Wednesday, April 28, 2010

High School

Do you ever stop and think about your life and where you're at now and realize with disgust that you're still in high school?

Obviously, I don't mean literally.

Lately I've been thinking about my life and the people around me and realizing with sadness that nothing's changed. It's like high school never ended.

We are all still competing to be the most popular. To be the one with the funniest blog, or the most friends, or the cutest decorated house or the best kids. We are all still vying to be BFF's with the It Girl--you know the one, the one that EVERYONE wants to be friends with--and all still secretly loving when She talks bad about another one of her BFF's. We are all still wanting everyone to be thinking about us, focused on us, be the center of attention. Hello, Blogger, Facebook and Twitter--look at me!

At 30 years old I thought I would be an adult. I think back to my mom at 30 and she was a full-on grown up. She had it totally together, 100% mom, no friend drama, no problems, nothing but the joy of raising her kids. And then I turned 30 and realized I had no clue back then. My mom was just like me at 30, and 30 is in no way a mature age.

So when does it happen? What's the magic age where we stop caring what everyone thinks about us? Where we stop feeling the obsessive need for everyone to love us? Where we are so self-assured that we can go to the grocery store with no makeup on and not feel the need to blog about it? 40? 50? Does it ever really happen?

I don't want to be in high school anymore. I tossed that hat in the air 13 years ago and with it, I thought, all that superficial, selfish nonsense. I want to be real, 100%. I don't want to care what people think of me. I don't want to worry about friend security. I don't want to constantly compare myself to all the women around me.

I just want to live my life and be happy.

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Diary of a Wimpy Kid


I have a hard time reviewing kid movies because, well, I'm not a kid. How can I review a kid movie from an adult's perspective? I feel like I need to do it in two parts.

So, from a kid's perspective (and by that I mean what I think I would have liked when I was a kid and what Macy said about it), the movie was pretty good. Macy said it stayed pretty true to the books as far as events and dialogue (I've never read one), and the movie was not only relateable for kids but had obvious kid humor too.

From an adult's perspective, however, I thought it was a major letdown. From what Macy had read to me from the books, I was expecting big-time laughs throughout. Um, no. The clever, comical writing in the books did not translate on the big screen. The movie was long, and slow. By the time it ended I thought for sure we'd been there three hours, and was shocked to see it had been under two. The movie was more serious than humorous, and for most of it you're just feeling bad for the poor guy who can't seem to get a break. But the worst part was the language, or, specifically, the use of the Lord's name in vain. Holy cow. Seriously, people. KID MOVIE here. There were no less than, I would say, ten.

But I loved the message. The entire movie was about being a good friend to your real friends, even if they're not "cool," and not trying to be someone you're not. Also, they touched on middle-school aged kids' relationships with their parents, and how, at that age, whether you want to admit it or not, you still need (and want) Mom and Dad, and that can be cool. Loved it.

There were some funny parts, and the boy who played Rowley made the movie totally worth watching for me. He was the most adorable, genuine character I have seen in a long time, and I just wanted to wrap my arms around him and take him home with me.

So, bottom line, there were some redeeming qualities, but overall, sort of underwhelming.

MOVIE QUEEN RATING: PG13 ("Eh...")

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

And So It Goes

What a crazy last two weeks I've had. Besides the aforementioned drama regarding Eclipse tickets, which was an emotional ride all on its own, I have:

*Been working every day at my dad's shop, filling in for his secretary who is on medical leave for a month. I haven't worked out of the home in over seven years and it definitely takes some getting used to. Fortunately, I enjoy it. I love having something that forces me to shower and get ready every morning and have makeup and fixed hair the entire rest of the day. I love feeling like I've accomplished things before lunch and helped out my dad. I love feeling important and obviously, making money while I do it. And since I've done this job in the past, it was easy to jump right in, especially with my dad and brother as bosses. You can't beat that. Oh, unless you add going to lunch with your hubby every day because he works there too. Which, I do!

*Celebrated my baby girl's 9th birthday. It hardly seems possible. How in the world am I old enough to have a 9 year old??!! I totally remember turning 9, and it doesn't seem that long ago. For her birthday, Macy chose to have donuts brought to school, which I did at lunchtime, and sat and ate with her class, which was awesome. Then she chose to go to Red Robin for dinner to have her favorite spaghetti, but was adamant that they NOT sing to her. Afterward we took her to see Diary of a Wimpy Kid (her favorite books) and left her little brother at his cousin's house to play (thanks again Danyelle), because we were fairly certain he wouldn't appreciate this grown-up movie. Great foresight on our part. On Saturday, we had an Opposite Party. We sent out invitations telling people they were NOT invited to a party that was NOT going to be on Saturday and was NOT for Macy's 9th birthday. Macy was so worried people were going to think were just being rude, but I assured her they would know they were invited simply by receiving the invitation in the first place. :) We had cake and ice cream for lunch, sandwiches for dessert, and all the guests took home birthday presents. The girls had a blast and Macy seemed to love it, so it was a success.

*Joined Facebook. I know. Seriously. Once again, I am a self-proclaimed hypocrite. I ended my boycott and decided to join the rest of the world. (I'm not gonna lie, peer pressure's tough!) And, I'm totally that person now that can't have a conversation without saying, "Did you see on so and so's status..." or "well, we're friends on Facebook and..." Yeah, I hate me too. It's been a blast feeling connected with my friends all day long, but a bit surreal reconnecting with people from my past. Very. Surreal.

*Started taking Wilton cake decorating classes!! I am so excited, I can't even tell you. I am obsessed with cake decorating as of late and drool at the mere thought of one day being able to create masterpieces out of fondant and gum paste. I've only taken one class so far, and, being the perfectionist that I am, hate that I'm not already a pro at it, but at least I'll learn patience, if not the art of icing the perfect cake.

