It wasn’t nerves. It was something different. Oh my gosh, this was the LAST thing I needed! I knew it was food poisoning or my gallbladder. Now I was a damsel in distress personified, bona fide, standing outside in the middle of the night by the curb, my car broken down, getting sicker by the moment, and in my red ball gown and heels no less (I had nothing else to change into).

I asked Sarah’s grandma if I could sit down inside. She was such an angel, and poured me a spoonful of Pepto Bismo. Let’s just say, I sat chatting with her for about 3 minutes before I had to rush to the bathroom and throw up (Oh, why, pray tell, am I telling these details? Why, because this is life, I’m human, and I don’t like to sugarcoat things). I was certifiably sick. And so embarrassed to be imposing on strangers (but they were truly amazing, compassionate people, my heroes that night, I cannot offer enough gratitude)

There was more bad news... my car would not take a jump. After one try, and being turned off before it had been running long enough it died, and would not charge up again. There was not even enough power to lock the car with my keychain fob. I called Triple AAA from my now frail condition on the couch, turns out I wasn’t a GOLD member and they would only cover 7 miles of towing, $9 per mile after that. I lived about 25 miles away. Couldn’t afford to tow it. Well, I called my sister Cindy and begged her to come get me. I wanted to be in the comfort of home, and not sick on the bathroom floor or couch of my friend’s grandmother’s house.

Cindy said she would come, it was about 2 a.m. by the time she showed up. I was so grateful. We left my car where it was overnight, because the steering wouldn’t even move in neutral. A street sign said there was no parking after 4 am but it was up to fate. So if I got a ticket or towed I’d have to figure it out. I left a note taped on the windshield saying the battery was dead and I'd be there to fix it the next day. Cindy drove me home and I fell asleep curled up on the bathroom floor by the toilet. What a lovely close to that night’s festivities…

The next day I found a good place to buy a battery (which I also couldn’t afford but Sarah’s sister, the absolute angel, gave me $40 to put towards it) I cannot say how grateful I was to have these people help me…Sarah, her sister, her grandmother, my sister Cindy, and her friend Jeffrey who installed my battery. And luckily I did not get a ticket. So 1 point for the Jesster, woohoo!

The moral of the story. Don’t eat Del Taco chicken tacos if they’re bad, or you have a iffy-gallbladder (which isn’t really predictable, either scenario). Try not to get stranded in Alhambra, California. Bring a spare change of clothes so if you are sick on someone’s bathroom floor, or tending to your broken down car at the curb you’re not wearing a ballgown. And be a gold member for Triple AAA if the membership is to be of any REAL use to you, hahahaha (yeah, that one really made me laugh).

Alas, I am reminded, once again, that in all the craziness of this life, one MUST be grateful for the blessings, and I did receive many that crazy night and days thereafter, of which I am truly, and most humbly grateful.

And to my readers from around the world, I’m sure you’re just pea-green with envy (double entendre, get it, lol) when hearing about this land of Hollywood, with all its stars and all its magic, ‘cause I certainly make it all sound so glamorous and idyllic, haha. Yes, there are parts about it that are, but it also requires pure grit, determination, and miracles to keep you here. Sometimes I feel like Scarlett O’Hara digging in the dirt on my hands and knees trying to find a carrot, or turnip was it? I’m not looking for the carrot but the break, and I am a musician and I can’t leave this place until I have a music career. So, Los Angeles, you wild beast, you have been quite a ride but you will not conquer me yet. I will tame you, or at least survive you – Jess the Blog Authoress

Hollywood Haunts...The Chateau Marmont....

2008-08-15T11:06:00.000-07:00

Went out last night to Hollywood. My sister Cindy's screenwriting friend Tracy, from NY, had flown in and wanted a girl's night on the town. I haven't gone to Hollywood in quite awhile and since I didn't have to worry about driving I figured I'd come along.

We decided to go the Chateau Marmont Hotel on Sunset blvd, which has a bar called Bar Marmont. I was curious about the place, for all its history and prestige (the home and hang out of many of Hollywood's bygone stars from the 1920's onward). In all my years living in L.A., I'd never gone.

Its funny about Hollywood hotspots, you hear so much hype that you expect them to be some grand place where you'll have some grand experience. That is, if you're "special" enough to get inside the doors at these places, in which case you should consider yourself, well, "special". Can I say that I'm only slightly curious about these places and once I've made it through the doors I'm usually disappointed, or wondering, "Okay, what the heck was that hype all about?"

However, I must confess that if you do make it into these places you can expect some sort of adventure, and expect to meet some interesting, unique characters who make for a great story afterwards, (hence today's blog).

When we arrived at the BAR MARMONT (which is next door to the legendary hotel in the pic above) we decided to valet the car (a whopping $18, which Tracy insisted on paying, gracious gal, plus I have no money to spend extravagantly, you know what they say about starving artists & their pocketbooks) When we got to the red doors of Bar Marmont we were met an attractive, young actor-type doorman, who gave us a thorough look over. Makes you feel like a lil' maiden being sent as sacrifice to the alter, or an actor before an audition, hoping you're good enough pass the test, whatever that test might be. And after all, we were dressed in all our finery and jewels(if you count costume jewelry as being jewels, I sure do, hehe), we were three foxy ladies, how could any man turn us down?

The doorman asked how many of us there were, (it was obvious there were three of us) then looking us over once more he tilted his head up with an air of importance(haha) and said "Alright" and ushered us through. 1 point for the Foxy ladies!

Ironically enough, when we got inside the BAR MARMONT and restaurant, it was smaller than imagined. The entrance was smokey (it was the designated smoking-area) but the general vibe of the place was cool, very Euro, but with an Asian influence. We turned left and went into another area that was for dining (Bar Marmont is also a restaurant) and then down the staircase to hang by the bar.

It was 10:30 then and there was about 30 people in the place, so relatively empty for these kind of establishments. It was an eclectic crowd of rock-emo-types, (shaggy hair, scarfs around their necks, skin-tight jeans) would-be surfers,(same shaggy hair but T-shirt and shorts ensembles) some sophisticated European-types, and a few young, trendy things bouncing around. I remember thinking, "Jeez, where's Leo DiCaprio? Maybe I should call him on his cell to stop by." Just kidding, don't even know the man. But there was a guy who looked strikingly similar to Owen Wilson and kept his head down a lot under a baseball cap. I never gave him a closer inspection, cause well, I'm not like that.

Inside the Bar Marmont

Anyway, we tried to make ourselves comfortable, and attempted at socializing. Me, I was already past my bedtime (I've been going to bed very early lately) and so was already feeling tired and in a bit of a dreamlike state. Plus, I just don't do these places anymore, am out of practice, am beyond it, am something. The music was great though, and kept me awake with a very unique mix of 80's, 90's pop/rock (lots of British stuff, my fave) and even shockingly, a Spice Girls tune, (which I also shockingly knew the words to, courtesy of my 9th grade affinity for them, hahaha) As time passed more people filtered through, several good-looking gents appeared through the door (who always ended up being attached by the hand with their girlfriends or dates, blah!!).

