RING-AROUND-THE-ROSY

I received a few flowers this month and I love them! They look and smell so pretty. The only problem I have is I appreciate them so much that I can't bear to throw them away. So I usually keep flowers until they are dry and moldy and most likely hazardous to my and those around me's health (those around me's??? that's gotta be correct because it sounds so good). Eventually someone else throws them out because they're tired of finding dead petals on the floor and can't stand the hideous smell the flowers are now emitting.
So I offer the alternative of digital cameras and laptops if you want to buy me things. Which leads to my next point...not enough people buy me things.
xoxoxo

HEAR YE, HEAR YE

The sound on my computer has been broken for the last week or so and it has made me really appreciate my sense of hearing. If I couldn't hear I would have missed out on hearing the free donut chant and dance my nephews and niece did after I gave them their Krispy Kreme valentines (check em out here),


our roommate Danny Wilson play at an amazing birthday party with his band Moneypenny,



mingling with new friends and mixed tapes and masterpieces up in the Cottonwood Heights,



Walking into the airport at the same speed as the guy next to me who was on the moving sidewalk while the Bryan Adams song Everything I Do, I Do it For You was playing elevator style wondering if this meant he was my soulmate. Then realizing that whole scenerio was ridiculously disgusting.

PRAY FOR SNOW

What could a better day at work include besides sweet pow falling, snowboarding, and then a free lunch?! And I was getting paid for it all.
Makes me want to board more.
I'm ashamed to say I didn't make it up on the slopes once last season and this was my first time this year. Time for some make up work to the snow gods. Pray for a long season.
xoxoxo

INSIDE THOUGHTS

As I was going through the airport security today dropping a student off for work, the TSA guy took my passport, looked at the photo, stamped my escort pass, and made the comment "I liked you better as a brunette." To which I quickly took my passport back and replied, "I liked you better when you kept your opinion to yourself."
Who says that?!
It's like a cop pulling someone over on the road, looking at their license, and saying "Gee, this says you weigh 115 pounds but we both know that's not accurate now, is it."
Sometimes inside thoughts are meant to stay inside.

I HAVE A HEART ON...

I saw this Saturn commercial and it made me rethink the awesome things in life. Way to go on a rockin commerical. Here are my favorite things of the week:

My twin nephews had a 4 year old transformer birthday party. When I asked them whose party it was they both replied "ours" instead of "mine".


A little ironic to me...there was a 100 year old man working the express lane at Target.


My friend Shane hates Valentine's Day. After being told to buck up and be a good sport about it while at work, he disappeears for a few minutes to the back stock room, then returns pointing to a heart-shaped paper cut out taped to his shirt exclaiming, "I HAVE A HEART ON!" for everyone in the store to hear. GO ahead and say that phrase outloud to yourself if you didn't understand that laugh already.


Teaching my niece how to make fish faces and then asking for fish tacos from the cafe at an aquarium.




Witnessing the difference in cookies baked in the oven of friendship vs cookies baked in the oven of competition and contention. Aww geez this batch sucked. Jenny Baum & Deandra:1, Dads:0, cookie dough:2

WELCOME TO PROVO

After borrowing a car from his local neighborhood player, my friend Sean (straight from Maine) and I went out on a scavenger hunt to celebrate his first trip to the Provo/Orem area.

The first timer and I headed down State Street and directly to Krispy Kreme where he witnessed the awe of the donut conveyer belt. Being very careful not to get glaze in his moustache, he quickly munched on 2 free samples of the original glazed and 2 variety donuts and washed it down with a chug of 2%. The hungry fella curbed his sweet tooth all day just for this pit stop. While at the Krispy Kreme, we snapped some photos on our scavenger hunt list: with a b-day girl, eating a donut, and with a BYU student.

Getting onto the University Parkway and later Avenue, we continued our tour of Provo by passing the University and Provo Towne Centre malls, Movies 8 (home of 50 cent Tuesdays), the Provo temple, Rocky Canyon and it's park, the MTC (not empty sea), the BYU, UVSC, Wal-mart on Sandhill Road (perfect for late night student flirting), Neilson's Grove (where we rode the giant swing), Trafalga (ghetto putt putt), Geneva Steel (plug your nose), and the list/excitement goes on...

Our last stop was the Watson boarding house for some soup, a few more donuts, roommate time, and a movie.
Welcome to Provo Sean.

