New Videos

Here are 3 new videos I've produced in the past month.

2 are for the FiestaMovement and a little short I made because I thought of it when I was brushing my teeth and then couldn't sleep. Lol. Enjoy! :) Rate it and comment if you fancy. :)

Latest Fiesta Mission-- #6

This month's Fiesta Mission is: "Trick or Treat...or Terror"
"For kids, Halloween is full of awesome stuff: pillowcases stuffed with candy, hilarious costumes, and running around wreaking havoc with your friends. But nothing makes the night more memorable than getting the tar scared out of you at a haunted house. Create the most epic one you can and give the kids in your neighborhood a night they’ll never forget."

I love Halloween- I think it's my favorite holiday.

I cannot wait to scare some kids in the neighborhood. I'm working on ideas, but if anyone has suggestions, let me know! :)

Fiesta Mission 5!

Sorry This has taken so long to post! I have been mad busy trying to get my life together since moving back from CA and then work, being sick, and then getting ready to move back to CA in the winter for USC SCA!!! :)

Anyway- personal stuff aside, here is my latest fiesta mission. Hope you enjoy it!

Fiesta Post It XC Trip

Be ready to vote starting September 12th for my Post It video. Hopefully I'll make it to the voting round because Carol and I worked really hard at making the fiesta POST-ITrific.

Fiesta Mission 4

Sorry this has taken me so long to post!

Here is the video from Fiesta Movment Mission 4!

I went to a pre-school in Santa Barbara, Storyteller Children's Center, and volunteered my time and Ford's money. It was such a fun and eye opening experience. Be sure to click on the SCC link and check out how to help them! :)

Post It Video

Here is my latest contest entry starring my friend Carol, Me and the Fiesta. Enjoy!

Oh, there will be a voting period on Youtube for the video, I'll update it when I know where to send you! :)

XC TRIP BACK

I'm in Colorado--after a 16 hour drive ALL BY MYSELF. Lol.

Thank you Adi, for talking to me on the phone for an hour and fifteen minutes.

I am working on editing my fiesta mission, which I had an absolute BLAST doing! Social Activism month video should be coming soon-- I just have to punch it out while on the road and before my deadline!! Crazy times--

Be sure to vote for my howcast video and now I have to get back to work-- working on 2 more videos as well!

CONTESTS CONTESTS CONTESTS~

FiestaTune UP

My buddy Julia and I ran some errands today--she got a blue lollypop from the bank. Excitement!

Today was a strange day for the Fiesta. It was kind of a strange day for me as well. Not strange in a bad way, strange in a way that is like an out of body experience. Not the kind you might have if the anesthesiologist doesn't do the meds the right way and you're present for your surgery, the kind where you're like--is this my life?

Okay-- Now I'll explain.

Yesterday, I didn't realize it was Thursday until it was too late. I didn't sleep well Wed. night. I had something on my mind, but couldn't really pin point it.

Thursday, at about 12 pm, I realized what had been keeping me up all night: the 10am appointment to have the Fiesta worked on (3000/ 3mos check up). GREAT JOB ALEXIS.

Andrew, my "Mission Control" dude, helped me out. He scheduled a tune up for this morning at 9am. This worked out perfectly.

When I went out to get into the Fiesta, there was something in the window. A card. Someone had left a card in the window regarding "alter-eko" an alternative fuel-eco friendly company. The card has a note and a phone number. Though I'm pretty certain I cannot use their fuel, actually I'm 100% sure, it is pretty cool and pretty weird to have a card waiting in the driveway on my car. I feel slightly violated--but in a good way.

Now I have to tell you about the Perry Ford guys in Santa Barbara.

Want to feel like a goddess? Drive a Fiesta into Perry Ford on Hitchcock Way in Santa Barbara CA. I'm going to give the dudes there MAJOR props. They treated me like I OWNED Ford. Actually they treated me better than that--like I was the daughter of the person who owns Ford. You don't fuck around with the daughter of someone who owns anything, she knows the ropes and how to manipulate them. (Any daughter does for that matter.) The guys at the Ford Service department were über excited to have the 2010 Fiesta drive into their station.