Admittedly I was happy with a tall, tan guy, late 20's with a sophisticated black ensemble walked down the stairs and looked at me. He was unique and had a friendly vibe about him. He began to make eyes at me and me, being out of practice, would only share his gaze quickly and sporadically. Okay, so I'm definitely out of practice in flirting, like a young schoolgirl, but I've just spent so much time focusing on my goals and traumas, that I have not been out and about like most single and vivacious ladies my age. Besides, I know more than ever what type of guy I want and haven't felt too secure that I would find him in a bar, lets be realistic. But you never know!

I felt certain that Mr. Sophisticate would come up to me to chat, but then I also find I tend to intimidate guys sometimes. What's a gal to do? My sis Cindy kept catching him staring at me and wanted to go over to him and introduce me. No no! Call me old-fashioned but I like when a man comes up to me and says hello, even if he is scared. I'll smile at him a little, come on, isn't that enough? Perhaps that's why I'm drawn to guys in their 30's, they tend to be more confident and approach a woman more easily, and that is attractive to me. They usually come up to me, talk to me, ask me out, no problem.

Anyway, I didn't have a chance to chat with Mr. Sophisticate. He moved to a different area of the bar with his friends. It's alright though, nice to be part of the mutual admiration society, if only momentarily.

Some other highlights of the evening. There were two British guys there that night, two polar opposites. One was covered head to toe in tattoos, super tan, had his head shaved into a Mohawk (he was about 45, so it was quite a sight), and wore funky colored sunglasses and gold chains around his neck a la Mr. T. He was so funny, tried to dance with Cindy's friend Tracy, and kept making pop and lock dance moves. But I have to say, I admire his individuality, he had nice manners and didn't care what anyone thought of him.

The next guy, now what a character, he was your typical British rocker (as described above, blond shaggy hair, neck scarf, skin tight jeans, a fedora hat). He called himself Charlie, and I guess during a conversation with my sister Cindy proclaimed himself to be the singer Sting's son. Yes, you heard me. "Sting's son" then trotted off as Cindy proceeded to tell me of his declaration. I just laughed skeptically. Granted, Charlie did look a little like the singer, but come on, who declares something so casually? Perhaps it was the liquor talking, or just pure b.s., haha. I wasn't too worried, I generally am skeptical before proven otherwise.

Later on Charlie came back and began talking with me. He looked at me and said I looked strikingly familiar. He couldn't get over it. Cindy told him I was a musician, a Singer/Songwriter. He said he was in a band and was a songwriter,too. He said, "Songwriting is really hard, isn't it?" I said, "No, I just do what I love." I don't consider it work, its pure and exhilarating to write music, otherwise I wouldn't do it.

Anyway, when we finally arrived home, I was SOOO tired but Cindy said, "Hey, let's check out that Charlie guy, see if he's for real." So we googled. And Sting does have a son, except his name is Joe. But when we saw a pic of Joe we gasped. He bore an uncanny resemblance to the guy we met. We had to get a second opinion so we kept looking at other pictures, and more gasps. Then we saw a youtube.com video and we are about 85% sure it was him. (I leave the other 15% part of my opinion free, just in case) He's either the real deal, or a twin from another mother but it really made us laugh, lol. So perhaps it will remain a mystery....

SOME FUN FACTS ABOUT THE CHATEAU MARMONT HOTEL:
* It was once the temporary home of Marilyn Monroe, Howard Hughes, Greta Garbo, Clark Gable, Carole Lombard, Montgomery Clift, Errol Flynn, Paul Newman, Jean Harlow, Boris Karloff, and Jim Morrison. (The list goes on!!)

*The legendary hotel is also considered "haunted". By who, or whom, I'm not sure. Probably half of old Hollywood who had affairs at that place, haha.

*Forbes.com has dubbed Bar Marmont one of the Hollywood's TOP 10 Hotspots (Oh we should have felt so special last night then, hahaha)

An Apple a Day Keeps the Doctors Away....?

2008-07-18T17:16:00.000-07:00

Am wondering if the old adage is true. An apple a day keeps the doctor's away. I think it's worth a shot(no pun intended, I loathe needles!). Those close to me know that the last month has been one of the most traumatic, hellacious, and turbulant times of my life, not sure how many adjectives I could to describe it, but with two trips to the E.R., one misdiagnosis, one severe allergic reaction to medication prescribed from misdiagnosis, I have definitely felt that my health needs a closer inspection.

Most of us think nothing of eating junk food here and there . I definitely don't have the worst diet in the world, but I eat my fair share of junk-food, that's for sure. Can I use the excuse that being a young, single woman is partially to blame? For I must concede, when I am dating someone, I am not as consumed with sweet foods, because I feel like I'm getting sugar from somewhere else. Haha, okay, that sounded strange (don't misinterpret it : P) But it's true, with the distractions of a man in my life, I'm definitely not spending Friday nights with a McDonald's chocolate fudge sundae in my hands (yes, 'cause you know they're only $1, too good a bargain to pass up when you're feeling emotionally vulnerable)

But McDonald's sundaes only keep you so so happy (that means, partly satisfied, partly disgusted with your perpetual weakness for them, haha) After my two E.R. experiences I began to examine my habits more closely, because I've been feeling poorly for far too long. How do I get myself back? How do I regain that spirit, zest of youth that so many people my age still have? "To truly find the answers of the universe, one must look closer, to the eye of the beholder"- Confucius says (just kidding, I just made that up, lol) But really, looking closer, Confucius-like closer, I reflect... How much water do I really drink, how many fresh fruits/vegetables do I eat, and how much of my diet is processed/ chemically enhanced food? I think it's really easy to eat crap, let's be honest. America consumerism is based on fast and easy, so when it takes longer to cook something, or go out of your way to buy fresh, sometimes we just forego the nutricious stuff for a quick fix.

So we come to my epiphany, or perhaps maybe just my resolution. I will prevail to eat better! My deep desire is to feel good, truly good, and recapture the essence and beauty of my life again. I still have some doctor's appointments to look further into a diagnosis (upon research my sis Cindy and I are thinking my symptoms might be gallbladder/liver related) but there is so much I can do at home to try and fix this issue. And I will do my best. I've done a great deal of research, and there is a new diet I am trying to stick by, not forever, but slowly, I am trying to reduce the poor food choices and replace them with the good. Which means less dairy, more salad, carrots, beets (haha, all my life I have said, mom, why can't we eat beets for dinner? j/k) On the no no list.... Beans are genuinely a no-no, but that's fine because it reduces the Los Angeles pollution factor (forgive my crudeness, it slips from time to time). And of course apples, grapes, melons, strawberries are allowed (thankfully).

Now, I apologize if some of this blog seemed boring, or a bit of a downer. Just call it the once-a-month 'Health Devotion' issue. And as one knows, sometimes life throws you curveballs. Sometimes you catch them, and sometimes you get your nose broken. And no, Confucius did not say that, that's just random profundity from yours truly (just kidding!!) I can say that I have been through a lot, and I know that some friends/relatives are probably wondering why I never return phone calls or have been M.I.A. but it's not out of mean spirited-ness. I just tend to become a bit of a hermit when something traumatic happens. And I am trying to recover from the experience, re-adjust, and change my life. Everything's not perfect, of course, but I am doing my best.

