25 Days of Christmas: Day 25

Mallory--How could you be late on the last day of the 25 Days of Christmas??

The answer? Because I did not touch a computer all day long! But yes, I touched my camera, and there are lots of pictures I need to share!

Christmas Eve night and Christmas morning were pretty funny. My sister and I have this old random tradition. Every Christmas Eve around 2am (we don't intentially wake up then, it just happens!) we wake up, Santa has left us presents under the trees in our rooms, we open them, and then Abby comes and makes a pallatte in my bedroom floor and sleeps there the rest of the night! And then we sleep off and on until like 6:30am when we are just anxious as can be to start Christmas morning!

This year, we decided to make Abby's pallatte ahead of time so there wouldn't be so much to do at 2am. And instead, Abby just slept in my room all night! Funniest part? We both fell asleep before midnight! haha. So much for being too excited to sleep! I woke up around 3:30am, and didn't have enough energy to roll over and put my glasses on to see if Santa had even left something under my tree. So I went back to sleep. Then, around 6:30am, Abby woke me up saying we had presents under our trees, so we got them and opened them. We were still tired, so I told her I was just going to leave the TV on. Afterall, there were lots of Christmas shows on! Fiiiiiiiiinally, a little before 8, we decided to get up. Turns out Mom and Dad had been up for almost 3 hours waiting for us to come get them! hahaha.

After a day filled with lots of Christmas and family, last night, I was too tired. I went to bed before midnight again...something that does not happen often! I had been home to celebrate Christmas, my grandparents' house, and Matt's grandparents' house. So much Christmas! :)


Another Christmas tradition our family has is counting the number of times we hear Sleigh Ride during the whole Christmas season. I don't remember exactly how this game got started, but I do remember the rules we started with:
-at least 2 family members have to be together to hear it
-it doesn't count if it's on a movie; it has to be on the radio
Well, over the years, our lifestyles have changed, so the rules have had to change as well. When Abby and I started driving it decreased the chances of 2 family members in the car together, so if one of us heard the song, it didn't count. Then, when I went away to school, there was even less of a chance of me being with someone to hear it and it count. So, after some changes, here are this years' rules:
-at least 2 family members and/or Matt have to be together to hear it
-it still doesn't count if it's on a movie; it has to be on the radio
-2 people have to hear it at the same time. You don't have to be together, you just have to hear it. (Example: During the last few weeks of school, I barely turned my TV on. Since Lite98 started playing Christmas music 24/7, I basically listened to it 24/7. Well, at work, Mom keeps Lite98 on in her office. If I hear it, I'll call her to see if she's in her office, or if she hears it, she'll call me to see if I'm in my room listening. If not, it doesn't count. If so, it does count.
-Mallory is the official Keeper of the Counting! haha.

We think last year's total was 28 total times hearing the song, which I think is about right.

This year's total?? 42 TIMES!! Matt and I heard #42 when we were on the way back to my house at 10pm last night. So from November 24th (when Lite98 started playing Christmas music), through December 25th, we heard it 42 times! Yay!!!!

So, Sleigh Ride is #25, and the final song, on my 25 Days of Christmas 2010. I hope you have enjoyed hearing some of my favorite songs and a few funny stories the past 25 days. I have lots of Christmas pictures I hope to share on here, too!

Hope you had a wonderful and Merry Christmas!!!

25 Days of Christmas: Day 24

Every Christmas Eve, Dad has read "'Twas the Night Before Christmas." When we were younger, he would start switching up the words and put in crazy things, and Abby and I would get the biggest kick out of it and scream, "NOOOOOOOO! It's....." And then fill in whatever word he messed up! Several years back, I don't know, maybe even like five years ago, Dad just started completely rewriting the whole story! It basically recaps the entire year and funny memories since the last Christmas! Here are a few things this year's story included:
-Abby getting into Longwood
-Our driveway currently housing six vehicles, when there are only four people in my family!
-Matt getting to play in the Sleigh Ride Game (more to come on that tomorrow! song hint? I think so!....)
-The loss of an amazing friend, Casey


And, of course, another great Christmas story is the story of Jesus' birth, and I don't think anyone can tell it quite as good as Linus can. You must view this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pn10FF-FQfs

So, #24 is going to be a double-dose of songs. But they're both related!

#24 part A is the regular Charlie Brown theme song that always makes me dance like the girl characters do. Trust me, I can show you some pretty awesome moves.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0G8XH4WDxP4&feature=related

#24 part B is O Tannenbaum (O Christmas Tree) from Charlie Brown. There's just something that makes you feel good when you hear that one particular version of this song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kw6h4mZO1oU

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVE!!!!!

25 Days of Christmas: Day 23

I cannot believe tomorrow is CHRISTMAS EVE!! Where has December gone? Really, where has 2010 gone?! Crazyness!

Our church has been allowing another church to use our sanctuary for their services while they are renovating their building. I've never really met anyone from the other church, but every time I've seen one of them coming in as I've been leaving, they've all seemed so nice!

Well, the two churches got together and put together an event tonight at Fort Lee: A Live Nativity. It was so cool! (and cold!) And they also had singing, and hot apple cider...which I now like ;) They did not use a real baby, but there was a tiny white dog who looked like he could have been playing the part of a sheep! haha. Here is a picture I took with my phone right before we left.......

I thought it would only be appropriate to share my #23 favorite Christmas song: Mary Did You Know.

When I was in the choir at church, we sang this song one year. I had never heard it before then and I immediately loved it. It's a very great song!

25 Days of Christmas: Day 22

In pre-school, I used to love performing in the Christmas and Easter programs. We would first all come out and sing a bunch of songs for our parents. Then, we would go back to the classroom and get our costumes on to act out the Biblical stories. We have some funny home videos from when I was in pre-school, as well as when Abby was too!

I always remember singing Jingle Bells, because we got to make these bracelets with pipe cleaners, and we would string jingle bells on them. Then, during the song (and we were only allowed to wear these bracelets during Jingle Bells!), we would get to shake our wrists to make our own music!

