Wow! It’s already four days into February and this is my first post.  I really need to blog more, but that would require playing less Facebook games when I have free time.

Anyway, on Saturday, my friends and I threw a party for Bree Despain, the author of The Dark Divine.  I feel like Bree and I are BFFs now, she was that personable.  She was so much fun to get to know and I loved hearing about why she wanted to become and how she became an author.

Not only was meeting Bree a lot of fun, but so was the party.  My friend Debbie was the one with the idea and once conceived, she and my other friends hit the floor running to make everything a great success!

Most, if not all, the marketing for The Dark Divine has included the color purple because of the gorgeous cover.  (At some of the book events, they even had custom nail polish named after the book.)  Because of the cover, we decided to decorate with purple balloons and other purple and black decorations and most of us wore purple to the party.  (I have to say that color wise, this was definitely my favorite party. )

The Dark Divine takes place around Thanksgiving, so we had a fabulous Thanksgiving dinner.  It was so yummy! (I love being able to eat Thanksgiving dinner more than once a year. I used to request it for my birthday meal when I was younger.)

We had prizes too.  I was excited for the prize given to the person who wore the most purple.  But, alas, that game/contest was canceled a few days before the party because not everyone in the group had something purple to wear. Instead, a prize was given to the person with the best manicure or pedicure.  (Debbie knew I was disappointed about not being able to win a prize for wearing the most purple, so she gave me a prize anyway–lavender bubble bath–because she knew it was inevitable that I’d win. The bubble bath is “divine” as I’ve already taken a bath with it.)  Another prize was given to the person with the best story about a time when they wished they had a cell phone, but didn’t.  (The main character, Grace, wished she had a cell phone more than once in the book.  But, her parents wouldn’t let her have one.)

My group of friends and I can get a little crazy at times.  We’ve been known to scare away people or make people nervous with our laughter and overall joviality.  Before we started to ask Bree questions, I warned her about our group.  Of course, I made it seem like I was innocent and wasn’t part of the devilishness to which most of my friends protested and corrected me. I only mention this because of the inscription Bree left in my book when she autographed it.

To Jennifer-
Thanks for the love & support. I had a great time laughing with you all. You’re right; this is a crazy bunch.
<3 Bree Despain

I laughed when I read it and I was happy we had made such a good impression on her.

It was a very fun party!  If you ever have the chance to meet Bree, I definitely recommend that you do.  She’s very down-to-earth, sweet, and funny.  And, as I stated in my review of The Dark Divine, I definitely recommend that you read it.

PS – For the record, I know I didn’t wear very much purple to the party.  But, in my defense, if the prize for wearing the most purple would’ve still been available, just trust the fact that I would’ve won.

Happy birthday, Caryn!

I decided I needed to post something uplifting on my blog to lighten the mood. Anyway, last Friday, I went to a party with my friends.  We decided to have a gift exchange, eat yummy food, and just enjoy each other’s company.

When we walked into the party, we noticed a cardboard stand-up of Taylor Lautner, the actor who portrays Jacob Black in the movies.  My friends Christie and Cami bought it for Danylle because she loves Jacob Black.  They even wrote a fun poem to go with him.

I had my second experience with a cracker since Danylle gave each of us one.  I got another green hat, but my friend Sue was kind enough to trade me.  It might have something to do with the fact that she hates purple. I also got a yo-yo in it and a joke.  “Q: Where do sick gnomes go?  A: To the Elf Centre.”

We had Cafe Rio style salads with real Cafe Rio tortillas and dressing.  It was really yummy!  We always have good food at our parties, though.  Christie found an ice cream cake decorated like New Moon, so she bought it for the party.  It was very neat!  The things you can do with cakes.

After dinner, we had a gift exchange.  It was lots of fun.  It seemed that everyone was in sync with who they were giving to because everyone loved their gifts.  My friend Luisa had me and I never dreamed she’d get me the thing I wanted the most for Christmas–a slanket! I’ve already put it to good use at work because the air conditioner blows right on me.

The party was a lot of fun.  Cami and Christie did a wonderful job of putting it together!  I love these women so much and I’m so glad they’re my friends.  I look forward to another year of great fun!