Upon reflection I know I have a lot to be truly grateful for, and with that in mind I wanted to extend that feeling of gratitude to all of you, thanks for your love and prayers. Without further ado, here's my gratitude list to end this blog on a positive note. I try to read it aloud every night before I go to bed.

JESSIE'S GRATITUDE LIST TO GOD

Thank you for my family
Thank you for my friends
Thank you for the food and shelter that I have.
Thank you for this beautiful planet you've created for us
Thank you my physical body and my health
Thank you for music and art, which gives me great joy to create and appreciate in others
Thank you for all the lessons, great and small, which help me become the strong, beautiful, and resolute Woman I am today
Thank you for the wisdom to allow me to realize not to settle for all the wrong men and wait for the right one.

And Thank you for the sense of humor to get through all of the above (just kidding, I didn't put that, although laughter is a great tonic for life's trials)

I hope we can all love and accept each other more. And maybe eat healthier, too. Love, Jess the Blog Authoress

One Long LONG day on the movie set...

2008-06-04T18:42:00.000-07:00

Ended up scheduled as an extra again on the film “Ugly Truth”. Talk about a long, crazy day yesterday. More like an endurance contest. Call time was at 5 a.m. at a state park in Temecula, a drive that was tedious and at moments daunting; the last 10 miles of sometimes unpaved road covered in a deep fog. I was already unfamiliar with the roads, so combine that with no sleep from the previous night (a whole other story) and the ticking clock; it’s amazing I made it on time, car and self unscathed.

I arrive on-set with all the other adventurous souls aka extras and we wait the long line to sign in. We were told to head to wardrobe to get approval for our outfits and as I was walking by myself past all the trailers I see Gerard Butler walking towards me, he apparently was lost/tired a bit that morning, too. A crew lady was like, “Gerry, come over here, you’re going the wrong way!” Those early mornings leave us all a bit disoriented!

Made it to wardrobe, was wearing a cute bright blue shirt and jeans. They approved me and and I went back to holding (the extra's tent/hangout) and managed to get a few bites of our catered breakfast before we were called to set.

Being that I can't tell many details of the actual film plot I'll just say we were at a festival and I was a festival go-er. The sky was beginning to light up at this point, but it was bitterly cold and the mosquitoes were attacking us. During rehearsals I ended up being placed right next to where Katherine Heigl, some male co-star (I think it was Eric Winter) and Gerard were to be filmed. As you can see from the pics above & below they were in a basket, you can probably guess what that's connected to... a hot air balloon. But no, they didn't go in the air. The handlers were too careful for that. At one point they detached the balloon part to get the light reflectors and cameras closer. But when camera was on we all looked up and pretended to marvel at the now invisible big balloon. Oh the make-believe of Hollywood, haha.

Katherine & Gerard in the basket all day, lol.

Before filming a wardrobe lady came around checking people's outfits. Most of us had jackets on top of our approved outfits because of the chill. I had on a brown hoodie jacket and she asked me if I would take it off, otherwise I'd have to wear it all day, even when it got hot, for continuity sake. I took it off, but awhile later a P.A. came over to me and said, "You can't stand next to the basket now, Katherine's wearing the same color". Turns out she was wearing pretty much the exact shade of blue as me and they didn't want people's attention going to the background. I could have just put my jacket back on, mind you, but they would still see the blue so I was placed farther away the background. No film debut for moi, haha. Not only that, but because of taking off the jacket, dear mother nature gave me a sore throat, a cough and sinus issues. Bad call all around me thinks.

Me and The Dreaded Blue Shirt

All in all it was an interesting day, but as I said before, it became an endurance contest. Freezing for hours standing around (Gerard was in layered shirts and a black parka down to his calves that morning, that’s just how cold it was). When the sun finally came out the crew didn’t want us standing in it during filming because we made shadows.

It did end up getting warmer late morning/afternoon so having my jacket on would have been a nightmare. Between takes we stood/sat/lounged around on the grass under the hot sun, which was lovely at first but then you can get what's called heatstroke and a sunburn, which I got most regrettably. Some fellow extras and I joked, "What do you get when you combine heatstroke and a sunburn? An extra on the The Ugly Truth." Well it was funny to us anyway, in our delirium.

That's extra work for you though. I liken it to being like cattle. Sometimes you're herded around like cows or sheep. Other times left to stand in the pasture/on set and just wait. Wait for crew to set up the scenes (which usually takes longer than the actual 1-2 mins of acting). They're constantly fixing the lighting, the actor's makeup, hair & wardrobe. And when they film, the background people must of course pantomime. So pretend to be talking but not talking aloud.

Extras become expert lip readers in my opinion. Such moments lead to idle mindedness. We extras play games of trying to make each other laugh whilst saying something in lip-read mode. But is most dangerous practice. Reminds me of Sunday afternoons as a kid when my dad used to take naps and tell us all to use our "quiet voices" and tip-toe in the house. If we were loud, and woke him up, we got spanked. Don't think I'd want to get spanked by some random crew guy with scruffy beard and dirty tennis shoes, haha. But maybe some sexy male star would be okay, haha. Just maybe.

Another interesting note about the set. The paparazzi were nearby much of the afternoon, hence the photos. Ironically enough, the security could have made them leave but they didn't. We thought that was odd. I guess any publicity is good publicity.

Though extra work is not something I see myself doing full time, the experiences are memorable. I once made Ben Stiller laugh (Tropic Thunder set). Zach Braff flirted. Nick Nolte once asked me if I knew where the hamburgers were (and no, I didn't because we were in a line for coffee, I think he was high or something). Most amusing tales for dinner party conversation. I see famous people differently now living in L.A. They're just regular people with cool jobs and most unregular paychecks, and with some charisma/talent thrown in the pot.

At the end of the shoot I was a basketcase of exhaustion (pun intended). It was a fun day, too, extras/crew all around very nice company. I was just SOOO tired. We worked over 12 hours, and I realized when I got to my car that I should not drive all the way home in that state. I already have sensitive health, it was rush-hour time, and I had a 1 & 1/2 hours drive home minimum even without traffic. This was a feat I did not want to attempt. I decided to drive the 10 miles back to civilization and find a parking lot to sleep for a bit to regain my energy.

I parked at Albertsons and slept for an hour or so, but when I woke I felt so ill and hot (the sunstroke was really hitting me by this time). I wanted to sleep more but was uncomfortable because there was a weird guy parked nearby in his truck that kept watching me. I decided to go to Burger King, get some food, drink a coke and try my hardest to get awake enough to drive. But alas, when my body gets to this point nothing, not even caffeine can help; it’s like being drunk.

I was stranded. I knew if I let myself fall asleep again I could sleep for 8 hours straight, 'cause once I'm out, I'm out like a light. As a girl, alone, I didn’t feel safe. I also had another issue. My cell phone’s battery is old. It dies within 2 minutes of talking, unless it’s plugged into a charger. I could only talk on my phone if it was plugged in the car charger, with my engine on, wasting gas. At that point I didn't care though, I turned on my a.c. and called my mom and sis to ask for advice. I was desperate. My mom said a prayer.