PASTA, PASSION, & PISTOLS

Saturday night, I was sent an invitation from my buddy Dan to attend a murder mystery dinner party hosted by our old friends Joe and Brenna Kennedy. Never done one of these before.
Here's the plot: Guiseppe(Pepi)Roni served up a mean plate of pasta until someone did him in. Now there's big trouble in Little Italy because 4 days ago he was found murdered in the kitchen of his renowned New York City eatery, La Sperenza. Pepi had been shot in the back with his own pistol. We gathered together to pay our respects and eat a feast of Italian food in his honor.

We were all instructed to dress up and play the roles of the devious suspects:

Rocco Scarfazzi: Pepi's twin brother, a tough-talking no-nonsense Italian business man. In addition to his vineyards and real estate holdings, it is rumored Rocco is in the 'laundering' business. He had no love for his brother Pepi but his reasons are his own ... capische?
Tara Misu: Rocco's vivacious young fiancé. She was just an upstairs maid in Rocco's villa until she swept him off his feet. Now Tara keeps a smile on his face and a firm grip on Rocco's assets. Tara is dressed to kill. She knows the effect she has on men and flaunts her charms shamelessly.


Mama Rosa: Pepi's grieving widow. For 25 years, Mama Rosa cooked the pasta while Pepi greeted La Sperenza's dinner guests. In all the years they were married, not once did they argue. Had something finally boiled over in Rosa's kitchen?
Marco Roni: Pepi and Mama Rosa's only son, Marco was expected to take over the restaurant after his parents retired. Marco hates waiting tables. His goal is to play on a World Cup soccer team but his papa has been keeping him permanently on the bench.

Bo Jalais: Cousin of a cousin of Rocco's, Bo manages the Scarfazzi vineyards. Bo comes from a long line of French wine-makers and no one knows 'ze' grape like Bo. An important man in the Scarfazzi organization .... what could Bo possibly have to whine about.
Angel Roni: Pepi and Rosa's beautiful daughter. It was Pepi's dream that his 'Angel' would marry a good Italian boy, have children and carry on the family traditions. Angel has a few fantasies of her own though and one of them is that hunk, Bo jalais. Mama-mia!

Father Al Fredo: An Italian priest and long-time family friend of the Roni's and the Scarfazzi's. The good priest has heard their confessions and knows their sins.
Clair Voyant: Rosa's best friend and astrology advisor. Clair's talents include an ability to communicate with the spirit world and see into the future.

Who done it? I cannot tell you. But I will say it was a blast to play. My character was Tara Misu. I had an affair with my fiance's twin brother, a rendevous with Bo at the restaurant, and an alibi the night of the murder with an old boyfriend. Everyone at the table said I was the perfect person to play that part...didn't know if I should say thank you or question them on the role of the flousy. Everyone's a suspect when murder is on the menu.

MY PERFECT BOYS

In honor of Valentine's Day, LOVE, and all that shiz...

BOYS: Take notes from these dudes
GIRLS: Find these guys and don't ever let them go

AVOID THE CLAP

Brian, an old country dancing friend, invited me to go with him to Kingsbury Hall last night to enjoy an evening of Riverdance. It was a spectacular show filled with a live band, singers, flamenco soloist, tappers, drummers, russian ballet dancers, and of course the riverdancers.


While performers were on stage, they would start clapping encouraging the audience to clap along. Great...that's fun...get involved in the show and feel the energy. Most of the old people would continue to clap for the entire piece even after the majority of the audience and performers have stopped and they would start clapping in the middle of a performance. Now I know sometimes there is a break after a person is dancing and doing something extraordinary so the audience can clap, but these people were going crazy and clapping so much that they were ruining the purpose of listening to the stomps on the floor of the dance (that sound is what makes you realize they are moving so incredibly fast). Or some audience members were clapping during the solo making it so I couldn't hear the jamming. HELLO--you're kind of ruining the show. There is a time to clap and a time to listen. Please be wise in choosing when is the appropriate time for each.
xoxoxo
PS this show made me miss Ireland. sigh.

FUNNY BOY

To end my Sundance experience I went to a Best of Fest film in SLC Monday (thanks again Jimmy for the tickets), finally hung out with Sean at the Porcupine (weed smell and Ebay lessons included for free), and went to a comedy show at Wiseguys in West Valley where my new friend Brian from the newfrontier performed a bit. Check out his stuff at homelesscomic.com.

