Words to Live By

I have to admit that I tend to get writer's block with what to write about on here. I have lots of ideas running around in my head most days, but then I think "will anyone actually want to read that?" I've always been a fan of collecting quotes. When you can't think of how to say something well, why not find a famous quote that says it better? I used to keep a journal of quotes that I liked so that I wouldn't forget them. But now I have Pinterest for that... ahhh the wonders of technology. 


So in lieu of my own words, here's some of my favorite quotes that I've found lately. 

Source: lindawagner.net via Jessica on Pinterest

Source: 28.media.tumblr.com via Jessica on Pinterest

Source: sarahbear9708.tumblr.com via Jessica on Pinterest

Source: handletteringcite.wordpress.com via Jessica on Pinterest

I hope these provide you encouragement as they have to me. What are some of your favorite quotes? Please share in the comments!


~Jess

St. Patrick's Day at a Tyler Hilton concert

Instead of drinking green beer at the Shamrock Festival on St. Patrick's Day, I opted for a more low-key night at a coffee shop/music venue. And it turned out to be my best St. Patty's day yet! On Friday, I saw one of my fav. singers Tyler Hilton tweet that he was on a bus back to Nashville but was then headed to San Diego to play a show. I quickly googled his tour dates and saw that he was playing a small venue called Lestat's. And even more exciting was that he was doing a meet and greet before the concert! I quickly purchased my ticket, which was only $25!! What a deal!

I first became a Tyler Hilton fan from the show One Tree Hill, which has turned me on to some of my favorite artists. The show which is now on it's ninth and final season has always played amazing music and showcased up-and-coming artists. Tyler plays a musician on the show named Chris Keller and gets to play a lot of his music. He was frequently on the show in the early seasons, but wasn't on much in recent years.  I was so happy when they brought him back as a season regular for the final season! And to top it off, he had new music to play!!

Tyler's new album Forget the Storm comes out on April 3rd. Based off of the few tracks he's released, and what I heard at Saturday's concert, this album was worth the wait!! Tyler explained during the concert how the album was a long time coming, and it was difficult to put out the music that he wanted to while on a major label. So he started his own indie label called Hooptie Tune Records. That says a lot about an artist when they believe so much in making great music that they leave the security of a major label and risk it all to get their music heard.

When Saturday night rolled around, I arrived early to Lestat's and grabbed a spiced chai tea latte and peanut butter cookie (didn't have time to eat dinner, so that would have to do!) from their coffee shop. I'm definitely going back there to hang out! It's open 24 hours, and is a really cool spot! Attached to the coffee shop is the small concert venue. I staked out my place in line and quickly made friends with some nice girls in line behind me.

I was glad I got there early, because when the doors finally opened, I was one of the first 10 people inside. I grabbed a seat in the first row right in front of the stage. Then to my surprise, Tyler came and sat down right in front of me on the stage and started chatting to us all. I knew it was a meet and greet, but I kind of expected him to be behind a table signing autographs like most meet and greets are. But this was a very casual venue and a small crowd. It spoke volumes to the what a nice guy Tyler is that he would spend the time to talk to everyone there, take pictures, and sign autographs. I told him that I lived in North Carolina for awhile, and while in Wilmington I saw many of the spots where they film One Tree Hill. He asked if I saw Chris Keller's cd store (which I sadly didn't) and then joked that it's now some kind of gift shop. He was so easy going and fun to talk to. Here's my autograph and picture with him.

The meet and greet was only suppossed to last 30 minutes, but it lasted about an hour as Tyler made sure to talk to everyone. Then a young girl named Savannah Philyaw opened for him. Apparently, last year on St. Patrick's Day she played her first ever public performance opening for Tyler there at Lestat's. She was really sweet and reminded me a bit of Taylor Swift. She too is a young blonde, plays guitar and writes her own music. I would guess that she's still in high school. I hope she gets a big break like Taylor Swift did because she definitely had some great potential.

Tyler's guitars after he tuned them up in the sound check.

