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.

New Fiesta Car Was Video

Took the Fiesta to get a nice bath.

Jason's Shoutout

Jason Martin gave the Fiesta and me some major props on his blog. 

Check it out here : Grayscale

Woot! 

Seatbelt Test

The seat belts passed Julia's test: "The Super Fun Seatbelt Test"

Mission

Mission Page

Mission!

I received my first mission for the first month of the Fiesta Movement!

I'm really stoked about the mission and CAN'T WAIT to complete it.

I don't want to tell everyone what it is quite yet. I will give you a hand full of hints.

#1. It involves the Fiesta (DUH) and travel (DUH DUH)

#2.

#3. Friends, family and pets will be involved-- CRAZY TIMES!

#4. Things will continue to get "...Curiouser and curiouser."

Lax Fiesta Weekend

This weekend was a crazy time for me. 

Most of our alumni from Salisbury came down to get their lax on. Seeing these girls is always a treat. I don't get to see them very often and when we all get together--things get nuts. 

I brought the Fiesta to the event and everyone was thrilled to see it. Questions flew through the air like jets. I didn't have much time to react, so I grouped them together, told them what it is all about and then had Jason take some pictures of us.

The game was fun and so was the Fiesta.

Jason Martin

(Photo courtesy of Jason Martin)

I posted a blog yesterday about Jason Martin, and photos he took of the Fiesta. I would like to take this opportunity to re-blog about the incident because that blog was lame--and the event--was NOT.

I was really excited yesterday because Adi invited me to go to eat sushi before our normal NBC Thursday night line up (the highlight of every week--hands down). I have been on what SC calls a "money diet" this week. But yesterday's excitement of potential raw fish sent me into an unpreventable frenzy-- SC had no choice but to spoil me with a slight advance so I could have my way! haha!

Dinner was fantastic. We ate at my favorite Japanese restaurant in town, ShoGun, and the food was delicious and filling. The conversation was a great release to what had been a stressful day-- so crazy that it lead me to the strange quote: "Breast cancer is so much quieter than children."
Don't worry, I'm not sick or pregnant. Lol.

While we were waiting for food, Byron and Adi noticed a man in the parking lot taking pictures of the Fiesta. I turned around and saw him as well, of course, duh! I went out to the parking lot and gave him a bit of a fright. He asked me if the car was mine and I asked him if he'd heard about the "Fiesta Movement." He said he hadn't, but that he reads Motor Trend magazine, and had been shocked to see a Fiesta anywhere, especially Salisbury.

The man's name is Jason Martin.

(Jason)

He is a wonderful photographer and blogger stationed here in Salisbury, MD. He posted a entry on his blog, "Grayscale" about my work online as well as the "Fiesta Movement." He is going to shoot some more stills for me this weekend at the Alumni Women's Lacrosse game at SU and hopefully will work with me in the future. 

His photos of the Fiesta came out beautifully, if you'd like to see them head over to my flickr page and check it out!

Baltimore!

"Okay Hon, let's gO deown teown, see dem O's, grab some Natty BO's, gO Over ta Pick-uls, ya knOw, balmer styl, Hon. "

"What is she saying?" one might ask. Well I'm speaking "Baltimorese." Oh, it's a language. Full of the exaggerated "o," slurred consonants, and always ending in "Hon." If you're going to go downtown in Baltimore, be ready to hear it.

Adi and I went to Baltimore on Saturday in the Fiesta--along with Julie.

Let me explain who Julie is.

Julie is my voice activation system in the Fiesta. I refuse to name the Fiesta (most likely it's name is "The Fiesta" because it's inanimate and I am NOT changing my mind about it being dumb to name a car. --if you name your car, you're not dumb. It's just an opinion for my life.) but I was fine with naming the voice in the car. Her namesake is Dame Julie Andrews, for whom I have a fondness due to her extrordinary work in Mary Poppins, My Fair Lady (London Production then Broadway), and, of course, The Sound of Music. The voice is British, soothing and stubborn. I have to alter my accent in order to get things done--always fun!