The headliner of the comedy show that night was Jeff Dye, a ridiculously good looking seacocks fan from Seattle, WA. Listen to him...he's funny and stuff. We searched fields for clovers, sipped Starbucks, shopped for manly hair product, and celebrated black history month/Kwanzaa with black movie night together.
In between the fun, I went with Brady to Shoots for Chinese burritos (good gosh those are delicious) and my second round of PS I Love You. Made me miss Ireland, but I've received news that some English lads might come visit soon.
The point of this blog...I'm not sure...I just had a good week. Click on the links and listen to the funny boys.
xoxoxo

WE THANK THEE, O GOD, FOR A PROPHET

Gordon B. Hinckley, prophet and president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, passed away last night at age 97. I received the news through several text messages while at work.
President Hinckley was the man! click here to read all the amazing things he accomplished in his many years on this earth. If I could do like 8.9% of all of his accomplishments, I'd be the raddest girl you knew. He was incredible. I was able to attend the Draper Temple groundbreaking ceremony in 2006 with my black girlfriend Michelle, Pres. Hinckley, and the Twelve and it was an experience I'll never forget.

We thank thee, O God, for a Prophet
To guide us in these latter days;
We thank thee for sending the Gospel
To lighten our minds with its rays.

On a side note, if I die soon I want the songs If I Ever Leave This World Alive by Flogging Molly and Baby Blue by George Strait played at my funeral. I also don't want everybody to be sitting around crying. Sure, put up an open mic and everybody can say good things about me...if you can't think of any go ahead and make some up. Then throw in some greased pig wrestling and pizza or something. And put together a slideshow because I have lots of photos from this world, that's for sure.
xoxoxo

SECOND DATES

.......Next few days.......

(Thurs & Fri Jan 24-25, 2008)

I had a date with a bottle of Nyquil and bag of cough drops Thursday. It went so well, I decided to try it again Friday night. But Friday I did rise from my bed and travel to Park City to meet Jimmy Hu at the Filmmaker Lounge (director guy in photo from Day2) to get tickets to a film coming up on Monday. I was also supposed to meet my new friend Sean(from the Broken film Day1) but he called and couldn't make it up. Jimmy took me into the New Frontier Lounge where I was in awe of the technology genious around me. I made a friend at the information desk and Jimmy bought me a hot cup of herbal tea because I sounded like Marge Simpson's sisters Patty & Thelma. He was sick also from "too much partying" and the cold, cold Park City air. So we called it a night. Don't remember much else.

FESTIVALING ON

As mentioned from the Sunday story, Jenny and I scored red carpet tickets from director Al Massad to see his film Recycle, so we headed up to Park City again. I grabbed some cold medicine on the way because I was feeling a little under the weather...nothing bad just a little congested.
We park and walk like 3 blocks to the theater, not realizing there was a shuttle or a parking lot at the local Albertson's grocery store nearby. Don't worry we stopped halfway between the theater and our spot at the local 7-11 to warm up under the hand dryer in the restroom.

HOW ANYONE CAN LIVE IN PARK CITY AND NOT DIE FROM THE FREEZING TEMPS IS A MYSTERY TO ME.




Upon entering the theater we were seated with the director's entourage. Pretty sweet. The film was grand. Go here to read about it. After giving our director friend a hug and high-5, we braved the cold on our walk past our car to Main Street. Good gosh it must have been like 2 degrees F. Jenny and I stalled until Patrice showed up and then we met our 3 friends from Sunday that we met in the Director's Lounge at Irie for some Cajun dinner. Nice boys from Biola University in LA. The conversation was spicy and the food was never dull. After promising maybe a midnight movie this weekend or breakfast before they go back to LA, we girls headed home to Provo...a drive that is becomingly beautifully routine it seems.

DEAL OR NO DEAL

.......End of part 2...Intermission...End of intermission...PART 3........

Day 3 (Tuesday, Jan 22, 2008)
That's right, Jenny, Dane, and I decided to recover from Day 2 of Sundance festivaling by taking Monday off and came back up on Tuesday night with the hopes of getting into a party for the movie The Deal. Only problem was we couldn't make in the door. Our friend Keith Fox tried his best. But, alas, tonight was a bust. All we got was some sticky gum and hot chocolate on Main Street then we headed to Albertson's to drown our sorrows in some gatorade, deli wraps, and gummy worms. Sorry no big stories today.

PARIS HILTON & THE SUNDANCE KIDS

......Part two........
DAY 2 (Sunday, Jan 20, 2008)
After accepting my new calling to the party class at church Jenny, Hannah, and I decided strolling along Main Street would be a great roommate sabbath activity. Little did we know what the night held for us...

