Highlights of Christmas, Week 4 (Part 1 of 2)

So week 4 was kinda crazy.  The first part was pretty normal.  Just hanging out, watching movies, etc.  But then... boom... excitement.  Oh hey, Arizona.


Part 1 (the normal part).
Movies.  I said before Christmas break I wanted to watch some movies.  Oh did I watch some movies.  Assuming I didn't forget any, I watched 16.  Woah.  Here's my Christmas movie list, my own Reader's Digest version of reviews, and how many stars I gave it.  (note: I had to add a few .5 levels to make the scale a more accurate reflection of my opinion)

1.  How the Grinch Stole Christmas-  A classic (1966 version).  Hardly a movie at 26 minutes long, but it has the heart of a movie.  4 stars.  

2.  Inception-  Brilliant.  Yet confusing.  I think I've seen it 3 or 4 times now and I finally get it.  It takes a lot of energy to watch this movie.  4 stars.

3.  White Christmas-  Saw it for the first time.  NOT carried away.  Maybe I just wasn't in the zone or something, but it wasn't everything it'd been hyped to be.  1 star.

4.  Christmas Vacation-  I LOVE this movie.  I could watch it over and over and over again.  And, by gosh, I have.  5 stars.

5.  Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader-  There was a lot that I liked, a lot that was lacking (::cough:: bad acting).  3 stars.  (barely)

6.  Robin Hood-  So much potential.  Good action.  Unnecessarily confusing.  Good thing I already knew the basic characters and such.  2.5 stars.

7.  The Other Guys-  Funny but we didn't really click.  Thought it was kinda stupid.  Maybe I should give it another chance.  2 stars.  (Probably a little harsh.)

8.  Good Will Hunting-  The epitome of a good movie.  Too vulgar for my taste but it's intentional so I put up with it.  I watch this one over and over, too.  If you haven't seen it, see it.  5 stars.

9.  Date Night-  Great acting.  Actually brilliant acting.  Tina Fey and Steve Carell are such a dynamic duo.  The storyline was stupid.  Too stupid.  3.5 stars.

10.  Heavyweights-  The fact that there is a movie about fat camp makes me laugh.  Watch this one with friends.  2 stars.

11.  How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days-  A good movie, considering it's a chick-flick.  I'm just not crazy about Matthew McConaughey or that chick in the movie (see I can't even remember her name...).  3 stars.

12.  Dumb and Dumber-  If dumb is the goal, then A+.  You have to be in the mood, but it's very funny.    3.5 stars.

13.  How to Train Your Dragon-  Granted I didn't go in with super high expectations, THIS MOVIE ROCKED MY SOCKS OFF.  As in, I'm barefoot.  For real, go watch this movie right now.  5 stars.

14.  Back to the Future (#1)-  A classic.  Glad I finally watched it.  4 stars.  (barely)

15.  Elf-  Another classic.  Worth watching every Christmas.  4 stars.

16.  True Grit (2010)-  Granted I haven't seen John Wayne's version, this movie was amazing.  I was particularly impressed with the cinematography, score (primarily piano, a unique touch), and acting.  It was a simple yet deep movie.  5 stars.

playing angry birds

Other things to note:

17.  Angry Birds-  Alarmingly addicting.  Don't start it or you won't stop.  Charles and I played this on the iPad instead of watching a movie one night by accident.  We didn't mean to play for 2 hours, it just happened.

18.  Safe Haven (by Nicholas Sparks)-  I'm a big fan of Nicky.  He's a charming author.  Not very deep but he knows how to write a poignant book.  Props.


Part 2 coming soon.

A Big Red Barn

A long weekend of family fun at Mimi and Papa's farm in Greenback, TN was complete with... Christmas caroling (i'm not joking), watching the 2 best Christmas movies EVER (It's A Wonderful Life/ Elf), visiting the animals, opening presents, a trip to the coolest house I've ever seen (Stay posted for pictures in my next post), and eating enough food to fuel a small army.

Tom the turkey

Papa feeding Franklin the horse & Henry the donkey

Chuck the cat

Wilbur the pig

                                          

                                                                      Duke and Prince

Told you we went Christmas caroling...that's right be jealous.

Highlights of Christmas, Week 1

1.  Driving home-- Not really a highlight, but a necessity.  Also, this picture is of the drive home, just not this particular drive home.  But it felt cold enough to look like this.

2.  Sleeping-- As demonstrated by my sister.

3.  Playing with Teddy-- Our new miniature poodle.  He's really cute.

4.  Getting Gas-- A result of driving back from Auburn (see #1) and Christmas shopping (see #5).  For best results, take a friend.

5.  Going Shopping--  Preferably BestBuy.  I actually really don't like shopping, but BestBuy is always a positive experience.  I've already been there twice.  With Charles.  And he bought Inception both times.

Seriously, this made
the movie so much
easier to follow

6.  Watching Movies--  I've re-watched Inception.  (See diagram for help understanding movie.)  And I watched Back to the Future for the first time.  Wonderful movie.

7.  Cooking--  I don't actually cook that much.  I don't really like to cook.  I did make hashbrown casserole but that is my only claim to fame thus far.  And it makes me feel more domestic.  However, I have mastered the eating category....

Action shot from Sol A

8.  Eating at Sol Azteca--  The restaurant of choice.  I seriously eat here almost every time I come home from school.  Aside: I eat here enough that once a waiter stopped by my table to ask if I'd brought my own cheese.  As in, he remembered that I usually bring my own lactose-free cheese.  Cool.

9.  Hanging Out With Friends--  This is the most important highlight.

10.  Going on a Double Triple Date--  First triple date ever.  Woah.  But we accomplished #s 6, 8, and 9 all at the same time, so you know it was a good night.

11.  Everything Else-- Wrapping presents, listening to Christmas music, riding in carpool to Pizitz, freezing my tail off, reading, packing, etc.

overboard

As much as I enjoy the Lord of the Ring's trilogy, I'm not sure how I feel about this:

Also, a big shout-out to Kevin Fly for living a near a LOTR fanatic.  Cool.

~~~~~

Oh, and just in case you were wondering (you probably weren't), while Alex was in Hotlanta for the SEC championship, I was here...

my desk

I think we all know who got the better deal.

When time permits...

I rarely have time to watch a movie during school.  Alex and I watched "Letters to Juliet" one Friday night, and it was one of the worst movies I've EVER seen.  I haven't even attempted to watch a movie in Auburn since then.

Thankfully, this semester will be over in FIVE days.  So, let the movie viewing begin!  Here are some of my favorite Christmas movies:

  

And then there's always:

And maybe even:

Peanuts

There's something so sweet about the classics.  There's something so sweet about Christmas.  So naturally, there's something REALLY sweet about a Christmas classic.  "A Charlie Brown Christmas" could not be more of a Christmas classic.  (Cue "Linus and Lucy" song.)

"I never thought it was such a bad little tree.  It's not bad at all, really.  Maybe it just needs a little love."

Oh Linus, you are so wise.