Fake Fashion Show, Random Updates & Awards

Fake Fashion Show
I guess I will start with last weekend. If you follow me on Twitter, perhaps you noticed I won tickets to a fashion show in Atlanta, GA last Saturday. I won them from our local ABC station.

It was at a very nice hotel in Atlanta, on a roof-top lounge. Ever watch The Bachelor? (I hate that show) The lounge looked like a place they’d go on one of their group dates. So the big draw to get people there I guess was saying it was a fashion show for one of the guys from Project Runway.

Well, the event, called “Cocktails & Couture” was supposed to be from 7-9pm. We waited around and finally the guy shows up at like 8:45 and he gets some award from the hotel or something and then takes pictures with the mob of people around him. No fashion show. So, we left.

Really disappointing, but we still had fun people watching, having some drinks and some free fancy/expensive food that I would never buy otherwise (most was not very good).

I would post a picture, but the angles the couches are at, the bad lighting, etc makes for really lousy pictures apparently and most didn’t turn out at all.

Overall, it was a major fail.


School
I’ve gotten a few questions about how I did in school for Spring semester. I thought I posted about it (or maybe I just tweeted it). Anyways, I ended up making an A in Psychology and a B in Biology. :) I’m pretty happy about it. Of course I would have loved to have gotten both As, but I will take the B (that teacher was crazy hard).


Feng Shui
I’m usually a really organized person. However, the past few months/year I’ve let things slide a bit more than I normally would have. I’ve been reading a Feng Shui book (will do review soon) and have completely reorganized my closets. I found stuff in there I completely forgot I had, and really it is like shopping for free! Love it!

Also will be working on the rest of my room and the house. Major undertaking.


Awards
Lucy – Thank you so much for giving me these awards! I love getting awards and try posting them on here when I get them, even if I don’t end up doing all the rules and such (like today).

If you don’t already read and follow Lucy, I suggest all who are reading this go read her now – she is funny, very real and I think you’ll love reading all her posts too.

$25 Wal Mart Gift Card Winner Is...

The giveaway for the $25 Gift Card at Wal Mart is now officially over. I used randomizer.org to come up with one winner randomly – and the winner is… Annie!

Congratulations! I will contact you right now to get your contact information to send the prize provided by Pantene Pro V through MyBlogSpark to you.

True Blood Minisode 3: Sookie, Tara and Lafayette

True Blood Minisode 3 featuring Sookie, Tara and Lafayette was released!



They still aren’t letting us embed from their website on this one either, so go to their website at http://www.hbo.com/true-blood/#/true-blood/inside/minisodes/video/minisode-sookie-tara-lafayette.html/ to view it yourself. Maybe because there are some curse words in it? You’re warned!

This minisode took place before the ending of last season’s finale when Bill and Sookie went to the French restaurant and he was vampnapped (like kidnapped, but he’s a vampire – get it?) while she was in the bathroom.

If you watched this, do you notice where they are leading Tara’s character this season? Now, I’m just guessing here – but it looks like she is going to go the “anti-vampire” route and will probably fight with Sookie a lot this season. She really shouldn’t be so judgmental being that she was heavily involved with Maryann the maenad last season and did some pretty awful things herself.

I hope there is at least one more minisode featuring Eric, but that is probably false hope. Speaking of, I changed my desktop wallpaper to have him on it. Yum!

Classic Wisdom for the Professional Life by Bryan Curtis

Thanks to Thomas Nelson’s BookSneeze program, I was able to review Classic Wisdom for the Professional Life by Bryan Curtis. This book is a fantastic source for inspiring and motivational quotes from famous people such as Oprah Winfrey, Bill Gates, Mark Twain, Conan O’Brien, and many more.

Book Description

Your attitude toward your career and the way you conduct yourself at work can make the difference between a happy life and a miserable existence.

It's no secret that most people spend the majority of their waking hours at the office, but how you spend those hours and allow them to shape who you are is completely up to you. Classic Wisdom for the Professional Life is a collection of quotations that remind each of us of the important principles necessary for a happy, successful, and productive career.


My Thoughts

Classic Wisdom for the Professional Life edited by Bryan Curtis is a book of quotes. It is a really great present for someone who just graduated from college, starting a new career, or even those who are looking for a new career or job.

The book itself is a short read, if wanting to read all the quotes in one sitting it is definitely possible to do so. To really get more out of the quotes though, I would suggest reading a few pages a day. The quotes that really stick with you, perhaps you can print out and put in a frame to encourage and inspire you each time you read it.