"Do-Re-Me-Fiesta!"

So we all made our way from Salisbury to Baltimore.

I had told my family memebers in Easton and along the way to Bmore about the Fiesta, so of course, they all wanted to see it. Adi said she was game for whatever, so we ended up visiting my Aunt Cristy and Uncle James and their kids, Aunt Ame and Uncle Matt and Henry, Grandma, Adi's Dad, Aunt Evie and Uncle Chris and their kids, then on the way back, Jodi and Ethan. Overwhelming; possibly, but we wanted this trip to be exciting.

In Baltimore, we went to Towson, which is north of the city. My Aunt Evie, Uncle Chris and their daughters (Holly, Annie and Julie) all live in a really pleasant neighborhood, full of people who wanted to see the Fiesta. We stayed there for a while, sitting outside in the fantastic weather.

Had some food, chatted it up, jumped on the trampoline and then had to be on our merry way.

Big congrats to my Aunt Evie who is starting up her own tutoring business. She already has a bunch of clients and it sounds like this is a dream come true. For that... I post a dreamy pic of the Fiesta.

We went to the Royal Farms on the corner of Joppa and...I'm not revealing, and Adi had cupons galore! So I scored a free 32 oz drink! Perfect for the rest of the ride!

We made our way down 83 and headed downtown. Smooth driving until we hit massive traffic in the city.

We hadn't realized that there was a home Oriole's baseball game starting at the same time we were navigating the Inner Harbor (on land of course). There was also some sort of festival going on in the Inner Harbor, so we drove around, got honked at by angry dudes in Mercedes and rocked out to some Lady Gaga

Fiesta Weekend Video!!

A summary of the fun times we had getting our Fiestas in NYC! :)

Technical Difficulties ARE NOT FUN

I have been quite busy for the past 3 or 4 days, I'm not sure which because they are seriously blurring--signs of having fun-- YES. 

This weekend was CRAZY! I went to NYC to join the beginning of the Fiesta Movement, met my fellow "Agents" as well as some of "Mission Control"; we all had a BLAST! 

Here's a sneak peak of some of the digs--

Cute face at the end right? Jealous? Keep reading-- (lol)

After an evening of meet-n-greeting, dinner, and presentations, we headed out to this dive bar and celebrated our accomplishments as well as generally--the night.

I am currently working on uploading photos, editing video and trying to catch up with all of the events. If you'd like to see my pictures and comments thus far, visit my flickr page, my Fiesta Movement fanpage on Facebook (if you're not my friend--invite me! I love new friends in my network!), follow me on twitter or check out the official Fiesta Movement page to see my updates as well as all of the other "Agents'."

If you have any ideas of cool adventures on which to take the Fiesta--LET ME KNOW!! I can only take it in the United States and I will have set missions starting in May, BUT, I would love to have content to share and I need Momentumn and feedback!! Let me know what YOU think!

Thanks everyone for your support and patience! :)

YEY FIESTA!

Working on a fiesta video, pic uploads, taking new pics of the Fiesta tomorrow as well as hitting up the old stomping grounds of SSPP Elementary school-- any of my "teacher readers" here's a shout out to you! I'll be stopping by in the morning with the car so be sure not to take a personal day!

Beginning of Fiesta Weekend!

The Fiesta Weekend has begun!
I hit the road this morning.

Sadie, pictured above, came along for the ride...along with my Mom and Dad. We left the house to get me to the Amtrak station in Wilmington. They were going to Erin's (my sister's) lacrosse game in Baltimore today, so Sadie was along for a big adventure.

Dad drove, Mom "rested" and I was hanging with Sadie, singing some tunes.

Due to the lacrosse game, my parents left me in the caring hands of my Godmother--Aunt Adi. She dropped me off at the train station at the appropriate time. :)

Little cousin Sara came too!