So number 22 is a very simple, yet classic Christmas song: Jingle Bells.

Which, by the way, did you know Jingle Bells was originally written as a Thanksgiving song???

25 Days of Christmas: Day 21

If you didn't know, my dad is in a Gospel-Bluegrass group, ChurchYard Grass. The CYG family has basically become a second family over the past 17 (almost 18!!) years. A few years back, we started having the CYG Christmas party, and it's just. so. fun. And awesome. Aw heck, it's awesomely fun! One of the band members, Donnie, has not been called "Donnie" by either my sister or me for many years. The reason why? Oh just you wait.....

Years ago (which kinda seems like forever and a day ago) my parents went on a cruise. Donnie was taking them to the airport, and then we were leaving from there and he was taking Abby and me to school. We got to Abby's school first, and she and Donnie went into the office, and that lady said, "Oh, you must be Abby's uncle." So, after correcting her and finding out they needed to go to the clinic to sign Abby in, the nurse said, "Oh, you must be the grandpa!" ahahaha. So wrong. So, ever since then, my sister and I have just referred to Donnie as "Granpa." lol.

Aaaaand, for a couple years, CYG was working on a bus. The bus sat in our backyard for a while, and they stripped all the seats out and were fixing it all up. One year, I got inspired to write a song--or--rewrite a song, for that matter. The name?

"Grandpa Got Run Over By a Tourbus!"

I rewrote the ENTIRE song. I mailed him a Christmas card that year (A "Grandpa card," of course) and printed out a copy of the song to put in it. The only part I can remember exactly is:

Granpa got run over by a tourbus,
After a CYG concert Christmas Eve,
You can say there's no such thing as MC-8,
But as for the rest of CYG we believe!

(MC-8, if I remember correctly, was the type/style of bus they were working on.)

I'm going to try to find the rest of that song; it would bring a great laugh!

Therefore, good ol #21 is, the original, Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer!

25 Days of Christmas: Day 20

As I mentioned in an earlier 25 Days of Christmas post, my family has gone to Disney World around Christmas time twice. Whenever we would go on long trips, my parents would bring little things in the car for my sister and I, to keep us occupied and not ask, "how much longerrrrrr??" every 10 minutes! Abby and I could come up with the craziest things to do...like use hair ties and tie our blankets around the coat hooks in the back seat of our old van, and make our own tent. It stayed up long enough until dad could no longer see out the back window...

On our first Christmas trip to Disney, during the ride, mom handed Abby and me 2 Christmas boxes. You know, the size box where it's so obvious (usually) what's inside (i.e. DVD, CD, etc.). So immediately, we knew we were getting new CDs. Best part? They were CHRISTMAS CDs!! Lizzie McGuire was the big show on Disney Channel during this time, and Hilary Duff played Lizzie. Hilary Duff also came out with a Christmas CD that year, and I had been dying to save money and get it! The song that I wore out the most on that CD: Santa Claus Lane. I. Love. It. And always will!! So, that's #20!

Fun fact? "Santa Claus Lane" is also a song played in The Santa Clause 2, one of my favorite movies :)


And it's official--I have WAY more than 25 favorite Christmas songs....lol

25 Days of Christmas: Day 19

Today's song wasn't on the original list of "Christmas songs I should use on blog for 25 days of Christmas 2010." haha. To be honest, I had completely forgotten about the song until I was in the kitchen with Mom and Abby, who were baking cookies and cupcakes, and the song came on Lite 98. The song is "Mary Had A Baby," and I thought it'd be appropriate to post today about it since our church choir's Christmas Cantata was tonight...which was amazing!

When you look at the lyrics of the song, it looks like a really long song with so many lyrics you'll have to learn! But really, it doesn't seem that long, and all of the lyrics repeat themselves, so it's relaly only like learning a few lines and then saying them again! haha If you'd like to hear the song, you can do so here.

I also went to celebrate one Christmas today with some of Matt's family! I'm looking forward to this week. Aside from the chemistry work I have to do, there are so many festive things to be done this week, and I hope to have lots of pictures to share!!

25 Days of Christmas: Day 18

I love riding around looking at Christmas lights! Okay, really, what part of Christmas DON'T I like?? haha

I always look for "the usual" decorations that come up around our neighborhood. Seeing the same lights and trees just makes the neighborhood feel more homey. One of our family friends' house is one I'm talking about! They have candy canes that line their yard at the end of the driveway and lights that drape between each one. There are lights going up their flagpole, and the Virginia Tech logo at the top in lights. They put a lit up star above their front door, and the 2 lights on either side of that door, they replace the bulbs with one red bulb and one green bulb!

The other night, we were on our way home and I saw the candy canes and their lights, and the flag pole looked good, but where was the star and the red&green bulbs? haha. The next day, I was in the car with Mom and Abby and told them how I missed the rest of their decorations. Not 5 seconds later, that family friend called mom! Weird, huh? So, naturally, Mom told her how I had been missing the lights. Well, tonight, Mom and I went out to the grocery store, and as soon as we turned off our street I could see the star AND the red light bulb AND the green light bulb. My night was made!!

Between mine and Matt's house there is a house that does the "Corner of Lights" display. They have a huge Christmas light display in the front yard and all over the outside of their house, and there's a sign out front telling you to tune in to a specific radio station. If you go to that radio station, you can hear Christmas music, and the lights are blinking and changing and doing all kinds of crazy stuff to the the beat and tune of the songs! It's awesome! So, of course, I go by it quite often and I've finally remembered the radio station number so I'm always prepared with the music as I drive by. And it never fails. I ALWAYS hear "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas." It's probably my favorite song to hear with those lights. Matt and I went and just sat across the street from that house (in his truck. It was too daggone cold!) and I could really pay attention to what the lights were doing. It's so wonderful!

We're hoping to go out riding and look at more lights, and also go see some of the Tacky Light houses that NBC12 puts on their website.

