New Look!

I got a new layout, I got a new layout, I got a new layout, hey, hey, hey, hey!

Isn't it beautiful?!?!? ^_^

Dream World

So, here I sit, late at night, watching random television shows as a diversion to the chaos that looms in piles around me. In an ideal, dream world, I would be mostly done with my packing by now, with very little left to do, and possibly some legitimate "play" time at my disposal.

Do you know how many projects I have "in progress?"
I don't either.
Lots, I'd imagine.
Art projects, furniture re-dos, packing, scheming for how to decorate the new house, etc.
And the ironic thing is, I have almost nothing but time right now. I could pack, "clean," and get everything organized for our move. Assuming I'm just not insane, I could get most of that done in a few days, and justify working on furniture projects or paintings.

And yet, again, here I sit. Watching TV. In a little bit here, I'm going to stop watching TV, shower, and work on a tangible list and time sheet for tomorrow. Who knows? With a little manufactured will-power and a feasible list, I just might accomplish a whole lot ^_^

I'll let you know :)

As a random side-note, we got a Wii for Christmas, along with several other fantastic presents that I will mention later. As soon as humanly and practically possible, I'm going to get Wii Fit to go along with our new system, and I can't wait to try it out! I'll start compiling goals to coincide with the use of that, as well :)

New Ceiling Fan?

Have you ever thought about all the ways technology has changed in your lifetime? Of all the advancements we've seen in the use of telephones, televisions, computers, the internet, etc.?

Sometimes I look back at old rotary phones and imagine a simpler time, when people couldn't reach you every second of every day. Sure, there are benefits to being accessible, but sometimes, after the millionth notification beep, I consider...for a moment...
...looking into becoming Amish. There's something to be said for the sanctuary of less technology.

Oddly enough, that is a bit of a rabbit trail from where I intended to go. Well, not so odd, since it is me we're talking about. But, I digress.

I came across something recently that I hadn't considered eligible for a remodel. As you may have guessed from my post title, that thing is a ceiling fan.

But, sure enough, I was perusing through Lowe's website, looking at ideas for our new home, when I saw this:


Isn't it...strange? I mean, I think it's gorgeous, and I love the myriad of possibilities it opens up for home decor...but I was just so startled to see it. This one in particular is so pretty (but so far, I've only seen one alternative, and it's much more contemporary). I'm just wondering what everyone thinks about it. It had one review last time I checked, and it wasn't very positive...but a more positive one has been added recently. Basically, you shouldn't put it over your dining room table (I'm thinking that is a no-brainer...sorry to whoever wrote that review), and you should expect more noise to come from it than from "traditional" fans.

I guess where I'm confused is: It looks different, so I understand why they call it "new" from that perspective, but doesn't it look a little bit like a ceiling-mounted-beautified-box-fan?

This conflict may not prevent me from being curious about these "new" fans...but I don't see any indication of advanced technology...just revamped design.

Just curious if y'all had seen these, and what you thought about them.

Retooning the Nativity

I saw this tonight at church. I really enjoyed it, so I thought I'd share.
Merry Christmas!

Elf

Here's another film toward which I might have a bias.
Okay. There is no might. I am biased.

I love this movie. It's adorable. I'm trying to remember who I know that doesn't like it...

Ugh! I love Zooey Deschanel's voice! "Baby It's Cold Outside" is one of my favorite Christmas songs. Well, of the non-religious variety. I would love to sing like her. Or, truth be told, Kelly Clarkson.

I liked seeing Lite-Brites again. I didn't think they existed anymore.

"You disgust me, how can you live with yourself?!? You sit on a throne of lies. You stink. You smell like beef and cheese...you don't smell like Santa. HE'S AN IMPOSTER! HE'S A FAKE, HE'S A FAKE!" - hahahahahahahahhahahahhahahahahhahahahaha!

So, rather than give a play-by-play, I love this movie. Especially the snowball fight, and the message is pretty good. I give it a 4.5 out of 5 sugar plums. It's fun, whimsical, doesn't take itself too seriously, and is endearing. It just might become My Love's and my tradition to watch it every year on Christmas Eve.

The Christmas Card

I'm a little behind in updating my Christmas movies. The Christmas Card was suggested by my sister-in-law:



As I'm not watching it right this second, I won't be able to be quite as thorough...or, really, have a sort of running commentary as I watch it.

The basic summary is that a woman in a quaint logging town writes letters to soldiers overseas at the holidays. Our leading man gets one, and through a set of circumstances ends up visiting her hometown. They meet, and sparks fly, but she's in a relationship. A lovable ensemble cast play the woman's family. I enjoyed her uncle in particular. But I did not like her boyfriend (though, I don't believe you're supposed to).

