My favorite Christmas songs

#10- Boney M- "Mary's boy child"
Haha, this song... AWESOME. I love this song. Everyone thinks I'm dumb... but this song is fantastic.



#9- Garth Brooks- "Go tell it on the mountain"
Garth Brooks has a kick ass Christmas CD, but this is my fav.



#8- Vonda Shepard- "This Christmas"
So I started the list at the bottom... so No. 1, but this one is really awesome... and ranks real high up there. Vonda Shepard has an amazing voice.



#7- Robert Downy Jr.- "River"
OK, so Robert Downy Jr. is mad hot, and this song kicks ass.



#6- Bruce Springsteen- "Santa Claus is coming to town"
Fun fact: my stepmom made a sign at a recent Bruce concert and he played this song. Awesome :) And, Clarence is such a bad ass Santa Claus.



#5- Mariah Carey- "Joy to the world"
We all know that Mariah Carey has the most popular Christmas CD... This is one of my favs from it. Sure, "All I want for Christmas is You" is a good song... but it doesn't make my top ten.



#4- John Denver and the Muppets- "12 days of Christmas"
This song is usually intolerable, unless the Muppets sing it. No. 9 is my favorite. Meee mee mee mee mee meeeeeee.



#3- Kenny Rogers- "Kentucky Homemade Christmas"
I usually hate Kenny Rogers.. but this song is one of my absolute favorites.



#2- Mariah Carey- "Jesus, what a wonderful child"
This song... well, I hardcore jam out to this in my car. It's glorious.



#1- Bruce Springsteen- "Merry Christmas Baby"
I love this song... Yes, it is solely because Springsteen sings it. But, whatevs. It is my favorite :)

The Best Christmas Movie EVERRRRRRRR

Just for your viewing pleasure:
A Muppet Family Christmas

Fall 2009 -- See Ya!

Fall semester is officially over for me (not for any of my roommates though. Suckers!). That means no more tests, no more papers, no more Diamondback... No more school! It is officially holiday season. Christmas is around the corner. The new year is around the corner. See ya, 2009. Welcome, 2010. It took you long enough to get here. That's right -- it's almost 2010, which means graduation! I can't wait.

So many great things will come with graduation, and I can hardly wait. Sure, it means the end of college, the end of goofing off... the end of boozing on Tuesdays and eating D.P. Dough at 1:30 a.m. But, I think I'm ready. I'm ready to move out of my house that I share with 5 other people. I love them all and it has been a great experience. But, I am ready for a place of my own. I'm ready to not share everything and to not have to worry how all of my actions affect the people who I live with. I can't wait. I haven't had a place of my own.... well, ever! But, especially these past four years, I've lived with so many different people. So, it should be a nice change.

Also, I'm weird and I love growing up. I think it is exciting and fun.

Anyway, I am going to enjoy this Winter Break so much. I'm gonna get every last drop of fun out of living with my 5 awesome roommates before I move on to something different. In fact, this Friday we are doing roommate Christmas. Now, that might seem silly to some people. It might seem lame. It might seem boring. But, let me explain, because roommate Christmas is a tradition that everyone should envy. Everyone. You see,  we go all out at 8701. Christmas is a glorious time. For example, we have our tree. Sure, it only has one strand of lights and all of the ornaments are from the Dollar Store. But our tree is beautiful. Then, there are the birthday signs. In the past month, three of the roommies have had birthdays, so our walls are litttered with exclamations of birthday joy. Anyway, since Christmas is the birth of Christ (well, not technically... he was born in the summer), Eric thoughtfully personalized one of our birthday signs. Now, it reads: "Happy Birthday Jesus." Awesome. Still, this isn't even the best part of Roommate Christmas. Then, we have the stockings. Those are pretty awesome. There is one for everyone -- including the pets. So, I have one, Ashlely, Char, Eric, Lindsay and Kristi have theirs, and Mocha, Zinnie and Luna have one! So exciting. And, super cute. They are full of gifts that we are gonna open Friday. Our tree is also crammed with gifts. Seriously, there are more gifts under this tree than I have under my trees at home. It is so exciting. We really do go all out.