P.S. In case you didn't catch on, I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas" is #18 :)

And I love this shirt!! :)

25 Days of Christmas: Day 17

I lovvvvvvvvvve the snow! I thought it was so pretty falling yesterday. And as Mom, Abby and I were sitting in Chick-fil-A eating, we were watching it fall harder...and harder...and harder, and sticking faster...and faster...and faster! So then we had to hurry up to go to the grocery store and get everything else done we needed to! Well, apparently everyone else and their second cousin twice removed needed to grocery shop too, because Martins was jam-packed! The lines were ridiculous! And I loved when we would get out of the car and the snow would stick all over me--to my hair, my coat, my scarf. THAT makes it feel more like winter to me.

So, going along with the snow theme (again), #17 is Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow! The version by Dean Martin used to be my absolute favorite. I lovvvvved it! But, ever since last Christmas, I've had a new favorite version. By Michael Buble of course! Don't get me wrong, I still totally love the Dean Martin version, because of its originalness (yes, originalness, not originality!) and classicness. But the Michael Buble version is just so much more "me." ha. His song still has the same feel of Dean Martin's, but, come on, it's Michael Buble!

If you'd like to hear either of those songs:

Dean Martin Version

Michael Buble Version

25 Days of Christmas: Day 16

Yes, I missed another day. Sorry! But, in all honesty, it wasn't out of pure laziness. I was gone for the first part of the day with mom and Abby. We went to a late breakfast, then did a few errands. We decorated the tree in our den. And for the remainder of the afternoon/evening/night, I cleaned my closet. And I didn't get as far as I wanted. But I literally was just dead tired last night!

But, I do have another song!

#16 will be My Grown Up Christmas List.

Kids usually ask for ponies, dolls, race cars, etc.

But what do adults or "grown ups" ask for? Here are some of the lyrics from the song:

"No more lives torn apart
That wars would never start
And time would heal all hearts
And everyone would have a friend
And right would always win
And love would never end
This is my grown up Christmas list"

25 Days of Christmas: Day 15

My family and I have gone to Disney World during Christmas 2 times. One year, we left the day after Thanksgiving to go and spend a week, and then another year, we left the day before Thanksgiving to spend another week. The second time, when we left the day before Thanksgiving, we ate Thanksgiving dinner at one of the restaraunts in Disney and when we left the park to go back to our hotel, there weren't Christmas decorations to be seen anywhere. We woke up the next morning, and it was truly like magic. Everything, I mean EVERYTHING had been transformed to Christmas! Trees everywhere, everything. It was awesome.

In the MGM Studios park, they actually have a whole section that they set up with millions and millions of Christmas lights. They hand out those glasses I mentioned on Day 12 for everyone to look at the lights with. AND, they had SNOW coming off of the rooftops of all of the buildings. So it was Christmas time, it was snowing, and my whole family was wearing shorts! haha. Nice!

I don't know if it was because I may have heard this song (#15) in Disney one of the times we were there for Christmas, or just because of the tune to the song, but every single time I hear "We Need A Little Christmas" I just instantly picture myself walking through Disney World! But I won't complain; I LOVVVVVE Disney! :)

And now, after writing this post, I really want to find some Disney pictures to put up!!

25 Days of Christmas: Day 14

There are several things about me & Christmas that drive Matt crazy. For example:

• my obsession with Christmas in general
• the very large amounts of Christmas decorations I have
• the fact that even though I have those very large amounts of decorations, I buy more every year.
• every time we walk in a store, I can't leave without at least briefly scanning the Christmas shelves...even if I honestly don't plan on buying anything
• I'll plan my day around what Christmas specials and movies are playing on TV

And that's just to name a few. But I think what drives him the most crazy is when I get the #15 song stuck in my head! And if, after you listen to it, you get it stuck in your heard all. the. time. I apologize in advance.

Jason Mraz's version of Winter Wonderland is ah-may-zing. Seriously.

When I look this video up on YouTube, or listen to it at home on Mom's Christmas CD (that she bought only so we could all listen to this song!!), I can never ever listen to it just once. Not once. And thennnnnn I sing it for the rest of the day...or week. Just depending!

If you haven't already listened to any of the songs I've linked videos to, you just havvve to at least watch this one. I promise you won't regret it!! Enjoy song #14! :)

25 Days of Christmas: Day 13

I woke up this morning after everyone else had left for school and work. I got out of bed, bent down to pick up my laptop, and something I saw out of the corner of my eye caught my attention. I saw white. Nothing. But. White. Through the opening of my blinds. I quickly looked back towards my window, then opened the blinds and thought, "what in the world?! when did this happen!?" I was sooo confused. I didn't even know they were calling for snow flurries, let alone a couple of inches! But hey, I'm not going to complain; I love snow :) And I'm excited they're calling for more!!

Matt and I were going Christmas shopping today, and on one road between my house and his, there is a really steep hill you drive down. The trees that line that hill were all covered and snow, and it made all of the trees bend and arch over the road. I swear, it looked (and felt) like I was driving through a snow tunnel and it was just sooo pretty! I wish I had taken my camera with me; I can't believe I didn't!

Sooo after the Christmas shopping, soup and macaroni and cheese (and other things from Panara) for lunch, listening to Christmas music, snow on the ground (and of course the ice that led to a tractor trailer to get stuck across two and a half lanes of 295), Qdoba for dinner, and more, I thought it would only be appropriate to tell you that today's song, #13, is It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas!! :)

25 Days of Christmas: Day 12

I'm known for having too much Christmas stuff. Way. Too. Much. I will admit that I have a ridiculous amount of Christmas decorations (ornaments, lights, everything), but that doesn't mean I don't stop buying them! Especially after Christmas...I go get everything when it's on sale. Last year, on New Year's Eve, I went and bought about 15-20 different ornaments and decorations from Cracker Barrell, and only spent $8. I then went to Ben Franklin and bought several things, and only spent $4. I got a ton of new Christmas decorations for my room and barely spent any money! yay!

