You may have heard there's a new Easter themed movie opening today. I went to see HOP a few weekends ago as part of a press junket. I'll be honest, my expectations were low. The early trailers were not inspiring. Live action and CG hybrids that both kids and adults enjoy seem to be a rare breed. I'm hoppy (get it?) it to say that HOP is one of those rarities. 

Parents will enjoy it because it's humorous, has great music and dialogue and is well cast. Kids will love it because of the sight gags, music, drumming and colors. 

The movie has themes we've seen before: finding one's passion, living up to the expectations of our parents, the relationship between fathers and sons, believing in magic and the need to find your own way in life. One of the good things about HOP is it doesn't beat us over the head with the themes and lessons.

We were lucky enough to get some time to interview James Marsden, Russel Brand, Kaley Cuoco, Tim Hill and Chris Meledandri. I enjoyed speaking with all of them just as much, if not more, than watching the movie itself.

It was easy for me to not get caught up in the messages of the movie because director Hill and producer Meledandri did such a great job with the visuals. The scenery in HOP is beautiful.

Mr. Chris Meledandri: One thing that Tim was very intent on was that, if we were going to be peeling back the curtains of this mythology that you’ve never seen before, that just the depiction of the world itself visually had to be spectacular.

Tim Hill in between Catherine and Dan; Chris Meledandri kneeling

It had to have the scale of spectacle that you would associate with a part of our cultural mythology. Tim worked for months and months and months with our teams of artists in really trying to visually define what this magical place underneath Easter Island has, what it would look like.

He [Tim] then had to figure out how to immerse the audience in it. He’s done a fantastic job. The virtues of these mediums that we’re working in are that world is just marvelous and fantastical, but on the other hand, you really believe that you're in it.

I grew up in a pretty religious household, but my parents hid a basket for me and we went to Easter egg hunts. I was curious how the movie would treat the role of the Easter bunny and if parents who have children who still believe would need to do any backpedaling to keep the magic alive. That's not the case with HOP.

Blogger: My two oldest children are the same age as your children and I’m wondering how you deal with the magic of holidays. Is your 10 year old son mumbling things to your five year old daughter?

James Marsden between Renee and EB

Mr. James Marsden: No, because my 10 year old son is a believer. He hears things from kids at school, but my wife has been really good about that. My wife still believes. She’s said, “My father taught me that if you believe in it, it’s there.”

Tyler still believes in magic though I have a feeling that will change in a few more years. If, after seeing HOP, he asks me if the Easter Bunny is real I can paraphrase Russel Brand (who voices EB):

Blogger: Did you ever or do you now believe in the Easter Bunny?

Mr. Russell Brand: I believe in the possibility of all things because of the nature of infinite space. If the universe is infinite, that means, inevitably, all possibilities exist.

So, somewhere, there is an Easter Bunny. Somewhere else, there's a one-legged Easter Bunny. Somewhere else, there's a robot Easter Bunny. There’s an Easter Bunny crossed with a Darth Vader because of infinity. With infinity, everything would occur.

Me, Meredith Sinclair and Kim Grundy

Who knew that a discussion of a family film would evolve into something so existential? 

I won't recommend Hop for kids under 5. It's not scary but there is a scene they might find disturbing (think Fatal Attraction), but I can honestly say Hop is a movie I won't mind seeing a second time.

Other recaps of the movie, junket and interviews:

Matt from Geek Dad

Renee from Cutie Booty Cakes

Meredith writing for Mom in the City 

Dawn writing for 5 Minutes for Mom

Catherine from Her Bad Mother

Dan from Single Dad Laughing

Kim writing for She Knows

Sara writing for Baby Center

My own photos from the HOP press junket on Flickr. Photos in this post courtesy of Chris and Kristen Photography. Thank you to Universal for hosting me for the weekend and providing hotel and meals.