Overall, this was a very cute movie with a good message. I give it 3.5 sugar plums out of 5. It had a lot of cute, quirky humor, and a lot of heart. I would have been happier if there hadn't been that awful boyfriend...but I guess they had to have an obstacle to overcome. It had some cheese, but I tend to like cheese. I think watching it with my family made it more enjoyable than if I had just come across it on TV.

Good Sign

When I got home from running errands today, this beauty was waiting for me in the yard.



:sigh of contentment:

Great is Thy Faithfulness

This is my 100th Post!

Up until this evening, I was planning on posting a furniture revamp.

However, tonight at our youth group, I heard this song, and was again reminded of how much I have to be thankful for. It's so easy to be caught up in the busyness and stress of life...and focus on the negative instead of the positive. It amazes me how quickly a small problem can overcome us, and become so seemingly overwhelming...to the point that it's the only thing that we are aware of. When really, if you sit back and think about it...about all the blessings in life...all the little things, as well as the big things, you realize that God is faithful more often than things are bad. And, many times, in hindsight, even the bad things result in good.

I was just really moved by this song, and wanted to share it, in case it could encourage anyone out there.

(images and lyrics belong to these guys)

great is Your Faithfulness

great is Your Faithfulness
Your Mercies never end
with each new day
they come again
Your Endless Love is strong
sure as the coming dawn
Your Faithfulness
will be my song

as You have been
forever You will be
great is Your Faithfulness
always oh Lord to me
morning by morning
new mercies still I see
great is Your Faithfulness to me

great is my sinfulness
no good I have to give
but by Your Grace
now I can live
You are my righteousness
the pardon for my sin
Your Presence here
my King and Friend

great is Your Faithfulness
always oh Lord to me
morning by morning
new mercies still I see
and though my heart may fail
You will my portion be
great is Your Faithfulness to me

Your Promise stands forever
we will declare together
Your Name alone is great
and greatly to be praised

Featured?

Ack! I was mentioned by Alicia over at Purple Paisley Pinwheels (try saying that three times fast!) today, and am so honored!

Go check out her post, check out her site! I'm just so thrilled to be "featured!"

Scrooged

Though I was not interested in watching this film to begin with, tonight we'll be watching Scrooged. Someone said it was worth watching, and would redeem the general "Christmas Carol" storyline after this fiasco.

I am so confused...my understanding was that this was an interpretation of A Christmas Carol.
Instead, it has opened with a scene of Santa’s workshop, being attacked by some sort of gunmen.
Ahh, it’s a preview on TV for a fake Christmas movie.

Wow, those were awful commercials.

So, I guess he’s the producer of the worst advertising company. Ever.

“We don’t want to scare the dickens out of people” – HAHAHAHAHAHA!

O.o He just crumbled up a picture someone’s kid drew!

I really don't like this whining, sniveling guy. I hope he's not going to be the equivalent of Crochet. Ah, it doesn't look like it. Whew!

What a MONSTER! Cross just stole an old lady’s cab, flipped her off, and then accepted a humanitarian award! :(

OH MY GOSH – a mouse just pushed a golf ball out of a ?corpse?’s head? Grody!
Now the corpse is threatening to throw him out a window, and he ripped off the guy’s arm! SOOO gross!

I do like that he looked at his watch to determine the years it had been since he talked to Claire. Wait a minute...who's Claire?

These kids are so horrible! They’re decorating their little mute brother like a tree :*(

I did like the bit with the Ghost of Christmas Past just walking through the door, and Cross walking straight into it instead.

What a sad thought...only having life experiences that you saw someone else have on television.

Wow, he screams a lot.

I'm sorry...this movie is totally weird. And depressing. And I feel bad for Bill Murray's hair :(

Unless something really amazing happens to redeem this movie, I'm going to give my verdict now, and go snuggle with My Love while we finish the movie.
I give it 0.5 sugar plum out of 5, and 4 lumps of coal out of 5. The only reason they got the half sugar plum is because I appreciate that they attempted to make this story into a comedy. Only they failed.

Community: Abed's Uncontrollable Christmas

Oh, goodness...against my better judgment, I feel compelled to review this episode of the show, "Community."



After we got home last night from seeing TRON Legacy (which was AMAZING, by the way), My Love put this in as our evening entertainment. The episode is called "Abed's Uncontrollable Christmas." And did I mention that the whole thing is in clay-mation?

Before I continue, there are a few things that you should know:
1) I do not usually enjoy the show "Community."
2) The show has all the elements of other shows that I like, but the way it fits together just doesn't work for me, and I don't find it entertaining enough to warrant watching most of the time.
3) My hubby really likes it. So, sometimes, when he comes across a particularly good episode, we will watch it together. The only episode I really enjoyed (though I have seen a couple decent ones) was "Modern Warfare."