So, when Friday rolls around, we are going to dinner in Bethesda, seeing the Symphony of Lights, and then coming home to exchange gifts. I can't wait!!!! It should be a lot of fun :)

Until then. I have lots to do still. Today is my best friend's birthday :)

[Glitterfy.com - *Glitter Words*]

Here's some cute pics of us. We've been friends... forever.

Love you bff <3<3<3

22 years of being forced to be your friend ; p

Last, but not least, it is time to start the job hunt. I'm frantically searching for jobs, yet I'm not even sure when I want to start working. I might take a month or two off... That could be fun... but I also hate not doing anything. So, who knows. I'll keep posting on that when new things come along.

ThinkTalk TV and other journalistic adventures

I was stopped in the hallway today by one of my coworkers and asked to be on a show called ThinkTalk TV as a "student journalist/entrepreneur." Basically, this show is filmed out of the University of Maryland's UMTV studio. during the show, the host interviews a different successful businessperson.  Each interview is enhanced with student questions (the questions are filmed elsewhere, like the media room of the Smith School).

Next week, ThinkTalk will feature Marla Malcolm Beck, the CEO of Bluemercury. Bluemercury is beauty company.

My question for Beck: How do you balance being the CEO of your own company with being a wife and a mother. Baller.

I'll post the link to the show when it airs next week. Basically, get my autograph 'cause I'm basically famous.

In other journalism-related news, I am almost finished attempting to do an Independent Study for next semester. It would be real cool and would basically be an in-depth blog about the differences in media types. I'm pretty pumped for it, but I'm not 100 percent sure the J-School will approve it. If it gets approved, I'll be running another blog. How exciting! Woo!

And, last, but certainly not least, I'm officially the Deputy Managing Editor of The Diamondback. It's pretty exciting :)

End of the semester. Woo!

The semester is drawing to a close. Thank goodness. Some life updates:

New articles published:
http://www.rhsmith.umd.edu/news/stories/2009/GreenVMH.aspx
http://www.rhsmith.umd.edu/news/stories/2009/LaceyBrauer.aspx

I am joining the Iota Iota Iota Honor Society. Induction is Dec. 10. :) It's a women's studies sorority focused on bringing feminism to UMD. I'm pretty excited about it... made a bunch of new friends. It is pretty exciting. It seems like the perfect culmination of my Women's Studies Certificate that I completed this semester. I'll definitely post cool event were are hosting/ attending when they come up next semester. I'll put up induction pictures, too!

I'm ending my term as the general assignment editor for The Diamondback at the end of the semester. I had a great time doing it, but I'm ready to be finished. I believe next semester I am taking on the job of Deputy Managing Editor. So, that's really cool. I'm pretty pumped. My last semester should be nice and easy. I'll be taking 4 classes -- 12 credits -- and working at The DBK and the Smith School. Should be pretty laid back :)

Christmas is soon. The familia is coming down the day after, per usual, and is staying until the 30th. I'm pretty excited because my grandpa is coming down for a day or so and I haven't seen him in years. In fact, I don't think I've seen him since Brian and I started dating more than 5 years ago. So it should be really nice. And, he and Brian get to finally meet :) That's pretty exciting. Should be a low-key Christmas, which is great. I need low-key in my life.

What else... Brian and I are looking to get an apartment when I graduate. That should be an exciting new adventure. But places around here are so expensive, it's ridiculous! We are looking at the boonies of Silver Spring... so still close enough to go home and see my little brother when I am missing him.

My life for the next couple of weeks:

• Ashley's bday today
• Mom's Christmas party this saturday
• Papers due next week
• Dad's Christmas party next weekend
• Roommate Christmas
• Music thing in DC with Brian
• CHRISTMAS 

Sad day

Today is a sad, sad, sad day. My golden retriever, Indiana Jones, is sick and we are putting him down tonight. We are burying him in our backyard next to Sarah, our other golden who died about 10 years ago.