Luckily I had a miracle. Was a damsel in distress, and a damsel rescued. My sister called a new guy friend of hers, Adam, at random and he agreed to come with her to help me. They would drive down and meet me, then I would ride in my car as he drove it home. At first I was reticent but once I met him I knew it would be okay. Talk about the kindness of strangers. He later said he just had a 'feeling' he should help, even though he didn't know me and had to get up at 6 a.m. the next morning. Adam was totally awesome. And a good driver, thankfully. We talked the ride back home. I was a most grateful subject to my knight in shining armor.

And that was my experience on the Ugly Truth film set PART Deux. Most unexpected adventure. I'm now at home recovering with gatorade, chicken soup and tissues at disposal. Guess the movie biz isn't always what it's cracked up to be. Regardless, hope you all go out and see the film. I know I will.- Jess DiMond, the Blog Authoress

Why I Love L.A....

2008-05-19T00:41:00.000-07:00

Well, this past week has been quite a juggling act. I've been driving constantly; back and forth from work, (meetings, appointments, door to door sales) made two trips to the airport to pick up some friends from Colorado, had two emergency dental visits to save a tooth that broke on Wednesday (pretty traumatic let me tell you) and had one AWESOME day on a movie set with Gerard Butler (of "300" and "P.S. I Love You" fame). Lol, talk about a busy week, some good events, some experiences downright stressful). Monday I was scheduled as an extra on the film "The Ugly Truth" with Gerard Butler and Katherine Heigl. So much fun. That's one thing I love about Los Angeles, you can see how films/tv shows are made from behind the scenes as an extra. I got to hang out on set with Gerard/Katherine/the crew the entire day and got paid (okay, so $68 + overtime isn't that great, but the memory sure was worth it, haha) Filming took place at the Union Station in downtown L.A. There's a restaurant/Latin nightclub in there and I was supposed to be a Salsa club patron. It was a fun day. I was feeling a little under the weather some of it but for the most part I really enjoyed my time. Mr. Butler is a really down to earth guy, very friendly to everyone and rather handsome and charismatic.

As for the other events of the week, my back tooth was saved after 4 hours at the dentist/in the dental chair and three strategically placed metal posts were put into the roots of my tooth to basically reconstruct it again. All of this happening while I'm busy working a new sales job and my friends from Colorado have flown in (on a trip planned months ago) Who would have thought I'd be in such a dire situation but I'm praying things improve.

Well, I better head to bed as I have to drop one of my friends off at the airport in the morning. YAY, more driving, lol!

My Red Carpet Debut

2008-03-10T14:32:00.000-07:00

Yes, it's true. I can finally say I've walked the Red Carpet. And when and where did said experience happen? It happened last night at the Hyatt Hotel Resort & Spa. The event was a premiere at the Cinema City International Film Festival. My publicist Deb invited me, my sister and my mother. What an event! I was told I was going to walk the red carpet to get some press (talk about feeling nervous). There was about 10 photographers and you stand in front of each one, they talk with you, take photos of you, tell you to show off your dress, ask questions, etc... It really is a surreal experience having flashbulbs in your face. I felt rather nervous at first, but then I decided it's like playing a part and you just roll with it. If they only knew I bought my dress for $20 at Ross over a year ago, haha. Love a good bargain, lol.

After the red carpet we mingled, took some candid photos, and chatted with members of the cast of the docu-film "This is War". What a thought provoking show. It was personal footage and photos from soldiers in Iraq. It had everything, heart, courage, and even comedy (talking with the soldiers, you know they tried to stay upbeat despite their circumstances; laughter was their only coping mechanism). They also had an after-party in the tent outside. Very fun. People I saw were Ed McMahon (got to shake his hand and say hello), Olivia Hussey (Juliet in "Romeo & Juliet" 1968 & Mary in "Jesus of Nazareth") chatted and took a pic with Efren Ramirez (Pedro in "Napoleon Dynamite" and also was in "Employee of the Month"). There were more people but too many to list.

This morning I got call from my publicist to tell me my photo was on wireimage.com.(refer to top pic) I had to laugh because that's a site I go to find celebrity photos and now I'm on it, lol. Don't worry, I won't let it go to my head. Anyway, here are a few candid shots and the pic with Efren.

With Efren Ramirez of Napoleon Dynamite (hilarious guy in person, too)

Me and my mum at the event :)

Diary of Elizabeth Hartland, Silent Film Star

2008-02-19T14:18:00.000-08:00

Hey Folks, check out a little short film project I've been working on for the last month. It's a parody on silent films and Hollywood in the 20's-40's. Hope you enjoy and please comment to let me know what you think of it. Thanks! Love, Jess the Authoress P.S. You will have to pause the above music player in order to hear the sound on the video. Just a heads up :)

"Operation Homecoming", a documentary of thought...

2008-02-13T00:20:00.001-08:00

Tonight I attended a really cool event at the Fine Art’s Theatre on Wilshire. My sister Cindy is on the Fine Arts email list whenever cool documentaries or indie films of interest come out. I didn’t really know anything about it beforehand, only that it was a documentary on soldiers in Iraq called “Operation Homecoming” based on the book. It also included a celebrity Q&A afterwards. Some of the stars who showed up I was really delighted and surprised to see.

Wow, what a powerful film. Words cannot fully convey the feeling and rush of emotion it strikes within you. This was a firsthand account of soldiers in Iraq, a collection of stories from lieutenants, corporals, captains in Army, Marines, Air Force… and also veterans from Vietnam and World War 2. This documentary really made an impact and that was obvious by the tears and expressions on people’s faces in the theatre.

If you have the opportunity, look for “Operation Homecoming” and rent it, buy it, whatever, have a private screening. I want to. It might change your views on war and soldier life, and may even encourage you to have your own voice, vote, speak up. I definitely will register to vote this year and I want to take a sincere, diligent approach in helping choose the next President. After all we’re still in this war and whoever is elected will be in charge of sorting out this mess and trying to save our economy in the meanwhile.

What these servicemen and women go through is just extraordinarily daunting, heroic, and yet madness at the same time. It also showed the perspectives of native Iraqis and how this war has affected them and their families and way of life. For those wishing to turn the other cheek I say, how can you; when the very people who defend your liberty are risking their lives day by day.

As for where to find “Operation Homecoming” it will have distribution through places like Blockbuster, it’s also being sold where other DVD retailers are.

The Guys at Operation Homecoming
The Q&A panel was really fascinating. Josh Lucas was moderating (he and the other stars did narrating on the film), Beau Bridges was there, in addition to Christopher Gorham (from Ugly Betty and star from “The Other Side of Heaven”) and two producers and the screenwriter. I was sitting on the 3rd row so I got a great view. At one point the audience was allowed to ask questions. I couldn’t think of a question of merit so I didn’t raise my hand and draw attention to myself. I was still kind of shocked and moved by what I had seen onscreen moments before.

My sister Cindy, ever the networker (got to admire her chutzpah!) went up to Josh Lucas. She has a film project that already has interest from a famous dialect coach/actor in the industry, and with him on board she can throw her weight around a little in a conversation. Josh was really friendly and told her to talk to his agent (who happened to be there) to get the info to send him the script. Fingers crossed, we’ll see what happens.

