And now for the review…
Meg Cabot has been writing her whole life, but wasn’t published until age thirty. In the past eleven years, she's become the queen of the YA universe. This fact would make her extremely happy, as she was born to be a queen. She would not be where she's at today if it weren't for the success of the movie adaptation of the Princess Diaries, but even without the help of Anne Hathaway and Julie Andrews, she'd still be freaking prolific. She writes for pre-teens (Alli Finkle) and women (Boy Meets Girl) and mystery lovers (Size 12 is Not Fat) and those of us who fit somewhere in between.
Airhead plays off her penchant for the paranormal. Emerson Watts is an awesome leading lady because she’s total geek material. Em is into video games and computers and tries to stay away from all the high school drama. She’s dealing with a little sister who’s turning into one of the popular kids (a.k.a. the “walking dead”) and a crush on her best friend. At the Stark Megastore opening, there’s a horrible accident. When she wakes up, she’s no longer Em Watts with the mousy brown hair and lack of fashion sense—she’s Nikki Howard, international supermodel. Nikki’s all legs and blackened tuna from Nobu is her favorite meal. There are, like, three guys seriously pursuing her and her new best friend Lulu is a little whack, but well-meaning.
It takes some significant suspension of disbelief, but Meg still puts all the bizarre puzzle pieces right where they belong. Parts of it are grating, but overall, it’s a fresh spin on the Freaky Friday twist. Pop culture references abound and the characters are endearing, especially Christopher (the best friend), her one regret about not being able to live her previous life. There’s an obvious mystery with the company she models for and the usual teen hijinks.
It ends quite abruptly, as Meg is currently at work on the sequel, but at least some sort of resolution would have been nice. Teen girls of both the cheerleading and gaming folds will get a kick out of it. 3.5/5
Or
In Which I Get Ranty About Something Really Stupid
(Consider yourself warned.)
We got a letter from the apartment management tonight--exterminators are coming to take care of the invisible ant problem tomorrow. Okay, I understand the need to take preventitive measures, but it's at a really inconvienient time AND they made us move all of the furniture out from the wall. Which is large and heavy and laaaaaame. I don't know, it's really not that big of a deal, but I just was so not in the mood tonight to cope. And I don't know if they meant all the stuff from our closets, too, but that crap is staying right where it is. With the help of my stronger roommates, we were able to get everything moved, but it was still a pain. In the moving, I found a dollar behind the chest o' drawers. In this situation, there is only one process for an instant pick-me-up.
1. Drive to the fake downtown.
2. Sing along at the tippy-top of your lungs to the following songs on the radio: Lamar's On the Wings of Love, Miley Cyrus' See You Again, and Sean Paul's Temperature. Strange mix, but even stranger that I knew the words to all three.
3. Purchase this little beauty from Mickey D's.
4. Scarf it down faster that you can say "I'm lovin' it."
5. Hope that the rest of the week goes better.
P.S. Can I get a holla for the new iPhone?
P.P.S. I graduated from high school exactly three years ago. This makes me feel simultaneously very old and very young.
P.P.P.S Back tomorrow with some semblance of normalcy.
A few things I’ve come to appreciate lately…
Movie: Baby Mama I’ve been wanting to see this since the first preview during 30 Rock and it finally came to a theater near me a good five weeks after the initial release date. Ah, the joys of living in a small town. I mostly wanted to see it out of residual loyalty to my girl Tina Fey and her bff Amy Poehler. I didn’t go in expecting brilliance and was not let down! (How’s that for a back-handed insult?) But here’s the key point: I laughed. A lot. It was slapsticky and predictable, but it was good at it. The only way I’d buy it would be if I found it on the $7.50 shelf at Target. So basically, in about nine months or so that baby is mine!
Book: French Woman Don’t Get Fat, by Mireille Guiliano I’ve been reading bits and pieces of this for quite a while now, but on Friday I zipped straight through the last half. Mireille does a convincing job of showing just how much she loves food, but that loving food does not equal over-indulging. It also made me more aware of my eating habits and what I need to change. I didn’t view it as a diet book, although some may construe it as such. Her descriptions are compelling and the recipes seem reliable.
Album: Weezer (Red Album) Confession: I’m a recent Weezer fan, which is totally weird because I should have been listening to them since age 12. Therefore, I’m not very knowledgeable about the debate between the Blue Album or Pinkerton. I got the Red Album for my birthday and here’s the deal. I like it. I don’t love it, but it’s catchy and mostly well-produced. They cram too many styles of music into a short set of only ten songs. Also, Rivers Cuomo and Rivers alone should be the singer of the band. Highlights: Pork and Beans, Heart Songs (if only for all the music allusions), Dreamin' and Thought I Knew.
Television: Freaks and Geeks I watched the pilot online while doing laundry last night and I’m hooked, line and sinker. I’m hesitant to see the rest of it because I really want to watch it with the Lil’ Bro. If we had grown up in the Midwest during the early 80’s, I’m positive our lives would be exactly the same as Sam and Lindsey Weir’s. Added bonus: A young-ish James Franco...if I lived anywhere near L.A. I would get a restraining order so fast because of him.