Dean Severson, the Service Advisor was amazing. He and Dennis Cummins took care of me and the Fiesta. Thanks you guys, you did a great job and made getting a tune up incredibly easy!

(So many play on words--insert a "that's what she said" where ever you want.)

To see where I took the car-- visit www.perryauto.com

FIESTA MISSION 3! :)

This is Fiesta Mission 3: Fashion and Style of Santa Barbara CA! :)

This video is a little different than what I've done before. I tried some new techniques and held some interviews. I did the whole thing on my webbie and one shot with my mac camera. I need to get some sound equipment!! Probably should find a better camera too...but this is HD so w/e!

Hope you enjoy! Let me know if you like it! :)



Please visit my video at howcast.com as well! I need views and thumbs ups! HELP ME WIN CASH FOR COLLEGE! I'll explain my tuition thing laterrrr... for now... FIESTA!!!

Bliggity

Well hello everyone!

I have been swamped with things to do, so I have been avoiding my blog. I apologize to you, the reader, but in order for me to write, I have to do. I have done...LOTS!

I am currently proud of myself for accomplishing 2 things today:

#1. Mission 3 Video for the Fiesta Movement has been submitted and is awaiting approval. Completed it in less than 24 hours--the mission and editing. Hopefully you will like it! I'll let everyone know when it is released and what my next mission is when I receive word! :)

#2. I ran 3 miles of hills today and didn't stop, did a not so bad time and kicked my own butt.

Things are going really well for me right now. I'm working hard, staying busy, working out, making films, working on getting $ for school...all things I HAVE to do and I am DOING!

Though these things take me away from the blog, I will make an effort to keep it updated and maybe a little more random! Fun stuff needs to be rejuvenated here--I can feel it. I'll work on that.

For now, I have 3 videos I need to submit in the next 3 days--So I'm going to work on those and I'll show them to you when they're done! :)

California

We made it!

Jeff and I arrived, here in Santa Barbara, last night. The journey was a long one but totally worth it.

We saw the sun set in the Grand Canyon and drove through the desert to reach our final destination. I'm pretty tired, so I'll elaborate (with photos) later.

:)

Pics!

XC Trip Pictures are up--well the first part.

visit my photo stream on flickr.com

my SN there is lex112884

:)

Happy 4th of July

While my friends are up on the deck about to singe their faces with fireworks, I have decided to be a chicken and blog about my latest adventures on the road.

Jeff and I are still in Steamboat Springs CO, it's a beautiful place in the Rockies that has tons to do: outside. Now I enjoy the outdoors, but I'm definitely not an outdoors-woman. I like running outside, playing sports on fields and the beach. I will go on a hike (if you lure me with food and distract me from realizing it's just a crafty name for "walking up"), but generally nature sees me coming. I have the WORST timing when it comes to anything natural.

For example: Today, we went on a tubing adventure on the river that runs through Steamboat. The water was freeeeeeezing and I don't like that about water. I jokingly complained about it when we were on the lazy section of the venture, but I guess the river was annoyed because when the rapids and holes came--guess who was flipped? Me. That's right, of course, me. Lol.

It makes for a good story and the ride was definitely fun.

Yesterday was amazing. Jeff spotted a bear on the mountain across the river from us. I was SO excited! I've wanted to see a wild bear for a long time and was sadly disappointed during my last trip to Colorado Springs (I was told they are on Pike's Peak, the mountain we visited: there weren't any bears).

After staring at this bear for about a half hour and taking tons of video and pictures (photos coming soon to flickr-- I'll blog that too), we headed to watch ski jumping practice. HOLY CRAP! Ski Jumping is the craziest sport EVER. I mean you can bungy jump and jump out of planes, but these people are sliding down a mountain at high speeds, flying through the air, landing on their feet (on skis) and then sliding to the bottom! The people who were jumping yesterday--all kids. It was CRAZY. I mean how does one rationalize this sport? What gets you into this? How do you decide one day that you're going to test the universe/God/nature/elements/whatever you believe in every time you want to play your sport? INSANE! It was mad cool to watch.

We took a chair lift to the top of the mountain and did the most fun slide I've ever been on-- the Alpine Slide. This thing is SICK!

