UPDATE: I lost. Kinda sad. Somehow the winners got 70k – 100k votes. Not sure how that was possible but whatever. Thanks everyone who voted!

The Orange County Register is holding a Disneyland photo contest, where the winner will receive tickets to a Disneyland party being held in the park for the diehard fans.

For one part of the contest, a winner will be selected based on how many votes they receive. I submitted 5 photos I took last year. If you could PLEASE pick your favorite of mine and vote for it, I’d really appreciate it!

Just click the photo you like the best below, then hit the orange “Save Vote” button on the page it brings you to. Thanks a ton!

Minnie and Pluto enjoying a stroll down the Hollywood Backlot in California Adventure.

Pluto needs help deciding which ice cream to get.

A small statue of Minnie outside Cinderella’s Castle.

Pluto begs for some free ice cream.

Flowers along Disneyland’s Main Street.

I asked people via my Twitter account what they’d like me to blog about.

- Lia and my friend Pam suggested talking Oscar predictions. I love watching the Oscars, but I’m not a big movie watching person. The only three films I’ve seen that are nominated this year are Avatar, District 9, and Up In the Air. In fact, I don’t watch movies in general. I haven’t seen any of the Star Wars or Lord of the Rings films. That’ll give you a good idea of how few films I’ve seen compared to the general public, lol.

But if I WERE to predict, I’m sure it’s going to be another landslide year like it was for Slumdog Millionaire in 2009. Avatar all the way.

- Nat suggested I talk about idiots at the gym. WOW, this girl read my mind. I’ve wanted to bitch about people at the gym for a while.

In a nutshell, I hate when people at the gym: 1) do not put their free weights back on the racks, 2) sit on machines – not using them – just to socialize with people, 3) SMELL, 4) sit on machines using their phones, and 5) scream loud when they’re struggling with their weights. I understand some grunting cause you’re pushing yourself, but I dislike the obnoxious people who go ‘AGHHHHHHHHHHHH’ and then let their weight hit the floor with a huge thud.

- Gabrielle suggested I make book recommendations. I wish I had something more recent to talk about, but sadly I don’t. I plan on spending a lot of time at the pool and/or beach this summer so I want to have a couple really great books to read. If YOU have any recommendations, let me know in the comments. Let me know why I would like it!

- This wasn’t a request, but here’s a product I’ve wanted to rave about for a while: Keurig coffee makers. Possibly one of the greatest home inventions in recent years. These coffee makers are special in that they make coffee really fast. You turn it on, it heats up, you insert a “K-Cup” (the coffee type/flavor you want), and it pours the coffee into your cup.

There are a few different brewers available. I got the “Select Home Brewing System” for Christmas and love it to death. My current favorite K-Cup flavors are CoffeePeople’s “Donut Shop Coffee“, “Black Tiger“, and “Santa’s Buzz“.

The best part about these K-Cups are the price. You can buy a pack of 50 of most flavors from Amazon. If you order through Amazon Subscribe, you get free shipping AND 10% off. For Donut Shop Coffee and Black Tiger, that equates to 35 cents per cup. And these are Starbucks-like sizes. Keurig’s can dispense up to 10 ounces at a time. If you want more coffee in a cup, then just use two K-Cups for a price of *gasp* 70 cents. Check ‘em out at Target, Costco, or online.

There are so many other flavors I’m dying to try. This new Tree Hugger flavor is described as sweet and chocolaty. Mmmmm.

After reading this post, some of you will think I’ve gone insane.

… Actually, some of you thought I went insane in mid-2008 when I created a Twilight site.

No matter… I have my dignity and you can’t destroy it!! Today I’m launching a new fansite with the help of a couple friends: LadyGagaLive.net. It’s your go-to place to keep an eye on the ever evolving beat of Lady Gaga.

So the question is: why?

If you’ve listened to MuggleCast or Imprint (no, there will not be a GagaCast for The Gaga Beat) you’ll know I love her music.

And it’s not just me who loves her music. My friends do too. And so do their friends. And so do their friends. And so do their friends.

Like Harry Potter and Twilight, Lady Gaga is a phenomenon. She’s a real musical artist who has captured the world’s attention.

Like MuggleNet and Twilight Source, The Gaga Beat will be updated daily with new videos, photos, interviews, and more. We’ve also put together a couple unique features that you can only do on a music fan site. You’ll see those those blog posts appear on the site in the coming days and weeks.

I really hope you enjoy and support the new site! Please feel free to post your thoughts in the comments of this blog post. And tell your Gaga-loving friends about it too!

Special thanks to John Noe (who designed the site), Ben Schoen (who coded the site), and John Thrasher (who’s running the site with me).

For those of you keeping track, I’ve made a few updates to this site.

- I added links to my Yelp and YouTube profiles. Check them out on the right side of this page under “My Social Networks”

- My Contact page is now using a form. Previously I had an e-mail address on that page, but this new way is much more efficient for both you and I.

- My Resume has been updated. It now has an improved format and better wording. Thanks so much to Twilight Source staff member Ashlee, who helped spruce it up!

In my ongoing quest to make this site more of an online portfolio, I’ve put together a new page: My Interests.

Check it out to see not only the things that I’m interested in, but how I partake in them.

As I explain on this new page of my site, filming/editing videos used to be my life in high school.

I still love doing it but don’t have as many opportunities these days. EXCEPT for the Harry Potter/Twilight premieres, which I absolutely love filming.

I put together this new page to “showcase” some of my work. I really miss it and wish I could shoot some stuff more regularly and expand on skills I developed in ‘04 – ‘07.

Couple specs, for fellow video nerds:
- In high school my camera of choice was the Canon GL2. Today I shoot with a Sony HVR A1U.
- I only edit with Final Cut Pro and Final Cut Studio.

There are more videos I want to share with everyone, but it’s a matter of digging them up. Hope you enjoy!

I love taking pictures, and I’m really happy to share them with the community who are friends with me on Facebook, follow me on Twitter, and read this blog.

I’m no longer taking as many photos/posting them on Flickr as I used to, but I just uploaded a batch that I’m really happy with. We got two feet of snow in South Jersey today and I took some pictures of the family.