However, my family doesn't let it slide that I have so many decorations. Especially Mom, Abby, and Matt.haha. Dad kind of just laughs at me when I get new things, or when I write, "Welcome to Christmasville" on the dry erase board on my bedroom door, or at the stocking full of the glasses you put on that show Santa Claus, angels, snowmen, etc. around each individual light when you look at the many strands of lights in my room...

Exhibit A: Here is Matt's look he gave me last Christmas when I pulled out all of the decorations for my bedroom tree. *Note: This is only one box of ornaments. There are 2 that size full of ornaments for one six-foot-tree...

(I promise, I'm getting to the song....)

This year, Mom jokingly said I am banned from bringing anymore Christmas decorations into the house, because I already take up too much attic space with what I have now. Of course, even though she may have been half-way joking, I always ask her, "Why can't I bring Christmas into the house anymore?" lol

So, Abby texts me about a week ago with a Christmas fact. I laugh, and then she says, "But don't tell Matt I told you!!" Well, I then have to ask, "Why?" Abby's response: "Because he'll get mad because it's Christmasy!!" haha.

She texted me to tell me that if you were to buy everything from today's #12 song, The 12 Days of Christmas, it would cost about $97,000!! Crazy!

I thought I'd write about The 12 Days of Christmas today because of the date. Yeah, I realize it's not 12 days 'til Christmas, or the start of the 12 days of Christmas, but it is December 12th..That should count for something! My favorite version of the song is sung by Relient K. It's a really upbeat version of the song, and they also add their own twist to it, as well. And those parts are probably my favorite. If you click on that link, it will take you to a YouTube video of their version. I hope you listen and enjoy! :)

25 Days of Christmas: Day 11

I made another tradition. "I must be late posting at least one post of the 25 Days of Christmas!" haha. I knew I should've written it yesterday morning. Although, I did have to finish packing up my school life to bring everything back home. I got back home around 5:30 last night, changed in to layers and layers of much warmer clothes, and turned right back around to go to Osborne Boat Landing in Varina for the Boat Light Christmas Parade. I was meeting Matt, his family, and a bunch of friends there to watch the pararde. It was a little rainy...and cold...and cold rain isn't fun! But it was still a great night!

When I got back home from that around 10, I had to unpack everything I brought home, and I didn't even finish that. I just laid down in bed and fell asleep. Next thing I know, I'm waking up late on Sunday morning and the thought comes to mind that I forget to post! ahh!

Last night, Paul McCartney was the Musical Guest on Saturday Night Live. I was so mad I forgot to watch it, but from what I hear, it wasn't all that great anyway! I've already posted about a Christmas song I like by him (Wonderful Christmastime).

If only I were smart enough to think ahead on my postings! haha.

The #11 song I like is So This is Christmas, written by John Lennon.

In my Wonderful Christmastime post, I wrote about how it was the 30th Anniversary of John Lennon's death, so I wrote about a song by another Beatles member. Okay, so why didn't I just think to write about the song John Lennon wrote? Oh, right, because I'm not smart enough to look ahead on my list! haha. But it makes for a quick laugh, and they go hand-in-hand.

On a day about John Lennon, I write about Paul McCartney; on a day about Paul McCartney, I write about John Lennon.

Who wouldn't?

25 Days of Christmas: Day 10

Again, no really funny story behind this song! Just another one I enjoy hearing, although, now that I think about it, I've yet to hear it on Lite98 this year! I will need to do something about that...

So today's song is funny, in one sense. Like, really, would you think that a song about a Peanuts character would be a popular Christmas song?? Well, I love it! The #10 song is Snoopy vs. The Red Baron. Years ago, I used to not even think it was a Christmas song because it didn't sound like it should be. Little did I know...

And, if you're interested in a little bit of history, here's some history behind the song:
(and the sense that may not be as funny...)

April 21, 1918: Manfred von Richthofen a.k.a. The Red Baron is shot down by Allied pilots during the First World War. He is sometimes referred to as the most successful flying ace of World War I. He was credited with 80 confirmed air combat victories.

Von Richthofen was born in 1892 in Breslau which was then part of Germany but is now in Poland. He was a Freiherr or “Free Lord” which is a German aristocratic level equivalent to an English Baron. He began the war as a cavalry scout. He became bored with this job and asked to be transferred to the air service where he became an observer. He met Oswald Boelcke, a great fighting aviator and decided to become a pilot himself. He won his first air battle on September 17, 1916.

The Red Baron (due to his aristocratic rank and the color of his plane) was not considered to be exceptionally skilled, but rather he stuck to a very rigid set of rules of combat that served him very well. Today, he is known as Der Rote Baron in Germany, but at the time he was called Der Rote Kampfflieger or The Red Battle Flyer or The Red Pilot. His other nickname was Le Diable Rouge or Red Devil. During a dogfight in July of 1917 von Richthofen suffered a head wound that left him impaired and may have played a part in his death.

On this date, he was engaged in battle with two planes from the Royal Air Force and broke several of his own rules. The Red Baron was engaged with a Sopwith Camel piloted by Lt. Wilfred May, a Canadian pilot flying for the RAF. Cap. Arthur Brown entered into the fray to aid in combat. Brown was also a Canadian pilot flying for the RAF. Van Richthofen was shot through the chest, probably by an anti-aircraft machine gunner as Brown dived toward the red plane which was in hot pursuit of Lt. May. Von Richthofen managed to land his plane without crashing, but died shortly thereafter on the ground. His Fokker was not badly damaged in the landing, but was dismantled by those on the ground for souvenirs. Sgt. Ted Smout of the Australian Medical Corps rushed to aid the victim of the crash and claimed the Red Baron’s last word was “kaput” which means destroyed or broken. He was 25 years old.

(http://patriciahysell.wordpress.com/2010/04/21/richtofen/).

