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!

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.

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.

A few of my friends and I went to the library today for the annual Children’s Book Festival.  They have a ton of, usually local, authors come.  The authors spend time with their fans in classes and also take the time to sign books.

This year, Shannon Hale attended.  I just started reading The Goose Girl on Wednesday, so I wanted to have her sign my book.  She’s very sweet and funny.  I’m glad I had the chance to meet her.  Too bad I couldn’t say anything about her books, though, since I haven’t actually finished any of them yet. If she attends again next year, maybe I can say something a little more profound.

Brandon Mull and Brandon Sanderson were there too.  I’ve heard a lot of good things about Brandon Mull’s Fablehaven series and I wish I owned a copy and had read them, so I could’ve had him sign my books.  I’ve also heard a lot of good things about Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn series and, again, I wish I owned a copy and had read them already. Oh well!  Hopefully, they’ll attend next year since they’re local.

I also had the chance to meet an up and coming author, Karey Shane.  Her book, Secret Speakers and the Search for Selador’s Gate, will be published in September.  The book has already won Textnovel.com’s Reader’s Choice Award.  Since I love fantasy, I’m excited to check it out this September.

It was a lot of fun and I’m glad I decided to go.  I enjoy meeting new authors and telling them how much I enjoy their books and how much they add to my joy of reading.  It’s also a lot of fun to share these experiences with such good friends and fellow book addicts!

Happy belated birthday, Kayla and Rachael!

As I stated in my review of Freshman for President, my friends and I invited Ally Condie to come to one of our parties.  Our party took place last Friday and it was a lot of fun!

Debbie and Rachel planned the party and did a great job.  It was fun to have everything decked out in red, white, and blue.  We ate yummy baked potatoes and had ice cream (rainbow sherbet and frozen yogurt) for dessert.  (Rainbow sherbet makes a couple of appearances in the book.)

Ally was very sweet and funny.  We really enjoyed having her at our party.  We asked her a couple of questions about her book, Freshman for President, but most of our questions dealt with the writing process and how she gets inspiration, etc.

After Ally left, we talked about other books we’ve read and gave recommendations to each other.  My “to read” list went from 731 books to 751 books! Hopefully, I’ll be able to get through these books in my lifetime.

Last night, I went out with some of my friends.  Debbie, Sue, Christie, Kayla, Rachael, and I all have birthdays in April.  Last year, we went to The Mayan to celebrate together and we had so much fun.  So, we wanted to do something together again this year.  Unfortunately, Rachael moved to California in March, so she couldn’t join us, but she was there in spirit. And, to make up for our loss, Kayla’s sister Shauna, who’s visiting from Texas, joined us.

This year, we decided to go to Iggy’s Sports Grill.  It’s a very popular restaurant in Utah and the food’s very yummy. To try to be healthy, I had coconut shrimp and tilapia with steamed vegetables and rice pilaf.  Then, for dessert, I had an apple torte with vanilla ice cream, which wasn’t very healthy at all.  But, I figured, since it was for my birthday, I was allowed a little treat. We’ll see what it does to my weight loss on Tuesday.

Even though the food was excellent, the company was even better.  I love hanging out with these women.  They’re so fabulous and I’m very lucky to have them as friends.  We always have a good time together and end up overstaying our welcome wherever we go.

All in all, we had a great evening and I can’t wait to celebrate our birthdays together next year.  Happy birthday girls!