I didn’t talk to Josh personally (I always tend to be on the shy side in those situations, but I could admire his handsomeness near and afar, hehe) but I did say hi to Chris Gorham. We shook hands and exchanged a few words. Nice guy. He had a funny-looking mustache that made him look like he was from 1910, very interesting. Must have grown that during the writer's strike, haha.

Anyway, it was a really great experience, superb film, and I wholeheartedly recommend you watch it. It’s being considered for a nomination with the Oscars next year so it will probably get more attention as time goes on. Won't that make you feel special if you take note of it before all the hype surrounds it even more? Love you all, Jess the Authoress

It's the Chinese New Year, so Happy Chinese New Year!

2008-02-07T21:43:00.000-08:00

No I’m not in China. But today, February 7th, strikes the first day of the Chinese New Year and since I love Asian/Indian cultural things I thought it an appropriate topic for a dialogue. After all, being cultured doesn't all have to be done with traveling; right darlings?

This year is the Year of the Rat, which means a lot of people will have infestations in their homes. Haha, just kidding. I think the significance of the Year of the Rat is that people born in those years will particularly shine or have good fortune, at least that's what they say. My sister Kim was born in the year of the Rat, which is ironic; she loathes rats or rodents of any kind and is extremely frightened by them. Me, I think rodents are kind of cute, at least baby mice, but in a stay-at-least-ten-feet away -from me and don’t infect me with your insidious diseases kind of way. But I’m just a pig, (according to the Chinese Zodiac) but what do I know? Those close to me may find a pig an accurate description of my other traits? Who knows!

Anyway, here are some interesting traits of the Rat:

RAT: Rats are intelligent, charming, ambitious – and often successful in business. They are quick to spot potential and put their creative, clever ideas into effect. At times they may appear stubborn, selfish and greedy, as they approach things wholeheartedly. They are energetic and great organizers, so if you want something done call in a Rat. They are suited to careers in shop-keeping, sales, buying and selling, or accountancy (Kim my sis is great at math/accounting btw!). Rats shine in managerial positions. In partnership, Rats are faithful if their partner provides the security and love they need.Years: 1924, 1936, 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996, 2008.

Now onto traits of the Pig aka moi:

PIG: Pigs are tolerant and generous, virtuous and peaceful. They are well liked for their honesty and warm natures. They aim to find the best in people and allow others plenty of freedom of expression. They are often imbued with the energy of wealth and the support of others though they are not concerned with accumulating wealth. They rarely criticise others and are not vengeful and thus have few enemies. The Pig accepts the existing richness of life and doesn't demand more. They enjoy simple and earthy pleasures. In relationships they give love and affection and trust that they will receive the same. They possess considerable determination and if they set their minds on something will pursue it and attain it. Good careers are in music (that's me), food, writing,(another great love of mine!) social work, gardening and looking after others.Years: 1923, 1935, 1947, 1959, 1971, 1983, 1995, 2007.

Onto another subject, the past month of January was not one of particular merit and therefore I refrained from posting because I felt I didn’t have anything new, exciting or insightful to say. Now I’m not sure if I have any of the aforementioned but I feel like blabbing so humor me :) The New Year has been quite a change for me. With it came the end of a toxic romance, and a newfound sense of self. I felt proud of myself for staying away from a guy who made me feel bad about myself, and shook my self-belief in my talents and future. I ceased all forms of communication with him amid tears and heartache and just focused on trying to get right in the head and regain my footing, however shaky the foundation was, and still is at times.

I did have the opportunity to speak my mind one last time to him though, when he called me late one night crying. (and let me tell you, this guy doesn't cry) I let him stay on my couch two nights because he had nowhere else to go. I don’t regret it or feel I was weak in doing so. I felt like it was a Christ-like thing to do, and as long as I wasn't going to lose myself or get all emotional in seeing him it would be okay. It resolved any leftover feelings I had for him when I could truly take a step back and see what he was really like and how different we really are. He had a very dysfunctional childhood. His family is not a support system to each other and they just cover up their feelings or issues with anger and alcohol. That doesn't make up for all he did but it does explain where he learnt all that bad behavior from.

During those two days he stayed he never uttered a bad word or criticism towards me, he knew he was skating on thin ice. Luckily he found a place to stay thereafter and we said goodbye and probably won’t speak again. But I truly wish him well regardless. I got my closure.

The funny thing is my newfound empowerment with men has all around changed my attitude and what I will and won’t allow. I’m even having dreams where I'm defending myself and my honor against guys, which cracks me up because I've never fought back like this before, even in my dreams. I somehow felt I deserved, or would have to accept bad behavior in life. Note to self: Don't let loneliness make all your decisions in matters of the heart. So I’m single and it’s alright. It doesn’t define me and I know I'll find the right man when it's right. Valentine’s Day is coming and I don’t really care. I’m focused on my inner self and my talents (working on music and writing like crazy) and it’s been really cathartic. I’ve also been reading and listening to music alot, so look below for some recommendations before I close this post. Hope you enjoy! Love you all, Jess The Authoress

MUSIC

Ennio Morricone, famed Italian film composer, love his song "Chi Mai" Can't listen to it enough, such emotion in the strings, moves me everytime!

A Fine Frenzy

Combine a mellow, pretty voice with haunting piano, lyrics and strings with a Keane-esque vibe and you've got A Fine Frenzy. Particular songs I love..."Come on, Come Out", "Almost Lover", "Ashes & Wine", & "You Picked Me". Actually, the whole album is superb. This girl is self-taught and writes all her own stuff. I've been listening to it as I write my Regency era novel. The classical sound of it inspires me.

BOOKS

My Story: By Marilyn Monroe. In her own words, with never before seen photographs of the legendary starlet by Milton Greene. I saw Marilyn aka Norma Jean in a new light after reading this book. She was more than just a pretty face whom Hollywood and others typecasted as a immoral, unintelligent character. She was smart, kind, strong yet also sensitive like a little wounded bird at times. Struggling in Hollywood for years she finally made it only to have to fight the studio system's marketing campaign against her which typecast her as a dumb blonde who was only meant to titilate and seduce. She had a deep desire to be a serious actress, turned down many roles and offers of money for fame and security. She was beautiful and misunderstood. A talented, troubled soul we'll always remember.

P.S. I Love You....

2008-01-08T22:45:00.001-08:00

Who can resist a warm, romantic comedy on those cold winter nights that caters to not only your eyes (Gerard Butler, YUM!) but also your heart? I sure can't. Here's a little recommendation for you single gals, or just women out there who like to be swept away in a film with a little romance, laughter, tears, Audrey Hepburn-esque wardrobes and beautiful Irish locales...go see "P.S. I Love You". Some people might find this film a little cheesy, but I unabashedly loved it. Saw it New Years Day. It was the perfect remedy to my aching heart.

If you read the synopsis you might think it a tragedy, but I don't think you'll be disappointed. And once again, can I mention Gerard Butler (of 300 fame) he is great in romantic comedies, great comic timing and charming as ever. He should do more films like this (would also recommend "Dear Frankie" another great one of his!) The film also stars Hillary Swank, (obviously) Kathy Bates, Harry Connick Jr, Lisa Kudrow. Oh and some hot guy that used to be on "Grey's Anatomy". Speaking of anatomy, let me forewarn those out there that it does show a male derrierre in the film. But it's very brief (darn, haha). Here's some screenshots from the film just to entice you all. I certainly will be going to see the movie again in the near future. If you need a pick-me-up you should, too.

