The Jeanelle Show

Sometimes I go for months just living my life and doing my thing, staying in the background as much as possible. But every so often, a so-called "perfect storm" begins to brew and I find myself in the spotlight a little too much. Let me explain by sharing what I've been up to and will be up to this week:

• I performed the musical number at Sacrament meeting today -- I sang a duet with a very fun friend. I had to sing a little part all by myself, which was frightening because I'm a choir singer, not a soloist. However, nobody ran out of the chapel holding their ears so I think it was okay.
• We were a presidency of two today in Primary and since our secretary has been trying to get released for 4 months so she can concentrate solely on being the music leader, it meant a lot of running around for me. I conducted, did the secretary stuff and tried not to panic when our Nursery leader came in and said she was the only one there today. Thank goodness another nursery worker showed up eventually.
• I'm reading a Christmas story during the program at our Enrichment Christmas party this Tuesday.
• I'm singing in a small group during the program at our Enrichment Christmas party this Tuesday.
• Oh and I'm also now one of the MC's for the program at the Enrichment Christmas party this Tuesday.

That's kind of a lot of Jeanelle in a three day period, don't you think??? I'm a little sick of myself and it's not even Tuesday yet.

I'm co-hosting a bridal shower at work later this week and the mom-to-be was just diagnosed with gestational diabetes. Anyone have a tried-and-true yummy and also sugar free dessert recipe I can make for her?

VERMIN!

Yes, I know, this is my second post today but I am too freaked out to even think about sleeping.

I live in a ground floor condo and have a storage closet outside my front door. It holds a collection of a dozen Rubbermaid totes filled with holiday decor, a couple of coolers and a fan.

At about 9 PM tonight, I started pulling out the totes containing my Christmas decorations. I was following my mom's advice and just taking out one tote at a time, unpacking it, then going back outside to get the next one. About halfway through this activity, I started leaving the storage closet door open in between going in and out of my house.

An hour and a half later, I finally made it to the bottom. So I reached into the dark unknown to grab the last tote and...gulp...a RAT ran out of the closet, across my slippered foot and into the dark and rainy night. I really wish it was a squirrel or even a mouse but alas, it wasn't. UGH!

I didn't scream but I slammed things around to hopefully scare any of his friends out of there. I really don't think he was living in there because I don't think he could have gotten in there with the door shut.

I hope.

More bad news of the night? I discovered that my totes of Christmas decor were mostly filled with stuff that is no longer my "style" so I've got a big box ready to take to the DI truck this week. Thank goodness I still love my Christmas tree & ornaments -- that's going up tomorrow.

I heart Amazon.com

I'm here today to share something fabulous that you may not have discovered yet -- downloading music from Amazon.com.

After you install the downloader, whatever you buy moves automatically into your iTunes plus the files are mp3's so way more flexible than the iTunes version of songs. I love iTunes - don't get me wrong, but Amazon.com sure has some smokin' good deals. For example:

• 50 CDs for $5 each. I just downloaded the Jason Mraz CD. I noticed they also have HSM3, Camp Rock, & Coldplay CDs on that list. Lots of good stuff!
• Michael Buble's Christmas EP is only .99 cents today -- for all 5 songs! iTunes has it for $4.95.
• There are tons of CDs for $7.99 and under -- the Twilight soundtrack is only $6.99 (iTunes is charging $11.99.)
• Most of the top single songs are only $.79 each!

Anyway, I totally love Amazon.com for this and many other reasons. So you should totally check out the digital music feature. Let me know what you buy!

p.s. Our Thanksgiving was wonderful and the meal was perfect. I shopped for 7 hours yesterday and got about 1/4 of my shopping done. The crowds were WAY worse than previous years. I started seriously disliking people yesterday. Now I'm trying to gather enough energy to get all of my Christmas decorations out. I wish I could be like Samantha from Bewitched and just wiggle my nose and have everything done. Wouldn't that be heavenly???

Nagging Twilight thoughts plus some other junk on my mind

Twilight: Did anyone else notice Multnomah Falls, which is located in Oregon, not Forks? And wasn't that the Columbia River we see when Edward and Bella are up in the tall trees? I could be wrong but I spent every summer as a kid making the drive to Hood River, OR and so both of those sights are pretty familiar to me. I know I'm a dork for noticing stuff like that. Oh and I'm seeing the movie again tomorrow night. And I'm, um, rereading the book.

I went to see Annie Get Your Gun at a local high school on Saturday. So fun. I love the music in that show and the female lead was so good. I love me some good theater! Wednesday night I'm going to see Beauty and the Beast with four of my favorite people. Yay!