25 Days of Christmas: Day 9

I don't have any funny stories or memories for today's song. It's just a really beautiful Christmas song, that I hope you enjoy reading the lyrics too. Or go to this YouTube Link to hear it. The #8 song for the countdown is "The Gift."

A poor orphan girl named Maria
Was walking to market one day
She stopped for a rest by the roadside
Where a bird with a broken wing lay
A few moments passed till she saw it
For its feathers were covered with sand
But soon clean and wrapped it was traveling
In the warmth of Maria's small hand

She happily gave her last peso
On a cage made of rushes and twine
She fed it loose corn from the market
And watched it grow stronger with time

Now the gift giving service was coming
And the church shone with tinsel and light
And all of the townfolks brought presents
To lay by the manger that night
There were diamonds and incense and perfumes
In packages fit for a king
But for one ragged bird in a small cage
Maria had nothing to bring

She waited 'til just before midnight
So no one would see her go in
And crying she knelt by the manger
For her gift was unworthy of Him

Then a voice spoke to her through the darkness
"Maria, what brings you to me?
If the bird in the cage is your offering,
Open the door and let me see."
Though she trembled, she did as He asked her
And out of the cage the bird flew
Soaring up into the rafters
On a wing that had healed good as new

Just then the midnight bells rang out
And the little bird started to sing
A song that no words could recapture
Whose beauty was fit for a king

Now Maria felt blessed just to listen
To that cascade of notes sweet and long
As her offering was lifted to heaven
By the very first nightingale's song

25 Days of Christmas: Day 8

Once again, I had no idea which song I was going to post as the #8 song, because I didn't really have a story behind a song that I could think of, or I didn't hear a song 75 times today (mainly because I was taking finals all day...). So I was reading over my list of songs that I want to include in the 25 Days of Christmas, I saw that one song title, and it hit me!

Since I changed my major over to Exercise Science, my classes have gotten a lot harder compared to my class as a P.E. major. I mean, really? ha. While the classes have gotten harder, I still find some of the information interesting. In my Exercise Physiology class, whenever we have a test, my professor puts an extra credit question about something going on in the world or an important event:

Test #1: What happened in Virginia last night (it was around September 22) for the first time in nearly 100 years?

Answer: A woman was executed.

Ok, I got that wrong. Because I normally don't watch the news. Nor would that have interested me, so had I been watching the news, I wouldn't have paid attention anyway!

Test #2: Name one team playing in the MLB or AL in the 2010 Baseball World Series.

Answer: RANGERS.

Now, I only got this right on one condition. One of my residents loves the Rangers. He was so excited when he bought his ticket out to the game everything. So, since the only team I could even remember hearing about lately was the Rangers, I put that, and got it right!

Test #3: NO EXTRA CREDIT QUESTION!!

Naturally, I was upset, because I had looked forward to seeing what the question was. So, at the end of the Essay part of my exam, I wrote a note to my professor saying, "What, no extra credit question? :) haha"
So in lab the next week, she told me she loved my note and she tried and tried looking for something interesting to put as the question, but just couldn't think of anything. So she promised there would be one on the final and to check Yahoo! News before the exam because that's where she gets the questions from.

Final Exam: As my professor starts writing on the board after we've already started our tests, I knew exactly what she was writing: our extra credit question. Why was I upset? I FORGOT to check Yahoo! News. Me=SO mad at myself!

The extra credit question?: Today marks the 30th anniversary of the death of which Beatles' member?

Answer: John Lennon

Ok, honestly, I put his name down because he was the only Beatle who I knew to even be dead. So I came back to my room and immediately looked up what day he died, and was very relieved to see he died on December 8th. Okay, that sounds kind of morbid to say I was relieved....anyway. I now know that John Lennon and George Harrison are the two Beatles' members who aren't alive. I knew it wasn't Paul McCartney, because he's the musical guest on Saturday Night Live this week (just FYI!).

and HOW am I bringing this long drawn-out story to tell you the #8 Christmas song? Well, it's written by one of the Beatles and I just LOVE IT. Yes, I know I say that about every song I write about, but this one is just awwwwwwwwwwesommmmmmme!

Paul McCartney wrote "Wonderful Christmastime" in 1979 and I'm so glad he did. I look forward to hearing it every year on Lite98.

Go check out this very, um, "out of date?" yet still very cool, music video of the song...haha...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9BZDpni56Y&feature=related

25 Days of Christmas: Day 7

I was at a loss as to which song was going to be #7 on the list. However, that changed when I saw what movie came on tonight for ABC Family's 25 Days of Christmas.

In last year's 25 Days of Christmas, for Day 14's post I wrote about some of my favorite Christmas movies. One of them is The Santa Clause movie. Well, all of the Santa Clause movies, for that matter. Another favorite Christmas movie is Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (but I didn't write about that in that post.).

Whenever I hear the song "(I'm Dreaming of a) White Christmas" by The Drifters (yes, THAT verison!) I always thinking of the opening scenes to The Santa Clause, where Scott Calvin is cooking a Christmas Eve dinner and ends up burning the turkey. [And then he and Charlie go to Denny's for dinner, their waitress's name is Judy, they're out of egg nog and chocolate milk, and Charlie pitifully says, "plain milks fine....") Anyway. And whenever I'm with my family and I say that, Dad says it reminds him of Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, where Kevin McCallister lip sings to the song.