With all that in mind, I did make an effort to set aside my bias for this review.


The episode opens up with the Dean speaking over the intercom, saying, "It's that very special time of year, Greendale; a time for me to remind you that your school acknowledges no specialness to this time of year. You do, of course, have a constitutional right to lend this season the significance of your choosing in any of our designated holiday zones."

"And this is the most important Christmas in the history of the universe; at least, I think it is because we're all in stop-motion-animation."

Ahh, here we go - the first song and dance number, ending with Abed being tazered.


And here, the one who started it all, is Abed:



We get to join the cast of the show as they journey into a group therapy session to determine why Abed is visualizing everything in clay-mation. From Abed's perspective, everyone has transformed into Christmas versions of themselves:

Annie is now ballarannie


Britta became Brittabot



Senor Chan was the snowman. The whole introductory scene was more than a little disturbing.



Professor Ian Duncan served as the tour-guide on this mystical journey. He's a "Christmas wizard."



Jeff was Jeff-in-the-box



Pierce is Teddy Pierce



Shirley is Baby-doll Shirley



Troy was Troy Soldier



I enjoyed the little conversation about how each person was turned into their Christmas identities. Some snarky comment was made about Britta being a robot because she was "heartless and godless," and then Annie was told she was a ballerina because she was "fragile and tightly wound." Quite clever.

Baby-doll Shirley got ejected from the search for the true meaning of Christmas because she almost gave the game away that they were in therapy. She was frozen into an ice cube, and then spirited away by a Christmas pterodactyl (who was summoned by remote).

Hum-bugs!!! Hahahahaha! They're attracted to sarcasm :) Of course, the hum-bugs ate Jeff.

Next, they lost the Christmas Wizard who inadvertently made his group therapy work on himself, freaked out, and exited from the magical journey.

Britta was expelled from finding the meaning of Christmas because she lied to Abed to get him into counseling.

Pierce left because he had to go to the bathroom, and they were out of Christmas cookies.

Ah, the Christmas Wizard has returned. Hmm, his return was short-lived, as Ballerannie and Troy Soldier sabotaged him in order to let Abed continue on to find the meaning of Christmas.

Pierce returned.

Hahahaha! I love the way they're playing along with this creation of the Christmas adventure. They're just making it up as they go, completely altering their reality as they see fit. They're teleporting, creating remote-controlled-Christmas-pterodactyls, and whatever else strikes their fancy.

BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! The meaning of Christmas is the first season of LOST? ("It's symbolic for a lack of payoff") Sheer brilliance.

Uh-oh. The Christmas Wizard has revealed the real reason Abed is coping by putting people in stop-animation (which is that his mother is not coming to visit him, as is his Christmas custom), and Abed has been frozen into a block of ice.
But now, the whole cast has returned to support Abed, and are about to shoot up the Christmas Wizard for making poor Abed freeze. Awww, they're going to sing about the true meaning of Christmas :) As they sing, the ice around Abed slowly begins to melt away.

And, as is fitting, Ballerannie activates the Christmas Pterodactyl to come carry away the Christmas Wizard...and it self-destructs.


Wow. What a show. In general, I quite enjoyed this show. It was very politically correct in the way that it was not politically correct. It's kind of hard to rate a show vs. a Christmas movie, but I think I'd give this one 4 sugar plums out of 5. I really did think it was clever, the animation was great, the concept of combining various Christmas specials, song and dance, and Willy Wonka was genius.

Home Alone 2: Lost in New York

*EDIT* Due to a clerical error on my part (that being some of my entries were saved drafts, not posts, and some were duplicates), this is not my 100th post. I'm almost there, though!



Perhaps I should have veered off the beaten path for my 100th post, but I decided to stick with my challenge.


:contented sigh: Tonight, it's time for Home Alone 2: Lost in New York! :)


I'm still really impressed by how well these movies have stood up over time.

This family is just ghastly. Buzz is a nightmare, and really needs to be punished.
Uncle Frank irritates the snot out of me.

I love the Talkboy! My brother and I got one when we were kids, and had so much fun with it! Not nearly as much fun as Kevin did, as we weren't quite as mischievous or inventive, but we enjoyed ourselves.




All of this is so classic and believable. If you're like me at all, you might watch this movie and wonder what kind of mother could leave her child behind two years in a row...and yet, I can also easily look at my life and see some things that seem to keep happening, no matter how hard I feel I try to avoid them.

All this screaming is hilarious! I would have loved to see all the audition tapes for these movies.

You know, I feel like I've written about this movie before, but I don't see it in my drafts anywhere, so I'm not sure what I'm thinking.

I'd love to go visit New York, ride in a vintage taxi, and stay in that same hotel. That bath tub looks amazing! Yep, sign me up for that vacation!