Gerry sneaking in a kiss, woohoo! Night out with the girls
A flower for moi, how sweet

Sentimental thoughts

Can we say great wardrobe, or what!
Afternoon smiles

A New Year, 2008 Full of Possibilities...

2008-01-02T02:20:00.001-08:00

Yesterday as the clock turned 12 midnight my sister Cindy turned to me and said "Jessie, it's a new year, all the bad times are over!!" We laughed. I replied, "Well that's funny cause it's 2008 and I don't feel any different." Haha, ironically, today, I do feel a little different. There was a different vibe in the air. A good vibe. I promised myself I'd write out my New Year's Resolutions on paper and stick them to my bathroom mirror to look at them everyday. Well I haven't done that yet. Guess I already failed my first resolution to 1. Follow through with everything I say I'm going to do. Hehe. It's alright, I forgive me. Yes, that's another resolution, be kinder to thy self. The world is too critical, I don't need judgement from my inner self too.

So, let's talk about my Christmas holidays, a mixture of magical and unexpected, and a tad bit of dissapointment (though it's probably for my own good). My sister Cindy and I drove through the night and arrived in St. George, Utah early Christmas morning. My niece Tori was awake (on myspace, so addictive!!). We shared hugs and attempted to go to sleep in the spare bedroom upstairs. However, Cindy and I couldn't stop cracking jokes (must have been all the junk food sugar from the drive there) and my 8 year old nephew Zaya opened the door and jumped on our bed "It's Christmas!!! Get up Aunt Apple and Aunt Cherry(his nicknames for us)!" We attempted to settle him down by letting him climb under the covers and tell him some Christmas stories and jokes because well, we hoped he'd go back to sleep and we could get a little shut-eye. To no avail. Soon everyone was awake and it was inevitable that we wouldn't get that much needed slumber for a couple hours. Which turned into me staying awake for a straight 48 hours. Yeah I felt pretty out of it by the end.

It was really fun to see the kids open all their Christmas presents with excitement. Cindy hid behind my sister Kim's video camera, trying to capture everyone in their glee. I looked worn out and sick to be honest(sick=my skin was breaking out like CRAZY!!!), and was not a willing entertainer, but I couldn't help but smile when my six month old nephew Indigo laughed or showed interest in a new toy. Kim, bless her heart, bought me a bunch of gifts. Were it not for her, I wouldn't have received anything practically cause, well, I'm single, and everyone is in dire financial straits right now it seems. That said, I didn't mind the lack of giftedtry (I just made that word up, haha). I appreciated the company of being surrounded by family, those who I love and who love me regardless of whether I look like crap on Christmas morning. Cause that's real love.

The day was a good day, for many reasons. To see family. To get away from L.A. and a certain someone (Mr. Musician). A new interaction was starting with another musician. One more prominent and can I say? More impressive. I mentioned him in my previous post, we'll call him J. On a whim I e-mailed him and told him I was in Utah and asked if he wanted to meet up to discuss a possible collaboration. To my surprise, he wrote back quickly on Christmas day and said yes. I was so surprised. The next day we talked on the phone and made plans to meet for lunch on that Friday.

Thursday night I drove up with Cindy to Provo and we stayed at my sister Amy's. Friday rolled around sooner than expected and I met up with J at a Japanese restaurant. He wore a dark suit(he was coming from work) and looked fit and handsome. In his hand he carried 5 cds he'd burnt for me of artists he thought I'd appreciate. Nice gesture. I felt comfortable with him quickly. I can tell he was a little nervous and intimidated at first though(I shouldn't have worn my TALL winter boots maybe, he ended up shorter than me) Oh well. I was amazed to realize how much we have in common. We're both music nerds and talked tech, about all the cool software programs for musical production. We also love England/the Celtic Isles. On the phone/email I wasn't sure if this would be a business meeting or...? but at lunch he made it sound like a date which I was surprised by. J promised to call me the next day, which he did. He said perhaps we could do a collaboration in the future, that he came to L.A. frequently. I think it would be a great opportunity to get to know each other and do music. So we'll see.

After visiting with some family in Northern Utah we headed back down south late Saturday night to spend more time with everyone down there. We were planning on leaving to California early New Year's Eve because Cindy bought tickets to a Clippers game. I was reluctant to leave. I knew New Year's Eve would be a bust because most of my friends were out of town, and I wasn't hanging out with Mr. Musician anymore. I wanted to be with family playing board games, singing karoake and laughing and having a good time (which they did :( without me) What time we did have was great though. Going through old boxes in my mom's garage I found some journals and my photo album from when I was a kid/teenager. Some good laughs there. I particularly loved some entries in my diary at age 12. I think I will share some now.

Here are some funny excerpts, spelling errors included as was written:
Dec 5 1995
Dear Diary, I have a real dum life right now. I live at my grandma's house and I have a kitten name "Mickey". He used to be so adorable but now his hormones are kicking in and he is trying to mate with me. Gross huh? My life is completely dull. No boys to like except Tom G. which isn't that much to like since he's not mormon, but I still flirt with him. I want a boyfriend really bad. I don't know why though, just cause.

Another excerpt:

June 17 1995
Dear Diary, Life is neat. Today I went to my friend Ashley's 12th B-day. Today at her party she got a shaver and some shaving cream. She asked her mom, "can I shave tonight? Her mom said yes and she was very exitied. She also gets to wear makeup too. I think she is lucky because she can wear more than me. My mom says she doesn't want me to look too much like a painted hussie. It means a painted with makeup hooker like. Also today I've been thinking a lot about Ian P. He is the cutest boy alive! At school this week he gave a really cute look and I felt so wild about it. He looks cuter than any boy alive and I like him.

It's so weird to look back and remember yourself as a kid. Still trying to find that illusive "boyfriend". Yes, I've had some. But not the "one". At least I have filled out though, and I don't have the mullet circa 1989, (I'll show you the photo in my next post). No more mosquito bites boobs and partical board behind. And my fashion sense has definitely changed since then, thank goodness. Cheers to that 2008!

So it's Christmas Eve...

2007-12-24T14:12:00.000-08:00

Well Christmas is tomorrow and I wish I was feeling more Christmas cheer. It seems things have been in a whirlwind the last couple of weeks. Just when you think you can count on life going a certain way, it throws a curve ball. Let's see, so here's last week's events. Some good. Some not so great. Got into a car accident. A guy in a Dodge ram literally backed up at a stop light and rammed up the front left side of my car. And the strange thing is, before I went out that day I had a feeling I would get into a car accident. But I pushed that thought away because hey, you can't live your life worrying like that. Well, there you go, intuition gets one point. During that time I was also seeing Mr. Musician more and more(see previous post), anytime we weren't working we were together, we had some great times but we were also starting to have weird arguments. And I'm not an argumentative person. I'm not sure what's going to happen. My sister Kim thinks I should end it. I'm not sure I like how he makes me feel sometimes when I'm with him, sometimes I feel great other times I leave hanging out with him and feel like crap.