You get on this sled that resembles a mix between a luge and normal sled. The slide itself looks like a water slide w/o water and you go super fast! It was incredibly fun. Carol and I both almost hit a marmot who was straight up chillin' next to the slide (eating some grass). I raced Will, Carol's boyfriend, to the bottom. He won, but the rush was worth it. If I ever make a TON of money it's like 3rd on my list of ridiculously fun and random things to buy.

We also went to the hot springs last night. We went SKINNY DIPPING!!! Woot! It's pitch black so you don't have to see naked hippies unless the moon or mood strikes the right way. Thank goodness it didn't strike. It was really relaxing and we all had a fantastic time.

This place is really beautiful and fun. I can see why they came out here to dwell. Though, I could never live here, because of the land locked thing and I'm not really into all the sports they do here, I could definitely visit again.

Now I'm going back to the festivities. I will post pictures soon of the trip and once I'm back to boring, I'll edit together a sweet fiesta/XC trip video!

Some of the pictures are on twitter so feel free to check out my page http://www.twitter.com/alexis_morrell or @alexis_morrell to follow me! :)

Green Scene

Jeff and I are in Nebraska, or as the radio refers to it " 'Braska."

This place is FLLLLLLAT. I've never seen so much land around me. It's like when you're out on open water. You know where you are but you feel so small and vulnerable that you feel lost. I'm not sure I'm comfortable with it.

I like urban.

We stopped off in Iowa to see Byron and Des Moines, a city which was surprisingly modern and pretty cool. It was nice to see him and a good break in the trip. We then drove through Iowa and halfway through Nebraska into the night.

Things that I was impressed with:

• Windmills for miles (generating clean electricity)
• Jeff's manual transmission abilities and improvements (didn't stall, woot!)
• My phone's ability not to die.
• My ability to drive even when we're both at the breaking point--we reached North Platte anyway.
• Jeff and my singing abilities--we ROCK!

Things I am unimpressed by:

• People who stare at the Fiesta but won't wave back (pull that stick out of your butt!)
• Iowa radio
• My iPod cord's suicide (R.I.P., but why'd you have to do it in 'Braska?)
• My cigarette lighter's suicide (will rise from the dead in SB)
• The purple marker in the Dora the Explorer marker set on which I spent $1.99 at the gas station-- it was dried--wtf?!
• Jeff and My knowledge of the Dora the Explorer characters-- what are the lizzard, the little yellow puffball thing and the bull's names!?
• My ability to know what the hell Jeffrey is pointing at when he says "look!" and I say "what? where? Huh?"

So I'm done for now, we are headed to Steamboat Springs to see my other half, Carol, today. I CANNOT WAIT!!! I haven't seen her since Christmas and things are going to get CRAZY!

I will be sure to upload pictures soon and be sure to follow on Twitter! : Me ( @alexis_morrell), Jeff (@ysoyrebelde), Byron (@LordByron42) and Adi--plug!-- (@yoprice) for more road trip stuff and fun!

Jeff LOVES the Midwest

Jeffrey doesn't like the Midwest.

Everything but Baltimore and Chicago (on our trip so far) has been farmland and it wasn't the most exciting landscape. We still had an amazing time and Chicago is BEAUTIFUL! We just had martinis and a cheese plate at "Dirty Martini's."

Thing that have happened-

My power source in the Fiesta has decided to quit on the job. I will be getting it fixed in Santa Barbara.

My entire family has called me-- I'm okay guys! Love you.

Michael Jackson has been heard and honored as well as mocked.

We are now translating "Americana" --it's a language used in the United States by some, it's a regional dialect.

Jeff asked me about his computer and all I heard was "Did you savagely blast my puter?"

That's not what he said-- but it's pretty f-ing funny.

I'm tired so I'm going to bed.

:)

DC MISSION COMPLETE!

New Mission COMPLETE!

After plenty of crazy days and nights of not having ANYTHING go right...

HERE'S THE VIDEO!



Next Mission:

Coast along the "American Riviera" in Santa Barbara reviewing the styles and fashions. Discover what makes the styles uniquely Santa Barbara.

