Two Shots of Euphoria

While I'm busy trying to pull films out of my ass create brilliant cinema with the written word, my super sexy and awesome husband is building his portfolio as a Digital Composer. What IS a digital composer? It's a person who uses a computer program with digital loops to create music, specifically scores for film/TV/commercials, etc. Before you musical people scoff at the idea of anyone making beautiful music with "loops," digital composing is an actual career in Hollywood and a very affordable way for filmmakers to add music to their films. Not to mention, Michael-- who was a drummer for many years-- is GREAT at it. And this is coming from a musical person.

With loops, it's not just a matter of putting a few together that sound good and pressing play. Michael can change time signatures and keys; add effects like delay, reverb, distortion; you can stretch the loops, fade them in and out, speed one up while slowing another down. And don't forget about mixing the sound levels of each loop to balance the piece and finalize the tone.  Yes, he's still semi-new at it and there's a lot to learn, but hell, aren't we ALWAYS learning?

The little SoundCloud widget I added on the left is my favorite piece he's created so far. Have a listen-- it's about two minutes. You can hear more of his stuff here.

The reason I even mention this-- besides bragging rights-- is that Michael and I have gotten his blog "Two Shots of Euphoria" going again. Don't you just love the title? Anyway, we're collaborating meaning he tells me what he wants to say and I artfully and brilliantly and humbly write it out for him. I'm basically a not-so-ghostwriter. So check out his blog: Michael is creative and has a great perspective on life.

Hermmm.... Do you think I could use this on a resume since I'm technically writing for someone else?

To Do List

I love making lists because each time I cross off something it feels like a small MEGA accomplishment. For instance:
wash dishes
fold laundry
play video games
make a shopping list


Just look at how much one can accomplish in a week.

As I've been prepping all week for the Great American Pitchfest in Burbank this weekend,  I haven't had time to blog; and now that I'm going to create a regular daily writing schedule (like... using SPREADSHEETS, which, if you're a creative person, can scare the shit out of me you), I thought I'd put up a To Do List of my tasks in the coming week to share more of my writing process and early career steps. I'm also planning on posting script pieces so you can see what the heck I actually want to do in film.

To Do List
1. Create work and life schedule spreadsheet, as well as spreadsheets for documenting all scripts or treatments I've registered & copyrighted, info on the Trades, and screenplay contests I've entered.

2. Re-do the schedule to be more realistic.

3. Stick to the schedule.

After trying for years to be the laid back artistic type most successful film people seem to be, I realized I need STRUCTURE to accomplish... anything. School provided deadlines, accountability, and stakes that forced me to finish scripts and stories. There was stability in the day-to-day routine of going to class, socializing, and doing homework. A couple years ago I thought going back to school for a teaching degree was what I needed: turns out I just need the structure behind the academic world.

And discipline.

I went to an ILLUMINATING strengths workshop at my church, called "Illuminate." Go figure. There's more I'll explain in another blog, but basically, out of 34 total strengths I could have as my top 5, Discipline was not one of them. It's a weakness for me, actually. But our strengths help us manage our weaknesses. Since one of my strengths is Responsibility, I can use the side of myself that feels a duty to write as the driving force toward discipline. Such is the plan-- this must happen in order for me to become a successful screenwriter-- and you're coming along for the ride!


P.S. Check out two new amazing blogs by two lovely women.
The first is LA By Diana Live Magazine - a great visual blog about life and fashion in LA. Diana has fabulous taste and great insight into this crazy city.
The second is A Wife's Charmed Life - Ibyang shares photos, stories, and what she's learned as a wife living on the other side of the world.
Both great blogs to kick off your summer (or winter if you're in Sydney)!!

Lush-ious Living

I've outlined my love affair with Lush both here and here. And the love continues. If a Lush store is near you (and by "near" I mean in the same hemisphere), grab some snacks, pack up the kids and/or dogs, get your girlfriends together, book a hotel if you must, but get yourself to this store!

Bottom line: these are homemade, green, not animal tested products (some VEGAN) in completely recyclable materials. Even the little yellow bags for soap samples are made for your compost pile. Plus, save your product pots (see below) and for every 5 you return you get a FREE needs-to-be-refrigerated-because-that's-how-fresh-it-is face mask. 

Do the products work? Hell yes. Way better than my soy milk spray conditioner or Neutrogena lotion or Dove volumizing shampoo. Those are all good products at cheaper prices but the results aren't nearly as excellent and you need to use more product to get the same amount of cleanliness. I still love my Benefit facial regime (another post for another day) but at heart I'm a Lushie.

Let me outline my favorite parts about the store once again so you know what to expect:

1. Samples of anything that's not in a bottle. 3 per customer. Bring a guy so you can get 6.

2. The face on your bottle or pot is the person who made your product. There's also an 18month expiration date.

3. 30 day return policy. Lush will take back or exchange any product you try, no matter how much you used, as long as you have a RECEIPT. It's the truth: I've done it twice.