Indy was seriously the best dog ever. He was loving and friendly and always seemed to be smiling. He was basically the neighborhood's dog -- all of the kids would knock on our door to play with him. It was so cute. We used to go to the river and he'd swim forever. He'd even bark at you if you didn't throw him a stick quick enough. I think he and one of my friends got "married" to one another back in the day. He's been riden like a horse because he's such a big dog. He's been napped with and napped on. Like most dogs usually are, he was always there for me when I needed him. That might sound stupid, but sometimes when you are having an awful day, all you need is some puppy lovin', and Indy always came through. I remember one night, he sat up with me when I was really sick and never left my side. We used to go to the newsroom together, too, whenever I used to watch him for mom because I always felt so bad leaving him when I worked at night. My friend Steven, for whatever reason, called him "Bruno." Once, we were headed outside to pee, and becasue he was sick he couldn't hold it in, and he peed in the hallway. We bolted. It was hilarious. Whenever we watched him at my house in College Park, he'd always steal entire loaves of bread because his sickness made him super hungry and thirsty all of the time. My mom would always call and see how many new loaves of bread she owed the house. Indy is such a good dog that by simply knowing him my boyfriend, who isn't a dog person, said he'd be OK with getting a dog like Indy.

My poor boy is sick though. His kidneys are failling, he pees all over the house because he can't control his bladder and he is losing weight quickly. He can't be left alone in the house anymore and has to sleep in the garage. Luckily, he isn't in pain -- but we don't want to wait until he is. That would be miserable. So, tonight at 5:30, we have a vet coming to our house to send him to doggy heaven. And yes, there is a heaven just for dogs. And this book, "Dog Heaven," is the best book ever. It is all about how dogs get to go to this awesome heaven where they can run all day long, play with angel children, sleep on clouds, and eat all the treats they want. My grandmother gave it to my stepmom when our dog Bailey had to be put down a year ago. I gave it to my mom to make her feel better. I told her to read it to Indy before he goes there forever.

Basically, Indy was the best dog ever. I miss him already. So, if you are lucky enough to have your dog or some other pet still with you, give them some extra loving. Indy was only 8 years old -- not that old for a Golden. You never know how long they'll be with you. But you should love every moment they are.

<3 Indiana Jones

Miss you already pup.

Just remember, all dogs go to heaven.

Happy 24th birthday!

This is the song that my mom played every year on my birthday... trying to spread the tradition :)

Happy birthday baby. I love you <3

Second BizSchool Article :)

Wahooo. I got to work in D.C. last Friday. Super cool. I spent all day downtown in Federal Triangle at the Smith School's CIO Forum. It was so baller. I listened to (mostly) cool speakers, got a free lunch, and then hung out with my bf after!

Here's the article from my awesome day :)

http://www.rhsmith.umd.edu/news/stories/2009/CIOForum.aspx

Blogging with Shruti

So, I'm sitting here with Ms. Shruti Rastogi, the infamous opinion columnist at The Diamondback, and we are going to write an expert blog post together. Becasue that's what journalists do in their spare time... they blog together. Yes, folks, that's right. We don't party, drink, dance and have fun. We blog. Friends who blog together, stay together.

Glorious. Now that we've officially sounded ridiculous... let's get started.

Things on our mind at this very moment (Nov. 5, 2009 @ 2:31 p.m.):

• The journalism school at UMD sucks.
• Shruti has a crush on a boy that she "puts on a pedestal"... whatever that means.
• Back to the J-school... The classes for next semester blow. Internships suck too.
• Shruti is cold becasue she is pantsless. Sexy. ... Also, pantsless or pantless? Who knows.....
• I'm looking pretty fly today with my belted rose shirt. Baller. Shruti is wearing a dress with "blue" on it... it's really grey and black... Also, grey or gray?

Important question of the day:
Two belts, one in beltloops of jeans yet still visible and one below the boobs... is this OK?