And I think that's about it. What'd I tell ya? Crazy few weeks. Now if I could get rid of this ache on the left side of my head/face that I suspect is due to a cracked tooth, I'd be a happy camper. Oh, and for anyone that's wondering, I have around 75 tickets left. Better snag one if you want one!

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Clarification

It has been brought to my attention that people are questioning the $11 ticket price for the Eclipse pre-release screening. Here is the breakdown:

Regular ticket price: $9.50
Summit's added pre-release screening fee: $1.00
extra: $.50

First let me address the $1.00 fee. This is exactly what I know: That Summit tacked on a $1.00 pre-release screening fee, which goes to them. That's it. That's all I know. I don't know why they did, but I think it's safe to guess they're trying to bank on the Twilight craze as much as they can because they can and people will probably pay it. There. Now you know as much as I do about the fee. If you have more questions about it, I'm sure you can call Fairchild and they can fill you in better than I can.

Now, about the $.50. When I realized the ticket price was going to be $10.50, I cringed, thinking of all. those. quarters. Dealing with $9 even last time was hard enough with all the tens I was given and all the dollar bills to give back. But $.50? It was only going to add that much more to the headache that collecting money already is going to be.

However, never in my wildest dreams did I ever consider making a profit off of this. Although I have had COUNTLESS people tell me I could and I should for my troubles and effort and time and headaches, I was absolutely not comfortable with it at all. But when I thought about trying to deal with bags of change, I just wasn't going to do it.

So I decided to round it up and make $.50 off of every ticket. But the more I thought about it the more I didn't feel good about it, and I started thinking of ways I could put the money back into the screening night, back to you guys, like buying some big item for people to win that night or something. You may not believe this, and that's fine. For anyone who really knows me, they would know that charging people for getting them movie tickets is not something I would ever do.

I was not keeping this a secret. I was never trying to hide this. I had extremely limited space in which to post my facebook announcement, already having to cut and delete things out of it that weren't absolutely imperative just to get it to post. Then I copied and pasted that announcement to my blog. I knew people would question the raise in price, and I was prepared for it. I guess where I made an error in judgment was not wanting to get into the whole explanation of "not wanting to deal with quarters" on facebook or anywhere else when the two people who asked me asked and honestly, because I didn't want to hear anyone say "you're making a profit off of this?!" I guess I should have broken it down earlier, but I didn't and I'm sorry.

If you don't want to pay the extra amount for a ticket, then you are absolutely free to go another time. If everyone has a problem with this (with the exception of the ten people who have already claimed tickets) then I guess I'll have to give up the theater, which makes me sad, but I have to have a minimum of 225 to get it. If, however, it's worth $1.50 extra to you to have a guaranteed seat in a "private" theater and get to see the movie hours before everyone else, I am happy to add you to my list and buy you a ticket and we will have a blast that night.

Sorry for any confusion or cause for the gossip train. Thank you to my wonderful, loyal, amazing friend for coming to the source and asking me straight out. And thank you to all my friends who know me well enough to know I wasn't lying about Summit's fee or "pocketing $375 off of this" for my own personal gain.

And I'm taking any and all great ideas on a $125 prize that night.

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Eclipse Pre-Release Screening


It's official.

I got a phone call today from Fairchild
offering me one of only four theaters for the pre-release screening of Eclipse
on Tuesday, June 29th somewhere between 8 & 9:00 pm.

Being the masochist that I am, I've decided to take it on once more.

So, for anyone in the Tri-Cities or surrounding area,
I am taking names of anyone interested in a ticket ($11).
If you are, EMAIL ME at alicialeppert@gmail.com.
Spread the word, I've got roughly 250 seats to fill.
I won't be collecting money for a while.

Let the mayhem begin.

Friday, April 2, 2010

THIS WEEK IN HOLLYWOOD

Sorry I sort of fell off the radar there for a bit. It's been a rough week. But I'm finally bouncing back (yeah!) and feeling good, and in the mood for a little bit of.......

THIS WEEK IN HOLLYWOOD


Ricky Martin Reveals He's Gay

What?! This is a totally unexpected, shocking realization that no one could have guessed ten years ago. Next they'll try telling us that Richard Simmons is gay. And that the earth is round.



Stephenie Meyer Announces Fifth Twilight Series Book

(If this is the first time you've heard this, don't get too excited. It's a novella called The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner--you know, the newborn vampire that appears in Eclipse for half a page?) People.com did a poll asking if people plan to read it. I didn't vote because there was nowhere to check "It would be physically impossible for me to be less interested."



Jesse James Checks Into Rehab Facility


Weird...this sounds so familiar.
Celebrity guy gets caught cheating...celebrity guy gets caught cheating a lot...celebrity guy checks into "rehab" without specifying which kind...Oh! I know! I know what comes next! Jesse James will return to golf and play in the Masters.



Heidi Montag


I have no headline for her because there were just too many to pick from. First she famously gets 10 plastic surgeries in one day and becomes almost unrecognizable. Then she fires her own husband as her manager and hires a psychic instead. Then she fires the psychic a week later saying she doesn't want any men telling her what to do and that she just wants to focus on her movie career and for people to see her for the mogul she is. Heidi, Heidi, Heidi. Bravo. You have accomplished a feat that I never thought possible. You have officially replaced Lauren Conrad as The Hills cast member that I despise the most. And I've never even seen an episode.



Kate Gosselin Was Frightened Watching Herself on DWTS

Kate, now you know exactly how the rest of the world felt when we heard we had to watch you every week on Dancing With The Stars.