Personally, I love reading good quotes. I have a word document which I save quotes I find inspiring in some way. I plan on one day adding them to a special quotes journal. Classic Wisdom for the Professional Life shares so many fantastic quotes that I really can’t share all of the ones I personally loved. However, I will share some of my top favorite quotes with you, maybe they will bring you some inspiration too.


My Favorite Quotes from the Book

It’s important to scare yourself, to do things you don’t think you’re capable of doing
- Reese Witherspoon

The fastest way to succeed is to look as if you’re playing by somebody else’s rules, while quietly playing by your own.
- Michael Korda

Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.
- Mark Twain

Nobody in life gets exactly what they thought they were going to get. But, if you work really hard and you’re kind, amazing things will happen.
- Conan O’Brien

Life is not fair. Get used to it… Be nice to nerds. Chances are you’ll end up working for one.
- Bill Gates

Anything’s possible if you’ve got enough nerve.
- J.K. Rowling

Don’t bunt. Aim out of the ballpark. Aim for the company of immortals.
- David Oglivy

Associate yourself with people of good quality, for it is better to be alone than in bad company.
- Booker T. Washington


Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

You Tube Finds

You know how I like my random You Tube videos, so I thought you may get a kick out of the ones I’ve seen recently (especially if you like Lady Gaga, Buffy, and Twilight)…

Buffy vs Edward: Twilight Remixed
This was done so well and is really very funny. I used to watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer (when it was on the WB), so I really loved it!




Telephone Remake
Perhaps you have seen or heard of this remake of Lady Gaga’s “Telephone” remade by Afghanistan soldiers. It is just great and really deserves Gaga herself going and performing for these men already (really, it looks like they need some women over there ASAP).

21 Things to Create a Better Life by Todd Bottorff

Creating a better life isn’t an easy thing to do. You need motivation, determination and a guide or plan that you can identify with. 21 Things to Create a Better Life by Todd Bottorff is truly a great guide for such a task.

In this book, Bottorff shares 21 simple ways to create a better life for yourself to be healthier, wealthier and wiser. Some may seem like they are just too easy to make much of a difference, but after trying them for 21 days – you may change your mind.

The 21 things outlined in this book are easy and affordable (if not free) to help you create the life you want. Bottorff suggests doing these 21 things for 21 days to get into the habit of doing them to create the change.

With all self-help books I read, I generally stick to ones that work for me, but that doesn’t mean I don’t give all the tips a chance. Here are some of the ones I will continue to use for my “better life” that I didn’t do prior to reading this book…

Drinking more water (the first tip) is something I’ve wanted to do for a long time. I admit it, I drank way too much coffee and diet soda. After reading that a study found that up to 75% of Americans are “chronically dehydrated” I realized I really needed to do something about this one – for myself. I can say that after drinking more water I do feel better and while I do still have some coffee and soda, it doesn’t make up the majority of my daily fluid intake anymore.

Another bad habit I had was that I’d sometimes eat in the 2 hours before I went to sleep. Sometimes I stay up until 2AM (or later), and sometimes I go to sleep at 11PM. I’m unpredictable like that I guess. So, sometimes I’d end up eating before I went to sleep (thinking I wouldn’t be going to sleep soon). Now however, I only eat something if I know I won’t be going to sleep 2 hours before I go to sleep. If I do eat something, I make myself stay up those 2 hours. I’m not sure how much this is helping me be healthier (yet), but it is making me eat less after dinner, so that is always a good thing.

Walking after dinner isn’t something that is that feasible to do around here (bugs are a big issue). So instead of that, I am just walking or making sure I exercise in some way at least once a day. I notice a difference, and I actually quite enjoy it now.

Overall, I really enjoyed 21 Things to Create a Better Life by Todd Bottorff. This is a self-help book that gives 21 simple things to change in your life to make your life start changing in better ways. I recommend this book to everyone who wants to change something in their life, or knows someone who could use an encouraging guide to do so in their life.


This book is part of Turner Publishing’s Good Things to Know series which “focuses on simple, pragmatic actions that can have a strong and lasting impact in the lives of readers.” – Turner Publishing.

* Thank you to the publisher of 21 Things to Create a Better Life, Turner Publishing for providing me with a review copy of this book.

True Blood Minisode 2: Jessica

This minisode of True Blood features the newly made vampire, Jessica. She is one of my favorite female vampires around, and I really like her and Hoyt together. I know that she wasn’t even a character in the book series, but so what? I still like her!


Go to http://www.hbo.com/true-blood/inside/minisodes/video/minisode-jessica.html/ to view the minisode.