• Shruti: No
• Me: Extra no. I can't even find a google image of what we are talking about. That means this trend is uber shitty. UBER. But, I do it. I just don't let me jeans belt show... Long shirts... totally hot right now.

Best google search design EVER. 'C' is for cookie and that's good enough for me.

Next question, before I leave and go to class:

Meeting on the internet... legit or not legit?

• Shruti: *Sigh* depends on the situation. Depending on the dating site and the age, then sure.
• Me: No. LAME. Get out there and be social, you lazy mother fuckers. but for real... they are cool. I'm not trying to use one... but if you can find someone cool, awesome. Just bring mace on your first date... seriously.

Final note: The letters are now up on Knight Hall! (According to Shruti... who knows if she's actually reliable or not). Baller as hell.

-Jessica Bauer is a senior journalism major at the University of Maryland.

-Shruti Rastogi is the same, but cuter.

First article for Smith School... Wooo!!!

Robert H. Smith School of Business - University of Maryland, College Park

Yay, here's my first article on the Smith School's Cybersecurity forum. I'll be going down to D.C. on Friday to cover the Smith School's CIO forum. Excited!

Jewelry Events

Before I start blabbering on about jewelry again... I was just published in Single Parent 101 Magazine this past weekend. If you click on the virtual magazine, which seems to be the only way to look at the magazine (not sure that I like that...). my column is on Page 9!

Back to jewelry.
So, I have two events coming up in November. The first is the Trash to Treasure Art Fair at Watkins Regional Park in Prince George's County. This event should be really cool because vendors are selling things made out of recycled materials. I'll be selling my bottle cap jewelry. There is a $1 fee to get into the event. It starts at 10 a.m. and runs until 4 p.m.

The next event is on the University of Maryland's beautiful campus in VanMunching Hall. I will be selling my wares at the Second Annual Holiday Terp Marketplace on Nov. 19th from 1 p.m to 4:30p.m. Should be a lot of fun :)

Happy Halloween... a day late

My brother was homemade Spongebob Squarepants. Best costume ever. We trick-or-treated through two neighborhoods... he got so much candy. Then he and the neighborhood kids traded... awesome.

I'm trying to figure out life after graduation... and the only thing I can decide is that I desperately want a dog when I graduate. I want a golden retriever. I don't care it is a boy or a girl... but I really want one. So, Brian and I are planning on getting a dog together when we finally move in together after graduation. How exciting :) I can't wait!

Fun fact

When I do one blog post on a topic... I just want to write about a bajillion other things... I am trying to hold off so maybe all of these ideas can result in more regular postings! Gah. Difficult!

Also, a truly fun fact... if you use Google Chat/Gchat in your Gmail accounts... you can make a pile of poop ( a.k.a. poopy, dukie, crap, poo, shit, a deuce, etc.) by typing in "~ @ ~" (without any spaces). This discovery was basically the highlight of my day yesterday!

For more secret Gchat symbols...

That's all for now!

New Job... yay!

Hello blog!

So it's day two of my new job at the Robert H. Smith Business School here at UMD and so far I am really enjoying myself. This job is already more challenging than my previous job. And, it is journalism related! Woohoo! Love it :)

Anyway, I'm working on a bunch of projects already. Some are short stories, others are longer. Some are event coverage and others are simple pieces I do background research for. Either way, I'd say I have about 8 projects that I'm working on as of right now... which is pretty exciting.

Actually, the inspiration for this blog post came from one of my assignments. John "Jack" M. Ivancevich, one of the first PHD students at the Smith School, just passed away a day or two ago. So, I received an assignment today to gather up information on him to help my boss write up a short obituary in honor of Ivancevich. I stumbled across this really interesting interview he did with the C.T. Bauer (coincidence?) College of Business.

In this interview, Ivancevich said that he recommends that people write every day if possible. He told Bauer College of Business, "I write about 1,200 words a day. Most of it is gobbledy-gook, but some of it sticks."