Sunday was a very good day. We had breakfast together as a Primary presidency, which was so fun (and yummy.) At church, I was able to see four girls I love who are home from college. One came back to where I was sitting midway through Sacrament meeting just to give me a hug and sit by me. It was wonderful getting to see all of them again. I'm so grateful for my time serving in the YW organization at church. Such a blessing!

Dancing with the Stars -- I know Brooke is probably going to win but I just love Lance and Lacey. And did you see the Bachelor commercial? Jan 5! So excited!

Thanksgiving -- I'm making mashed potatoes (from Cook's Illustrated - can't link), PW rolls, and then our family's favorite dessert. We call it 1-2-3 pudding but you might call it something else: flour/butter/walnut crust followed by a layer of cream cheese/powdered sugar/cool whip followed by a layer of chocolate pudding followed by more cool whip? You know what I'm talking about, I'm sure. I think there will be 12 of us? Not really sure... I'm just looking forward to four days off.

Oh and my first call of the day today? Yes. The man, the myth, the legend, my boyfriend, Mr Crushworthy. He also came over last week for a visit. I'm not as twitterpated as I used to be but he's still pretty darn dreamy.

And because I love you all, here's a little Kristin just to make you smile today:

We Have a Winner! Plus a Twilight Review!

First and foremost, thank you so much for commenting and entering my fun little drawing. I hated to only pick one winner*. I went the highly scientific route and wrote down the names of all 16 commenters, cut them into strips, folded them and then put them in a cute little bucket that my friend Jazzy left on my doorknob the other day (loved the pumpkin muffins, Jazzy!) I drew out a name and (drumroll please...) the big winner is the sweet, thoughtful and talented JILL! Jill, please email me your address and I'll get your CDs and other fun surprises into the mail soon. More to come on Christmas music -- I want to talk more about your favorites and my LEAST favorites.

Okay, Twilight. The movie.

I loved it!

I really tried to go in with low expectations. I knew it wouldn't be as great as the book. I knew I'd find fault with some of the casting. But you know what? I thought it was wonderful, entertaining and very faithful to the book. I would totally pay to see it again.

I thought Cedric (yes I know his name is Robert Pattinson but he will always be Cedric Diggory to me) was perfect as Edward. My mom was telling me today that she didn't think he was beautiful enough but I said "who on earth really is?" Brad Pitt & George Clooney don't look 17. Kristen Stewart was perfect as Bella. I liked her much more than I've liked Bella throughout the books.

It was fun going on opening night. People screamed and clapped several times, which was fun. Everyone applauded for the Harry Potter preview too (still can't believe we have to wait until next summer! grr.) The other thing that was great was that our theater was so organized and tried really hard to ensure everyone who came together could sit together. We sat next to some 30'ish ladies with homemade signs pinned on their back that said things like "I would let Edward bite me" or something like that. Nice.

Some random comments:

• I really hope they pull some Hagrid-like special effects to make Jacob taller for the next movie because he's way too short now.
• The only person I thought they messed up on was Rosalie -- she just wasn't quite right but everyone else was perfectly cast, I thought.
• The movie dragged a little in the middle, I thought...a little too "let's just stare at each other so everyone knows we're in love" or something.
• I totally missed the Stephenie Meyer cameo. I'm so disappointed in myself!
• As I was watching the movie, I found myself more and more irritated at Breaking Dawn and how the characters turned out. I sat there watching Bella and Edward and I thought "those are not even the same people." I still haven't finished Breaking Dawn and I'm not going to start now because it will just irritate me. And who reads to be irritated??? Not me.

Anyway, go see it. Wait for a matinee if you must but if you loved the book, you will more than likely love the movie. And if you live nearby, invite me to come along.

* I hate to only pick one winner so I would love to send my 2008 Christmas Mix CD to anyone who wants one. I love sharing what I love! So if you want one, send me your address (if you know I don't have it already, anyway.) I'm serious too. Send me your dang address and I'll mail you a CD. Then you can listen to it and think of me as you sing along or hit the skip button because you hate my taste in music!

Giveaway reminder!

If you haven't commented on my previous post yet, go comment now! I'm going to draw one winner sometime after 9 PM Friday night (probably well after considering how I have tickets to the 8 PM showing of Twilight but you get the drift.)

So come on, enter! I'll surely make it worth your while (well, if I choose your name, that is.)

Here's another video of a song I own and so very much enjoy.

People, it is time!

For what, you might be asking? Christmas music! Well, that AND a giveaway.

I love Christmas music. Love it! If you were to call my cell phone, you would hear Christmas music instead of a boring old ring. I have an extensive collection -- over 450 songs in my iTunes and that doesn't include the CDs I haven't gotten around to adding.