It sucks because I do care about him, but sometimes he says/does the rudest things. He says it's only in sarcasm, but when you do it ALL the time people start to believe you. My nature is to tease, laugh, joke around, but I also know when to stop. I am a kind and supportive person by nature. I feel I've lost my spontaneity with him, any time I feel like doing a simple affectionate gesture I'm not sure I will be rebuffed or what mood he'll be in. It seems only when HE wants to initiate it. BAH!!!

There is however some good news, and I guess I should focus on that right? Last Sunday I had the opportunity to correspond with a musician I really admire, (who is also VERY handsome and single I believe) and without me even asking him to he went to my myspace site and listened to my music. He gave me such a lovely compliment, which means the world because I respect his work so much. He said " I went and listened to your work, you have a Fantastic voice...very warm and earthy and unique." He does electronic/ambient music always with female vocalists. My brother introduced me to his music. I would absolutely love to collaborate with him. We shall just see. He left the door open for further communication so I will try to build a friendship with him through our common love of music.

Well I'm leaving in an hour with my sister Cindy for the drive to Southern Utah. We'll be spending Christmas there. Hopefully I'll feel much better then, surrounded by loved ones. And my funny little niece R. who is 4, and always manages to crack me up. I love that kid. I love all my nieces and nephews of course, but I suppose I spend more time with her than the others and she just has a special place in my heart. Anyway, I better skidaddle. For the few who read this, I want to wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Hope you get to eat lots of delicious Christmas goodies and get everything you want and more from Santa :)

When It Rains...It Pours....

2007-12-05T16:30:00.000-08:00

No, I am not talking about the weather (which has been much colder as of recently I note). I'm talking about this unexpected (but most undoubtedly appreciated and welcomed) influx of new men in my romantic life. Each guy is so different and unique; it's such a surprise. A good surprise. I feel blessed to have new, good people in my life. The tides have changed. Hallelujah!

So here's the scoop on the boys:

Firstly we have The Former Actor turned Activist. He's charming, intelligent, truly respects women and I like that. Met at a Fine Arts event. This guy is passionate and going to go far with his humanitarian causes.

Then there's Actor #2 (whose path has crossed mine several times and now we're talking again), He is older, in his 30's, with a wisdom and presence that compel me.

The Business Guy, around my age who comes from a big family like me. Super hunky, and fun. He reminds me a lot of myself personality wise.

Lastly there's The Musician. He's talented. Handsome. I don't think he realizes how charismatic he is. We've been hanging out a lot lately and the more I get to know him the more I enjoy his company. He makes me laugh. Really laugh. Like the kind of laughter that makes your sides hurt, and puts tears in your eyes. Good tears though. It might sound painful when your sides are spasming out of control from laughing, haha but it's a pleasureable experience to share that same sense of humor with someone. Especially an attractive someone.

So with each interaction in their various growing phases I am a hopeful yet cautious gardener. You see, I don't want to jinx any of my little seedlings, or do something that would prevent them from their potential blossoming. Whether they remain friendship or more, I vow to not let my own fears or self destruction take over. So I shall wait, be patient, and say que sera sera. Whatever will be, will be. But one things for sure, gone is the drout season with no suitors on the horizon. I was starting to feel like a lone wanderer in the sahara, with a wearied look upon my face, sweat dripping from my brow and lips parched in ancient thirst with no water(aka men) in sight, only mirages. LOL, I'm so dramatic.

The funny thing is, they say love comes when you're not looking. I thought that was stupid. Advice that people who already have a signifigant other say to poor single people. But now, there might be something to it. You see, I wasn't really OUT THERE looking for love per say. (Though I did have a myspace profile but that doesn't really count but has come in really useful now, haha). I had given up on finding a great guy. I did think about love in the back of my mind, on that back burner, you know the one on the stove that you only think about if all the other burners are taken, haha. I tried to be happier. Distract myself. I was also, and still am dealing with health problems which didn't make life the easiest but I did have my music and people who cared for me.

So yeah, only when I was constantly reminded of the fact that I was single, aka going out with married friends, or watching Hallmark movies on a Friday night with my sister when I should be out on a date, then I remembered that being single can suck. And I ached for more than the companionship of a bowl of ice-cream, cause once it's gone, it's gone, and there's a void left, kind of like a one-night stand. Not like he's ever gonna come back again (oh and fyi, I've never had a one night stand, just using the analogy)

In layman's terms, I was sort of this half hopeful but not too hopeful/half numb single entity existing on junk food, blockbuster nights and the few basic distractions of daily life. Random questions like the following would often pop in my head. I thought... What's the importance of romantic love? Does being single define you as a person or is it just a temporary title sort of like your Miss until your Mrs.?

I tried to appreciate the other forms of love I had in my life from family to dear friends. But then something would trigger that back burner and OUCH!! I'm burned. I'm reminded that something, aka the Man of My Life, or just the Man of My Next Few Months was missing and I was bitter. At that state of mind a guy would practically have to drop an acorn on my head to get my attention too. Because I was numb. Really numb. And jaded. Not a good combo. Though now that I think upon it, I'd probably be annoyed by having an acorn drop on my noggin, cause that would hurt. Geeze I'm cheezy.

I guess when it comes down to it, you just have to be tough in life. Distract yourself. Go for your goals and if somebody comes around, great, but if not, it doesn't ruin you. There may also be ghost promises, or glimpses of something, but then snap, take that back, it's not what you thought it was. I call those people "The Illusionists". They're usually men (though for men there are women like this too I know) who appear to be awesome, amazing, whatever, but when you get closer to them, you realize what you first saw was a facade, or not real, and disappointment ensues. These illusionists also magically disappear with no explanation which can really be a drag when you have a date planned.

One such illusionist, we'll call him "D", was much like this. I knew him for a couple months. We dated for about a month and a half in early fall. D was a tall, goodlooking, blond Boston Red Sox obsessed guy whom I didn't have tons of things in common with but the chemistry when we kissed was, woah, sizzling! D was also respectful, reliable and a gentleman in the beginning. We would go out regularly and just when it seemed we were slipping into a routine of going out several times during a week, things changed. He flaked out on some plans we had, and this led to a weird conversation where he stated very clearly that "I'm not looking to get into a relationship". I never ever at any point said I wanted to be in a relationship or be his girlfriend. He was the one always calling and setting up these dates. Fact is I wasn't sure how I felt about him yet, and there were a few red flags about his personal habits, aka his medicinal marijuana, for WHAT ailment she asks? He seemed perfectly healthy every time we hung out and I don't know how he got a prescription. Come on!

So D and I saw each other less frequently, and then there was the episode at an Interpol concert when he wanted to drink a beer while driving there. He definitely wasn't drunk, but it was still a monumentally selfish and foolish thing to do. And I was extremely foolish for not speaking my piece about it to him then. I know, I know, anyone reading this probably wants to slap me upside the head. Why did I put up with his stupid fraternity boy mentality antics? After all the men I've dated (and there have been many) I found it hard to let go of any semblance of "comfortable" and "routine". I feared his rejection. Well I've learned my lesson and our interaction has slowly dwindled to maybe an e-mail or two every couple of weeks or two. But I am not sad about it. Not every situation can be wrapped in a little bow and made pretty as I like to say to my sister. Some things just are what they are. You had good times. You had bad times. You remember the good, toss out the bad, and move on to brighter horizons. And people who treat you better, and are looking for the same thing as you.