A Real Housewife in Beverly Hills

Two weekends ago I headed up to Beverly Hills to stay at The Four Seasons and attend the HOP movie press junket. You know, a typical weekend. Before I left I did a little grocery shopping, a little straightening up and made a pot of chili for the boys to have leftovers. I tried to squeeze in a mani/pedi too. I told Phil I was heading out to get one and I got an eye roll back.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"Well, I don't want to show up in Beverly Hills looking like a stay at home mom."

"You are a stay at home mom."

"Yes, but that doesn't mean I have to look like one!"

In the end I decided replacing my foundation was more important than my having my nails done. I left Friday afternoon and almost the entire drive up to LA I was obsessing over my appearance. My gray hairs were out in full force, I was in desperate need of a good blow out, I'd broken two nails and my stress acne was flaring up big time (thus the need for new foundation). 

Hi Russel Brand, nice to meet you. I'm Hot Mess Housewife.

Alright vanity, you win.

Instead of heading to the hotel when I got off the freeway I went straight to Beverly Center and the nearest MAC counter*. I had my face done, complete with fake eyelashes.

Now, I didn't have it done because I was worried about what everyone else would think of me. I did it for myself. Sure, I could wear makeup every day. But, why? I'm home alone all day. It's not the same as being out and about.

When I was a "working mom," putting on makeup and curling my hair was part of the package. I looked nice. Now, my standard uniform is a ponytail, jeans, wedges and a comfortable top. When I see other ladies all made up to go to Costco, it seems kinda silly.

For one night, I wanted to feel confident and self assured. I wanted to feel pretty. If you haven't tried them out, fake eyelashes do it for me, every time. 

When I got to the hotel, I pulled on my Spanx, my new shirt and boots and walked out of my room feeling like a million bucks.

L to R: Catherine, Kim, Dan, Meredith and Sara

Seana and Renee

I met new people, made new friends and was able to do it with a real smile. Not a self conscious one.

What do you to make yourself feel like a million dollars?

*I saw Amy Adams at the Clinique counter. She is just as pretty in person and tiny! I'm not used to being taller than anyone else! Thank you to Universal for the royal treatment (and my hotel, movie tickets and awesome food)! Photos courtesy of Chris and Kristen Photography

Invitation to the Souplantation Test Kitchen | Things That Pop Up in My Email

My Dad took me to Souplantation for the first time. I was in college. My brother and I were visiting him for the weekend and he suggested it. We went and I was in heaven. Any restaurant that has a huge spread of carbs that I can re-fill at will is my kind of place! Back then, the wait staff would bring around brown paper bags at closing and let patrons take home the muffins left at the bar. 

Anytime we went to visit my dad after that, we'd always ask for Souplantation and wait until just before closing to go. One time, we went the night before we were to leave on a road trip to Vegas. My brother and I made a bee line for the muffin bar and stuffed those bags as full as we could. We ate muffins all the way to Vegas and back.

One semester in college, I scheduled a three hour break in my Tuesday, Thursday classes. I'd take my books to Souplantation right before the pricing changed from lunch to dinner and I'd study for hours grazing on sourdough, pasta and fro yo. Looking back, the fact that I gained a ton of weight should not have come as any surprise. But, I did get good grades that semester.

Fast forward to Tyler's toddlerhood. We decided to take him to Souplantation to see what kind of veggies he'd like. It was the perfect place to spread a lot of little piles of food in front of him and let him go to town. Today, when I tell him he used to happily and willingly eat beets, he looks at me as though I've grown an extra limb. Souplantation is still his favorite restaurant. 

To this day his plate looks almost the same as it did when he was little: noodles, kidney beans, peas, corn, shredded cheese, pizza foccacia, sourdough and blueberry muffins. Lather, rinse and repeat. The last time we went to dinner, he did express slight interest in my baked potato with bacon, cheese and chicken* but I'm not holding my breath.