We arrived at the Director's Lodge and I suggested we go in. The security was real tight--
security thug: do you have a badge?
me: no
thug: uh...ok go in, I guess
but we managed to make it in just in time for wine and mini hors d'oeuvres (which meant water and raisinettes from a bowl for us Mormon girls). Met a few directors and film students who we will rendezvous with in later blogging.


We leave and continue on our journey up Main running into a crazy space cadet man who interviewed us about buying real estate (www.wellcomemat.com look for us on the site maybe), free cucmber water at an art gallery, an australian with a fuzzy pink shirt and amazing eyes looking for a cheeky drink, chocolate bananas on sticks, a celeb or two, free gorgeous watches, one of our director friends Al Massad who gave us red carpet tickets to his film premiere Recycle on Wednesday...then our friend Dane.



Dane had been waiting with fellow fans for Paris to come out of Fred Segal. I was just interested in warming my hands and feet. So we walked around the Green Room. While I was standing around an outside heater some guys come walking out of a private party saying "Keith Fox is leaving so there is no point in trying to get in to the party anymore folks." I chime in and tell Keith I love him. He responds with a thank you. My friend go inside to use the bathroom and we run into the same gentlemen leaving the party with Keith. I say, "Keith, we meet again. And those are ridiculous gloves you're wearing." He shows them to me and describes how they help him climb things like spiderman... Then one of his friends mentions something about Modesto, CA. How many people know about Modesto?! So I jump into the conversation. Before I know it the guys are walking away and inviting us to go to Erik's party with them. I shrug my shoulders and we pile into a club wagon musical taxi full of christmas lights, glowing lips, a disco ball, and a driver ready to play any song we requested. Later in the night we requested the same musical taxi and discovered there was karaoke and fun masks in there too.


So we play at Erik's and dance up a storm there making new friends, eating pizza, and taking more photos. Thank you Erik.



We leave with our friends to their condo they are renting for $15,000 for 5 days at Deer Valley. Eat some pizza, get ready for the next party, sit by the fire...it's all pretty relaxing.



Dane and I go on a mission to move our cars so they don't get towed at 2am...lame parking enforcement...and make it back as our crew is loading the musical taxi again to head to the Green Door Mansion for a party where we hung with Paris Hilton, grabbed some free designer Chip & pepper denim, played some indoor basketball, rapped with Cisco Adler and danced on the table until 5am because we were snowed in and no taxis could come up to take us home.
Our Hollywood friends blogged about us and posted a picture with Dane and Paris here...hooray for the local Mormons...only sober people at 5am and still partying.
Barely making it back to the condo and to our cars covered in snow we realized there was no way we could make it out until the roads had been plowed. So we stuck around and I borrowed some socks so I could sleep for about an hour and a half before braving the roads back to Provo. Wake me up because I must be dreaming...how in the world did that night ever happen?!
Read up on Dane's version of the night on his blog also.

SUN-DANCING WITH THE STARS

.............PART 1...........

"Just heard about some music festival you have there today on the news. What is this?" What?! I received that text from my friend Wayne in England. How could he possibly have heard about the Sundance Film Festival in Utah all the way in England?! I had to find out more. So I put on my snow boots, wool coat, and hat and packed up the crew to find out how big the Sundance Film Festival really is...PARK CITY HERE WE COME.





FIRST NIGHT (Saturday, Jan 19, 2008)
David Rampton came all the way from Cali to hit the scene. Senses telling me it might be big. Patrice, Jenny Baum, and I meet Dane, Danny Wilson, Katie G, Patrick, Jessica Brothers, and some other girl friend for sushi on Main Street after parking at Deer Valley and shuttling down. OK so parking signs are out...doesn't mean it's big just means it's crowded. After dinner with our lovely waiter Will (who had amazing hair... so amazing I asked permission to touch it), we grabbed some hot chocolate and went to get numbers to wait to buy tickets to see a movie at midnight...that was a mouth full. Met some boys along the way from Estonia, Latvia, and Oregon all in town JUST for the festival. OK learned some phrases from their various native tongue. As we were waiting for the film to start we went inside a mall to stay warm. The power went out on Main. The bets started among the girls to sell our kisses for $1 to strangers (a great way to pay for the $10 movie ticket in my opinion and to meet new people). Final score- deanna: $4.25, a slice of pizza, and a wristband to a party hosted by Quicksilver. Other girls: $0. Looks like deanna wins again. Once we escaped the wait line run by friendly staff Eric and John McNally, we made it in to the theater to see the show The Broken (yes my movie was paid for by the end of the night). Good gosh the only thing scarier than the film we saw were the people on the same row who wouldn't move down 1 seat to allow me to sit with my friends. One seat! And they wouldn't move their legs for me to get by to sit on the other side of them...beasts! However, it proved to be to my advantage because as I walked around the row I made friends with two lovely fellows sitting in front of me who got my digits. There really are people like that out there...