So, the #7 song for this year's 25 Days of Christmas is "(I'm Dreaming of a) White Christmas."
And if you might have been wondering, I really could have gone on dictating every last thing that happens in the Santa Clause, but we'll save that for another post! ha! Kidding :)

*edited to add: I guess I really never mentioned that Home Alone 2 was on when I wrote this.....haha. Just in case you don't check everyday to see what's coming on on ABC Family :)

25 Days of Christmas: Day 6

It is ridiculously cold outside. Absolutely ridiculously COLD. I drove home for Thanksgiving break wearing jeans, a tshirt and flipflops. Exactly 2 weeks later, I am bundling up more than ever it seems!! I expected the weather to get cooler, but not so quickly! It's crazy even trying to open the doors to leave the building because on top of the low temperatures, the wind is blowing all over the place! And the wind makes it THAT much colder!! Not. A. Fan. I wouldn't be complaining AS much if there were a few inches of snow on the ground :)

It would only seem appropriate that today's #6 Favorite Christmas Song is Frosty the Snowman! In fact, when I was on duty at the desk tonight, one of my residents walked in from her last exam and I told her she looked like Frosty. All bundled up and just the facial expression of, "oh-my-goodness-could-it-BE-anymore-colder?!"

Needless to say, I have been spending as much time as I can in Curry and not leaving the building unless I absolutely have to! I'm usually always cold anyway, so going out in 30-40 degree weather does not seem ideal to me.

P.S. The temperature in Farmville is currently 32 degrees. Freezing.
P.P.S. I mean Farmville the town; not the Facebook game.

25 Days of Christmas: Day 5

So, our little puppy has been sick for years. So, he's not really a puppy; he's eleven years old. But you'd never know he was that old from looking at him. Nor would you know he's sick. He can't keep water down whenever he drinks it, unless he drinks it while he's elevated--that helps a bit. No, basically, my dog looks like one of the poor, pathetic dogs you see on the abandoned animals commercials....just skin and bones. I've called him a Holocaust dog before; if you saw him, you'd know what I mean!

But no matter how our 11 year old, Chocolate Lab, skin and bones dog looks, he has just as much energy as he did as a puppy! Abby just gave him a new tennis ball to play with (he normally just takes our water bottles and milk jugs out of the recycling to chew on) and he can still book it across the front yard to fetch the ball when you throw it. It's crazy.

So how does this relate to my #5 Christmas song? Well, first off, if you didn't know, my dog's name is Chestnut. (However, I spell it Chesnut because you don't really pronounce the "t" in the middle..) So, that could only mean one thing about the song. It's.....

The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)

Whenever my sister and I hear this song, we just wait for the first line of the song and as soon as we hear the word "chestnuts" we both go, "baaaaaaaabes" (which actually sounds more like "beeeeebs") because that's what we call our dog. Don't ask.

25 Days of Christmas: Day 4

Let me just set up a little scene for you:

Where: Varina High School
When: Senior year; 3rd Block-Newspaper editing class
Who: Scott
What: Played one Christmas song on repeat for the entire class and annoyed our teacher more than ever!

And it was GREAT. haha. No, I've gotta love it, because Scott is the one who texted me last year saying, "I think you would enjoy the fact that I have a fireplace dvd in, Christmas cookie candle burning, Sirius Christmas music, and Christmas decor out in my room!" Does he know me or what? Of COURSE I would enjoy knowing that! He is one of the funniest friends I have and he can appreciate my obsessed love for Christmas. lol

So what song did he play over and over every. single. day. after Thanksgiving through Winter Break? None other than, The Christmas Shoes. Yes, I know that that can be a sad song, but it is also a really good song. The Christmas season can't go by without me hearing this song. It just can't!

And I love the end of the song:

I knew I'd caught a glimpse of heaven's love
As he thanked me and ran out
I knew that God had sent that little boy
To remind me just what Christmas is all about

Through all of the decorating, going out to eat, and buying presents, a lot of people do tend to forget what Christmas is all about. It's not about whose house has the most Christmas lights and inflatable blow ups, and not about how many presents you buy for every last person you know. It's the season of giving, and loving.

25 Days of Christmas: Day 3

I'm almost waiting too late to get this post up on December 3rd! Oh well, as long as it gets up :)

Tonight, my grandparents let me come over and decorate their Christmas tree for them. Despite my mom, dad, sister, aunt and boyfriend all teasing me about the ornaments being too close and what not, it was fun! I love decorating for Christmas.....if you didn't know. And we had tons of cookies to eat, too. But putting the angel on top was the most difficult part; it was just kind of awkward to get it to stay up on top of the tree!

Well, this all brings me to my 3rd favorite Christmas song. And that would be.....Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree! There's this one version in particular, I don't know who sings it, but it plays at the end of Cheaper by the Dozen when they're sitting around the table for Christmas dinner.

And I just think the words to the song pretty much some up some great Christmas spirit, so enjoy!

"Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree"

Rocking around the Christmas tree

at the Christmas party hop

Mistletoe hung where you can see

every couple tries to stop

Rocking around the Christmas tree,

let the Christmas spirit ring

Later we'll have some pumpkin pie

and we'll do some caroling.

You will get a sentimental

feeling when you hear

Voices singing let's be jolly,

deck the halls with boughs of holly

Rocking around the Christmas tree,

have a happy holiday

Everyone dancing merrily

in the new old-fashioned way.

You will get a sentimental

feeling when you hear

Voices singing let's be jolly,

deck the halls with boughs of holly

Rocking around the Christmas tree,

have a happy holiday

Everyone dancing merrily

in the new old-fashioned way.

Merry Christmas!

25 Days of Christmas: Day 2

Today is bittersweet.
-Day #2 of my 25 Days of Christmas: Favorite Christmas songs
-a funeral for one of my greatest friends
-blog post NUMBER 100.

This song had originally made my list in the first place, but due to recent events, it got bumped up to #2. I've always loved the Hawaiian Christmas song Mele Kalikimaka. I've even tried saying that to people instead of Merry Christmas, buuuut, there were too many syllables for it to just flow right out of my mouth. Like Step into Christmas, Mele Kalikimaka is just a fun song! There are several versions, but I really like the Jimmy Buffett version.

So why did this song suddenly jump up to the #2 ranking in my list? Well, that would have to do with the second listed reason of why today is bittersweet.

Casey always loved the beach. And surfing. He had told me how he wanted to go to Hawaii, maybe live there for a while, and become a pro surfer. We had some funny conversations about that; conversations that I can now never forget. Casey-even now, you're probably surfing through Heaven and God is scoring you with all 10s. And we couldn't be more proud of you.