Website: Crème de la Mode The Crème girls are determined to bring you “the best fashion, decor, food, design, humor and randomness the web has to offer.” They aren’t kidding, either. They’re sassy and the writing is top-notch. And sometimes, they post about unicorns.
First off, thanks for entering my giveaway. I had a whopping 44 entries, which was at least twice as many as I expected. I entered all the names (in order) into the generator at random.org and took the first three.
I'm ecstatic (really, I should learn to use the spell check) to announce that our winners are....
(dramatic pause for effect)
Heather, Jennifer, and Toystory! (Note to the winners: Check your email--I've sent you an email with further instructions.)
Heather and I have been blog friends for a good, long time (in the blog world, this equates to about six months or so) and I simply couldn't be more excited that she won. She's an exceptional writer and a talented photographer and has excellent taste in books. So she'll get to choose between the necklace, tote bag, and gift card and I honestly have no idea which one she'll pick. Oh, also! She made me laugh when she said that I was like "a hobbit, giving things away on my birthday." Too true.
As for the rest of you, thanks for entering! If you haven't read the rest of the comments, I highly recommend that you do. They range from the hilarious to the awkward to the heartbreaking.
If you're looking for some other good giveaways, Amy and Problem Girl are hosting contests of their own, for aprons and amazon gift cards, respectively.
Quick recap of the birthday: It was way fun. Laid back, but still way fun. I came away with a shiny new straightener, a couple CDs, real pearl earrings (yay!), and some money.
But one of my favorite gifts was probably this hat, courtesy of mi padre. I wore it the rest of the night.
It reminded me of when Jayne got his hat in that episode of Firefly. 
And the food? Awesome. More funfetti cake and I got dinner from the taco truck that's always next to the Dairy Queen. There's something about the combination of warm white corn tortillas, spicy homemade hot sauce, juicy limes, and tender meat. I capped it off with a tangy pineapple Jarritos. This is the stuff dreams are made of.
Mmm....
We'll have to do this again soon--I promise!
Okay, it's not up on the voting page yet, but I couldn't wait and just had to show y'all my latest creation.
GraphJams is my new favorite internet meme...some of the graphs are soda-out-your-nose hilarious. They are mostly taken from song lyrics, but a bunch are from movies. Hence, I came up with this:
Video
When it does make it to the voting page, I'll let you know, so you can vote vote vote (like a leetle stoat) and get it to the front page. We can make this happen! We can be the change we want to see on the internet!
The professor I TA for: "Well, I'm not really up on 'pop culture' or anything like that, but is your hair supposed to look like Uma Thurman's in Pulp Fiction?"
Me (stunned that my straight-laced prof just referenced that movie): "Um...no. I didn't actually have anyone in mind when I got it cut."
Prof: "Okay. At least I tried!"
Me: "I appreciate it."
Via the Lil' Bro's birthday postcard--the front reads "National Procrastination Week has been moved to next month"
On the other side: "Hey look! I didn't procrastinate your birthday. Congrats! 21! You can now legally buy liquor and gamble. Hats off."
[I don't know why, but the deadpan "Hats off" slays me everytime.]
Text conversation with the BFF:
Me: If there were two guys named Hambone and Flippy, which one would you think likes dolphins more?
Her: I'd say Flippy!
Me: Well, you'd be wrong. It's Hambone.
[I love that we get each other.]
Roomie #1: "You should blog about it." [I don't remember what "it" was, to be honest.]
Roomie #2: "Yeah, Gretchen, that would rock. But you know what they say...thou shalt not covet thy roommate's weblog."
Me: "Yeah... I think that's like Commandment #56."
On the local pizza joint's sign:
BEETS ARE BACK.
LEAVE ME ALONE.
-MATT
[1. Um...what?! 2. A part of me hopes it's a beet pizza that pays tribute to Dwight.]
Don't forget to enter the contest by tomorrow afternoon!
Woohoo!
Because who doesn't love a chance to win stuff?
Here's the deal, guys. As a culmination to my gift lists, I'm giving away a present to one lucky reader! I believe in options, so the winner will get to pick one gift from the following three choices.
1. Typewriter Necklace, QA Creates, Comes in a variety of designs and all letters A-Z
2. Library Science Tote Bag, QC Merchandise
3. iTunes Gift Card, Apple
Also, the winner will receive a happy (un)birthday card and a mix cd made by me. I have these crazy good playlist skillz, so that should be just as coveted as the other potential prizes.
Just to sweeten the deal, two (2) additional commentors will get a card and a mix cd!
That's three prizes, just waiting to be won!
The rules:
1. To enter, just leave a comment on this post and tell me about one of your birthday memories.
2. Only one comment/entry per person.
3. Only readers from the United States and Canada. Sorry if that's not you, but you know how it is.
4. I will close comments at 7:00 PM Mountain Standard Time on Thursday, June 5th.
5. Please include a valid email address.
6. Winners will be selected by using random.org.
7. I will announce the winners the morning of Friday, June 6th.
8. Winners will be responsible to contact me with the necessary shipping information.
9. If one of the winners does not contact me within three days, then a new winner will be selected.
10. Is it obvious by now that my mom's totally a lawyer? I get it from her.
Spread the word--share it, link to it, love it, crave it.