ACROSS MY UNIVERSE

Not sure how I hadn't heard a thing about this film, but 50 cent Tuesday came around and I went with the roommate Danny Wilson to see Across the Universe. At first, I was skeptical wondering if this was like a High School Musical set to Beatles songs. In the middle I was a little confused. By the time it ended, I walked out of the theater in love with this film. It might be because I believe the Beatles were music gurus, because I just returned from London and am smitten by the English accent (Jude is just gorgeous), or maybe because the cinematography was grand...oh and the love story behind it all was super too. Hopefully this show crosses your universe one day.
xoxoxo

POSH TUBING

The new ward sprung for us all to go to Soldier Hollow to go sledding. Now this isn't your average type of sledding...this is choose your tube, hook it on to a pulley and they PULL YOU up the mountain, then you sit down and sled on the man made tracks. Maybe not as adventurous as finding some steep hill and building jumps to go off but hey, we can be posh. Tubing is tubing.
xoxoxo

ROOMMATES ASSEMBLE

New roommates mean new rules. So after a roommate council held at the Chuck A Rama, we transcribed a document, signed it in blood (or red dry erase marker), signed it in ink, and sealed the deal with a chug of the pink catawba straight from the bottle. ROOMMATES ASSEMBLE!
xoxoxo

TWO-OH-OH-EIGHT

Time for a new year and where better to celebrate than LAS VEGAS?! We drove there Monday night, some hit the craps tables while others walked the strip with a video camera, we made new friends, kissed lots of boys, drank some sparkling cider, and hit the pillow at about 5am just to drive back home the next day (after a great buffet in Mesquite, of course).

2007 was full of new friends, new continents, new loves, new jobs, new looks, new rules, new residences, and new knowledge. May 2008 bring the same and more to all who read this...and plenty of new blogs. deanna loves you!
xoxoxo

NOLLAIG SHONA DUIT

...That's how they say it in Irish.
Christmas at the Watson's in the states 2007. It was full of snow, zoo lights, presents, family, far away friends, egg nog, gingerbread houses, city lights, and fun.
xoxoxo

EUROPE, EURDOWN, EUR-BACK

One month later and I'm back in the states from my holiday with Jenny Baum. Europe is amazing but I must say God Bless the USA! Short recap...

IRELAND: Lots of time in the pubs, sausage, castles, trying to go to the American Embassy on Thanksgiving in hopes of a turkey meal but being turned away because it was closed due to the American holiday so we ate Mexican porkchops instead, pineapple juice and redbull, 33 1/3 (said tirty tree and a turd), my face exploding to the size of a soccer ball, Irish family, driving on the wrong side of car and road (hard to shift gears), taxis, Guinness, dirty humor (lifts vs rides), stopping traffic to photograph ourselves walking in the crosswalk at Abbey Road...several times, Grandma & Donald, and hot firefighters on Grafton Street.

LONDON: amazing English accents (I'm smitten), rain, Big Ben, Days Inn hotels, Underground and minding the gap, fish & chips, more rain, 1 pound= $2, tea, theater, meeting our American friend, stealing towels from Buckingham Palace, telephone booths, the Queen, A to Zed books, Bee movie premiere with Jerry Seinfeld, SPICE GIRLS returning, Sherlock Holmes ale, and sneaking photos in the National Gallery.

PARIS: not having a place to sleep in London so we rode the coach for 8 hours through the night spent the day in Paris then slept on the coach the next night, Louvre closed, trying to order food at McDonald's in French (c'est tout ce que j'aime), Notre Dame, baguettes, Eiffel Tower sparkling at night, and Ed Hardy.

SAN FRANCISCO: family in Modesto, visit to Tracy, In N Out, nachos with the fam, jingle dog, 5th grade crush, delivering Christmas gifts to dental offices, TV, real showers, Golden Gate Bridge, Pier 39, sourdough bread, Lombard Street, HOJO with breakfast on Deanna but not ON deanna, sea lions, See's Candies, and drive through convenience stores in San Bruno.

WATSON, DEANNA WATSON

Since I'm leaving for Ireland in two days for a whole month and won't be able to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday (what kind of a country doesn't celebrate Thanksgiving?!), I decided to post things I'm thankful for.
These are a few of my favorite things:

xoxoxo