4. Ask questions and let the employees try stuff on you. Your first few visits to Lush will be trial and error. Finding what works for you requires talking to the helpful employees, getting samples, and actually using them.

5. You can order online. So let's say you visit the Big City for a vacation, get a bunch of samples from Lush, fall in love (which you're bound to do), but there isn't one near you. Visit their website and order at your heart's content.

I've turned my husband into a Lushie as well and thus we've been trying and buying more products as of late. Here's what he LOVES:

Dirty Shower Gel: smells amazing and lasts forever. Michael still can't get over how much lather he gets from a little bit verses the Old Spice Shower Gel he was using. And his skin feels great. (you see why I encourage this?!)

Curly Wurly shampoo in a pot. Since oil has a hard time reaching the ends of curly hair it gets dry. CW takes care of that and makes curls more manageable.

American Cream conditioner: the second lightest conditioner they have, super moisturizing and helps control frizz. I tried Veganese but unfortunately it made my hair frizzier and limp-- AC is what I like as well.

Ro's Argan is a new product Lush just released. It's a rose conditioner for your skin, so apply all over after using the shower gel. It makes your skin super soft and glowy (new word!). I'm not using it because the scent was too much for me.

Dream Cream Lotion: light, oil-free, and extremely luxurious. I like it better than the Charity Pot.

We've been experimenting w/ Lush bar soaps after noticing how much Bath & Body Works dried out our hands (and that's with the moisturizing soap). When we mentioned this to my mother-in-law, she told us how the kids (her 10 & 11 year old) love using Whoosh as soap. It's for the shower too, but soap is soap and you only need the teeny tiniest bit for your hands; not to mention... it feels like Jell-O!

Michael and I have been sharing Prince. It's a shaving cream that doesn't foam or anything, but is extremely soothing and soft on your skin. Like all Lush products: you don't need a lot, just enough to lightly cover the area that has hair. Also, it smells amazing.

**Note: Because it's so light, Prince is hard to see on the skin. Also, you'll need to do a lot of sluicing as its thickness clogs up your razor.

Here's what I'm using...

Dreamwash is a shower smoothie, aka a creamy, uber moisturizing soap for your skin. Here's the thing about shower smoothies: technically, they're just like shower gels but in my opinion, you need to use a lot more to feel clean. I exchanged the Almond Coconut Smoothie for another bottle of my Daddy-O shampoo, but then Michael told me how bright my skin looked every time I used the smoothie. Dilemma. So I picked up DW-- a lavender smoothie that should help my skin's bumps and redness-- with the express purpose to use it like a body conditioner: sparingly and making it last. So that's my plan.

I know I talked about The Big Tease back in February but I'm still 100% in love with this hair product. It's clean, is my favorite scent of all, and truly boosts my fine blond locks. I've had it since mid-January and look how much is left! I'm just about halfway.

A couple things we had trouble with... The shampoo bars. Michael tried a couple and one, which was meant for cancer patients trying to grow back their hair, overstimulated his scalp so much that his hair started falling out! The second one he tried worked well but didn't produce the results of Curly Wurly. This is why asking questions is key.

Yes, Lush products are expensive up front. But looking at the big picture, they last much longer than normal shower gels. I'm almost halfway thru my $30 bottle of Happy Hippy Shower Gel that I got in December-- I only need a dime sized amount and shower once a day. Fortunately, I have a husband who shares my desire for better living and taking care of our skin now so we look amazing when we're 70. Investing in such products makes me want to invest in myself to not only look healthy on the outside but also on the inside, as well as wanting to do my part to reduce my carbon footprint. These are all baby steps but every penny I put toward products and companies that benefit this world is a VOTE toward more companies following suit. 

Dark Shadows

My review comes a bit late-- especially considering I saw the movie last Sunday-- but I felt it was necessary to share my opinion anyway.
DISCLAIMER: this review is my opinion and I am in no way claiming my words are fact. Please don't be offended if you disagree: we can still be friends.

For those of you who missed the trailer, Dark Shadows is an adaptation of the TV series (never saw it) and follows the story of Barnabus Collins, a man cursed to be a vampire by a woman he spurned and who happened to be a witch. Brings a new meaning to that "hell hath no fury" business, doesn't it?

Anyway, Barnabus gets locked in a coffin for 200 years while the witch continues to curse his descendants over the generations. Once accidentally released in 1972, he returns to bring honor and prosperity back to his family, fight the witch, etc etc. It's directed by Tim Burton (Alice in Wonderland, Edward Scissorhands) and stars Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer, Helena Bonham Carter and other actors whose films I've enjoyed but the names escape me. Full cast listing here.