Then Tyler played an amazing set, for over an hour! He played some old favorites and a lot of his new songs from his upcoming album. I have to say that he's even BETTER in person! I will try to post the videos I took from my iPhone soon. I just got my first iPhone a week ago and I love it! While getting a pedicure, my Droid fell out of my lap and into the bath of water... oops! But it was a good excuse to finally join the iPhone world. I kind of wish I broke my phone sooner, because I love it!! Anyhoo... back to the concert.

Tyler sings with so much emotion and heart in his voice. And his lyrics are incredible. I could listen to him all day :) And what makes me an even bigger fan is how humble and nice he is. He had us laughing between songs with stories. Before playing one of his more well known songs, he recounted getting excited at a karaoke bar that the song was in the book. He then sang the song at the bar -- and joked that because he's not that well known he can get away with singing his own songs at karaoke. He then said, "But J.Lo could never do that!"

One of my favorite songs that he played at the concert was on One Tree Hill's season premeire this year, called Loaded Gun. It's on his new album, and I'm in love with it! Here's Tyler belting it out -

And here's a short video of the song from a scene in OTH -

After the concert, Tyler didn't run backstage, but stayed to chat with everyone some more. We talked about the Carolinas and how we both missed it. I had such an incredible time and can't wait to go to another of his concerts. He's coming back at the end of May to play the House of Blues in San Diego. I will definitely be going! So on the off chance that Tyler actually reads this (you best believe I'm tweeting the link to him!), thank you so much for an amazing show and for taking the time to hang with us. I wish you all the best in your music career and with your new label. Thanks for making honest and GREAT music.

~Jess

Monday Musings: Invisible Children and the KONY 2012 campaign

Unless you've been living under rock and don't use social media, you've probably heard about the KONY 2012 video by Invisible Children. It was posted last Tuesday, and instantly went viral. The 30 minute film whose primary goal is to raise awareness about Uganda's Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) leader Joseph Kony and make him a household name, has gotten over 74 million views on YouTube. With such publicity comes speculation and questions. Don't believe everything you hear that is critiquing the non-profit. Invisible Children responded with a very well written piece on their website, I suggest reading it. 

When I first heard about the LRA and Joseph Kony I was mortified at this injustice and treatment of tens of thousands of Ugandan children. For more than two decades, Joseph Kony’s tactics of war have been brutal. Kony and the LRA have abducted more than 30,000 children in northern Uganda. He has forced children to kill their parents or siblings. He abducted girls to be sex slaves for his officers. At the height of the conflict in Uganda, children “night commuted” to avoid abduction. Every evening they would leave their homes and walk miles to the city centers. Hundreds of children would sleep in school houses, churches, or bus depots to avoid abduction by the LRA. The LRA left Uganda for good in 2006 when the Juba Peace Talks began. Since 2008, they have continued their attacks in the border regions of northeastern Congo, South Sudan, and Central African Republic.

Invisible Children began after a group of Southern Californian students went to Uganda in 2003 to film the conflict. What they discovered was the catalyst for forming the non-profit. Their mission as stated on their website is to stop LRA violence and support the war-affected communities in East and Central Africa. The three ways they achieve this mission are:

1) Make the world aware of the LRA. This includes making documentary films and touring them around the world so that they are seen for free by millions of people.
2) Channel energy from viewers of IC films into large-scale advocacy campaigns to stop the LRA and protect civilians.
3) Operate programs on the ground in LRA-affected areas that provide protection, rehabilitation and development assistance.

I had the great pleasure of hearing the founders of Invisible Children speak at the 2010 Classy Awards in San Diego, which honors achievements by non-profits. They won the nationwide award for Most Effect Awareness Campaign. You can read my post about the night here. I went up to one of the guys afterwards, and told them about Ruined, a play my theatre had coming up about abuse of women in the Congo. I told them that we'd love to have them attend the Opening Night. Then our fabulous marketing team got them involved as community partners for the play and one performance helped raise money for Invisible Children. I had the pleasure of meeting the Co-founder and Filmmaker Jason Russell and Chief Operations Officer Chris Carver at the Opening Night of Ruined. Since then I've been a huge fan of this non-profit and what they stand for. If you have not watched the video, GO WATCH IT NOW! It will open your eyes and definitely make them tear up. 