Too convenient that the now "sticky bandits" have landed in the same city. Poor Kevin can't seem to catch a break. I love the lines about smelling freedom vs. smelling fish :D

The scene where he borrows his dad's swimming trunks and asks politely if anyone would mind if he worked on his cannon ball is too cute!

The casting of the three hotel staff members was absolutely brilliant. They are all perfect together: Mrs. Stone, Cedric, and Mr. Hector.

Awww, Duncan's Toy Chest! I always wanted one of those ginormous stuffed unicorns. Dunno what I would have done with it, but I definitely remember wanting one :)

Can I just say, I really enjoy the way Kevin seems to anticipate what adults will think and say in order to use their own logic against them :)

Ah, the turtle doves. I remember spending years looking for those ornaments. I don't recall if we ever found them.

They meet again...the bad guys and the young master of boobie-traps.

One of my favorite scenes is where the hotel staff and police escort are having a conversation with the movie. Sooooo funny! :)

Aw, the bird lady! Her little hovel above the orchestra is amazing! I wouldn't particularly enjoy all the birds everywhere, but it would be fun to have your own secret viewing/listening nook in a place like that.

Kevin's "blueprints" are so creative and fun to look at. Such a creative little boy ;)

Again, credit must be given to the cast of the hotel staff:
"What kind of idiots do you have working here?"
"The finest in New York!"

Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern are such fantastic physical comedians. Their voices, expressions, and general mannerisms really just make this movie phenomenal.

Hahahahahahahaha! The green slime jig by Marv is classic! Followed shortly by the amazing scene where he screams as he's electrocuted, then turns into a skeleton with a fro. There aren't many movies that can get away with that. I remember when that happened in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, and I was quite weirded out by it.

These guys are just hilarious!

Overall, HA2 is enjoyable, endearing, comical, and also heartfelt. Like HA1, there's a valuable principle to be learned, bad guys to be punished, and countless laughs in store for the audience. I like different things about each of the films. However, I think they will end up the same rating. I give this film 4.5 sugar plums out of 5. It's hilarious, enjoyable, and overall marvelous.
As I watch it, I'm surprised to realize how many lines from the movie became commonplace in my brother's and my speech growing up. Excellent movie :)

Prancer

Against the wishes of my best friend, I am about to watch Prancer.



Oh my goodness, these hairstyles are atrocious.

But I totally remember this opening scene! It's been over a decade since I've seen this, and I totally remember this!

Oh! It's that girl from Jurassic Park!

Ohhh, I loved the way they had the reindeer over the street were symbolic of the real reindeer. Forgot about that.

Hahahahahaha!!! This guy just had one line, and it was worth watching the whole movie already just to hear him talk! The line wasn't witty, but his voice was hilarious!

OOoooooh, I forgot all about her daddy in this, and how grumpy he is!

Ah, yes, the sledding incident. If you can't stop or control your sled, you probably have no business sledding. This is

And heeeeeerrrrre's Prancer! I love him! (c'mon, Linz, he can't help it if one of his magical Christmas powers is knowing what little children are eating at the holidays..."Christmas cookies" - hahahahaha!) Ugh, I do not like it when he cries, though :(

:*( I forgot about the backstory with her momma who is dead. So sad.

OH NO! Hunters! Pretty sure that's the same gun used to kill Bambi's mother. Sounds the same, at any rate.

Awww, sweet Prancer. Poor his leg got hurt :/

Oh, heavens...I never noticed how close her face got to his antlers when she tries to put on a harness. That freaked me out a bit. One wrong move, Prancer gets spooked, and things don't end well for Jessica. Probably would ruin Prancer's Christmas reputation.

HAHAHAHA! I just heard the line "It's a Christmas cookie!"
Which, in and of itself isn't funny, but yeah...
Okay, so here's the backstory: my friend sent me a message on facebook pleading that I not watch Prancer. I asked her why not, not knowing at all what to expect. She messaged me back telling me that, when she was little, she was eating Christmas cookies while someone turned the channel, and Prancer came on. She asked, regarding the show on TV, "What is this?" and it just so happened that they had come in the middle of this scene. So, right after she asked what the show was, Jessica said, "It's a Christmas cookie!" Which made her freak out that the TV knew what she had in her hand. So, my poor friend is convinced that Prancer is a conduit for evil, since they spied on her when she was a child :) Isn't that funny?

Okay, so I think this reindeer is adorable. I love watching him run, especially on ice, and he just seems to have a lot of personality. However, he makes this groaning sound that I am not sure real reindeer make. I mean, do they? I've never met a reindeer that I'm aware of.
(rabbit trail: the sound reminds me of an old TaleSpin episode. I actually found the episode online! It's called "Mommy for a Day," and Prancer sounds just like the little pink creature when he gets bigger.)