If you're in Santa Barbara-- LOOK OUT! I'll be analyzing your fashion sense~!

Vacation

I haven't written much lately. I've been working on my Fiesta video and have run into many problems editing. iMovie 09 has frozen and ruined my almost completed projects 2xs. After restraining my anger and NOT throwing my computer out the window, I (though my amazingly supportive parents) obtained Final Cut Studio! It's AMAZING.

I wanted to take a break from editing to tell everyone that my vacation has been crazy-go-nuts fun! I just saw a movie ("The Proposal") with like 20 of my aunts, cousins and my Mom, have met some distant cousins from Seattle (who are HILARIOUS), as well as started a much needed tan.

My video will be coming soon and I start my XC trip the 29th with Jeff! I can't wait!

Well that's all for now. I'm obsessed with Nip/Tuck right now and plan on falling asleep after a good episode from Season 5.

Segways

I would just like everyone to know that my Dad and I had an amazing time doing the Segway Tour in Washington DC. I am arduously working on editing the footage and piecing together a video for the Fiesta Movement.

Things to come:

• Me in a ridiculous pink helmet
• Segways
• DC Monuments
• My Dad being hilarious.
• Fiesta

Stay tuned! :)

Another News Bulletin!

I just received a "tweet" from my friend Beth. So it sparked me to check out her blog-- I'm sorry I've been lazy.

I met Beth at the Travel Channel Academy and she is one of the coolest people in the world. 

Beth is quiet, but a force with which no one should mess. 

 Reading through her blog, Beth's Multiple Myeloma Blog, and saw that she put a cool blurb about me in one of her posts--regarding the Fiesta Movement! Check it out! 

Keep up your fantastic work Beth! Your network is helping people cope-- plus you're putting out nasty pictures of spiders-- keep everybody on their toes!

Made The Local Paper--OH YEAH!

I awoke, today, to the sound of my Mother's beautiful voice on the other end of my cellphone (after the heart attack startling ring of course) telling me that I made the local paper! Now, this being said, it is not the first time I have made the paper. Oh, no. I have made it for several events. 

There was the time in Plattsburg where I was 2 and sleeping like a little angel--Front Page bitches. There was the time I was caught at a party--police blotter fools [insert gangsta voice]. There was the many sporting events in which I partook that granted me spots in the Sports section of the glorious Star Democrat-- But today, I have made what might be hailed as the most important section in any Republican based paper-- the BUSINESS SECTION. 

That's right. Here it is: 

Easton resident chosen for new Ford Fiesta marketing campaign

Published: Sunday, May 24, 2009 4:15 AM CDT

DEARBORN, Mich. Easton resident Alexis Morrell was recently selected to be one of 100 "agents" of the Fiesta Movement, a six-month-long social media campaign for the Ford Fiesta, the new fuel-efficient small car that goes on sale next year.

Morrell, a travel journalist, will test drive a European version of the Ford Fiesta for six months and relate her experiences through a variety of social media platforms.

I like to think that if either of my grandfathers were still alive, they would have flipped DIRECTLY to this article. They would have been proud and then teased me for being an "agent," probably told me about shows in the 1960s about agents and then been impressed that "travel journalist" was in print. It's much heavier that way.

I earned a certificate from the Travel Channel Academy last September that warrants my title. If you doubt it, I'll get my Mom to show you that paper. It's glossy, pretty and signed by a producer--it counts. lol.

Also- I am.

So thank you Fiesta Movement. So far I have earned: A car, some amazing and amazingly talented, new friends, notoriety, exposure (oo la la!) and a gas card! 

 

PS

Me: "Mom, now all I have to do is make the arts and lifestyle section!"

Mom: "You could make the Editorial, but you'd probably have to sound like a Republican."

Me: "Yeah, I don't think they want to hear what I have to say about their right wing slant."

Mom: "So what are you doing?"

Me: "Laying low, recovering from a sinus thing."

Mom: "Oh, really?"

Me: "My ear and nose were clogged yesterday and--"

Mom: "--Oh! That's you're sister beeping in. Gotta go."

Erin--Today you win. But I was in the paper.