Ricky Martin's Star Power

2007-12-02T21:09:00.001-08:00

Ricky Martin Getting His Star on Walk of Fame Oct 16 2007

Hollywood, CA October 16th 2007. Latin Superstar Ricky Martin got his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. And I was there :) I could have arrived much earlier like most die-hard fans but well, I'm not really a die-hard and I cherish my sleep too much for that, haha. But I figured I might as well take advantage of the little perks my city of Los Angeles has to offer (aka cool celebrity events) so I decided to go. I arrived around 9:30 in the morning to see a huge group standing in front of the Virgin Megastore. Cops were ushering traffic around the barriers, Ricky Martin tunes blasted from huge speakers, and a makeshift stage was created in front of his red-carpet surrounded star. Generally I don't attend these sorts of things because it feels too much like a cattle call and I don't enjoy much feeling like cattle, however, seeing as this was a historical event and I truly appreciate this artist's music and humanitarian works I was glad I went. Here are some of the photos from the event. I wasn't super close and my digital camera isn't the greatest, but oh well. I have the memories.

So there you have it. Some pics. I took more but it's more of the same thing and they had the same general graininess. Anyway, it was a fun event, though kind of short. He did a small speech thanking the people, the press I believe, then met some of them personally, then he greeted some fans and he was off. I did happen to bump into him and his entourage when I was leaving to go to the parking structure and he was exiting Virgin Records. Nice unexpected timing. Some of the girls were going crazy trying to grab at him, it was a little too much for me. So silly. Being in L.A. you see celebrities and public figures every day in everyday life, so the hype kind of goes away. You can still find them fascinating and talented, but to hypreventilate, scream and cry? Come on people! LOL.

Blog Envy...

2007-11-28T00:54:00.001-08:00

Have you ever read someone's blog and thought, "Wow, how clever! I wish my little antecdotes about life were as amusing" Well I have. Shamed to say it, but there it is. But perhaps these blogs are more fascinating because they're not my life, and are therefore unknown, unexperienced adventures, which thereby makes them more interesting? Perhaps. Either way, I am in a bit of a funk. I have adventures, too, in La la land (Los Angeles) but I (a) never write about them or (b) think there's far more interesting stories out there. I read a good friend's blog, and she's traveled the world, was a teacher in China (http://stephilosophy.blogspot.com/) and has all these stories, and cool pictures... camping on the Great Wall of China, visiting the forbidden city of Lhasa in Tibet; places I've always wanted to go. I mean who wants to see a picture of Malibu? LOL, geeze, that sounds terribly snobby of me doesn't it. I guess there are a lot of people who actually come to my city to check out the sights. Guess I've been here too long and taken it all for granted. Time for a change of mind.

Taj Mahal, India, simply beautiful

I still go back to this. I'm 24 and I have all these places I have ached to see. England, France, Italy, India... the list goes on. I ask myself, why haven't I gone yet? What's stopping me? I think somehow I got stuck in my life. John Mayer sung it best in his lyrics, "Guess I'm in a quarter life crisis". I definitely am. Moved to L.A., which is an expensive city to start with. So when you pay for everything, rent, car, phone, other bills, there isn't usually much left over save for maybe a little entertainment money to keep you sane (i.e. going to an occasional movie, eating out, or maybe buying a new shirt) I definitely need to reassess where all this money is going. I need to find a way to make more money and be able to put some away for not only a rainy day, but a trip. A wow I'm so excited I can't sleep cause I'm getting on a plane to go somewhere far away that I've never been and there's new people and food and places and faces and OOOH it's so exciting!!! That sort of feeling. Want to capture it and savor it. Want to feel free and alive by traveling.

Lake District, England, #1 Destination

I know there are ways to travel more inexpensively, stay in hostels, stay with friends, etcetera... Got to be creative and resourceful. I would like to travel with someone though, as a woman I don't want to travel to certain places by myself for safety reasons, plus it's just not as fun when you're by yourself. Though I do see myself traveling in England alone if necessary and feeling fine doing it by myself. The experience sounds cathartic and self-revealing for some reason. I always picture myself walking through the countryside with a camera and notebook in hand, just soaking in the energy of the place, the smell of the grass and flowers, the mysterious allure of an overcast day in the land of my ancestors. That thought inspires me. It's something I've always dreamt of. And cheesy as it sounds, I feel in a way I'll find a piece of myself by going back to the place some of my people came from. And you know I'll be listening to Enya on my mp3 player too at that moment just to feel the full, authentic experience. Cause I'm like that yeah. I'm an artist, it's expected.

So okay, back to the topic of blog envy. My sister writes a particularly great one: www.studiocharm.com/blog If I ever need a laugh or want to see some of her great photography and artistic projects I go there. I suppose some events of my wild life in Los Angeles would be suffice for an interesting blog. I have met many celebrities in every day life and on movies sets (as a background extra). That can make for some funny stories. Guess I'm not as boring after all, haha. Alright, so here's a little experience from one.

TV Show "Scrubs". Was an extra on there twice. A year or so ago I was on, I remember the day was pretty fun but I wasn't feeling particularly gorgeous dressed in baggy medical scrubs with my hair pulled back in a pony tail and makeup wearing off after a long day. But the day became much better when I was chosen to do a scene with Zach Braff, Donald Faison, John C. McGinley and Ken Jenkins. We were in a classroom of sorts, and I was seated next to Donald in a two seater desk. While he was busy reading a tabloid magazine underneath the desk(yeah, and celebrities complain about those, HA!) his co-star John McGinley glanced over at me from the desk in front of me. He said, "Wow, you have really beautiful eyes." What a sweetie. Then he turned to Zach Braff and replied, "Doesn't she have beautiful eyes?" Zach looked at me and spoke, in his kind of awkward but charming way, "Yes, she does, you do have beautiful eyes" scrutinizing me further, "They're like, the color of your scrubs" (which were blue). So profound right, lol. It was like a line out of his movies, where you're trying to compliment someone but it comes out kind of geeky and obvious like "Your hair is yellow, the color of straw". Needless to say, those two made my day since I felt nearly grotesque in my required ensemble by the wardrobe department, haha. So kudos to Zach and John.

Some other interesting sidenotes about the Scrubs set. Most of the crew is super friendly and fun. Zach is usually scene riding through the halls of the makeshift hospital in a cute shiny red scooter. Other actors ride it around too. Last time I was on the set a couple weeks ago and had to dodge out of the way as Zach came around the corner really fast and I didn't see him and I don't think he saw me. I don't think he is malicious like that, haha. There is also a really cool extra's hangout there which feels like you're hanging out in a friend's basement. There's tons of couches, a coffee table and a tv with vcr and dvd player and a huge collection of old VHS tapes. We spent many hours just watching old 80's flicks. The pay as an extra isn't great, but the experiences definitely make for some fun memories.