I tend to like all kinds of music -- ultra traditional but also very contemporary. Really, I like anything that puts me in a happy, giving, let's make cookies and share them with the world kind of mood.

Now to the giveaway: I was putting together a playlist of my favorite Christmas songs this year and I thought it would be nice to give away a CD of my favorites to one of my 16 readers. I will also throw another surprise or two into the box, just to make this a fun Christmas treat for someone.

If you'd like to win, just comment one time and tell me your most favorite Christmas song and why. Comment away until 9 PM Pacific this Friday, Nov 21. I'll announce the winner in a post Friday night or Saturday morning.

To whet your appetite a little, this song could possibly be on the CD (it is my ringtone, after all!)

Time for another random list!

It was my Mom's 70th b-day on Monday. I wrote in her card that I'm grateful she has taken such good care of herself her whole life so that she can be around to have fun with me now. Here's a pic of her with my niece Rylee, taken on her b-day.

We have puppies in the family! My sister's pug & Boston terrier, had 5 puppies on Halloween. Apparently, these mixes are called Bugs. They still haven't opened their eyes yet but they are pretty little and cute -- 4 girls, 1 boy. All are brindle colored and will be ready for sale this Christmas, if you're interested.

I watched the CMA's last night. Taylor Swift was not so great live but I loved the dress change and Miley's BF/the guy from the Love Story video coming out at the end of the song. I also loved seeing Shania onstage again and I teared up when she did at the warm welcome/ovation she received. I'm a great sympathy crier.

Speaking of crying, I got caught up on Grey's Anatomy and I still cry whenever Denny shows up. I think Denny might be one of my most favorite TV characters of all time...maybe 2nd only to Larry Paul (from Ally McBeal -- RDJr. I adore him.)

Last TV comment -- I cannot stand the blue team on Biggest Loser (Heba/Vicky, specifically.) I commented on Jill's blog this week that I wish they would just take the two people with the lowest percentage of weight loss for the week and then vote one of them out. No more of the manipulations, game playing, water loading, etc. Just let this show be about weight loss, please, NBC!!!

I'm having computer problems. I got the blue screen of death when I plugged in my iPod Touch to sync it. I turned it back on, did a quick backup (it took 90 minutes!) just in case. Tried again to sync but the same thing kept happening, however, only with that iPod (remember, I have 3.) My super smart computer sensei here at work gave me something to try but it didn't work. This kind of stuff just stresses me out and it kept me up past midnight last night! Not good!

I still haven't unpacked and I'm not feeling any sort of urgency to do so. I'm in no rush because it's not like I'm in need of clean summer clothes in November.

I'm going to a high school play tonight -- they're doing Fame! "I'm gonna live forever! I'm gonna learn how to fly (high!)" We sang that song as a junior high school choir and I'll have to really restrain myself to keep from singing along with the kids onstage. Wish me luck!

A post-vacation check list

I've been home from Hawaii since Sunday night and just tonight turned on my computer for the first time. I'm so not ready to be back in the real world! I don't have the energy to do a major recap on my fabulous vacation but thought I'd share a little check list of the things I wanted to do or accomplish on my trip.

1. Get some rest.

Check! Even though I have all of the kids and the darling Zoey dog in bed with me here, I averaged 8-10 hours of sleep every night while I was there. I loved it! But now I've reverted to my old habits and I'm back to my regular 5-6 hours a night. NOT ENOUGH!

2. Bond with my darling and sweet nieces and nephews.

Check! Love these kids so much. They are the best kids -- really fun to be with and so dang loveable.

3. Go to the beach.

Check! We went twice - I loved it and I think I'd be happy sitting on the beach every day of my life -- as long as I have an endless supply of celebrity magazines to read (I was too scared to bring my Kindle to the beach.)

4. See lots of wildlife.

Check! More about these amazing guys later but besides sea turtles, I also saw got to see dolphins as well as a cockroach! Lucky me!

5. Get a tan.

(Sorry, no picture!) Hmm. Half a check! I came home with a sunburned back and a slight flip-flop tan on my feet but my suncreen worked a little too well everywhere else.

6. Spot cute surfer dudes

Oh, I'm kidding. Not Speedo guy. But this next guy was pretty easy on the eyes!

7. Try out new recipes on my sister and her family.

Check! We made a pot roast that was a lot better after we left it cooking all night and ate it the next day. My favorite new to me recipes were a beef stroganoff in the crock pot and Boni's cinnamon rolls. It is so much more fun to cook for lots of people than it is to just cook for me.

8. Spend quality time with my sister.

Check! We had a great time hanging out. I love you, Nenny Nee! Thank you for letting me stay with you.

Okay, that's all for now -- more to come, I promise!