This little girl is so melodramatic and sad looking. She has that basset hound expression throughout most of the movie. Poor kid. She's not obnoxious, but just...well...sad.

Haha! I do like the scene between Jessica and the fake Santa. The Polaroid picture of Prancer is too cute!

Attention children: It is ill-advised to volunteer your services to the scary old woman down the street...or really anyone...without letting your parents know what you're doing. Since I've seen it before, I know it ends alright, but really?

The cleaning of any room in a house, from top to bottom, for $5?!?!? What a deal!
...or child slave labor...take your pick.

Aw, the poor creepy lady has some unexplained baggage with Christmas.
...which is resolved in .5 seconds when she realizes that she can con the little girl into putting the lights up for her substantially below minimum wage. (I know, I know, I'm such a cynic)

:sigh: I absolutely love the sound of a typewriter!

I wonder what my neighbors would say if I went to get my mail in my long-johns? Perhaps I should get a pair and give it a try?

Tee-hee, the scene where the dad is reading the paper and completely missing the fact that there's a reindeer wandering around in his yard is pretty cute. But uh-oh, now Prancer's in the house, inadvertently destroying everything in sight, and devouring the baked goods which he has such an affinity for. Jessica is in big trouble now.

Good grief, this is a mean daddy. I feel badly for him, but he is cranky, and sad, and takes it out on his kids...well, on everyone, really.

Aww, siblings bond over springing Prancer from his prison!

The town came out to support Jessica in her time of need! She believed when they didn't, and they believed for her when she gave up hope.
And now she's melting her daddy's cranky heart.

I love the part where her and her dad are up on Antler Ridge, and Prancer rejoins Santa and his team as it crosses the moon. :)

I still don't understand why they didn't make that the end of the movie. They do some sort of weird pan across a miniature town, and it ends with a bright light coming out of the little girl's room...with no explanation. I guess they were trying to distract us from the fact that there was no real ending to the movie. My theory is that they spent a lot of time making a town in miniature, and didn't want to upset someone or waste that shot, so they just threw it in at the end. I could be wrong...but that at least makes sense.

I give this movie 3 out of 5 sugar plums. It is sweet, and something I'll probably watch with my children if I have them someday, and I have fond memories of it from my childhood still. There were just soooo many facets to it. They didn't have time to dig deep with any of them, really. Everything was tied up nicely at the end, but some of the plot lines were just kind of filler, you know? Again, I'll watch this probably time and time again, but it's just not up to snuff with the other "classics."

The Bells of St. Mary's

At random (and also because it popped up on my Netflix Instant holiday movies suggestion list), I decided to watch The Bells of St. Mary's.




Bing Crosby's voice is so rich and deep...and kind.

Black and white is such an interesting medium for film. I can't tell if the gardens or grass are green, or if they're all dead and brown. I can imagine it both ways.

The kids just said the Pledge of Allegiance, and "Under God" wasn't in it. I guess that's because it wasn't incorporated into the pledge until 1954, and this movie was made in 1945.

Oh my goodness, it's Agnes!

This movie is sweet, and is a classic for a reason, but I'm not going to lie...I guess I'm accustomed to the faster pace of modern cinema...the stark absence of music from regular scenes, the long silences, the humor of the time...it just goes quite slowly.

"Did anyone ever tell you that you have a dishonest face? For a priest, I mean?"

I wonder if kid actors were trained all at the same place back then? They all act the same. Actually, everyone acts the same. All the inflections of the adults and children are exactly the same as majority of the movies I've seen from this time period. Why didn't I notice that before?

I do rather like that a nun is teaching a little boy how to box.

Hahahahaha!!!! He just punched a nun!!!!!! :D

"You have to know something to do anything, you know."

Finally, a song!

"Pardon the grammar, but aint life grand?!?"

Oh my goodness, the whole scene where the nun is coaching a young boy to beat up another...very strange. And, of course, the boys shook hands and made up, all in the name of ice cream. If only all issues could be resolved over two scoops :)

Little Bobby is adorable.
This Christmas play is PRECIOUS! Most definitely my favorite part of the movie thus far.

I love that the old man finds generosity, a dog, and respect of others in such a short period of time.

I find it interesting that, when Ingrid Bergman sang, it sounded a lot like Snow White in the Disney animated feature. Just the way the voice sounds...it's not really a vibrato, I think, but it's that sort of effect. I wonder if it has anything to do with the way they recorded sound back then?

I'm going to rate this 3.5 sugar plums out of 5. The story is a good one, the actors are simply legendary...but the film was so. very. unbelievably. slow. :pause pause pause pause pause: It :pause pause pause: took forever :meaningful glance followed by a pause pause: to finish. And, while some of it was necessary for effect, I would guess at least half an hour could have been shaved off had they not put an overemphasis on silence. But it was a sweet movie.