As for the last reason of the day, I cannot believe this is my 100th blog post! So cool! I don't have enough time this morning to write 100 random facts about me/things that I like, but maybe I can get around to that later. Instead, here are some cool facts I quickly Googled (yes, a verb) about the number 100.

-A "jiffy" is an actual unit of time for 1/100th of a second.
-A sneeze travels out your mouth at over 100 m.p.h.
-A car traveling 100 mph would take more than 29 million years to reach the nearest star.
-Scallops have approximately 100 eyes around the edge of its shell.
-The life expectancy of a $100 bill is nine years.

25 Days of Christmas: Day 1

It’s the big day! The day I’ve been waiting for!! My 2010 25 Days of Christmas on my blog!!

Last year, I did my top 25 things I love about Christmas, and I often included pictures of those certain things. Including pictures with every post will be a bit more difficult this year to go with the theme, but I will certainly try to include lots of fun Christmas pictures, too! So what is the theme, you ask? WELL, the theme this year is my 25 Top Favorite Christmas Songs!!! Lite 98 usually starts playing Christmas music non-stop the day after Thanksgiving. This year, they started the day before! So from now until December 25, that is the station I will be listening to! Sooooooo,

My first favorite Christmas song is Step into Christmas, by Elton John. I felt this was an appropriate song to start with as we are “stepping” into December…the month when those who haven’t started putting up Christmas decorations finally jump on the train! :) Also, ABC Family starts their 25 Days of Christmas today, as well, so there will be Christmas specials on every night now! And you know more channels show Christmas shows/movies as well, so life is just grand now!!

I just love the song Step into Christmas because of the music, the catchy chorus..just everything about it! If you’ve never heard it, head on over to this youtube link to listen….and see some pretty awesome glasses. Just sayin’.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSJMSnj6UUM

Happy Day #1 of the 25 Days of Christmas!!

long drives.

This post was actually written the day before Thanksgiving. As I was working on it, I got frustrated with the pictures not working. I ended up leaving the house that evening, and for some reason never got back around to fixing it. Then Thanksgiving came, upon many other events, and I just never got around to posting it. However, it is very important that I post it today because tomorrow's post will be fabulous!

This will probably be the blog post with some of the worst pictures I’ve ever taken!
Why? Because they were taken on my phone….while I was either driving slow and enjoying the ride, or completely stopping because no one was behind me!

I’ve been wanting to do this blog post for a while, but just never felt like sending all of the pictures from my phone to my email. It takes forever because the files are so big that you have to send each picture individually. Looking at my email inbox, it shows that it took from 11:53am to 12:10pm to send all of these pictures!

Anyway. When Matt was going to school at Ferrum, I loved driving to go see him. I used to not be a huge fan of driving long distances, but after my first time driving straight to Ferrum from Richmond, that completely changed! From then on, I didn’t care if the drive was 4 hours from home to his school, or 2 ½ hours from Longwood to Ferrum, it was a nice drive. ESPECIALLY in the fall, driving through the mountains and all of the colors on the mountains! And as silly as it sounds, I was so excited with myself when I went to visit him over my Spring Break (when these pictures were taken) because it was the first time I drove there without reading directions! Haha. I was so proud.lol

That particular trip was a surprise, too. I left my house early enough, but that almost ended up being too early. No worries, it gave me more time to look in the bookstore and plan how I was going to surprise him. I ended up texting him saying, “Please call me when you get out of class!” So, he calls me, I ask, “I can’t decide if I should buy this shirt or not…can I send you a picture of it and you tell me what you think?” Well, of course, he said he would. Then, I laid out a zebra print Ferrum tshirt, took a picture on my phone, and sent it to him. I swear, not 15 seconds later Matt was calling me, laughing and saying, “Where are you?” Well, you know me, I can’t hold in a laugh to save my life so I couldn’t even try to make something up!

Enjoy some of these pictures of the drive to Ferrum. I wish I still had a picture of the shirt to show, too!

Love that I saw a rainbow! (Yep, that means I had to drive in some rain)

I actually took this when I left Ferrum, because I forgot to take it on the way. This is right before you get back on 460 E

mixed emotions...

I was reading old blogs of mine on Myspace (old school, right?), and in one post I just had these lyrics. I thought it would be appropriate to post them now:

Like You'll Never See Me Again

If I had no more time
No more time left to be here
Would you cherish what we had?
Was it everything that you were looking for?
If I couldn't feel your touch
And no longer were you with me
I'd be wishing you were here
To be everything that I'd be looking for
I don't wanna forget the present is a gift
And I don't wanna take for granted the time you may have here with me
'Cause Lord only knows another day is not really guaranteed

So every time you hold me
Hold me like this is the last time
Every time you kiss me
Kiss me like you'll never see me again
Every time you touch me
Touch me like this is the last time
Promise that you'll love me
Love me like you'll never see me again


How many really know what love is?
Millions never will
Do you know until you lose it

That it's everything that we are looking for
When I wake up in the morning
You're beside me
I'm so thankful that I found
Everything that I been looking for

I don't wanna forget the present is a gift
And I don't wanna take for granted the time you may have here with me
'Cause Lord only knows another day is not really guaranteed

So everytime you hold me
Hold me like this is the last time
Every time you kiss me
Kiss me like you'll never see me again
(can you do that for me baby)
Every time you touch me
(see we don't really know)
Touch me like this is the last time
(see everyday we never know)
Promise that you'll love me
(I want you to promise me)
Love me like you'll never see me again
(like you'll never see me again)

Take time to love everyone in your life and be thankful for them.

a true friend. aka "big dubb diesel"

I have about twenty other things that I want to blog about. But right now, those can wait.

Last night, a really good friend of mine from church was killed in a car accident in Ashland. I'm not going to write much about that, but if you'd like to read the story, you can find it here.