Basically, I want the $22 my husband and I spent to see the movie returned, and if time travel was a thing I'd ask for those 2 hours back as well. Don't misunderstand, Dark Shadows isn't a "bad" film in the normal sense of acting or production value. It's BORING, which is worse than cheesy films because you can't laugh off boring. The actors knew what they were doing and everything looked pasty with bright pops of color like a typical Burton film. However, the story also makes absolutely no sense.  As someone attempting to break into the Biz as a screenwriter, plot holes, inconsistencies, bad dialogue, and things that just plain don't make any sense are all visible to me when I watch films like Dark Shadows. For example, some questions come to mind:

How is Barnabus Collins able to have descendants in the first place when he never married or impregnated anyone and had no siblings that we know of? (that stuff should, by the rules of story telling, be explained)

What is the witch's motivation behind tormenting Barnabus's family? It's not like he knew or she was going to dig him up and tell him. So what's the point inflicting pain when your victim is ignorant of it in the first place?

**NOTE: I have WAY more points but won't reveal them here because they'd give away the rest of the film-- and that's just mean. Message me if you want to keep discussing the movie: Lord knows I LOVE discussions.

Anyway, something to understand about good film/TV: everything means something. A moment with a faulty projector screen remote will be the key to solving the murder. A woman asking for a second teapot not only implies the first one was poisoned but that she's also in far more danger than she knows. In DS, there's a moment at the beginning where Barnabus is researching the occult-- a completely pointless scene since his research leads to NOTHING, not discovering the witch, not becoming a vampire, not finding a way to dismantle the curse. The movie is filled with these moments... that I can't mention since it would spoil things. GAH!

While the film is supposed to have the theme of a family's unshakable bond, the most interesting relationship dynamic is between Johnny Depp and Eva Green (the witch). The family is royally dysfunctional-- which is fine-- but there's no indication of deeper love, loyalty, or connection despite their faults. It doesn't work. There's no chemistry between anyone-- not even Depp and his love interest-- which makes everything awkward.

Honestly, as portrayed by this AMAZING College Humor video, Tim Burton's Secret Formula of Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Danny Elfman, white makeup, black costumes, and a sweetly creepy scenario is TIRED. Separately, these people are extremely talented and when first brought together they created films we'd never experienced. Now it's been done (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) and redone (Alice in Wonderland) and re-redone (Sweeney Todd) and overdone (Dark Shadows). Actually, with the exception of Sweeney Todd which I did not see, I didn't like any of these films and would love to see Burton walk away from the tired muse of his wife and Depp and go back to other actors and produce films like Big Fish, Beetlejuice, and Batman. Yes, Burton loves his black & white motif with a horror theme, but this shit is getting redundant. Hell, my review is getting redundant because that's how ridiculous Dark Shadows was.

I had high hopes for the film, thought it would be funny and weird... not so much. Maybe next time?

In summary: Rent Dark Shadows, don't pay theater prices.

P.S. Helena Bonham Carter is quite beautiful. Check out her IMDB photo.

Breakfast Quinoa

Remember when Martha Stewart got sent to jail and the world thought that was the end of her empire? Little did they know Ms. Stewart would come back with a vengeance. And frankly, I'm glad she did otherwise I wouldn't have this fabulous quinoa recipe to share with you.

This is great for people who love Cream of Wheat but want something that's... you know... nutritious and will fill you up til lunch. Martha adds blueberries or you could use banana, strawberries, apples, peaches, and MAYBE mango-- any fruit that compliments the brown sugar and cinnamon. The thing about blueberries-- and if you've ever tried polishing off a carton of them you'd know-- is the flavor inconsistency: some taste sweet and perfect while others taste like feet. You're playing Russian roulette with your taste buds and it's a dangerous game.

To make this even healthier and experiment with a dairy-free option, I used unflavored almond milk and followed the directions like so. My friend Amanda-- the amazing woman who sent me the link in the first place-- made hers with soy milk. You have options, people!

Mmmmm.... creamy, sweet, nutty, and far better than Cream of Wheat. Did I mention how fast and easy (like a breakfast time hooker) this is?

On a side note: how amazing are these photos with my new iPhone 4S?! Still waiting on my overall ruling of the phone-- which I will review in the coming weeks-- but I heart the camera. 

Happy Cooking!!

Breakfast Quinoa (from Martha Stewart)

2 cups Almond Milk, original flavor

1 cup quinoa, rinsed

3 Tbsp light brown sugar, plus extra for garnish

1/8 Tsp ground cinnamon, plus extra for garnish

1 cup Fresh Blueberries (1/2 pint)-- or fruit of your choice-- plus extra for garnish

... and lots of LOVE for your body, your health, and your family :)

Bring milk to a boil in a small saucepan. Add rinsed quinoa, return to boil then reduce heat and let simmer, covered until most of the liquid is cooked down, about 15 minutes.