Four Christmases

:sigh: Now to watch Four Christmases. One I've watched before, and one I seek comfort in now to recover from the monstrosity that was Disney's A Christmas Carol.




I really do like Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon. Both separate and together.

The opening scene is not one to watch with the little ones, though I have to admit it makes me laugh.

Part of why I probably like this movie is the music. I'm wondering if I could download the soundtrack and drift into a Christmas music-induced stupor? ^_^

Love the reference to The Most Dangerous Game.

I really enjoy the natural dialogue and bantering that happens in this movie. A lot.

HAHAHAHA! I love that Kevin is in this, and he's talking differently.

Also have to give a nod to Little Ralphie from A Christmas Story, who is featured as a ticket agent.

I want to know what these two do for a living in this movie to be able to afford such amazing presents. It's quite impressive.

Hahahaha! Love Denver and Dallas! "We're named after the cities in which we were conceived."
Oh my goodness, Jon Favreau and Tim McGraw are hilarious!

Heavens, the first family experience is stressful, hilarious, and as painful as possible.

The cougar den! Hahahahaha! Oh my goodness! It's Kristin Chenoweth again...playing the same role...again. But she's still flawless in the role...guess there's a reason she's typecast.
I forgot how many stars are in this movie - check out the cast list!

Ugh, it is horrific when you have people over and your family shares all your deepest, darkest, most embarrassing secrets.

UGH!!! I forgot about the baby spitting up all over her! That's soooo gross!

Ah, more witty banter :)

Oy...this church is painful...gaudy...and I'm terrified that it might be accurate of some...which is really scary.

Love this scene where they're playing the game as a family! Hilarious! Awkward, but hilarious!

And here we have the stereotypical wrench in the works.

And now it's been resolved, and all is happy.

Um, I'm kind of thinking that all this "live TV" coverage would be illegal...or at least something that would require consent. But hey, this is a movie.

Okay, so I like this one. It's not really a family movie, as there is some adult humor, but I think it's cute. Not really a timeless classic or anything, but one I will watch more than once over the coming years. I think I'll give this 4 sugar plums out of 5.

A Christmas Carol

Before I get into this, I have to say that My Love is amazing. We have been watching Dexter lately, and both love it a lot, but it's prevented us from watching all the Christmas movies we're supposed to. So, tonight, he nobly allowed me to try to catch up on my reviews and whatnot, by submitting himself to watching them with me, and not watching Dexter without me :)

So, instead of watching serial-killer-kill-serial-killer, we'll be watching A Christmas Carol.


Ah, the very stereotypical Disney/family film opening showing a closed book.
:muffles a cry: Ugh!
Followed by the not stereotypical image of a dead body O.o
Very well drawn, but creepy as all get out.

Something about it is reminding me of Titanic. Weird comparison...but yeah, watching the pan through the city brought back that movie for some reason.

I'm interested to see how Jim Carrey portrays Scrooge. I've seen a few short previews for the process, and am quite interested in how it turns out on screen.

Um, I did not like that street vendor hitting the little kid in the face. Jerkface.

I'm a little creeped out by Fred. I knew it was Colin Firth as soon as I saw him, although the real-life version is much more dashing.

Crochet looks a bit like a combination of a Who from How the Grinch Stole Christmas and Wormtail from the Harry Potter series.

Oh goodness! Ghost Marley on the doorknocker is SO CREEPY! (I typed "SO CREPEY" the first time, and that made me laugh thinking of pastries; he did not remind me of a pastry)

I'm undecided as to how I feel about this style of animation. I'm not sure that the combination of animation/CGI and attempt at live action resemblance. Obviously, it's a great tribute to how far we've come in technology...but I am kind of disturbed by the product that blending the two create. All the people look sort of like people, but not...the scary things seem scarier...and because they haven't quite mastered natural movement, everything seems slightly robotic and awkward. I feel like I'm watching one of My Love's video games with zombies, modern warfare, or whatnot...not something I usually choose for my viewing pleasure.

Okay, so maybe this movie was a bad choice for me. This storyline in general always had that darker edge to it, but usually that didn't really show up until The Ghost of Christmas Future did. This movie is waaaaay darker than any other rendition of this story.

"Jacob, tell me no more. Speak comfort to me, Jacob."
"I have none to give."
- that line was very sobering.

OH MY GOSH. Marley's jaw just popped out of place, and he's having to manually move it to enable him to speak properly. I'm officially freaked and grossed out.