I just thought that was really cool, especially for me as an aspiring journalist. So, as I've written on here before, I'm going to try and write more often. Maybe not every day, and maybe not 1,200 words at a time... (right now I only have 260 words... 1,000 more to go? Don't think I have that much to say) but it seems like really good advice.

Speaking of writing, here is a list of the publications that I am currently working for in some way or another:

• The Diamondback (editing)
• Trips & Getaways (freelancing)
• Single Parent 101 (freelancing)
• Smith Business (writing/editing)
• Research@Smith (writing/editing)

I hope to soon start working for Terplist and College Magazine. But, we'll see how that goes.

Busy bee per usual.

Updates...

Wow, so much for blogging regularly. School has started -- actually we are midway through the semester -- and life has just gotten to be too crazy for blogging all of the time.

My classes are all fairly intense this semester, and I am in the process of finding a new job/ making a job for myself by selling my jewelry. It is slow to start your own (kind of) business... yeah... super slow.

The Diamondback, per usual, sucks up 70 percent of my time these days. I am excited for Winter break... because I'll finally get to take a break. But until then, I'll keep on putting out the tabs and editing stories and doing my AME shifts. Awesome.

Here are the tabs I've done so far:

• Sex in College Park: http://www.diamondbackonline.com/news/sex-guide
• Career Guide: http://www.diamondbackonline.com/news/career-guide
• Bar and Restaurant Guide: http://www.diamondbackonline.com/news/bar-and-restaurant-guide
• College Park Guide: http://www.diamondbackonline.com/news/college-park-guide

So yeah, it's basically what I spend my life doing...

In other news, this November I am doing two craft fairs. One is on the campus and the other is at Watkins Regional Park. I'm pretty pumped. I doubt I'll make a ton of money, but it is always fun!

Well, I should probably go finish my homework. I'll post in another 3 months...

Holy Moly. Jewelry!

So, I'm trying to get the word out about the jewelry I've been making. SOOOOO, for all of my loyal followers (all zero of you)... pass along my website!

www.smashingdarling.com/store/jewels-by-jessica-evelyn

And here are some pics :)

Apparently she doesn't have "the look"

I recently wrote a story for the Prince George's Sentinel about a local woman on TV Land's "She's got the Look." It was a profile piece on a woman named Raquel Riley, who lives in Clinton, Md. Well, turns out she got eliminated from the competition on last night's show. I guess she doesn't quite have the look after all. Oh well, it was still exciting to see her on TV after I got to do my interview.

