TIFF2011…Celebrity for a day, or 3 :-)

Just thinking about our trip to Toronto last week makes me smile all over my face. When I say it was a much needed sabbatical for The Man and me, I REALLY MEAN IT! I honestly believe we accomplished all we set out to do (and then some) and couldn’t have asked for a better group of hosts while being ushered around the city and treated like ROCK STARS. Thanks to our dear friend John Davidson, as well as his kick-ass staff at sonaBlast! Records Canada…..Barbara, Lindsay, Rob….Y’all were the lifeblood of our adventure for certain!  A big shout out also goes to all the talented new musical artists (Chloe Charles, Kyle James Hauser, THE NORTH) we added to our inner circle. And let me not forget to thank Samantha Gutstadt with RealTVFilms and Chrissy Newton from VOCAB Communications  for their extreme hospitality in the SocialMediaLodge gifting suite. A huge shout out to Andrea Burridge with Mereadesso Woman. She hooked me up with the most amazing product (Face + Neck Toning Gel) from her skin care line. Last but not least, I must thank Wendy and Tanya from Inspire Cosmetics, another wonderful line of yummy beauty enhancers. They whisked me into the make-up chair and had me camera ready in no time! I felt like such a celebrity, and when you are a mommy like me, that’s always nice….lol. Also, big props to The Drake Hotel and The Football Factory for being such amazing venues. If you are ever in Toronto, go to both of these fine establishments. You will be welcomed with open arms…..just tell them John Davidson’s folks from LA sent you. Of course, I’m sure I’ve left some people out, as I am still going through biz cards, putting names with memories of faces. At any rate, I can’t wait to host all of y’all down here in La La Land! I might even be able to make you some poutine 🙂

This photo says it all. Me dancing on stage with a FUNK BAND. Crossing that off my bucket list now.

 

Soul of a lion

Arriving in Los Angeles 15 years ago, I started chasing a dream. I haven’t stopped. Along the way, other dreams….ones I didn’t realize I had, have come true. Getting married to an amazing man, becoming a mother 3 times over, doing charity work…..even being on a bunch of game shows 🙂 Had you asked me when I first arrived what I believed my proudest moment would be, I probably would have said something selfish like “when I book my first big role” or even sillier, “when I win an Oscar”. Obviously, moments of personal pride, such as marriage and births, can’t be compared. However, I can honestly say even if those selfish, silly things eventually happen, my proudest “industry” moment to date, was last Tuesday night, September 6, 2011, sitting in the Arclight Cinerama Dome in Hollywood watching the premiere of Lionsgate’s film WARRIOR. A movie my entire family had the absolute privilege to work on. My husband, Christian Minkler, did the post production sound effects, which resonate so clearly and in such a raw, visceral way, you wince during the fight scenes, because you feel every punch audibly. The casting is spot on, the performances riveting. Every aspect of this film screams genius as the result of the unbelievable talent of the film’s director, Gavin O’Connor. Those who know me, respect my brutal honesty. If something sucks, I have no problem saying so, even if I’ve been a part of it. So, when I say “EVERYONE NEEDS TO SEE IT” it’s because it’s amazing, in the truest sense of the word. Not because I worked on it, but because it’s just that good. Still skeptical? Watch the trailer here. You will not be disappointed. GO SEE IT. TELL ALL YOUR FRIENDS. PUSH IT UP TO #1 at the box office. After all, wouldn’t you rather feel emotionally fulfilled when you leave a theatre, having laughed, cried, and cheered……as opposed to leaving afraid to touch anyone and wishing for a bath in hand sanitizer?

I’ll leave you with one final tidbit. The irony in this is on September 6, 1995, my sweet mama passed away. So the date of the saddest day in my life is now connected with one of the proudest days of my life so far. She was a warrior, with the soul of a lion. Just like this movie. 

Me and The Man at the Hollywood premiere of WARRIOR

my little wedding fairies

There is something to be said when a nanny makes such an impression on the families she works for that the 6 youngest attendants in her wedding…spanning from age 21 down to age 5….have all been cared for by her. Congrats to Kyra (and now David), who will ALWAYS BE PART OF OUR FAMILY !!!!

 

genius bar….part 2

I was reminded yesterday, that the very first post on this blog was about my visit to THE GENIUS BAR at the Mac store in Northridge. So it’s only fitting that I report on my latest adventure there.

This time, the problem was with my gadgets, not The Man’s. Two days ago, I upgraded my iPhone. My info was backed up on my dinosaur of a desktop….it’s 6 years old….so I just plugged my new device in and “restored from a backup”. Umm, big mistake. Little did I know, that my 280 contacts were turned into a cyber omelet. Literally, scrambled!! The wrong email addresses with the wrong names, phone numbers all mixed up and some contacts quadrupled. All because of MOBILE ME. I swear, it’s Satan’s spawn. Anyway, after an entire day of head scratching and baffled stares at my shiny new iPhone….The Man calmly says “take it to the Genius Bar.” Of course… as if I hadn’t already planned on it. So off I went, with desktop and phone in hand…..all three girls in tow. Again.

At first, the couple of geniuses I commandeered the attention of looked at me like I had 6 heads when I showed them what was happening. One flew the coop. But the other guy hung in there. First, he had me make sure the info on the computer was correct, then he went to my Mobile Me account and replaced all the info there with info from my desktop, and turned off the “syncing” feature. That was the problem… I was double syncing through iTunes & Mobile Me. NEVER DO THAT, as it really confuses the devices that are clearly designed to be smarter than you and me. End result, all is right in my Mac world again, it didn’t cost me a penny and The Girls had a blast :-)))

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