Y'all are the best! Thanks for reading!
Holy cats, I turn twenty-one today! This means absolutely nothing as far as the most people view this occasion, i.e. I'm not planning on going out and getting plastered. In the Mormon community, all 21 implies is "You mean you're not married yet? You should really get working on that." (Joking! Mostly.)
I love everything about birthdays. I love the food and the tacky decorations and the attention and who are we kidding? I love getting gifts! But looking back on my past birthdays, I can remember more about what I've done to celebrate and who I've spent it with instead. (Look at me, getting all wise in my old age!)
Age 3: My first birthday party! I was the only girl in attendance, as my parent's friends convieniently managed to have all boys. (Seriously good odds. It's really a pity I was too young to care.) We made crime scene-style tracings of our little bodies on butcher paper. Mom and Dad? That was kind of morbid, but AWESOME.
Age 7: We went to a strawberry field and picked strawberries. When we came home, every girl got a jar of homemade freezer jam to take with them. Best. Party idea. Ever.
Age 8: Baptism day! My Grandma Teedie made me a cake with pink marshmallow flowers.
Age 9: The fourth grade class was supposed to go on a field trip to a gem mine. It was too rainy and I was so sad--we had one of those giant Mrs. Fields Cookies with frosting to take with us and everything. My mom was chaperoning and decided to take me out of school. Her, the Lil' Bro, and I went to go mine our own gems, just the three of us. This? This is why I love my mom. I found garnets, moonstones, and lots of other treasures, now tucked away in a box somewhere.
Age 12: This was the first time I was away from home for my birthday (this year being the second), because I was spending the week at Girl's Camp. When I got back, my family took me to Marie Calendar's and I got my first real camera.
Age 14: I had such a tight group of friends in middle school. We went to the zoo for a night concert and ate angel food cupcakes with chocolate whipped cream. Later that summer, I'd find out we were moving to Utah--I was devestated to leave them behind.
Age 18: This was the Senior Dinner Dance--I had a blast, but it was also difficult knowing that high school was really, truly coming to a close. You can just imagine the senior class in one big circle, all hugging to the strains of Vitamin C's "Friends Forever."
Age 20: The night before my official birthday, the family and I went to go see the Pioneer Theatre Company's Broadway-quality Les Miserables. That was as much a spiritual experience for me as just about anything else. Cried my guts out.
Age 21: Internship, Class, Work, Lab. Boring! No huge plans, but I'm still going to enjoy the heck out of the day. Here's to another great year!
"I'd be the best rich person, seriously. I'd be the perfect combination of frivolous and sensible. Money is so wasted on the wealthy." -Veronica Mars
You sing it, Roni!
1. Valentino Satin Cap Sleeve Dress, Saks Fifth Avenue, $595.00 on sale for $357.00
Modest, but still daaaaang sexy.
2. MacBook Air, Apple, $1799
A MacBook Pro is very high on my list of things to own someday, but this is the frivolous list, so it has to be an Air.
3. Chihuahua Puppy, your local neighborhood breeder, ~$450
A lady I work with brings hers in every so often and I never thought I'd say this, but I want one SO BAD. They're so cute and funny and teeny! I know there's the whole Paris/Tinkerbell stigma but I'd be willing to risk that in a chihuahua-sized nanosecond. (Heart pattern optional.)
-Take a walking tour of your town. Meander from the park on the east side to the park on the west side and revel in the fact that all the rain from the past week has made everything a thousand different shades of green.
-Eat orange sherbet and otter pops, because hey, why not?
-Stay up so late reading Airhead that you fall asleep with the lights still on.
-Finish Airhead and wish its sequel was out right now.*
-Change your hairstyle twice in one day! (I got the bangs and trim done earlier in the afternoon and the BFF dyed it late Saturday night.)
-Eat copious amounts of fresh Filipino food with friends. (Also, alliterate!)
-Sing your lungs out at the 1964: The Tribute concert.*
-Consequently, bemoan the fact you were clearly born in the wrong era.
-Watch the last half of Sky High. (I get such a kick out of this movie.)
-Wonder where May went.
-Go to church.
-Take a nap in a hammock.**
-Make a big decision as to where you'll be this upcoming fall.* (In my case, it'll most likely be heading out on an 18-month mission for my church!)
-Eat roast and po-tay-toes for dinner.
-Eat peach cobbler and funfetti cake for dessert, because hey, why not?
-Discover daytrotter.com and try to figure out why you didn't know about it before.
* Slated for a future blog post.
** HIGHLY recommended
And since Elise asked so nicely, here's the end result of les cheveux.
If the bangs look a tad uneven, it's because I apparently have this long-forgotten and irksome cowlick where my part used to be. So, uh, just overlook that and trust me that it looks much better IRL.
I've got big stuff planned for this week! Be very excited.