I don’t know why, but they aren’t letting people embed this one. Maybe only after they have a new one out? Not sure… Oh and if you were curious, yes they are airing them after the episodes (1 at a time) Sunday nights leading up to the premiere of Season 3 of True Blood.

Pantene Pro V – Review + $25 Giveaway

Pantene Pro V is one of my favorite brands of hair products. I’ve been using them myself off and on since as long as I can remember. I like it because it makes my hair smell good and keeps it stronger – plus it is really quite affordable.

I was so excited when I was selected through Pantene Pro V and MyBlogSpark to be a Pantenologist!

They sent me this very cool kit, including a lab coat and black glasses. Pretty cool, huh?



I always thought my hair was “fine” so I was previously buying the shampoos and conditions for fine hair.

However, after going through all the tests with this Pantenologist kit, I discovered that my hair is actually medium/thick. Probably more on the medium side though. I do dye my hair, but apparently it isn’t damaged from doing so.

I tested the new shampoos and conditioners, and this is my results:

FINE
The “Flat to Volume” shampoo and conditioner worked like my old shampoo and conditioner from Pantene Pro V, but this one did seem to give it just a little bit more volume. It could have been because I got 14 inches cut off my hair too.

MEDIUM-THICK
The “Frizzy to Smooth” noticeably helped smooth out my flyaways without using hairspray during the day! Seriously, I don’t like hairspray so this really helps me out. I quite like this formulation and will definitely be switching to this one when purchasing Pantene Pro V from now on.

CURLY
The “Dry to Moisturized” shampoo and conditioner did seem to moisturize my hair, even though I don’t have curly hair (even remotely). I let my mom try this one (she has wavy hair) and she loved it! She said she could really see the difference.

COLOR
I color my hair, yet I rarely ever use the color-treated shampoos and conditioners. This one with “Color Preserve Shine” seemed to make my hair shine more, and felt great too.



Enter to Win a $25 Walmart Giftcard

One comment – Follow my Blog publicly and tell me which hair care products you can’t live without.

One comment – Blog about my giveaway (linking to this post). Leave URL of the post.

One comment – Follow me on Twitter and tweet about my giveaway (linking to this post). Leave url of tweet on here.

Giveaway ends on May 13, 2010.

* Thanks to Pantene Pro V through MyBlogSpark for providing me with the complimentary product, information, and providing the $25 Walmart giftcard for this giveaway. All opinions expressed are my own.

True Blood – Minisode 1: Fangtasia Tryouts!

As a True Blood fangirl (is that a proper saying?) who would love to have Eric all to herself, I have to let everyone who craves True Blood know about the new True Blood Minisodes on HBO.

This minisode is at my favorite spot in the series – Fangtasia! Plus it features Eric and Pam – two of my favorite vampires around!

A new minisode will be posted to HBO.com each week leading up to the premiere of Season 3 on June 13. I think they also will be airing after the reruns starting tonight too, I’ll let you know (check in the comment section)!

Minisode: Eric & Pam

I’m so excited to see the rest (and of course Season 3) I’m even wearing my Fangtasia panties – yup you read that right!

Father’s Day Gift –Watches?

My Dad has got to be one of the hardest people I know to buy a present for. He has everything he wants already, and if he finds he wants something, he just goes and buys it himself. Plus, it isn’t like he and I go shopping together very often to know what he would “hint” at to even get him.

For past holidays I’ve bought him cologne, nice clothes, a Dolce & Gabbana leather belt, yard stuff, car stuff, boat stuff, tools, etc. Nothing really all that great, except the belt – but recently it broke. Oh, and he made a point of telling/showing me that it broke too adding in an “I’m not complaining or anything, but…” comment. Nice.

So, I’m thinking about maybe getting him a nice new hand watch for Father’s Day this year. If I can find a nice pretty affordable one, that’d be great. If not, eh I guess it’ll be another cologne set again. I’m pretty predictable when it comes to that present for him lately. Who knows though? Maybe I’ll surprise him!


This one from Ice Watch is really cool but I’m not sure how much it costs (I couldn’t find that on the website). It would be a great casual watch for him to wear, I think. Watches and clothing are sometimes just hard to buy for someone as a present, so I’m just not sure. Oh the decisions!

Do any of you have any suggestions for a place to get a nice casual watch that won’t break my bank account? If not a watch, how about another present for a Dad?

What were some of your favorite presents to give to your Dad for Father’s Day, his birthday, Christmas, or some other holiday or occasion? Any suggestions or ideas would be great!