Happy belated birthday, Alice!

In May 2007, I started crocheting an afghan for my friend Alysa.  It was for the upcoming birth of her baby.  Unfortunately, due to time crunches, unlucky circumstances trying to find the yarn I used when I needed another skein, lack of desire to crochet, and pain in my hand from cubital tunnel syndrome which contributed to the lack of desire to crochet, I never finished it … until today.

(Sorry it took me so long, Alysa! Hopefully, Benjamin will have it by Christmas if the mail cooperates.)

I got the itch to crochet again in October.  I’ve been crocheting off and on again since then.  I have to take breaks here and there to let my hand rest, so it doesn’t cramp up and aggravate my cubital tunnel syndrome.  Luckily, as long as I’ve taken some Ibuprofen before I start crocheting, then I usually don’t experience any pain.  However, if I do get some pain, I’ve found some hand stretches I can do to help relieve it. I’m actually planning on finishing some other projects I’ve had in the works for a few years, not to mention starting a couple of projects for Christmas gifts.  I guess we’ll see how well finishing my ongoing projects works out with starting school in January.

I have now seen New Moon twice and it’s better than Twilight for all the reasons Twilight bugged a lot of the fans and non-fans.  The special effects are better, the acting is better, the adaptation is better, and all the little nuances are better.  For example, I loved that Victoria’s hair is actually red instead of strawberry blond.  The sparkling was done better too, which definitely added to the story since that’s a part that most fans love.

I actually only have four complaints about the movie, but they’re super small, which is a miracle. The first, what the heck did they have Alice wearing throughout that entire movie?  Her outfits were so unflattering and made her look frumpy.  The second, the circling around Bella’s room during the months she was a zombie made me car sick.  The third, the new Volvo.  It’s not silver.  The fourth, the flashback with the old Volvo added to the inconsistency with the new Volvo.  However, all of these complaints are made better with the addition of Jacob’s smoking pecs, abs, and hip dents!

I didn’t get a chance to go to a midnight showing.  I decided to be responsible and go to bed, so I could go to work the next morning.  (However, I didn’t end up getting to sleep until 4:00 am on Thursday night anyway because of the antibiotics I’m taking. Grrr!)  But, I’m glad I waited so I could go with my niece Megan.  We had fun at the movie together, which made all the difference.  (Pardon the pictures.  They were taken with my crappy phone camera.)

On Saturday, I went to the Twilight Lexicon New Moon Movie Event with my friend Ali.  Corey and I hang out with the Vigues all the time, but I’ve never really just hung out with Ali.  It was a lot of fun to go to the movie together and we’ve decided to hang out with just the two of us more often.  (Also, if you’re wondering, neither Ali nor I won any of the raffle prizes.  We’ve decided we’re just unlucky.)

It was fun to see the movie with all my other friends too.  We have so much fun together and we always look forward to our get togethers.  This time around, it was a little crazy because we were trying to help Lori and Laura with everything for the movie event, but it was still good to see them and all of our out-of-town friends too.

Anyway, I’m looking forward to seeing the movie a third time next week with my in-laws.  And, I’m actually trying to talk Corey into seeing it tomorrow.

All you Twilight haters need to see New Moon because it’s better.  It also captures the essence of the Twilight Saga almost perfectly, so you’ll understand better why the fans enjoy the stories so much.  Plus, there’s a lot more action for you manly men.

Happy birthday, Shauna!

It was pretty slow yesterday, business wise, at Froyo.  But, Corey and I expected as much.  Even with it being slow, though, Froyo did better than a typical Monday at the old location. We figure business will grow steadily over the next few weeks as word gets out that the location is finally open.

Some of our friends, the Vigues and Meyers, decided to come by and show their love and support.  It meant a lot to us to have them there on our first day!

There were lots of other people we knew that came in too.  Like I said in the post It’s Official, Erin, Lauren, and I went to Froyo during our lunch.  (I’d post a picture of them, but they complained about the one I took. )  Erin’s mom and sister also came by to show support for Meghan, one of our employees and Erin’s other sister.  My old boss and his family dropped in, too.  His daughter was so excited to see that her bookmark was the same as the bookmarks being given away at the store.