He had been my friend, best friend, and boyfriend at one time (December 2005-February 2006). Which is why I think it's still so surreal to me that it actually happened. We had some good times together...from beach trips, mission trips, midnight premiers of Harry Potter, the whole shebang. And just the night before the accident, we were making plans to get our "group" together to go see Harry Potter 7 again (because you can't see it in theaters just once.)

I went through his old Myspace Blogs (I was his trusty Myspace-layout maker :) ), and found several that he mentioned me in.

10/10/2005
"I don't know how but me and Mallory got closer this weekend, she's like my bestest friend. She says her feet are kicking but I didn't smell anything ahha, but a skunk ahhahaha."


These next 2 are from when we were going out...

1/11/2006
"MALLORY!...I would do anything I could to make her happy...I'd drive any distance and do whatever to see you sweetheart...the past two weeks we've been together have been the best, and I know there will be many more to come..."


2/10/2006
"Mallory [is] pretty much what keeps me going, because she can do things to make me feel like the luckiest, happiest person ever. tomorrow we're going out...I'm just looking forward to being with her, not the movie, not the food, and not the car we're takin..."
(sidenote--we always had car trouble when we would go out!)


Just some random facts:
-I would always schedule my mall trips on days I knew he would be working at the Oakley's stand.
-On the beach trip, we had intended on getting up to see the sunrise. Both of us were late sleepers, so that never happened.
-He called me Princess. Mom actually remembered that and reminded me today.
-I was at CVS today and the first Christmas card that caught my eye was one that I had given him years ago.
-He was the one who got me hooked on Jack Johnson.
-He always teased me about my smelly feet.
-His hugs swallowed me. Always.
-Last Sunday in church he was eating Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans (from Harry Potter, of course). It was great. Especially when he got the Fish flavored bean...


*these pictures are no where near chronological order. just lots of good memories.. And if you're friends with me on Facebook, there will be more up soon.

We were always great game partners in Youth. I couldn't find the one of us doing an egg toss..
More games...

Casey Ryan, you will truly be missed. Forever. You touched so many lives in your 23 amazing years of life. You were a great, caring friend, who we'll never forget. But now, I know you're in a better place, looking down on all of us who have been blessed to know you. Love and miss you always 0:)

Matthew 5:4

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

Psalm 9:9

The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.

Emily's Senior Pictures!

I am so excited to show you all these pictures now! I have been dying for Emily to see these, as I know she’s been patiently waiting :)

I have known Emily for basically forever! She and my sister are the same age, so they’ve grown up in school together, and Emily also dances at the same dance school as we do. So when she asked me to do her pictures, I was thrilled! She put up with me because every time I took what I knew would be a Great picture, I would keep saying, “Emily, you’re just so pretty!” haha.

She also wanted a few pictures with her boyfriend, and I was impressed-he knew just what to do, a natural just like his girlfriend ;)

Okay, there is definitely a story with this picture. We all couldn't stop laughing at the girl with the lime green pants, so then we decided we couldn't leave without Emily getting a picture with her. This was as close as we could get without looking too stalker-ish!

This is seriously what Maymont was looking like. Emily, my sister and I have all been in the Communications Center in high school, so we were the ones who kept talking about how awesome the tree right behind Emily would be with the really bright colors coming in through the back...haha

I couldn't decided which of these next two I liked best...so I included both!

And then we saw a family throwing leaves in front of a little kid to take pictures, so we did too :)

Sneak Peak : Emily's Senior Pictures!!

Halloween!

I have read on several of the blogs I read that people have just been so tied up with busy lives that there hasn't been much time for blogging. I can totally relate.

I've been working on this horrible Biomechanics paper that I have just not been motivated to do and it's one of those papers where you're so close to finishing but it's like you don't have an ounce of energy left to finish it! Well, there was a positive part about this paper. It was due last Friday-the 29th, but last Wednesday my professor she didn't want it any earlier than the following Monday, and we had until next Friday (tomorrow-Nov 5th) to turn it in. Well, then Monday she told us that we won't be having class on Friday, the 5th, so it was just due to her by class time that day. I was just going to turn it in during lab today, but thennnnn this morning, I received an email that lab was cancelled and the paper isn't due until NEXT Monday! Talk about crazy! Yet, very relieving! Even though I'm basically done-just have to cite my sources in my paper, but that won't take long at all. And then the negative part about the paper-I told myself I couldn't write another blog until the paper was finished because if I was going to type that much, it was going to go towards my grade! haha

Well, technically my paper is not completely finish but since I have enough time today, I wanted to blog!

I went home last weekend for the Halloween festivities I always look forward to. About 5 years ago, my dad got the idea to set up a canopy tent at the end of our driveway and he would bring the grill out to cook hotdogs. Mom also decided to make chili for this and that way 1) trick-or-treaters wouldn't have to walk up our long driveway for candy; 2) we could eat dinner and stay warm with the chili; and 3) trick-or-treaters' parents can also have a treat! Well, over the years it turned into what seems like a full-out feast of wonderful food, and some of our friends actually plan on coming over!! (last year, some people were worried why we didn't do it, but we were at a wedding that day :) )

This year, dad even brought the fire thing from on the back patio so we could roast marshmallows and keep even more warm (which my cousin Alison was THRILLED about!!)

Here are some pictures of this year's Halloween set up!

Set up!

Condiments for hot-dogs and chili:
The feast table...

My contributions: Pumpkin Spice Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting, and Roasted Pumpkin seeds that were coated in cinnamon, nutmeg, and all-spice. Mmmmmm!

Even Chestnut got a costume this year! :) This made us laugh ALL night.

When I asked Mom if she bought good candy for trick-or-treaters, she said, "It's candy y'all would like." I approve, because that means we get leftovers ;)

Abby's pumpkin!

Dad's pumpkin!

My pumpkin!

Matt's pumpkin!

*The roasted pumpkin seeds came from the last 2 pumpkins...haha.