Here is the story below:
From camouflage to couture gowns, one 35-year-old resident of Clinton is getting the chance to fulfill her dreams, and possibly win $100,000 along the way.
Raquel Riley, a former captain in the United States Army, is trading in her military garb for something a little more glamorous on season two of TV Land’s show She’s Got The Look, a show about women 35 and older who want to become models.
The winner of the show receives a contract with Wilhelmina Models, Inc., a photo spread in SELF Magazine and $100,000, according to a TV Land press release.
Riley tried out for the show after seeing the first season and getting many e-mails from friends telling her to audition.
I’ll be honest, I just took a chance,” Riley said about her reasons for auditioning, adding that the judges asked her to do push-ups in her high heels after hearing about her military background.
“[The judges] didn’t think I could still do them,” Riley laughed.
The Clinton resident made it on the show along with 20 other semifinalists. After completing a challenge, she and nine other women were selected to live in a loft in New York City while they competed on the show, according to the press release.
The show has finished filming for the season and a winner has been selected to win the three prizes; however, audiences will have to watch the show to find out who the winner is.
“I always wondered what it would be like to be on a runway and wear beautiful clothes,” Riley said.
And Riley and the nine other women, who range in age from 35 to 72, get the chance to do just that.
But it isn’t all glamorous. The worst part about the show, according to Riley, is getting critiqued by the judges.
“It is one thing to [change your look] when you are 15, and another thing to do it when you are 35 because now you feel like you’ve been doing it all wrong,” she said. “But they are critiquing you for modeling purposes, not for your day-to-day look.”
As for the competition on the show, Riley said she feels she had none.
“For me, I am my own worst critic. If things didn’t go right, I knew it was because of something I put forth,” she said. “It is a competition with models, but it is really a competition with yourself because you have to decide if it is something you really want to do.”
For Riley, she is certain this dream is something worth following, and being surrounded by glamorous men and women on the show convinced her that she wants this even more.
“I did it for myself and I did it to represent other military women. To see these beautiful women, it made me say that I can do the exact same thing,” Riley said. “I represent women in the military. We can be just like you, we just happen to be able to kick your butt and shoot guns.”
Riley, a wife and mother of four daughters, said her family is very supportive of her following her dream. She and her husband sat down prior to the show to make a plan in case she made it on.
“I want to set an example for my daughters that just because you are a littler older than when you first had a dream doesn’t mean you have to give up on it,” she said.
Riley and her family have only lived in Clinton since October, when her husband accepted a job in Washington, D.C., but already this model-in-training said she loves the area.
“The houses out here are gorgeous… and the back roads are beautiful,” she said. “It is just a good community to live in,” she said, adding that one of her favorite spots in Clinton is Miller Farm, on Piscataway Road. “They sell homemade ice cream, and their homemade biscuits are to die for. Oh my gosh, I love that place. We go there often.”
Members of the Clinton community are proud to have Riley as a neighbor. Mary McHale, a columnist for The Sentinel who lives near Riley, said, “It’s always exciting when a hometown girl makes good. She’ll help put Clinton, Md., on the map.”
At the end of the day, Riley said she knows that you just have to follow your dreams, and that is a message she and the other women on the show are sending as they embark on a journey to become models at an older age.
“Do not get deterred by naysayers. Make sure you keep focused on exactly what you want to do,” “Don’t stop. Continue to dream.” Riley said.
She’s Got the Look airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. on TV Land.

A day of deaths...

So, yesterday morning started off with a really bad accident by my house. Traffic was a mess heading down toward UMD... and I found out later that a motorcyclist died maybe 1/10 of a mile from my house.

Then, Farrah Fawcett passed away. My mom was telling me about this special on TV that documents her struggle with cancer. She said it was one of the hardest things she's ever watched because Fawcett had so much will to live and never gave up, but you can only do so much apparently.

And Michael Jackson passed away. First off, CNN should be extremely embarrassed that it took them at least 2 hours to confirm his death, which the LA Times was reporting around 5:30 p.m. I've heard mixed reactions about his death. A roommate's boyfriend said it was about time since he looked like death for so many years. And others are sad that the pop legend is gone. But, on the bright side, I did get to listen to 4 or 5 of his songs on the way to work.... which is awesome because radio stations never play MJ. He was truly an awesome singer.... And hey, definitely still doing the Thriller dance at my wedding!

Oh, and apparently people were spoofing, saying Jeff Goldblum died yesterday, too. Messed up, but hilarious.

Hello, blog.

First blog post, woo! Not convinced that anyone will ever read this, but if you do, enjoy!

My name is Jess and I'm a student at the University of Maryland, College Park (Go Terps!) I study journalism and am doing a concentration/certificate program in women's studies.

I work for our school paper, The Diamondback, which was recently ranked No. 2 best daily paper in the nation! I do copy editing, news editing and tried my hand at reporting a couple semesters ago. This upcoming semester I'll be an assistant managing editor, as well as the general assignment editor. Our paper is awesome (did I mention we were No. 2 in the nation??)!

This summer I'm interning for the Prince George's Sentinel. I absolutely love it there. The people are amazing and I get to do so much cool stuff (layouts, stories, editing, photos...).

Other cool stuff... I started my own jewelry business (if you can call it a business). I call my company Jewels by Jessica Evelyn and I sell my stuff on Smashing Darling, a website for indie designers. I've also sold my jewelry creations at craft fair(s). It's a lot of fun and a lot of people seem to get a kick out of the fact that I make my own jewelry.

So, that's me and what I do with my life in a nutshell.