Where's all this going? Well, it's just a lot of backstory to help you understand why I was so psyched when I got an invitation to meet some of the execs from Souplantation a few weeks ago. All week leading up to the event, Tyler kept telling me how lucky I was. "You're spending three whole days there? You're so lucky! I wish I was going, too. Can you bring me back some noodles?"

I've said before that one of the best things about blogging has been getting to meet to execs from companies I admire and having them listen to our ideas, share their visions and ask if there are ways we can help them achieve them. I made a few suggestions as to how they could honor our men and women in uniform and make school fundraising a little easier. Add to that one of the contacts I made has asked for my help with their social media and it was a win all the way around. 

People often ask me what the benefit is to attending a blogging event. I never know what I'm going to get out of an event until I go. I have no idea if I'll write about events I attend until they're over and I can find a way to weave something personal in that will (hopefully) make it interesting for you to read about. 

In this case, how could I pass up the opportunity to meet the people behind a company I've loved since I was a teenager?

What about you? What do you get out of blogging events? Is there a company or brand you'd love the opportunity to get to meet with?

*They'll probably get mad at me for telling you this, but instead of buying the side of chicken meat at the salad bar, I take some of the chunks out the chicken noodle soup. 

This is not a compensated post though Souplantation fed me well for the three days of the event. Caryn of Rockin' Mama has a little bit of video of the event and I have a few pictures on Flickr.

Advice for Newbies: Attending Blog Conferences

Even though I'm not a seasoned conference goer I did learn a few things (read: made a lot of mistakes) from going to BlogHer and the two trips right after wards that I hope will help other newbies:

Your carry-on

My dad works for the TSA so I asked what I could do to speed up the security check through process. I bought an airport approved laptop sleeve and everything went into ziptop bags: cords, chargers and flash drives in one, breath mints, tissues, a pen, compact, lip balm, travel size hand lotion, a few individually wrapped Wet Ones and a granola bar in another. All my makeup went into the checked bag (I saw someone fighting to keep her expensive foundation - she lost). After all that caution it was my banana that got me pulled me aside! I wore my lace-up tennis shoes for comfort's sake and it was a pain. This time I'm wearing slip-ons with Peds and carry a pair of fuzzy socks.

Carrying your stuff around at the conference

I was fortunate to have TJ Maxx and Marshalls as sponsors and bought a laptop shoulder bag on one of my shopping trips. It was stylish, fit my laptop and had many pockets. But holy pedometer! I wasn't thinking about the amount of walking I would be doing. 

Between the laptop, cords, camera, Flip, notebook, my wallet, water bottle, snacks and things I picked up along the way, my bag was HEAVY. My neck and shoulders were killing me by the end of day one. I ended up transferring everything to the backpack I got at the Mom Select suite and it worked out so much better. It didn't 'look' nice (in terms of fashion) but it was much more practical and saved my hide when I was 10 pounds over my luggage weight limit for the flight home.

Extra bags

My mom suggested I take an extra duffel bag with me and I'm so glad I listened to her. She had several small, foldable handle bags that zipped closed and she let me borrow one. 

Again, totally necessary when I was over my luggage weight limit. I moved my dirty laundry to the zippered duffel and made it my second piece of checked luggage. I prayed it wouldn't open and my undies would would be all over the conveyor belt. In addition to a small bag I'm also planning to bring one of my re-usable shopping bags.

Business cards

I had plenty to take with me, but what I didn't do the first day was carry enough on me. I borrowed a Gucci wallet from my mom because it's nice and slim. I thought it would be perfect for carrying my cards and storing the cards I received rather than just dropping them into my bag. It didn't quite work that way. I gave out all the cards I had on me and the skinny wallet was bulging after the morning speed dating session.

For Blissdom I'm going to carry a lot more cards on me (your conference badge has a pocket, keep some cards in there, too) and probably be tacky and keep a ziptop bag to store all the ones I receive. At least they'll all be in the same place and I won't be gathering cards from all my pockets at the end of the day. If you don't have cards yet, get to ordering! Plenty of sites offer free cards. I had those last year and was kind of ashamed not to have professionally designed ones, but I definitely wasn't the only one. Don't be embarrassed, it's not a big deal.