I rode on train 88 and met some really cool people! One guy, Lenny, is a make-up artist and he has worked all around the world with all types of people. He has also met Isabella Rossellini and Martha Stewart!

I'll be posting updates of the Fiesta Weekend as they happen! It will make things a little more exciting, keep you up to date as well as help me to reduce the sizes of entries! haha

Be sure to check twitter too! lex112884

Here's a video of me at my hotel room...documenting the "stuff" HAHA.

Funny/Cool Picture Day

Today was a beautiful day filled with Sunshine and cool pictures.

Julia stole my RayBans--cool dude.


Okay-- so it turns out that my camera has a delay of like 2 seconds and because of that, I was
taking a picture of Julia running in her self-picked outfit, but ended up taking a picture of a child falling. Sorry J-dawg. I ran over to her right away--she was and is fine. I'm not that bad. Lol.
The funny "self-picked" outfit. Julia got dressed today simply because she could wear her apron "all day"

Same delay--better effect.

Adi and Byron's candle leaked out the side because the other candle melted it. I think it looks like it's spewing. I like this picture.

Today has been a great day. Julia and I were outside most of the day, I went for a run, I did laundry (which I hate, but love to get done), and now I'm watching 30 Rock.

The Fiesta Movement begins Sunday! I'll be taking pictures and blogging! Stay tuned...it's almost here!!

Fiesta Pictures

Here is a link to the NYC Car Show on flickr.com



There will be more coming soon--but of MY FIESTA!!! :)

Ford Fiesta Movement update

So--
I just received info about the Fiesta Movement weekend next week--in NYC!!! I love NYC!!
I have 2 packed days of training and driving... I can't wait!

Stay tuned like an AM radio-- only on THIS station! :)

PS
The serious one is my sister, Erin. She's not really that serious, she's " fron' in'. "

Artilce about Fiesta Movement

This article:
"Ford Names 100 Fiesta Movement 'Agents' to Hit The Road, Find Adventure, Share Experiences"
alludes to the missions that we will go on.

Missions with a purpose

After the vehicles are delivered, the Fiesta Movement agents will receive notification about their upcoming missions, which will be based on monthly themes. With six themes in all, the first theme agents will create content on is travel. Each of the 100 agents will choose an individual mission, which will send them on an adventure to engage with people in their Ford Fiesta.

Partnering with Ford on its campaign is Undercurrent, a digital think tank headquartered in New York City, and AMG, a Colorado-based partner of Undercurrrent. Both companies are schooled in creating long-term relationships between customers and brands and focused on creating experiences that are not only relevant and useful, but entertaining.

"We're engaging outside sources that live in this space to make sure we are pushing the limit as far as we can," said Fontaine. "By working with them, we will maximize the exposure of our content online, while at the same time receiving valuable feedback from the agents about our new car."

I can't wait to go on the missions!! :)

Fiesta Movement Agent Page

Don't forget to check out my profile @ http://fiestamovement.com

This profile links you to all of my pages as well as keeping you connected with my fellow 99 agents! I got word from "Mission Control," a.k.a. Andrew Rinke, today that I will be taking the train from Wilmington, DE to NYC on Sunday the 19th and driving back Monday the 20th in my NEW SILVER FORD FIESTA!! I can't wait! I'll take pictures the whole time and keep you guys updated! I can't wait!! :)

Be sure to also check out my new Facebook Fan Page for the Fiesta Movement!

The posts will start to get more interesting when I take the trip and get the car... I promise! :)

Facebook Fan Page for Fiesta Movement

Be sure to check out my facebook fan page for the Fiesta Movement!

Wall Street Journal & Fiesta Movement!

The Wall Street Journal has released an article about the Ford Fiesta Movement!

I found out through my new "Fiesta friend" Hilary McHone. She was actually pictured in the article!

Check out the article...

WSJ


...as well as Hilary's profile
Fiesta Movement