Add brown sugar and cinnamon, recover and let simmer 8 more minutes or until most of the liquid is gone. Toss in the blueberries and heat for 30 seconds. Serve with brown sugar, cinnamon, and more berries as garnish.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Squares

Every time I use the oven in our apartment it's as if I've called upon the heating power of the Sun. Now that it's averaging 85 outside, me making dishes like Mexican stuffed shells, Southwest Egg Rolls, and Hot Ham and Cheese buns is akin to baking myself with the food. And forget about cookies.

Dessert is a real issue because I have a ridiculous sweet tooth, strongly dislike store bought cookies and pastries, and certainly can't bake anything at the moment. What's a gal to do? Then I came across this Kraft recipe and heard the Hallelujah chorus singing the praises of a no-bake treat incorporating peanut butter and chocolate. So I had to try them.

Not only do these babies not use an oven, but you don't even need to use the stove! Just pop everything that needs melting (aka butter and chocolate) into the microwave. To make these SORT OF healthier, I used natural peanut butter consisting of peanuts and salt rather than a brand like Skippy, Kraft, or JIF filled with preservatives and sugar. If you keep yours in the fridge like I do, just microwave it for 10-15 seconds to soften.

One thing the recipe mentions is "precutting" or outlining squares in the melted chocolate before refrigerating. Me being an expert at cooking, I thought that was totally unnecessary and didn't follow directions so when it came time to cut them, the hardened chocolate caused a bunch of random breaks. Lesson learned.

How do they look?

Are you drooling yet? 

Yes, they taste as good as they look.

No-Bake Peanut Butter Chocolate Squares

1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
2 cups powdered sugar
1-1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 cup all-natural peanut butter
1-1/2 pkgs semi-sweet baking squares (12 squares total)

Line a 9x13 dish with foil, folding it over the sides.

Melt the butter in a large microwave safe bowl on HIGH for 45 seconds. If there are still chunks, continue melting at 10-20 second intervals.

Add powdered sugar, graham cracker crumbs, and peanut butter. Mix well. Use your hands if you need to... I did ;) Lay out and press down in the dish then let chill for a several minutes while you prepare the chocolate.

Unwrap and break all the squares in half. Put them all in another microwave safe bowl and cook on HIGH for 2-3 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds. Spread over peanut butter then precut squares in the soft chocolate. Refrigerate 1 hour then serve.

All Hail "The Sandwich"

There’s nothing better than a good sandwich. Okay so that might be an exaggeration but seriously, a good sandwich is priceless. The basic idea of sandwiches was GENIUS: use bread flavored with condiments to hold together meat, cheese, and (optional) vegetables. It’s easy to make, portable, and there are endless flavor combinations.

I didn’t always like sandwiches, though (gasp!). God love her, my mom made terrible sandwiches for school lunches, with the exception of peanut butter and jelly and tuna salad. I would thank my lucky stars for pizza nights because my parents would order enough to eat leftovers for lunch the next day!

For years, the sandwiches consisted of Miracle Whip, white bread, meat, and cheese. To me, any form of mayonnaise not disguised by a bunch of other ingredients is a sin: I still to this day NEVER use it as a condiment unless I’m making tuna sandwiches: my one exception. White bread—even from my uncle’s bakery—is not my first (or third or fifth) choice for bread: I’m a whole-wheat kinda gal.

So what’s wrong with meat and cheese? Well, nothing’s wrong with lunchmeat—I’m partial to ham and roast beef—and cheeses like Swiss and Provolone. However, my mom loved her olive loaf (yes that’s a real thing), pickle loaf (hated all things pickled until a couple years ago… and I’m still cautious around the “P” word), American cheese which is NOT cheese, and liver sausage: the worst food creation known to man. And if a sandwich consisting of white bread, a generous heap of mayo, and liver sausage wasn’t bad enough, my mom would slap on pickle relish—a condiment I have never and will never like. The Perfect Storm of nauseating sandwich horribleness.

Middle school hit and I demanded to make my own sandwiches, using mustard, ham or turkey, Swiss, and lettuce and tomato. There’s something about the crunch of fresh vegetables that make a sandwich delightful. My point? Good sandwiches are not easy. Some chefs claim it’s in the bread, others the ingredients, and others in the preparation (hot/cold/roasted/grilled)—I say it’s everything.

So what’s my favorite sandwich? Well, I could never decide on all the delicious restaurant options, but my favorite make-at-home amateur sandwich is Peanut Butter Honey and Banana on Wheat. Though I make a mean Panini and an even meaner grilled cheese, I could eat PBHB sandwiches pretty much every day. They’re sweet, salty, fruity: amazing.

How do you like your sandwiches? Are you as picky as I am? Do you hate them with every fiber of your being?