We know a lot of you are planning to come see us in the future and we also appreciate your love and support!  Because we’re not always in the store, especially me, give us a call or send us an e-mail before you come in, so we can be there if possible.

To those of you who live out-of-state and can’t support us with your patronage, thank you for your encouragement and love!  We appreciate you just as much as the locals!

Also, for my lactose-intolerant family and friends, the sorbets haven’t arrived yet. Because of the economy, all the sorbet distributors have been going out of business.  Every time we get squared away with someone, we have to do it all over again because the company goes bankrupt or closes down permanently.  There are still a few distributors available and Corey’s trying to get everything squared away with them.  We’re just keeping our fingers crossed that they don’t go out of business too.  If they do, Corey said we’ll find a way to get sorbet in our store, even if we have to make it ourselves!

Anyway, Corey said business was really steady today, which is awesome since it’s only our second day open in this location! Corey said he’s been hearing a lot of encouragement and praise from the customers.  They think the product is really good and better than the other frozen yogurt places around.  Everyone also likes that there are so many flavors and topping choices all at once!  I know it means a lot to Corey when he hears things like this.

One of the things he’s told me since we’ve owned Froyo is he really likes that our customers come in and leave with a smile.  I honestly haven’t ever seen him as happy as he has been in business since buying Froyo and that makes me happy!

Once we (mostly Corey) get more of a handle on the new location (i.e. actual signage, Grand Opening celebration), Corey’s going to start getting all the particulars ready for our second location back in the Provo/Orem area.

Yesterday, some friends and I went to Park City for a girls’ night out.  Actually, it was more of a girls’ couple days out since we stayed the night there too.  Debbie’s parents have a timeshare there and we were able to stay in a double room for a great deal, especially since we were dividing the cost between us.

The nine of us ate at a not-so-good restaurant on Main Street.  We were trying to find something that all of us would enjoy and that wasn’t too expensive.  Unfortunately, in Park City, there isn’t a lot of inexpensive, good restaurants to choose from.  And, most of the inexpensive restaurants are fast food joints and we definitely didn’t want fast food.  However, even though the food wasn’t spectacular, the company was awesome and I’d eat there again if I was with the same friends.

After dinner, we went back to the hotel.  We were planning on playing some games, but we ended up just enjoying each other’s company by talking and taking pictures with my computer.  We laughed a lot and had tons of fun.  Around 10:30, Christie and Emily went home because they had other plans for today.  The rest of us stayed up until around 2:30 talking and having a good time.

Today, we went shopping at the outlet stores.  I didn’t get anything and neither did anyone else really.  I guess it was between seasons and there wasn’t much to choose from.  Plus, I’m really anti-buying clothes right now.  I don’t want to buy something I’ll only wear for a little bit.  Corey thinks I should, though, because I can’t keep wearing clothes that are too big for me.  Maybe, once my pants won’t stay up, I’ll go buy some new clothes.

It was so much fun to spend the evening and day with my friends.  I’m so lucky to have them in my life.  And, the trip was a much needed break from reality.  Well, work anyway.

Happy belated birthday, Mom! Happy belated anniversary, Mom and Dad!

On Wednesday, I had the opportunity to meet a friend I’ve been conversing with for the last couple of years.  Kathy lives in California, but her family’s from Utah.  She was in town for Father’s Day and wanted to go to lunch with me and some of my friends, so she could finally meet us.  Unfortunately, with such short notice, it ended up only being Tawnya and me, but we still had a great time.

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to spend some time with Angie, one of my best friends.  She and her family moved to Seattle four years ago and I haven’t seen her in two years.  She’s in Utah for a family reunion and wanted to see me, so we went to dinner together.  Even though we only had a few hours together, it was so good to see her and my godbabies.  (I’m the unofficial godmother to her three children.  It’s unofficial because neither of us are Catholic and it’s actually kind of an inside joke.)  This was the first time I met her youngest, Cavin.