Jason Russell (left) and Chris Carver (right) at the Ruined Opening Night party.

Photo by Daniel Norwood Photography

Monday Musings: Time Flies

I will try to make this a regular Monday post, with my musings for the day. 

Musing: noun
1. Contemplation; meditation.
2. A product of contemplation; a thought. 

I've been thinking a lot lately about how fast time goes by. My 10 year high school reunion will be this fall. (How did that happen?) I'm helping to plan it, and it's so crazy to think I was in high school a decade ago! I've stayed close with many of my high school friends, and I am so lucky to have friends like them that have been a part of my life for so long. I've now been to many of their weddings and some have even had babies. It doesn't seem like that long ago we were gossiping about boys and picking out dresses for the Prom.

Me and my best girlfriends at Senior Prom (I'm the short one on the far left.)

I'm really excited to see my friends in October and catch up with people that I haven't seen since graduation. Being from a small town, I see a lot of childhood friends when I'm home for the holidays. But as we've gotten older and moved further away, I see less and less of them. But no matter how long it's been, we always catch up where we left off. That's the wonderful thing about old friends.

My brother Nick is graduating from Clemson, my alma mater, in a few monthes. It's very hard to believe it's been 6 years since my college graduation. I'm flying back to South Carolina in May for the big event. It will be kind of surreal to see him walk across the same stage I crossed, what doesn't seem that long ago. It's been so fun to see him have many of the same college experiences that I had - from football games, campus ministry, a Spring Break trip to Germany, to the same college bars. And now to see him graduate! I'm really lucky to have had the education and college experience that I did. And I made some lifelong friends along the way. 

And it's also hard to believe that almost two years have passed since I made the trip across country to move to San Diego. I find myself sometimes willing time to slow down. I get so caught up in the day to day, that before I know it a month has passed, then several, and then a whole year. Time is a precious thing and there's never enough of it. But it's important to be thankful for the time we do have and try to make it count as much as possible. I find that I all too often say that I'll get around to doing things. So, my resolution this year is to actually get around to them! There's no time like the present.


I find sometimes that a song, a picture or conversation can make those old times feel like they just happened. This is one of my favorite songs, I Go Back by Kenny Chesney. 

What are some of your favorite high school or college memories? 

20 Things You May Not Know About Me

Even though most of my readers know me pretty well (Hi Mom!), I thought I'd share 20 things that people may not know about me. 

1. The house I grew up in Fredericksburg, VA since I was two years old (which my parents still live in) is 120 years old. I was convinced growing up it was haunted and used to freak my friends out with ghost stories and Ouija boards when they slept over. But I don't doubt that it actually may be.

The house all lit up for Christmas.

2. I'm seriously scared of spiders.

3. I'm a perfectionist.

4. I want to write historical fiction one day. Stories that are tied to art of the Italian Renaissance and the people depicted in famous paintings.

5. Growing up I was obsessed with collecting things. I had massive collections of Pogs, stickers, Pez dispenzers and Tweety Bird collectables. My Dad and I started a major coin collection together when I was about ten. The coins are the only collection that still exists.

6. I am a pack rat. I save just about every letter, birthday card and memento given to me. I love to go back and read them from time to time. I hardly get rid of anything, except for Pogs and Pez dispensers.

7. I've been to 12 European countries and 28 US States. Mostly in college and on 3 cross-country drives. I studied music in Eastern Europe in the summer of 2004 and backpacked through Germany in 2005. 

In a German train station with my Lutheran Campus Ministry group.

8. One of my goals is to see most of the places in the book 1000 Places to See Before You Die. I'm almost to 100. I wish I could travel for a living.

9. I don't eat red meat. The last hamburger I had was when I was 8. I mostly eat things that once had wings or came from the ocean.

10. On that note I LOVE sushi. I could eat it every day. But I didn't try it until my 20th birthday.

11. My middle name is Marie after my Grandmother, Stella Marie. I miss her dearly.

12. My Grandmother Irma (my Dad's mother) was the great grand-daughter of William Henry Seward who was Secretary of State under President Lincoln. He purchased Alaska for the US in 1867. His desk stayed in our family and now I have it in my apartment.