Okay, so I just asked my husband how long I had to sit through this movie before I could say that it just wasn't my thing and turn it off. He responded by saying that he felt it was "dreadful," and quote, "What if we did A Christmas Carol with Jim Carrey, and we made it not funny at all."

Immediately following this statement, Marley flew out the window, into a night sky teeming with moaning, groaning, glowing ghosties. I'm done. We're not watching this anymore.

This movie reminds me of all of the scary parts of Anastasia, only you can't skip through them or you'd have no movie left to watch.

I give this movie (though let it be noted that I did not finish watching it) 4 lumps of coal out of 5.
I do not recommend watching this with children under the age of 10...and maybe not even then.
Actually, who am I kidding? I don't recommend that you watch this movie at all. It was ghastly. So ghastly that I don't even want to try to watch it more to see if it gets better.

"Uh-uh-oh!" instead of "Ho-ho-ho!"

Well, I've failed the last several days at updating my Christmas movie list. Do not fear, faithful few who are reading these posts. My loathing of the abomination that was Santa Who? has not marred my determination for marking this Christmas season by watching a minimum of 25 Christmas movies by Christmas Day 2010.

I've just been unbelievably distracted lately. Partially by relaxation, actually, which was marvelous, thank you for asking.

We've been trying to get everything in order to make an offer on a house! I'm really trying (and failing) not to get too excited. I keep calling it "the house," "our house," "the new house," etc., instead of something more generic, and less possessive. :sigh: Hopefully it'll work out. I'll keep you posted.

Speaking of posted, you can expect my delinquent posts to appear soon. I'll be watching/reviewing Prancer, Home Alone 2, The Holiday, Four Christmases, and A Christmas Carol.

That's all for tonight! Ciao!

Christmas Countdown DIY

Inspired by this project over at Drab to Fab, I attempted to tackle this for myself as a present in our staff gift exchange party.

I do not have a "My Metal Guy" like she does, so I did the cookie sheet variety. I did not take step-by-step pictures, as I was in a bit of a hurry, but I think the end result is rather nice. The only thing I'm having trouble with are the numbers. I used textured scrapbook paper for the little rectangles, and am completely unsure of what to use for numbers. I tried drawing them on with a sharpie, but the paper was too rough and it made the whole project way too "homemade" looking. I'm going to have to get creative, and fast!

Also, I couldn't find a frame magnet, so I ended up buying a holiday scrapbook sticker set, and I attached a magnet to the back of the little gift, so you can move the present from day to day. Once it's the 25th, you put the present under the tree! What do you think?



I'm really proud of it! ^_^

What to do, what to do...

Remember this?



I found it on the curb of my neighbor's house with a "free" sign taped to it, along with the filing cabinets I've been working on. I blogged about that night of free loot here.

Anyway, it all started with me thinking I could pick up the nightstand, turn it into something awesome, and sell it for a little profit.

However, I've still done nothing to it. As moving looms ever nearer, I feel the need to do something with this nightstand and get it out of my garage. Really, this is not a priority, but it's one of those things that feels like one, you know?

So, upon closer inspection of the piece, it really doesn't need a new coat of paint. It's in pretty good shape. However, the top is water damaged, so I'll need to sand that down and give it a fresh coat.

I've been thinking of alternatives to just painting it. I've considered something like this, without as loud of colors:



I've considered painting swirly designs on the side, over the drawers, etc. as a kind of mural. Similar to this, just stretched over a piece of furniture instead of a wall:



I even considered painting a design just on the top. Maybe something like this:



But I haven't decided. And, what's more, I've come up with even more ideas! I found this amazing tutorial on how to make faux mercury glass at the Shanty 2 Chic I Made it Without My Hubby party. What would you think about me making a piece of "mercury glass" to adhere to the top? I'm not sure if it would look as awesome, but it might. And, of course, if I do a piece on the top, what's to stop me from adding a piece to each side, to add some continuity? Wouldn't that be cool? Maybe with a little frame around it, to cover the edges?

I'm kind of leaning toward the last idea. What if I made a faux piece of mercury glass, adhered it to the top; painted the hardware on the piece in something (probably black) by Rust-Oleum; and distressed/glazed the edges a bit? Sounds pretty chic to me :)

Santa Who?

Tonight, we're watching Santa Who?

This is not good. This movie is not impressing me so far. I feel guilty about writing a poor review for a movie Leslie Nielsen is in, what with his recent passing, but I'm currently feeling like I'd rather be at the dentist's office, or stuck in traffic, or really just not watching this movie. We've got a good setup right now: the fire is blazing in the fireplace, the lights are out, and I'm curled up in a big, soft, comfy chair...the only bad thing is that this movie is on my TV.

The characters (other than Nielsen's) are lame, the relationships between them seem forced and contrived, the elves are tall, and apparently Santa is indestructible (he fell from the sleigh in the sky, landed on the hood of a car, and merely lost consciousness...and his memory...from the fall).