A lightweight wrap

I am ALWAYS cold (case in point, I have a room heater going at full blast at my feet as I type). BlogHer, the General Mills tour and MarMaxx event were in July and August and though the weather was nice, it was freezing in the conference rooms! 

(Katrina from Fickle Feline and Alli from Mrs. Fussypants. 

Sorry to Tricia and JoLynne, PicNik cut you off! )

I purposely stashed a wrap in my bag at all the events and I'm so glad I did. The wrap I have only covers my shoulders. I wish I'd chosen a slightly wider one, but I still plan to take it with me to Blissdom and Disney since it travels really well.

Contact information -keep it handy

I am pretty anal when it comes to details. I had every itinerary, contact sheet, flight schedule and parking reservation printed out. Those things were in my email too but several airports had really bad free WiFi that I couldn't access at all. If I'd relied on having access with my laptop or iPod Touch when I missed my flight to Boston, I'd have been screwed. I also sent the info to my mom, dad and Phil, just in case (See? Anal).

Don't forget to update all your Apps (especially the flight tracker if you have it) and download all your books and movies. I finished my book on the flight in to BlogHer and refused to pay airport prices for a new one.

If you're new to blogging as well as the conference scene, Melanie has a great post with links to other articles that will get you started.

If you have a tip for attending conferences or trips please share it!

General Mills: Company Environment

(Quite the ego boost!)

The trip to General Mills was great. One of the reasons I was excited to go is because our cabinets are full of items from their product lines. I'm pretty nerdy when it comes to 'behind the scenes' type of events and going to the corporate office and Betty Crocker test kitchen is right up my alley. I was really impressed with the company, on several levels.

(Boogie of Mommy Daddy Blog)

*They took excellent care of the moms who had their babies with them. There were portable cribs and swings available and diapers and wipes. They hired another van and equipped it with car seats. To me, that was thoughtful and I'm sure it was appreciated.

*The hallways were full of art by local artists and displays with the history of many of the General Mills brands. The office building is surrounded by green hills and a small lake. There are tons of outdoor spaces with tables and chairs for the employees to enjoy. Many of the walkways have floor to ceiling windows. They've created a great space for people to work in. No sterile halls and fluorescent lighting there!

(Cheerios rock garden, I love it!)

*The corporate culture is amazing. They have on-site childcare, a credit union, hair salon, mini mart and gift store, full service cafe and a place where employees can order full meals to go. And those are just the things I noticed.

Last week, I was reading the latest issue of Business Week magazine, and they named General Mills one of the 50 best places to start a career. They're ranked #12 (up from #24). Last year, 68% of their entry level new hires were female. That's impressive. I'd be curious to see a further breakdown and know how many of those 68% were women of color, and then to know how many women of color the company has at the executive level. They've created an environment that is perfect for working families, which unfortunately seems like a rarity these days. General Mills is the type of company I'd happily dust off my briefcase for.

*Diversity isn't just a phrase in the recruitment brochures. Walking through the building and seeing so many different types of people was so refreshing! We were introduced to Kim Nelson, Senior Vice President of the Snacks Unlimited division.

She's been with General Mills for 21 years (which means she started working when she 9, obviously). Kim has an impressive bio and is involved with several organizations for women in business. I also met another Kim, Kim BowSundy. She works in the marketing and diversity departments and pointed me toward Feeding Dreams, a charitable project that recognizes everyday citizens and their impact within their communities. I didn't get to meet Shirley Dollard, the director of the Betty Crocker kitchens, but I wish I had. To have more time to spend talking to these women would have been amazing!

Even though we're already a General Mills household, knowing that this is a company that really does walk the walk makes me feel even better about putting their products in my shopping cart.

More about the test kitchens and photo studio coming soon
(Some photos are from the official event photos on Flickr and some are mine)