Grandma and me sometime in the early 80's. I also miss her dearly.

13. I giggle a lot when I get nervous talking to someone.

14. I've caught two bouquets at friends' weddings but am nowhere near walking down an aisle myself. I think that I'll be one of last of my friends to get married. And I'm okay with that.

15. I've never minded going out to eat or seeing a movie by myself. I like my own company sometimes. But it's always more fun with a friend or significant other of course :)

16. It never fails that I will cry at sappy things. Especially during Extreme Home Makeover and Lifetime movies.

17. I usually read 3 or more books at a time. I like the variety.

18. I love to scrapbook, but I rarely finish an entire one.

19. My teen crushes were Jonathan Taylor Thomas (BOP posters covered my walls) and Taylor Hanson. Yes, I admit I was a HUGE Hanson fan. MMMBop was catchy.

20. When I was a child, I wanted to become an archeologist when I grew up. I've always been fascinated with history. When my parents built a patio, I dug in my backyard for fun. Fredericksburg, VA has a Civil War battlefield and soldiers marched through my backyard. I found pottery and even some Civil War bullets. We gave it all to the local historical society.

So, that's me in a nutshell. Thanks for reading!

Superbowl Commercials

I did a little facelift on the blog, hope you like it! I'm not a huge football fan (unless Clemson is playing of course!) so I really only watched the Superbowl for the commercials. And Madonna. I was happy to see the Giants win. My Dad's family are New Yorkers so I grew up cheering for them. It's always fun to see the underdog win. And to see Tom Brady cry. 

Here's a few of my favorite commercials - enjoy! 

1. E*Trade talking baby - "I'm speed dating!" I died laughing! Something is just hilarious about a baby talking like an adult.

2.  Acura NSX commercial with Jerry Seinfeld and Jay Leno. Lots of great references to Seinfeld like the Soup Nazi. 

3. The Voice - It premiered after the Super Bowl and I can't believe I didn't watch last season! I love this show! And the commercial with an appearance by Betty White was classic. She just had her 90th Birthday and she's still got a thriving career. I want to be her someday.  

 

4. M&Ms - I love their marketing people, the commercials are always a riot. This featured Ms. Brown M&M who the red M&M thought was naked. He then strips off his shell to "I'm sexy and I know it." 

5. Uncle Jesse aka John Stamos makes a Superbowl cameo appearance in this Dannon commercial for greek yogurt. Is just me or does he get better looking with age?!?

6. And last but last least of my favorites, the Sketchers commercial with the French bulldog racing with greyhounds - in mini Sketchers. Mainly I just like that they replaced Kim Kardashian as their spokesperson with a bulldog. 

And I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Madonna's halftime performance. I thought it was a big improvement from years past, but watching her flip around stage in semi-slow motion was a little awkward. And what was with Cee Lo in a sequined moo-moo during Like a Prayer? I think my favorite part was that crazy rope dancing bit. It's hard to hate on the performance too much though, because she's freaking Madonna. All and all she rocked it. 

What were your fav. commercials of the night? 

First Friday of February

It's the first Friday of February (that's a lot of alliteration) and I can't believe January is already gone. Is it just me, or the older we get, the faster time goes by? And in San Diego, where the weather doesn't vary much, it feels like one long season. Don't get me wrong, sunny and 72 degrees in the beginning of February - I'll take that over having an actual winter anytime!

Some things I'm looking foward to this month:

• A friend's 30th Birthday party at the Hard Rock Hotel tomorrow night!
• The Opening Night for La Jolla Playhouse's last show of the 2011-2012 season, American Night.
• The Oscars, and the viewing party my friends are hosting at their house on the beach. I won the Oscar poll at their party last year, so hopefully I can predict the winners well this year!
• Watching the rest of the Academy Award Best Picture nominated films. I've seen 4 1/2 of the 9 nominated films - Moneyball got boring and I turned it off halfway through. Still to see - War Horse, The Tree of Life, Hugo and The Artist.
• Getting one extra day, it's a leap year!