Okay, so far, my favorite part has been the Santa auditions. That was funny.

I do like the outfit "Santa" chose for himself. Too bad I couldn't find a picture of it :(

The airport scene was interesting, only because the movie was released in 2000, and there's no way those elves would have made through airport security with all those suspicious packages after 9-11-01.

Seriously...this movie is painful. I think it makes it so much worse that Nielsen is actually rather endearing in this role, and I want to like it because he's doing a good job...but his supporting cast is...well...not supporting him. The script so far isn't really all that bad, but the casting/acting is horrific (again, with the exception of Nielsen). The elves are unbearable.

"Talk?"
"Yeah, you know: words without singing?" -- hahahaha!

Ugh :( More over dramatic acting that detracts from the film rather than adds to it. Just what I wanted.

I do have to say that this kid is not an obnoxious kid actor, which is a plus. Actually, some of the faces he makes remind me a lot of my niece. Not at all that she looks like a boy, because she doesn't...but some of the faces he makes where you know he's up to no good, but he's being sneaky about it. My niece is very good at making that face ;) And their happy face is kind of similar too :)

The slapstick in this movie sucks too. Or, at least this guy is just horrid.

Oh. My. Word. The elves' really awkward slow-motion reveal was disturbing. I mean, really creepy.

Overall, I'm very disappointed. I don't know what I was expecting, but that movie just wasn't very good. It had a few good bits, but they were few and far between.

I'm going to have to give this movie 1 sugar plum, and 3 lumps of coal - the worst rating by far that I have issued. I will, however, rank Leslie Nielsen 4.5 sugar plums, as he did an excellent job, and can't help who his cast members were.

I do wonder if I would have liked the movie better had I seen it as a child. I just don't know.

I Made it Without My Hubby! - Red Furniture

I'm participating in Shanty 2 Chic's I Made it Without My Hubby party! Because of the way I assembled my furniture revamp posts, I didn't think it would make for a very smooth transitional link; so I'm re-assembling them here, along with a link to the original post (at the bottom).

While I still have several projects in progress, I think my favorite so far has been the creation of the red furniture.

It all began with this piece:





I saw this beauty at a thrift store in Waco, and tried to be responsible, and walked away instead of buying it. Unfortunately for my sweet husband, I kept thinking about it...and thinking about it...wishing I had bought it when I had the chance...and imagining what I would have done with it, had I bought it. Fortunately for me, my friend had to go back to Waco anyway, and loved me enough to allow me to accompany her, and use her vehicle to transport my beloved furniture piece with all that potential.

While we were there, however, another piece caught my eye...and I got that too. But more on that in a little bit.

So, the reason I was so transfixed by this piece of furniture was that I thought it would be the perfect piece of furniture in our game room. Last Christmas/birthday, I got My Love a projector, and we use it upstairs in the game room. He had a spare coffee table sitting underneath it, with all the electronic odds and ends required for sound, game systems, etc. kind of piled on and around it. I wanted something a little less...college-ish. So, I thought this piece would be perfect. It was nice and low, long, and had two doors with storage. I have a painting upstairs that I absolutely love, and I thought I would try to incorporate some of the colors from that into the room.

But first, I removed the hardware and primed the piece:



Second, I sprayed the hardware down with Rust-Oleum Hammered Black (love anything Rust-Oleum!):


Then, I chose a color - Krylon's Cherry Red spray paint, and purchased a glaze tinted black. I painted the piece with two coats, if I remember correctly, then glazed the details, and voila!:





My insanity was rewarded by this idea being realized. I think it came out extremely well, and I love it!


Now for that other piece that I discovered accidentally at the thrift store. Here she is:







I loved the detail, the unique hardware, and the idea of what it would look like with the other piece! You know, matching without being matchy-matchy? Uh-oh, what had I started? Now I had an end table to go with my entertainment table? :)
I went through the same steps with it. I primed it first:





Painted it red:



Spray-painted the hardware, and added the glaze:







As you might have noticed, I was having way too much fun. And, now that I had two pieces, I felt like one more side table would complete my set for the game room. I turned to my endless source of trouble (with a capital T) and great bargains- craigslist, and found exactly what I was looking for, at the dream price of $10! Seriously! And boy, was she pretty, even before I got a hold of her!:





I followed all the same steps, and was blown away by the results!





I put them all in the game room, paired them with my lamps redone from another project, and couldn't be happier with the finished product! And I made them all without my hubby! ^_^


The actual posts for these items can be found starting here.
Stay tuned for more improvements and revamps! We have our eyes on a new-to-us house -- we're really hoping things work out to get it, and if it does, I'll have lots more projects to send your way! :)